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

It took about ten seconds for everyone to realize what was happening.

Thunderous applause erupted immediately.

Everyone turned to look at the headmaster of Xin'an Academy.

They didn't know who Shen Chen was, they only knew the headmaster of Xin'an Academy, and they never expected that this year's top scholar would come from Xin'an Academy.

As native residents of Xin'an County, many people may not know the meaning of "Jieyuan," but they all know that being number one means being the most outstanding.

Zhao Haoran's mouth was stretched from ear to ear; today was the happiest day of his life.

Just a few months ago, I was worried about not being able to recruit students this year and that I needed to start increasing revenue and cutting costs.

This is great! This autumn, not only did more than ten students from Xin'an Academy make the list of successful candidates, but the top scholar in the provincial examination was also from Xin'an Academy.

It can be said that Xin'an Academy is the biggest winner of this autumn examination.

He not only doesn't need to worry about student enrollment, but he estimates that this year's number of new students will reach a new high.

Haha, this is indeed good news.

Shen Chen had originally planned to quietly go home. He hadn't done well on the exam this time, but he was determined to do better next time.

He turned and left with heavy steps.

Suddenly, the official announcing the results called out his name, and his outstretched foot froze in mid-air, stunned for a long while.

It was the applause from below that brought him back to his senses.

He put down his feet, which were already a little numb, and stood still, quietly moving his feet to try to relieve the tingling sensation.

His face finally cleared up after the storm, no longer gloomy, but instead beaming with joy.

Wang Chengyan's situation was no better than Shen Chen's; he was shocked when he heard that name.

It was just the kind of shock that you didn't want to believe.

He never expected that Shen Chen, that bookworm, would actually become the top scholar in the imperial examination.

His expression was the exact opposite of Shen Chen's; his joyful expression had turned somewhat gloomy.

The people surrounding Wang Chengyan wanted to congratulate Shen Chen, but seeing his increasingly gloomy face, they all stopped in their tracks.

Several people, eager to curry favor with Shen Chen, disregarded whether they would offend Wang Chengyan. After a moment's hesitation, they stepped forward to congratulate Shen Chen.

Those who were usually on good terms with Wang Chengyan remained standing there, craning their necks to look at Shen Chen, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Wang Chengyan and the others stood there awkwardly.

He suddenly saw Grand Tutor Zhou walking towards them, quickly composed himself, and smiled as he prepared to speak, "Grand Tutor Zhou..."

Grand Tutor Zhou stopped and turned to Wang Chengyan, saying, "Young man, sometimes you need to be more magnanimous and more low-key in your actions."

"Also, keep your eyes open and don't recognize any teacher casually. Your teachers are watching."

After Grand Tutor Zhou finished speaking, he continued walking forward and stopped in front of Shen Chen.

"You're Shen Chen?"

Grand Tutor Zhou's voice interrupted the group of people who were talking.

Upon seeing that it was Grand Tutor Zhou, they all bowed respectfully to him.

Shen Chen was surprised that Grand Tutor Zhou knew him.

He bowed and replied respectfully, "Grand Tutor Zhou, this junior is Shen Chen."

Grand Tutor Zhou looked Shen Chen up and down. He was handsome, humble, and most importantly, kind.

He stroked his beard, becoming more and more satisfied with what he saw.

Shen Chen felt a little uneasy under Grand Tutor Zhou's scrutinizing gaze. He felt that Grand Tutor Zhou's look at him was strange, and he felt like a piece of meat in the mouth of a big bad wolf.

After finally shaking off the people who were congratulating him, the headmaster walked up to Shen Chen.

He patted Shen Chen on the shoulder with a happy expression, "Shen Chen, the younger generation is indeed formidable."

"I knew you would definitely pass the imperial examination with flying colors one day."

Shen Chen bowed respectfully to the headmaster, "Headmaster, you flatter me. I am just an unworthy junior, it was only luck."

The headmaster looked at the humble and polite child in front of him with great satisfaction. He had always thought highly of Shen Chen. He knew that Shen Chen's family was poor, and he often instructed the teachers to take good care of him.

He was right; Shen Chen was indeed a talented person.

He thought for a moment and then asked Shen Chen, "Shen Chen, the school will be recruiting a new batch of students in a while. I was thinking that you could come and give a lesson to those students."

"Tell them how you usually study, so they can learn from you."

Shen Chen did not rush to agree, but instead looked at the school supervisor who was trying to make his presence as inconspicuous as possible.

"This……"

When the headmaster saw that Shen Chen did not agree but instead hesitated, he assumed that Shen Chen was unwilling.

"Is there something troubling you?"

Shen Chen slowly spoke, "Headmaster, it's not that I'm unwilling, but the supervising teacher expelled me from the school some time ago."

The headmaster was surprised by this reason. He walked up to the superintendent and asked sternly, "How can the superintendent have such great power that he can expel students from the school without my permission?"

The supervisor was already trembling with fear. He looked cautiously at the headmaster and said, "It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Shen Chen frowned.

“On that day, the superintendent kicked me out of the school in front of everyone, saying that I was no longer a student of Xin’an School, and even instructed people not to let me enter the school gate.”

"This……"

"It's all a misunderstanding. I misunderstood Shen Chen. I apologize to you."

Shen Chen turned away from the school supervisor's bow; he refused to accept the apology.

The school supervisor stood there awkwardly for a moment.

The headmaster suddenly remembered what the supervisor had said about Shen Chen. "I will investigate this matter privately. Don't worry, Shen Chen. Xin'an Academy may not have a supervisor, but it will never easily expel a student from the academy."

Shen Chen knew that the headmaster was standing up for him, but he was still very angry. The supervisor was the kind of person who fawned over the powerful and bullied the weak. He had often bullied other students from poor families.

He hoped that the headmaster could handle this matter properly this time.

Shen Chen did not speak, but remained standing in place.

Grand Tutor Zhou patted his head. "Look, I forgot about the important matter."

"I came here specifically for Shen Chen."

Grand Tutor Zhou's words once again stirred up a huge wave of discussion.

"As for that Wang Yan, I don't know him, and judging from his grades, he's probably not qualified to be my student."

He glanced at Wang Chengyan.

[I knew it! Wang Chengyan always bullies others by abusing his power. How could Grand Tutor Zhou have taken such a person as a student?]

[I don't know how shameless he is; the person ranked last on the list actually has the nerve to say that Grand Tutor Zhou came for him.]

【that is. 】

Look at Shen Jieyuan, he stood there quietly, never vying for anything.

Moreover, Shen Jieyuan is a very handsome man. I remember now, I almost fell before, and a student helped me. I think that person was Shen Jieyuan.

Now that you mention it, I remember. My son wrote to me before, but I can't read, so I came to Xin'an School hoping to find a student to help me. Nobody paid any attention to this old woman, except for one thin student who helped me. I think he looks a bit like Shen Jieyuan.

【…】

Suddenly, everyone started talking about Shen Jieyuan, and many people recognized him.

All of this is because of the good deeds he did in the past.