As soon as daylight broke, He Shunian and his group appeared in the main hall, ready to head to the examination venue together. Unexpectedly, halfway there, they ran into Huang Ming.
"Junior Brother Gu, you all are really early! I ca out from the inn and bumped right into you, let’s go check the list together!" Huang Ming stepped forward and exchanged greetings with Gu Chengyu and his companions, chatting about his recent experiences as they walked.
Gu Chengyu noticed the faint sweat on Huang Ming’s forehead and his slightly rapid breathing, and he smiled slightly. The inn where Huang Ming was staying was not on their route, yet here he was, appearing on their path early in the morning. This obvious lie was sothing no one wanted to expose!
Huang Ming glanced at Gu Chengyu and saw him listening with a smile. Huang Ming felt a bit frustrated, as this young Gu Chengyu was articulate and hard to approach! He glanced at the enthusiastic Gu Wanhua and decided to focus on winning him over instead!
Having made up his mind, he beca more affable towards Gu Wanhua.
Gu Chengyu watched coldly as Huang Ming and Gu Wanhua quickly beca friendly, albeit with a sense of admiration. Huang Ming’s persistence and patience to achieve his goal were truly comndable! Initially, Gu Chengyu was a bit confused as to why Huang Ming was so intent on approaching the Gu Family.
After pondering over it for a couple of days, he surmised that it was because his family had no solid foundation; would Huang Ming dare act this way with a more prominent family? People always choose the softest target!
No matter the intentions of the few walking together, talking and laughing, they soon reached the examination venue.
"Let’s wait a mont before going in! Look at all those people, it’s too crowded, but we’ll find out eventually!" Gu Chengyu stopped Ming Mo, as their group size had increased again. It would be difficult for Ming Mo to search alone!
"Alas! My essay might not have been ideal, who knows if I made the list!" Gu Wanhua had so concerns, even though in the past few days at the Prefecture, he had learned so about essay writing from Gu Chengyu and the others, he still lacked confidence!
"As long as you rember the key points I taught you, your answers might not stand out, but there’s still a chance of passing." Initially, Gu Wanhua was unwilling to ask him questions, but it was only during group discussions that the issue arose.
Previously, Gu Wanhua had only a superficial understanding of essay writing, and it was only after patient explanations that he gained so insight. It seed he hadn’t fully integrated what the teacher had taught, and afterwards, he didn’t seek clarification from fellow students, let alone ask the teacher.
"I can’t wait any longer, I’m going in to have a look!" Gu Wanhua felt that waiting was torture and decided it was better to push in and check.
"Wanhua! I’ll go with you!" Seeing Gu Wanhua squeeze into the crowd, Huang Ming followed after him.
Seeing this, Gu Chengyu understood everyone’s eagerness and had Ming Mo follow suit. In fact, how could Gu Chengyu exempt himself from custom? He too wanted to know the exam results imdiately.
"Oh? First Place is Gu Chengyu? From Qinghe County." One of the examinees imdiately spotted the Prefecture Chief’s na.
"Oh! You an Gu Chengyu? It’s not surprising, he’s the county champion in Qinghe County, topping all five sessions. His poetry and essays are well-known across the county!" another examinee felt a sense of pride as they recognized Gu Chengyu’s top placing, as they were from the sa county.
"Is that him? The verse ’Can embody a thousand miles, to reflect the nostalgia of Song holand’ is indeed classic. So, it was written by your county’s champion? I must pay him a visit. I wonder if you might introduce us?"
This examinee, passionate about poetry, had just found his na on the exam list and ran into soone talented in literature, wanting to make acquaintances.
Their conversation was loud enough for Gu Chengyu, with his keen hearing, to overhear. He wasn’t surprised about winning first place, given his confidence in his essay.
He just didn’t expect to have gained so fa already, albeit through poetry.
Ming Mo squeezed out from the frenzy of examinees, his clothes twisted and shoes trampled beyond recognition.
"Congratulations, young master, on winning Prefecture Chief!" Ming Mo, ignoring his attire, eagerly reported the happy news to Gu Chengyu.
"Alas! Chengyu truly is the county champion; we are far behind!" Sun Xian and others ca forward to congratulate him, as Gu Chengyu’s victory as the Prefecture Chief was within their expectations.
Gu Chengyu’s essays and poetry were well-regarded, and the teacher had once said that not only was Gu Chengyu a talented scholar, he was also destined for officialdom.
"All of you gentlen have passed as well, truly delightful and congratulations!" Ming Mo reported the ranks of He Shunian and the others, with Gu Wanhua ranking the lowest at forty-seventh, but at least he passed.
"Wanhua, you’re not as quick as Ming Mo! Ming Mo’s already out, and Wanhua is just now squeezing through!" With everyone passed, they were in the mood for jokes.
"Since he’s already squeezed in, let’s wait here for him! Anyway, they’ll post the exam papers later!" Sun Xian, smiling, watched Gu Wanhua finally squeeze to the front, finding his na on the long table, jumping for joy.
"Look, this is the Prefecture Chief!" ntioned the examinee from Qinghe County, pointing at Gu Chengyu to those around him. A few other examinees had already gathered, preparing to et Gu Chengyu together.
"Is this Junior Brother Gu? I didn’t expect the Prefecture Chief to be so young. Truly unexpected." An examinee sincerely praised, for one so young to be both the county and prefecture champion was indeed enviable.
"We admire Junior Brother’s talents and would like to invite him to a poetry gathering hosted by the Prefecture’s scholars in two days!" Another examinee, a Prefecture local, ntioned that so students hosted poetry gatherings where they composed poems and collected noteworthy ones into a compilation.
"I’m honored by the senior brothers’ regard, but I’m afraid they aren’t aware that I’m not a Prefecture local. After the exams, I must return ho, so delaying my return might worry my parents."
Gu Chengyu planned to stay in the Prefecture for a couple more days to attend to matters at the First-class House before returning ho. He had no ti for such trivial poetry gatherings! Over the days he spent in the Prefecture, he had heard that it was rely a group of idle scholars organizing etings.
At their gatherings, they would drink, invite famous courtesans to play music for entertainnt, compose impromptu verses after so wine consumption, and then indulge in mutual flattery. Any poet who felt their work was good would have it recorded in their anthology.
Gu Chengyu found this rather boring; why not use that ti to study diligently instead? So who attend these gatherings talk only of romance and poetry, yet fail continually in exams; their published anthologies, which Gu Chengyu was curious enough to buy, contained little of worthy verse, nothing but a waste of ti.
Moreover, Gu Chengyu was still very young and not suited for such company. These scholars often proposed having brothel girls dance and play music for fun, emulating the styles of the Wei and Jin dynasties, each thinking themselves to be quite charming.
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