Chapter 177: The Unreachable Student

Xu Jing… was completely stunned.

Thirty-third?

Thirty-third… was originally an excellent result, enough to place him in the Second Rank, as a Second Rank Jinshi, respected and honorable wherever he went.

After all, the exam was held once every three years, and there were only three candidates in the Top Three Candidates.

But the biggest problem was that he… was Fang Jifan’s disciple.

As Fang Jifan’s disciple, to rank thirty-third in the Palace Examination was even worse than his performance in the Metropolitan Examination.

Then he looked at his senior brothers.

First, second, third, fourth—they dominated the rankings directly, leaving no chance for anyone else, not even the slightest bit.

His mind was buzzing.

That is to say, the answers his Mentor had given earlier were actually correct.

No, not just correct—it was practically the standard answer.

If only he had listened to his Mentor’s words, like his senior brothers did, he might have taken Wang Shouren’s fifth place by now.

Between thirty-third and fifth, the difference was like heaven and earth, utterly incomparable. Those who ranked at the top would have such smooth official careers ahead, far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Xu Jing shivered. He… began to cry.

Tears poured down. It was as if his Mentor had handed him a gold ingot, but he had treated it like dirt, thrown it away like worthless trash, and in doing so, ruined his own future.

“Mentor…” Xu Jing burst into loud sobs. He was truly crying from the depths of his heart, without a shred of pretense. Then he knelt at Fang Jifan’s feet.

Ouyang Zhi and the others had not held great expectations for the Palace Examination. Or at least, for Ouyang Zhi, Liu Wenshan, and Jiang Chen, they originally had little prospects. To have become Tribute Scholars step by step was already something they could never have dreamed of before. So even if they only made it to the Second Rank, they would have considered it a tremendous blessing.

But now, they looked up and stared in disbelief at the announcement board. Clearly, three of them were in the Top Three Candidates, and even the worst among them, Liu Wenshan, was first in the Second Rank.

They were too excited to speak.

When they answered those questions according to their Mentor’s instructions, hadn’t they felt doubtful?

Was their Mentor’s word always correct? Even if the Mentor was correct, for the Imperial Palace, it also required His Majesty to believe the Mentor was correct.

But… once the results were posted, everything became clear. Their Mentor could not be wrong.

At that moment, Xu Jing’s mournful wail moved everyone.

Countless eyes turned toward Xu Jing.

Xu Jing had many friends, and many Tribute Scholars from the same exam knew him.

Normally, this guy was always well-dressed, elegant, and charismatic.

But now… he looked utterly defeated and overwhelmed with grief.

Xu Jing, ranked thirty-third.

Making it to the Second Rank—any family that produced such a Metropolitan Graduate could consider it a glorious honor, a blessing from their ancestors.

Yet Xu Jing was sobbing uncontrollably, crying as if his heart would break. This was definitely not an act. Even if he were acting on stage, it would be impossible to achieve such an effect.

As a result, everyone was touched by Xu Jing’s weeping, feeling a sense of sorrow deep in their hearts.

Xu Jing had already grabbed Fang Jifan’s leg, tears dripping onto Fang Jifan’s boots.

He wanted to die.

He felt ashamed.

He wished he could vanish into the ground.

He wished he could slap himself several times right then. Beast! I, Xu Jing, am worse than a beast!

He cried so hard his whole body trembled, as if life and death no longer mattered: “Mentor, Mentor… I regret not listening to your words. If I had followed your teachings, how could I have ended up like this? Mentor… this student has let you down… Mentor, please beat me to death, beat this student to death. I might as well die and be done with it. In my next life, I will be reborn to serve you as an ox or a horse, never again acting on my own and defying your teachings…”

“…”

Last time was already very awkward.

But many people couldn’t help but think it was just Fang Jifan putting on a show.

Yet today, the same scene was right before their eyes. Seeing Xu Jing crying so hard he was trembling, overwhelmed with grief as if he wished to die—could this possibly be fake?

In fact, many could understand Xu Jing’s feelings. His senior brothers had practically dominated all the Scholars in The World, while Xu Jing only ranked in the thirties.

This… how could it not be shameful? If it were them, they would feel ashamed too.

Understanding was one thing, but…

These new Metropolitan Graduates still felt as if they had been utterly humiliated. If Xu Jing was disgraced, weren’t they disgraced too? If Xu Jing felt shame, didn’t they feel shame? If Xu Jing was worthless, then they were even worse than worthless!

It was clearly a scene that could move one to tears.

Perhaps because it was windy, many new Metropolitan Graduates felt as if sand had gotten into their eyes.

Fang Jifan, however, stared coldly at Xu Jing, his expression displeased.

With a larger group, it was harder to manage. This Xu Jing was truly the rotten apple that spoils the barrel.

This guy had too distinct a personality and loved to rely on petty cleverness. If he wasn’t taught a lesson today, who knew if others would follow his example next time.

Thus, Fang Jifan flew into a rage: “How outrageous! I’ve said it before—someone like you, this untalented fool, is utterly hopeless! The unreachable student!” With that, he kicked Xu Jing over.

Many who saw it… felt their scalps go numb.

After all, this was a Second Rank Metropolitan Graduate, yet now… he was kicked aside by Fang Jifan like a dog, with no dignity left.

Xu Jing rolled several times on the ground, already having lost all decorum. The spot where he was kicked on his shoulder hurt badly, but he only wept even more, with snot and tears, and held no resentment.

“You hit me well, Mentor, you hit me well. This student deserved it. This student is worse than a pig or a dog…” Then he rushed forward again, hugging Fang Jifan’s leg: “Mentor, beat this student to death. It would be better if you beat this student to death.”

What a deeply moving scene. Seeing this, Tang Yin and the others also knelt down one by one, pleading for Xu Jing: “Mentor…”

Fang Jifan snorted coldly, not even glancing at his disciples: “You actually side with this beast Xu Jing? Fine, very well. Since you share weal and woe, kneel here then. Kneel for three days and three nights, or else don’t call yourselves my disciples anymore.”

As their father—ahem, as their Mentor—Fang Jifan naturally knew that this time he had to teach them a sufficient lesson, so they would obey him completely from then on. Otherwise, once they entered officialdom, who knew if they would be influenced by all those messy people outside?

Xu Jing cried as if life no longer mattered, quickly kowtowing: “Thank… thank you, Mentor…”

Surprisingly, he felt a twisted sense of gratitude, thankful that his Mentor had not expelled him from the Fang Family.

Tang Yin and the others all had stern expressions, but inwardly, they felt relieved.

Younger junior Xu Jing, besides being a bit flashy, was actually quite good to his senior brothers. Having lived together day and night, their bond had gradually deepened. This time, the younger junior hadn’t listened. If he had, he might have soared to great heights by now. What they feared most was that their Mentor would punish younger junior Xu Jing harshly because of this. Now that the younger junior hadn’t been kicked out of the Fang Family, they actually felt fortunate.

Was it just kneeling for three days?

They were already used to it.

Fang Jifan… then stormed off in a huff.

But the five disciples dared not fake their kneeling in the slightest. They knelt straight outside the Examination Hall, not saying a word.

Outside the Examination Hall, it was very quiet. Despite the crowd, it was silent as if no one was there.

Everyone watched the scene: the honorable Zhuangyuan, the second-place, the third-place, the first in Second Rank, and another Second Rank Metropolitan Graduate, all kneeling straight under the scorching sun.

The World… ever since Fang Jifan appeared, especially since he got involved in the entire Imperial Examination of the twelfth year of Hongzhi, had taken on a different appearance.

Thus, everyone remained silent. Some came to check the results on tiptoe, others left on tiptoe.

What was originally a very lively scene now left everyone’s faces looking somewhat numb, with a strange feeling—but they couldn’t quite say what was strange about it.

Wang Shouren stood dazedly below the announcement board.

He seemed spellbound, his gaze vacant.

Fifth…

What he thought was his strength had resulted in what felt like failure. Yes, for Wang Shouren, wasn’t this just failure?

He felt a suffocating sensation in his chest. Thirty years seemed to have been wasted…

The Zhang Brothers, however, eyed Wang Shouren slyly. They exchanged a glance…

Zhang Yanling leaned close to his elder brother’s ear and whispered: “Brother, this one isn’t bad, and he’s young too.”

Zhang Heling nodded, still staring straight at Wang Shouren, deep in thought.

“How about we kidnap him?” Zhang Yanling rubbed his hands, eager to try.

Zhang Heling frowned, feeling his intelligence was deeply insulted by his younger brother again: “How crude. We are refined people.”

Just then, Wang Shouren’s tears fell like rain. At that moment, he felt deep in his heart that the four words “Unity of Knowledge and Action” seemed to be reawakened, once again occupying his mind.

So all that he had learned in his life was not the truth. So the knowledge he had been so proud of was so fragile.

The one who grasped the truth was that Fang Jifan.

Unity of Knowledge and Action—what exactly was Unity of Knowledge and Action? Was it just the superficial meaning?

No, absolutely not.

How much knowledge did Young Master Fang hold in his mind? And what was the essence of his learning?

Feeling utterly lonely, he slowly turned his head. At that moment, his blank eyes fell upon the Zhang Brothers.

The Zhang Brothers trembled under his gaze, like a thief caught red-handed—like Old Wang next door almost being caught—and guiltily turned their faces away!

Zhang Heling’s scalp tingled. What, had they been discovered? So he forced a dry laugh and pointed at the sky: “Brother, look, the sky is so blue.”

“Yes, yes, emerald blue, emerald blue.” Zhang Yanling looked up at the sky, but the blazing sun dazzled his eyes.

“Brother, look, wild geese.”

A line of wild geese soared high in the sky. Zhang Yanling drooled: “If we had a bow and arrow, we could shoot them down, boil some water, pluck their feathers, remove their entrails, skewer them, roast them over charcoal, drizzle some sesame oil on top, sprinkle some sesame seeds, wait till their skin is crispy—I bet they’d be delicious. Brother, I’m hungry again.”

Zhang Heling’s saliva dripped down, and his Adam’s apple bobbed: “How about we put Gui’er’s marriage matter aside for now and go pay respects to Your Highness. Your Highness has good food.”

Zhang Yanling nodded like a chick pecking rice: “Anyway, Gui’er is still young, no hurry for now.”