She was more interested in Qi You’s scholarship, which differed from her imagination of this unruly student who presumably didn’t like memorizing texts. Qi You’s classical interpretation was actually exceptionally solid, and he was competent in practical mathematics. However, what Tie Ci thought would be his strength—poetry and rhyme—turned out to be his weakness. When a scholar on stage asked him to compose a poem, he wrote a nursery rhyme.

The audience burst into laughter, and he cast down his brush with the wind, unconcerned, answering: “Poetry is but a minor path!”

Youthful spirit, brilliant and dazzling.

No one thought his talent was lacking; instead, they loved his sword-in-sheath arrogance even more, and the applause grew louder.

However, most of the examiners on stage looked displeased, especially those from Celu and Mingquan Academies. Except for Celu’s old dean who remained silent, the others frowned and took turns lecturing Qi You at length, starting from the origins of poetry and discussing the beauty and literary brilliance of verse.

When scoring, several examiners gave him the lowest marks, including Shen Mi from Yueli Academy itself.

This surprised everyone somewhat. Generally speaking, due to favoritism, when encountering candidates from their own academy, examiners from that academy would score somewhat more leniently. Behavior like Shen Mi’s was rarely seen.

Boos arose from all directions, but Qi You maintained his composed smile.

Tie Ci glanced up. Well, Celu and Mingquan were quite severe in their exclusion of Yueli.

Previously, when Yueli students participated in examinations, many came from distinguished backgrounds, so these people didn’t dare be too excessive in their attitudes. Now that Qi You came from a humble family but had the greatest reputation at Yueli, Celu and Mingquan spared no effort in suppressing him.

But what was Shen Mi’s deal?

She heard people nearby discussing the discord between Director Shen and Dean Rong again. It seemed the key point of conflict centered on this very Qi You. This person acted erratically, and the dean was very tolerant of him. Shen Mi, who was responsible for academy discipline, was therefore dissatisfied, as such troublemakers would bring difficulties to his management work, and the dean’s tolerance would double such troubles.

It was said that the two had already had several public arguments over the various chaotic incidents caused by Qi You, and even Celu and Mingquan had heard about their discord.

However, Qi You had answered all previous questions flawlessly. Even with the lowest mark in poetry, his overall ranking should still place him in the top five.

Perhaps because Qi You’s unorthodox rebellion particularly suited everyone’s taste, when Qi You stepped down, students from all directions stood up, almost creating a parade of welcome.

Tie Ci wanted to applaud him too—if for nothing else, his bearing was quite good.

She had just raised her hand when Murong Yi’s gaze slanted over, cold.

“…” Tie Ci awkwardly lowered her hand.

Miss Li suddenly stood up and walked toward the exit along the aisle, apparently going to relieve herself. Though there was a path right in front of her, she deliberately took a detour toward Tie Ci’s direction.

Tie Ci watched her with interest.

Miss Li stopped in front of her, leaned down slightly, and said coldly: “The one who performed excellently earlier was my cousin Li Yun Cheng. Did you see? But it’s not surprising that our Li family produces talent in abundance.”

Tie Ci nodded, “Yes, it would be somewhat strange if they produced you.”

Miss Li’s face flushed red. After gritting her teeth for quite a while, she said: “Qi You, did you see him? He’s also talent selected and supported by our Li family. He comes from poverty…” She looked Tie Ci up and down in her plain blue shirt and said mockingly, “Just like you.”

Tie Ci: “Mm.”

“But it doesn’t matter. Poor scholars, with our Li family’s care and support, can still become academy leaders, can still shine brilliantly at occasions like this essay competition. Even getting the lowest marks doesn’t matter—in the future when he enters officialdom, no one will dare trip him up. Of course, if you offend our Li family, everything could be the opposite.” Miss Li bent down slightly, staring at Tie Ci’s jade-like clean face, and said softly: “Looking at your dress and appearance, you’re clearly not from any wealthy family. Apologize to me, and I’ll let bygones be bygones, even support you like I do Qi You. How about it?”

Tie Ci looked up at her slightly and nodded. Miss Li’s expression had just brightened when she heard her say: “The academy has always worried about having no place to expand further. I’d say building on Miss Li’s face would be quite good.”

Miss Li: “…”

Murong Yi was a qualified straight man, lazily asking from the side: “Why?”

“Her face is big enough.”

Someone nearby couldn’t help but snicker. Only then did Miss Li realize that students from all directions had turned around at some point and were watching this scene with interest.

Jian Xi, who couldn’t suppress her laughter, quickly covered her mouth and nodded apologetically to her.

Miss Li glanced at her coldly. Her face went through several cycles of red and white. She wanted to lose her temper, but after looking around and then at the stage, she finally gritted her teeth and endured it, lifting her skirt and hurrying away.

Tie Ci didn’t take it to heart either—where weren’t there a few idiots? Seeing that it was getting late and the morning examinations should be ending soon, and the student on stage was clearly not doing well with his studies, answering questions hesitantly, she stood up to leave.

But at this moment, she heard someone behind her loudly say: “May I ask the examiners, if the senior students on stage cannot answer questions, may those below answer in their place!”

The voice was clear and belonged to a woman.

Tie Ci became interested and turned to look, only to see a woman wearing a large white mask with her hand raised high.

Tie Ci stared at the moist white silk-like material on her face and frowned.

This looked very much like the face mask paper her master had developed, but seemed somehow different. The other party’s materials seemed more advanced, and the shape was different too.

Was there someone else in this world who could tinker with as many strange things as her master?

The examiners on stage were obviously displeased at having their examination interrupted and frowned: “An examination is in progress on stage. How can you interrupt randomly from below!”

The masked woman said: “If the senior student cannot answer and the teachers won’t provide the answer either, and you won’t let those who know the answer respond, then what’s the point of asking the question? What’s the point of the essay competition? Didn’t you say it was to select talent and exchange knowledge?”

Someone on stage sneered: “The most excellent have already been selected—they’re all on stage. If they can’t answer, can you?”

Students below shamefully bowed their heads.

The woman laughed heartily: “Who knows? The Sage said ‘education without discrimination.’ What, just because we didn’t pass the application process, we don’t even have the qualification to answer?”

That teacher was at a loss for words.

Shen Mi suddenly said indifferently: “She has a point.”

The person who had just spoken was a teacher from Yueli, yet he wouldn’t even give face to his own people. This caused the teachers from Yueli Academy to look displeased.

Rong Pu raised his hand, pausing the examination. The examiners on stage whispered among themselves for a while, and finally Rong Pu smiled: “This young lady is very righteous and speaks reasonably. The essay competition is ultimately about teaching and imparting knowledge. Since this is so, we’ll allow the young lady’s request, to avoid the regret of pearls lost in the sea.”

His gaze intentionally or unintentionally swept over the similarly masked girl beside that woman, then glanced at Tie Ci.

Tie Ci had already recognized who these two people were. She was puzzled why Jian Xi didn’t apply to participate in the competition herself but instead encouraged others to stand up for her. Seeing Rong Pu’s glance and hearing his phrase “very righteous,” she knew Rong Pu was reminding her.

Reminding her to be careful in selecting people.

Although the competition would select the ten most excellent, the people who would actually be placed beside her and the Emperor would go through layers of assessment, with ultimately only one or two being chosen.

Tie Ci nodded to indicate she understood.

But the woman in the large white mask wasn’t finished. After thanking Rong Pu, she immediately said: “If we can solve them, will there be rewards?”

There was another round of discussion on stage, seemingly with some dispute. Rong Pu looked toward Tie Ci, and Tie Ci nodded.

Rong Pu’s eyes flashed, and he finally said: “All are talents and should be treated equally. Those who can answer from below will be scored and ranked the same as those on stage.”

The woman thanked him cheerfully.

But Rong Pu added: “To prevent complications, all answerers from below are only allowed one mistake. Once they answer incorrectly twice in succession, they lose the qualification to answer, and their academy will face additional punishment.”

This was to prevent people from answering randomly for the sake of showing off and disrupting the competition order.

With this said, the restless crowd quieted down considerably.

Tie Ci released her hearing and sight, seeing that woman poking Jian Xi in the waist, saying softly: “Your chance has come! Answer quickly!”

Jian Xi’s voice seemed somewhat hesitant: “Sister, why are you helping me?”

“Me? I hope all women have the opportunity to stand before others and fully display their abilities. After all, with the Crown Princess currently in power, it’s a rare opportunity.” The woman smiled frankly, “It’s a pity the Crown Princess didn’t come, otherwise I’d really like to meet her.”

“Who wouldn’t want to?” Jian Xi said softly, “Thank you, sister. I’ll work hard.”

“Work hard then.” The woman said, “I believe the Crown Princess won’t abandon any excellent woman.”

Tie Ci turned her gaze away, her fingers lightly tapping on her knee.

She listened as Jian Xi finally gathered courage to stand up and answer the question that the previous student couldn’t answer. Not only did she answer completely, but she also pointed out the omissions in the examiner’s question.

This won approval from above and applause from below.

In a small hall deep within the lecture hall, someone lifted a curtain, frowning at the scene outside: “This woman is about to steal the show. What should we do?”

Someone behind said: “No matter.”

“Why?”

“Do you think this gives her a chance?” The other person sneered, “You’re wrong. For those in power, scholarship is actually secondary—character is more important. She has already left a bad impression in that person’s mind. Her current behavior will only make that person think she’s deeply scheming and even less desirable.”

The curtain dropped with relief, and someone could be heard laughing with satisfaction.

Afterward, it indeed became Jian Xi’s rapid-fire answering session.

Classical interpretation, mathematics, practical affairs, policy questions, poetry… This was another all-around competitor with almost no weaknesses.

If there was any deficiency, it was only that she was slightly weaker in practical economics, but everyone knew this was due to insufficient experience. Academy students lacked practical experience, which was perfectly normal, but given the opportunity, she would surely advance rapidly.

Teachers on stage looked down and discussed how there really had been a pearl lost in the sea.

Murong Yi listened and frowned, commenting: “Grandstanding!”

He felt this woman was deeply scheming. First she approached Tie Ci, then showed favor to him. Despite having talent, she deliberately didn’t apply to participate in the competition, instead encouraging others to instigate answering from below to attract Tie Ci’s attention. Quite calculating and manipulative.

Tie Ci remained noncommittal.

When the day’s examination ended, Jian Xi’s score had already entered the top hundred. Students who hadn’t been selected came forward to congratulate her.

Tie Ci watched the girl surrounded by others, her cheeks flushed red. In contrast, when the students who had participated in the competition passed by, most had unpleasant expressions.

Someone mocked her face-to-face: “Junior Sister Jian truly has good schemes, not registering for application so she could stand out like a crane among chickens down here.”

This immediately drew cold agreement from many people.

Indeed, if she had applied according to the rules like them and answered questions on stage, no matter how brilliantly she performed, it would lack the element of surprise, far less eye-catching than this impromptu proposal to fill gaps from below.

Someone defended the excellent students: “Her answers clearly weren’t as good as Senior Brothers Fang, Chu, and Bai, yet she could pick questions she was good at to answer. If this isn’t taking advantage, what is? She actually squeezed out Senior Brother Wang!”

Senior Brother Wang, who originally could have made the top hundred, had an ashen face and stormed off with a snort and flick of his sleeves.

The joy disappeared from Jian Xi’s face, and her small face gradually turned pale.

She looked somewhat bewildered at the female warrior beside her.

Coming from an ordinary background and having studied at the academy afterward, with kind parents, caring teachers, and friendly classmates, plus her own reserved personality, she had never directly faced such malice before.

She instinctively looked to the female warrior. The warrior who loved to take charge of everything now stood with arms crossed, watching the drama with indifference. Seeing her look over, she raised her chin: “Why are you looking at me? Can I take care of you for life? Curse back yourself!”

Jian Xi: “…”

“If you can’t withstand this little skirmish and don’t even know how to argue, you still want to enter the court, still want to reach the Crown Princess’s side? I heard the Censorate and the Crown Princess aren’t of one mind. When that pack of dogs starts barking wildly, should the Crown Princess bite back herself?”

Tie Ci: “…”