Nian Qing's ironic smile made Tongzi Yao feel uncomfortable.
He frowned slightly and said,
"If I'm an eyesore, I'll leave."
Hearing Tongzi Yao's words, Nian Qing's smile vanished, and he said seriously,
"Young Master Tong, please don't misunderstand. I haven't seen you in a long time, and I'm simply delighted to see you today."
Tongzi Yao could naturally discern the underlying meaning in his words, but he wasn't one to argue with people. He nodded at Nian Qing and turned to leave.
Just then, Nian Qing spoke,
"Young Master Tong, I'm afraid your efforts will be in vain."
Tongzi Yao's steps faltered. Without turning back, he merely said,
"Oh? Your efforts don't seem to be any better than mine, an outsider?"
Until the last moment, how could he know he couldn't win her heart?
After speaking, Tongzi Yao didn't linger and walked towards his courtyard.
Nian Qing watched his departing back, his pupils contracting slightly, his eyes filled with an unreadable depth.
...
Bai Chuan Academy.
Today was the announcement of the examination results, and the students gathered in their respective classrooms, awaiting the yamen runners.
Unlike the imperial examinations for obtaining the Tong Sheng degree, starting from the Xiu Cai examination, candidates no longer went to see the results themselves. Instead, yamen runners would "announce the list."
The location where the yamen runners announced the list depended on the academy the candidate attended.
Therefore, despite it being the day of the results announcement, everyone arrived at their respective academies early, rather than going to the Qingzhou Examination Institute.
"Jiaojiao, I'm a little nervous," Li Jing said, her legs trembling.
At this moment, Nian Jiaojiao was no longer sitting with Chen Liangyu.
The classroom was now divided into two distinct factions, sitting on opposite sides.
And Li Jing was sitting next to Nian Jiaojiao.
"Sister Jing, what are you nervous about? It's not like you can't afford to lose that thousand taels of silver," Nian Jiaojiao replied helplessly.
"Bah, bah, bah!"
Li Jing spat three times and shot Nian Jiaojiao a glare.
"Don't jinx it. Money is a trivial matter, but face is everything!
And... if we lose, it means our faction will be missing someone from the top three! Doesn't that mean we're not as good as them!"
Nian Jiaojiao apologized helplessly,
"Yes, yes, yes, I was jinxing it. But... I have a question, I don't know if I should ask it."
Li Jing stopped her trembling legs and started biting her nails.
"Go ahead!"
Nian Jiaojiao: ...
Nian Jiaojiao paused for two seconds before saying,
"I know our Bai Chuan Academy is powerful, but as far as I know, Qingzhou has more than just our academy, right?"
"So?" Li Jing retorted.
Nian Jiaojiao said,
"We're betting on the top three. Is there a possibility that none of the top three will be from our academy?"
Li Jing completely stopped all her fidgeting. She was silent for a moment before saying,
"Jiaojiao!"
"Ah?"
"What the! Why are you only bringing this up now?!"
As Li Jing spoke, she reached out to pat Nian Jiaojiao's head, but Nian Jiaojiao, with her agility, easily dodged her, causing Li Jing to miss.
Li Jing said angrily,
"Miscalculation! I thought a best-of-three would definitely decide the winner, but now it seems there's a possibility of a tie."
Nian Jiaojiao added,
"There's also a possibility of a tie where two people from our academy get into the top three, one from each faction, and then it's still a tie."
Li Jing gave Nian Jiaojiao an exasperated look.
"Hmph, I really thank you. You've thought of everything!"
Nian Jiaojiao replied politely, "Sister Jing, you're too kind! Sister Jing, no need to thank me!"
Li Jing: m9(｀д´)!!!!
...
Dong dong dong!
Dong dong dong!
Dong dong dong!
Three yamen runners, beating gongs and drums, arrived outside the academy. Hearing the commotion, everyone quickly ran out of their classrooms to see what was happening.
At this moment, the yamen runners, beating their gongs, walked into the academy.
"Announcement of the list! Dong— Announcement of the list! Dong—"
The sonorous voices and the loud gongs, in unison, made the entire Bai Chuan Academy lively.
The gong-beating yamen runners stopped at the widest open space in the academy.
If nothing unexpected happened, they would announce the list here.
At this moment, not only were the Tong Sheng candidates present, but also Xiu Cai, Ju Ren, and teachers who had come to watch the excitement.
Everyone formed a large circle around the courtyard.
Nian Jiaojiao thought:
This must be what they call 'social death'!
Announcing grades in front of the entire school, the person who came up with this policy is a real jerk!
Just as Nian Jiaojiao was silently complaining, the yamen runner on her right struck the gong again.
Duang!
"Silence!"
The previously chattering crowd immediately quieted down, holding their breath as they awaited the results.
The yamen runner in the middle cleared his throat and nodded at the people on the sides.
The two on the sides put down their gongs and drums, took out a very thick scroll, each holding one end. They walked to the sides and unrolled the scroll.
A scroll about 2 meters long appeared before everyone.
The yamen runner in the middle began to "announce" from the far right,
"First, the乙榜 (Yi Bang) results, ranked from first to last: Feng Lijun, Li Jia, Zhang Yanyun, Wu Shuang, Shi Jumei, Shi Xiuyun..."