A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 100 Double First (Second Update)
Yes.

The third brother has always been an excellent poet.

He was smart since childhood, but his father and second brother were both gamblers, so he knew how to hide since he was young!
Obviously we were older than him, but he used to tease us like an old man teasing children.

After sorting out the twists and turns here, Song Hao felt a little dizzy.

It's definitely not because of heatstroke due to the hot weather.

The other children who were the outstanding representatives of the Song family private school failed the exam, but they happened to hear about Song Xuan, who they thought was not a good student.

I was surprised to find that I had ranked among the top in this entrance examination. My eyes widened for a moment.

Can't you?
Is it a duplicate name?

"Brother Twelve!"

Su Xun, who was the first to react, shouted:
"Did you hear that? You actually got third place!"

Song Xuan looked doubtful.

He really didn't expect that he would score so high in the exam.

Could it be that Dou Chou had already asked Fan Zhongyan to put pressure on him, and Fan Zhongyan got stubborn and directly raised his own ranking to the front?
Based on Song Xuan's understanding of Fan Zhongyan, this possibility cannot be ruled out.

"Uncle Shi, it's stable, it's stable."

Wang Xiuyong raised his hands excitedly:

"You're safe!"

Wang Xiuyong was very nervous just now, for he was afraid that Song Xuan would not be on the list.

It means that even Mr. Yan has given up.

He didn't dare to go against the Hanlin scholar from the court.

Then Song Xuan really couldn't be saved.

Judging from the current results, they not only dared to go against him, but were also very bold!
Especially since their uncle Song Xuan was so knowledgeable, they wanted to protect him even more.

Wang Xiuyong was very excited. The gentlemen were taking care of us students.

Bao Zheng knew that there was a big gap in knowledge between him and Song Xuan, but he didn't expect it to be so big.

Shi Jie, who was already on the list, had not heard Song Xuan's name for such a long time, and he became more certain of what he was thinking.

But when the news that Song Xuan ranked third in the exam came out, he really couldn't hold it anymore.

Song Xuan usually wields swords and guns and lives a very luxurious life. I have never seen him study hard all night long.

The fact that he managed to rank so high in the exam almost made Shi Jie lose his mind.

"Song Xuan?"

"Song Xuan!"

Many students in the academy have heard of this name.

First there was the poem about the frog that jumped when it was poked, and then there was the story of the son of a Hanlin scholar who confronted him.

But no one expected that he was so knowledgeable?

Wang Yaochen looked at Song Xuan who was not far away, and there was no expression on his face.

It seemed as if ranking third in this exam was not enough for him.

He is a good student.

"Brother Twelve is third, so I must be second." Zhang Fangping chuckled:
"It must be that your calligraphy and meaning are not as good as mine."

Liu Zimo, who was waiting to see the joke, also had a look of surprise on his face.

No way.

Song Xuan laughed heartily: "That's not certain, what if you, Zhang Fangping, come in first?"

"Boasting." Liu Zimo said repeatedly without waiting for Zhang Fangping to reply:
"First, it must be Wang Yaochen's. He passed the preparatory examination and the Spring Examination consecutively."

Zhang Fangping did not argue, second place was also good.

It's just an entrance exam anyway. There will be plenty of time to surpass Wang Yaochen in the future.

"Wang Yaochen, second."

After the person announcing the results finished calling out, the students in the front were silent at first, and then asked in return if they had said anything wrong.
The students at the back couldn't hear clearly because of the buzzing noise in the front and the heat.

"Wang Yaochen, second."

"Wow."

This time, the announcement was made in a very loud voice to the surrounding students.

Wang Yaochen, the popular candidate for the top scorer, was only ranked second.

Who is the first place?

The crowd immediately started talking.

Who is stronger than Wang Yaochen?

Even though Wang Yaochen had always been full of confidence, he was suddenly stunned when he heard that he was ranked second.

As if he couldn't believe his ears.

I don't want to believe that what I just heard is true.

Is there anyone among this class of students who is more capable than me?
Song Xuan ignored the outside voices and smiled while fanning himself with his folding fan:

"Fang Ping, you're really going to take first place."

After hearing what Song Xuan said, Zhang Fangping was so excited that he couldn't stand steadily for a moment.

He couldn't believe that he could get the first place among so many students.

Everyone else thought that Song Xuan wanted to put on a show that would make a big splash by doing nothing.

But didn’t Zhang Fangping, who came from a poor family, also want to do the same?
"Stop and let others take a good look at our top scorer in this year's entrance examination."

Hearing Song Xuan's words, the sun and great joy already surged into his heart, and the shaky Zhang Fangping sobered up a lot.

Zhang Fangping had never believed that someone would develop hysteria after passing the imperial examination.

But this is not even the time to pass the imperial examination. Just the entrance examination alone has made me dizzy.

"Twelfth Brother, I'm still a little confused. Did you get heatstroke?"

Song Xuan secretly pinched the flesh on Zhang Fangping's arm, and the pain instantly made him feel more alert.

"No, I'm excited."

Zhang Fangping quickly stood firm, holding his head high and chest out.

Greet the gazes from all directions.

All glances, either scrutinizing or envious, or even a hint of jealousy, came together.

Zhang Fangping breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately his twelfth brother was there to help him.

Otherwise, I would be in big trouble today.

"Zhang Dalang!"

It was Su Xun who couldn't help but cheer again.

Then he shook Zhang Fangping's arms frantically.

He is really happy today.

Happy for my friends!
"You beat everyone else and got first place, first place!"

Liu Zimo, who was standing by, also felt that the sun was too strong today and he felt dizzy from the sun.

I always feel that my position today is not very good.

There are two people standing next to the top three.

He was just talking nonsense, but suddenly turned into a clown.

The buzz of the crowd had not yet died down, and everyone was discussing where Zhang Fangping and Song Xuan were from.

How come I have never heard of it before!
Then someone else continued to post on the red list.

Mo Yi first place: Zhang Fangping.

First place in policy essay: Song Xuan.

The first place in pasting scriptures: Zhang Fangping.

First place in poetry and prose: Song Xuan.

When the first place winners of the four subjects were announced, the students watching burst into a huge discussion.

Zhang Fangping and Song Xuan.

The two of them shared the first place!

No chance was left for others.

Because in the past, this situation was extremely rare.

Even the top scholar cannot guarantee that he will be the first in every subject, so Wang Yaochen suddenly became the second in the class.

How come such outstanding students like them have never had any reputation before?
Logically speaking, if the child was so outstanding, he would have spread his praise long ago.

Bao Zheng opened his mouth slightly.

These two people are really child prodigies. They don't give outsiders any chance at all and have taken all four subjects.

At this point, he was completely convinced.

Bao Zheng recalled that Zhang Kang had clearly come to give Song Xuan extra lessons that day, but he let Zhang Fangping go, so he started to criticize him.

It’s just this targeted and single tutoring.

Bao Zheng didn't even make it to the top of the exam.

Wang Yaochen, who was originally the top candidate, felt a little numb. It turned out that he didn't get first place in any of the four subjects.

With such results, you still want to be the top scorer in the palace examination?
It seems that the choice to withdraw was the right one.

I still have to practice in the future!

After all, Wang Yaochen had experienced many exams, so he quickly adjusted his mentality.

He had passed both the Jieshi and Chunwei exams, so he didn't need to take this entrance exam to prove himself like Song Xuan and Zhang Fangping.

Wang Yaochen smiled.

There are such strong candidates in this year's exams.

It seems that after entering school, there is more motivation to compete and catch up with studies.

He was aiming for the top spot.

If you retreat once you meet a strong person, then when will you be able to become the top scorer in the exam?

Moreover, Wang Yaochen believed that Song Xuan and Zhang Fangping might not be able to take the palace examination at the same time as him. They still needed to pass the preliminary examination and the spring examination at the same time.

The difficulty of this is not comparable to an entrance examination.

"Fifth brother, look."

Song Ming wanted to jump up and pointed ahead and said:
"The top four students in all four subjects came from our private school. Twelve and Zhang Fangping shared the honors equally, and Zhang Fangping even took first place!"

Song Hao was stunned.

Although he had just figured out the connection, when the result was laid out in front of him, Song Hao was still shocked and speechless.

As for fighting back against the Zhao family members who had just teased them, Song Ming didn't have the heart to say anything.

To compare Twelve with them would be an insult to Twelve.

Zhang Fangping is an outsider, but Song Xuan is a member of the Song family after all, and represents the reputation of the Song family.

"Twelfth brother, he." Song Hao didn't know what to say.

The person who announced the results did not leave, but directly posted Zhang Fangping and Song Xuan's copied test papers and hung them aside for everyone to observe.

This will eliminate some of the noise.

Many students flocked to it. Faced with such good learning materials, everyone was eager to take a look and see what was so good about it.

Seeing the surging crowd, Song Xuan quickly said:

"This place is quite dangerous, let's retreat first."

So he passively pushed many students to his front.

Lei Qi stood still. He was originally sent by his father, Mr. Lei, to see the result that Song Xuan failed the exam, but he actually passed!
Zhang Kang did not follow his superior's request to find any evidence, but led the yamen runners to maintain order here.

He had long known that Song Xuan and Zhang Fangping were both very powerful and would have no problem with the imperial examination.

Zhang Kang heard that Fan Zhongyan conducted this examination completely in accordance with the rules of the imperial examination.

He stood under the shade of a tree, looking at the crowds of students checking the list, and recalled that it was just as lively when he was checking the list back then.

Everyone wants to be on the list.

"Zhang Tuiguan!" Captain Ding Zhe had a smile on his face.

"I really didn't expect that Shi Er Lang, so young, could get third place in the exam. Isn't this definitely Wen Quxing coming down to earth?"

Crystal beads of sweat hung on Zhang Kang's fat face, and he naturally would not correct Ding Zhe's words.

In fact, if we really follow the judgment of the imperial examination, Zhang Fangping, who ranked first in the examinations on pasting scriptures and ink interpretation, would definitely not be ranked ahead of Song Xuan, who ranked first in the examinations on policy essays and poetry.

Because the proportion of the latter two is the most important.

In fact, Song Xuan should have ranked first.

Zhang Kang felt that Fan Zhongyan deliberately suppressed Song Xuan to prevent him from becoming proud and to make Dou Chou cautious.

But Dou Chou will not give up.

Zhang Kang suddenly felt that in fact, when officials from the capital left Tokyo to take up positions in local areas, they did not have that much power to mobilize.

There are still many local officials who don't care about you.

Just like if a local official wants to control an area, he still needs to rely on the clerks under him.

Zhang Kang himself was deeply touched by this point.

Zhang Kang went from being panicked at the beginning to being calm and composed now, all thanks to the confidence given by Yan Shu.

When it comes to a successful career, you have to look to Mr. Yan.

In the future, Mr. Yan will be able to return to the capital. I wonder how many more years Dou Chou can stay in the position of Hanlin Bachelor?

A few people squeezed out from the crowd and sat under the willow trees by the river to rest in the shade.

Zhang Fangping chuckled a few times: "I can't believe I got first place in the exam."

"You have the ability, otherwise why would Tongpan Song Shou think so highly of you?"

Song Xuan sat on the grass, looking at the slowly flowing river:
"I finally got into the academy, so I didn't lose face."

Wang Xiuyong nodded repeatedly: "Not only did I not lose face, I saved my life!"

"Yes."

Bao Zheng also echoed: "This way he won't dare to publicly frame Twelve Lang."

Su Xun is a man with a big heart. He is the only one present who is not on the list, but he is happy for his friends.

Of course, this was also the result he envisioned at the time. He also had to travel to Tokyo, Luoyang, Jiangxi and other places to study and broaden his horizons.

"Twelfth Brother, if you ask me, after Dou Chou comes out of Brother Wang's clinic, I will secretly break one of his legs and run away. He won't be able to catch me anyway."

"Hey." Song Xuan quickly stopped Su Xun:
"Brother, you are still young and have a long life ahead of you. Don't go down the path of crime."

Su Xun really wanted to do this.

Sichuan people have the attitude of "I'm not afraid of you when encountering problems".

Su Xun saw Song Xuan trying to persuade him, and he looked suspicious: "Twelfth brother, what good ideas have you come up with?"

"Just countering the moves."

Song Xuan repeated the three moves he had mentioned to Zhang Fangping to the others.

"That means Mr. Fan resisted Dou Chou's pressure and ignored him completely."

"Not bad." Song Xuan chuckled:
"Fang Ping and I did so well on the exam, and now we're being falsely accused. I'm guessing it's something like cheating on the exam. We're not far from Mr. Fan's new home, so it won't take more than a day or two for these rumors to spread."

When they heard this, they immediately looked worried.

"I've had a photographic memory since I was young. Pasting scriptures and writing inscriptions are not difficult for me. Twelve Brother is unmatched in poetry and prose. Even Liu Sanbian is no match for him."

Zhang Fangping first analyzed the situation and then pointed out:
"The only flaw is the policy paper. There's no way to prove that Mr. Fan didn't reveal it to me in advance."

"Yeah, that's troublesome."

Wang Xiuyong's face was filled with sorrow again. He thought he had solved one problem, but he never expected that there would be even bigger troubles behind it.

If we turn a blind eye to the cheating incident, the twelfth brother and others will have no hope of passing the imperial examination, even Mr. Fan will not be spared, and even the academy will be destroyed!
Song Xuan stretched out his hand and motioned everyone to look at him:

"Don't worry about such trivial matters. If someone falsely accuses you, then so be it. This cannot be changed. But we must clarify our thinking on how to fight back. That is to never fall into the trap of self-incrimination."

(End of this chapter)