The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

“My family didn’t expect my older brother to pass the exam this time. This is his first time taking the imperial examination. I heard that most people just go to try it out the first time.”

Grand Tutor Zhou nodded. Indeed, he himself had taken the imperial examination twice before finally passing.

Moreover, since the founding of the Great Xia Kingdom two hundred years ago, it has produced a top scholar who achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations.

The scientific expedition was extremely arduous, and judging from the girl's age, her older brother shouldn't be very old either.

Judging from the character of the article, the person he was looking for should be almost thirty years old, and could not possibly be her older brother.

He was a little disappointed, but he figured he would come back to this restaurant again in the future and they would run into each other again eventually.

He wouldn't mind giving this young man a few pointers.

"Then we'll talk about it next time. Little girl, you calculate how much it costs in total."

Shen Cao did the math: three bowls of wontons cost thirty coins, and eight fresh meat mooncakes cost thirty-two coins.

"A total of sixty-two coins."

"What!?" Ye Shu exclaimed in surprise again.

Shen Cao was startled by his sudden voice. This young customer was not old, so why was he a little hard of hearing?

Thinking the other person hadn't heard her, she repeated, "A total of sixty-two coins."

Grand Tutor Zhou knew, of course, that Ye Shu was wondering why it was so cheap.

Why did he choose such a loud and boisterous page? It doesn't match his steady and calm demeanor at all.

Ye Shu quickly covered his mouth, noticing a hint of disdain in Grand Tutor Zhou's eyes.

Will Grand Tutor Zhou replace him on this trip back?

That's not okay.

He smiled and said to Grand Tutor Zhou, "This time it's my treat, hehe, I'll pay the bill with my own private funds."

Grand Tutor Zhou, you see? This meal was paid for by me. You must remember my kindness and not replace me so easily.

I'm the one who knows you best.

Otherwise, he would treat everyone who ate at Shen's Restaurant in Xin'an County, since it wouldn't cost much anyway.

As the saying goes, "He who takes a man's money is bound to him," and since Grand Tutor Zhou had eaten several meals with him, he certainly wouldn't easily replace him.

Okay, it's decided then.

The next morning, Shen Chen rushed back from the neighboring county.

It turned out that the day before yesterday, when he was reading, he realized that he didn't have a certain book, and he went to the bookstore in the county town but couldn't find it.

The shopkeeper told him that there was one in the next county, so he went there before it got dark.

He had a very fruitful trip. He not only bought the books he wanted, but also came across many books that he had wanted to buy before but had never been able to. He bought them all this time.

He was in the next county at the time, engrossed in reading and lost track of time, which is why he stayed overnight.

"Big brother, are you going to school after you've had breakfast?"

Shen Cao was unaware that Shen Chen had been expelled from the school.

"I'll eat first, then I'll go take a look."

The results were posted not in the school, but in the square in front of the school.

The officials who announce the results will post the red list publicly for the students to see.

Zhao Haoran, the headmaster of Xin'an Academy, rushed all the way back to Xin'an County the day before the results were announced.

He looked at his friend who had come with him and asked, "Are you sure your sister-in-law won't be angry if you come back with me?"

Liu Zixu waved his hand, "Don't worry, I've already written a letter explaining everything, everything will be fine."

Zhao Haoran thought about his sister-in-law's personality and silently prayed for his friend, hoping that he wouldn't be stubborn this time.

"Such an exciting event, of course I want to witness it with my own eyes."

"That's all, it's up to you."

The two went to Xin'an Academy early the next morning.

Upon entering, I saw the school supervisor with a joyful expression.

Upon seeing the headmaster, the superintendent immediately greeted him, saying, "Headmaster, we've all heard that Xin'an Academy is sure to make a name for itself this time."

Zhao Haoran hadn't expected the news to spread so quickly.

Well, it's a good thing, so he didn't care who leaked the news.

All the students at Xin'an Academy were waiting for the officials to announce the results.

Many impatient people arrived early at the square in front of Xin'an Academy, eager to see the list as soon as possible.

Not only did many students gather at the entrance of Xin'an Academy, but many ordinary people who knew about the situation also came to join in the fun.

The crowd completely surrounded Xin'an Academy.

Grand Tutor Zhou was pushed to the side, and Ye Shu anxiously helped to separate him from the crowd.

With that pull, I was actually pushed to the back.

Suddenly, the crowd surged, and someone shouted, "Listen, it's the sound of horses' hooves! The people who posted the results are here!"

Upon hearing what that person said, everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

Sure enough, a man in official robes was seen holding a red notice board and shouting, "Make way, make way!"

The crowded people spontaneously made way for him.

Zhao Haoran arrived at the door at this moment, with Liu Zixu, the school teacher, and the school supervisor standing beside him.

Wang Chengyan was also surrounded by his friends and stood in front of Zhao Haoran.

Zhao Haoran recognized him. "You must be Wang Chengyan. How did you do on the exam? Are you confident your name will be on the list?"

Wang Chengyan was surprised that the headmaster still remembered him. He was originally only 80% sure, but now he was 99% sure.

"Reporting to the Headmaster, the student performed well in this exam, and there is a 50% chance that the student's name will be on the list."

He answered very modestly.

Zhao Haoran didn't continue, he just nodded.

He was very happy when the students of Xin'an Academy did well in their exams. Wang Chengyan was polite and not arrogant.

Zhao Haoran, of course, did not know what kind of student Wang Chengyan was. He only knew that this student always did well in the school exams, so he must be quite knowledgeable.

The supervisor walked up with a smile and said, "Headmaster, Wang Chengyan is just being modest. His grades have always been among the best. He probably did the best in this exam."

"Moreover, I heard that his father also inquired about it, and he did indeed do well on the exam."

Zhao Haoran narrowed his eyes. He knew the supervisor's character well, but he didn't expect him to have such a high opinion of Wang Chengyan.

Everyone turns a blind eye to students inquiring about grades in private; he doesn't care how students find out the information.

After all, everyone does this kind of thing.

"He's quite modest."

"Thank you for your praise, Headmaster."

Zhao Haoran looked around at the students watching, but couldn't find that thin, familiar figure. He asked, "Supervisor, I remember we have a student named Shen Chen in our school who is also taking the autumn examination this year."

"Why haven't I seen him?"

When the headmaster mentioned Shen Chen, the supervisor panicked at first and was about to reveal Shen Chen's violation of school rules when he heard the crowd surge.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the increasingly close sound of horses' hooves.

He tactfully withdrew first.

Shen Chen arrived at the square only to find that he couldn't squeeze in at all.

He tried to slowly move in from the side, and suddenly saw an elderly man in his sixties being pushed around and unable to stand. He quickly walked over and helped the man up.

"Sir, please take your time."

Grand Tutor Zhou looked up at the young man who had helped him up. He was dressed in a school uniform, clean-cut, and had the refined air of a scholar.

"Thank you."

"You're too kind. Are you here to check on the results too?"

Seeing that the other person also seemed to be a scholar, Shen Chen assumed that he was probably also participating in the autumn imperial examinations this year and had come to check on the results.

Grand Tutor Zhou didn't explain. After thanking him, Shen Chen pulled Grand Tutor Zhou closer to the front.

Seeing his friend chatting with students, Liu Zixu looked at the crowd gathered at the door with some boredom.

Suddenly, he was startled by a familiar figure in the crowd.

Fearing it was a hallucination, she blinked to make sure it was indeed the other person.

He pointed at the man, speechless for a long time.