Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 224: The Battle for the Top Scholar in Nanjing
……

Jiangnan, Jinling Province.

The results were announced here one day later than in Shuntian Prefecture. The entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall was not much different from that in Kyoto, and was packed with people.

Unlike the others who looked nervous, several leaders of the British Society were fanning themselves and chatting and laughing leisurely among the crowd.

"I wonder who will be the top scorer in this year's exam." Someone said with a smile.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, and Brother Yuan all have great hopes. The test papers they wrote down from memory were praised by Mr. Chongwen, the former chief examiner."

The eldest brother smiled slightly. His article was very good this time. Even if he was not the first place winner, he would definitely be ranked high. He smiled and said modestly, "No, no, although my article was slightly better after being commented on by Mr. Chongwen, I still can't even think about being the first place winner. Brother Li has been studying with the heroes of the Qing Society in Kyoto for a year or two. I think he has made great progress and will definitely shine this time!"

Li Chunwenyan's face looked a little unhappy, but he didn't say anything.

He was not just competing with others, he was simply being trampled underfoot.

So much so that there is a shadow.

He is now afraid whenever he hears the last name Xu, and it even affected him in this exam, where he did not perform very well. He estimates that although he can pass, his ranking may be outside the top ten.

After passing the exam this time, all members of the Yingshe Society will gather in Kyoto to take part in the imperial examination, and they will definitely avenge their previous shame!
"By the way, why didn't Brother Yuan and Second Brother come? They should have arrived earlier, right?"

"It's unknown if he has already gone to the front."

"Go and take a look, the results might have been announced by now."

"Let's go together!"

When everyone arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, the official who called out the names had indeed already started calling out the names. Usually, he would start reading from the sixth place according to the order in which the names were written on the list.

From a distance, I could only hear someone reading: "The sixth place in the Jinling Provincial Examination in the Jiachen year: Yu Xinxing, who read the Book of Shangshu."

"Second Brother, it's Second Brother!"

"Yaqui!"

"incredible!"

"What a pity! If Second Senior Brother's article was published in Jiangbei, it would definitely win first place!"

"The champion of Jiangbei still needs the essay of our second senior brother Yakui. The 20th-ranked one in our Jinling Province can also be a sure winner."

The British society members were very excited.

The eldest brother even slightly stuck to his beard and said silently in his heart: Don’t say my name next time, don’t say my name!
His article is not much different from Yu Xinxing's. If his name is not among the next few places, it is very likely that he will be the top scholar or the first place in the imperial examination.

This is undoubtedly the best reward for him who has participated in seven provincial examinations!

really!

The next few names are not him, and they don’t even have anything to do with Ingsoc.

The senior brother breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems stable.

Li Chun was in a different mood from the eldest brother.

He felt that his article had little hope of making it into the top five. If it made it into the top ten, it would be barely acceptable, but anything below that would be a bit embarrassing.

So he pricked up his ears and listened carefully, hoping to hear the roll caller call out his name as soon as possible.

however……

"The 20th place in the Jinling Provincial Examination in the Jiachen year: Sun Aiyue, the classic of the Spring and Autumn Annals."

It’s not him yet!

How can it be!

Could it be... that he made it into the top five by luck?

At this time, the roll call had reached over fifty, and Li Chun didn't believe that with the level of his writing, he would fall so far behind.

After all, he was the top scorer in the college examination!
Thinking of this, Li Chun had a faint smile on his face.

He is now afraid that his name will be mentioned later.

Don't miss me, don't miss me...

It was as if the heavens had heard his thoughts, and indeed his name was not found at the end of the list.

Li Chun smiled faintly.

The fan in his hand was waving more and more briskly.

It seems that even if the performance is not good, my article still stands out from the crowd!
Not only him, the smile on the eldest brother's face was also getting more and more intense.

Steady!

The number of candidates for the provincial examination in Jinling Yingtian Prefecture had already been determined, with a total of 121 candidates. Now it was down to the 80th place, and the rest were people with little literary talent. With his outstanding performance this time, this would never be the case!

"How many members of my Ying Society have passed the provincial examination this time?"

After feeling relieved, the eldest brother looked around and spoke in a faint voice.

A person beside him shook his head and sighed, "At present, only Second Senior Brother and Junior Brother Su Mo have won. As for the others... we have to wait and see."

"Zhao Manyi, who ranked 121st in the Jinling provincial examination in the Jiachen year, is a classic of the Book of Rites."

"Okay, not bad!"

The eldest brother clapped his hands.

Even though I was at the end, at least I won one.

Otherwise, as the number one society in Jiangnan, only less than one candidate passed the autumn examination. Even if he passed the first place, it would be shameful.

"Hey, I've got three for now."

"Fortunately, we still have Senior Brother, Brother Li, and Brother Yuan to come to the finale. Could it be that three of our Yings will make it into the top five? That would be incredible, and we would be famous all over the world!"

As the top five were about to be announced, everyone in the British Society became excited.

The eldest brother and Li Chun couldn't stop smiling.

"Fifth place in the Jinling Provincial Examination of Jiachen: Yuan Xin, the original classic "The Book of Changes"."

As soon as Jing Kui came out, everyone cheered.

"Brother Yuan is really amazing!"

The eldest brother’s hands couldn’t stop shaking.

He was excited not because Yuan Xin won the first prize in the "Book of Changes".

But his name hasn't been called yet.

His article surpasses Yuan Xin's!

Is he really going to win the first prize?!

Li Chun became more and more excited.

Even if he doesn't perform well, does he still have hope of taking that seat?
Could it be that my level of writing eight-legged essays has reached such a high level without me noticing?
"The fourth place in the Jinling Provincial Examination of Jiachen: Li Yuecheng, the classic book "Shangshu"!"

Li Yuecheng?
This was a little-known person. It was not surprising that he often appeared unknown in the provincial examination hall and then became famous overnight.

Followed by.

"The third place in the Jinling Provincial Examination of Jiachen: Wu Juye, who read the Book of Songs!"

"Wu Juye got third place!"

"Prodigy Wu Juye!"

"Oh my god, he's only fifteen!"

"Young man, young man, passed the imperial examination!"

There was a lot of discussion among the crowd.

However, what makes everyone in Yingshe excited is that two of their four heroes have not appeared on the list yet, and their original classics happen to be the remaining two of the Five Classics... "Book of Rites" and "Spring and Autumn Annals"!
Could it be that they will occupy the top two places in this provincial examination?
The eldest brother and Li Chun looked at each other.

There was a spark in his eyes.

Who is the top scorer in this undergraduate program?
To be revealed soon!

"Second place in the Jinling Provincial Examination of Jiachen: Wang Nan, the classic of Spring and Autumn Annals!"

"It's Wang Nan!"

"Wang Nan won the first prize in the Spring and Autumn Annals!"

"He is still strong and healthy. How many times has he participated in the provincial examinations? He must be almost 70 years old, right?"

“I can only say that God will not let down those who work hard!”

Compared to the noise from everyone, the atmosphere on the British Society's side was relatively quiet at the moment.

Especially...Li Chun!
His original version is "Spring and Autumn Annals".

For the first five, there is one person who wrote each of the Five Classics, namely "Book of Poetry, Book of History, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals". It is absolutely impossible for there to be another person who wrote the original "Spring and Autumn Annals"!
Is it...

There were too many people and the voices were too mixed just now, and your name had actually been read out. Didn’t you hear it clearly?

(End of this chapter)