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

Grand Tutor Zhou sized up the student in front of him. Although the student was handsome, he felt that the student did not seem to be as polite as he appeared.

Moreover, he disliked the scheming in the student's eyes.

He's much more pleasing to the eye than that Shen Chen from before.

Could it be that the person who wrote such an article is this young upstart in front of me? But isn't this kid a bit shameless?

He didn't see it in the article.

This put him in a bit of a predicament. Had he misread it?

“When I took the imperial examination last autumn, you specifically asked me my name in the examination hall and looked in my direction for a long time.”

Grand Tutor Zhou suddenly remembered something. He said the name Wang Chengyan sounded familiar. It turned out that during the exam, he was looking at the roster and found that someone's name was the same as his pet turtle's. Out of curiosity, he asked the person next to him and took a look.

He looked at the student who shared the same name as Cheng Yan, who had died last year, and stroked his beard. "Oh? You're saying I came here for you?"

How did you know I came for you?

Those below were surprised to learn that Grand Tutor Zhou had come for the sake of the Wang family's young master.

This young master of the Wang family usually frequents brothels; I've never heard of him being good at studying.

Is he a genius?

Wang Chengyan naturally heard the whispers below, and when he heard people say that he often frequented brothels, his face turned ashen.

He cautiously observed Grand Tutor Zhou's expression and only felt relieved when he realized that Zhou hadn't heard him.

When he heard everyone call him a genius, his expression softened considerably. He secretly glanced at Shen Chen, hoping to see some jealousy on his face.

However, to his disappointment, Shen Chen's expression remained unchanged throughout.

Ha, hypocritical. Shen Chen must just be unable to stand people who are better than him.

"To tell you the truth, Grand Tutor Zhou, my father recently asked someone to inquire about the results of the autumn examination."

"The student did quite well on the exam this time."

Grand Tutor Zhou did not change in any way because of his words.

He simply looked at Wang Chengyan without saying a word and slowly nodded.

"Alright, you'll find out soon enough."

"Let's wait for the officials who release the results."

Grand Tutor Zhou interrupted Wang Chengyan, but the school supervisor seemed to think this was his chance to shine, so he approached Grand Tutor Zhou and said, "Grand Tutor Zhou, hello, I am the school supervisor of Xin'an School."

Grand Tutor Zhou glanced at him but did not speak.

The supervisor continued, "This student, Shen Chen, usually looks down on his classmates because he is good at studying. He is the most hypocritical and arrogant person."

"Moreover, not long ago, he personally sent his classmate to prison. That classmate was sentenced to stabbing, and his life was ruined."

The school supervisor's words finally managed to divert Grand Tutor Zhou's attention.

Grand Tutor Zhou didn't look at him, but instead looked at Shen Chen, who was standing silently to the side. He wanted to see how this student would explain himself.

He was disappointed, however, as Shen Chen offered no explanation.

On the contrary, it was the school supervisor who kept speaking ill of Shen Chen.

The headmaster, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore. He knew a little about Shen Chen and felt that there must be something hidden behind this.

"Alright, let's talk about that later. The most important thing right now is to release the results."

"They're here! They're here!" The crowd began to surge.

Sure enough, a man in official robes rode a large horse and came with a roll of silk in his hand.

The man in official robes stepped forward, about to take down the notice, when he suddenly spotted Grand Tutor Zhou.

He quickly went to pay his respects to Grand Tutor Zhou.

"Alright, hurry up and release the results, all these students are waiting."

The official in charge of posting the list quickly unfolded it and read out all the names on it.

With the continuous emergence of "Xin'an Schools".

Zhao Haoran couldn't stop smiling.

Ten students from Xin'an Academy made the list this time, including Wang Chengyan.

However, Shen Chen's name never appeared.

Wang Chengyan smiled as he watched Shen Chen's face grow increasingly dark.

What's the use of studying so hard? You still won't pass the exam.

When Wang Chengyan's cronies heard his name, they all came up to him to congratulate him.

Even the headmaster patted him on the shoulder after hearing his name.

The school supervisor, standing nearby, fawned over the students.

However, Grand Tutor Zhou remained completely unresponsive.

Wang Chengyan walked through the crowd to Shen Chen. "Well? Shen Chen, can you congratulate me in person this time?"

Although Shen Chen was unwilling, he still forced a sincere smile and said, "Congratulations, Wang."

Wang Chengyan leaned close to Shen Chen's ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Hehe, put away your fake smile. This is just the beginning. In a moment, I'll show you what a genius is."

"Don't forget, Grand Tutor Zhou came all this way just for me, and you will be forever trampled under my feet."

Upon hearing his words, Shen Chen's previously calm face cracked with resentment and self-blame.

If only I had tried harder, I would have been fine. But I'm not as skilled as others, there's nothing I can do about it.

But what upset him the most was that he never expected that Grand Tutor Zhou had come for Wang Chengyan.

This was worse than killing him.

After hearing Wang Chengyan's name, the people around him began to flatter him.

Especially Wang Chengyan's relatives, one by one they began to proudly boast that their family had produced a talent, and that the Wang family's ancestral graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

The headmaster was very happy with Xin'an Academy's results this time, but he was a little disappointed with Shen Chen, who hadn't expected to fail.

However, he also felt that Wang Chengyan's behavior was somewhat arrogant and not like that of a gentleman.

Wang Chengyan, who was standing to the side, was blinded by the fruits of victory. He walked up to Grand Tutor Zhou with a smile and was about to kneel down to perform the apprenticeship ceremony.

Grand Tutor Zhou gave Ye Shu a look, and Ye Shu quickly helped Wang Chengyan, who was about to kneel down.

"Wait a minute, it's not over yet."

Under Wang Chengyan's questioning gaze, the official announcing the results continued, "Now, let's announce the third place winners of this autumn imperial examination. The third place winner is Xu Ziqing from Lumi Academy, and the second place winner is Lu Xuan from Lumi Academy..."

The others had fallen silent as soon as the official who was announcing the results spoke.

Unexpectedly, this year's ranking rules are different from previous years. In the past, all the names on the list were read aloud and then the list was posted so that people could check their rankings themselves.

This year, surprisingly, the names of the top three winners were not read out first, but were announced to the public at the very end.

The officials who just released the results did not read out the names of the third and second place winners.

Shen Chen also realized this situation, and his previously disappointed eyes lit up again, which meant that he still had a chance.

But that look dimmed again after hearing the names of the third and second place winners.

It seems I was overthinking things.

He can't possibly be number one, right? Oh well, he'll try again next year. He needs to work even harder when he gets back.

Just as he was dejectedly preparing to head home, he heard the voice of the person who posted the results.

"The top scorer in the provincial examination, the top scholar in this provincial examination, is Shen Chen from Xin'an Academy."