Chapter 868 - 870: This is Called Strategy_1
The melodious sound of the guqin began to play, and the hands that Bai Ruozhu and Tu Ying clasped together gradually relaxed. Bai Ruozhu didn’t understand the art of the guqin, yet she was captivated as if drawn into a picturesque landscape of mountains and water, even entering an ethereal realm akin to celestial paradise.
It wasn’t until the last note trailed off that she slowly came to her senses, blinking hard. Was this, was this played by her second brother? Was she not hallucinating?
Bai Zepei rose to his feet and performed an ancient bow towards the judges’ bench. Several of the judges on the stage couldn’t help but nod slightly in approval, and one even whispered softly, "This student has the air of the Weijin era, and the artistic conception within the music is quite commendable."
Tu Ying snapped back to reality, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at Bai Zepei, tugging at Bai Ruozhu’s arm in excitement, "I had no idea Bai Second Brother’s guqin skills were so outstanding, it’s genuinely astonishing."
Joy began to swell in Bai Ruozhu’s heart; Tu Ying had a better appreciation for it, and if Tu Ying thought it was good, then it must truly be remarkable.
But she needed to ask her second brother when he had learned to play the guqin.
After brief deliberation, the judges quickly ranked the top five. In each event of the competition, the top five were scored, with the first place garnering ten points, second place eight points, third place six points, fourth place four points, and fifth place two points. The final ranking would be determined by adding up these points, with the academy with the most points being first. Of course, there have been instances where academies tie in points, resulting in a joint first place.
Individual rankings were also calculated by adding up points, so the more events one participated in, the better the advantage. However, many events only allowed five members from each team to participate, inevitably the team’s finest, so not everyone had the opportunity to vie for the top three individual spots.
Soon, the results were announced. The first place went to Tang Feng, the leading figure among the four great talents of Jiangnan. As soon as the judges announced his name, shrieks erupted from the crowd, with the majority being women’s voices, highlighting just how popular Tang Feng was.
The Yard’s master from Xuanlang Academy was grinning from ear to ear, stroking his beard in pride for Tang Feng. In contrast, several scholars from Chang’an Academy had stern expressions, seemingly deeming such adoration as unseemly.
Bai Ruozhu had heard that during the Weijin period, literature flourished, and talented individuals would attract onlookers on the streets, even receiving flowers from women taking the initiative. Such was the cultural norm in Jiangnan, though Chang’an was more stringent with its rites and education, which is why some conservative scholars found it quite disagreeable.
Subsequently, second and third places were announced, taken by members from Chang’an and Tianfu Academies. When fourth place was announced, it was Dang Youshen from Beiyu Academy.
"How could it be him, that’s so annoying," Tu Ying pouted in complaint.
"Never mind, at least it brings glory to our academy," Bai Ruozhu smiled, not finding it strange at all.
Continuing the announcements from the stage, "Fifth place, Beiyu Academy’s Bai Zepei!"
Bai Ruozhu and Tu Ying were thrilled as well, not expecting Beiyu Academy to secure two spots, and even more surprised that her second brother had also received a ranking!
The team congratulated Dang Youshen and Bai Zepei, with Dang Youshen appearing quite smug as he was ranked before Bai Zepei, becoming the first in the team to achieve a ranking.
"Second Brother, congratulations!" Bai Ruozhu gave her second brother a thumbs up.
A faint smile appeared on Bai Zepei’s face as he nodded back at Bai Ruozhu.
With that, the competition for the first day came to an end. The essays from the policy discussions were to be read overnight, with the results out by early morning the following day. Some outstanding contributions would be made public for all to read.
The group returned to their quarters in high spirits, with even the head of the literary academy chuckling, "Today was a brilliant start, a double success with a single shot."
Eight teams with a total of forty contestants, yet only the top five were rated—an academy capturing two of those spots was indeed no easy feat.
"Zepei’s time spent practicing the zither was too little, and his skill is still lacking, had it been otherwise, with his talent and artistic conception, he should have been able to secure a spot in the top three," Mr. Zhang couldn’t help but comment.
The other teachers nodded in agreement. Mr. Zhang then sternly said to Bai Zepei, "Did you hear that? I told you to practice arduously."
Bai Zepei forced a wry smile. He had planned to practice hard before the competition, but ended up sustaining a serious injury and had since been focusing on recuperating.
Jiang Yichun carried Dengdeng over and handed her to his mother before offering his congratulations to Bai Zepei, ignoring Dang Youshen. At this moment, Dang Youshen couldn’t save face; although he ranked higher than Bai Zepei, the teachers and everyone else were praising Bai Zepei. Wasn’t it because they thought his brother-in-law was the commanding officer leading the team and everyone wanted to curry favor with him?
With this in mind, Dang Youshen felt even more annoyed.
Once they had returned to their lodging, Bai Ruozhu ran to speak with her second brother. Her face brimming with curiosity, she asked, "Second Brother, I’ve never heard you play the zither on regular days. How have you become so skilled?"
Bai Zepei reached out to hold Dengdeng and said with a smile, "I started learning the zither from Master Xie a few years ago. It’s just that back then, our family didn’t have the resources to buy one."
"Then why didn’t you mention that you were going to compete this time? I would’ve gifted you a fine zither," Bai Ruozhu said reproachfully.
Bai Zepei smiled and shook his head, "I couldn’t really afford to dedicate much time to practicing the zither anyway, plus I’m naturally somewhat adept at it. I had intended to practice before the competition, but I ended up having to take care of myself. Moreover, my technique isn’t that exquisite to begin with; using a fine zither would’ve been a waste, so it was better to use the one provided by the organizing committee."
Bai Ruozhu burst into laughter. Her second brother was just too cunning—if he had used a famous zither, perhaps he might not have even secured the fifth place.
The judges, seeing him use the zither provided by the organizing committee, would naturally assume that he had encountered some mishap on the way, like a damaged zither or something. Therefore, when his playing was slightly unrefined, it was attributed to the poor quality of the organizing committee’s zither, but his artistic conception was excellent, which made it easy to score him higher. There might have even been judges who felt sympathy for him in secret.
"Second Brother, you’re too devious," Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but comment.
Holding Dengdeng in one arm and flicking Bai Ruozhu’s forehead with the other, Bai Zepei retorted, "Is that how you talk about your own brother? It’s strategy, do you understand?"
Bai Ruozhu, holding her forehead in annoyance, said, "Then what other events are you participating in? Tell me quickly."
"There’s calligraphy, chess, poetry, and arithmetic," Bai Zepei replied.
"Arithmetic?" Bai Ruozhu’s eyes lit up. Could it be mathematics? That would mean she could also participate, right?
"Correct, your second brother happens to be quite good at arithmetic," Bai Zepei stated with a hint of pride, as if saying, ’See? Second Brother is still very impressive, isn’t he?’
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh. She further inquired about the specifics of the arithmetic competition, and the more she learned, the more suitable it seemed for her. Clapping her hands, she declared, "I’ll participate in the arithmetic competition too. You’ll have to perform well, Second Brother, and not lose to me."
Bai Zepei knew that Bai Ruozhu often managed the accounts and might be quite good at arithmetic, but he did not take her word seriously, knowing that keeping accounts and competing were two different things.
The next morning’s competition was chess, followed by calligraphy and horseback archery in the afternoon. Bai Ruozhu was set to participate in the calligraphy, while Tu Ying would be competing in chess and horseback archery. Tomorrow, she was bound to be the standout competitor.