Chapter 159: Jiangnan Tour 13

Chapter 159: Jiangnan Tour 13

The dispute had subsided, and Lin Nanlou let out a breath of relief. He turned to the remaining four scholars on the stage and explained to the audience below, "Scholar Dong has voluntarily withdrawn from the competition due to a sudden illness of his mother. We regret his withdrawal but greatly admire his filial piety....."

Listening to Lin Nanlou going on and on, Xu Zeping felt a wave of nausea as he looked at Jiang Changshou, who wore a benevolent smile.

After praising Dong Zhong's filial piety, Lin Nanlou transitioned to the theme of today's competition: "Today's competition will revolve around these four potted plants. Scholars, have you seen the small bamboo tubes densely hanging on the fortune bamboo?

Xu Zeping and the other three followed his gaze and indeed saw four potted plants with four fortune bamboo plants. Dense small bamboo tubes were hanging on the branches.

Lin Nanlou continued, "These four potted plants correspond to: Arithmetic Classics, Poetry and Literature, Policy Discussions, and Others."

The four scholars took a closer look and indeed saw corresponding banners below the potted plants.

"The 'Others' category includes couplets, riddles, and landscape painting," Lin Nanlou explained while observing the four's expressions. "The small bamboo tubes contain questions prepared earlier by the two judges. Each question has corresponding points, ranging from 1 to 10 depending on the difficulty. Poetry and Literature, Policy Discussions, and Landscape Painting will be scored on-site by the two judges.

The top three in the finals will be determined by the highest score.

A final reminder to the scholars: once the competition starts, you may freely take the small bamboo tubes from the fortune bamboo... but the rule is, you can only take one at a time and must answer the question before taking another. Taking multiple tubes at once will be considered a violation, resulting in immediate disqualification!"

After explaining the competition rules, Lin Nanlou asked with a smile, "Did all the scholars understand?"

"We understood!"

"Then the competition begins now, and it will end in two and a half hours."

As soon as Lin Nanlou finished speaking, Xu Zeping and the others rushed to the potted plants.

Since the result depended on the points total, they naturally chose their areas of expertise.

For Xu Zeping, his first choice was definitely the Arithmetic Classics, although his policy discussions were not bad, they were too time-consuming...

Xu Zeping and Jiang Changshou arrived at the Arithmetic Classics potted plant at the same time, glaring at each other, neither willing to yield. Just as Xu Zeping was about to reach for the bamboo tube in front of him, he said, "So, Jiang Scholar also excels in Arithmetic Classics, what a coincidence."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Changshou, though smiling kindly, moved swiftly and snatched the bamboo tube Xu Zeping was reaching for. "Sorry, Scholar Xu, I got it first," Jiang Changshou said.

Xu Zeping wasn't angry. He stood tall enough to glance at the points on the slip—ten points.

Ten points?

Xu Zeping raised an eyebrow, "Scholar Jiang, what great luck! You got the highest ten points on your first try, good luck!"

Xu Zeping didn't examine the question closely but caught a glimpse of its content. It was the type of question he had given to Lin Xusheng that day, only the numbers were different, and the difficulty had increased. Catching a glimpse of He Jiaoyu's smug grin from across the room, it was clear that he had deliberately set this challenge.

Because Xu Zeping would definitely choose Arithmetic Classics!

By a twist of fate, Jiang Changshou had snatched it. Xu Zeping sympathized with Jiang Changshou for three seconds in his heart, feeling somewhat unfortunate for him.

With that, Xu Zeping turned and grabbed another bamboo tube, opened it to see the question—land calculation... one point.

Hmm, although Xu Zeping thought little of it, he had no choice. He quickly wrote the answer and brought it to the judges. After it was approved, Lin Nanlou recorded Xu Zeping's one point on the leaderboard.

From there, Xu Zeping's luck seemed to have run out—mostly one, two, and three-point questions. However, his answering speed was impressive. In just half an hour, he had answered twenty questions.

A quick glance at the leaderboard showed his densely accumulated points. A few eagle-eyed spectators noticed—he already had 35 points, a full ten points ahead of the second-place Liu Fanxu.

Liu Fanxu chose Poetry and Literature. His answering speed was also fast, but the drawback was that the judges would score it together, so he lagged behind Xu Zeping.

As for the third-place You Lusheng, he chose Others, which included couplets and riddles. Answering these took more time, so he lagged seven points behind the second place.

The most unfortunate one was Jiang Changshou, who had earned zero points by this point.

He clutched the difficult problem slip, his face flushed red, and seeing Xu Zeping's speed in answering questions, he grew both anxious and angry, a layer of cold sweat forming on his forehead!

In his embarrassment and anger, he forgot about the rules and stood up to protest, "This is unfair, the two judges!"

Instructor He turned slightly, raising an eyebrow, "Oh, unfair? In what way? You picked the problem slip yourself, or rather, you snatched it from someone else. What are you complaining about?"

Unlike others who feared Jiang Changshou, He Zhu wasn’t fazed. Even if it were Jiang Changshou’s father standing before him, He Zhu wouldn’t show him any favor.

Jiang Changshou was so angry that his face turned dark, but he could only sit down awkwardly.

His father had warned him not to offend He Zhu, given his unique position.

Xu Zeping noticed Jiang Changshou’s frustration and inwardly scoffed, a bully who only goes after those weaker than him. Now he had met his match, hadn’t he?

Of course, Xu Zeping didn’t know He Zhu’s background. He only knew He Zhu as an instructor in the official academy and wasn’t afraid of Jiang Changshou, this old cunning one. In the Great Jing Dynasty, which valued propriety and respect highly, who would dare to defy their teacher or betray their ancestors?

Buoyed by his success, Xu Zeping’s mind worked even faster, and his speed in solving problems increased. He answered questions swiftly from one-point problems to nine-point ones, hardly noticing his score shooting up, nearing five hundred points, leaving the second-place contestant a full hundred points behind.

By this time, it was already the first quarter of the hour of the snake.

Xu Zeping glanced at the scoreboard. First place, Xu Zeping, four hundred and ninety points.

Second place, Liu Fanxu, three hundred and eighty-eight points.

Third place, You Lusheng, two hundred and seventy points.

Fourth place, Jiang Changshou, fifty points.

Jiang Changshou had managed to scrape by through sheer luck. After two hours, he had accidentally stumbled upon an answer to the first problem.

In the tight remaining time, he rapidly solved another ten or so problems, earning fifty points.

Now, with only the last quarter of an hour left in the competition, Xu Zeping knew Jiang Changshou had missed his chance. Even if he accelerated now, he wouldn’t be able to surpass You Lusheng.

Thinking of Jiang Changshou, drenched in sweat, desperately trying to answer questions, Xu Zeping felt a wave of relief. He got what he deserved!

The wheel of karma turns, and heaven spares no one!