The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 271 Two Hundred Guests Under the Prince of Su

After assigning tasks to Lao Yao and the others, Tu Chengyu began to review the answer sheets in front of him one by one.

Since Tu Chengyu came up with all the questions for this test himself, he naturally knew the answers.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu read through the students' answer sheets very quickly.

On average, it takes him about three or four breaths to finish reading a test paper.

At this rate, let alone waiting until tomorrow, I estimate I'll finish reading everything in less than half an hour.

Tu Chengyu's speed in reading the papers left everyone at the Imperial Academy dumbfounded. They were all worried that Tu Chengyu might not be able to read the questions on the answer sheets at such a speed.

Although they were worried, they dared not say anything, except for the teacher who copied the names, who might have complained a bit.

Because Tu Chengyu flipped through the document so quickly, he didn't have time to copy the name that was sent to him.

Later, Yang Jijiu couldn't stand it anymore and sent another teacher to help. The two of them together could barely keep up with Tu Chengyu's speed.

With the help of another teacher, the whole process went much more smoothly.

The guards who were waiting for their names to be called no longer had to wait intermittently; they could now have their names called continuously.

As more and more exam papers were picked out, more and more students were called out.

The open space in front of the platform gradually filled with people.

About half an hour later, Tu Chengyu had finished reading all the answer sheets.

Based on a preliminary look, Tu Chengyu selected 300 people out of these 500.

The total number is still a bit too large.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu plans to do another round of screening, aiming to get just over a hundred people.

So he stood up from behind the table, walked to the edge of the platform, looked at the students below, and said:
"Those of you whose names have been called are those I have initially selected who meet my requirements."

At this point, Tu Chengyu paused for a moment, then continued:

"As you all know, I have chosen you to accompany me to the southern city to help me manage the disaster victims outside the city. Therefore, I have a few requirements for you."

At this point, Tu Chengyu held up one finger and said:

"First, once you go there, you won't be able to come back often before the disaster victims return home. So, if you think following me will interfere with your studies, you should leave as soon as possible."

"Secondly, once you get there, you'll have to live and eat with the disaster victims. If you can't endure the hardship, you should leave as soon as possible."

"Third, once you've made up your mind, you can't back out halfway through. If you haven't thought it through, you should back out as soon as possible."

As soon as Tu Chengyu finished stating his three requirements, a commotion broke out among the scholars.

Upon seeing this, Tu Chengyu shouted, "Those who don't want to go, step out of the queue now and don't disturb others."

As soon as he finished speaking, some people immediately stepped out of the queue.

As the first person appeared, more and more followed, until finally almost several dozen people left.

Tu Chengyu stood quietly on the high platform watching them until no one left.

He then spoke again:
"Now, those who are left are those who are willing to endure hardship with me. There are many more of them than I expected, but that doesn't matter; I will take them all. Now, I have something else to tell you: you will all be reporting to the south gate tomorrow. I expect you to all be there first thing tomorrow morning, and it's best if you bring your own bedding. Can you do that?"

As soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, someone immediately responded.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely arrive."

"I will definitely arrive tomorrow."

Hearing the scattered responses, Tu Chengyu paid no attention and asked again:

"Do you have any questions? You can ask them now. I hope you will ask them as soon as possible, because it will be too late to ask them after we get there."

As soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, before any of the selected people in the audience could speak, some of the eliminated people outside responded.

"Your Highness, may we also ask him?"

Standing on the high platform, Tu Chengyu couldn't immediately discern the source of the sound, so he said:

"You can ask, come up and ask."

As soon as he finished speaking, two students stepped out from the crowd behind him and walked to the front side by side.

The one on the left speaks first:
“Your Highness, there are at least five hundred of us who took the exam today, yet Your Highness reviewed all the papers in less than half an hour. Therefore, I would like to ask Your Highness why I was not selected.”

This person's implication was that Tu Chengyu hadn't looked at the answer sheet carefully and was just trying to fool people, so he didn't believe Tu Chengyu's grading results and wanted Tu Chengyu to look at his answers separately.

Tu Chengyu understood his meaning and asked:
"What's your name?"

"Student Xi Yuanchu."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu said to the people behind him:

"Find his answer sheet."

The others worked together and quickly found Xi Yuanchu's answer sheet.

Tu Chengyu took his answer sheet, glanced at it casually, and said to him:

"I am dissatisfied with your answers to the second and third questions, which is the main reason why you were not selected."

Xi Yuanchu probably already guessed that was the reason, so as soon as Tu Chengyu finished speaking, he immediately replied:

"Your Highness, is it the question about the conflict between the disaster victims and the powerful?"

Tu Chengyu nodded.

Upon seeing this, Xi Yuan said, "Your Highness, I dare to offer a different perspective on this question."

Tu Chengyu looked at him and said, "Then tell me your opinion."

"Yes, Your Highness," the student replied without any politeness, "I believe that disaster victims and powerful figures are unlikely to encounter each other, so conflicts are extremely rare. Furthermore, even if conflicts do occur, it doesn't necessarily mean that the powerful figures are wrong. Therefore, I believe that the decision should be made based on the specific circumstances, rather than blindly favoring the disaster victims. This is my opinion, and that's what I wrote on my answer sheet."

Tu Chengyu listened patiently to him finish speaking before asking, "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Nothing."

“Alright, then I’ll say a few words,” Tu Chengyu said. “First, you didn’t read the question carefully, and your answer is off-topic. Second, this is a question I set, so the answer is naturally up to me.”

Xi Yuanchu originally thought that Tu Chengyu would debate with him, but to his surprise, Tu Chengyu dismissed him with such an answer.

So, he was still unwilling to admit defeat and wanted to say something more, but the scholar next to him pulled him back and he obediently shut up.

Seeing that he remained silent, Tu Chengyu asked another student, "What's your name? What's your question?"

The student said, "Your Highness, I am Lü Cunxin. I would like to ask why I failed the exam even though my answer to the third question in the second section is different from Xi Yuanchu's."

This time, without Tu Chengyu's instruction, Lao Yao handed over Lü Cunxin's answer sheet, along with a sentence.

"Your Highness, this person looked at other people's answer sheets while answering the questions."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu immediately understood.

He picked up the exam paper and looked at it, then understood even more clearly what had happened, and said:
"You should know the reason why you were not selected. Do I need to tell you?"

Lu Cunxin looked at Tu Chengyu and suddenly understood what Tu Chengyu meant. His face turned bright red. Then he whispered, "Your Highness, I was being presumptuous."

After saying that, he grabbed Xi Yuanchu and ran away as if fleeing.

This scene left the surrounding students bewildered, with only a few secretly guessing the reason.

After the two left, Tu Chengyu asked everyone again:

"Do you have any other questions?"

This time, the audience was completely silent; not a single person answered.

After waiting a while longer and seeing that no one answered, Tu Chengyu said:
"In that case, those who were not selected can leave. Those who were selected, please stay here and register your names on the platform. Then go back and pack your things. I will be waiting for you outside the south gate early tomorrow morning."

After saying this, Tu Chengyu stepped back from the front.

He left two guards behind to keep watch, while he himself was to leave first.

Since Tu Chengyu was leaving, Yang Jijiu naturally had to see him off.

Yang Jijiu personally led the way, bringing Tu Chengyu and his entourage out of the Imperial Academy.

After their brief interaction, Tu Chengyu developed a very good impression of Yang Jijiu, who was busy taking care of everything.

So when we parted, we said a few more words.

Just as he was talking to Yang Jijiu, a young man dressed in shabby clothes returned from outside.

He walked to a spot not far from the gate of the Imperial College and stood there watching Tu Chengyu and the others from a distance.

At first, Yang Jijiu didn't see this person, but then he turned his head unintentionally and saw him. Ignoring Tu Chengyu's presence, he anxiously called out:

"Why did it take you so long to get back?"

This young man, after hearing what Yang Jijiu said, replied rather embarrassedly:

"The students went to a place that was a bit far away, which worried the teachers."

"You missed a great opportunity," said Yang Jijiu with a touch of regret.

The young man, upon hearing this, showed no discouragement or other negative emotions.

He simply said calmly, "It's just that the students weren't lucky. The teacher and students are going to school now."

But Yang Jijiu stopped him, saying, "Wait a moment."

After speaking, Yang Jijiu turned around and looked at Tu Chengyu, his expression showing a rather embarrassed struggle.

Looking at his expression and then at the young man in the distance, Tu Chengyu understood what he was going to say.

Tu Chengyu had a very good impression of Yang Jijiu, so he took the initiative to say:
"Yang Jijiu, do you have something to say to me?"

At this moment, Yang Jijiu naturally knew that Tu Chengyu had seen through his thoughts, so he stopped dwelling on it and said:

"Your Highness, I dare to ask you for a favor."

"Is it for your student?" Tu Chengyu asked, pointing to the young man not far away.

"Yes, Your Highness." Yang Jijiu admitted directly, "That is Zheng Fengzhi, a student whom I value most. I hope Your Highness can give him a helping hand."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu was somewhat puzzled and asked:

"Since he is the student that Chief Scholar Yang values ​​most, why not let him wait to participate in the imperial examination?"

Yang Jijiu sighed and said, "That was originally the plan, but later his family got into trouble. I was worried that he would be implicated because of his family's affairs and would have no future in the imperial examinations. So I thought of asking the prince to take him in and give him a chance to make a name for himself."

Upon hearing that it was a convicted official, Tu Chengyu became more cautious and asked:

When did their family have this accident?

Yang Jijiu replied, "More than a year ago."

More than a year ago, that was the time when the Crown Prince and Prince Ping were fighting the most fiercely.

During that period, many officials were indeed implicated.

Knowing this background, Tu Chengyu was no longer worried.

So he said to Yang Jijiu, "Since you plead for him, I'll give you face. Tell him to come with everyone tomorrow."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness," said Yang Jijiu happily. After expressing his gratitude, he also pulled Zheng Fengzhi to thank him as well.

"Since the prince has agreed, why don't you come and thank him?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fengzhi hurriedly ran over and sincerely said to Tu Chengyu:
"This student is very grateful for Your Highness's guidance."

Tu Chengyu said, "I am promoting you for two reasons. First, because of Yang Jijiu's influence, and second, because I hope you can do your job well and share my burdens."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fengzhi quickly replied, "This student will remember Your Highness's teachings."

After receiving another errand boy at the door, Tu Chengyu left with his men.

After leaving the Imperial College, it was already afternoon, and going to the South City at this point was no longer worthwhile.

So Tu Chengyu sent someone to inform Quan Wenwei outside the South City, while he himself prepared to return to the Prince An's Mansion and leave the city the next day.

On his way back, Tu Chengyu was thinking about the recruitment he had done that day, and also about Lin Daiyu.

Today should be the first day that these women and children have officially started working after taking over the women and children's camp. Tu Chengyu is a little worried about whether they can adapt to the environment of the disaster relief camp.

Don't let these issues dampen their enthusiasm.

Tu Chengyu was thinking about Lin Daiyu and the others, but when he returned to the Prince An's Mansion, he heard from the gatekeeper that Lin Daiyu and the others were waiting for him there.

This is somewhat unexpected.

After hearing the gatekeeper's report, Tu Chengyu went straight to the Fengsheng Hall after entering.

As soon as he entered, he saw Lin Daiyu and the others sitting in a corner of the front hall talking.

When they saw Tu Chengyu enter, they quickly stood up to greet him.

After returning the gift, Tu Chengyu asked:
"But is there a problem at the camp?"

The only thing Tu Chengyu could think of was that they had encountered difficulties today, as it was their first time managing the camp, and had come to him for solutions.

Lin Daiyu shook her head after hearing Tu Chengyu's words and said:
"The camp is fine. We came here to ask Your Highness about the charity poetry gathering."

Hearing that this was the case, Tu Chengyu was relieved.

So he said, "Then wait a little longer, I'll go change my clothes first."

Tu Chengyu was going to the palace today, so he was wearing a prince's robe. The clothes looked particularly good on him, but they weren't as comfortable as his loungewear.

After he finished speaking, he went to the back hall of the Temple of Worship and changed his clothes in his current bedroom.

After changing his clothes and washing his face, Tu Chengyu came out again.

(End of this chapter)