"Oh?"
Jiang Xiaobai's gaze shifted slightly.
That Brush Holder of the Azure Robe Society admired Du Chong too?
Well... this was interesting.
After all, although today's reopening of Orchid Pavilion Tower appeared to be a literary gathering, someone had already turned it into a grand spectacle.
And he himself was the most conspicuous target in that spectacle.
Now Du Chong from the Examination Hall had arrived as well.
He just happened to have earned a top-grade seal, and just happened to be admired by that Brush Holder.
Jiang Xiaobai found it hard to believe this was merely a coincidence.
As he pondered this, the thinner scholar spoke again. "Quite a few people received the top grade in this test."
"So, although this assessment is aimed at Jiang Xiaobai, he might not be the only one everyone watches!"
"Oh?"
Jiang Xiaobai looked at the thinner scholar and asked with a smile, "What do you mean?"
"Think about it, my friend."
The thinner scholar grew animated, lowering his voice a little. "If Jiang Xiaobai gets trampled down while the others who earned the top grade leap above him, hehe..."
"Wouldn't that... be even more interesting?"
"Exactly!"
The round-faced scholar nodded and snorted. "Everyone out there is going on about how remarkable Jiang Xiaobai is."
"How he passed the examination as the Top Graduate, how His Majesty admires him, and even... how he supposedly wrote those two world-shaking essays!"
As he spoke, disdain surfaced on the round-faced scholar's face. "But in my opinion, the man hasn't got much learning in his belly. That Top Graduate title... was probably bought!"
"So that's how it is!"
Jiang Xiaobai nodded, his expression unchanged.
Sitting beside him, however, Tang Ningshuang looked rather peculiar.
Yes, these two were telling Jiang Xiaobai to his face that he had no