"..."
After thinking it over, Jia Yucun finally let out a wistful sigh and shook his head, as though trying to banish the absurd thoughts that had just surfaced from his mind.
Once he had calmed down again, he resumed pacing, looking at the letter as he muttered to himself in astonished admiration:
"Heavenly Dao Essays: Grade A, Top!"
"Compendium of All Spirits: Grade A, Highest! Calamity and Fortune Arithmetic: Grade A, Highest! Immortal Law and Current Affairs: Grade A, Highest!"
"And the comments were still 'Pure and polished in both style and substance, with exceptional insight and especially strong grasp of current affairs'?!"
"Unbelievable!"
"Th-this is really the kind of result my student Daiyu could achieve?"
"Back then, I tutored her for years. We weren't together every day, but I still guided her for more than ten days each month. How did I never notice even the slightest hint that she had such astonishing talent and potential?!"
He began pacing around the room behind the yamen's second hall, the hem of his crimson official robe swaying with each restless turn.
"Tsk!"
"'If you haven't seen someone for three days, look at them with new eyes'... That may be an old saying, but it's only been a little over three months since we parted. I'd have to scrape my eyes right out of their sockets and still might not see enough!"
"This is unheard of!"
He gave another bitter smile, his voice once more tinged with disbelief.
"Forget me—among all the top scorers in past Immortal Selections, how many had even earned 'Grade A, Highest' in a single subject?"
"Let alone three 'Grade A, Highest' marks across four subjects!"
"No..."
"That 'Grade A, Top' in Heavenly Dao Essays was clearly because the examiners couldn't award another 'Highest,' so they had