The phrase "because he's good-looking" rendered the essay-grading ministers speechless.
As for Song Wei, indeed, he is very good-looking, but his talents are also undeniably outstanding.
Clearly, he could have relied on his talents to secure the position of Champion Scholar, yet because of his looks, he ended up with third place.
What does this mean? It means that being good-looking isn't always a good thing.
——
For the ministers grading the exams, it was a great regret that Song Wei missed out on being Champion Scholar due to his looks. But for Xu Shu, Song Fang, and Xie Zheng, Song Wei securing third place was like a thunderous cheer of the first spring, a startling achievement.
It's noteworthy that during the metropolitan exam, Song Wei performed poorly due to a high fever, ranking near the bottom. In just over twenty days, he turned the tables against all odds, astonishing everyone.
