Chapter 126 - 127: Top Scorer
"Why isn’t my name on there?"
"I passed."
"Hahaha, I passed too."
"Where’s my name? How could I not be on the list?"
A clamor of voices rose and fell. Some people went mad with despair, while others danced with joy.
"Who’s the top scorer?" someone shouted, and others quickly moved to check.
"Who is Ancient Wen Heng? I’ve never heard that name before."
"Ancient Wen Heng is the top scorer. Which one is Ancient Wen Heng from Fu County?"
Before Ancient Wen Heng could even react, Wang Biyi excitedly grabbed his arm. "Wenheng, they’re talking about you."
Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’Now everyone’s heard it.’ He saw countless eyes, all fixed on him.
But he didn’t mind. He had experienced being the center of attention many times before.
"Master, everyone is looking at us," Deng Yuanhang whispered, unable to take the stares any longer as he tugged at Wang Biyi’s sleeve.
Only then did Wang Biyi notice their situation. The stares from all around were too intense. Forgetting to check if the other students had passed, he hastily led Ancient Wen Heng and Deng Yuanhang back to the inn.
"Ping’an," he ordered his Attendant Student the moment they reached the inn, "go back to the announcement board and check everyone’s rankings from the exam. Remember to copy them down."
Without even stopping to pour water, Ping’an accepted the order and ran out.
"You did well, my boy. You’ve brought honor to our Leping Academy this time." Wang Biyi had been confident in Ancient Wen Heng’s performance, but he hadn’t expected him to come out on top.
Deng Yuanhang quickly chimed in with congratulations. "Looks like Wenheng will have to throw a grand banquet to celebrate properly when he gets back."
Ancient Wen Heng had dominated rankings countless times growing up, so he was able to remain composed. "This is all thanks to Master’s excellent teaching. I could not have achieved this without the guidance of my Master and the academy."
Wang Biyi stroked his thin mustache, chuckling happily. "In any case, this is a joyous occasion for both you and the academy. We must celebrate it well upon our return."
It had been a long time since the academy had been in the spotlight like this. After this success, he believed more scholars would be willing to choose Leping Academy.
More importantly, he was the one who had taught the top scorer.
Lost in these thoughts, Wang Biyi sat there, grinning foolishly to himself.
"Wenheng, why isn’t Ping’an back yet?" Deng Yuanhang was growing anxious about his own ranking, wondering if he had even made the list.
Ancient Wen Heng replied, "There were so many people just now. The crowd probably hasn’t dispersed yet. It’ll likely be a while longer."
They didn’t have to wait long. Ping’an came jogging in, clutching a small piece of paper, and shouted breathlessly, "Master, great news! Three students from our academy passed!"
Deng Yuanhang’s heart skipped a beat, and he nervously clenched his fists.
Wang Biyi snatched the paper from his hand. "Excellent! Leping Academy is finally going to make a comeback."
Three out of the four who took the exam had passed, and one was even the top scorer. This was an unprecedented achievement.
Ancient Wen Heng glanced at the rankings on the paper. Deng Yuanhang was seventeenth, and Zhou Ping was sixty-ninth. Even though Zhou Ping had just scraped by, at least he had passed.
Seeing Deng Yuanhang still standing there looking anxious, Ancient Wen Heng smiled broadly and congratulated him. "Congratulations, Scholar Deng."
Hearing this title, Deng Yuanhang broke into a wide grin. "I passed!"
Ancient Wen Heng was speechless.
Having won first place, Ancient Wen Heng was naturally summoned for an audience with the government office’s Magistrate and the chief examiner. His return date would have to be postponed.
"Mr. Xiao, this year’s new Scholars are quite remarkable. Most of them are young and promising." Lu Tongzhi noticed Mr. Xiao’s gaze sweeping back and forth over the young men and guessed what was on his mind.
Although the Holy Emperor hadn’t issued a letter of reprimand yet, Mr. Xiao had previously failed to report what he knew, causing many refugees to starve to death outside the city. That score would be settled sooner or later.
The Holy Decree just hadn’t been issued yet because the comforting envoy, Lord Niu, had not yet returned to make his report.
Once this matter was concluded, the rewards and punishments would be decided.
Mr. Xiao was now trying to select a good son-in-law from among these Scholars, merely hoping to leave himself a few escape routes.
Xiao Yunhai pursed his lips. "They are indeed excellent. All promising young men."
Unfortunately, after checking the records of the few he had his eye on, he found that most were already married or had other issues.
He no longer dared to dream of sending his two daughters into the palace. All he could hope for now was to find suitable sons-in-law from this batch of Scholars. Perhaps then he would have a chance to make a comeback.
"It’s a pity some of the Scholars went back to their hometowns right after the exam," Geng Tongpan remarked. Seeing so many prospects, he naturally had the same idea. Although his own daughter was still young, they could arrange an engagement first.
"Let’s go. We shouldn’t keep these Scholars waiting. They might be our colleagues in the future." Xiao Yunhai was well aware of his situation. Those who knew him inside and out were now avoiding him like the plague, so he could only resort to this strategy.
"Mr. Xiao is here," someone in the crowd announced. Everyone, who had been chatting animatedly, turned to look at the main door.
"Greetings, Sirs."
Xiao Yunhai chuckled and made a gesture with both hands as if to help them up. "Today is just a private banquet. Please, everyone, be at ease."
"Yes, Sir," they all replied, but they remained standing stiffly to the side.
Following the usual format, Xiao Yunhai called a few Scholars over by name to ask them questions, offered some words of encouragement, and then left the banquet hall with his colleagues.
"Don’t be fooled by how friendly and approachable Mr. Xiao seems," Deng Yuanhang whispered to Ancient Wen Heng, lowering his voice. "He probably won’t be in his position for much longer. They just haven’t had a chance to deal with him yet. We should just watch and wait, and not get involved in anything else."
As the young master of an escort agency, Deng Yuanhang knew a thing or two about the inside story.
Ancient Wen Heng gave him a teasing look. "The few he specifically called over, including you, are all unmarried Scholars."
Deng Yuanhang pouted. "You saw right through it. He seemed friendly, but he was asking all sorts of personal questions. Luckily, I was quick-witted and deferred everything to my elders."
Ancient Wen Heng glanced at him sideways. "She’s the Magistrate’s daughter, after all. Weren’t you even a little tempted?"
Deng Yuanhang shook his head. "My parents are just ordinary merchants. If I were to marry a daughter from a noble family, all the rules and customs of a high-status household would probably leave my mother completely bewildered."
Ancient Wen Heng chose to believe him for the time being. Even if he suspected Deng Yuanhang was just avoiding the risk, as fellow disciples, he wouldn’t expose him. That would only make things awkward for both of them.
"There is one thing I think I should tell you," Ancient Wen Heng said, recalling what he’d noticed. He gave Deng Yuanhang a mischievous wink. "Just now, when Mr. Xiao called you over, I saw a figure flash behind that screen over there. From the shadow, it looked like a young lady’s dress."
Deng Yuanhang was speechless. ’Damn it,’ he thought, ’was I just secretly being sized up for marriage?’