Who Said a Study Servant Can't Win the Imperial Exam? - Chapter 33 - If This Book Doesn't Become Famous, It's an Injustice!

Upon hearing the Study Servant’s words, Wu Qinglan slumped into his chair, muttering to himself, “It’s all over, completely over!”

What exactly happened? How did it come to this?

Explain yourself!

The Study Servant was anxious and uneasy, nearly on the verge of tears. It took him a while to understand that someone had written a calligraphy piece in the Inner Room.

Just… this?!

“I’ll go find out for you.”

The Study Servant sighed in relief, grumbling, “It’s just a small matter, but you made it sound like the sky was falling!”

Wu Qinglan snapped, “Stop talking and hurry to find out!”

The Study Servant shrank back, then quickly slipped away.

Inside the Inner Room.

Wu Qinglan glanced at the elegant and stunning calligraphy piece, then at the incomplete manuscript, feeling a desperate itch.

He felt like a fish caught on a hook, eager to bite the bait.

What is the ending of “The Legend of Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit”?

Who is the genius behind this calligraphy masterpiece?

Urgent, urgent, urgent!

Of course, Wu Qinglan didn’t know at the time that the one who hooked him was the same person from beginning to end.

For the next half month.

Wu Qinglan lived in a state of anxious torment.

Because that ‘genius’ had vanished again!

Impossible to find!

Previously, to accommodate the low-status yet diligent Study Servants, Wu Qinglan had informed them: those who come to the Inner Room to practice calligraphy need not leave their names.

He would review and provide guidance.

These individuals often felt inferior and timid, with a strong sense of pride. Anonymous reviews would encourage them to practice and learn.

Despite this, few servants came to the Inner Room to study.

Even the Study Servants privately mocked Teacher Wu: “Such a bookworm! Serving the Young Masters is tiring enough, who would want to practice calligraphy? Even if they did, would it make them a Young Master?”

Now, when Wu Qinglan sent people to inquire who had been practicing calligraphy in the Inner Room, no one dared to admit it.

Everyone thought their writing was poor and had displeased the Teacher!

So during this time, the servants who had been secretly practicing calligraphy in the study room all stopped going.

Teacher Wu was so anxious that he developed a sore on his lip!

Thinking about how he had called the ‘genius’ a ‘Rotten Wood,’ he felt extremely uncomfortable and guilty.

At night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Damn it!

I truly deserve this!

As a result, the students at the clan school found that recently, Teacher Wu seemed to have a fiery temper, scolding at the slightest provocation.

Of course, the ones who got scolded the most were Pei Jian and the other three playboys.

“When will the next chapter be finished? In three days? Can you procrastinate any longer?”

“Too clumsy, the writing is too clumsy! When you leave the clan school, don’t tell anyone I’m your Teacher!”

“This part has too much nonsense, delete it all.”

“Write, hurry up and write!”

The four playboys were furious but dared not speak, nearly driven to collapse by Wu Qinglan’s torment.

Because of Teacher Wu’s strict oversight, “The Legend of Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit” was able to emerge successfully, resembling a masterpiece. When Teacher Wu scolded the four young masters until they were drenched in metaphorical blood, he seemed to overlook the presence of the little Study Servant beside them. Even Cui Xian had been lingering around him lately, overshadowed by the strong presence of Pei Jian and the others. Teacher Wu inevitably fell into the trap of “missing what’s right under his nose.”

On the day “The Legend of Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit” was completed, Wu Qinglan finally read it with satisfaction, his mood significantly improved. For once, he refrained from scolding anyone. Pei Jian, Zhuang Jin, and the others cheered, grabbing the manuscript and eagerly rushing out of the clan school with Cui Xian in tow.

Teacher Wu watched them leave with a smile and returned to the Inner Room, savoring the storybook’s ending. However, his mood soon plummeted into anxiety and self-reproach. On the desk, beneath the remarkable calligraphy piece, were densely packed red annotations.

“Excellent!”

“Truly a genius of our time!”

“Every word is a gem, every sentence shines. Graceful and free, the pen dances like a dragon!”

“Perfect!”

“Destined to become a master of calligraphy!”

“I was wrong to judge you as Rotten Wood; my eyes were blind.”

“When will you return? I wish to apologize personally!”

“Your future is boundless; I plan to introduce you to the Provincial Graduate Lord of the Pei Family!”

These annotations varied in ink intensity, clearly not written on the same day. Over the past half month, Teacher Wu carefully penned them after scolding Pei Jian and the others, afraid to tarnish the exquisite calligraphy with careless remarks.

Looking at the calligraphy filled with his annotations, Teacher Wu sighed, dipped his brush in ink again, and wrote:

“Are you still at the clan school? Please come back! If you see my annotations, come find me immediately!”

“You must come!”

“Rain or shine, the clan school awaits you!”

Meanwhile, Pei Jian, Li Heyu, Zhuang Jin, Gao Qi, and Cui Xian, carrying their Book Chests, dashed out of the clan school, heading towards the Zhuang family’s bookstore, Fuwen Bookhouse.

Recently, they had been tirelessly working on the book, without rest. The four Young Masters were physically exhausted, their condition haggard. Yet their eyes shone brightly, and the silly grins on their faces couldn’t be suppressed.

“Xian, brothers, we’re about to become famous!”

“Nanyang’s four-no, Nanyang’s top talented scholar and the Four Great Talents are about to make a name in Nanyang City!”

“Hahaha, I’ve never worked so seriously on anything in my life. I’m exhausted, but now I’m filled with a sense of achievement.”

“Next, I want Nanyang to bear my name!”

“Charge, Hero Rainbow Cat!”

They ran wildly down the street, their demeanor arrogant, shouting with excitement. Passersby hurriedly stepped aside, looking at them as if they were fools.

A quarter of an hour later.

At the largest bookstore in Nanyang County Town-Fuwen Bookhouse.

Zhuang Jin led his four companions inside, loudly proclaiming, “Old Zhao! Where’s Old Zhao? Get out here! My book is finished! Get it printed immediately. Within seven days, I want this book to fill every bookstore in Nanyang County Town!”

His audacious tone caught the attention of many book-buying customers.

“Oh my, the young master is here, please come in, please come in!”

Shopkeeper Zhao of Fuwen Bookhouse warmly welcomed the five young men into a private room, offering them good food and drink.

Only then did he pick up the manuscript handed over by Zhuang Jin to peruse.

He had already received word from the Proprietor, saying that the young master and some friends had written a Storybook and needed his help to print and sell it.

Shopkeeper Zhao felt a pang of bitterness.

Isn’t this just nonsense!

Could the Proprieter’s spoiled son really write a book?

And to think of filling every bookstore in Nanyang County Town with it-wouldn’t that lead to a huge loss!

Although Shopkeeper Zhao didn’t voice his thoughts.

Pei Jian, Zhuang Jin, and the others, being perceptive, naturally understood what the shopkeeper was thinking.

But they weren’t upset, calmly sipping tea and resting.

Zhuang Jin even enthusiastically said, “Xian, try the osmanthus cake here, it’s delicious.”

“This candied fruit is also good, let Xian try it.”

“Xian, would you like some tea?”

The four distinguished Young Masters surrounded the unfamiliar yet handsome Ge’er, serving tea and making him comfortable.

Shopkeeper Zhao was taken aback. Who was this ‘Xian’? Which family’s young master was he, and why did he seem so unfamiliar?

While casually flipping through the manuscript, he pondered how he might persuade the young master to print just a few copies of the Storybook to satisfy his publishing itch.

At the same time, he intended to find out the identity of this unfamiliar yet noble young master.

Little did he expect.

Upon opening the Storybook titled “The Legend of Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit” and casually glancing through it, the well-experienced Shopkeeper Zhao, with his keen eye for Storybooks, was stunned.

For the next half hour.

Shopkeeper Zhao’s expressions fluctuated between excitement, anger, and solitary laughter.

Pei Jian and the others exchanged knowing glances.

Then.

Bang!

After finishing the book, Shopkeeper Zhao slammed the table, startling the young masters, and exclaimed with excitement, “Print it! This Storybook must be printed and published! Not only should it fill Nanyang County Town, but I want it to spread throughout Nanyang Prefecture!”

“If this book doesn’t become a hit, it would be an injustice to the world!”