Chapter 887 - 889 Turn Misfortune into Blessing_1
Bai Ruozhu watched as Jiang Yichun left with his entourage and secretly let out a sigh of relief. She feared things getting out of control, that someone might hold Jiang Yichun responsible, and that she herself might become the "beauty" in "A fury for a beauty causes a crown to be thrown," but with Jiang Yichun backing her like this, a sweet feeling filled her heart, and her mood lifted greatly.
The organizing committee also sighed in relief. With a word from Master Wei, all judges began to circulate the students’ works to determine the rankings in the Calligraphy Competition.
Good works were brought out first, and Bai Ruozhu’s piece was the first to be presented.
Bai Zepei went over, patted Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder, and said, "Little sister, go back and sit with the team for a while."
Bai Ruozhu nodded and, following Er Lang, stepped back. They passed by Lin Xufei and even bowed to thank him. Lin Xufei hurriedly returned the bow and said, "It was the right thing to do; I was merely speaking the truth."
After Bai Ruozhu sat down, she noticed a gaze still following her closely. She looked over and made eye contact with a young man.
He was a twenty-something youth, also quite handsome, but not particularly tall and somewhat slender.
The young man, caught by Bai Ruozhu’s gaze, wasn’t embarrassed but nodded and smiled politely at her. Just then, a handsome young man came over, patted his shoulder, and said, "Wang Xuan, it seems you also greatly appreciate Bai Ruozhu’s poetry and calligraphy."
Bai Ruozhu looked at the handsome young man. It was Tang Feng, known as Jiangnan’s top scholar, whom she had briefly met before. Through the last two days of the Competition, Bai Ruozhu had truly witnessed the renown of the top scholar Tang Feng—first in policy debate, second in Chess Skill and now here for the calligraphy. It was still unknown what rank he would achieve in calligraphy.
Seeing Bai Ruozhu looking at him, Tang Feng nodded slightly and gracefully smiled, then led Wang Xuan toward Xuanlang Academy’s seats.
"You know Bai Ruozhu?" Wang Xuan whispered, "She’s so spirited; I couldn’t help but want to speak up for her just now. Alas, I wasn’t there, and it wouldn’t have been right for me to speak out of turn."
Tang Feng smiled, "I’ve encountered her before in a Restaurant, where she countered Miss Xu’s belittlement of her brother in just a few words, leaving Miss Xu speechless. She’s quite an interesting woman."
Wang Xuan looked at Tang Feng in surprise, "Wow, it’s the first time I’ve heard you praise a woman, and she’s a married one at that."
Tang Feng laughed and patted his shoulder, "What are you thinking, can’t I simply admire her?"
Their conversation fell, word for word, into Bai Ruozhu’s ears. She slightly twitched the corners of her mouth. Shouldn’t she be flattered to be admired by the top scholar?
The Academy’s chancellor comforted Bai Ruozhu a few more words, telling her not to stoop to Xu Panrui’s level and praised both her poetry and the vigorous spirit in her calligraphy.
Being praised by acquaintances, Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat embarrassed; after all, the poem wasn’t hers, and the calligraphy was an exceptional performance born out of anger.
Soon, the results of the Calligraphy Competition were announced. The first place unexpectedly went to the slender young man, Wang Xuan, who had smiled so friendly at Bai Ruozhu.
"Wang Xuan is the most skilled in calligraphy among the four great young talents. It is said that with further refinement, he will definitely become a calligraphy master," Bai Zepei explained quietly beside her.
Bai Ruozhu nodded and turned to ask, "Er Lang, do you think you’ll have a chance to place?"
Bai Zepei suddenly laughed, "I have no idea. Er Lang writes better with water."
A flutter touched Bai Ruozhu’s heart. In the past, due to their poverty, Er Lang was reluctant to waste paper and ink and would write with a brush dipped in water on the table. After much practice, the varnish on the table had been worn down.
But water has a different density from ink, and it feels different when writing. Thinking of this, Bai Ruozhu felt a sting in her heart.
Suddenly, the second place was announced on the stage, it was Tang Feng.
Tang Feng, from a distance, patted Wang Xuan on the shoulder and said, "I’ve lost to you in calligraphy again."
Wang Xuan smiled shyly and said little.
Afterward, third place was Ding Guangji from Chang’an Academy, and fourth went to a contestant from Tai’an Academy. When they were announcing the fifth place, Bai Ruozhu silently prayed, hoping that her second brother would take the fifth place.
"Fifth place goes to Bai Ruozhu from Beiyu Academy!"
At this, Bai Ruozhu was dumbfounded. Had she heard correctly? She had won fifth place?
For a moment, she felt as though she had stolen her brother’s opportunity and regretted insisting on having her way back then.
Both the audience and the representatives from The Eight Academies were momentarily stunned. Bai Ruozhu? But hadn’t she written something that was not part of the competition’s requirements?
However, in light of the awe inspired by Jiang Yichun’s recent performance, no one dared to voice this doubt directly. It was Elder Wei who stepped forward and said, "Although Bai Ruozhu did not write the text required by the competition, it was with good reason. Her previous work had been destroyed, and she wrote that poem under time constraints, which is truly admirable. Considering the outstanding quality of the poem and its calligraphy, we, the judges, unanimously decided to award her fifth place. The works of the top ten finalists will be published later for everyone to appreciate their merit."
With the highly esteemed Elder Wei speaking, no one dared to object. Elder Wei sat down, rubbing his throat, and muttered, "I’m worn out today, an old man like me should really meddle less."
Everyone knew that Elder Wei was highly respected in Jiangnan, a man of honor in Xuanlang City. He never taught students, only occasionally serving as a judge in competitions and rarely speaking out. Today was an exception as he intervened on Bai Ruozhu’s behalf.
With that, the day’s competition concluded. Beiyu Academy had certainly turned heads that day—Bai Zepei won first in Chess Skill, and Tu Ying, a woman, had remarkably bested all the men to take first in mounted archery. Tu Bai also secured a place within the top five. Although there was no particularly dazzling performance in the Calligraphy Competition, Bai Ruozhu, due to the unexpected turn of events, secured the fifth place—a fifth place with considerable value.
The people from Beiyu Academy went to look at the calligraphy works posted, among which was Bai Zepei’s; he had come in eighth. Another student from Beiyu Academy, Jin Junfeng, had taken the tenth place.
After admiring the works for a while, they boarded their horse carriage and headed back to their lodgings.
Midway on the return journey, Bai Ruozhu heard the sound of galloping hooves, and the voice of a woman driving the horses was very familiar. She lifted the carriage curtain and saw, as expected, Tu Ying on a fine horse, charging towards them with a look of dejection on her face.
"Tu Ying!" Bai Ruozhu called out.
It was then that Tu Ying realized the horse carriage belonged to the Academy and quickly brought her horse to a stop.
"Ruozhu, I’m glad you’re alright. I heard the news and wanted to come to stand up for you..." Tu Ying’s eyes reddened as she spoke; being a woman herself, she understood the impact of such incidents. Ruozhu had been framed while trying to save her brother. If anything happened, the Tu Family would owe Bai Ruozhu too much.
Seeing Tu Ying so anxious, Bai Ruozhu felt a warmth in her heart and waved at her, saying, "It’s all resolved. Come on, turn around and let me go back and properly tell you how to scold a bitch."
The morning breeze at the side of the horse carriage twitched with a smile. My lady, isn’t that a bit too blunt?