Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1346: Chapter 1298: The Height of Despair

In the end, Lul Xun didn’t do anything to Mi Zhen; he couldn’t help it but to just look and not touch. Mi Zhen often teased him by embracing him, and after a long time, Lul Xun began to have some resentment.

Mi Zhen, perhaps due to her promise, seldom showed a compliant side in front of Lul Xun, which actually made Lul Xun somewhat unaccustomed. After initially scaring Mi Zhen a few times to vent his frustration, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The next day, in the morning, the results were announced. The place was heavily crowded with scholars who had participated, while the Aristocratic Families Under Heaven also kept a close eye on the announcement. The last question on the exam had spread widely by yesterday, but nobody had managed to solve it thus far.

”I wonder if anyone managed to solve it,” a scholar wearing a Confucian Robe turned to his fellow countryman and asked.

”I doubt it; I bet the top score is Yins Ziyong. He should be the only one who passed,” the fellow scholar said helplessly. ”It’s really luck; I should’ve taken the lead and handed it in first.”

”Congratulations, Brother Yins,” a scholar acquainted with Yins Su saluted with cupped hands.

”Luck, just luck,” Yins Su replied in kind. Upon leaving, he had already inquired and later specifically consulted a clan elder skilled in Numerology at home. He confirmed that virtually no candidates could solve this question, so his sixty points were destined to be at the top.

”Alas...” Mi Zhen sighed, feeling forlorn. Although Lul Xun didn’t do anything strange to her, for some reason, she felt much more downcast and had no interest in teasing Lul Xun, only feeling mentally exhausted.

”What’s wrong?” Lul Xun asked inquisitively, looking at Mi Zhen.

Mi Zhen instinctively glared at Lul Xun, causing him to flinch. Realizing what had happened, Lul Xun returned the glare, though Mi Zhen didn’t understand the meaning.

”The results are out, the results are out!” someone suddenly shouted.

The previously quiet scene became instantly turbulent, and even Lul Xun and Mi Zhen, who weren’t very concerned, instinctively turned their eyes towards the Official Announcement.

”Top scorer, Cai Zhaoji from Chenliu State, full marks!” At this moment, the announcer yelled out the name, causing the previously chaotic and noisy environment to become suddenly silent.

”The next, Zhao Junqing from Jiujiang, Yangzhou, tied with the Yangcai Clan from Mount Tai!” The announcer continued to announce the rankings in a loud voice, and by this time, the venue was already quiet.

”Sister Zhaoji actually got full marks.” Mi Zhen’s eyebrows twitched furiously, unsure of what her emotions were at this moment.

”I knew it would be like this.” Cai Zhenji was in a private room at a nearby tavern, uncharacteristically poured herself a glass of wine, and raised it to her sister, saying with a look of dejection, ”If you could do it, you should’ve taught me when you returned yesterday, so I wouldn’t have been calculating until midnight.”

”I already taught you similar questions when I introduced you to prime numbers previously.” Cai Yan rarely drank a glass of wine, revealing a different style than before.

”At that time, I was feeding your nephew, and I’m not like my sister; I didn’t listen carefully. Fortunately, I have some impression...” Cai Zhenji said with resentment, ”It’s a good thing my husband didn’t come to take the exam; otherwise, it would’ve been a huge embarrassment.”

”Cai Zhaoji?” Zhao Shuang muttered to himself as he looked at the Official Announcement.

If Zhao Shuang had been given another hour yesterday, he definitely would have solved it. He hadn’t paid much attention to prime numbers and had no concept of them, but through exhaustive trial and hard inference combined with the observation of mathematical relationships, he found the pattern...

”Indeed a talent beyond compare, able to solve it so quickly; visiting her might be worthwhile, yet I’m not sure if she would be willing to engage with me,” Zhao Shuang sighed inwardly, but then heard someone tied with him.

”Who on earth is this Yangcai Clan!” Zhao Shuang cursed in his heart, accepting defeat to Cai Yan. Everyone under Heaven knew Cai Yan was an exceptional talent; occasionally, there might be banter claiming dissatisfaction, but after taking the exam, none would voice discontent...

”Cai the Great Scholar actually scored full marks?” The scholars next to the golden announcement board murmured in disbelief, but shortly after collectively accepted the fact.

There was no other choice; while Cai Yan was alive, she already was a well-known talent across the Central Plains, and producing such results now seemed unarguable.

”What on earth is Zhao Junqing and Yangcai Clan! This means these two answered the fifth question without stating the answer; their approach must be correct, but how could this be possible!” Cai Yan, due to her own fame across Heaven, faced no true dissent, but what’s the deal with these two!

Quickly, Yangcai Clan’s identity came to light; oh, it turns out it’s Cai Yan’s younger sister. With such prowess, it stands to reason the sister wouldn’t be weak, making scoring second place quite logical. But from where did this wild entity Zhao Junqing emerge!

Suddenly, the spears of the scholars under Heaven pointed collectively at Zhao Shuang, questioning why this fellow managed an answer when they couldn’t even understand the questions, deeply suspecting him of cheating.

Originally, it wouldn’t have come to this; if only Yins Su had passed, people would happily congratulate him, occasionally pricking him for his stroke of luck without feeling inadequate.

However, someone scored full marks, and this occurred while the elite scholars sent by major aristocratic families and academies to take the exam were completely defeated.

This left the scholars under Heaven embarrassed; following the original trajectory, the top scorer would certainly face angry attacks. Sadly, the disparity in logic on this subject was huge; besides the top three on the golden announcement board, the fourth, who passed, Yins Su, received a touch of gold dust brushed on the red announcement board, while the rest remained purely on the red board...

At this level, to slander the top scorer, Aristocratic Families Under Heaven would naturally sustain their reputation. Those who barely surpassed so-called paragons of Heaven were not criticized; if they do not criticize you, whom do they criticize? To go beyond the crowd inevitably invites noncompliance from others.

However, such an immense disparity demands resignation; regardless of condemnation, it cannot negate the reality of one profoundly leading all others. When surpassing others slightly, they might still slander you, but when far across, the remainder from others becomes that of reverence.

If they couldn’t criticize the towering genius needing only awe, then they turned instead to criticize others. Fine, Yangcai Clan is the younger sister of that very person, naturally being formidable seems logical; it’s a given if being that person’s sibling.

What nonsense is this Zhao Junqing about; it’s him, then, all scholars looked resentfully at the second name. If he hadn’t passed, all would be the same, only the fortuitous Yins Su scoring a pass, making three passing—how perfect!

Zhao Shuang was entirely unaware he had already nearly become the common enemy of this round of mathematics scholars. Naturally, he was oblivious that due to this challenging mathematics exam, his name swiftly entered the public eye under Heaven, easily achieving fame across all lands!