Chapter 100

In short, to the couple, Yu Qing’s words meant that he would definitely become the top scholar.

Having such a fine son-in-law, even if there were some pressures, it was worth it.

Not mentioning the palace examination, Wen Jianhui suddenly said, "Shiheng, I also quite like poetry. Could you find some time to write a few poems for me?"

Recently, the noble ladies who often visited her had also come one after another, wanting to personally request poems from the top scholar, and to see what the perfect top scholar looked like. Unfortunately, Zhong Su was angry and would not allow these messy matters to disturb Yu Qing before the palace examination. Therefore, those noble ladies had to entrust Wen Jianhui with the request for poems.

Zhong Su knew what her wife was up to as soon as she heard it. Her face tightened; sometimes she really didn’t know what this woman was thinking. He had just come out of the examination hall, and even if they were to bring up this matter, they should at least let him catch his breath, right? It wouldn’t be appropriate to argue in front of the prospective son-in-law, so she subconsciously looked at Yu Qing’s reaction.

Yu Qing was naturally speechless. Previously, a eunuch had asked for poems, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Now, another one was asking for several poems. Wasn’t he being pushed to the limit?

However, he was easy to talk to and gave a forced smile, saying, "Sure."

Wen Jianhui was naturally delighted.

However, they soon discovered that the carriage they were riding in had not moved for a long time. When they pulled back the curtain to look outside, they found that someone had deliberately blocked the road.

"Top scholar, come out."

"Top scholar, show yourself to us."

"Yes, if you don’t let us see the top scholar, we won’t let you pass."

"Come out."

"Come out."

In the end, the shouts became a chorus, scaring Wen Jianhui pale. She had never seen such a scene.

Zhong Su’s face was stern.

Yu Qing leaned against the carriage, expressionless, looking at the patterns on the ceiling of the carriage, indifferent to the commotion outside.

Fortunately, the imperial guards were nearby and, hearing the commotion, they quickly came with weapons to drive away the people blocking the road and escort the Zhong family’s carriage, thus avoiding a crisis.

This scene made the other candidates who had taken the palace examination envious, wishing that they had been the ones surrounded.

After the palace examination, the crowd outside the palace gradually dispersed, and the candidates were all looking forward to the ranking on the golden list the next day.

By tradition, the results of the palace examination would be announced today, and the golden list would be posted tomorrow.

Unlike the metropolitan examination, which had tens of thousands of participants, this one had only about two hundred candidates and only one question, so it wasn’t difficult to announce the results on the same day...

"Master."

"Madam."

"Son-in-law."

These were the greetings Yu Qing heard all the way back to the Zhong residence.

Just before parting, Zhong Su invited him again, "Now that the metropolitan and palace examinations are over, you can finally relax. Let’s have a family dinner to celebrate at noon."

Wen Jianhui was also enthusiastic, "Yes, yes, Shiheng, it’s worth a family celebration."

This was an attempt to bring the young couple together.

This was not the first time the Zhong family had invited him, and Yu Qing was almost out of excuses to refuse. He decided to use a grand principle, "Uncle, Aunt, since we are not yet married, it’s better not to meet for now."

When he said this, the couple felt somewhat awkward, as if they were being impolite, and could only let it go.

As Yu Qing left, he sighed inwardly. Not meeting Shiheng’s fiancée was to avoid suspicion. He couldn’t handle other matters, but he felt he could give Shiheng an explanation on this.

Watching him leave, Zhong Su said, "It seems we were overthinking it."

Previously, they had been repeatedly unable to invite him, and they had sensed that Yu Qing was deliberately avoiding their daughter. Now they knew the reason.

Wen Jianhui nodded, "Scholars are very particular about propriety."

Zhong Su immediately warned, "Since you know he cares about propriety, you must keep your daughter in her own courtyard until she marries, avoiding contact with other men. Don’t let her run around with that crazy second daughter, or people will look down on her." Speaking of his younger daughter, he himself was worried; he didn’t know which well-matched family would dare to marry her.

"Do you need to say that? I’m the one managing both daughters..." Wen Jianhui complained.

In the East Courtyard, as soon as Yu Qing returned, Chong, who was wiping the stone table and benches in the pavilion, immediately stopped and ran over, "Master, you’re back. Are you tired?"

"Tired, mentally tired, far less relaxing than killing a couple of people!" Yu Qing said sarcastically.

Chong thought he was joking.

Yu Qing walked to the eaves and sat on the steps, pointing to his shoulders.

Chong immediately climbed to a higher step behind him, rubbed his hands on his clothes, and began to massage Yu Qing’s shoulders.

Little Master had told him not to bully Chong, even abolishing his slave status and making him a junior disciple to level the relationship. Yu Qing didn’t buy this; the Master was still the Master.

So from the beginning, he decided not to indulge Chong’s habits, to prevent Chong from relying on Little Master and ignoring him. Therefore, he gave Chong some additional tasks.

Thus, Chong, who usually only cleaned, now had to also massage Yu Qing’s hands and feet and rub his shoulders.

These tasks, which Chong had never been made to do by Xu Bo, were now done by Yu Qing, who would do as little as possible himself and use Chong to make himself comfortable.

However, Chong seemed to come alive, no longer sad or uneasy. His relationship with Yu Qing became closer, and he became happier, as if the more work he did, the happier he was.

Chong, massaging Yu Qing’s shoulders, asked, "Master, how did the palace examination go?"

Yu Qing snorted, "How did it go? Don’t you know? I passed the metropolitan examination the same way, just by copying."

Chong shook his head, "That’s not the case. I heard from Master Xu that even if the questions were made public, not everyone could score full marks. So, Master’s talent is evident."

Yu Qing reached back and grabbed Chong’s face, pinching his nose and shaking it, "What about your brain? I said I copied, so the talent is someone else’s."

Chong, unable to breathe through his nose, mumbled, "Master is just being modest."

"Ah!" Yu Qing gave up and let go.

At that moment, Manager Li appeared at the door and walked over. Chong quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.

Yu Qing also stood up and bowed.

Manager Li had no other business, just asking how the examination went, if he was tired, and if he needed anything.

Seeing there was nothing else, he left the East Courtyard and went directly to the inner quarters to find Zhong Su.

After inviting Zhong Su to a side room, Manager Li whispered, "Master, by tradition, the results of the palace examination will be out tonight. We have some connections in the palace. Should we ask them to keep an eye on it?"

With such a large estate in the capital, the Zhong family had some connections in the palace, especially among the eunuchs responsible for purchasing.

Zhong Su thought for a moment and shook his head, "There’s no need to create unnecessary trouble. Do you think if we don’t contact them, they won’t contact us? It’s not a leak, it’s not risky, and they can get a reward. Those eunuchs will be faster than anyone. Rest assured, once Shiheng’s ranking is out, someone will come to claim a reward. Just prepare the reward money."

Manager Li thought it made sense and laughed, "Master is right. I’ll wait for the news and inform you as soon as it arrives."

Everyone was in a good mood. Being on the list of candidates meant they were already in a secure position; it was just a matter of their ranking on the golden list. With the Zhong family’s prospective son-in-law’s performance, his ranking should be quite high...

Under the moonlight, the majestic palace city.

In the Taiping Hall, where the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom handled state affairs, the lights were bright and the atmosphere was unusual after nightfall.

The palace examination papers and the list of candidates were all present, and the ranking of the top three would be decided here.

Inside the hall, it was sometimes quiet, and sometimes the voices of the Emperor and his ministers could be heard, along with the names being called as the papers were unsealed, including "Shiheng."

After a round of praise, a young eunuch guarding outside the hall, covering his stomach, found a colleague and asked for leave, saying he had a stomachache and couldn’t hold it. He then quickly went towards the inner palace...

Under the night sky of the capital, where the lights were brightest, there was the most prosperity.

In the quiet study of the Mei family, surrounded by plum trees, Minister of Works Mei Sanghai, dressed casually, was writing at his desk.

Manager Kong Shen hurried into the study and gestured to the maid serving inside, who quietly left.

Kong Shen bent over the desk and reported, "Master, the palace has sent word. Although the top three rankings are still being decided, the result for ‘Shiheng’ is already out. He is the new top scholar of this year. After reviewing the selected papers, the Emperor was impressed by Shiheng’s answers and personally appointed him. It’s said that the Emperor was already quite fond of him after the metropolitan examination and even prepared to have a dialogue with him during the palace examination."

Mei Sanghai’s pen paused, and he frowned, muttering, "Top of the metropolitan examination, and now the top of the palace examination. Ah Jiezhang has indeed raised a fine son." He slowly put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the lamp, lost in deep thought, his expression uncertain.

After a moment, he suddenly said, "Someone is misleading the Emperor!"

Kong Shen asked, "What do you mean?"

Mei Sanghai replied, "If no one deliberately concealed Shiheng’s background, the Emperor wouldn’t have liked him even if he hadn’t been dismissed. If no one was misleading the Emperor, with the Emperor’s keen senses, he wouldn’t still be unaware that Shiheng is Ah Jiezhang’s son."

Kong Shen was startled, "That’s right, someone is helping him behind the scenes!"

"Even if someone is helping him, what can he do? He’s just a weak sprout." Mei Sanghai said calmly, as if he had made up his mind. "Shiheng is Ah Jiezhang’s son. Ah Jiezhang was dismissed and exiled by the Emperor, leading to a family tragedy and a blood feud. How can he easily forget it? If he shows gratitude to the Emperor, is it genuine or fake? If it’s fake, what are his intentions? Arrange for someone to remind the Emperor, just like this."