Chapter 47: What's Meant to Be Won't Miss You

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Meng Yuxi turned to look. The man was richly dressed, with hair and beard already streaked with gray. His belly was large, and he carried himself with an imposing air. Meng Yuxi guessed that he must be Cui Xiucheng’s father, Cui Yufan.

“Father, you’ve arrived!”

Cui Xiucheng rose and bowed to his father.

Beside Meng Yuxi, Meng Xueqiao had his eyes closed and gave a slight nod. Cui Xiucheng and his father were speaking in low voices and naturally did not notice.

“It is nothing. You merely failed to come first this once. Besides, only the first round of the imperial examination has ended. There are still several more to come. His Majesty, ruler of our Great Li dynasty, is a sovereign for the ages. Xiucheng, you must seize this opportunity and display everything you have learned. Do not hold back again, understand? You were too restrained in the first round, and that will never do. If you keep your thoughts bottled up, you will not be able to show your true ability.”

“Your old father came this time to see you give it your all.”

Cui Xiucheng bowed gratefully.

Meng Yuxi chuckled. He understood now: Cui Xiucheng’s high-ranking father had come to back his son. Once they fought before His Majesty, if Cui Xiucheng had still harbored even the slightest hesitation about whether he should strike with deadly force, he likely would not have any left now. If he did not beat Meng Yuxi to death on the spot, that alone would count as showing him great consideration.

Meng Yuxi rose and stretched his arms and legs. He had been sitting for far too long, and even his legs had grown stiff.

Cui Yufan glanced at him several times. At first, his eyes held a trace of disdain, but then his expression abruptly changed, as though he had fallen under a spell.

He stammered, “May I… may I ask who this young gentleman is?”

“Father, this is the Fourth Young Master of Lord Meng Hongchang’s household, Meng Yuxi.”

Cui Yufan’s expression immediately returned to normal. He merely nodded at Cui Xiucheng and did not spare Meng Yuxi another glance.

Meng Yuxi had been about to smile, nod, and call him “good son,” but he was not given the opportunity.

“Lord Cui, His Majesty summons you inside.”

A man dressed as a eunuch came hurrying over to deliver the summons. Cui Yufan did not dare delay. He promptly bowed and answered, “Yes,” then followed the eunuch away with his body bent respectfully.

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The rankings for the top one hundred had already been posted outside the Meng residence. Apart from the scholars seated in the first four rows, who remained motionless while waiting to be summoned by His Majesty, everyone else had gone to view the list.

Meng Yuxi was thoroughly tired of sitting. He nudged Meng Xueqiao’s chair with his foot, then tilted his chin toward the slender scholar’s back. Meng Xueqiao initially grinned, thinking Meng Yuxi was pointing out something amusing. But after looking carefully for a moment, he tumbled straight off his stool.

Had Chen Zhiwei not already been sprawled across the table like a dead dog, another disturbance would probably have broken out.

Meng Xueqiao tried to stand, but Meng Yuxi pressed a hand downward, signaling him to stay put.

Meng Yuxi called out, “Xueqiao, wait here. I’ll go see whether your name made the list!” He even winked at Meng Xueqiao.

Meng Xueqiao understood at once. “All right, Fourth Brother. Does anyone else here want to see the list? I’ll have my Fourth Brother check for you as well.”

Everyone thought that Meng Yuxi had already taken first place in the literary examination and would certainly be summoned by His Majesty shortly. Though they were all disciples of Master Zhen, none of them believed they had offended Meng Yuxi. They had even drunk at his Heaven on Earth establishment. Thus, apart from Cui Xiucheng and Chen Zhiwei, everyone eagerly raised a hand and asked Meng Yuxi to check their scores and rankings.

Meng Yuxi smiled and agreed to every request. He went around asking each person’s name. His memory was excellent; without pen or paper, he remembered the names of more than twenty people without the slightest mistake. At last, he came before the slender young master.

The young man had his head lowered, his forehead propped on one wrist, as though deep in thought. His face hung so low that he was looking directly at the tabletop.

To see the person’s features clearly, Meng Yuxi could only half-kneel before her.

“Brother, may I ask your honored name? I can check the list for you while I’m there.”

“Xian Mengxue,” the slender young man replied in a low voice without lifting her head.

The silver in Meng Yuxi’s robe slipped out and fell to the ground. He hurriedly knelt to retrieve it.

“Third Sister, even if you appeal to His Majesty in person, it will be useless.”

Meng Xuexian whispered, “We must at least try.”

Meng Yuxi wanted to say more, but this was not the place for such a conversation. Her entanglement with the Crown Prince involved not only the Crown Prince himself, but also the Empress, Lady Wu Jiwen, mistress of the Meng household, and even the authority vested in Meng Hongchang’s office. To bring the matter before His Majesty now, precisely when Meng Hongchang was about to hand over his official post, would likely result in His Majesty turning a deaf ear. Not only would Meng Xuexian’s affairs remain unresolved, but the matter of Meng Hongchang’s private sale of the cloth shops would also be delayed. Worse still, Meng Xuexian might end up charged with the grave crime of deceiving the sovereign.

“I will take care of your affairs for you.”

Helpless, Meng Yuxi could only make the promise for now and wait for the proper moment.

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“Really? You won’t deceive me as Fifth Brother did, will you?”

Meng Xuexian raised her head a fraction and gazed at Meng Yuxi with her large eyes.

Meng Yuxi nodded. “I will not deceive you.”

Meng Xuexian studied him for a long while. Then she lightly bit her vermilion lip.

“If you deceive me, I will die before your eyes.”

With that, Meng Xuexian rose and walked out of the Meng residence.

Meng Yuxi was beginning to regret getting involved. How had this matter landed on his shoulders?

“Young Master Meng, have you finished picking up your silver? Go take a look at the list. The military examination will begin soon.”

Someone in the front rows had grown anxious and begun urging him on.

Meng Yuxi rose and said, “Gentlemen, please wait a moment. I will return shortly.”

Before the red list, some people rejoiced while others sighed. Every ranking board presented the same two utterly different faces, as far apart as heaven and earth.

Meng Yuxi looked over the list. Meng Xueqiao’s name was in ninety-ninth place, scraping through by the narrowest margin. Chen Zhiwei had spent all day boasting about Cui Xiucheng, yet his own ranking was only ninety-fifth. Meng Mingzhe and Meng Chenxuan were ranked thirty-seventh and forty-first respectively.

As for Xian Mengxue, she had placed ninth.

Who would have thought that Third Sister was not only unconventional in her thinking, but equally formidable when it came to composing poetry and prose? Meng Yuxi almost wished he could ask His Majesty to let him see her examination paper.

His own name, unsurprisingly, stood at the very top of the red list, first in the first column. Cui Xiucheng was listed directly beneath him. The sight filled Meng Yuxi with a satisfaction too profound for words. His gamble had been well worth it. He had actually managed to crush the newly proclaimed top scholar.

Those who knew Meng Yuxi congratulated him one after another. He returned their greetings with clasped hands and wished them all success in the military examination that afternoon. Only then did the crowd gradually disperse.

Meng Yuxi also checked the results of everyone who had asked him to look up their names before returning to the Meng residence.

From a distance, he saw Cui Yufan standing before the seat where Meng Xuexian had been sitting. His eyes swept back and forth, as though searching for something.

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