After issuing this command, Shen Moyuan rubbed his fingers over the spider pattern on his sleeve cuff, his eyes deep and seemingly turbulent with unspoken thoughts.
He lowered his gaze slightly and took a sip of tea from the cup, then placed it beside him. The faint clink of porcelain against wood echoed softly.
A nearby official reviewing exam papers noticed Shen Moyuan’s movement but detected nothing unusual. He merely glanced subconsciously before returning his attention to the scroll in his hand.
It appeared he had only been momentarily distracted by the sound of the teacup being set down.
Shen Moyuan paid no mind to the official’s glance. He set aside the exam paper before him and picked up another.
The moment he saw the content on the new scroll, his pupils contracted sharply and his breath hitched. The fingers resting on the paper trembled slightly.
This! This is impossible!
The brush in his hand slipped and fell to the ground with a sharp clatter.
The sound drew everyone’s attention in the otherwise quiet room. The officials reviewing papers instinctively looked toward the source of the noise and saw the fallen brush, its ink tip already bleeding into the floorboards.
When they lifted their eyes to the brush’s owner, they saw Shen Moyuan’s somewhat stiff expression, his gaze flickering uncertainly.
Aware of the surrounding stares, Shen Moyuan forced himself to regain composure. He raised his eyes to meet the others’ gazes, his own sharp and penetrating.
“What are you all looking at me for? Have you finished reviewing your papers?”
Having said this, he stood and bent to retrieve the fallen brush, placing it back on the brush stand before lowering his head to examine the exam paper with an appearance of focused concentration.
The officials exchanged glances, their eyes conveying ambiguous emotions, before quickly bowing their heads to resume reviewing their assigned scrolls.
Shen Moyuan stared darkly at the exam paper in his hands, reading it through from beginning to end once more. The more he read, the more his wildly pounding heart gradually calmed.
It’s not her!
After the initial surge of wild joy came an overwhelming wave of humiliated fury.
A cold light flashed in his eyes. Of all people to imitate, you had to imitate her!
With a stern expression, Shen Moyuan directly rolled up the exam paper in his hand and casually tossed it into a nearby bamboo basket already filled with many discarded test scrolls.
“Oh? Lord Shen, why would you discard a perfectly good exam paper like that?”
An official seated beside Shen Moyuan who had been observing him all along saw him throw a paper into the basket, unable to conceal the disgust in his eyes.
He had caught a glimpse of the exceptionally rich Literary Qi emanating from that scroll moments before. With such potent Literary Qi, the essay contained within must have been extraordinary.
To think Shen Moyuan would disqualify such a paper – truly typical of him, unable to tolerate talents surpassing his own literary prowess.
If not for this character, he would never have committed such beastly acts in the past.
What a pity that someone like him still received such high regard!
Bending over as if adjusting his posture, the official closed his eyes briefly to conceal his emotions.
He reached out and unrolled the discarded exam paper. With a single glance over its contents, he found himself captivated by the sharp and cunning brilliance of the essay.
His eyes shone with admiration – this essay was truly exceptional!
“Lord Zhang, that exam paper has been disqualified by me,” Shen Moyuan stated expressionlessly, his gaze fixed on Lord Zhang.
Lord Zhang’s hand trembled, nearly causing him to drop the scroll again. But remembering the quality of the essay, he struggled to maintain his composure.
“Lord Shen, I see no issues with this exam paper that would warrant its disqualification.”
“Hah! Lord Zhang, I am the chief examiner!” Shen Moyuan sneered, his tone resolute. “I declare this examination paper disqualified!”
Lord Zhang sighed inwardly, knowing full well he stood no chance against Shen Moyuan alone.
He closed his eyes briefly and was about to toss the paper back into the bamboo wastebasket when a hand stopped him.
“Chief Examiner Shen, while you indeed hold that position, you cannot arbitrarily disqualify a candidate’s paper without just cause,” the speaker said leisurely, yet with firm determination.
Shen Moyuan’s expression darkened, but the speaker was the heir of the Changping Marquis of the Dayong Dynasty.
Although Changping relied on an emperor with little real power, surface respect for imperial authority still had to be maintained.
“I am certainly not disqualifying this candidate’s paper without reason. Why don’t you all pass it around and examine the content?”
Shen Moyuan spoke while putting on an expression of stern impartiality.
“In my view, this candidate presumptuously discusses court affairs with excessive audacity. It would be better to suppress such tendencies.Anyone could tell this was merely a flimsy excuse to dismiss the heir of Changping. If he didn’t wish to confront Shen Moyuan and the forces behind him, it would be best to let the matter drop.
Shen Moyuan stared at the heir and said, “What does Young Master Zhou think?Zhou Jiming, the heir of Changping Marquis, flashed anger in his eyes. Glancing at the paper in his hand, he felt grateful he had followed Shen Moyuan here this time – otherwise he would have missed such promising talent.
His face immediately showed offended expression, appearing as if his temper had flared and he intended to oppose Shen Moyuan outright.
“Humph! I believe you’re wrong!”
Shen Moyuan’s expression instantly darkened.
Zhou Jiming wasn’t afraid of him. Lifting his head, he declared: “I find this candidate full of innovative ideas. The Dayong Dynasty urgently needs talent. In my opinion, such excellent writing deserves nothing less than the Top Candidate position.”
Shen Moyuan’s mouth twitched. What did he mean by “nothing less than the Top Candidate”?
Did this fool even know how difficult it was to achieve Top Candidate?
Back in his day, he had only managed second place in the Imperial Examination!
At this memory, his eyes darkened momentarily.
“Absolutely not!” Shen Moyuan immediately objected.
He couldn’t let Zhou Jiming ruin his plans!
Zhou Jiming paid him no mind. After all, he came here under imperial decree to recruit as many talents as possible.
This candidate was clearly exceptional, and he was determined to win him over!
The first step in recruitment was helping him secure the Top Candidate position!
“Nonsense! The Top Candidate position isn’t something to be awarded casually!” An aged voice interrupted their standoff.
Everyone turned to see a stern-faced elderly man slowly approaching.
“Lord Sun!” All present instinctively bowed to the old man.
This Lord Sun Heqing held the highest official rank and seniority among them, commanding their respect.
After reading the examination paper in Zhou Jiming’s hand, though none noticed the glint in Sun Heqing’s eyes.
Having finished reading, he slowly stroked his beard and said: “Since you all dispute how to judge this paper, let us directly employ Wen Guang Jian Juan!”
He scanned their faces: “Wen Guang Jian Juan represents ultimate fairness. I presume no one objects?”
Shen Moyuan, who had been about to voice opposition, closed his mouth. Indeed, Wen Guang Jian Juan was the fairest method, leaving him no grounds for objection.
“Approved!” The other officials nodded in agreement.
After all the exam papers had been reviewed, they took the selected top ten papers along with the one facing either disqualification or the fate of Top Candidate, and proceeded together to Wen Chang Pavilion.
Sun Heqing solemnly arranged all the examination papers in his hands one by one, after which everyone lined up before the statue of Emperor Wen Chang, kowtowing and kneeling in reverence.
The next moment, they saw the examination papers placed on the table slowly unfurl, then emit a bright white light.
Instantly, all eyes fell upon the last paper in the pile—for no other reason than its exceptionally abundant Literary Qi!
At Wenyuan Academy, Shao Yanzhe stood before his Fuzi, waiting for guidance on whether his essay contained any errors or omissions.
After reading it, the Fuzi stared at him with a complex expression, making Shao Yanzhe increasingly uncomfortable.
“Fuzi, is there something wrong with my writing?” he asked anxiously.
Could it be that his essay differed from the original body’s style, arousing the Fuzi’s suspicion?
The Fuzi shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong with your writing. I’m just feeling emotional—your essays have improved remarkably fast recently. It seems you’ve had an epiphany. With essays of this quality, you’re undoubtedly among the top three in this Imperial Examination.”
Shao Yanzhe was immediately overjoyed. “Really? Thank you for your guidance, Fuzi! I won’t disappoint your expectations!”
“Very well, continue your studies. After all, the situation hasn’t been resolved yet, and we don’t know when we’ll be free from this predicament.”
Seeing the worried expression on his Fuzi’s face, Shao Yanzhe opened his mouth to speak about Yun Weiyue, but since the Fuzi was currently deceived, he wouldn’t believe anything he said.
However, Yun Suqing had promised him not to harm any more academy students, so no one would be in danger for the time being.
He could only comfort his Fuzi: “Don’t worry, Fuzi. Perhaps there will be a turning point soon.”
“Let’s hope so!”
After bidding farewell to his Fuzi, Shao Yanzhe returned to the dormitory and saw Xuan Yao basking in the sunlight on the windowsill. It appeared its injuries had completely healed.
Seeing him return, Xuan Yao waved its tail at him in greeting.
“Aren’t you going to check the results?” Wei Yue inquired.
Shao Yanze replied, “I will, but there’s no hurry. I’ve made plans with my classmates to gather after the results are posted. I might return late.”
“Alright.”
After bidding them farewell, Shao Yanzhe headed toward the Examination Hall, finally meeting up with four other students at a teahouse across from it.
“Brother Shao, you’re late! You must punish yourself with a drink!” Liu Mingyuan joked.
“Fine! I’ll punish myself with a drink!”
Shao Yanzhe happened to be thirsty and immediately took the teacup from him, draining it in one gulp.
“Brother Shao is straightforward!” Liu Mingyuan laughed as he opened his folding fan, assuming the demeanor of a frivolous young master.
“Alright, Brother Liu, stop fooling around. The results will be posted soon,” Shen Jingzhou frowned, his eyes filled with anxiety.
“Why are you in such a hurry, Brother Shen? With your talent, the Top Candidate position is surely yours!” Knowing Shen Jingzhou’s anxiety, Liu Mingyuan could only console him this way.
“Brother Liu, don’t talk nonsense,” Shen Jingzhou disapprovingly glanced at him.
“Look! The results are out!”
Someone exclaimed, and instantly the crowd surged toward the Examination Hall.
“Brother Shao, aren’t you going to look?” Shen Jingzhou glanced at Shao Yanzhe, who remained seated, and reminded him.
Shao Yanzhe shook his head. “No hurry. There are too many people now—I wouldn’t be able to see anything even if I went.”
Shen Jingzhou thought about it and agreed, so he sat back down as well.
At the entrance of the Examination Hall, the results had long been posted. Candidates crowded around the notice, eagerly searching for their own names.
“Hahaha! I passed! I passed!”
“How can my name not be here! Wuwuwu! I failed again!”
“I passed too! I passed too! Wonderful!”
“This can’t be! How could I have failed!”
Successful and unsuccessful candidates pressed together, laughing and crying.
“Eh? The Top Candidate is Shao Yanzhe? Who is Shao Yanzhe?” Suddenly, one person pointed to the top of the list with a puzzled expression.
“Who is Shao Yanzhe? Why haven’t I heard of him?”
“I haven’t heard of him either!”
“Did he cheat? Otherwise, how could he possibly score higher than Shen Jingzhou!” one person blurted out abruptly.
Shen Jingzhou was a renowned talented scholar from Wenyuan Academy, holding considerable prestige among the candidates.
Instantly, the gazes of those who had failed the examination turned suspicious as they looked at Shao Yanzhe’s name.
Author’s Note: