Chapter 225: Outside the Tribute Yard (Part Two)
The market outside the Tribute Yard was still bustling late into the night. Taverns and small stalls were doing a roaring trade, packed with people inside and out.
Many Xuezis, unwilling to leave after the Examination, preferred to sit outside the Tribute Yard, eating and drinking, waiting for the final victors. When news spread that the last few people had emerged, many threw down their drinks and surged forward.
They just didn't know that the people they wanted to see were already sitting among them.
Inside Deshengju, Liu Sheng, who hadn't eaten all day, was intently devouring a large bowl of lamb offal soup.
The rich, steaming hot soup, with its fragrant and slightly gamey meat, warmed her from head to toe after one bowl.
Liu Sheng put down the empty bowl, let out a long sigh, and ordered another bowl of lamb noodle soup.
Looking at the other three, Gao Yisheng and Yu Huan had no table manners at all, and even Lin Shijie, who was usually so proper and polite, was eating in a hurried, huffing manner.
Clearly, they were all starving.
Liu Sheng looked around, but unfortunately, she didn't see Wang Dongdong, or Senior Sister Qu, Lu Senior Brother, and Senior Brother Zhong. She wondered how they had fared in the Examination.
For the Examination, she hadn't brought anything, completely adhering to the rules, so she couldn't contact them via spirit message.
"What's wrong?" Lin Shuying finally finished eating, elegantly wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. She couldn't help but be curious, seeing Liu Sheng looking around.
So Liu Sheng explained the reason, and Lin Shuying nodded understandingly: "It's fine. We'll gather in a few days when the results are announced."
Speaking of "results," Liu Sheng recalled what the official had just said and mused, "Now that I think about it, that ranking probably isn't what we imagined."
"What do you mean? Isn't it ranked by faith value?" Gao Yisheng genuinely didn't understand. He scratched his head, looking puzzled.
But apart from him, everyone else understood.
"Comprehensive ranking means other factors will be included in the ranking," Liu Sheng reminded him.
"That's reasonable, isn't it? It can't just be the four of us, right?" Gao Yisheng said as a matter of course.
"It's reasonable, but what specific factors will be included?" Lin Shuying's eyes darkened slightly. "There's no public announcement yet."
"So... is it possible... that we might not be among the top ranks?" Yu Huan's round, fleshy face turned a bit pale, and his thick, dark, caterpillar-like eyebrows furrowed.
Liu Sheng and Lin Shuying exchanged glances, not daring to comment.
They always felt there were too many unclear aspects about this imperial Examination.
At this moment, the lamb noodle soup Liu Sheng had just added and the grilled lamb ribs they had all ordered were brought to the table by the boss.
Liu Sheng quickly slurped her noodles while they were hot, and with her other hand, she picked up a lamb rib to gnaw on.
She felt like she had expended an unusual amount of energy today; no matter how much she ate, she couldn't feel full.
"Speaking of which, don't you find it strange?" Gao Yisheng said indistinctly, his mouth greasy, as he gnawed on a large piece of lamb rib.
"Does Big Brother Gao's 'strange' refer to this completely unannounced new mode?" Yu Huan asked, blinking.
"Yes..." Before Gao Yisheng could finish, a Xuezis at the next table, whose ears were very sharp, leaned over unceremoniously and said, "Exactly! Ten years of hard study, wasted in a day!"
"I didn't even know what to do in there, and I was killed by a weird objects!"
"If this is a combination of literary and martial assessments, then what we've learned can only be used if we have cultivation! How can a Mortal body fight against weird objects?"
"And, we've always studied Curriculum Assessment and policy essays, which are all about writing skills, and what we learned was entirely about how to govern the country and bring peace! But today, they suddenly want us to put it into practice, and it's about preaching. How would we know how to do that!" another Xuezis sitting nearby added.
On this point, Liu Sheng and the others agreed.
Although they also made it to the thirtieth day, except for Liu Sheng, who had her own ideas thanks to her cheat, everyone else had stumbled through it confusedly.
"But the imperial court has already announced changes to the Examination content. Don't you all read it?" a woman asked in surprise.
"But wasn't the change too rushed?" Other Xuezis disagreed.
"We know, but do you know what to do? How much faith value did you get in the end?" Some Xuezis were displeased with the woman's attitude, so their words carried a sharp edge.
"It was alright, over ten thousand faith value," the woman said with a hint of pride.
When others heard this, they were speechless and looked at the woman with envy.
One must know that over ten thousand faith value was not easily obtained.
"Moreover, this Examination was personally decided by Your Majesty. Are you all... dissatisfied with Your Majesty?" When the woman said this, it caused an uproar. The Xuezis quickly said they wouldn't dare and then dispersed.
Upon hearing this, Liu Sheng couldn't help but turn her head to examine the woman, only to discover that it was Ling Yuke.
She was alone, sitting by the window, seemingly drinking by herself.
She was still out so late, and drinking alone...
Liu Sheng strongly disapproved of this, and inexplicably felt like an older sister.
"This fellow Xuezis sounds very impressive... but why did she come out early?" a Xuezis dressed as a scholar asked.
Ling Yuke was beautiful and alone, so many people had already noticed her. They naturally knew she had been sitting there for a long time, but she hadn't waited for the person she wanted to see.
"Hmph, I lost to Wen Gongzi. It's not like you all. Wen Gongzi's methods are divine; losing to him is not unjust." As Ling Yuke spoke, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she didn't know what she was thinking of, her red lips curling into a shy smile.
One man, long resentful of the public's praise for Wen Xuanning, sneered, "Yes, yes, your Wen Xuanning is the most amazing, but he still ended up leaving early, just like us."
"If he were truly amazing, how could he have been kicked out of the illusion before the very end?"
"What did you say?" Ling Yuke suddenly stood up, shouting anxiously, "How is that possible? How could Wen Gongzi not be the final candidate? How could anyone defeat him?"
Liu Sheng silently added: Me.
Ling Yuke had originally planned to wait at this inevitable passage, not wanting to squeeze with a crowd of people to greet him, which would be undignified.
Instead, she would wait until Wen Xuanning passed by, and she would "just happen" to be leaning on the railing, tilting her head, showcasing her beautiful face at the best angle.
"He... he came out around You Shi (5-7 PM)," the Xuezis next to her was a bit stunned by Ling Yuke's shout.
"I saw him too. As soon as he came out, he was picked up by a luxurious cloud sedan. He's indeed the Shoufu's precious son."
Ling Yuke hastily gulped down her drink, then quickly stood up, threw down money for the drinks and food, and ran.
But after a few steps, standing on the street, she suddenly realized that she couldn't just rashly go to the Shoufu's residence in the middle of the night to find him, could she?
How embarrassing that would be!
And he should be resting by now.
For such a favored son of heaven to lose, it must be a huge blow to him, and he probably doesn't want to see anyone right now.
Ling Yuke thought, feeling a little smug.
How could she be so considerate? Hmph, Father always said she wasn't gentle or considerate enough. He didn't even look at whether those people were worth her gentle and considerate treatment!
Never mind, tonight she should let him be alone to calm down. Tomorrow, she'd ask Father to pretend to visit Wen Shoufu, and she'd go along to comfort him.
Seeing her, Wen Gongzi should be a bit happier, right?
Thinking this, Ling Yuke blushed, silently pondering what to say, what to send, and eagerly rushing home to see which of the sachets, clothes, shoes, and socks she had made were presentable, and whether she should add some Formation to them.
She didn't know, however, that Wen Xuanning was not at the Shoufu's residence at this moment.