Ever since Han Ze went for the scientific examination, Mrs. Han has not been able to eat or sleep well. Her heart is in tension all day and all night. There is no other expression on her face except worry. As the examination is approaching, she sighs left and right, and blisters appear on the corners of her mouth in anxiety, for she is afraid that Han Ze will faint in the examination room again. After worrying, she scolds Han Daya, saying that what a sin she is. She is even harming her own brother. After scolding Han Daya, she blames herself again, saying that she must have done something wrong in her previous life, so she gave birth to such a harmful beast in this life.
In fact, the Han family, young and old, was not only upset, but also Zheng and Wu, who usually looked down on Han Ze, could not help but say in private, "Big brother, please don't faint again this time." Even if big brother fails to pass the examination and they separate the family in the future, they still hope that big brother will be in good health, otherwise if big brother is not doing well, he will still need help from his brothers.
The whole family was worried. Wang Caiwei, Han Ze's wife, was also worried, but she just kept her worries to herself.
Old Lady Han munched on her coarse flour buns without any appetite. She sighed softly, looked at Wang Caiwei and couldn't help asking, "How long have the boss and the others been gone?"
Wang Caiwei hesitated for a moment and said, "My husband said that he would enter the examination hall on April 12 and the examination would take three days. Now the examination is over. If my husband can hold on, the results should be announced in two days."
Old Lady Han was shocked. She didn't expect time to pass so quickly. She murmured, "The exam is over. I don't know if Han Ze persisted or not, and I don't know if he can pass the exam."
Wang Caiwei pursed her lips, comforting her mother-in-law and herself: "I am only worried about my husband's health. If he is fine, it doesn't matter whether he passes the exam or not."
Nothing is more important than your husband's health.
Old Lady Han glanced at her eldest daughter-in-law with satisfaction. This daughter-in-law saw things more clearly than she did. It was hard for her to live for decades longer, but she didn't see things as clearly as she did. She praised, "What the eldest daughter-in-law said is right. As long as the eldest son is in good health, we don't need to care so much whether he passes the exam or not."
What she didn't say was that over the years, the eldest brother's health had been ruined by that evil creature. She no longer expected him to become successful and bring honor to the family. She just hoped that he would be healthy and well so that she would have to worry less.
Wang Caiwei grinned. She was telling the truth. Compared to her husband passing the imperial examination, she hoped that he would be in good health.
Zheng listened to her mother-in-law's words, and rarely did she not curl her lips. It was not only her sister-in-law who thought this way. If it were her, she would not want her man to hurt his body for fame and fortune. Those material possessions were good to have, but she would not force them if they were not. The man was the pillar of the family, and he was going to spend his whole life with her, so nothing could happen to him.
Han Jinxiu sat beside them and listened to their conversation, with anger flashing in her eyes. If it weren't for her aunt giving her father drugs, why would her father be in such a bad condition, why would he faint in the examination room every time he took an exam, and why would she owe so much money to treat her father. Unfortunately, her grandparents didn't know why her aunt harmed her father, and they didn't punish her.
In her opinion, everything their family had suffered was because of her eldest aunt. What she had committed was not a mistake but a crime, and she should be severely punished. However, her grandparents just planned to disown her and let her go. It was too easy for her. She felt sorry for her father, after all, he had suffered so much.
After dinner, she helped Wang Caiwei wash the dishes and said, "Mom, I'm going to my master's house to learn embroidery."
Wang Caiwei said gently: "Go ahead, study hard, come back for lunch at noon, and don't bother your master."
Han Jinxiu said crisply: "I know, mother."
Han Jinxiu walked out of the house and walked quickly towards Grandma Lu's house.
Halfway through the journey, they met Fang Xiaohe from the same village. Fang Xiaohe was the same age as Han Jinxiu. When Grandma Lu was recruiting apprentices, she also went. However, in the end, the apprentice spot was taken away by Han Jinxiu. Fang Xiaohe didn't feel anything at first. If they didn't want to accept her as an apprentice, then they didn't want to accept her. She didn't want to learn embroidery either. It would be so tiring to embroider with her head bent every day.
But her mother pulled her ears and scolded her for being naive and not having a good mind. She learned embroidery from Grandma Lu, and she knew that when she grew up, she would have endless clothes to wear and endless head flowers to wear. Only then did she realize the benefits of learning embroidery.
Thinking of how Han Jinxiu had snatched her master away, causing her to grow up without endless clothes to wear and endless hair flowers to wear, she felt unhappy when she saw Han Jinxiu again. Thinking of the gossip she heard in the village, she glared and said, "Han Jinxiu, your father will definitely faint in the examination room again."
Han Jinxiu's father went to take the imperial examinations, and he fainted in the examination room every time. Although she didn't understand what the imperial examination was and why he fainted, she knew that it was not a good thing.
When Han Jinxiu heard this, her face tensed up and she said loudly, "My father has recovered a long time ago, don't talk nonsense."
Fang Xiaohe made a face at her and said fearlessly, "It's not me who said that. Everyone in the village is saying that your father must have done something immoral in his previous life, so he is cursed in this life. Otherwise, how could he faint every time he takes an exam? And he's going to faint again this time."
Although Han Jinxiu was smart, she was still very young. When she heard others slandering her father, her dark eyes were filled with anger and she couldn't help but argue: "They are talking nonsense. My father was not cursed. He was drugged by my aunt. It was all my aunt's fault. Without my aunt's drugging, my father would never have fainted. He would definitely have passed the exam and become a scholar."
Wait until her father passes the exam to become a scholar, and see who dares to say anything nonsense. In her mind, there is no way that her father will not pass the exam to become a scholar, and she has great trust in her father's talent.
Fang Xiaohe seemed to have heard something incredible and opened her mouth in shock. The reason why Han Jinxiu's father fainted was because Aunt Han drugged him
After the shock, she forgot about her dislike for Han Jinxiu and asked curiously, "What kind of medicine did your aunt give your father? Rat poison?"
Han Jinxiu came back to her senses and realized that she had told everyone that her aunt had drugged her father. She secretly thought that this was not good. Her grandparents had told her not to tell this to anyone. Thinking of this, she glanced at Fang Xiaohe and ran away.
Fang Xiaohe didn't get an answer, so she chased after her, asking as she ran: "Han Jinxiu, you haven't told me yet, did your aunt give your father rat poison?"
Han Jinxiu stopped and glared at her fiercely: "Don't follow me."
Fang Xiaohe bared her teeth, not afraid of her. Han Jinxiu was annoyed, and seeing that she was almost at her master's house, she quickened her pace, ran to her master's house in a few steps, and closed the door.
Fang Xiaohe looked at the closed door and returned home unwillingly. When she got home, her little face was full of excitement: "Grandma, Dad, Mom, I just heard Han Jinxiu say that her father fainted. He was not cursed, but drugged by her aunt."
Fang Xiaohe's grandparents were also shocked. After coming to their senses, Grandma Fang shouted, "Don't talk nonsense, kid."
Fang Xiaohe pouted: "I'm not talking nonsense, it was Han Jinxiu who said that."
Fang Xiaohe's mother looked at her mother-in-law, then looked at her daughter: "Are you telling the truth?"
Fang Xiaohe nodded aggrievedly, "Han Jinxiu said that, not me."
Fang Xiaohe's mother looked at her mother-in-law. Her daughter would never lie. She asked in disbelief, "Could it be true?"
Grandma Fang said with a sense of enlightenment: "Two days ago, I heard the old woman next door say that she went to Doctor Wang's house to get medicine. She said that Han Daya had a gloomy face and looked at her coldly. She also said that next time she would rather go to the town to get medicine instead of going to Doctor Wang to avoid having to see other people's eyes. Could it be that she acted like this because Han Daya drugged Han Ze and her family knew about it?"
Fang Xiaohe's mother was in a daze. She couldn't believe such a horrifying thing. She exclaimed, "No, why did she do this?"
Why would she harm her own brother? She is married now. Only when her brothers are well, can she be well. Everyone should understand this. Doesn't Han Daya understand it
Grandma Fang shook her head. She had never heard of such a strange and vicious thing in her life, that a married woman drugged her own brothers.
Fang Xiaohe's father sighed: "Women are the most vicious, it's true."
Grandma Fang and Fang Xiaohe's mother glared at him, and Fang Xiaohe's father immediately shut up.
Before Han Ze came back, the Han family heard people in the village talking about Han Daya drugging Han Ze. Han Youtian came back from the field, glanced at his family, and asked in annoyance, "How did the news of Daya drugging Han Ze spread?"
Old Lady Han swept her sharp gaze over her three daughters-in-law.
Zheng and Wu shrank their heads and dared not say a word. It was not them who spread the news, but since Dad was so angry, it was right for them to pretend to be silent.
Wang Caiwei frowned. Her elder sister-in-law had hurt her husband so badly, but her parents-in-law just cut off ties with her and let her go. Although she was unwilling, she was not a gossipy person. Family disgrace should not be made public. She did not say anything in front of outsiders and did not understand why this matter had become so widely spread.
Han Jinxiu stood up and said stubbornly: "I said it."
She did not admit defeat. She felt that as Han Ze's daughter, she should be brave enough to take responsibility for her actions.
Han Youtian's face darkened. He didn't expect that the child would tell others about it. He didn't know what to say for a moment.
Old Lady Han said angrily, "Why are you talking nonsense outside?"
Han Jinxiu looked at her and said seriously, "Grandma, I'm not talking nonsense. Didn't Dad get drugged by his aunt? That's why he fainted every time he entered the examination room?"
My sister-in-law is young and doesn't feel it deeply, but in her only memory, Dad was sick most of the time and Mom was worried about his health. It would have been fine if Dad was really in poor health, but when she thinks that it was all caused by her eldest aunt, she hates her now as much as she loved her before.
Old Mrs. Han choked up. The child was telling the truth.
Wang Caiwei shouted, "Jinxiu, how do you talk to your grandma?"
Han Jinxiu glanced at her, her face full of stubbornness: "I'm not wrong. Dad fainted because of the drug given to him by my aunt. People in the village are saying that Dad did something immoral in his previous life and was cursed, which is why he fainted in the examination room every time he took an exam. It was obviously my aunt who did something immoral, so why should Dad take the blame?"
Old Lady Han was startled and said angrily, "Who said that? I'll go and settle the score with them."
Her son was going to take the imperial examination to become a scholar, how could he be wronged like this
Han Jinxiu said angrily, "My father is a scholar. He wants to take the exam and cares about his reputation the most. If he is wrongly accused of doing many immoral things in his past life, how will people look at him? I can only tell the truth. My father has suffered so much because of the evil deeds done by my aunt. Do my grandparents want my father to take the blame for the murderer who killed him? How wronged would my father be then?"
Everyone in the room was shocked, especially the old couple Han Youtian. They had no idea that their eldest son had suffered so much because of their various concerns. Han Youtian looked at his eldest granddaughter with complicated eyes, and there was shame on his face. He was so old and confused that he was not even as good as a child.
Old Lady Han sighed, "Jinxiu is right. This is your aunt's fault. It doesn't make sense for your father to have to swallow his anger after suffering such a great injustice. He should also be wrongly accused of having done something bad in his previous life, which is why he is cursed to faint in the examination room every time. That evil creature should bear the consequences of her own wrongdoings."
Wang Caiwei glared at her daughter, who was very narrow-minded.
Han Jinxiu curled her lips and retreated behind her mother. Since her grandparents said that her aunt should bear the consequences she deserved, they agreed with her and they would not punish her anymore. She didn't actually want to tell anyone about this, but Fang Xiaohe's words were so infuriating at the time that she couldn't help but tell the truth. After she finished speaking, she thought about the consequences and how to deal with her grandparents' rage.
In just one day, everyone in Xiaohan Village, except the ignorant children, knew that Han Daya was a vicious woman. She was so cruel that she poisoned her brothers from her natal family and caused Han Ze to faint every time he entered the examination room. She was so cruel and heartless.
Han Daya thought that being exposed by her family for drugging Han Ze was no big deal, she just cut off contact with her family, she was not worried, her parents did not want to recognize her, she did not want to pretend to be a filial daughter in front of them. But when the rumor spread, facing the gossip and strange looks of the villagers, she still collapsed.
What made her even more upset was that Wang Chunxue came back from outside, crying, and fell into Han Daya's arms: "Mom, they don't want to play with me, saying that I will harm them and drug them."
Han Daya hugged her daughter tightly, gritted her teeth, and said, "It's okay. If they don't want to play with you, go and play with Brother Yan Hong."
A bunch of farm kids actually dared to despise Chunxue. Her Chunxue was not rare. As long as Chunxue could marry Yan Hong and become the wife of the top scholar in the future, who would care about her? There were many people who fawned on her.
Wang Chunxue sobbed and said, "Aunt Yan said that if I stayed at their house, I would interfere with Brother Yan Hong's studies, so she didn't want me to disturb him."
Han Daya panicked and frowned, saying, "Your Aunt Yan is very gentle. As long as you are nice to her, she will like you."
Wang Chunxue cried sadly: "I don't want to go. Aunt Yan doesn't like me at all."
Children are sensitive and can easily tell what adults like and dislike. Aunt Yan doesn't want her to go home to play, so why does her mother insist that she play with Brother Yan Hong
Han Daya clenched her fists and her eyes were red. She should have thought of the seriousness of the matter earlier. Aunt Yan hated evil and had a straightforward personality. She must have heard the rumors in the village, which was why she refused Chunxue to visit her home.
She secretly hated it. It was she who delayed her daughter. No, it was not she who delayed her daughter. It was all Han Ze's fault...
Doctor Wang returned home carrying his medicine box, his old body looking even more hunched. In the past two days, when someone in the village fell ill, they would rather spend an extra two cents on the fare to go to the town to see a doctor than to ask him to diagnose their pulse and prescribe medicine.
Today, the old woman of the Zheng family was ill and asked him to see a doctor. He was very happy at first because there were still people in the village who believed in him. But after taking her pulse, the son of the Zheng family told him hesitantly that he wanted to go to the town to get medicine. As soon as he heard this, he understood. He smiled bitterly, did not even collect the consultation fee, and returned with the medicine box.
He knew why others were unwilling to take his medicine. Han Daya was so cruel that she could drug her brothers, so who knew if she would drug other villagers? He had heard the gossip in the village. Since he had heard it, it was understandable that others did not believe him. He could only bear it and hate him for being blind and marrying a vicious woman to his son.
Han Daya saw Doctor Wang coming back, and quickly let go of Chunxue, saying, "Dad, you're back. I'll go cook."
Doctor Wang glanced at her indifferently and said, "I dare not let you cook. I'm afraid I'll be poisoned to death."
After saying that, he turned and went into the house without looking at her.
Han Daya's face turned pale, and she stood there stiffly. At this time, Wang's brother-in-law came back from the field and walked past her as if she didn't exist. Han Daya pursed her lips and shouted, "The child's father..."
Brother-in-law Wang pretended not to hear and went back to the house. Now he didn't know how to face his wife. His father asked him to divorce her, but he couldn't bear it because of the children. But he couldn't live in harmony with her as before, pretending that nothing had happened. He could only choose to ignore her.
Han Daya's face turned pale again. It would be fine if her family didn't recognize her, but what would she do if even her husband's family didn't recognize her? Even if she lived her whole life again, she would still be just a woman.
Thinking of Han Ze who was taking the exam in the examination hall, she secretly hated him. Even if he didn't get to drink her tonic soup this time, his body had been ruined over the years. Besides, passing the examination to become a scholar was not an easy thing.
Just as the whole village was filled with rumors that Han Daya was a vicious woman, the good news arrived that Han Ze had passed the imperial examination and became a scholar.
Because of Han Daya's incident, whenever Old Lady Han went out, she would be pulled aside by people to ask about the truth, which made Old Lady Han feel very unhappy. She lay sick in bed, sighing and grumbling about her miserable life and how she had given birth to a disaster that had harmed the whole family.
Several daughters-in-law were worried about her health and went to visit her, but she drove them all away. She was not sick, she was vomiting, and no one could help her.
Zheng said bitterly, "How did we end up with such a vicious sister-in-law? It's really a sin."
Wu sighed and glanced at Wang Caiwei. Her elder sister-in-law had a bad reputation, so it would be difficult for the Han family's daughters to get married. Unless, unless her elder brother passed the imperial examination and became a scholar.
Wang Caiwei met her sister-in-law's eyes and thought of the key to the matter. The eldest sister-in-law had a bad reputation. Would others suspect that all the girls in their Han family were bad? I think the parents-in-law didn't want to tell others about the eldest sister-in-law, and they also had this consideration.
She frowned slightly. The children were still young and everything could still be resolved. What she was worried about now was her husband. She didn't know how he was doing.
Suddenly, there was a noisy sound outside. She suspected that she had heard it wrongly, so she turned around and asked Wu: "What's the noise outside?"
Wu frowned, listened carefully, and said, "The sound of gongs and drums?"
Zheng was stunned: "Who is getting married today? I haven't heard about it."
Just as Wang Caiwei was about to speak, Han Jinxiu ran in, shouting, "Mom, I got it, Dad got it."
Before Wang Caiwei could react, Zheng next to her asked loudly, "What happened?"
Han Jinxiu shouted excitedly: "My father passed the exam and became a scholar, my father passed the exam and became a scholar."
Wang Caiwei was stunned. Just as she was about to go up and ask her, a figure ran out of the room like a gust of wind. The figure grabbed Han Jinxiu's arm and asked anxiously, "Jinxiu, did your father pass the exam?"
Han Jinxiu's arm was so painful from being grabbed by her, but she still said, "Grandma, my father passed the exam and became a scholar."
Old Mrs. Han let go of her arm and laughed loudly with full energy. She didn't look sick at all.
"My son passed the exam. My son passed the exam."
Zheng and Wu came back to their senses from their daze, looked at their mother-in-law in confusion, wondering if their mother-in-law's illness was cured
Han Youtian came in hurriedly from outside, carrying a hoe, and said with a red face, "Old woman, hurry up and take the copper coins. The official is here to announce the good news."
Old Mrs. Han still smiled, sighed twice, and hurried back into the house. She came out holding a string of copper coins, and the official who brought the good news arrived at the door.
"The candidate Han Ze from Xiaohan Village, Tongyang County, ranked third in the examination and became a first-class stipend student."
Old lady Han didn't know what a student on government stipend was, but she understood that her son ranked third. However, she didn't care about that much, as long as she knew that her son passed the exam. When she thought about her son passing the exam, she couldn't close her mouth, and she was so happy that she grabbed a copper coin and stuffed it into the official's hand.
Zheng's eyelids twitched as she watched. Those were copper coins. Her mother-in-law grabbed a dozen of them and was so willing to give them away that she didn't seem to feel sorry at all.
Old Mrs. Han had good eyesight, so even though she saw the look in her eyes, she didn't take it seriously. She was very happy that her son had passed the imperial examination and was too lazy to argue with her.
The official might have faced this kind of situation often, so he took the copper coin without changing his expression. After sending the official away with the good news, the Han family's door was crowded with people, all looking at the old couple Han Youtian with envy.
"Brother Han, Han Ze has been an extraordinary kid since he was young. He has really made great progress."
"Yes, he looked like a man of great ability since he was little."
"Other children climbed high and low, went to the river to catch fish, but he was the only one who was so gentle and polite. You can't tell at first glance that he didn't look like a farm kid."
"How can Han Ze be an ordinary farm boy? He is the god of literature. Otherwise, how could he pass the exam and become a scholar?"
"Yes, yes, Han Ze must be the God of Literature who has descended to earth."
Old Mrs. Han curled her lips in disdain. Before Han Ze passed the imperial examination, they were all laughing at their family. Now that Han Ze has passed the imperial examination, he comes to curry favor with them. They really let them say whatever they want.
But she was happy today and didn't bother with them.
Han Daya also heard the sound of gongs and drums while hiding at home. Doctor Wang got the news from outside and learned that Han Ze had passed the examination for the title of scholar. He sighed, and the guilt in his heart was reduced a little. Passing the examination for the title of scholar meant that his health was fine.
When he returned home and saw Han Daya, he snorted coldly: "Your eldest brother from your mother's family passed the exam to become a scholar. Shouldn't you go back and take a look?"
Han Daya's heart seemed to be strangled by someone. She took two steps back and murmured, "It's impossible. He can't pass the exam to become a scholar. He can't pass the exam to become a scholar..."
Doctor Wang looked at her coldly, called her a vicious woman, and walked into the house with a flick of his sleeves. He thought to himself that his grandsons must not be corrupted by a vicious woman, so it seemed that he had to keep his grandsons away from her.
...
Han Erlang followed behind Han Ze, his arms full of things. As he walked, he said distressedly: "Brother, how much silver will all these things cost?"
Han Ze turned around and looked at him. "It's just some cotton cloth. There are more than a dozen people in our family. We should make a set of clothes for each of us."
Han Erlang glanced at the clothes on his body. Because he was going to the capital, his mother not only made clothes for his elder brother, but also made him two new clothes. He said, "Brother, I don't need them. I just made clothes."
Han Ze paused and said, "Whether you need clothes made or not, we'll talk about it when we get home."
Fang Ziwen's servant also had a bunch of things in his arms. Fang Ziwen smiled and said, "Scholars are not only exempt from corvée and tax on 60 mu of land, but Brother Han has won the third place in the exam, which is the first class among the scholars. He has obtained the title of a student, and can get four taels of silver every year and six dou of rice every month."
Han Erlang exclaimed, he knew that passing the examination would exempt him from corvée and taxes, but he didn't know that the court would also distribute food and silver. Holding the things in his arms, he looked at Han Ze stupidly, could there be such a good thing
Han Ze smiled and nodded. The imperial examination system of this dynasty was indeed like this. If one became a student on government stipend, he could receive six dou of rice and four taels of silver. In other words, after more than 20 years of hard work, he finally no longer had to rely solely on his family for support and could receive a "salary".
Han Erlang stretched out a hand and touched his forehead. "If that's the case, it's time to buy something."
After all, big brother has money to collect.
Han Ze: “…”
The next day, they followed Zhao Zhengxiu's caravan as usual. There were only three of them in the school to take the exam. Except for Zhao Zhengxiu who ranked slightly behind, they all passed the exam and became scholars. It is worth mentioning that Han Ze, who had fainted in the examination room every time, actually ranked third this time, which was beyond expectations.
After several days' long journey, the caravan arrived at the town. The three men agreed on a day to go to the county school, visited the teacher in the school, and then got on the ox cart to go home.
The author has something to say: My cervical spondylosis is very serious. It is difficult for me to lower my head. I have to walk very carefully. When I go out to eat, I dare not make any big movements and people even suspect that I am pregnant. So I will stop updating. I am really sorry!