Shocked!
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The entire Zuo family had put everything they had into training Zuo Qingluan. Would she be able to do a better job if she was the one answering these questions?
Yes!
Of course she would!
Mr Zuo clenched his fists and told himself so.
However, deep down, a voice was telling him that no, Zuo Qingluan wouldn't be able to do it.
Mr Zuo was about to put Feng Wu's paper away; when he had the chance, he would deliver it to Zuo Qingluan.
However, he looked up and saw Mr Wu, who was still here.
Right now, Mr Wu was looking at Mr Zuo with an ingratiating smile on his face.
Mr Zuo frowned. "How did you get it out?"
Mr Wu told him how he had removed the paper from the stack, and added in a complacent tone, "Sir, please don't worry. Those who failed the exam will only be able to check their results according to their serial numbers. No one will know what name is on the paper.
"Moreover... His Royal Highness dislikes Feng Wu so much. It will only please him to see Feng Wu out, right?" Mr Wu grinned.
"Idiot!" Mr Zuo growled.
Mr Wu didn't have all the information, but as one of the bosses of the college, Mr Zuo knew that Feng Wu was here with recommendation letters from three members of the college.
And the three people were Mr Lu, Grand Secretary Fang, and Priest Wu.
Mr Lu was in seclusion and wouldn't be a problem for now.
But neither Grand Secretary Fang nor Priest Wu were easy to fool! If either of the two were well acquainted with Feng Wu and decided to get to the bottom of this, they would find out as soon as they checked the actual exam paper!
When that happened, Mr Lu would go to the emperor and Mr Zuo himself would so get fired!
At that thought, Mr Zuo shook his head. "No, we can't do this."
Mr Wu cried out. "Why not? Feng Wu will definitely get all the attention if we put the paper back. By then, if His Majesty finds her exceptional, and with Miss Qingluan away... What if His Majesty wants to marry Feng Wu to His Royal Highness?"
Mr Zuo's stomach lurched!
His gaze shifted to the paper on his desk.
It was too perfect...
The one thing Mr Zuo was sure of was that Feng Wu had lost her cultivation ability for good! She would never be able to cultivate again. However, she had managed to find another way around this problem by making great achievements in cultivation theory!
Mr Wu did have a point.
Mr Zuo took the paper, when into another room, and soon returned with another set, the ink on it still wet. He said coldly, "Take this one back!"
Mr Wu saw that it was another exam paper with the serial number 10001. The name was Feng Wu and the handwriting was almost identical to Feng Wu's, but the answers were full of errors! And the essay answers even had a disgruntled tone to them!
And it scored 179.
Mr Wu was astonished!
That was an amazing replica!
"Mr Zuo, this is incredible!" Mr Wu said in admiration.
"Put it back now. Hurry up!" Mr Zuo snapped.
"Yes, of course." Mr Wu was an experienced teacher, and with Mr Zuo's help, he snuck into the record office without difficulty.
Meanwhile, the other 1000 papers had been sent to the imperial palace.
Emperor Wu was commenting on the memorials to the throne when his chief eunuch entered and whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, the exam papers from Imperial College are here."
Emperor Wu hadn't cared much about Imperial College's entrance exam before, but this time, after the reminder Grand Secretary Fang gave him, he had to keep an eye on it.
Such Beauty
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Hence, he had all 1000 sets of the exam paper brought to him, so that he could look for other promising talents.
Upon their delivery, instead of reading the exam papers right away, Emperor Wu sent his steward to fetch Grand Secretary Fang first.
The Fang manor.
Feng Wu was chatting with Grand Secretary Fang and trying to steer the topic toward the sale of his residence.
"Old Master, are you really going to sell this house?" asked Feng Wu.
Grand Secretary Fang nodded.
"But why?" Feng Wu was bewildered. "I'm sure you're not doing it for the money. Why don't you leave it to your children?"
Grand Secretary Fang smiled bitterly. "This manor hasn't always been ours, and we were very lucky to receive it as a gift from a man of noble character. My family has lived here ever since, but after studying it for so many years, I still can't figure out its secret. It's time to hand it over to the next special person."
"Study it?" Feng Wu narrowed her eyes.
Was it possible that Grand Secretary Fang knew about what was going on under the manor as well?
Grand Secretary Fang smiled helplessly. "Yes, there is a big secret buried in this manor, but no one has figured it out yet."
After some thought, Grand Secretary Fang sighed again. "According to the mysterious seller, if the Fang clan isn't able to figure out the secret in a hundred years, we have to sell the manor to someone else. Otherwise, the whole clan will die out!
"I didn't believe it at first..." Grand Secretary Fang smiled bitterly. "But my clansmen have been dying in the past few years. My wife, my daughter...
"I'm the only one left in this family." Grand Secretary Fang's face was full of pain. "If I don't sell the house now, Xuan Yi might get involved and could get hurt."
Feng Wu was about to say something when hasty footsteps came from outside.
"Master, Master, we have a visitor from court."
Soon, the chief steward was let into the room.
He smiled at Grand Secretary Fang. "Master Fang, please come with me. His Majesty asked for you."
Grand Secretary Fang asked, "Is it about Imperial College's exam?"
The chief steward wasn't at liberty to reveal any information, but he still dropped a hint. "The papers have just been delivered."
Grand Secretary Fang took the hint right away!
The chief steward turned around and smiled at Feng Wu.
"Oh my, may I ask who this beautiful girl is? She looks amazing! Master Fang, is this your granddaughter?"
Grand Secretary Fang smiled. "I wish. Master Wang, you've met this girl before, when she was little."
"I have?"
Anyone who served the emperor was anything but mediocre. The chief steward had a very retentive memory and could remember all the faces he had ever seen. However, after searching his memory, he gave Grand Secretary Fang a wry smile. "Master Fang, please tell me who the girl is."
Grand Secretary Fang smiled as he walked out.
"Grand Secretary Fang -" the chief steward asked again once they were outside.
"Feng Wu."
"Feng Wu? F- Feng Wu?!" Astonished, the chief steward took a moment to digest the information. "As in... that Feng Wu?"
"Yes. That Feng Wu." Grand Secretary Fang gloated.
The chief steward sighed with emotion. "It's only been five years and the girl has become..." Such a beauty!
Serving Emperor Wu day in and day out, the chief steward was used to seeing all kinds of beautiful women in the imperial palace. However, none of them could compare with Feng Wu.
"Who could have known..." the chief steward exclaimed.
She had just been another pretty little girl five years ago. But now, her beauty was unrivaled!