CHAPTER 81
This year is definitely a precious year for students who have studied hard.
In the past, the imperial examination was held every three years. If one failed once, he would have to wait another three years to take the exam next time.
But this year was different. The spring of this year was the special imperial exam , and the autumn was the autumn examination.
Even if you fail the special imperial exam, there is still hope for the autumn exam.
Therefore, this time, the students of the academy are not under as much pressure as in previous years.
In addition to the fact that you can take the exam again if you fail, for some people it is an opportunity to reach success in one step, especially for those who are good at studying and have already passed the examination for the title of scholar. If they can pass the examination for the title of juren in the special examination and the examination for the title of jinshi in the autumn examination, they can directly save many years of hard study.
Master Yang also placed great hopes on Wang Luosheng. For Wang Luosheng, passing the imperial examination might still be uncertain, but passing the juren examination was a sure thing.
If you pass the imperial examination, at the very least you will be appointed as a county magistrate. Then you will enjoy a lot of blessings and honors.
Su Wan and Shen Lin also got up early, packed up, and prepared to go and see the list.
When he walked near where the list was posted, he saw several students from Songshan Academy who often ate and drank at the house rented by Wang Luosheng, and Wang Luosheng was walking towards him from another road. They probably came to see the list as well.
These guys were all scoundrels. Later, Wang Luosheng was very annoyed with them, but he didn’t dare to stop them from coming, as he didn’t want to offend them.
If you don’t dare to chase it away, you can only keep it as a gift.
These people did not see through Wang Luosheng’s hypocrisy and were quite moved for a moment.
Several people also took part in the special exam, but they knew their own strengths and weaknesses, so they did not hold out hope of passing. They came to see the list just to watch the fun and to see about Wang Luosheng’s score.
When a few people saw Shen Lin, they immediately remembered the conflict between Shen Lin and Wang Luosheng.
After spending some time with Wang Luosheng, several people also heard that Wang Luosheng hated Shen Lin very much.
In order to please Wang Luosheng, several people blocked the way of Shen Lin and Su Wan:
“Hey, Shen Lin, Are you going to check out the list?”
“What’s so good about it? You won’t pass the exam anyway, so you’ll just squeeze around and sweat all over yourself.”
“You are covered in sweat. Is this little beauty still willing to follow you?”
“Hey, little beauty, come with me. I don’t want to go in and look at the list. I’m not sweating all over.”
Wang Luosheng stood there, ignoring everything. He had long regarded Shen Lin as a thorn in his side, but he did not dare to offend Shen Lin himself. Now that someone did this, Wang Luosheng naturally turned a blind eye.
Originally, Shen Lin didn’t intend to pay any attention to these ruffians, but they offended Su Wan.
“My little beauty, come with me…”
A rogue in brown clothes felt himself flying before he could finish his words. Then he fell heavily, feeling sharp pain and spitting out a mouthful of scarlet blood.
The people nearby saw that even though they had more people and more power, they could still be bullied by Shen Lin.
Several people rushed up immediately, but in the blink of an eye, they were all sent flying.
They all fell to the ground and couldn’t get up.
Shen Lin looked down at the few people and said, “You offended the wrong person.”
The thug who flew out first was unwilling to give in: “We are friends of the scholar Wang Luosheng. If you treat us like this, you will be punished by Luosheng.”
Su Wan was a little surprised. Wang Luosheng passed the exam. But then she thought, These people seemed to be here to see the list rather than having already seen it, so they might not know the results of the exam at all. Saying that Wang Luosheng was a juren was just a guess.
One of the hooligans didn’t dare to challenge Shen Lin anymore and hurriedly crawled over and said, “Let’s not waste our time here; let’s quickly see what place Luo Sheng got.”
As Su Wan expected, these people had never even looked at the list.
A few people were struggling to leave when they saw Zhou Yu and Wu Weifeng rushing towards Shen Lin.
“Brother Shen, this is great news. You are the top scorer in this special examination.” Zhou Yu’s face was full of excitement, as if he were the one who got the top scorer.
Wang Luosheng was stunned, as if struck by lightning.
Wu Wei also spoke up: “We two also passed the exam to become scholars. Although we were the last on the list, we passed in the end. Brother Shen, I really didn’t expect that the three of us could pass.”
Those who had been showing off to Shen Lin just now were dumbfounded. What? Shen Lin passed the exam and became a top scholar. How was that possible? They never thought that Shen Lin could pass the exam, so they offended him unscrupulously.
One of the people who was thrown out by Shen Lin just now covered his arm and asked Zhou Yu, “Zhou Yu, are you dazzled?”
Another person also said hurriedly, “That’s right, maybe the person has the same name as Shen Lin, but he is a different person.”
Zhou Yu was confused. Could it be that he thought he was wrong?
But Zhou Yu was only confused for a moment before he heard someone congratulating Shen Lin.
“Brother Shen, congratulations; you have passed the exam and become the top scholar in Qingyun County.”
Everyone was surprised that the person who came to congratulate them was the magistrate of Qingyun County, Lu.
Magistrate Lu was followed by a group of yamen gaurds, who also bowed and congratulated him, “Congratulations, Shen Lin.”
The yamen gaurds congratulated him in unison, their voices as loud as a bell. People around looked over and realized that the man surrounded in the middle was this year’s top scholar.
The top scorer is right here, so we must get close to him as soon as possible, even if it’s just to make ourselves familiar with him.
The people around him also congratulated him: “Congratulations, Shen Lin .”
“Shen Lin is indeed a leader among men.”
“I wish Shen Lin can pass the autumn exam and become a Jinshi.”
For a moment, Su Wan, Shen Lin, Wang Luosheng, the students who were beaten, Zhou Yu, Wu Wei, and County Magistrate Lu were surrounded by the crowd.
Magistrate Lu said to Shen Lin, “Brother Shen, you don’t have to go to see the list. Just go to my house. Qingzhou Prefecture has already issued me an official document for the successful candidates. You can go to my house and have tea while reading the document.”
Magistrate Lu was well versed in the ways of the world. He knew that students who ranked high in the imperial examinations would potentially be able to help him in his official career in the future, so he waited for the person he most favored under the list.
Magistrate Lu and Shen Lin were also familiar with each other. They had contact with each other many times before, including lawsuits involving Shen Lin’s family and paperwork for Shen Lin to buy a house.
Magistrate Lu was certain that with Shen Lin’s magnanimous manner, he would achieve great things in the future, so it was even more important to win him over now.
Su Wan wanted to see the list in person to see Shen Lin’s name written at the top of the list of the special County Examination. But she didn’t want to displease Magistrate Lu. Fortunately, the list would be posted for more than ten days, so she could come and see it in the afternoon when there were fewer people in front of the list.
The yamen guards cleared the way, and Magistrate Lu invited Shen Lin to leave. Shen Lin wanted to introduce Zhou Yu and Wu Wei to Magistrate Lu, so he said, “Magistrate Lu, those two are my good brothers, and they both passed the exam and became scholars.”
County Magistrate Lu was a man who understood the expressions of others, and he hurriedly said, “Brother Zhou and Brother Wu, why don’t you also come to my humble house for some tea?”
Zhou Yu and Wu Wei had no choice but to do so, and this was all thanks to Shen Lin.
Wang Luosheng and the student who wanted to bully Shen Lin just now were stunned.
One of them was still unwilling to accept it: “County Magistrate Lu, this champion is Shen Lin, right? They can’t be someone with the same name.”
Magistrate Lu turned around and asked, “Are you saying that I am confused?”
A yamen gaurd nearby hurriedly said, “The Qingzhou government has issued an official document, which clearly states the household registration. How could Magistrate Lu make a mistake?”
The student shrank back and said, “Sorry, it was a mistake by me.”
When Wang Luosheng first heard that Shen Lin was the top scholar, it was like he was hit on the head, and then there were one blow after another.
Wang Luosheng felt like he couldn’t breathe as he watched Magistrate Lu respectfully invite Shen Lin, Su Wan, Wu Wei, and Zhou Yu into the sedan chair.
The students who had just been beaten endured the pain and came forward to comfort Wang Luosheng: “Luosheng, let’s go and look at the list. Even if that boy is the top scorer, he is just a scholar. You are a juren. Let’s go and see what place you got.”
Wang Luosheng felt a little comforted and forced himself to look at the list of candidates for the Special Academy exam.
Su Wan and Shen Lin were riding in the same carriage. Su Wan asked, “Those people just vomited blood. I’m worried…”
Shen Lin held Su Wan’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, I know my limits. They are just suffering some physical pain.”
Su Wan felt relieved: “I am actually quite curious whether Wang Luosheng passed the imperial examination.”
Shen Lin was convinced that Su Wan was simply curious and had no feelings for Wang Luosheng, so he didn’t mind what Su Wan said. He knew the suffering Su Wan had endured in the Wang family, and he just wanted to give her a stable life in the future.
“He didn’t pass the exam.” Shen Lin replied calmly.
“Why?” Su Wan blurted out.
Shen Lin had not even seen the list himself, so why was he so sure?
Shen Lin replied: “County Magistrate Lu is the most worldly-wise. If Wang Luosheng passes the exam, there is no way that County Magistrate Lu would ignore Wang Luosheng, a juren.”
Su Wan nodded. In the past, Su Wan had to figure out everything by herself, and she had to think everything through. But after being with Shen Lin, it seemed like she had someone to share the burden with and someone to rely on.
With Shen Lin’s ability to deduce things from minor details, he will be able to stand on his own in the officialdom in the future.
Wang Luosheng and his classmates finally squeezed into the crowd and heard people talking about how all the successful candidates in this exam were from other prefectures and there was not a single one from Qingyun County.
There is no one promising in our county, alas.
Wang Luosheng’s heart sank, but some of his classmates still refuted those who were muttering, “What nonsense are you talking about? Isn’t Wang Luosheng, the scholar from Qingyun County, here?”
Students from Songshan Academy and other academies who had seen the list cast surprised looks at these people.
Many of the students who were looking at the list knew Wang Luosheng, and the looks they cast at me, Luosheng, were indescribable.
The students who were beaten endured the pain and made a way for Wang Luosheng to see the list.
The list of the Special Provincial Examination was next to the list of the Special Academy Examination, and Shen Lin’s name was clearly written at the first place on the provincial examination list.
Wang Luosheng didn’t want to take another look and searched for a long time on the list of Special Academy exams but didn’t see his name.
Wang Luosheng read it word by word and indeed did not find his own name.
Wang Luosheng failed the exam.
The Wang family did not expect this result, and the Yang family did not expect this result either.
Master Yang sat in front of the pear blossom desk at home, and a few strands of his hair suddenly turned white.
Everyone believed that Wang Luosheng would definitely pass the imperial examination, especially since Master Yang married his daughter to Wang Luosheng, which undoubtedly confirmed Wang Luosheng’s future.
Usually, the best young people who performed well in the exams in the entire Qingyun County all came from Songshan Academy. If Master Yang picked someone, there was no doubt that person would pass the exam.
This was the first time that Master Yang made a mistake. Because of this mistake, Master Yang married his daughter to this man.
Master Yang kept lamenting, “I was wrong, I was wrong.”
Mr. Yang’s wife, Yang Yunyan’s mother, stepped forward to comfort her. “Don’t be sad. There is still an exam in autumn. Even a horse can stumble. To be honest, no one in Qingyun County has passed the exam this year.”
“In a day or two, Yunyan and Wang Luosheng might come to our house. Don’t show it when the time comes. Although Wang Luosheng didn’t make it this time, he will make it in the autumn exam. Don’t look down on him now and offend him. When he passes the exam in the autumn, he won’t take you, his father-in-law, seriously.”
Master Yang was not a person who did not understand the truth. He drank a sip of tea to suppress his complicated mood and then settled Madam Yang. He wanted to tell Yang Yunyan that although Wang Luosheng did not pass the exam this time, there was still the autumn examination, so she must not neglect Wang Luosheng.
Wang Luosheng failed the exam, and Yang Yunyan was shocked. It was her father who told her that Wang Luosheng would definitely pass; otherwise, she would not have been so determined to marry Wang Luosheng before the exam.
The most important thing is that I will not spread any words about being a lucky charm for my husband. Now, I don’t know how people in Qingzhou Prefecture will laugh at me if they know that I am a lucky charm for my husband.
She had advertised herself as a lucky charm for her husband in order to target Su Wan, but in the end, Su Wan’s fiancé, who was not a lucky charm for her husband, passed the imperial examination, while her husband, Wang Luosheng, failed.
Yang Yunyan was filled with shame and anger and didn’t want to say a word to Wang Luosheng. Just at this moment, her mother came and closed the door to settle Yang Yunyan down. Only then did Yang Yunyan calm down.
By the way, there is still the Autumn Examination.
Besides, the reason why Shen Lin was able to pass the imperial examination was not because Su Wan brought good luck to her husband, but because Su Wan had never married Shen Lin. If Su Wan had married Shen Lin, Shen Lin would definitely not have passed the imperial examination.
The rumor that she was a lucky charm for her husband was definitely no longer true because Wang Luosheng didn’t pass the exam, but the fact that Su Wan influenced her husband’s fortune was not true.
Although Shen Lin was able to pass the examination to become a scholar, he would definitely not be able to pass the examination to become a juren.
After Wang Luosheng passed the examination to become a scholar, he studied for another two more years, almost three years, but still failed to pass the examination to become a juren. Shen Lin had only been in the school for a short time, so even if he was lucky enough to pass the examination to become a scholar, he would not be lucky enough to pass the examination to become a juren.
Yang Yunyan felt a little more comfortable. In Qingyun County, no one was more respectable than her.
Su Wan is just feeling proud now. After the autumn examination, Wang Luosheng will pass the examination and become a juren, while Shen Lin will still be a scholar. Wang Luosheng will be appointed as a county magistrate, and Shen Lin will have to study hard for another three years. During these three years, he will definitely surpass Su Wan.
As for if Shen Lin passed the imperial examination three years later, Wang Luosheng would definitely have passed the imperial examination and become a Jinshi by then. Anyway, no matter what, Su Wan would not be able to surpass her.
Since Shen Lin entered high school, his home has been frequented by many people. All the prominent people in Qingyun County came to make friends with Shen Lin.
Shen Lin and Su Wan responded enthusiastically one by one. Even though it was a prosperous time and people came to get close to them, it was a good way to make good friends.
Among these people who came to make friends, Shen Lin also got to know several businessmen who could help him with business, and these people were not easy to make friends with before.
Everything went smoothly, and on an auspicious day, Shen Lin and Su Wan got married.
The two of them originally lived in the same yard, so it was convenient for them to get married. They just went from living in two rooms to living in one.
Shen Lin and Su Wan both made many good friends, and on their wedding day, people came to congratulate them in an endless stream.
Shen Lin did not invite Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen. Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen never regarded him as their grandson, and Shen Lin did not want to regard them as his relatives.
But not inviting grandparents to the wedding was criticized, so Su Wan spread the rumor that Shen Lin’s father was not the biological son of Old Woman Shen and Old Man Shen, and the two of them treated Shen Lin’s father and Shen Lin very harshly.
Su Wan fabricated the story that they were not biological children, but the rumors about Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen mistreating Shen Lin’s father and Shen Lin were all true.
Therefore, the people of Qingyun County reached a consensus. Why bother to acknowledge such black-hearted grandparents? It would be infuriating if Shen Lin acknowledged them.
Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen were unwilling to give up and wanted to make trouble for Shen Lin to extort some money, so they took the matter to the government, which made the people of Qingyun County see their ugly faces more clearly, so no one condemned Shen Lin.
County Magistrate Lu went all out and helped Shen Lin and Old Man and Old Woman Shen to sever their ties clearly.
Su Wan didn’t feel ashamed. If she didn’t use such means to deal with scoundrels like Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen, she would not be able to get rid of them.
For a while, Shen Lin became very famous in Qingyun County.
But there were rumors that Su Wan’s fate blocked her husband’s fortune. Shen Lin was able to pass the exam before because he had not married Su Wan yet. Now that he has married Su Wan, Shen Lin will definitely have no hope of passing the autumn exam.
The people in Qingzhou Prefecture had just laughed at Yang Yunyan’s fortune of bringing good luck to her husband and were sneering at this fortune. But this time the rumor was not about a fortune of bringing good luck to her husband but a fortune of bringing bad luck to her husband.
Some people in Qingzhou Prefecture still didn’t believe it. Shen Lin had only been in the academy for a short time, and it was normal for him to have no hope of passing the autumn examination. What could it have to do with Su Wan?
However, there are also many people who believe that it is better to believe in destiny than not to believe in it, and that Shen Lin marrying Su Wan was not a good choice after all.
Shen Lin had not planned to take the imperial examination in autumn. He was planning to wait three years before taking the exam. During these three years, he could make the houses he bought valuable, study hard, and do business without any delay. But now there are such rumors. Although they are nonsense, Shen Lin still doesn’t want people to suspect Su Wan without reason.
Wang Luosheng failed the special examination. Although the Wang and Yang family members were sad, they still held out hope. After all, the regular autumn examination was not far away, and Wang Luosheng would definitely be able to pass it.
The attitude of the people around him towards Wang Luosheng has changed dramatically, but not too much. After all, there is still hope.
After Shen Lin and Su Wan hosted guests for more than ten days, Shen Lin told his friends that he had to prepare for the autumn examination and would not be able to communicate with them in the near future. Every day, apart from going to the academy, he would lock himself in the study to read. He only went out for a walk by the lake with Su Wan when he was really tired of reading.
Wang Luosheng also wanted to close the door and refuse visitors to study hard, but there were still many people who were sure that Wang Luosheng would pass the autumn examination, so they tried to curry favor with them before that.
As a result, guests still came to Wang Luosheng’s door from time to time. Wang Luosheng refused one of them once, and the person turned hostile and said that Wang Luosheng looked down on people and that he would definitely not pass the autumn examination.
Wang Luosheng failed the exam once, and he couldn’t stand everyone’s alienation, so he never refused again. Therefore, in everyone’s eyes, Wang Luosheng was still high above everyone and was respected and admired.
