"Hm?"
The middle-aged man visibly paused at the sound, then turned his gaze toward the Jia Character Area.
He soon spotted Jiang Xiaobai sitting there, waving a hand.
Taken aback, the middle-aged man looked at Jiang Xiaobai and asked, "You're Jiang Xiaobai of the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate?"
"That's right!"
Jiang Xiaobai nodded with a smile.
Seeing him nod, the surprise in the middle-aged man's eyes deepened.
Yes, he knew that the rumors circulating through Capital City credited Jiang Xiaobai with writing both essays.
He also knew just how rotten Jiang Xiaobai's former reputation had been.
A purchased Top Graduate title. A wastrel.
He had only been in the capital for a few short days, yet he had already heard those claims countless times.
But now, Jiang Xiaobai was actually sitting in the Jia Character Area!
By all rights... he shouldn't have been.
Yet the questions outside Orchid Pavilion Tower had all been arranged by the middle-aged man and his people recently.
And his subordinates would never play favorites or cheat. In other words, Jiang Xiaobai's presence here meant he really had answered all three questions correctly!
That did not fit the wastrel described in the rumors at all.
Though puzzled, the middle-aged man reacted quickly. Looking at Jiang Xiaobai, he smiled and said, "Heir Jiang, if you don't mind, please come up here to speak."
"Certainly!"
Jiang Xiaobai nodded, rose, and walked toward the middle-aged man.
At that moment, every gaze inside Orchid Pavilion Tower followed him as he moved.
Indeed, rumors about Jiang Xiaobai had spread far and wide over the past few days.
Now that the man himself had stepped forward, everyone naturally wanted to hear what he would say.
Jiang Xiaobai soon reached the middle-aged man's side and said with a smile, "Jiang Xiaobai of the