Don't Compare Answers After the Exam

The madam on the couch lazily flipped through several answer sheets Steward Wu had delivered.

Steward Wu lowered his head and reported, "Following your instructions, all the men among the Zhao Family's hereditary servants who are sixteen or older but under eighteen, and who were near Jingzhou City, have come. There are forty-seven in total."

"After Mr. Shen's selection, these five papers were among the better ones."

The person on the couch seemed not to hear him. Only the rustling of turning pages could be heard.

After a long while.

Clang~

The tapping sounded again.

Steward Wu immediately said, "Among them is one named Zheng Fa, whom Mr. Shen considers the most gifted."

The person inside drew out Zheng Fa's answer sheet.

"I have looked into it. Zheng Fa attended Basic Education for only one year, so he knows few characters. Though this paper is full of wrongly written characters, he actually memorized more than Ninety Percent of it—more than twice as much as the others."

The madam on the couch rose, set several papers aside, and finally spoke.

"You think Zheng Fa is the best?"

Her voice was even clearer and more pleasant than the sound of the golden hairpin striking the Jade Ring earlier.

"This Little Person is shallow in knowledge and can only speak of what I have seen." Steward Wu lowered his head. "Compared with the others, he has his shortcomings. The rest are more knowledgeable, have studied for several years, and some have even earned scholarly titles. Zheng Fa can only be said to possess slightly greater talent, but he still needs polishing. At present, he is probably not fit for use."

The Figure behind the curtain nodded lightly, as if she found his words reasonable.

But After a while, she suddenly gave a soft laugh. "The paper with the neatest Inscriptions, the one that remembered the most apart from Zheng Fa's, belonged to Gao Yuan? If I recall correctly, he is Second Branch's Steward Gao's only son?"

"Madam, your insight is impeccable!"

Cold sweat abruptly broke out across Steward Wu's back.

"Enough. These three." The madam pulled out Zheng Fa's paper and two others, handing them to the Maidservant beside her. "Send them all over for Xu Zheng to see."

"Yes!"

Steward Wu accepted the papers the Maidservant handed him. With his head lowered, he slowly walked out of the Small Building. A warm breeze drifted outside, yet a chill washed over his entire body.

Though the madam rarely involved herself in affairs, spent her days reclining, and could not even be bothered to say an extra word to others,

she truly understood everything in her heart. One sentence had left him trembling with fear—Second Branch's Steward Gao had been at odds with him years ago, though few knew of it. After so many years, when he spoke up for Zheng Fa, his exclusion of Steward Gao had also stemmed from certain unspoken selfish thoughts, which he had thought well concealed.

Madam...

Steward Wu shook his head. Since the madam had still assigned him work, he knew he had not truly lost her trust.

In the Waterside Pavilion, the youths gradually began talking among themselves.

Inside the Zhao Family Courtyard, they did not dare wander about freely, but youthful temperaments gave them little patience for waiting.

At first, everyone had been wary of Mr. Shen and Steward Wu next door. Later, they saw Steward Wu leave through the window, and not long after, saw Mr. Shen slowly stroll away. Their misgivings gone, they gathered together and began discussing the assessment, each adding a word or two.

Since the test had merely been dictation from memory, everyone had a fairly clear idea of their own results.

Even when they handed in their papers, one glance was enough to tell who had the better chances.

At this moment, half the group surrounded a youth wearing a scholar's headscarf.

"Brother Gao, that bookboy position is probably already in the bag for you," another student said with a reluctant clasp of his hands.

"That is hard to say." The Gao-surnamed youth shook his head rapidly, though there was still a smile he could not hide on his face. "Brother Chen's talent is no less than mine. Are you trying to praise me to death, Gao Yuan?"

The Chen-surnamed youth shook his head. "What I read all day are books of Confucianism and Legalism. Daoist books are precious; I had never encountered them before. Even listening to the Classic of Purity and Tranquility, I found it twisted and difficult to understand. In this regard, I cannot compare to you."

Seeing how candid he was, Gao Yuan did not know how to display his modesty.

After all, he himself felt that he had probably performed the best among them.

The other youths naturally saw his confidence. Hearing even the Chen-surnamed youth, already one of the most impressive among them, say so, they naturally became even more convinced that Gao Yuan had the greatest hope.

Zheng Fa watched the group of youths. Though none were older than seventeen or eighteen, their minds were far more mature than those of their peers in Another World.

They surrounded Gao Yuan, flattering him with slight awkwardness, yet they quickly cast aside the mentality of viewing one another as competitors—or rather, they sobered up very quickly and set themselves in the proper position in no time.

They were remarkably flexible in bending themselves.

"After today is over, let us feast at Ju Xing Tower and celebrate for Young Master Gao!"

Some had already begun calling him Young Master.

"Right, we took the same examination. That counts as fate bringing us together."

"Let's go, let's go!"

Huang Yu had originally been among the crowd, joining in the flattery of Gao Yuan. Before long, however, he slunk out and walked over to Zheng Fa's Side, his gaze carrying a trace of envy as he watched Gao Yuan hold forth grandly among the crowd.

Zheng Fa turned to look at him, a hint of question in his eyes.

Huang Yu's face reddened, and he said unwillingly, "They are going to Ju Xing Tower to drink... Gao Yuan is not paying. The others are pooling their money. I... my family has money... I did not bring any."

Zheng Fa understood.

Even flattery had a threshold.

Zheng Fa nodded and said naturally, "Then I cannot go either. My family has no money. Even if I wanted to bring some, there is none to bring."

Huang Yu looked at Zheng Fa, then turned to look at the youths who did not regard him as worth noticing.

Earlier, he had thought Zheng Fa was putting on airs.

But compared to them now, Zheng Fa suddenly seemed much more agreeable, and Huang Yu unconsciously felt a little closer to him.

"How did you do?" Huang Yu regretted the question as soon as it left his mouth.

Zheng Fa shook his head without saying anything.

He had always followed one rule: do not compare answers after an exam. Well, he viewed it as a gambling activity with little reward but immense potential for harm.

Seeing that he said nothing, Huang Yu believed he understood Zheng Fa's thoughts.

He himself had attended Basic Education for Five Years, yet this time he had written less than Ten Percent.

Zheng Fa had naturally done even worse.

It was normal to be too ashamed to mention it.

"It's fine, I did not do well either!" Huang Yu gave Zheng Fa's shoulder a vigorous pat and sincerely encouraged him. "Though I might have done a little better than you, only a little! But it's useless—I definitely will not be selected!"

After saying that, he quietly leaned close to Zheng Fa's ear and Muttered, "I saw through it long ago. Isn't that Gao fellow only impressive because his family has a steward and a little money? If you had such good conditions, you would not be worse than him!"

Zheng Fa looked at his sour expression and automatically replaced every "you" in his final sentence with "I" in his mind. Then he understood what he truly meant.

As the two chatted idly, Zheng Fa suddenly saw several people by the window sitting primly upright, and he was suddenly struck by the familiar feeling of the teacher is here.

Sure enough, Steward Wu was walking toward the Waterside Pavilion.

Beside him, Huang Yu was still warmly inviting him. "Steward Wu is here. We will probably have to head home together. Why not come to my house to play today?"

Before he had finished speaking, Steward Wu had already strode through the door.

"These three come with me. The rest of you may leave first." Everyone saw that he held three answer sheets in his hand.

"Gao Yuan."

"Han Cheng."

Then he paused slightly while holding the final answer sheet before speaking. "Zheng Fa."

Huang Yu blankly turned his head to Looked Towards Zheng Fa beside him.

Zheng Fa stood up while responding to his earlier invitation. A faint trace of sincere apology appeared on his face, and he said somewhat embarrassedly, "I am afraid I do not have time today. Another day?"