Chapter 295 - 296: A Solution

Chapter 295: Chapter 296: A Solution

Bai Jinglie hadn’t expected to be noticed after only walking past his examination cell a single time.

He remembered the man furiously writing, so he was surprised he had paid any attention at all.

"I wouldn’t call myself an examiner. The Holy Emperor just had me help maintain order inside." Bai Jinglie was still exasperated at being suddenly roped into it. He hadn’t even taken the special grace examination, yet he’d been locked inside for nine days.

"Heh, this time, nobody knew who was inside until the very last day," Shan Ke’an said, gloating. He figured those nine days were enough to put many people on pins and needles. "I bet no one expected the Holy Emperor to have you and your father take charge of the inside and the outside."

"Wenheng, I’ve resisted the urge to come find you all this time. So? How do you feel? Confident you’ll pass?"

Lu Ping immediately called his bluff. "You call that ’resisting’? I’d say you couldn’t even get out your front door! I tried to visit you several times and only got to see you once. You’re only out for a breather today because the Young Master went to fetch you."

"Hey, some friends you are! You’re supposed to see it but not say it," Shan Ke’an grumbled, though he wasn’t actually annoyed. He turned to Ancient Wen Heng with a grin. "Anyway, we all came to wait for the results with you. How’s that? Pretty brotherly of us, right?"

Ancient Wen Heng glanced down from the window. The street below was packed with a dense crowd, and among them, Brother Liu was anxiously looking all around.

"Thank you all. My senior brother is waiting downstairs with me for the results. Afterward, I’ll be sure to treat you all to a feast to thank you for your thoughtfulness."

"What’s this about?" Bai Jinglie asked, looking at Ye Yi. "Why didn’t you invite him up too?"

Before Ye Yi could speak, Ancient Wen Heng answered for him. "My apologies. I assumed the Young Master wished to speak with me privately."

Bai Jinglie turned to Ye Yi. "Go and bring him up. It’s too crowded down there, I’m worried he’ll get injured."

Ancient Wen Heng thanked him profusely. After all, you couldn’t book a spot like this even if you had the silver, and from here, they had a perfect view of the grand occasion.

"Our first batch of mirrors is ready," Bai Jinglie said to Ancient Wen Heng, taking advantage of the fact that there were no outsiders present. "I’ll have someone send a few to your home later."

Ancient Wen Heng thanked him profusely but didn’t ask about pricing or sales, which made Bai Jinglie grind his teeth in frustration.

"Wenheng, don’t you have any strategies to offer for our first venture?"

Ancient Wen Heng gave him a bewildered look. "Didn’t we agree that this side of things wasn’t my responsibility?"

Bai Jinglie pointed to his own head. "You can still help me think of a few ideas. This is a rare item, after all. How can we build up the hype and make these mirrors seem even more precious and valuable? The materials aren’t exactly cheap."

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’So that’s it,’ he thought. ’Nothing in this world comes without a reason. He cornered me here today for this.’

"In that case, you’ll have to allow me to go home and think on it," Ancient Wen Heng said. "But what I come up with might not be what you have in mind."

"Two heads are better than one," Bai Jinglie said. "I’ll be waiting for your great ideas."

After they had chatted a while longer, Ye Yi returned with Liu Wenping in tow.

Ancient Wen Heng stood to make introductions between the two parties before leading Liu Wenping to sit with him.

Everyone made small talk as they waited, and they were careful not to give the newly arrived Liu Wenping the cold shoulder, always looping him into the conversation.

At that moment, they heard a commotion from below and knew the results were being posted.

They all walked over to the window. Down below, the entire crowd was surging toward a single spot.

Ancient Wen Heng didn’t quite understand. ’The list is posted,’ he thought. ’What’s the difference between seeing it now versus a moment from now? Is it really worth fighting so desperately for?’

Some were having their shoes knocked off, others were being pushed to the ground. The scene was one of total chaos.

"Now this is what I call lively!" There was always someone with a different opinion. Shan Ke’an, for example, was shouting excitedly from the side, "Go left, there are fewer people over there!"

"Look at that big fellow, he can’t even shove past that kid."

"Say, why does that brat look so familiar? Do you guys think that looks like Xu Zhongren?"

"Who’s Xu Zhongren?" Lu Ping asked, his gaze following Shan Ke’an’s finger. He could only see a group of guards protecting a scholar whose face was obscured from view.

Shan Ke’an said with a look of disdain, "Let me tell you, that guy is rotten to the core. If you run into him in Shangjing and he dares to pull anything on you, just drop my name and the Young Master’s."

He then looked at Ancient Wen Heng. "I didn’t expect that brat to be in this special grace examination. Let’s hope the heavens are just and don’t let someone like him infiltrate your ranks."

Ancient Wen Heng already had an idea of who this was. This Xu Zhongren must be the grandson of Xu Zhiwen of the Astronomical Bureau, who was supposedly a minor tyrant in Shangjing.

It wasn’t that he went around bullying men and women, but rather that he had to be first in everything.

If anyone ever got the better of him, he had a thousand ways to mess them up so badly their own parents wouldn’t recognize them.

Rumor had it that once, a scholar at the academy scored higher than him on an exam. He smiled and congratulated the man, but a few days later, the scholar had both his hands and feet broken, with no evidence to point to the culprit.

Another time, at a poetry recital, someone else’s poem was met with greater applause than his. Within days, that person also met a violent end.

Everyone said he was responsible, but when the rumors reached his ears, he fearlessly challenged anyone to produce evidence.

Ancient Wen Heng glanced at the spectacle below. Though the man was surrounded by his house servants, many people were carefully avoiding that entire area. Some of them were clearly out-of-town scholars, so it seemed quite a few people were well-informed.

Liu Wenping was also curious, but since this was his first time meeting the group, he didn’t feel it was his place to ask questions. He could only steal a few more glances and silently remind himself to give that person a wide berth in the future.

Bai Jinglie clapped Shan Ke’an on the shoulder. "Don’t spread baseless rumors. After all, it’s all just speculation."

Shan Ke’an pouted. "I’d say it’s more than likely true. Otherwise, how could there be so many coincidences? And just look at him! Does he really need to bring that many house servants just to go out? He’s way too full of himself."

Lu Ping chimed in, "Maybe he has a guilty conscience? Or maybe he just has too many enemies?"

Shan Ke’an clapped his hands together. "So that’s it! No wonder that brat always brings so many people with him. His entourage is more ostentatious than his grandfather’s!"

"I passed! I passed!" A sudden shout of joy erupted from the crowd. A man frantically pushed his way out, running and yelling nonstop, "I passed! I passed!"

This drove the rest of the crowd into an even greater frenzy. Everyone wanted to know if they would be the next one with good news.

Ancient Wen Heng was starting to regret sending Ming Feng to check the lists. He could only hope the boy was clever enough to avoid being injured by the crowd.

"You’re not worried?" Bai Jinglie asked, unable to contain his curiosity as he studied his friend’s calm face. "Even when I was waiting for my scholar examination results, I had people posted there early."

"I’ll find out sooner or later," Ancient Wen Heng replied. "Besides, I already sent my Attendant Student to check. Now I’m just regretting it. With a crowd that big, I hope he doesn’t get hurt."

Bai Jinglie glanced toward the palace gates. "Right now, everyone is desperately trying to leap into that walled city. But once they’re truly inside, how many will remember their original purpose?"