(PS: Quietly modified the last two hundred words of the previous chapter about Mr. Zhu and put it at the beginning of this chapter, should be hard for anyone to notice...)

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Zhu Yourong was actually not curious about who this Ren Character Thirteen is.

She didn't care how many perfect scores he got either.

At most, she would politely laugh along with the other teachers, sighing about the promising youth.

This well-endowed female teacher had been preoccupied with thoughts of a certain 'junior disciple' from last night until now.

She hoped other teachers would finish grading the papers soon so she could find an opportunity to chat a bit and promote her 'junior disciple'.

However, from her arrival at Jingchen Hall until now, all she heard was 'Ren Character Thirteen', 'Ren Character Thirteen'. The little girls helping her organize documents were almost fangirling, chirping away, and she felt like her ears had become calloused.

Honestly, could this guy hurry up and finish his moment in the spotlight? It's practically turning into a drama series... meanwhile, her junior's matters are urgent...

As if she had been staring outside the window in a trance for too long, a strand of her black hair fell along the temple, covering half of her jade face.

She held a cup of clear tea, sipped lightly, and used her pinky to gently tuck the hair behind her ear, revealing a serene and elegant round face.

Whenever a woman idles, it's inevitable to think more, especially when her intricate, circling thoughts unavoidably revolve around that one person in her heart.

"It seems they're all from the Ren Character Examination Room... Ugh, you, how could you not take the big exam seriously? Now, someone else has stolen all the limelight, almost overshadowing Xuanji... Even if you put your energy on women, you don't seem to understand us that well. Aren't you always causing me worry..."

Without reason, Zhu Yourong felt a bit angry at him again. Clearly, when she saw his calligraphy about her 'window' this morning, her mood had cleared, and she'd forgiven him, but now a small grievance resurfaced in her heart, targeting a certain someone...

Especially since the calm expression on someone's face before parting yesterday, offering no apology or explanation as if it was none of his concern... Zhu Yourong lightly bit her lip, moistened by orchid tea.

After all, no matter how indifferent and serene one appears, without chasing fame.

Even if confident she could support him effortlessly, without asking for anything in return.

Which woman under the whole sky wouldn't wish for her... her "junior disciple" to strike a figure and astonish everyone? To become the most dazzling one among the crowd, turning back with confidence; which woman wouldn't blush and have her heart race on the spot? Even the most mature and assertive woman would probably find it hard to withstand...

Zhu Yourong's mind suddenly recalled several requirements proposed by that old sacrificial officer.

She warmed her face with the teacup and rubbed her cheek, sighing lightly.

But immediately she revitalized herself.

Zhao Rong had said before, a certain someone does not turn back until he hits the south wall, or even after hitting it, she wouldn't turn back, determined to knock it down.

Zhu Yourong immediately pulled out a piece of xuan paper, secretly writing in places unseen by others, listing her 'junior disciple', Xuanji, and the very troublesome Ren Character Thirteen, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of each in various subjects.

"It's okay, it's okay, the gap isn't big, the advantages lie with him, there's no insurmountable difficulty in the world, only those with the will..." Zhu Yourong consoled herself.

"His calligraphy must be the best, enough to be my teacher. Moreover, his Poetry and Prose Skill should be strong, it's not hard for him to get good poems, it's just this time he didn't perform well..."

She tilted her head, "As for the Classics, he can do it too, I see how hard he usually studies, focusing on learning the Classics and Confucianism, as if preparing to become a scholar and then apprenticing under that Yan Teacher, humph, no way you will..."

"Looking at the Music Art... forget it, let's give up on this one, alas, my foolish, tone-deaf 'junior disciple'." Zhu Yourong drew a big cross on the paper.

She then turned to analyze another one:

"Hmm, this Ren Character Thirteen has full scores in Poetry and Prose Skill, Painting Skill, and Chess Skill, but with Xuanji's strength in Buddha Mountain Calligraphy, it's definitely not a perfect score for me, only he has the perfect score..."

"As for the Classics, I'm not clear, but people with talent in Poetry and Prose Skill generally have difficulty understanding the Classics, like Xuanji, good at the Classics but weak in Poetry, I am not good at Poetry either, it's too hard to master both these big arts at the same time, only some prodigies can, hmm, so unless this Ren Character Thirteen values the Classics as much, otherwise he's not much of a worry..."

"Looking at the Music Art, this Ren Character Thirteen didn't get full marks, that's a relief, who knows, maybe he's tone-deaf too, haha, it's not unlikely."

Zhu Yourong suddenly smiled, and with the pen tapped her delicate chin, "So it seems both parties have overlapping strengths and weaknesses..."

Suddenly, the smiling female teacher's expression froze, as if the pause button had been pressed, and after a while, she slowly looked down at the comparative data on the paper.

Zhu Yourong's mind flashed with that calm gaze of a certain someone yesterday before they parted, "Didn't produce entry-level poetry... Painting Skill didn't get full marks... Ren Character... Field."

Zhu Yourong suddenly wanted to get up but then quietly calmed down, halted all movements, and sat quietly in her place for a long while, eyes ahead.

After who knows how long, she turned her head.

"Have you finished recording the scores?"

Zhu Yourong had long completed grading all the exam papers and handed them to two female students next to her to record the scores, so she was asking those busy with the task not far away.

"Ah, almost, teacher, we've reached Geng Field, with only three exam rooms left..." a female student hastily replied.

"Stop all other work now, record Ren Character Field first," she instructed.

The two female students paused but then obediently complied.

After a while.

Noticing a change in one female student's expression, this morning, the female teacher who gave full marks only by recognizing someone's handwriting and not looking at the candidate number rubbed her cheek vigorously and asked, "What's the matter?"

The female student looked up in surprise and said, "One paper got full marks, the first full marks in calligraphy..."

Zhu Yourong tried hard to keep her expression unchanged, "What's the exam number?"

The female student looked down, her face filled with awe, "It's number thirteen in the Ren Character again!"

Zhu Yourong's face showed an expression, seeming both relieved and unsurprised.

The female student excitedly spoke, "Teacher Zhu..."

Zhu Yourong covered her lips with her index finger, "Shh."

The latter instantly fell silent.

Zhu Yourong squinted her eyes towards the south, and at this moment, her first reaction was not delight but rather a mix of minor annoyance and displeasure.

A resentful heart pouted at that person a hundred times, "Clearly so skilled and took the exam seriously, why not explain it to me? Do you think I'm an outsider, not caring about outsiders' opinions..."

Zhu Yourong noted something in her small book about a certain person, but this did not prevent her from excitedly drawing a sheet of paper and analyzing a certain person once again.

At the top of the sheet was written:

Little Junior Brother's performance sheet who treats himself as an outsider and shows great disrespect and lack of appreciation towards Senior Sister.

Below was listed in order:

Calligraphy - Barely changed full marks.

Poetry and Prose - Carelessly got full marks.

Painting Skill - Fortunately pleasing to the eye full marks.

Chess Skill - By sheer luck full marks.

Ritual Skill - Performed decently seems full marks.

Classics - Pending review.

Music Art - No way someone could really score zero in Music Art, right?

Finishing these, the 'Senior Sister' who had worried herself sick over her junior brother's performance paused, her lips curved into a smile she couldn't suppress. Then, mimicking Zhao Rong's handwriting, she wrote on the last line:

Senior Sister Zhu, wait for me, Zhao Ziyu, to achieve the top of the Six Halls and return for you!

After completing this, Zhu Yourong picked up the paper and reviewed it several times, each time more satisfied, seemingly never tiring of it, especially the last line 'personal guarantee from a certain someone.' Zhu Yourong suppressed the corners of her mouth, assuming the calm demeanor of a serious senior sister, glanced at her junior brother's personal guarantee, sighed lightly, slightly 'dismissive,' "What do you mean for me to take one back, you're taking it for yourself, silly junior brother... Oh well, it's rare you have such filial piety, won't fuss over it... Hehe."

A certain female teacher chuckled over this junior brother's performance sheet for quite some time, drawing frequent curious glances from several nearby female students, before finally controlling her expression and calmly putting it away.

Before putting away the performance sheet, Zhu Yourong glanced once more at the remaining classics subject, then immediately turned her head and acted.

Meanwhile, as Zhu Yourong wrote the performance sheet for 'Ren Character Thirteen,' elsewhere, several teachers were discussing the matter of Ren Character Thirteen.

Teacher Chen took a sip of wine and turned to ask, "Teacher Su, Teacher Duan, is Ren Character Thirteen really not that girl Yu Huaijin?"

Su Changfeng and Duan Jiuling exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads.

"Not her style."

"Besides, given Yu Huaijin's nature, do you think she would write about beautiful women, paint portraits of them?"

Teacher Chen laughed heartily, teasingly saying, "So it's a fake serious lad?"

The group of teachers lost their composure at his words, laughing.

At this moment, an elderly teacher, always quietly grading papers without mingling with the young teachers, handed a test paper to Teacher Chen with a stern face, "Little Chen, give this Trial Policy a score."

Teacher Chen was startled, turned and accepted the paper.

The Classics papers were graded by the two of them together, each correcting half, and as per tradition, only test papers likely to receive high marks would be reviewed by both, then jointly assigned a final score. Such instances were rare since Classics were famously difficult.

"Excellent penmanship." This was Teacher Chen's initial reaction, and he casually flipped to the test's front page, "All questions correct? That's decent..."

He turned back to the Trial Policy section.

"Simple meal, simple joy? Huh, curious choice of words..."

Soon, the surrounding teachers noticed Teacher Chen had fallen silent, intently staring at the test paper, reading it line by line, wholly absorbed.

Duan Jiuling, Su Changfeng, and others did not mind, absorbed in their own soon-to-be-completed tasks, ignoring Teacher Chen and the elderly teacher. However, after a while, a sudden dispute erupted on the eastern side of the hall.

It involved the usually easygoing Teacher Chen and the elderly teacher fond of asserting authority.

"No way, nineteen at most."

"Elderly Teacher, such an impressive Trial Policy deserves a full twenty!" Teacher Chen insisted earnestly.

"No way." The elderly teacher remained obstinate.

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