Chapter 25: Shen Xiuyan Is About to Lose It

Thinking that such a talented person still hadn’t passed the Xiucai exam at this age, Liu Fuzi couldn’t help but complain again.

Might as well shut Longmen Academy down—look at how many talents it’s been burying!

But excitement aside, Liu Fuzi was worried Shen Xiuyan might get arrogant, so he forcibly held himself back and didn’t show any signs of being overjoyed.

“Alright, your answers were passable. Take a few more books today and come back once you’ve finished them.”

“Yes, Master.”

After picking up the books, Shen Xiuyan hesitated slightly.

Seeing that he hadn’t left, Liu Fuzi asked, “Is there something else you wanted to say?”

Shen Xiuyan spoke, “Master, do you think I can pass the Xiucai exam this time?”

Liu Fuzi: “…”

Shen Xiuyan is losing his mind!

He’s only been at the academy for how long and he’s already this full of himself?

Sure, he’s smart, but the Xiucai exam isn’t that easy.

“Mm… keep working hard.”

Shen Xiuyan: “…”

Is the Xiucai exam really that hard???

He could hear it in that tone—no different from saying “keep dreaming.”

Why hadn’t anyone told him this?

Is it too late to give up now…

Shen Xiuyan drooped his head, dejected.

Seeing his hopeless look, Liu Fuzi panicked.

Don’t tell me he’s so discouraged he’s about to give up completely.

If that happened, he’d be responsible.

Thinking fast, he tried to salvage the situation. “Of course, it’s not like you have no chance. As the saying goes, ‘The clumsy bird flies early.’ Try a little harder—maybe you’ll make it!”

Shen Xiuyan: Okay, he’s comforted now. At least there’s still a chance, right?

But to his surprise, Liu Fuzi’s eyes lit up as he added, “So keep at it. Start by finishing all the books in my collection—your chances will be better then.”

Shen Xiuyan: “…”

I’m done for~

Might as well let Master kill me now!!!

He looked around the room at the bookshelves. Yep, densely packed.

Not to mention all the books already stuffed on those shelves—so full they looked like they’d burst if you shoved in even one more.

He’s supposed to read all of that?

Master… he’s not aiming to become the top scholar in the country, just a Xiucai!

Has passing the Xiucai exam become this demanding now…

Shen Xiuyan took a deep breath and walked out stiffly, suspicion in his eyes.

The following days flew by.

At least for Shen Xiuyan, they passed incredibly fast.

Every day he opened his eyes to read, closed them still reading—even in his dreams he was reciting.

His life became a straight line between the academy and home. He only saw his beloved twice during this whole period, but luckily Mingyue was very understanding and supportive.

After all, a hardworking future husband like this was hard to come by!

In the end, Shen Xiuyan was so dedicated he even skipped meals.

This surprised the two at home.

They had truly never seen Shen Xiuyan or “Brother” push himself so hard.

This time, Shen Xiuyan really was going all out to win his bride.

The reading and reciting phase dragged on endlessly. The academy held three mini-exams during that time, and Shen Xiuyan improved each time.

First he ranked sixth, then fifth, and in the most recent one, he directly landed in third place.

Carrying his third-place test paper, Shen Xiuyan once again went to Liu Fuzi’s room.

Liu Fuzi massaged his forehead.

Why is he here again?

After every exam, he had to come by and ask questions—his dedication was admirable, but did he have to bother just this one teacher every time?

Liu Fuzi had to mentally prepare in advance to find flaws in Shen Xiuyan’s paper.

But to his surprise, Shen Xiuyan behaved differently this time.

He slapped the paper down on the desk and sat cross-legged on the floor, sighing deeply.

“Master, you said clumsy birds fly early… but am I too clumsy? Just how far am I from passing the Xiucai exam?”

For the first time ever, prodigy Shen Xiuyan began doubting himself.

Maybe he was just born incompatible with the imperial exam system.

Liu Fuzi: “…”

After a moment of silence, Liu Fuzi couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.

So many talented students at the academy hadn’t passed the exam—did Shen Xiuyan really think he could pass it this easily?

Still needs some tempering.

But turning his head to look at the shelves nearly emptied by Shen Xiuyan’s memorization spree, he thought: if this is too clumsy, how should the rest survive?

Why does he keep doubting himself?

Liu Fuzi sighed. “Don’t think too much for now. The prefectural exam is in half a month. Keep a calm mind—you never know, maybe you’ll pull off a miracle.”

Shen Xiuyan nodded firmly. “Mm!”

The prefectural exam was right around the corner—there was no turning back now. Like Master said, stay calm. You can do this, Shen Xiuyan! Go!

With renewed determination, Shen Xiuyan sprang up and swept the room for more books.

“Master, I’m heading off.”

“Go on,” Liu Fuzi said with barely concealed irritation, waving him off.

Once he was gone, Liu Fuzi sighed.

Should’ve told him not to come see him today…

Then he wouldn’t have had to prepare.

What a waste of time—wouldn’t it be better spent admiring some calligraphy?

So annoying!

Just as Shen Xiuyan was about to head home, he was summoned by Master Su’s people.

When Master Su saw Shen Xiuyan, he was in an extremely good mood—like a dog seeing a juicy bone.

With a big grin, he had someone bring over a wooden box. “This is your dividend from the past few months—take a look.”

Shen Xiuyan opened the box, and when he saw the stack of silver notes inside, he could barely breathe.

Dear heavens—this must be over a thousand taels of silver. He’d never seen so much money in his life.

Did Master Su rob a bank or something?

Master Su was very pleased with Shen Xiuyan’s stunned expression—after all, business was his specialty!

“Master Shen, would you like to check the account book?”

Shen Xiuyan quickly waved his hands. “No need, no need. I trust you completely. I’m just curious—how did we manage to earn this much silver in just a few months?”

Although sugar could indeed turn a profit, brown sugar in large quantities fetched low prices, and while white sugar was more expensive, its limited supply made it impossible to generate such high earnings in such a short time.

Master Su chuckled as he cleared up the confusion for him.

It turned out he had taken the sugar to the capital to sell and had used his connections to have the white sugar presented as tribute.

As expected, the person at the top was overjoyed upon learning that such affordable sugar was available. Declaring it a benefit to the nation and the people, he personally praised it, which effectively opened up the market. Even the Su Family earned recognition in front of him.

As a result, the rare white sugar became wildly sought after in the capital.

And since there was no shortage of wealthy buyers in the capital, the price naturally soared.