Chapter 897 - 899 There Must Be A Problem with The Overall Ranking_1
Bai Ruozhu instructed Jianqi to send people to protect Wu Ying in secret, and then she went with everyone to the restaurant. Just as they had finished ordering the drinks and dishes, Wu Ying returned with a face full of joy.
"Did you win?" Bai Ruozhu guessed as soon as she saw her expression.
Wu Ying hummed with pride, much like the Northwest Main Camp had agreed to something with the Xijiang Main Camp. Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh and said, "You’ve certainly lived up to the name of Beiyu City’s female overlord."
"Don’t think I can’t tell you’re teasing me; that’s really mean," said Wu Ying, although her face still wore a look of triumph.
The rest of the group praised Wu Ying too—who could blame them when she was the strongest among them after Jiang Yichun?
While Bai Ruozhu was chatting with Wu Ying, Academician Wen was also speaking with Jiang Yichun, talking about staying in Xuanlang City for a few days after the competition ended to attend the organizing committee’s banquet events, then planning to tour several cities in Jiangnan before slowly making their way back. He asked if that would interfere with the plans of Jiang Yichun and Bai Ruozhu.
Jiang Yichun immediately agreed, saying that he and his family also wanted to travel around and were not in a rush to return and report back.
The others listening nearby were very pleased, as most of them were visiting Jiangnan for the first time. With its picturesque landscapes and exquisite culture, how regrettable would it be to leave without fully experiencing it? They might not get another chance to come here in the future.
Midway through the meal, Bai Qizhi suddenly appeared, smiling and saying, "Miss Bai, I’ve been looking for you for quite a while."
"Do you need me for something?" Bai Ruozhu looked at the gentle and demure Bai Qizhi in front of her and felt an instinctive fondness for the girl.
"Miao An from the Gu Family would like you to visit their place. She should have come to see you herself, but she can’t because of her foot injury," Bai Qizhi explained with a smile.
Previously, Bai Ruozhu had asked Jiang Yichun about the current situation and whether it would be appropriate for her to associate with Miao An and others. Jiang Yichun had said there was no harm and that it was fine to get closer—after all, the Gu Family was aligned with the emperor.
"Sure, I should be able to come over the afternoon the day after tomorrow," Bai Ruozhu said.
"Then I’ll come to pick you up at the closing hour the day after tomorrow," Bai Qizhi said happily.
Bai Ruozhu nodded with a smile, "Alright."
After Bai Qizhi had finished speaking, she politely bid farewell to everybody, including Academician Wen and Jiang Yichun, before leaving with graceful poise.
"Mrs. Jiang, Miss Bai is your distant relative, right? You two do bear a resemblance," said Liu Jianzhou in his blunt way.
Bai Zepei glanced at him; if Bai Qizhi was Bai Ruozhu’s relative, that made her his too, yet Bai Qizhi hadn’t even greeted him, had she?
Bai Ruozhu shook her head with a smile, "No, Miss Bai’s grandfather is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites in the Capital City—it’s just a coincidence that we share the same surname."
Realizing he had made a mistake, Liu Jianzhou chuckled awkwardly and dropped the subject.
After finishing their meal, everyone returned to the competition arena in high spirits. It was the day to announce the rankings of The Eight Academies. Academician Wen said they would wait for the Academy to calculate the scores for the rankings, but Bai Ruozhu had already roughly worked them out herself. She liked calculating; how could she not have done some prior estimating on such score rankings?
Beiyu Academy had performed very well this year, but there was still some distance to claiming first place. Tang Feng from Jiangnan Academy had won several first-place prizes, and their other institutes had also scored quite high, so the first place undoubtedly belonged to Jiangnan Academy. Meanwhile, Beiyu Academy should be in second place, which, although not first, was a significant improvement from last year’s fourth place.
The judges’ chairperson for this competition, Mr. Qiu, a great scholar from the Jiangnan region, walked out with the total scores and rankings of each academy in hand and began to read them.
As expected, Jiangnan Academy took the first place, but much to Bai Ruozhu’s surprise, it was Chang’an Academy that secured second place, with Beiyu Academy only managing third.
The Dean and the others were still pleased with the ranking, as it was an improvement from last year. Bai Ruozhu quickly reviewed the scores she knew Chang’an Academy had received over the past few days, her certainty growing that there must be something amiss with the competition standings.
She listened carefully, the scores of Beiyu Academy were roughly correct; they couldn’t be off by more than a few points. However, Chang’an Academy’s score was oddly four points higher than Beiyu Academy’s. And, from Bai Ruozhu’s calculations, Chang’an Academy’s score was definitely too high!
Was this an oversight by the organizing committee or was it intentional manipulation?
"Such a pity, I really thought we were the runner up," Mr. Zhang said with a sigh.
Bai Ruozhu opened her mouth to speak but ultimately closed it. The situation wasn’t clear, and voicing her concerns now—with so many people around—could lead to an uproar among Beiyu Academy’s young participants. Causing the organizing committee to lose face could also adversely affect their subsequent itinerary.
At that moment, Mr. Qiu announced that more works from the competition would be displayed for the contestants to view and that they would be opened to the public after tomorrow so that the citizens could enjoy them. Additionally, there would be a banquet at Liuxian Building at noon the next day where the top three winners would receive their weapon awards.
The Dean from Chang’an Academy, with a smile, ceremoniously greeted the Dean with a clasped handshake and said, "Old Wen, congratulations on finally making it to the top three this year. You’ll have to work harder next year."
He spoke with the air of a big brother, leaving unsaid the implied "after all, you’re still behind us". Bai Ruozhu felt annoyed watching him, wondering whether Zhang Xiuquan was aware of the mistake in the rankings. If he was involved in any foul play and still had the audacity to ridicule Beiyu Academy like this, it would truly be disgraceful.
The Dean was unbothered, replying cheerfully, "We indeed have a lot to learn from Xuanlang Academy. Jiangnan really is a place of outstanding people and spirits. Moreover, they’re gracious in victory and resilient in defeat—not like some people..."
He stopped there, then smiled and led everyone away.
Once they reached a less crowded area, Bai Ruozhu pondered for a moment, then said, "Achun, could you ask the Dean to step aside for a moment? I have something to discuss privately with you both."
Jiang Yichun’s expression changed. Given that Bai Ruozhu did not wait to return to their residence to speak, it must be something of great importance.
He whispered a few words to the Dean, who then told the others to proceed with viewing the displayed works. Bai Ruozhu asked Tu Ying to wander around, but not go too far, and then she, along with Jiang Yichun, led the Dean to a secluded corner, where she instructed the dark guard to keep watch to prevent strangers from overhearing their conversation.
"Dean, will the detailed scoring of the competition be made public?" Bai Ruozhu asked.
The Dean, a clever man, immediately looked concerned. "Do you think there was a mistake in the scoring?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded slightly, "I have a very good memory. I remember who from our side ranked and who from Chang’an Academy made it to the top five. I had calculated it in advance, and we should be in second place. But I might have missed something, so I want to see the detailed score sheet to confirm this."
The Dean’s eyebrows furrowed tightly, "I also felt that we should be in second place."
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