The scholars from Cassia Mansion also handed in their papers, logically speaking, they should have felt suitably proud for this, but seeing the remaining two, calmly holding their brushes, they couldn’t bring themselves to feel this. They were not surprised with Gou Han Shi being able to continue for this long, he was renowned for his learning; but they were certain that Chen Chang Sheng would be unable to answer the last few questions and that he was currently just refusing to give up due to conceit, this caused their faces to inadvertently reveal a sneer of contempt.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Silence within the Hall of Zhao Wen was interrupted by the scuffling of a sleeve against tables and chairs; the sounds of discussion faintly began to rise, unable to be supressed any longer; it emanated from the eastern side.
Gou Han Shi had finished his answers, standing himself.
At almost the same time, from the western side, came the sound of table and chairs being moved, the sound of papers being tidied.
Gazes turned towards that direction, only seeing Chen Chang Sheng clasp his paper to his chest, preparing to hand it in.
Silence once again descended upon the hall.
Gou Han Shi and Chen Chang Sheng were separated by a distance of 30 odd metres (40 odd yards), they quietly observed each other, before lightly bowing and exchanging formal greetings.
This was the first time they had caught sight of each other since the first peal of the bell, though of course, they both knew that the other was present.
The Academic Exam has ended, the silencing array outside of the hall was dispersed and sounds came in like waves.
The masses that had come to see the Grand Examination were confined to a faraway location, yet their clamour could still be heard at the examination grounds, it did not take much to imagine how lively it currently was.
The masses who were here to participate in merriment already knew of the details to the Academic Exam, they knew that Gou Han Shi and Chen Chang Sheng were the last to hand in their papers and that they had actually managed to answer all the questions. This caused unbridled elation amongst them and calls of joy to arise; two youths that had read the Scripture of The Way in its entirety, handing in their papers at the same time, the image of this was just too captivating.
Gou Han Shi was famed across the world and the favourite for taking first place in the academic phase, he was deeply respected by everyone, but alas, he was also from the Southern Domain.
Chen Chang Sheng had managed to offend all the youths in the Capital due to his betrothal with Xu You Rong and the Autumn Rain incident, but he was indisputably from the Zhou Empire, in a time such as this, he had become a representative for the citizens of the Capital, a source of pride for the people of Zhou, causing some of the spectators to actually cheer for him.
Gou Han Shi and Chen Chang Sheng couldn’t clearly hear what was being said by the masses; they received towels from the attending deacons, soaked them in the basins provided and wiped their faces and hands. After cleansing themselves they followed the officials and left the Hall of Zhao Wen, this was clearly a privilege exclusive to the two.
Reaching the evergreen tree in front of the divine avenue, Gou Han Shi turned towards Chen Chang Sheng and asked: “The Zhou though ancient, its fate is as such. What did you think of this question?”