Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1184 Pei Zhaoqi goes on stage to receive the award

Surrounded by his family, Nie Qingsong returned to the crowd.

His family was extremely proud. While listening to the praise from others, they earnestly said to him, "Qingsong, next autumn, you must pass the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) to repay Lord Shen's kindness!"

Nie Qingsong had long been completely fooled, and at this moment, what did a scholar mean to him?

Just wait, he will definitely pass the imperial examination and return as a tribute student, bringing honor to his family and serving the government!

As Nie Qingsong was filled with fighting spirit, Jiang Zhiming on the awards stage began the next round of warm-up: "Ladies and gentlemen! I'm sure you all know how generous the reward is for the second place in the re-examination, right?"

The audience nodded in unison.

Thirty taels of silver!

A complete set of the Four Treasures of the Study!

Three bolts of top-quality cotton cloth!

You can also enjoy a three-year tax exemption for your home!

Amidst envious glances from the crowd, Jiang Zhiming called out, "Please welcome Huai Shaoyong, the second-place winner in this re-examination, to the stage!"

"Clap clap clap clap—" Loud applause rang out from the audience.

Jiang Zhiming also smiled and looked towards the stage.

One breath...

Two breaths...

Three breaths...

Three breaths passed, and the stage remained empty.

Jiang Zhiming's smile froze for a moment before he raised his voice again: "Please welcome the second-place winner of the re-examination—Huai Shaoyong—to the stage! Let's give him a round of applause!"

The people applauded even more enthusiastically.

All eyes were on the stage, but Huai Shaoyong still did not appear.

The cheers gradually subsided, replaced by hushed whispers.

"Huai Shaoyong...is he the young master of the Huai family in the north of the city?"

"Yes! It's him, didn't you know? He even became a disciple of the headmaster of Yuanzhou Luming Academy. He's incredibly talented; you could call him a prodigy!"

"Ah... then why hasn't he shown up yet? Could it be because... he looks down on the thirty taels of silver as a reward? After all, the Huai family is wealthy and powerful, and they wouldn't be short of thirty taels. Why don't I go up and collect it for him? Maybe he'll be in a good mood and just give me the money!"

"You wish! I heard before that Huai Shaoyong was exceptionally talented and had a high chance of coming out on top, but the results were announced yesterday..."

"Oh--"

Many people understand now.

Huai Shaoyong probably didn't look down on thirty taels of silver, but rather on "second place".

Many people were puzzled. "Even if he's not number one, isn't second place still very impressive? And even if he studies at Luming Academy, he's still a member of Liuyang Prefecture! How can he be so arrogant and give the prefectural government such attitude?"

In an instant, the public's goodwill towards Huai Shaoyong plummeted.

Disrespecting the government office is disrespecting Lord Shen; disrespecting Lord Shen is disrespecting them!

On the stage, Jiang Zhiming tightened his grip on the list of successful candidates and looked at Shen Zheng questioningly.

Shen Zheng frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Skip him."

Jiang Zhiming nodded and raised his hand to gesture: "I suppose the student from Huai is unable to come for the time being due to personal reasons. In that case, let's hold off on the award for him and present the first-place award first! Let's invite Pei Zhaoqi, the top scorer in this re-examination, to come up to the stage to receive the award!"

The crowd fell silent for a moment, clearly still not having reacted.

Then a voice rang out: "Top scholar! Pei Zhaoqi! Top scholar! Pei Zhaoqi! Zhaoqi, come up to the stage to receive your award!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Pei Zhaoqi being escorted by several people towards the stage. They were full of vigor and high spirits, and even the golden light shining from the dome seemed to be clearing a path for them.

In an instant, the people forgot about Huai Shaoyong's absence and began to cheer for Pei Zhaoqi.

Amidst a chorus of cheers, Pei Zhaoqi, with Shen Zheng's encouraging gaze, stepped onto the podium.

Jiang Zhiming was incredibly enthusiastic. As soon as Pei Zhaoqi stood still, he feigned surprise and said, "I didn't even notice during the re-examination that young Pei is so young?"

"..." Pei Zhaoqi almost couldn't finish his sentence, after all, this wasn't their first meeting.

Jiang Zhiming didn't care whether he had said his last sentence or not, and turned to interact with the audience: "Why don't you all guess how old is young scholar Pei?"

"eighteen!"

"nineteen!"

"Maybe he's twenty!" someone exclaimed. "Chief Scholar Pei might just look young!"

Jiang Zhiming was extremely satisfied with everyone's answers. He pretended to be deep and raised his hand to press down, then turned to Pei Zhaoqi and asked, "Young Pei, may I ask how old you are?"

Pei Zhaoqi nearly scratched through the award stage with his toes, but he suppressed his embarrassment and said, "Replying to Your Excellency, I am sixteen years old this year."

"Sixteen!" Jiang Zhiming exclaimed in surprise, turning to look at the audience below: "Gentlemen, young Pei is only sixteen years old! Yet he has already achieved the top score twice in a row! What extraordinary talent he possesses!"

A commotion erupted from the audience, with Fang Ziyan being the most vocal in his jeering.

He said things like, "Zhaoqi is my best friend," and "I was able to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar thanks to the bean soup from his family's shop," which successfully attracted a lot of attention.

Everyone was puzzled and asked him, "What does passing the imperial examination have to do with bean soup?"

Fang Ziyan's eyes darted around, and he covered his mouth, saying, "Oops, I let it slip."

Everyone became even more curious and hurriedly asked more questions.

Fang Ziyan was pestered by them for a while, and finally couldn't stand the attack and told the "truth": "Zhao Qi's family runs a bean soup shop at Tong'an Wharf. It's delicious. And you don't know this, do you... Zhao Qi was able to get the top score in the exam twice in a row because he drank bean soup."

Everyone was startled and skeptical.

Can drinking bean soup really make you a top scholar? And twice in a row?

Fang Ziyan's eyes darted around again, and he added, "Beans are good for the brain, especially when they're made into bean soup! Plus, his family's secret recipe... tsk tsk, well, I can't say too much, otherwise if Zhaoqi doesn't pass your exams next year, I'll be the one who betrayed my friends..."

After saying that, Fang Ziyan shut his mouth tightly.

As everyone watched Pei Zhaoqi on the stage, they memorized the name "Tong'an Wharf Bean Soup Shop".

It's just a bowl of bean soup. Whether it can improve brain function or not, you'll know once you try it.

On stage, Jiang Zhiming looked at Fang Ziyan with admiration. After everyone had finished discussing, he said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, the exciting moment has arrived!"

The awards ceremony is about to begin!

But then Jiang Zhiming said, "The prize for the first place in this re-examination is fifty taels of silver, a set of writing implements, five bolts of high-quality cotton cloth, a membership card for a bookstore and cloth shop in Tong'an, and also! A three-year tax-free certificate for the family! Let us congratulate Pei, the top scorer!"

One tray after another was brought up by the guards. Shen Zheng picked up the "tax exemption document" from the tray and handed it to Pei Zhaoqi with a smile.

The young boy she met at the bean soup shop last spring is now the highly regarded "Chief Scholar Pei".

very nice.