Top Scholar

Chapter 31 Good Luck
"No way!" The student looked at the teacher. Although the teacher was still a little scared, he was aware of the seriousness of the matter and bravely squeezed into the crowd.

He leaned closer for a closer look and immediately spotted the problem. Pointing to the lower left corner of the red notice board, he exclaimed, "There's a corner missing here. It must have been knocked off by the crowd earlier."

"The paper on the wall could be squeezed off." Everyone was incredulous.

"How crazy were you all just now?" The old man was already angry when they didn't mention it, but upon hearing this, he flew into a rage and said, "You almost pushed me apart!"

But no one paid him any attention; they all bent down and began searching the ground for the missing piece.

However, the red paper is very fragile and easily broken. If it falls on the ground, it will be stepped on countless times. How can you find it?

"Stop looking," the old man called out to the group. "There's a list inside. Let's go take another look."

After saying that, he gestured with his lip, and a cow or horse quickly rushed into the mountain gate...

While waiting, people gathered around the missing corner and began to study it.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that some strokes were still left on the edge of the paper. Little Fatty Su Lang, with his sharp eyes, recognized the three characters "Erlang Su".

"It's 'Erlang Su,' one of ours!" Su Lang cheered, attracting his brothers to gather around. The more they looked, the more it resembled him: "It really is!"

"That's bullshit! It's not 'Erlang Su,' it's our 'Erlang Cheng'!" The Cheng family always seems to be on the opposing side.

"No, no, it looks like our 'Erhezhu'!" A third group of people wanted to claim the last spot.

The three families argued back and forth, unable to reach a conclusion, and their tempers flared. Luckily, the old gentleman returned quickly; otherwise, given the fierce nature of the local people, it might have turned into a full-blown battle…

The crowd immediately fell silent, watching as the old man, holding a list in his left hand and a wolf-hair brush in his right, walked to the side of the red list.

It was too late to rewrite a large sheet, so he simply picked up his brush and slowly wrote four meticulously crafted Yan style characters on the wall in the lower left corner of the red paper.

"Er, Lang, Su, Lu!" Everyone uttered that name in unison.

"Hahaha! Just say you're one of ours!" The chubby Su Lang said smugly, sticking out his tongue at the Cheng family members as if he were the one who had passed the exam.

"Hmph, what a stroke of luck!" The Cheng family members stormed off in anger.

Apart from those already listed, the other candidates and their parents hadn't left yet. Looking at the name 'Erlang Su Lu' written on the wall, they all said enviously, "This child is really lucky."

"Which child is named Su Lu?" Even the old teachers at the academy became interested, wanting to see what this year's 'Sun Shan' looked like.

"Yes, sir, it's me, your student," Su Lu hurriedly bowed. He was both happy and embarrassed—was this Sun Shan's state of mind?

"Lucky lad." The old man, using the lanterns of the oxen and horses as a guide, looked at the boy's handsome face, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Not bad, not bad, you can tell at a glance that you are a good child."

"Sir, you flatter me. I am not only not among the top students, but my name has been pushed to the bottom of the list. How dare I claim to be lucky?" Su Lu said modestly.

"Oh, young man, you don't understand," the old man laughed loudly. "Having your name pushed to the ground is a very auspicious sign, indicating that you will pass the imperial examination in the future!"

"Thank you for your kind words, sir." Su Lu found them agreeable and bowed deeply again.

The onlookers couldn't help but admire, "Scholars really know how to talk..."

"Here, take this pen as a souvenir." But the old gentleman didn't just offer empty words of kindness; he also handed the wolf-hair brush in his hand to Su Lu.

"I dare not refuse such a gift from an elder." Su Lu quickly accepted it with both hands, which drew another round of envy from the crowd.

"Goodness, your brother stole all the limelight." Su Youcai and Su Tai stood aside, watching this scene with satisfaction on their faces.

"Impressive." Su Tai gave a thumbs up and asked in a deep voice, "But old man, why do I want to cry?"

"Don't ask me, I want to too," Su Youcai said in a muffled voice.

As a result, sixty children passed the exam that year. No one remembers who came in first, but everyone remembers the lucky last-place student.

Erlang Su Lu!

~~
A full moon slowly rose into the night sky, following the outline of the Wumeng Mountains. Golden moonlight spilled onto the Chishui River, illuminating the shimmering waves and lighting the way home for people.

After seeing the results, the Su family immediately set off on their journey home. Just as their parents had been willing to spend money before the exams, they were now incredibly frugal. Staying at a hotel was out of the question, and they wouldn't even agree to a meal in town…

But Su Lang and the others were already quite content, as their families didn't take away the delicious food just because they failed the exam.

“Here, there’s a chicken leg left. Let’s split it in half.” Su Lang said nonchalantly, wanting to share with Su Lu.

“You need it more now.” Su Lu shook his head.

"That's true. You passed the exam, and even sorghum cakes taste better than chicken legs." Su Lang took a big bite of the chicken leg and mumbled, "Unlike me, even chicken legs taste like wax to me."

"You seem to be enjoying your food," Su Lu couldn't help but chuckle. The chubby boy ate with such gusto that it was almost unbearable to watch.

He patted Su Lang's soft belly and kindly reminded him, "But be careful of stomach prolapse when you eat while walking."

"I can't worry about that anymore. I call this 'sorrow in food'." Su Lang said in a muffled voice, "To be honest, I started my education at the age of five and studied for eight years. I can be considered hardworking, and people have always said I'm smart since I was a child."

Su Lu nodded and said, "Of course."

“But even with all that, I still failed the exam.” Su Lang said to Su Lu, “And you only studied for three months, yet you passed. Is this the difference between a person and a genius?” “I’m not a genius, I’m just an ordinary person.” Su Lu quickly denied it, “Geniuses have photographic memories. Have you ever heard of someone having to memorize something seven times? They can’t even pass the academy entrance exam.”

"I failed the exam too," Su Lang said with a wry smile, then added earnestly, "But I believe you're a genius. There are many people with photographic memories, yet many can't even pass the county-level exam. But I believe you can become the first county-level scholar in our Su family!"

"That's not necessarily true," Su Danyou said quietly from the side.

"Is that you?" Su Lang rolled his eyes at him.

"It wasn't me either, have you forgotten Chun-ge'er?" Su Dan possessed an innate talent for arguing.

"Oh dear, how could I forget about my elder brother?" Su Lang slapped his forehead and said apologetically to Su Lu, "Then I wish you become the second scholar."

"Haha, alright, thanks for your kind words." Su Lu also believed that Chun Ge'er would definitely pass the exam... If even a top student like his elder brother couldn't pass the Xiucai exam, then the world would be too dark.

"So, are you still going to study?" Su Lu asked Su Lang softly.

"Study? Why wouldn't I study? I'm not trying to compete with you guys. My goal is to pass the imperial examination. When I take it, you won't be my opponents anymore!"

“Hmm, they might even be stronger than us,” Chew Essence said.

The chubby boy ignored him, thinking to himself, "I can take the exam again next year, so I'll definitely work hard for at least a year!"

Then, he grinned and said to Su Lu, "Brother Qiu, why don't you pass on your secret techniques to me?"

“Okay.” Su Lu nodded and smiled, “I’ll give a talk to everyone at the clan school sometime later.”

"Go, Qiu-ge'er!" The other three clan brothers cheered as well. After this battle, Su Lu's 'miraculous learning method' had become a well-known name in the clan.

~~
Chun Ge'er and Xia Ge'er walked together at the front of the procession.

Ever since he saw the rankings, Su Tai's mouth has been wide open, and he occasionally lets out a silly laugh.

Su Man was the complete opposite of him; after reading it, she fell into deep thought and didn't say a word halfway through the journey.

Even the usually taciturn Su Tai couldn't hold back any longer and asked in a low voice, "Brother, aren't you happy that Qiu-ge'er got into the academy?"

"I'm happy..." Su Man said casually.

"I can't tell..." Su Tai muttered.

"You're his brother, not his mother!" Su Man sensed his displeasure and said speechlessly, "I'm also his brother, not the eunuch beside him!"

"Oh..." Su Tai shrank his neck and immediately became obedient.

"I've been thinking about something." However, Su Man still revealed her thoughts to Xia Ge'er. "Don't you think what happened tonight is a bit strange?"

"Yes, it's amazing!" Sutai nodded repeatedly.

"No, I mean there are ghosts and gods secretly helping us..." Chun Ge'er said mysteriously.

"Huh?" Su Tai said with a chill down his spine, "Brother, I'm scared, can we talk about this during the day?"

"See, you won't listen even if I tell you." Su Man said with a look of disgust.

"Then you tell me," Su Tai said through gritted teeth.

"I mean, Qiu-ge'er's eventual success in passing the imperial examination was as if divinely inspired," Su Man sighed softly.

“Yes, I know this idiom.” Su Tai nodded and said, “This metaphor is very apt.”

“I’m not using this as a metaphor, it’s because… there really is a divine force helping him.” Su Man lowered his voice and said, “Otherwise, how could it be so miraculous?”

"I see!" Su Tai exclaimed in sudden realization, clapping his hands and saying, "I knew it!"

He spent much more time with Su Lu than his older brother, and knew that there were many unusual things about his younger brother.

Su Tai may seem rough, but he is actually very thoughtful. He always felt that his younger brother was like a different person after suffering from heatstroke.

For example… he woke up and didn't recognize his family. He couldn't even tell if the mushrooms on the mountain were poisonous. Su Lu had grown up in the mountains since he was a child; gathering wild mountain produce was his job!
Not to mention, his personality changed drastically; he began to love learning. He actually managed to get into Taiping Academy after just one hundred days of intensive study!

Su Lu's various unusual behaviors made Su Tai secretly suspicious. However, there was no benefit in asking some questions, so he preferred to keep them to himself forever.

Now, after hearing the explanation from my most admired elder brother, Su Tai finally understands! Oh, so my brother was possessed by a deity... That explains everything.

He felt even more sorry for his younger brother now. Forgetting his fear of ghosts, he grabbed his older brother's hand and asked, "Won't that thing harm Qiu-ge'er?"

"No, absolutely not!" Su Man shook her head resolutely, "I would never harm anyone but my family!"

"Are you so sure, brother?" Su Tai wasn't that he didn't trust his brother, but it was a matter of his beloved younger brother's safety.

“I’m sure.” Su Man reached out and lifted the heavy book box, lowering her voice as she said, “Because it’s a treasure passed down from Mr. Su Dongpo…”

(End of this chapter)