Chapter Twelve: The Tribulation Exam

  As soon as Shen Chongming entered, the other three people simultaneously shut their mouths and turned around one by one. Having been attacked relentlessly by Song Qingyang earlier, Shen Chongming's image in the eyes of the other two had already been completely ruined, with "stupid", "greedy" and "uncouth" being his basic labels.

  Feeling something was off, Shen Chongming sneered and went back to bed, turning off the lights and falling asleep.

  The morning bell rings, and the originally quiet Guozijian courtyard instantly becomes lively. The students, in twos and threes, hug their textbooks and walk towards the classroom with smiles on their faces.

  "The way of the university is to make clear the virtues, to love the people, and to stop at nothing but the ultimate good."

  "Heaven's command is called nature; following nature is called the Way; cultivating the Way is called education. The Way is something that cannot be departed from for a moment; if it can be departed from, it is not the Way."

  In the morning reading, there was some confusion. Each of the students did their own thing, shaking their heads and reciting loudly, making the whole classroom as chaotic as a vegetable market.

  Shen Chongming, who had just arrived, thought it was going to be an opening ceremony and came to the classroom with empty hands. At this time, he saw everyone else holding a book in their hands, shaking their heads and reading, and couldn't help but scratch his head, sitting here motionless, really quite dazzling.

  Just thinking of rushing back to the dormitory to fetch this book, I saw Mr. Gao walking in with a leisurely pace, and my heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Oh no, if he finds out, I'm afraid it will leave a bad impression.

  Closed his eyes and began to recite in a low voice the "Three Character Classic", one of the ancient books he had studied. "Man's nature at birth is good, similar in kind,..."

  His mouth was open, but his voice was inaudible amidst the increasingly loud chanting of others. The tall man who had entered the classroom simply stood at the front, quietly watching. Seeing the students working so hard, he nodded in satisfaction. He also noticed that Shen Chongming was different from the others, holding a book and reciting, but instead, he was reciting from memory. A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked at him with approval, causing Shen Chongming to feel terrified.

  Gao Da left with satisfaction, but before Shen Chongming could catch his breath, Song Qingyang at the table in front of him burst out laughing loudly.

  The unrestrained laughter attracted everyone's attention, and they looked at Song Qingyang with surprise, who was leaning forward and backward.

  The strange gaze made Song Qingyang realize that something was wrong, and he hurriedly stopped his laughter and stood up to explain: "Gentlemen, this guy is actually reading 'Three Character Classic'! Hahaha!" As soon as he finished speaking, he fell back down and burst out laughing again.

  The crowd was initially stunned, and after a brief silence, it immediately turned into loud laughter. The eyes of the people looking at Shen Chongming were full of contempt. It is worth noting that "Three Character Classic" has always been known as a primer for children, and most of the students present were famous talents in their hometowns, who had mastered this primer since childhood and moved on to more obscure and difficult books. Who would have thought that today, in the Imperial Academy, there was still someone studying "Three Character Classic"? How could they not look down on him?

  Such a gaze, Shen Chongming could naturally see it, and his heart was also annoyed. He was originally pretending to be a wine master, but he didn't expect Song Qingyang, this bastard, to be so hateful!

  He glared at him fiercely, Shen Chongming stood up with a cold laugh and swept his eyes over the crowd, saying disdainfully: "What's wrong with 'Three Character Classic'? Although it's an elementary textbook, it talks about the great principles of life. I recite it every morning to reflect on myself, so as not to do wrong things unknowingly!"

  Shen Chongming's words were sonorous and powerful, leaving the crowd of candidates stunned and speechless. At this moment, a coughing sound came from the doorway, and everyone looked over to see that Governor Gao had returned with several professors, possibly summoned by the earlier commotion.

  As he saw Gao Daren appear, Song Qingyang's heart was filled with an uncontrollable excitement. This Gao Kun was the mentor of Yu Wangye, a man of great learning and few in this world could surpass him. Shen Chongming, that foolish talent, relied on his eloquence to defend himself, exaggerating a simple primer to absurdity. Song Qingyang was so caught up in imagining Shen Chongming's miserable outcome that he didn't notice the faint, enigmatic smile on Gao Kun's face.

  Shen Chongming was also anxious in his heart. The reason he counterattacked just now was that he found Gao Gong had left and returned, otherwise there would be no need to argue with these bookworms here. He wanted Song Qingyang to suffer a bit, and there were other ways to do it. Just taking out one casually would be more satisfying than winning in verbal sparring!

  "See the Lord of Wine Sacrifice." Now, unlike just now, can pretend to focus on reading and ignore the high-ranking officials who came to inspect, also violated the rules of supervision during morning reading.

  Gao Gong ignored everyone else and walked straight up to Shen Chongming, smiling: "Hehe, self-reflection every day, not bad, not bad."

  Shen Chong let out a sigh of relief, finally getting it right. The others were stunned, having heard that Lord Gao loved talent, but today he was so fond of someone who could only recite the Three Character Classic.

  Seeing the confusion of the crowd, Gao Gong said in a loud voice: "The Imperial Academy has been passed down for nearly a thousand years, aiming to select usable talents for the court. However, being an official requires not only talent but also moral integrity and ability. Only then can one serve the court and benefit the people."

  Regardless of whether they understood or agreed, the many students bowed their heads to explain clearly. This was the teachings of Master Jiu, and if they disagreed, their future would be bleak.

  Seeing the crowd like this, Gao Gong nodded in satisfaction and smiled slightly at Shen Chongming. He then turned around with a smile on his face and walked out with several professors who were smiling at Shen Chongming.

  After this incident, Shen Chongming immediately became a notorious figure in the Imperial Academy, but he was a negative example, almost to the point where everyone hated him. A guy who recited the Three Character Classic actually gained the appreciation of the great Master Jiu, it's really unreasonable!

  The reason is simple. Gao Gong has just taken office as the Dean of the Imperial Academy, and everyone in the Imperial College wants to get close to him to secure a good future for themselves. It's well known that Prince Yu will inherit the throne, and as his teacher, Gao Gong's prospects are limitless. Whoever can gain Gao Gong's favor can expect rapid advancement!

  Unexpectedly, Shen Chongming was the first to rush forward and occupy the commanding heights, how could people feel fair under the gaze of envy, jealousy and hatred? Immediately turn around and unite against a common enemy!

  Shen Chongming also knew that the bird that sticks its head out gets shot, and he inferred his current situation from the eyes of the other three people in the dormitory. He didn't want to be like this either, if Song Qingyang hadn't been too much, he wouldn't have gone to curry favor with Gao Gong and gotten into trouble.

  But things have come to this, and I can only keep a low profile to protect myself. Sighing, Shen Chongming lay on the bed, idle and carefree, flipping through the school rules. This thing is roughly the same as the school rules of later generations, but with many fewer clauses. However, the punishment for violating the school rules is much more severe, and most of them are expelled from the Imperial Academy, it seems that I must be cautious to avoid losing those 10,000 taels of silver.

  Looking further back, it's just some daily necessities to pay attention to, such as the monthly ration allocated by the imperial court, and examination matters. Upon seeing the word "examination", Shen Chongming's face suddenly turned ugly.

  "Third, sixth and ninth months, every month on the sixteenth day, there will be a regular quarterly examination. If more than two subjects are below average in each subject, they will be expelled from the Imperial Academy after accumulating three times! Every year in December, there will be one examination on the twentieth day. If more than two subjects are below average, they will be directly expelled from the Imperial Academy!"

  After reading it in a low voice, Shen Chongming only felt that his heart was racing, and all the subjects added up to ten. He had just flipped through them earlier, and except for the Four Books and Five Classics, the rest were just articles by famous people. The last subject was barely understood with guesses and conjectures, but the Four Books and Five Classics were so abstruse that they gave him a headache just looking at them, let alone understanding them. He was afraid that he would fail every subject and be expelled directly without even needing to add up his scores!

  A wave of distress hit Shen Chongming's mind, and he felt weak all over. Ten thousand taels of silver! That was the family business his parents had sold to scrape together, would it really go down the drain?

  Shen Chongming was worried, while Song Qingyang on the other side was secretly delighted. He also saw the school rules and saw the item of seasonal exams and annual exams, such a strict exam even made him feel a bit difficult, let alone Shen Chongming who was just a lower-ranking student in the government school. With a pleased smile, Song Qingyang turned his head to quietly glance at Shen Chongming, looking at his bitter face, he only felt a sense of satisfaction, what virtue and talent, nonsense!

  Tomorrow at dawn, we will impact the new book list, so there will be three updates on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I hope brothers will give their full support, thank you in advance...