The results of the juren exam would be posted in two days. While Ian Song and Chloe Cao waited quietly in the Provincial Capital, a disciple from the Cloudwater Sword Sect suddenly arrived with a summons for Chloe.
The recall letter was personally written by Yvonne Chen, so no matter how reluctant Chloe Cao was, she had to go back.
"Junior brother, I'm leaving now. You have to take good care of yourself!" Chloe Cao said, her face full of reluctance. After spending so much time together, she had already developed feelings for Ian. If she didn't know he was already married, she might have confessed her heart to him.
Ian Song nodded. "Senior sister, be careful on the road. Once the results are posted, I'll hurry back to the Cloudwater Sword Sect!"
"Then I'm off!"
Chloe Cao bit her lip lightly, her eyes filled with even more reluctance.
Seeing this, Ian suddenly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear, "Senior sister, I know how you feel. If you don't mind that I already have a wife at home, I can marry you too!"
When it comes to feelings, Ian never hesitated. Since Chloe liked him and he liked her too, there was no need to overthink it.
Chloe Cao was completely stunned. Her pretty face instantly turned bright red, and she quickly broke free from Ian's embrace and ran outside.
Seeing this, Ian was a little confused. What does senior sister mean by this?
But not long after, Chloe Cao came running back, blushing shyly. "Junior brother, I'll wait for you at the Cloudwater Sword Sect."
With that, she left again.
Watching her go, Ian couldn't help but smile faintly.
Two days passed in a flash.
This time, Ian didn't rush to check the results. He knew that with his talent, passing the juren exam was no problem. As for whether he'd take first place as Provincial Champion, that depended on the examiner's preferences—after all, each examiner had their own tastes, and the top spot always reflected that.
Time ticked by slowly.
Ian sat leisurely drinking tea downstairs at the inn. When he registered for the exam, he had listed his inn's address with the Education Office. If he really passed, someone would naturally come to deliver the good news.
Half a quarter of an hour later—
Suddenly, the sound of drums and gongs rang out. Four yamen runners rushed straight to the inn. The innkeeper immediately understood—one of the scholars staying at his inn had passed the juren exam.
He was quite delighted by this. If word got out that a new juren had stayed at his inn, surely more scholars would choose to stay there in the future.
"Excuse me, is Ian Song of Huangshan County staying here?"
One of the yamen runners asked the innkeeper.
"I am Ian Song!"
Ian stood up, smiling. He knew he had passed.
"Congratulations, Master Song, on taking first place in the juren exam!"
The four yamen runners quickly stepped forward, their faces full of flattery.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the inn erupted in excitement. The innkeeper's face bloomed with joy, almost like a chrysanthemum, and he even considered renaming his inn to 'Provincial Champion Inn.'
"He actually became Provincial Champion?"
Ian thought to himself, both expected and unexpected.
He smiled and accepted the notice, then took out four gold ingots and handed one to each yamen runner. "You all worked hard—take these and buy yourselves some tea!"
Seeing the gold in their hands, the four yamen runners were overjoyed and thanked him profusely. Each ingot was worth about five taels, equivalent to fifty taels of silver.
Their annual salary was only a little over twenty taels. They never expected a single congratulatory visit would net them fifty taels. This Provincial Champion was truly generous.
"Provincial Champion, don't forget to visit the Education Commissioner!"
Before leaving, one yamen runner quietly reminded him.
"Thanks for the reminder!" Ian nodded. These days, the most reliable relationships in officialdom are those between teacher and student. By tradition, the chief examiner this time is Victor Cai—so he is the seated teacher for this round of juren, and all successful candidates in the province should call him 'teacher.'
Of course, that's just a title. The new juren still need to visit in person. If the examiner takes a liking to you, he may accept you as a true disciple.
Victor Cai may be just a Provincial Education Commissioner, but his influence in Valeguard is strong. He's a Hanlin scholar and even taught the current emperor—he's basically an imperial tutor.
After this exam, his term will be up. There's a good chance he'll be transferred to the capital, maybe even appointed to one of the Six Ministries or join the Grand Secretariat.
So if you want to enter officialdom, he's definitely a major patron.
But Ian had no interest in officialdom, so whether he became a disciple or not didn't matter much. Still, he would visit Victor Cai's residence, since it was tradition—he didn't want to break the rules and ruin his reputation.
With a thought, Ian opened his System interface and looked at the Qi Luck section.
Winning Provincial Champion this time had actually increased his Qi Luck by more than two hundred points.
"Congratulations, Master Song, on becoming Provincial Champion. Here is the room fee for your stay these past days—please don't mind, Master Song!" The innkeeper came over and offered him two silver ingots with both hands.
"Innkeeper, what do you mean by this?"
Ian asked.
"It's an honor for my humble inn to have Master Song stay here. How could I possibly take your room fee?" The innkeeper said, full of flattery.
"How about this—I'll use this silver to treat all the guests. Add two good dishes to every table!" Ian said after thinking for a moment.
As soon as he said this, the guests in the inn cheered.
Just then—
A group of scholars walked in, led by Kevin Zhou, whom Ian had met once at the Wade Residence.
"Congratulations, Brother Song, on becoming Provincial Champion!"
As soon as he arrived, Kevin Zhou smiled and said.
"You're too kind, Brother Zhou. Please, have a seat!"
Ian hurriedly said.
The scholars who came with Kevin Zhou all introduced themselves. They were all successful candidates from this round, and now everyone was classmates.
"Brother Song, I've already prepared a small banquet at Zhuangyuan Pavilion. Please honor us with your presence!" Kevin Zhou added.
"In that case, let's go!"
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Ian nodded, didn't refuse, and, surrounded by everyone, headed to Zhuangyuan Pavilion together.
Wade Residence.