Who is the Second Master?

All the flattering words that had been surrounding Madam Wang just moments before were now frozen in mid-air. The flower hall was so quiet that the faint sound of candle flames popping could be heard.

The unrestrained joy that had graced Madam Wang's old face vanished instantly, leaving only a pale, deathly pallor.

Even though she was used to seeing all sorts of things, she felt her face burning. As for her earlier words praising Baoyu, saying that "once he settles down, what fame or fortune can't he achieve," they came back to her like a slap in the face.

It was Grandmother Jia who first regained her composure. She slowly and deliberately twirled her prayer beads, her voice remaining calm and steady: "So Yun-ge'er passed the exam? This is wonderful news, a great joy for our Jia family! Lai Da, what are you standing there for? Our son has done well; shouldn't we reward him handsomely? Go quickly, send a messenger with the reward, and also send someone to the west wing to properly congratulate Yun-ge'er and his mother!"

"Yes, yes! The old lady is right!" Lai Da felt as if he had been granted a pardon and escaped from Madam Wang's piercing gaze. He quickly retreated to prepare the food.

When the news reached Jia Yun's secluded little courtyard, he was lost in thought, staring at a book.

After hearing Lai Da's breathless report, he was stunned.

"Seventh place? Seventh in the inner circle?" He repeated it subconsciously. The huge weight that had been hanging over him because he felt his article was "unorthodox" did not fall; instead, it was replaced by a huge sense of unreality.

It's true... and the ranking is so high! Jia Yun turned to his mother, Madam Bu, and gave her a reassuring smile.

But Madam Bu had already covered her mouth with a handkerchief, tears streaming down her face. She was both crying and laughing, unable to utter a single word.

Lai Da, standing to the side, wore a smile on his face, but he knew perfectly well that the reward money couldn't really be given to Jia Yun, who was at the height of his power.

He quickly stepped forward and directed the servants behind him, "Quickly, bring the prepared reward certificates! Let these gentlemen who brought good news share in our household's joy!"

So Lai Da handed over the generous reward he had prepared beforehand. The heavy amount made the smiles on the faces of the servants and maids watching the spectacle even brighter, and they poured out auspicious words as if they were free.

When Jia Yun composed himself and respectfully went to Grandmother Jia's courtyard to express his gratitude, the atmosphere in the flower hall remained subtle.

Madam Wang had already used the excuse of being unwell to avoid the situation, but it was unclear whether it was true or not.

Madam Xing, Wang Xifeng, and the others wore polite smiles and said things like "Congratulations, Yun-ge'er" and "You've brought glory to the family," but beneath those smiles lay a complex and inexplicable emotion.

Of course, Second Madam Lian was satisfied with this, after all, Jia Yun was practically half her person.

If he rises to great heights in time, and if he is not an ungrateful person, then Sister Feng will definitely profit from this favor.

How could Jia Zheng not know about the commotion here?

He rushed over upon hearing the news, but when he saw Jia Yun, who was calm and composed, and thought of his own son who was now hiding somewhere, he was filled with mixed feelings.

Jia Zheng stepped forward and patted Jia Yun on the shoulder, all his words ultimately condensing into one sentence: "Hmm... You did well on the exam. Avoid arrogance and complacency, and prepare diligently for the next exam."

Jia Yun respectfully agreed and left the flower hall.

But they hadn't gone far when they faintly heard a suppressed wail and pleading coming from the southeast, as if it were coming from Baoyu's room.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, he saw two little girls carrying basins of water hurry by, whispering to each other:

"This is terrible! Did you hear that? Young Master Bao is crying so pitifully..."

"How could I not hear that! They say before Master Zheng even did anything, Madam got angry first and personally took out a ruler... My God, it sounds painful!"

"Indeed, everyone says that Madam is usually very kind and gentle, so why is she even more ruthless than Master this time..."

Jia Yun understood the situation and silently mourned for Bao Yu, but he quickened his pace and left this place of trouble.

On their way back to the west corridor, they ran into Li Wan leading Jia Lan towards them.

Jia Lan's eyes lit up when he saw Jia Yun. He broke free from his mother's hand, ran forward, and respectfully bowed. His upturned face and admiring tone filled him with praise: "Second Brother Yun, you're amazing! You came in seventh place!"

Seeing his face flushed with excitement, Jia Yun felt a surge of warmth in her heart and squatted down gently, saying, "Lan-ge'er, you flatter me. You've worked very hard, and you're sure to pass the imperial examination."

Jia Lan nodded vigorously, her eyes shining.

But Li Wan, standing to the side, merely glanced at Jia Yun indifferently, her face expressionless. She gently tugged at Jia Lan's arm, her tone distant: "Lan'er, let's go. Don't delay your second brother Yun's important business."

After saying that, she took Jia Lan's hand, who kept turning back to look at her every step, and went straight to pay her respects to Grandmother Jia. However, the coldness and deliberate distance she maintained in her back view puzzled Jia Yun.

"What's wrong?" Jia Yun asked, puzzled.

After another day of rest, the second round of the county examination, the "Zhaofu" (a type of examination), arrived as scheduled.

Of the original 3,000-plus applicants, only 600-700 remain after the first round of selection, making the area in front of the county school much quieter.

With over four-fifths eliminated in a single exam, the harshness of the examination process is self-evident.

The three people from the Rongguo Mansion who took the exam were in very different situations: Jia Yun was sitting comfortably in the inner circle of the list, calm and composed; Jia Lan was on the secondary list, in a precarious position; as for Bao Yu, he had long since disappeared from the list, and no one in the mansion mentioned him anymore.

On the way to the exam, Jia Lan followed closely behind Jia Yun. Although his small frame was ramrod straight, his face was much paler than usual. He would steal glances at Jia Yun from time to time, and seeing that the other was calm and composed, his own heart pounded even harder.

"Second Brother Yun..." His voice trembled almost imperceptibly, "I...I'm so panicked."

Jia Yun stopped and noticed the dark circles under his eyes, knowing he had a sleepless night. She softened her voice to comfort him: "Lan-ge'er, although the examination is strict, it still tests your fundamental knowledge. Since you have thoroughly studied the classics and memorized the imperial edicts, just answer the questions step by step. Remember, a calm mind leads to a steady pen."

Jia Lan nodded vigorously, having remembered what was said, but how could that heavy pressure be resolved with just a few words? After all, she was only six years old, and her mind was not yet mature!

Once inside the examination room, the atmosphere was completely different from the first exam.

With most of the people gone, many of the cells were also empty.

Fifty candidates, including Jia Yun, were arranged to take the exam directly in front of the court and under the Minglun Hall, almost under the noses of the county magistrate and the instructor.

Jia Yun didn't care at all and simply sat down. Jia Lan, on the other hand, was placed in a slightly distant but still conspicuous spot, and felt as if needles were pricking his back.

When the first question on the Four Books was presented, Jia Yun glanced at it briefly and immediately had a plan in mind. He continued his great work as a "copycat," drawing on the strengths of many sources, and his writing was steady and his thoughts flowed smoothly.

When Jia Lan saw the question, her heart tightened at first. After reading it twice, she realized that it was a passage she had previewed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly composed herself and carefully analyzed the question.

He wrote each stroke with extra care, which naturally slowed him down, for fear of making a mistake.

Next is the discussion of the Classic of Filial Piety, which includes excerpts from the Classic of Filial Piety and further discussion.

This is a relatively relaxed event with no fixed format; it all depends on individual performance, as long as it doesn't deviate from the norm.

Jia Yun, drawing on some worldly wisdom, wrote with profound yet simple insight. Jia Lan, on the other hand, carefully remembered the teachings of his mother and teacher, citing classical texts and writing in a steady and reliable manner; while not particularly brilliant, it was also without any flaws.

Finally, we had to memorize the "Imperial Edict".

This was never a problem for Jia Yun, who had a photographic memory. The test required him to write five or six hundred words from memory, which he completed in one go almost without any corrections.

Jia Lan had also put in a lot of effort in this area, and he remembered the paragraphs clearly. However, when he wrote the second half, his mind became somewhat scattered due to the long period of tension. He almost forgot a person's name and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly calmed himself down and corrected it, but his handwriting was not as neat as when he first opened the book.

After finishing the three questions, Jia Yun was the first to hand in her paper, her demeanor composed.

Jia Lan checked the paper one last time to make sure it was correct before handing it in. As she walked out of the exam room, the little girl felt her legs were a bit weak.

The results were still released on the third day, and the area in front of the Da Hong Tuan case was still packed with people.

Jia Yun's name remained prominently in the inner circle; not only did he not fall behind, but his ranking actually moved up two places, clearly showing that his "unorthodox" essay actually suited the examiners' tastes.

He felt somewhat relieved, but his expression remained unchanged.

My gaze shifted to the sideboard of the secondary list, where the number of names had decreased by nearly half compared to the first round. Among the densely packed names, I couldn't find the name "Jia Lan".

Jia Yun's heart sank. Turning her head, she saw Jia Lan's small figure standing stiffly outside the crowd, her face frighteningly pale.

The little boy's eyes instantly reddened, his teeth clenched tightly around his lower lip, and his thin shoulders trembled slightly.

Jia Yun sighed inwardly as she walked over, gently placing her hand on his thin shoulder, and whispered, "Lan-ge'er, in the imperial examinations, temporary gains or losses don't matter. You're still young, but you have a good foundation. Go back, calm down, study hard, and try again next year."

Jia Lan suddenly lowered her head, letting out a muffled "hmm" through her throat, while her shoulders trembled even more violently.

What he feared was not just failing the exam, but also the deathly silence in his mother's room and the subtle gossip circulating in the mansion.

When the news reached the Rongguo Mansion, Li Wan's room was indeed suffocatingly silent.

Jia Lan stood straight, tears welling up in her eyes, but stubbornly refused to fall.

Li Wan felt a pang of heartache seeing him like this, and pulled him into her arms, her own tears falling first: "My son, it's alright, it's alright... You're still young, you have a long life ahead of you..."

She comforted her son verbally, but a bitter feeling involuntarily welled up inside her.

Having passed this test, Jia Yun has become a student of the Imperial Academy.

Upon hearing this news, Jia Dairu, who had previously tried to make things difficult for him, fainted on the spot again. He was already quite old and had only managed to pass the preliminary examination, while a member of a collateral branch of the West Corridor had passed at the age of fifteen. How could he not feel indignant?

While Jia Yun felt sorry for Jia Lan, he was unaware that a storm caused by him had quietly reached the county government.