Chapter 1314: Chapter 1311: During the Examination

Soon, the day had arrived for the posting of the examination results.

Early in the morning, Chu Sheng and Chu Zhang, led by Brother Lin, arrived at the wall outside the examination venue where the results would be posted.

As the appointed hour came, the announcement paper was pasted up and on it were neatly written names.

Chu Sheng had achieved third place and was designated as a Government-sponsored Student, which entitled him to a monthly stipend of money and grain from the imperial court.

Chu Zhang’s result was slightly worse, ranking thirty-first. Though his ranking was lower, he had also passed the examination, becoming a scholar, and henceforth was eligible to continue competing in higher-level civil exams.

Both brothers had passed.

Chu Lin’s cheeks were flushed with happiness, “Good, good, good.”

Seeing his own name even in a lower position, Chu Zhang was also satisfied.

In fact, he had been quite affected during the examination; otherwise, he could have performed even better. However, since he had not brought out his best strength, he felt somewhat guilty, especially since his parents had high hopes for him.

He might not be as intelligent as his cousin, but he worked hard and hoped to repay his parents.

“I’ve passed,” Chu Zhang said, unable to suppress his smile.

“Let’s go, let’s go back and celebrate,” urged Chu Lin, leading them out. They encountered other students who had passed, all of whom were pulling Chu Sheng along to celebrate.

By the time the two returned to their store, it was almost noon.

Chu Xing had been waiting at the store for quite some time and eagerly asked for news as they arrived.

“We’ve passed, all of us,” said Chu Lin, a bit excited.

This was completely different from when the Third Brother had passed; he was inherently clever but had been unlucky in the past, always running into problems midway.

But now, what he had thought to be his hopeless eldest son had passed the exam and become a scholar. For the third household, this was an absolute joy.

“I’ll write to Third Uncle. We owe it to him for taking the children under his wing, providing them with a good Master. Without that, who knows if they would have passed this time.”

“Chu Sheng, Chu Zhang, both of you should also write a personal letter to your Third Uncle.”

Chu Xing listened on the side with a twinge of envy. However, his own child was only two years old, too young for books just yet. Ultimately, this was a great celebration for the Chu family.

He smiled and reminded, “Brother Lin, should I write to our family back home?”

“Right, we must send word to our family as well.”

The group was ecstatic.

Meanwhile, at the Zhong residence, the mood was strained.

“Unfilial son!”

With a slap, a middle-aged man dressed in brocade struck Zhong Yan across the face. Instantly, a cut formed at the corner of his mouth, and a handprint appeared on his cheek.

“How dare you cheat,” bellowed Master Zhong, furiously kicking Zhong Yan away.

Madam Zhong hastened to support him, crying and pleading, “Master, how will we manage if you hurt your son?”

“Such a wretch deserves to be kicked to death,” spat Master Zhong, chest heaving, face dark with anger. “Do you know what the consequences of cheating are?”

Zhong Yan, having been struck, dared not show anger. Instead, he was utterly dumbfounded. “Father, I didn’t cheat; I had no idea there was something wrong with that test paper.”

“You had no idea?” Master Zhong laughed bitterly with ire. “When you saw the paper, are you saying you did not realize what it meant?”

Zhong Yan fell silent. Of course, he had realized that the test paper he had bought before the exam was rigged, but he had been overwhelmed by the immense joy. Who didn’t want to become a scholar? Unable to resist the temptation, he had written down the answers based on the content of the paper he had studied.

The truth was that he had succeeded, ranking fifth. The reason he hadn’t matched the answers exactly was that there were, purposely, some undisclosed parts in the rig. He thought scoring full marks would look suspicious, so the rest he filled in with random answers.

Seeing his expression, Master Zhong understood everything.