Chapter 101: A Family”s Honor

In Emperor Hongzhi”s mind, ten thousand curse words galloped past.

One must know that anyone who ranked eighth was definitely no ordinary person; they were truly elite among the elite. Scholars from across the world went through layers of selection—from millions of scholars, first by passing the Xiucai exam, then the Provincial Graduate exam, and finally participating in the Metropolitan Examination. Being able to pass the Metropolitan Examination alone made one outstanding among all scholars. Ranking eighth? That was enough to proudly surpass countless scholars.

But…

Scoundrel… disgraceful… shameful… drop dead.

Such words were now associated with someone who ranked eighth in the Metropolitan Examination.

Emperor Hongzhi’s expression turned extremely strange.

Wang Ao smiled and asked, “Your Majesty, why…”

Emperor Hongzhi took a sharp breath, then said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, “Jiang Chen ranked eighth in this year”s Metropolitan Examination!”

“…”

Wang Ao’s expression instantly froze.

How did it feel? It was as if dozens of strong men surrounded him and directly forced a mouthful of flies down his throat. Then, an image of Fang Jifan”s smug face seemed to appear before him, cheerfully asking, “Tasty?”

The Warm Pavilion fell deadly silent.

They no longer even found it strange that Fang Jifan’s two disciples had topped the list.

Instead… this Jiang Chen was now linked with words like shameful, trash, drop dead, and disgrace.

Wang Ao’s old face twitched, and it took him a long time to regain his composure. After careful reflection, his own nephew, that nephew who had proudly ranked fifty-second—where was the glory of passing the imperial examination now? If even the eighth-ranked person was being scolded as worthless, then what about Wang Daohe? Wasn’t he just trash among trash?

Just moments ago, he had been overjoyed and beside himself with delight. Now, looking back… it felt utterly humiliating, disgraceful. That wastrel Fang Jifan had even scolded his eighth-ranked disciple mercilessly. And he, a dignified Imperial Tutor and Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel, had been elated that his own nephew barely made it into the Second Rank.

It was like being rubbed raw—being pressed to the ground with a finger and rubbed back and forth repeatedly. After the rubbing, being hung up, then slapped relentlessly from left and right—smack, smack, smack, smack, smack…

Uh…

Wang Ao’s expression stiffened, and he immediately looked as if he had lost his parents.

If he still acted overjoyed now, he would only become a laughingstock.

Emperor Hongzhi truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry…

Sigh…

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to want to help Wang Ao save face: “This Fang Jifan is truly out of line. Next time… I must reprimand him.”

The Warm Pavilion remained silent as death. It seemed Emperor Hongzhi’s attempt to ease the tension did nothing to dispel the awkwardness.

Thus, the Warm Pavilion stayed eerily quiet.

Especially Wang Ao, who felt awkward to the extreme.

He was ashamed and furious. He wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He even… wanted to die!

Wang Ao was a man who valued his dignity. After all, he was a dignified Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel. In such a situation, he truly wanted to die.

“Tutor Wang…” Emperor Hongzhi noticed something was wrong and felt somewhat annoyed. That Fang Jifan, really…

He originally wanted to describe Fang Jifan as “overjoyed and forgetful,” but Fang Jifan wasn’t like that at all. The guy was actually excessively modest. And this modesty of his had caused everyone else to act as though mourning their own parents. What kind of mess was this?

Wang Ao’s face was stiff. After a long while, he finally said awkwardly, “Your old minister… your old minister… is ashamed!”

“…”

Silence again.

Because the monarch and ministers in the Warm Pavilion truly didn’t know how to comfort him. However, they could all empathize with Wang Ao’s feelings.

Emperor Hongzhi shook his head and smiled bitterly. “All of you… you may leave.”

The posting of results for the Metropolitan Examination in the twelfth year of Hongzhi was definitely one of the most awkward in history.

None of those who passed dared to cheerfully set off firecrackers. Even the messengers who brought the good news suffered as well. Wherever they went with their gongs and drums—be it an inn or a residence—the doors were shut in their faces. Reward money? Sorry, none! Why? Because it was shameful! Ranking only in the seventies was a disgrace to the family. What was there to celebrate? Where was the joy? They were too busy reflecting behind closed doors to even think about joy. How could they go around beating gongs and drums to announce that they had passed the imperial examination? Achieved a high rank? Amazing? Uh… If you’re not embarrassed, I’m afraid of being laughed at! So… goodbye.

The messengers cursed all the way. Nowhere was as lively as it had been three years ago. As for reward money? Forget it—if you didn’t chip in to offer condolences to those scholars who passed the exams, that was already generous.

Actually, scholars cared the most about face and valued their reputations highly. It wasn’t about humility anymore; any slight show of pride now might invite suspicion. Scholars relied on the Four Books and Five Classics to seek imperial examination degrees, which destined them to be flawless, morally perfect individuals. Even if they had some dirty thoughts inside, or were wildly ecstatic about making the list—because becoming a Presented Scholar meant they had a chance at the Palace Examination, and then they could become officials. But at this moment, no matter how happy they were, they had to keep it bottled up. They had to behave humbly and keep a low profile.

…

Wang Family Residence.

Wang Hua, the Right Adviser of the Right Chunfang, was in an excellent mood. The results had been posted, and his son Wang Shouren had ranked fourth. This result left him with a small regret, because Wang Hua himself had been a Zhuangyuan top graduate. He now served as an Expositor-in-waiting at the Hanlin Academy, concurrently holding the position of Right Adviser in the Right Chunfang of the House of the Crown Prince.

Logically speaking, like father, like son—since he was a Zhuangyuan, his son should at least have topped the Metropolitan Examination.

But… no matter what, this was still a cause for celebration.

He had specifically taken the day off and did not go to work. In fact, working at the House of the Crown Prince wasn’t very interesting anyway. Wang Hua’s duty was to assist Yang Tinghe in educating the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince had no interest in studying whatsoever.

He was rather easygoing, not like Yang Tinghe, who was deeply troubled because the Crown Prince didn’t read the Four Books and Five Classics. Because… his own son Wang Shouren was actually a bit of an “eccentric talent” himself.

“Young Lord is back, he’s back!”

Commotion erupted from outside.

Upon hearing this, Wang Hua straightened his clothes and sat solemnly in the main hall.

After a moment, a twenty-eight-year-old young man strode into the hall. Seeing Wang Hua, he knelt and said, “Greetings, Father.”

Wang Hua stroked his beard and smiled. “This old man heard the good news and is very pleased for you. Our family is honored! But why do you not seem happy?”

Wang Shouren thought for a long time, then said, “Father, when I went to see the results, I saw people everywhere crying bitterly. That’s why I’m not happy.”

Wang Hua frowned. “They failed the exam. Isn’t it natural for them to cry?”

Wang Shouren pondered this. “They feel ashamed for not passing. But I feel ashamed for those who are upset about not passing.”

Uh… That statement left one speechless.

But after all, Wang Hua was a Zhuangyuan graduate, and this son of his had always had a peculiar temperament, often saying shocking things, so he was used to it.

What Wang Shouren meant was: Those who failed the exams were heartbroken because they didn’t make it. But in Wang Shouren’s view, if you didn’t pass, you didn’t pass. Why cry about it? That’s shameful.

Wang Hua laughed. “You passed, so of course you can say that.”

Wang Shouren didn’t argue with his father but said instead, “Today, I met someone named Fang Jifan.”

Hearing the name Fang Jifan, Wang Hua’s heart skipped a beat. He knew his son’s temperament all too well. There weren’t many people who could pique his interest, but once they did…

Wang Hua’s expression turned serious. “And?”

Wang Shouren thought for a moment. “Under the results board, he fiercely scolded his disciple Jiang Chen. It was so satisfying—he basically scolded all the scholars in the world.”

“…”

Wang Hua was at a loss for words. This foolish son…

Wang Hua said sternly, “You are a scholar too.”

Wang Shouren replied, “I’ve always wanted to break free from the scholar’s framework. You can’t learn true knowledge by just holding books. I…”

And he was off again.