The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class-Chapter 423

"Fine, I'll keep it then. I'll return it to him when we meet again during the imperial exams or in official circles," Shen Yibai muttered. "This guy is really something—just because I glanced at his essay, he has to thank me so formally? And who runs off right after saying thanks without even giving the other person a chance to respond?"

Xu Wan couldn't help but laugh. She teased, "You changed your tune fast. Just a moment ago, you accused him of stealing ideas."

Shen Yibai stuck out his tongue, deciding to take back his earlier words—mainly because he thought Ge Hong seemed like a decent guy.

He Zheng was about to check the results when he suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, hey, look! Qin Ye and Qin Shi are coming out. They must’ve already seen the results—I can see Qin Shi smiling!"

Shen Yibai immediately turned his head. "Huh? Where? Oh, I see them! Wow! Qin Ye must’ve lost to us this time. Look at his icy expression—he definitely bombed the exam!"

Zong Wenxiu couldn’t resist pointing out, "Qin Ye always looks like that, though. Whether he ranks first or not, he’s always this calm."

Wei Xinglu leaned in and whispered, "Wenxiu, since you’re close with Qin Shi, why don’t you go ask them how they did? It’ll take forever for us to squeeze through this crowd to check the results ourselves."

"Yeah, yeah, Wenxiu, go ask! And He Zheng, you go too," Shen Yibai urged, pushing them forward.

Zong Wenxiu awkwardly greeted them, "Qin Shi, Qin Ye, have you already checked the results? How did you do?"

Xu Wan tilted her head slightly toward Zong Zhao and murmured, "The taller one on the left is Qin Shi—he’s the same age as Wenxiu. The one in dark blue on the right, the cold and mature-looking one, is Qin Ye."

Zong Zhao followed her gaze and saw the prodigy of their generation—the legendary Qin Ye.

That ten-year-old boy looked about the same age as Zong Jincheng, but whether it was his attire, demeanor, or expression, everything about him exuded an intimidating chill.

Qin ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​‍Shi grinned as he told Zong Wenxiu, "It’s a huge surprise—I actually passed on my first try! Though my ranking isn’t great, around 200-something. I probably won’t make it in the next round. But Xiao Ye did amazing—he’s first again, bringing even more glory to Qingbo Academy. I can already picture our headmaster fuming."

"What?! Qin Ye took first place again?!" He Zheng was stunned.

Wei Xinglu gritted his teeth. "Damn it, he actually snatched the top scholar title!"

"Unbelievable! How could this happen? Even if the top scholar wasn’t Jincheng’s, it should’ve been mine!" Shen Yibai grumbled indignantly.

The others laughed at his theatrics, none of them taking his complaints seriously.

Qin Ye had no reaction. He didn’t know Shen Yibai, but since this was Zong Jincheng’s friend, he figured it made sense—they were equally arrogant.

Ignoring Shen Yibai’s protests, the prodigy Qin Ye coldly boarded his carriage to continue studying. The good-natured Qin Shi stayed behind, apologizing on behalf of his aloof younger brother and smoothing things over with a few words, leaving Shen Yibai and the others pacified.

From a distance, Xu Wan remarked quietly, "The 300 candidates who passed the provincial exams are just from the capital. When the imperial exams come around, they’ll be competing against scholars from across the nation. Even getting 30 or 40 of them to pass would be impressive. Qin Shi’s ranking in the 200s makes it tough for him to pass this round. It’s likely Qin Ye, the younger brother, will enter officialdom first. I just hope that when he’s alone in the political arena, he’ll learn a bit of tact."

"He knows," Zong Zhao said calmly. "He just doesn’t see the need to bother with it now."

Xu Wan glanced at him.

Zong Zhao repeated, "Qin Ye understands. A scholar who can rank first isn’t a fool. He just doesn’t want to waste energy on trivial matters. Once he’s in the official world, he’ll adapt. You’ll see."

Xu Wan grew intrigued. "So this is what all top scholars have in common? Even if you’ve just met and never spoken, you can guess what kind of person they are?"

Zong Zhao’s lips curled slightly. "Not entirely. It’s more about having seen enough people that even if you can’t articulate it, you can sense it—a kind of instinct, I suppose."

Xu Wan mused, "In that case, has Jincheng’s plan to defeat Qin Ye failed yet again?"

Zong Zhao said matter-of-factly, "Wasn’t that always the expected outcome?"

Xu Wan: "..."

You really sound like a biological father—stabbing your son’s pride without hesitation.

Meanwhile, at the results board:

Zong Jincheng shoved through the crowd, shouting, "Buyan, Buyan, lift me up so I can see! I can’t see anything from here!"

Buyan, expression deadpan, hoisted him up, internally screaming: Young Master! You’re ten years old—this is so embarrassing!!

Oblivious to his servant’s misery, Zong Jincheng craned his neck, scanning for his name while directing, "Left, left! The rankings start from the left—the top name should be right there!"

Someone in the crowd chuckled, "Whose kid is this, coming to check the results? Must be helping his dad or grandpa look."

Another added, "Yeah, look how excited he is, sweating buckets. If his family didn’t pass, it’d break the poor kid’s heart."

Zong Jincheng’s face darkened. He yelled, "What nonsense are you spouting? I’m not here for my dad or grandpa—I’m checking for myself! I’m Zong Jincheng, this year’s top scholar, first place in the provincial exams!"

"..."

"Zong Jincheng?"

"First place?"

"Nice try, kid. I just checked—first place is Qin Ye. He’s the real top scholar!"

"Hahaha… what a little braggart."

The young troublemaker was gearing up for an argument when the news about Qin Ye’s victory struck like a thunderbolt. Even Buyan felt the weight of the blow.

"Young Master… are you okay?" Buyan wondered if he was on the verge of tears.

After a long silence, Zong Jincheng erupted in frustration, "How could it be Qin Ye?! I already beat him once—how could he steal the top scholar title from me?! No way, no way, no way!!"

By then, Buyan had managed to carry him close enough to the board. The noisy young master finally fell silent, his hopes dashed.

Because there, in clear writing, it read:

First Place: Qin Ye.

"This can’t be real…" Zong Jincheng’s world crumbled. "How did this happen? My poetry is supposed to be unparalleled, the best in the world!"

Buyan thought to himself: That’s a title you gave yourself, isn’t it?

Zong Jincheng sniffled dramatically, putting on a show of fake tears. "It must be because Mr. Su didn’t have enough time to teach me. Otherwise, I’d definitely be the top scholar. Yeah, that’s it—I just had bad luck. Heaven is testing me, you know? ‘When Heaven is about to place great responsibility on a man, it first tests his resolve, exhausts his body, starves him, and frustrates his efforts…’"

Buyan didn’t understand the reference, but he knew it couldn’t be anything good.

After consoling himself, Zong Jincheng resumed scanning the rankings, muttering, "If I’m not first, I should at least be second. Third would be acceptable… fourth is pushing it… how am I not even fifth?!"

Buyan’s arms were about to give out. "Young Master, maybe you should head back first. I’ll look for you—it’ll be faster that way."

Zong Jincheng let out a surprised "Huh?" and said, "But you can't read." freeweɓnovel-cøm

Buyan: "!"

"Then you’ll have to look for yourself." He was at a loss.

Zong Jincheng pouted and continued scanning the list, but the names below were obscured by the crowd. Frustrated, he simply raised his voice and called out, "Has anyone seen Zong Jincheng’s name? What’s his rank?"

The little troublemaker had asked casually, never expecting someone to actually spot it. A helpful voice shouted back, "Tenth! Tenth place—I saw it! Who is he, your dad?"

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