HLnovel Chapter 32, Top of the 4th Rank!
Chapter 32, Top of the 4th Rank!
Chapter Thirty-Two: Top of the Four Rankings!
The words echoed here, angering many people. They all knew that the three old scholars and Fang Zifeng had argued for a long time about Ye Ru's interpretation of the classics, and it seemed that Ye Ru had indeed failed.
These people were clearly mocking Ye Ru.
Ye Ru had brought so much honor to their Wenxing Private School, and had long held a significant place in everyone's hearts.
"Wang Xiaoyang, Liu Zhi, I respect you as classmates, but now you are disregarding the greater good of humanity for your own selfish desires. From now on, let's sever our ties and become strangers."
One person said indignantly.
“What you say is wrong, sir. Since the literary gathering, I have come to admire Yip Tong-sheng even more. Am I wrong to say this today?”
Liu Zhi and Wang Xiaoyang exchanged a glance and said.
"Hmph, I won't waste my breath arguing with you, lest I dirty my mouth."
The man snorted coldly and said nothing more.
Some people looked at Ye Ru with pity.
“Brother Ye Ru, don’t be discouraged. As the sage said, ‘Don’t be arrogant in victory, and don’t be discouraged in defeat.’ It’s okay if you don’t get to the top of the list this time. When the real imperial examination comes, you must learn from your mistakes and not write down the names of two rival sage families.”
Liu Zhi deliberately sighed, patted Ye Ru's shoulder in a pretentious manner, and said loudly.
Ye Ru glanced at Liu Zhi but said nothing, while Liu Zhi, realizing he had made a fool of himself, distanced himself from Ye Ru.
However, he discovered that those who had previously been close to him had all distanced themselves from him.
This undoubtedly made his face even more gloomy:
"When the results are released later, I'll definitely crush your spirits."
At this moment, Fang Zifeng, along with the three old scholars, walked to the high platform of the examination hall.
Fang Zifeng looked at Ye Ru with a serious expression, which made everyone even more uneasy.
"It's over. Even Mr. Fang is looking at Ye Ru with that kind of gaze. Ye Ru is definitely going to fail this time."
"Yeah, I guessed so. This is really painful news."
Many people looked at Ye Ru with sympathy.
"Ye Ru, if you are not on the list this time, I'm afraid your courage will waver, which will be a great disadvantage for the imperial examination. You might even fail the exam."
Zhao Cheng whispered from the side.
"It's alright. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. You think this little setback can shake my resolve to write books? Not so easy."
Ye Ru shook his head, his gaze firm, his dark eyes staring directly at Fang Zifeng.
“The benevolent are free from worry, the wise are free from confusion, and the brave are free from fear; they are truly great men.”
After a moment, Fang Zifeng sighed, then looked at everyone and said with a smile:
"Today is the day when the results of the preliminary examination of our Wenxing Private School will be announced. I am here to announce the results."
Inside the vast courtyard where the results were posted, countless people were silent, yet all clenched their fists.
Liu Zhi and Wang Xiaoyang both stood with their hands behind their backs, looking smugly at Ye Ru, Zhao Cheng, and the others.
They are now fairly certain that the top spot this time was chosen from among their own group of talented writers, not from Ye Ru.
"The top student in Class 4 this time is..."
Fang Zifeng, holding the curtain with one hand and reaching out from his sleeve with the other, pointed sharply at Ye Ru as everyone held their breath:
boom!
"That is Ye Ru from the Wilderness Class!"
As the curtain fell with the sound, the name at the top of the list was none other than Ye Ru.
The words following Ye Ru's name were also reflected in the light and caught everyone's attention, leaving them stunned.
The calligraphy is of the highest quality, Class A!
The interpretation of the classics is rated as Grade A!
Poetry, Grade A!
History, Grade A!
Calligraphy, Grade B!
The four A-level awards caused a brief silence in the room before erupting into a thunderous uproar.
"Is Ye Ru the reincarnation of that Great Sage of the Demon Clan? There were only five questions in the exam, four of which were A-level and one was B-level. Is this even fair?"
"This is the first time Wenxing Private School has ever had four top-ranked students and one second-ranked student. Even two years ago, when it was Han Dingsheng, there were only three top-ranked students and two second-ranked students, one of whom was a second-ranked student."
"Even so, it caused a sensation throughout Qingyun County back then, but the person in front of us is a top-four and top-one student."
Zhao Cheng wiped the sweat from his brow, then punched Ye Ru:
"Judging from Mr. Fang's serious expression just now, I was worried that he might give you a failing grade, but it seems that it was just a false alarm."
"To lose and then find" and "to have a close call" are probably the two most beautiful words in the world.
Qian Wei also joked with a smile.
At this moment, many people looked at Ye Ru and clasped their hands in congratulations.
"Congratulations to Ye Tongsheng! He achieved four first-class and one second-class rankings today. He will surely win the top prize in the upcoming imperial examination!"
"When the imperial examinations come around, I must make sure to get into one of the other two great private schools and bring fame to my Wenxing Private School."
"Ever since Han Dingsheng left, our Wenxing Private School has been repeatedly suppressed by the other two major private schools. Now we can finally hold our heads high."
Ye Ru returned the greetings with a wry smile, while Fang Zifeng watched him with schadenfreude.
Liu Zhi, on the other hand, had a gloomy expression and secretly walked outside. His grades had fallen to below tenth place.
Wang Xiaoyang also quietly slipped out of the crowd, his eyes filled with malice, his fists clenched.
"You took our Wang family's 'Huang Ting Jing' and insulted us. When my elder brother returns from his studies abroad, he will definitely make you pay."
After reviewing the exam results, Ye Ru secretly left the place. Just as he reached the door, he saw Fang Zifeng appear there at some point.
"Ye Ru, it must be unpleasant to live in constant fear."
Fang Zifeng walked over and smiled at Ye Ru.
"It's all aboveboard, and I don't feel like I've offended the two great families of Xunzi and Mengzi."
Ye Ru shook his head. At first he was a little worried, but later he felt relieved.
After all, what I said was fair. Although the two sides disagreed on their views on human nature, they were the same in terms of national governance.
“Indeed, although your interpretation of the classics was somewhat radical, it was reasonable and fair. Logically speaking, this minor examination is not under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Saints, but because you invited the Academy of Saints to arbitrate, the scholar Chen Sijun insisted on reading it. After reading it, he wrote an A grade without hesitation and said that if the two great saintly families found out and were dissatisfied, they could come to him.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Ru gave a wry smile, but his heart warmed. This old scholar Chen Sijun was indeed a prodigy.
"Sigh, I really don't know if there's some old monster living inside you. Have you even read the 'Huang Ting Jing'?"
Fang Zifeng patted his forehead, then changed the subject and said.
"I read it. I wrote for a while yesterday, but I'm still not quite familiar with the structure."
Ye Ru answered truthfully that after practicing all night, he also discovered his shortcomings. Although his handwriting was square and he had reached the level of a beginner, he still lacked a good grasp of the overall style.
"Come on, my calligraphy may be terrible, but it has at least reached the second level of calligraphy, the realm of silver strokes and iron hooks. Let me give you some pointers."
When calligraphy was mentioned, Fang Zifeng straightened his chest, quite proud, and then took the lead in walking towards his residence.
Ye Ru sighed helplessly and muttered to himself, causing Fang Zifeng to stumble and almost fall to the ground.
"Actually, a solution has already been found..."