Chapter 100: A Great Teacher Produces Outstanding Students

Emperor Hongzhi listened half-heartedly. But today was strange; still no memorial arrived. Though patient, Emperor Hongzhi could not help but ask, “Go and ask again if the results are out. Have them delivered urgently.”

Xie Qian was calm and smiled. “Your Majesty, there’s no need to rush. What should come will come.”

He remained unperturbed.

This was confidence, the confidence of a top scholar.

Wang Ao also could not help but smile. In fact, he had great expectations in his heart. After all… his own nephew had also taken the exam. If he could pass the imperial examination this time, it would bring honor to the family, and the Wang family would have a successor.

After a short wait, someone finally arrived. A eunuch came in panting and said, “Your Majesty, the results are here.”

Hearing that the results had arrived, Emperor Hongzhi smiled. “Bring them here.”

Xie Qian, Wang Ao, and others also looked forward eagerly. Saying they were calm was a lie. Who would not wish to know the final results?

The results had long been copied and were presented to Emperor Hongzhi.

Emperor Hongzhi looked down and instinctively said, “The top candidate is… Ouyang Zhi… next… Liu Wenshan… after that… Tang Yin…”

“…”

His voice was very soft.

But everyone perked up their ears. After all, those who made the list were all outstanding talents, especially the top three. They were the elite among the elite. The Metropolitan Examination was held only once every three years. Even if an emperor reigned for thirty years, he would only select thirty such elites.

When Emperor Hongzhi read the names one by one, the Warm Pavilion suddenly fell silent.

Emperor Hongzhi gasped.

Dominating the list, this was dominating the list.

Ouyang Zhi ranked first, Liu Wenshan second. These two Provincial Graduates from Northern Zhili, disciples of Fang Jifan, were like hitting with both hands, repeatedly striking the many scholars.

Tang Yin, who was originally the most promising, ended up in third place.

That Fang Jifan guy… was amazing!

Emperor Hongzhi did not know how to react at that moment.

But Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng opened their eyes wide, their gazes flickering with surprise.

Xie Qian stared in shock, finding it hard to believe. Was His Majesty joking?

Wang Ao’s heart was in his throat. Though astonished, he was more concerned about whether his nephew was on the list.

Emperor Hongzhi checked the results repeatedly and finally accepted the fact before him. He was overjoyed. “This Fang Jifan is interesting, truly interesting. This young man is very interesting! A great teacher produces outstanding students. Even I admire him.”

He said “interesting” three times in a row.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up and glanced at the ministers. Liu Jian was also beaming. This was good news. Who would dare say the Northern Region had no talents now? He smiled warmly. “Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

Ma Wensheng was also pleased. He sneakily glanced at the speechless Xie Qian and said, “This is indeed a cause for congratulations. I too congratulate Your Majesty.”

Xie Qian’s old face reddened. It seemed he had boasted too much earlier and felt embarrassed. He was shocked in his heart. How did Fang Jifan teach these people?

Now that Ouyang Zhi was the top candidate and Liu Wenshan followed closely, no one marveled at these two anymore. Instead, they were all struck with awe, admiring Fang Jifan’s prowess.

This guy… really did not seem like a wastrel. If someone like him was considered a scoundrel and a wastrel, then wouldn’t everyone else in the world want to find a piece of tofu to kill themselves?

Emperor Hongzhi was overjoyed. He narrowed his eyes, feeling more and more that Fang Jifan had many unusual qualities. Placing him by the Crown Prince’s side was indeed the right decision.

Wang Ao coughed and shamelessly said, “Your Majesty, could you check if Wang Daohe’s name is on the list?”

The Metropolitan Examination was held every three years. To cultivate this nephew, he had worked tirelessly. Now that the results were within reach, he could not bear not to ask.

Emperor Hongzhi was preoccupied with thoughts of Fang Jifan. Could this guy really teach such talents with a stick? But upon second thought, it did not add up. Many noble families were very strict in their upbringing and also believed in the principle that talent comes from the rod. Others also beat their children, and you, Fang Jifan, also beat them. Why were your beatings so effective?

Could it be… that others did not beat hard enough?

Hmm… that made sense.

While lost in thought, he looked down to help Wang Ao search for the name on the list. Finally, on the second page, at fifty-second place, he found Wang Daohe. “Here it is. He is ranked fifty-second in the Metropolitan Examination. Wang Daohe, a Provincial Graduate from Wuxian County in Yingtian Prefecture. Is that correct?”

It was correct.

Hearing that his nephew was on the list, Wang Ao was overjoyed. His eyes welled up with tears, and his thin lips smacked. “The family is fortunate, the family is fortunate. My efforts were not in vain, my efforts were not in vain…”

The fifty-second place in the Metropolitan Examination exceeded Wang Ao’s expectations. Generally, a Metropolitan Examination selected between two to three hundred scholars. The top three were the Top Three Candidates. The next several dozen were the Second Rank. Those after that were the Associate Metropolitan Graduates. His nephew had passed the Metropolitan Examination and was now a Tribute Scholar. As long as he did not make any major mistakes in the Palace Examination, becoming a Second Rank Jinshi was almost certain. Ranking in the Second Rank meant there was great hope of entering the Hanlin Academy. His future prospects would not be too bad. Even if he could not compare to Wang Ao, he would still be able to shoulder the responsibility and support the Wang family.

Seeing Tutor Wang like this, Emperor Hongzhi felt happy for him.

Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Ma Wensheng also offered their congratulations.

Wang Ao smiled. “Not at all, not at all. My foolish nephew is dull-witted. He only managed to pass because he worked hard. I also taught him some methods in private, which is why he was lucky enough to make it…”

Though he was modest, his pride was evident.

His expectations were not high to begin with. He did not expect his nephew to be like Tang Yin or Ouyang Zhi, riding on the wind of success. Achieving this result was already enough to bring him comfort.

Emperor Hongzhi felt refreshed and clear-headed. Today, Tutor Wang was happy, and Fang Jifan had far exceeded his expectations. He even felt that he had found some unique secret technique, which gave him more confidence in the future education of the Crown Prince.

So he laughed heartily and noticed the young eunuch who had delivered the results was still there. “Why were the results delivered so late?”

This question was merely asked in passing.

The young eunuch said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, outside the Examination Hall, countless Scholars were crying together, very sorrowful. When your servant first went, I did not know what had happened, so it was delayed.”

Crying together?

This made the emperor and his ministers in the Warm Pavilion suspicious.

Many of them had experience with viewing results. Many failed the exam, so it was common for some to cry. But weren’t there also those who passed? So the atmosphere should have been noisy, with some crying, some laughing, some going mad, and some cursing loudly.

But according to the young eunuch’s description, it seemed like a scene of widespread mourning. How… was that possible?

It was simply unbelievable.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned. “What was the reason?”

The young eunuch hesitated and said, “Your servant inquired a bit and heard that when the results were posted, one of Fang Jifan’s disciples performed poorly. Fang Jifan was so angry that he stamped his feet, ordered the disciple to kneel, and scolded him harshly. He said things like, ‘You are not worthy to be my disciple,’ and ‘This is a disgrace, a shameful display.’ He even said he would expel him from his school, saying that performing so poorly was worse than dying, and so on. In short, it was a thorough scolding. That Provincial Graduate named Jiang Chen was so frightened that he cried and kept admitting his mistakes. Afterward, when Fang Jifan took his disciples and left, outside the Examination Hall, there was an endless stream of loud crying, so loud it shook the heavens.”

Emperor Hongzhi found this illogical. Fang Jifan scolding his own disciple for poor performance—what did it have to do with the others?

That disciple named Jiang Chen must have failed the exam. So what if he was scolded? Wasn’t this guy known for producing talent through beatings? But it was hard to connect this with the subsequent crowd of people crying loudly.

Wang Ao stroked his beard. He was in a good mood. Though surprised that Ouyang Zhi and Liu Wenshan took the top two spots, his own nephew was also in the Second Rank.

He stroked his beard and said with a smile, “This Fang Jifan is too strict. But… being strict is also right. Your old minister has always been very strict with his nephew’s family education, not tolerating any mistakes. Otherwise, he would not have been able to pass the imperial examination.”

Emperor Hongzhi nodded. “I find it suspicious. How could a scolding lead to…” As he spoke, he instinctively looked at the results.

Suddenly, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed his eyes.

Was he seeing things?

The name in eighth place was clearly written as Jiang Chen, a Provincial Graduate from Shuntian.

Ranked eighth…