Chapter 70: Prefectural Examination Second Round

Chapter 70: Prefectural Examination, Second Session

When he walked out, it turned out to be Zhao Kangsheng.

Zhao Kangsheng was still in the same dark blue robe from yesterday, with Shen Zhenghao, Gu Rong, and the others gathered around him.

Anyone who didn't know better might think Shen Zhenghao and the others were ganging up on him.

Gu Chaoning figured they must be talking about yesterday's "little peanut" incident, but what surprised him was that Zhao Kangsheng actually had the nerve to come over.

Everyone was crowded around Shen Zhenghao, so for a moment, nobody noticed Gu Chaoning had walked up.

Shen Zhenghao was red in the face and his neck was bulging: "You say it wasn't you, then who was it!?"

Oh, now Gu Chaoning got it.

This Zhao Kangsheng was playing them for fools, trying to weasel his way out of it.

"It's all a misunderstanding, Brother Shen, a total misunderstanding!" Zhao Kangsheng raised his hands, "If I'd really done it, would I dare show my face here today?"

Zhao Kangsheng was sweating bullets, frantically wiping his forehead: "The reason I came to see you today, Brother Shen, is that I've got some genuinely good news."

"Don't change the subject. We were all waiting outside the exam hall after having our baskets checked, and you were the only one who came near the five of us the whole time. If it wasn't you, then who the hell was it!?"

"Brother Shen, you're doing me a real injustice!" Zhao Kangsheng looked utterly devastated.

Gu Chaoning stood off to the side, studying Zhao Kangsheng's face.

He spoke up clearly: "Brother Zhao, you're so upfront that I naturally believe you. But what Brother Shen said is true—during the wait, you were the only one of us who talked to all five."

Hearing Gu Chaoning's voice out of nowhere, everyone turned to look at him.

Shen Zhenghao's eyes went wide, while Zhao Kangsheng looked relieved and pleased at the same time.

Gu Chaoning continued: "Everyone's handwriting is a little different. Why don't we have Brother Zhao write something out so we can compare it to the note and clear his name?"

Zhao Kangsheng's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.

Gu Chaoning's steady, dependable manner throughout this trip had made a strong impression on Shen Zhenghao and the others. Even though they didn't fully get it, they quieted down when he spoke.

Gu Chaoning went inside to grab some paper and a brush, and Zhao Kangsheng quickly wrote out a passage from memory.

Shen Zhenghao, Gu Rong, and the other three all looked at Gu Chaoning simultaneously. Gu Chaoning picked up the paper Zhao Kangsheng had written, smiled, and said, "Looking at the handwriting, it really doesn't look like Brother Zhao's work."

Zhao Kangsheng let out a laugh that was both relieved and triumphant.

He looked at Shen Zhenghao: "Brother Shen, I really didn't lie to you!"

Shen Zhenghao still eyed him suspiciously.

Gu Rong silently looked at the paper in Gu Chaoning's hand, then at Gu Chaoning himself, and stayed quiet.

Zhao Kangsheng said a few more things, then managed to coax Shen Zhenghao outside.

As soon as the two were gone, Gu Rong immediately asked, "Brother Ning, was the one who pulled that trick really not Zhao Kangsheng?"

"I don't know," the others were taken aback. "I never even opened the note to look at it."

Gu Rong was confused.

Huh?

Gu Chaoning held the paper in his hand, watching the written page flutter in the wind: "Don't worry, let's wait and see how the second session goes first."

Actually, there was no need to question it at all—anyone with half a brain could figure out that the troublemaker was Zhao Kangsheng.

But Gu Chaoning was curious why Zhao Kangsheng had the guts to show up in person the next day.

The results of the first session of the prefectural exam would be posted at the you hour (roughly 5-7 PM) on the second day.

Generally speaking, just from the first session's results, everyone could roughly guess whether they'd pass after the remaining two sessions.

Shen Zhenghao didn't come back until after lunch.

Since he'd also had something extra in his exam basket yesterday, Gu Rong was the first to ask Shen Zhenghao what Zhao Kangsheng had wanted.

Unexpectedly, Shen Zhenghao, who had stormed off in a huff, came back looking troubled and evasive.

In fact, he even seemed to be covering for Zhao Kangsheng.

Gu Rong was taken aback, but out of consideration, he didn't push it.

The afternoon was spent as usual, reading and resting. It wasn't until the end of the wei hour (roughly 3-5 PM) that the five of them left the courtyard together.

Chen Hengdao, being the oldest, always made a point of looking after the youngest, Gu Chaoning. Seeing the crowd outside, he had Gu Chaoning walk on the inside while he took the outside spot.

After Gu Chaoning switched positions, he ended up right next to Shen Zhenghao on the left.

Seeing Shen Zhenghao's odd expression, Gu Chaoning couldn't help but get even more curious.

Outside the exam hall stood a wooden board where the results of each session, along with the final outcome, were posted.

By now, a crowd of scholars and students had already gathered there.

The nearby tea stalls were packed too.

The five of them arrived a bit late, and before long, an official came out holding a roll of rice paper, followed by another carrying a pot of paste.

The two called out as they walked over to the wooden board and quickly pasted up the paper with the results.

Even though the results were right there, everyone couldn't help but chatter.

"The first session's results are out. I wonder who's in first place."

"Do you even need to ask? It's gotta be Guo Yunhe from Qingshan Academy!"

"Pfft, who's Guo Yunhe? First place is definitely Yuan Wenbin—Yuan Wenbin from Donglin Academy!"

"Hehehe, I think it might be that Song Li who came back from the capital."

"Hey, hey, hey, who stepped on my foot? Watch it—my mom just bought me these new shoes!"

"Hey, you in front, you done looking? Don't block me."

"Who's in first?"

"Suixian, Xiaohe Village, Gu Chaoning?"

"Is first place our Guo Yunhe from Qingshan Academy?"

“It's Gu Chaoning! Who is Gu Chaoning?”

Boxed in by the four of them and unable to squeeze in, Gu Rong and Xu Huaisheng’s eyes went wide with surprise and excitement.

Gu Chaoning quickly put a finger to his lips, then peered inside.

The prefectural exam drew a bigger crowd than the county exam—six hundred and forty-two candidates across eight counties.

Gu Rong did his usual solid job, coming in twenty-eighth in the first round. Shen Zhenghao was sixty-seventh, Xu Huaisheng two hundred and seventy-eighth, and Chen Hengdao landed right at four hundred.

Chen Hengdao stared at his score, looking a little dazed, but mostly just calm.

After checking the first round’s results, they didn’t hang around. They each grabbed a bowl of noodles at the stall, then headed back to the courtyard together.

Shen Zhenghao, for his part, had also gone quiet and calm.

Once they were back at the courtyard, Shen Zhenghao finally spilled what Zhao Kangsheng had wanted.

“Zhao Kangsheng says he’s got a way to get a look at the questions for the next two rounds.”

Everyone was taken aback.

After all, the imperial exams were strictly policed, and getting caught cheating meant execution.

Besides, the kind of people who pulled stunts like that usually had serious backing.

Shen Zhenghao’s face was dark, and he was burning with shame.

He’d been tempted that morning, sure. But then he saw his own score and the others’—and it hit him like a bucket of cold water, snapping him out of it.

Gu Di and the rest of them had burned the midnight oil, grinding away for this exam. Could he really sink to something so low at the final stretch?

And on top of that, he had guys like Gu Di around—brilliant, generous with their time, always happy to help. No matter which of the four came asking about their studies, they’d get a thorough answer.

He already had that advantage—how could he even think about going down some shady back alley?

Drowning in shame, Shen Zhenghao laid out everything Zhao Kangsheng had said and done when he’d pulled him aside that day.

When he finished, everyone traded looks.

Getting a peek at the next two rounds of exam questions for just fifty taels of silver?

It’d be a lie to say their hearts didn’t skip a beat—just a flicker, like a silk veil brushing past.

Especially Chen Hengdao, the oldest and the worst scorer of the bunch.

But the temptation only lasted a second.

And just as fast, they pulled themselves together.

If they failed, their elders, teachers, and classmates wouldn’t say much. But if they cheated and got caught, it was execution or exile. And even if they didn’t get caught, they’d never be able to live with themselves.

Everyone instinctively turned to Gu Chaoning, who’d been quiet the whole time.

Gu Chaoning wasn’t saying anything because he was thinking about his past life.

In his past life, he hadn’t taken the exam the same year as Gu Rong, but he remembered clearly—no big cheating scandal had happened back then.

“Let’s just ignore him for now.”

Gu Chaoning figured Zhao Kangsheng was just playing on people’s worst instincts to line his own pockets.

When he’d checked the scores earlier, he’d noticed Zhao Kangsheng’s rank too—near the bottom, around five hundredth.

If he were Zhao Kangsheng, he’d skip town with the money after the second round.

And the students who got scammed wouldn’t dare raise a stink. They couldn’t find him, so they’d just have to swallow their pride and eat the loss.

“Brothers, lean in...”

The next day, outside the exam hall.

The five of them waited outside as usual.

Compared to the first round, fewer people showed up for the second.

Zhao Kangsheng didn’t come over this time. He was surrounded by a crowd, standing in the middle looking mighty pleased with himself.

Ever since Shen Zhenghao turned down his offer to buy the questions, Zhao Kangsheng had been giving him the cold shoulder.

When the officials showed up, they ran the checks just like the first round.

Strangely enough, even after what happened to the guy caught with cheat sheets yesterday, six people still got busted today.

All six of them sobbed and wailed, swearing they were innocent.

The last one even broke free from the guards twice.

Gu Chaoning instinctively scanned for Zhao Kangsheng but didn’t see him anywhere.

The official next to him barked at him for looking around, so Gu Chaoning dropped his gaze and headed in with his checked bag.

The second round went the same as the first, except this time the guy to Gu Chaoning’s left kept crying while he wrote.

From start to finish, he cried five times.

And it wasn’t just crying, either—after each round, he’d sniffle and hiccup for ages.

Every time the sobbing drifted over from next to him, Gu Chaoning would stop and go quiet.

Wondering where on earth this crybaby had crawled out of.

As he was leaving, he deliberately turned to look at the guy on his left, trying to get a look at the crybaby’s face in the dim light.

He didn’t catch the face, but he did spot the teardrops glistening in the lamplight.

Gu Chaoning: “...”

Dude really cried from start to finish, huh.

He looked away and walked out.

The five of them met up outside the exam hall and headed to the same noodle stall as yesterday.

Knowing tonight would confirm their theory, they traded glances, buzzing with the thrill of a scheme.

Gu Chaoning, meanwhile, was eating his noodles when he heard that familiar sobbing and thought for a second he was hearing things.

He followed the sound and only caught a glimpse of a figure in a green robe from behind, before the crowd swallowed them up.