Some people who didn't know Zhao Ce heard the discussions of others and also leaned over to inquire. They asked about the situation.

Those people were still pointing and mocking Zhao Ce. "Heh heh, Mr. Zhao must not dare to kill anyone, but how can this person still have the face to come out and see people?"

"Otherwise, when this news reaches his village, the people in his village probably won't tolerate him!"

"Tsk, as a scholar, just the thought of him actually reading the same classics as us makes me look down on him!"

"Ugh! What kind of scholar is he? He's worse than a street thug!"

A few people were whispering.

The people around them were getting anxious. "Don't insult him yet. What exactly happened to this person?"

A person who was classmate of Zhao Ce pointed to him and said, "Everyone knows about the widow in the west of the city, right?"

"This person had a crush on the courtesan of the Drunken Red Pavilion and attempted to go to the widow's home. But he was caught by Mr. Zhao's son and his men!"

"His teacher is Liu Xiucai."

"After learning of this incident, Liu Xiucai became furious and said he would expel him from the school. He won't mention that he was his student in the future!"

"Tsk tsk, both surnamed Zhao, but Mr. Zhao is honorable and upright, with great talent."

"But this person is shallow in knowledge and corrupted in manners."

After listening, everyone suddenly understood. This was a person with an extremely bad character! And he still dares to come out?

Everyone turned their attention back to Zhao Ce.

Over there, Zhao Ce had already written the riddle's question and answer.

"So fast? Could he have just written two characters and turned it in?"

"Even if this riddle is just one sentence, it still requires a lot of strokes."

There were various opinions.

The bookstore owner who was waiting on the side was also surprised. These people were right. He really only wrote two characters!

He picked up the riddle and took a glance at it. Then he looked at Zhao Ce.

He wanted to ask, but he remembered that Liu Xiucai was still there. He held back his doubts and brought the paper to Liu Xiucai's face.

"Looking at the bookstore owner's expression, you must be wanting to laugh, right?"

"These two random characters make me want to laugh too."

"Zhao Ce said he has no talent, but his belly really doesn't have much ink."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"It's been four or five years since he started school, and he still hasn't passed the elementary scholar exam."

Everyone pointed at Zhao Ce and said mocking words.

Zhao Ce naturally heard them, but he just calmly stood in front of the table, waiting for the result.

The paper was sent to Liu Xiulan’s hands. As he looked at the riddle, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Then he looked again, and his eyes widened in surprise. Like the shopkeeper, he looked at the paper and then at Zhao Ce, and asked in disbelief, "Did you really come up with this?" His incredulous tone silenced the murmurs of the surrounding crowd.

Zhao Ce calmly replied, "Of course." "Or did the scholar have the fortune of seeing someone else come up with the same riddle as me?" The scholar took another look at the lantern riddle and pounded the table, exclaiming, "Excellent! This is the first-grade lantern riddle of the day! No, there won't be a better one!" After the scholar finished speaking, everyone's curiosity was piqued.

They all wanted to see what Zhao Ce had written to receive such high praise from the scholar. "What kind of riddle did Zhao Ce come up with that earned him such praise from the scholar?" "Won't there be a better one? Is the scholar being overly enthusiastic?" "Is it really a first-grade riddle? Did I hear that correctly?" Someone remembered the few classmates from earlier and asked, "Didn't you say earlier that this person doesn't recognize many characters? How did he get a first-grade rating?"

Everyone's gaze turned towards them, and the classmates' faces turned sour under scrutiny. A person who had studied for four or five years had not participated in the elementary scholar exam. How much could he know? It was all fake! But Zhao Ce had just received a "first-grade" rating in front of everyone.

Who could they complain to? A thin-skinned scholar looked up at the sky and said, "Ha, the sun is so big today, it's too hot." As he spoke, he used his sleeve to block the gaze of the crowd. At this point, the shopkeeper announced with great joy, "One first-grade lantern riddle from Water Bridge Village's scholar, Zhao Ce." "This is Zhao Gongzi's remuneration for his writing." After speaking, he handed Zhao Ce an exquisite purse. Zhao Ce squeezed it and felt the hard touch of silver ingots.

He was pleased and was about to bow and thank them, ready to head home. But then a voice of indignation was heard from the crowd. "On what basis did he get a first-grade rating?" "We don't accept this!" The speaker was one of the classmates who had educated the crowd about Zhao Ce's glorious history.

Zhao Ce remembered these people as the accomplices who had urged him to eat, drink, and play in the past. Of course, the past was the fault of the original owner. But the current Zhao Ce would not let them bully him.

The shopkeeper was also straightforward and asked, "What do you have to say, young man?" The leader of the group stepped forward and introduced himself, "We are students of Liu Xiucai and classmates of this Zhao Ce." "This person has ruined the reputation of scholars and has already been expelled by our teacher." "He cannot be considered a scholar, so how can he receive this reward?" The speaker's words were righteous and indignant.

Even the scholar, who was watching from the side thought ‘Although the lantern riddles were excellent if the winner was a person of ill repute, he would really have to consider re-evaluating the ranking’.

However, Zhao Ce calmly said, "Oh? Does the Lantern Festival specify that only scholars can participate?"

"Well... no," the shopkeeper next to them replied.

"In that case, what does it matter if I am a scholar or not?" Zhao Ce continued. "And as for my reputation...how you choose to spread it is up to you. As the saying goes, 'a gentleman is open and honest, while a petty person is always on guard'. I won't judge you by your words, and you shouldn't judge me by my reputation."

"Everyone here is a scholar, but because of the slander of a few, you all treat me like a commoner, pointing and discussing behind my back. Is this what you learned from the teachings of the saints?"

Zhao Ce spoke confidently, and others felt embarrassed or ashamed. However, the few classmates who had accused him were furious. He had done the wrong thing, yet Zhao Ce was turning the tables on them and accusing them of being like commoners. How thick-skinned of him!

They were racking their brains trying to come up with a retort, and Zhao Ce had already bid farewell to Scholar Liu and walked away with his prize money. He thought to himself, with such a large sum of silver, he'd better leave before anyone changes their mind.

As the few students came back to their senses, Zhao Ce had already walked far away. Everyone present looked at them with unclear expressions. One person angrily said, "We...we didn't lie!"

After speaking, they left in a dejected manner.