Chapter 85: Elimination

Though Su Lu had certainly stolen all the glory from Zhu Zihe, what everyone cared about most was still their own results.

Su Dan’s ranking rose again, from twenty-eighth last time to twenty-fourth this time, securing another point with steady ease.

But this round only twenty-eight people earned a point, a clear drop from the thirty-five last time.

The twenty-eighth place was Cheng Wanzhou.

Last time, Cheng Wanzhou had ranked thirty-third. This time he climbed five places and, by sheer luck, managed to earn a point. He was almost overwhelmed with relief. Thank heavens he had turned back in time and bowed to a big brother when he did, or he would have crashed and burned this round for sure.

The look he cast at Su Lu was practically melting. Over the past month, Cheng Wanzhou’s classical prose and grammar had improved by leaps and bounds, all thanks to Teacher Su’s special training.

Ma, the house monitor, was just as fortunate. He also made a small advance, rising from thirtieth to twenty-seventh place, and likewise held onto his point by the skin of his teeth. Overjoyed, he threw an arm around Su Lu’s shoulder and said, “All thanks to our brother’s lucky book chest!”

Don’t let his carefree, simple-minded appearance fool you; he was shrewd as anyone and would never reveal to outsiders the secret of Su Lu’s tutoring.

Li Qiyu, on the other hand, was the unlucky one. He had placed forty-first last time and thirty-fourth this time, as he had hoped, improving by seven ranks. But the problem was that the passing line had risen even higher. So once again, he had the misfortune of earning only half a point.

With seven monthly tests still to come, that meant there was only half a point’s margin for error left. The pressure was enormous. He could no longer bring himself to smile.

Su Dan patted his shoulder and comforted him. “It’s fine. You’re still tied with my brother…”

“How could I compare with Big Brother?” Li Qiyu said with a bitter laugh. “Big Brother is climbing straight upward. Me? I’ve been standing still the whole time.”

Cheng Wanfan, the bucktoothed one, had moved up from fiftieth to forty-second. Though he too only got half a point, his progress was already considerable.

Unlike Li Qiyu, who looked as though the sky were falling, Cheng Wanfan was full of gratitude. For him, anything beyond forty-fifth place meant zero points. If Su Lu had not trained him and pushed his ranking upward, he would certainly have scored a zero this time.

This monthly test’s biggest improver, apart from Su Lu, was actually Cheng Wantang. He had jumped all the way from fifty-third to fortieth, rising a full thirteen places. At last, he had also earned his first half-point.

But the problem was that he had already taken two zeroes in a row before this. Half a point was no longer enough to keep him in the academy.

Yet this time, Cheng Wantang did not lose control as he had before. Instead, he accepted it calmly. He had already been prepared. He knew perfectly well that there was no chance he could earn a point eight times in a row.

So the moment the last exam results had come out, his fate had already been sealed. To be able to achieve a respectable rank and even earn some points in such a difficult examination, he was already content.

Below forty-fifth place, everyone received zero. And last time, the zero-point cutoff had started from fifty-second place…

Which meant that a full ten students would be expelled today.

Among them were two from the Self-Examination House, three from the Resolve House, and the remaining five from the Steadfast Practice House.

~~

Inside all three houses, sorrow hung heavy in the air, thick with the bitterness of parting.

The young classmates had only just formed their bonds. Moreover, the pressure brought by the house-ranking system fell upon each individual alone; it was a contest with oneself. A classmate’s departure did nothing to improve their own chances of staying.

And the boys were not yet old enough for such complicated calculations. Their hearts were filled only with reluctance and the ache of seeing one of their own suffer.

In the Self-Examination House, the classmates gathered around Cheng Wantang and the other student who was leaving, not knowing how to comfort them. Everyone wore a pained expression. Those like Cheng Wanzhou, whose hearts were soft, broke down in tears on the spot.

~~

Standing outside the academy building, Teacher Zhang listened to the sobbing from within and, for the first time, found himself unable to take a step forward.

In truth, the Self-Examination House had done exceptionally well this time. Both in overall performance and in the number of students retained, it ranked first among the three houses.

And when the term began, their overall results had been the worst…

The last-place student and the one just ahead of him were both in his class. How could their performance possibly have been good?

In just four months, he had led his class in a dramatic reversal no one had ever seen in the history of the academy. All the masters praised him to his face, and Vice Headmaster Qian even declared that, for the first-half teaching assessment, he had placed first.

But Teacher Zhang could not feel happy at all. He felt he had let those two children down.

Because both of them had been diligent and eager to learn, never slacking even for a single day.

Yet Teacher Zhang was already helpless. In fact, after the results came out yesterday, he had gone to see the headmaster, hoping he might show mercy and allow the two children to study for a few more months, so that their later performance could be observed.

But Zhu Liu had only shaken his head and said, “It would be meaningless. Even if they were given a few more months, do you think they could become like Su Lu and rise from the back of the pack to the top?”

“…”

Teacher Zhang was a man of absolute integrity; he could not lie with his eyes open, so he could only shake his head. “People’s talents differ. A prodigy like Su Lu comes along only once in ten thousand.”

“Then what meaning would there be in keeping them for a few more months?” Headmaster Zhu said, spreading his hands. “Even if they spend a few more months studying the eight-legged essay, aside from wasting time and money, how would that help them?”

Teacher Zhang was left speechless.

“Besides, my standards are already very forgiving. Around thirtieth place still earns a point; around fiftieth place still earns half a point. There’s still a full two-point margin for error. And yet with such lenient standards, they still get eliminated after only three monthly tests. Need I say more about their level? Do you expect them to pass the licentiate examination?” Zhu Liu said with emphasis.

Teacher Zhang had even less to say.

“So keeping them on would just be a way of cheating them out of money. Do you want the academy to cheat people?” Zhu Liu asked, looking at him.

Teacher Zhang shook his head.

“Then sooner or later they’ll have to leave anyway. Better a short pain than a long one. Let them go back quickly, find work, and start earning money for their families sooner!” Zhu Liu laid out his reasoning again, clear and orderly.

“But has the headmaster considered this?” Teacher Zhang finally said slowly. “Those children have clearly done nothing wrong. In fact, they study harder than many of their classmates. And yet after only four months in school, they are to be expelled. How will they see themselves after that? And once they go home, how will the people around them see them?”

Teacher Zhang took a deep breath. “They are clearly excellent children, yet they must fall into self-denial and be mocked by people around them who are far inferior. That is not fair, Headmaster!”

This was something Zhu Liu had not expected. He folded his arms and thought for a long while. In the end, he still said slowly:

“Back when you wanted me to bend the rules and raise Su Lu’s score, I already told you: rules are rules. Once they are broken, they are no longer rules.”

Seeing that Zhu Liu would not budge no matter what he said, Teacher Zhang finally slammed the table and shouted, “Your so-called house-ranking system is utterly devoid of humanity!”

But the headmaster was not angered. He only said lightly, “You are right. But the examination arena has always been a heartless place. Here, heroes are judged only by success or failure. Only the strong have the right to move forward. So I am here to cultivate the strong, not to act as a wet nurse for the weak.”

“Even if one were to care for the weak, it should not be in your cold-blooded, half-hearted way! Devoting all your effort to producing one successful graduate brings more merit than taking care of a hundred students! And beyond that, once someone passes the examination, they can petition the court to dredge the Redwater River and restore its shipping. Then the whole countryside would benefit!”

“…”

When it came to argument, Teacher Zhang was plainly no match for Zhu Liu. And Zhu Liu was speaking the truth as well.

Seeing that Teacher Zhang had fallen silent, Zhu Liu tossed him a rolled betel leaf and took one for himself, chewing slowly. Having come to Taiping Town for more than half a year, he had also learned to chew the stuff to stay alert and dispel boredom.

The two of them chewed in silence for a while. The atmosphere gradually eased, and only then did Zhu Liu speak again.

“Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. We can only weigh the gains against the losses. You should also have seen that in the four months since the house-ranking system was introduced, the students in the lower house have made tremendous progress. Half of them are already writing better essays than the seniors in the middle house. Isn’t this stark contrast precisely the result of the house-ranking system you so hate?”

“It is indeed so,” Teacher Zhang had to admit. “This cruel elimination system keeps the students perpetually under pressure. They can only keep moving forward and dare not relax for even a moment.”

“They will still relax,” Zhu Liu said with a slow shake of his head. “Do you know why this time’s questions were deliberately harder? Because I noticed that after four months of adjustment, the students had begun to loosen up. Since they can still earn a point by taking a test casually, they naturally start to think monthly examinations are not so frightening after all.”

“That is why I needed to raise the difficulty a little, to frighten them into vigilance,” Zhu Liu continued. “By the same logic, keeping those children would completely undermine the deterrent force of the house-ranking system and cause more children to slack off. By contrast, sending them away will make all the children dare not relax in the least.”

With that, he waved a hand. “Go on. Fairness is ruthless. You cannot demand both fairness and sentiment.”

In the end, Teacher Zhang still failed to persuade the headmaster.

~~

At that moment, the sound of the class signal board brought Teacher Zhang back to himself.

He let out a long, heavy breath and stepped into the lecture hall with burdened feet.

“Stand at attention,” Ma, the house monitor, called out, leading the entire class in bowing to Teacher Zhang.

Teacher Zhang looked at the two students and said softly, “You are both my good students. Always remain proud of yourselves. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Teacher,” Cheng Wantang and the other boy finally could not hold back their tears.

“Then finish today’s lesson properly before anything else,” Teacher Zhang said, his own eyes reddening.

~~

For the entire day, the academy was steeped in lingering sorrow and reluctance.

When classes ended, Ma, on behalf of all the students, presented the two departing classmates with keepsake albums.

In truth, they were just two blank academy exercise books, but everyone had filled them with parting messages.

Su Lu had originally wanted to write something like, A long road lies ahead, and the journey never stops; all that you endure becomes but the prologue. But when his brush touched the page, he changed it to two simple blessings:

May peace always accompany you, and joy follow your heart.

May the seasons turn smoothly, and the years bring you lasting calm.

In this age, aside from the road of study, what future was there for village children like them?

Once they left the academy, life could already be seen to its end in a single glance…

At last, everyone escorted the two former classmates reluctantly to the mountain gate. After one last weeping embrace, the two of them kept looking back step by step as they left forever that beautiful and cruel academy.