Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World-Chapter 8 - : Do Not Discuss Answers After the Exam

The lady on the couch lazily flipped through a few answer sheets brought over by Housekeeper Wu.

Housekeeper Wu bowed his head and reported, "Following Madam's orders, we've gathered male servants of the Zhao Family between sixteen and eighteen years old from around State City. There are a total of forty-seven people."

"Mr. Shen has selected these five examination papers, which are among the better answers."

The person on the couch seemed not to hear, with only the sound of papers flipping being heard.

After a long time.

Clang~

The knocking sound rang again.

Housekeeper Wu immediately said, "Among them, there is one called Zheng Fa, whom Mr. Shen believes has the highest talent."

The person inside pulled out Zheng Fa's answer sheet.

"I have checked; Zheng Fa only attended elementary school for a year, so he knows few characters. Although his answer sheet is filled with wrong characters, he has managed to remember more than ninety percent of it, which is more than double the others."

The lady on the couch stood up, placed the examination papers to one side, and finally spoke:

"Do you think Zheng Fa is the best?"

Her voice was even clearer and more pleasant than the sound of a golden hairpin striking a jade ring earlier.

"With my limited insight, I can only tell what I see," said Housekeeper Wu, bowing his head. "Compared to others, he has his shortcomings. The rest have more insight, have studied for several years, and even achieved scholarly honors. Zheng Fa, I can only say his talent is slightly superior, but he still needs polishing and is probably not yet suitable for use."

The silhouette behind the curtain nodded slightly, seemingly finding his words reasonable.

But after a while, she suddenly let out a light laugh: "This one with the neatest handwriting, remembering the most besides Zheng Fa, is that Gao Yuan? I recall he is the only son of Housekeeper Gao from the second house?"

"Madam's insight is clear!"

Housekeeper Wu's back suddenly broke into a cold sweat.

"Alright, these three people." The lady pulled out Zheng Fa's answer sheet along with two others and handed them to a maid nearby: "Take these to Xu Zheng for a look."

"Yes!"

Housekeeper Wu took the examination papers from the maid and slowly walked out of the small building. The warm breeze was gentle outside, yet a chill surged through his body.

Although the lady seldom interfered in affairs, spending her days in rest and even disdaining to speak more than necessary,

her mind was truly clear on everything, her words enough to make one tremble in fear—Housekeeper Gao from the second house had some disputes with him in past years, unknown to many, and after so many years, his speaking for Zheng Fa had more to do with his subtle dislike for Housekeeper Gao, which he thought was hidden.

Madam...

Housekeeper Wu shook his head, knowing that he still retained her trust since she sent him on this errand.

...

In the Water Pavilion, the young men gradually began to talk to each other.

Situated in Zhao's Mansion, they dared not wander around, but their youthful nature left them with little patience to wait.

Initially, they were wary of Mr. Shen and Housekeeper Wu next door, but after seeing Housekeeper Wu walking outside through the window, and shortly after, Mr. Shen slowly pacing away, they felt unrestrained and gathered together, discussing the assessment in turns.

As the assessment was merely on rote memorization, they all had a sense of their performance.

Even at the time of handing in their papers, it was clear who had more hope.

At this moment, half of the group surrounded a young man wearing a silk headscarf.

"Mr. Gao, this position of Attendant Student seems already to be within your grasp," another student said with a slight hint of reluctance.

"That's uncertain." The young man surnamed Gao shook his head quickly, but a smile was somewhat uncontrollable on his face: "Mr. Chen's talents are not inferior to mine. Could it be that you want to flatter me, Gao Yuan?"

Mr. Chen shook his head: "I spend my days studying Confucian and legal texts. The Taoist scriptures are precious, and I had never touched them before; the Qingjing Scripture sounds awkward to me. I'm not as good as you in this respect."

Seeing his frankness, Gao Yuan did not know how to express his modesty.

After all, he also felt that he should be the one among them who answered the best.

The other youths could certainly see his confidence, and hearing such remarks from Mr. Chen, who was considered among the most formidable, naturally made them think that Gao Yuan stood the greatest chance.

Zheng Fa was watching this group of youths, all around seventeen or eighteen years old. Their minds seemed much more mature than those of their peers in another world.

They gathered around Gao Yuan, flattering him somewhat awkwardly, quickly shedding the attitude of viewing each other as competitors—it seemed they sobered up very quickly, sorting out their stances in a short time.

Their flexibility in adapting was impressive.

"After today, let's go to Juxing Building for a feast, and consider it a celebration for Mr. Gao!"

Someone had begun to address him as Young Master.

"Yes, it's fate that we took the exam together."

"Let's go together!"

Huang Yu was initially part of the crowd flattering Gao Yuan, but before long, he quietly stepped out and walked over to Zheng Fa, looking enviously at Gao Yuan who was holding forth in the center of the group.

Zheng Fa turned to him, a hint of question in his gaze.

Huang Yu's face was flush with frustration, "They are going to Juxing Building for drinks... Gao Yuan isn't paying; everyone else is chipping in. I... my family has money... I didn't bring any."

Understood.

There's a threshold even for flattering.

Zheng Fa nodded, saying very naturally, "Then I can't go either, my family doesn't have money, there's nothing to bring either."

Huang Yu looked at Zheng Fa, then back at the youths who didn't regard him highly.

Previously, he thought Zheng Fa was a bit pretentious.

But comparing him now, he found Zheng Fa much more endearing, and felt a subconscious closeness to him.

"How did you do on the exam?" Huang Yu regretted his question as soon as it left his mouth.

Zheng Fa shook his head, remaining silent.

He always had a principle: not to discuss the answers after the exam—it was a form of gambling with little to gain but potentially much to lose.

Seeing his silence, Huang Yu assumed he understood Zheng Fa's stance.

He had studied in elementary school for five years, yet he wrote less than ten percent this time.

Naturally, Zheng Fa did worse.

It was normal to be ashamed to mention it.

"No worries, I didn't do well either!" Huang Yu slapped Zheng Fa's shoulder earnestly, encouraging, "Though maybe a bit better than you, just a bit! But it's useless, definitely won't be selected!"

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After speaking, he leaned close to Zheng Fa's ear and whispered, "I've seen it long ago, Mr. Gao is just a housekeeper with a bit more money. If you had resources like him, you wouldn't be worse!"

Zheng Fa looked at his sour expression, automatically substituting "you" in his last sentence with "I," and then understood his true meaning.

While they were chatting, Zheng Fa suddenly noticed several people sitting upright by the window, giving him a sudden sense of "the teacher is here."

Indeed, Housekeeper Wu was heading towards the Water Pavilion.

Beside him, Huang Yu was still enthusiastically inviting, "Housekeeper Wu is coming, we might probably head home together, why don't you come to my place today?"

Before he could finish, Housekeeper Wu had already stepped through the door.

"These three, come with me; the rest can leave first," he said, holding three papers in his hand.

"Gao Yuan."

"Han Cheng."

Then, holding the last paper, he paused slightly before speaking, "Zheng Fa."

Huang Yu looked blankly at Zheng Fa beside him.

As Zheng Fa stood, he responded to the earlier invitation—with a trace of sincere apology on his face and a slightly awkward tone, he said, "It seems I won't have time today, how about another day?"