After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

……

Time passed by, bit by bit, until the sun began to set.

The pale, cold sunlight shone on the few specks of frost on the bare branches, adding to the desolation of the day.

Li Yanting pushed open the door of his dormitory at Bailu Academy and stepped out. A gust of wind blew by, and he shrank his neck.

Looking ahead, I saw several fellow students, including Qian Huang, traveling together.

Qian Huang was around thirty years old and used to be a kind-hearted person in the academy.

Since passing the imperial examination, Brother Qian has attended various banquets, and his demeanor has changed accordingly.

"Hehe, come here, Wenzhao, let your senior brother introduce you."

Li Yanting approached his senior brothers and bowed. Qian Huang smiled and pointed to a young man beside him who still looked quite young.

"This is my senior brother Yang Gu, who was the top scholar in the Southern Zhili province last year!"

Li Yanting, who had just passed the provincial examination with the highest score, was taken aback.

The top scholar in the imperial examination? Yang Gu? ... That name is certainly well-known.

Senior Brother Yang achieved the top rank in the provincial examination last year, which brought great fame to Bailu Academy once again. If he can achieve the highest rank and enter the Hanlin Academy, he might become a leading figure in the court within the academy's faction ten years from now.

Unfortunately, the other party did not participate in the provincial examination last year and returned to his hometown after passing the provincial examination.

I heard from my senior brother Qian that this senior brother Yang took the imperial examination this year.

We never had the chance to meet back then, but I never expected to see you today. I suppose Senior Brother Yang is aiming for the top rank.

Today, I should go with him and several of my fellow students, including Qian and Huang, to Gongyuan Street to wait for the results to be announced.

Li Yanting quickly bowed and said, "Li Yanting greets Senior Brother Yang."

Yang Gu, courtesy name Xiuyue, had a thin face but a handsome appearance. He glanced at his dignified junior brother and smiled:

"Junior Brother Li is quite good. Although there were not many outstanding people in this year's provincial examination in Southern Zhili, even Li Youzhi from Mingli Academy only achieved second place, Junior Brother Li's achievement of second place is truly commendable and has greatly enhanced the reputation of our academy."

Before Li Yanting could react, Qian Huang, Qing Zude, and another student from the academy who had passed the imperial examination immediately looked embarrassed.

They were also successful candidates in the provincial examination this year, but their rankings were not as good as Li Yanting's.

Qing Zude rolled his eyes:

"Senior Brother Yang, what you say is strange. This year's provincial examination has Ning Baixuan, Qing Zude, and two Tartars in between. It can be said that the strongest talents from both the north and south have gathered like thunder and clouds. How come there are no other capable people?"

Another scholar surnamed Min immediately raised his folding fan and laughed:

"Brother Xiuyue, look at your mouth! Still so annoying. How about that? You've offended someone, haven't you?"

The scholar surnamed Min passed the imperial examination seven years ago, but failed twice. He is taking the exam again this year and is accompanying everyone to see the results announcement.

Although he failed the imperial examinations repeatedly, he was quite wealthy and had a relaxed attitude.

Yang Gu smiled and glanced at Qing Zude, who was somewhat short and stout:

"Junior Brother Qing is absolutely right. I don't know anything about Ning Baixuan, and the two Tartars are nothing to worry about. But with Qing Zude here, what you said is indeed true. Heh, this year's provincial examination is truly full of talented people."

Qing Zude rolled his eyes, unsure whether the man's words were praise or criticism, and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Brother Yang."

Seeing his gratitude, Yang Gu, the scholar surnamed Min, and Qian Huang exchanged glances and laughed heartily, saying:

"Junior Brother Qing is still as interesting as ever, it's rare to see him like this."

At this time.

A sound of a folding fan being patted came from the left.

"Not difficult, not difficult at all. Senior Brother Yang, you are mistaken! Last year, Lian Ziweng participated in the provincial examination and failed. This year, Lian Ziweng participated again and failed once more."

"This year, Lian Ziweng's talent is more than ten times that of last year, which shows that—"

A tall, thin figure shook his head and spoke slowly and deliberately:

"This year's provincial examination is far more difficult than last year's!"

Upon hearing this, the seven scholars in the room naturally knew that it was Lian Ziweng who had arrived, and they looked to the left.

Footsteps sounded from the left, and about seven or eight students dressed in the uniforms of Bailu Academy walked over.

Everyone laughed, and regardless of whether they were scholars or commoners, they greeted each other as fellow disciples.

Yang Gu slowly and leisurely chuckled and said to Lian Ziweng:

"When Junior Brother Lian has a hundred times more talent in the next exam, he will surpass this one in the provincial exam by a great margin."

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter.

Even when teased that he wouldn't pass the next imperial examination, Lian Ziweng remained unperturbed, his face stiff as he replied:

"Thank you for your kind words, senior brother. I believe that Lian Ziweng will have a hundred times more talent in the next imperial examination."

Yang Gu ignored him, turned his gaze to a woman dressed as a man standing prettily in front, softened his eyes, and bowed slightly, saying:

"Junior Sister Gongsun, it's been a long time since I last met you, Senior Brother."

Even dressed as a man, Gongsun Heng couldn't hide his appearance. He paused for a moment, glanced at this last year's top scholar, and then smiled and clasped his hands in a respectful greeting:

"Senior Brother Yang, it's been a long time!"

Some snow had fallen on the bushes behind her, and at first glance, it was hard to tell whether the woman's unadorned face was whiter or the snow was whiter.

Today, the results of the provincial examination were announced. She went to great lengths to get Lian Ziweng and seven or eight other scholars who had taken the provincial examination but failed to pass to accompany her to see the results.

When her master passed the provincial examination with top honors, she held a grand banquet and even wanted to host a special feast for her and her grandfather. However, her grandfather waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "What is the significance of a mere provincial examination winner? It is more appropriate to invite her after the metropolitan examination."

He also said not to be complacent or slack off.

Having finally made it to the end of the imperial examinations, she naturally wanted to see her master's ranking with her own eyes so she could go to the Ning family to report the good news as soon as possible!

Yang Gu's eyes were slightly dazed as he looked at Gongsun Heng, whose face was slightly flushed, and a ripple of emotion stirred in his heart.

Last year, she passed the provincial examination with flying colors, which should have been an excellent opportunity to propose marriage to the headmaster.

However, upon hearing rumors that Wu Shangmei and Gongsun Shimei were childhood sweethearts and that Gongsun Shanzhang intended for Wu Shangmei to be his son-in-law, he could only withdraw in disappointment.

I just didn't expect...

Wu Shangmei was surprisingly favored by the Emperor Emeritus and ranked third in the imperial examinations. After serving as an editor in the Hanlin Academy for two months, he was sent to the Eastern Palace to assist Prince Xin.

The implication is self-evident.

The Wu family naturally broke off all contact with the Gongsun family.

"It's just a pity..." Yang Gu's lips curled into a bitter smile.

Last year, he studied among the talented individuals from Sichuan and Hunan, including Wu Shangmei, Lu Sishan, and several others. He did not participate in the provincial examination and returned home to study.

When information is scarce, you learn about things too late.

Now that Wu Shangmei, Lu Sishan and others have all passed the imperial examination, there are far fewer strong competitors this year, so he naturally came to participate in the metropolitan examination.

After some casual conversation.

Gongsun Heng boarded the carriage belonging to the Gongsun family, while the others boarded the carriage belonging to the Bailu Academy.

The group arrived at Heming Tower in a grand procession.

As soon as I entered the Crane Cry Tower, I heard a hysterical shout:

"Ning Baixuan, die! Li, die! Lu, die! Tartars, die! All of you, die! ... Tartars! I'll kill you, you damned Tartar! A talent for the top scholar... Hahaha! I, Wu Shangmei, am the one with the talent for the top scholar! You still want to be the top scholar in my Great Liang Dynasty, and then go to the Golden Palace to propose to her? You're not worthy! ... Haha... Ning, you're last in the county exam... Li, you're always second... You damned Tartar, you're second to last in the provincial exam... Yang, you're not in the same cohort as me... Hehe, haha... A talent for the top scholar? Besides me, Wu Shangmei, who is the talent for the top scholar?! I should have been the top scholar... I was just chosen as the third-ranked scholar... The third-ranked scholar... Hehe... Die... All of you, die!"

This frenzied sound echoed throughout the Crane Cry Tower.

Then came the sound of porcelain bowls shattering, one after another…

Outside the Crane Cry Tower.

The crowd paused, and Gongsun Heng's phoenix eyes contracted involuntarily.