"Risheng! Congratulations, congratulations!"
"Ah, congratulations to you, too."
"Risheng, you've really made a name for yourself this time. Did any rich families knock on your door last night to propose marriage?"
"No, no..."
"Risheng, do you still have any of the Four Treasures of the Study to spare? Give us a few to bring back some scholarly aura."
"Ah, this..."
In the early morning at Huai De Square, Li Ang managed a strained smile as he dealt with his fellow townspeople and classmates.
The news of the preliminary examination results at the Academic Palace quickly spread throughout Chang'an. An unknown female student from Youzhou and a small-time Doctor from Yizhou had outperformed the son of the Prime Minister—who ranked top in thirteen subjects—securing first and second places in the preliminaries.
Such news was almost too odd. So much so that early in the morning, outside the hostel at Huai De Square, a crowd of idle townspeople gathered to see what was going on.
