Chapter 315: Chapter 128: Prefectural Top Scorer
The prefectural exam rankings were more or less the same as the county exam’s.
This showed that the candidates from Qingshui County hadn’t cheated and the County Magistrate hadn’t secretly manipulated the rankings. The overall situation was good. Barring any surprises, the examination period would proceed smoothly.
In other counties, however, the rankings fluctuated dramatically.
Take Guyuan County, for instance.
The top-ranked student from Guyuan County, Cui Junrong, was the very same person whose essay the Lord Prefect had criticized as "utter nonsense" and "convoluted."
This time, his rank plummeted from first place all the way down to twelfth.
To put it in perspective, Guyuan County was only set to accept a total of four Scholars. The number of people who passed the prefectural exam was just over three times the number of final spots. By that logic, twelfth place was at the very bottom of the list.
And that was indeed the case, because the total number of candidates from Guyuan County who made the list was exactly twelve.
The top student from the county exam was now twelfth, the former second-place student was now tenth, and the fifth and sixth-place students had vanished from the list entirely. The changes in rank were anything but small.
Wang Xiao had something to say about that. "That Cui Junrong... rumor has it he’s the Guyuan County Magistrate’s brother-in-law."
"Really? HISS... That Guyuan County Magistrate must have nerves of steel! His brother-in-law’s top rank... he must have helped him get it by leaking the exam questions, right?"
De’an’s interest was piqued, and he practically lifted off his stool. The others also stared at Wang Xiao with burning curiosity, eager to hear the gossip.
Unfortunately, Wang Xiao’s knowledge was limited.
He was tight-lipped, only sharing confirmed information. He refused to say a single word about anything uncertain.
Wang Xiao said meaningfully, "It was definitely not a leak. The court is incredibly strict about cracking down on cheating in the imperial examinations. If it’s a candidate, they’re just barred from taking the exams for three years. But if an examiner is caught manipulating the results, it’s not just their own head on the chopping block. I’m afraid their entire family would be implicated."
Of course the Guyuan County Magistrate hadn’t leaked the questions. The county exam was his home turf; he didn’t need to. He just had to apply a bit of personal bias during grading and ranking, and Cui Junrong could become the top student fair and square—at least on the surface.
But for that top rank to seem deserved, they undoubtedly had to pull some other strings behind the scenes.
Wang Xiao’s family ran a teahouse, which served as both a public gathering spot and a hub for spreading news.
While his mother didn’t go out of her way to collect information, the Shopkeeper and waiters would make a point of remembering any useful tidbits to tell her later.
Once his mother knew, he knew.
Just yesterday, he had received a message claiming that the Guyuan County exam was rife with shady dealings. To secure Cui Junrong’s position, the Cui family had worked with the Guyuan County Magistrate, using both threats and persuasion to force many talented scholars to withdraw from this year’s examination...
Of course, the truth of the matter couldn’t be confirmed, so Wang Xiao didn’t say it aloud. But his guarded expression made it obvious to the others that there was more to the story.
The expressions of the others grew complicated.
’This was especially true for De’an. My father is the county’s second-in-command, and even he wouldn’t dare meddle with the imperial examinations. How many lives does this Guyuan County Magistrate have? Is he really not afraid of getting his head chopped off?’
As they were each lost in thought, Zhao Jing suddenly stood up and leaned halfway out the window.
Seeing this, Wang Jun teased, "My dear brother, can’t you wait for the exam announcer to arrive with the good news? Have you prepared a tip for him? If not, won’t it be awkward when he gets here?"
Zhao Jing ignored him, suddenly grabbing De’an and pulling him toward the window. "Quick, look! Isn’t that your sister?"
De’an stopped struggling and quickly looked down from the window. But he was saying, "My sister is back home, how could she suddenly be here... HOLY SHIT, that really is my sister! And my dad!"
"What?"
"Why are your sister and father here?"
"Where? Where are they?"
With no time to pay attention to the others, Zhao Jing pushed past them and bolted for the door of the private room.
De’an shouted from behind him, "Wait for me, Jing! Wait for me!"
Reaching the top of the stairs, the two of them came face to face with the exam announcer.
The announcer’s face was wreathed in a massive smile, and his high-pitched voice rang out, "Congratulations to Master Zhao Jing of Qingshui County—"
Before he could finish, a handful of Copper Coins was thrust into his hand. "I’m in a hurry! This is your tip, please let me pass..."
The announcer hadn’t even processed what was happening when De’an squeezed past from behind, shoved another handful of Copper Coins at him in the exact same manner, and then struggled to keep up with Zhao Jing as they rushed forward.
Outside the teahouse, Chen Wanqing was covered in dust from her journey, her lips dry and chapped. Her face was pale from the cold, and she uncomfortably lowered her head to tidy her slightly messy hair.
