Two days later, news came that Cheng Xu had won the top spot in the imperial examination.
The entire Jiuru Lane was in an uproar.
You should know that the best result in the imperial examination of the Cheng family was achieved by the second old man Cheng Shao of the eldest house, who was the second place in the Jiaxu exam in the 12th year of Yongchang. But when Cheng Shao was selected as the second place, he was already 37 years old.
The seventeen-year-old Jie Yuanlang has unlimited possibilities.
On his way to the upper room of Hanqiu Pavilion, Zhou Shaojin heard the maids who were watering and trimming the flowers and trees talking: "... Master Xu will definitely be the top scholar. After the second old master, we will erect a memorial archway with the words 'Top Scholar' in Jiuru Lane!"
"I think even if Master Xu was chosen as the top scholar, the eldest branch of the family wouldn't have erected a memorial archway!" someone said, "People in the eldest branch of the family never like to make noise. When the second old master was chosen as the second scholar, didn't someone come to persuade Madam Guo to erect a memorial archway with the words 'Second Scholar' but Madam Guo refused?"
"But are 'second place winner' and 'number one winner' the same? Last time it was my brother-in-law, this time it's my own grandson, and the eldest grandson of the eldest son, who is in charge of the people in Jiuru Lane! Even if Madam Guo doesn't agree, what about Madam Yuan?" Someone retorted, "Besides, the past is the past, and the present is the present - in the past Madam Guo was an orphan and a widow, living with her three sons. Look at her now, she has three sons, three of whom are successful candidates in the imperial examinations, the eldest son is a powerful minister in the cabinet, and the second son is a noble scholar in the Hanlin Academy. Tell me, if you were Madam Guo, what would you do?"
"Of course they are celebrating!" Someone else joined the discussion of several maids, "If we don't do anything, it's better to walk at night in fine clothes. What's the point?"
"It's a pity that you are not Madam Guo!" Someone laughed, "Even Madam Yuan can't guess what Madam Guo is thinking. You should take a break as soon as possible!"
The man was a little unconvinced and asked, "Can you guess what Old Madam Guo is thinking? How do you know that Old Madam Guo won't celebrate?"
The two of them started arguing with each other.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to leave, he heard someone admonishing him, "Okay, okay, stop arguing! The people in the main house are fine, but we are quarreling with each other. In my opinion, although Mr. Xu has passed the imperial examination, he is still far from the first place..."
"What do you know!" Someone else jumped out and said, "When I went to the market to buy things for the eldest lady, I heard a storyteller in a teahouse say that if a person is good-looking and enters the throne, he can at least be selected as the third place in the imperial examination. The second old master of the eldest house in our mansion was not only a good writer, but also very handsome. The emperor originally wanted to select him as the third place in the imperial examination. But the youngest person who took the imperial examination that time was the ninth old master of the Li family in Lujiang, who was also very handsome. The emperor selected the ninth old master of the Li family in Lujiang as the third place in the imperial examination, and our second old master was the second place in the imperial examination."
"Nonsense." Everyone was in disbelief, saying, "Then isn't the fourth master Chi from our eldest house good-looking? He has been to the throne, so why wasn't he chosen as the third place in the imperial examination?"
That dumb words.
Everyone started talking about Cheng Chi.
"Tell me, what's going on with Master Chi Si? He let all the maids around him go, leaving only Nanping and Jiying. Nanping is still a widow, and she doesn't want to have anyone else. But the servants around him are all very handsome..."
"Yes, yes! I heard from the people in the eldest house that Master Chi Si never went to brothels or opera houses, and he didn't even have a maidservant!"
"No way! Isn't that Jiying the concubine of Master Chi Si? Then last time Master Yi Er flirted with Jiying and was beaten by Jiying, I think Jiying was fine..."
"I also think that Jiying should be Master Chi Si's concubine. Look at her demeanor. Even the newly married Lady Nuo and the daughter of a fourth-rank prefect are not as good as her! I think Master Chi Si is not alone, but ordinary people are not worthy of his attention. Look at Jiying, she is so beautiful that Master Yi Er is so fascinated by her..."
Zhou Shaojin walked further and further away, the discussions became quieter and quieter, and she couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth.
I thought that if Jiying heard what I said, he would be so angry!
She walked into the upper room with a smile on her face.
Mrs. Miao was talking to the maid in the kitchen. When she saw Zhou Shaojin coming in, she smiled and said, "What good news did you encounter so early in the morning? You are so happy that you can't stop smiling. Tell me about it so that I can be happy too!"
The woman in the kitchen smiled flatteringly and said, "When Second Cousin smiles like this, she looks even more like a flower. She is so beautiful!"
Zhou Shaojin admitted that he would feel very happy when he heard others praising Cheng Chi, but was it that obvious
She couldn't help but touch her face and smiled: "This morning seems to be the same as usual, nothing special happened?"
The woman in the kitchen said, "My second cousin must be happy because the master is getting married!"
This old woman is really good at talking.
Zhou Shaojin pursed his lips and smiled.
Mrs. Miao asked her, "Mr. Xu has passed away, Li Yuan, what arrangements have been made for the eldest son's family?"
"I don't know!" Zhou Shaojin smiled, "I live in Hanbi Mountain House. After Madam Yuan came back, Madam Guo handed over the main house to Madam Yuan. It seems that Madam Yuan has not discussed her plans with the old lady yet. However, the old lady means that there is no need to celebrate in a big way. It is enough for the family to get together and have a meal."
Mrs. Miao smiled and praised, "After all, the old lady has been through a lot, so she is very calm. If it were me, I would definitely set up a stage at the door and perform a big show for a few days."
Zhou Shaojin laughed.
There was an old woman peeking out of the door.
Zhou Shaojin recognized her as a woman sweeping the floor in the outer courtyard and asked her with a smile, "What's the matter?"
She walked in stiffly, knelt down to greet Mrs. Miao and Zhou Shaojin, and murmured, "Madam, second cousin, I heard that Mrs. Bai is ill, and the family is selling land, some of which is ancestral property..."
In the early years, Mrs. Bai was close to the fourth house. They became estranged only in the past two years, and that was after Cheng Lu went to Yuelu Academy. In the eyes of others, Mrs. Bai was a widow and her son was not at home, so she naturally closed the door and had less contact with the fourth house. It was normal. But no one realized that the fourth house and Cheng Lu's family had stopped contacting. If something happened in Cheng Lu's family, the maids would definitely come to tell Mrs. Miao.
Mrs. Miao and Zhou Shaojin were both shocked. They looked at each other and did not speak for a long time.
Cheng Lu's family was considered wealthy. What kind of illness did Mrs. Bai get so severe that they had to sell their land, some of which was ancestral property!
Mrs. Miao said to the old woman, "Don't say such things carelessly. Keep it in mind for now, and I will make a final decision after I ask the master." Then she asked someone to give her a handful of copper coins.
The old woman left with many thanks.
Mrs. Mian immediately asked someone to invite Cheng Mian in and told him about the matter.
Cheng Mian was obviously hearing this for the first time as well. He was very surprised and immediately said, "I'll have someone go and find out."
Although the two families almost stopped communicating, they could not write two "Cheng" characters in one stroke. In the eyes of people in Jinling City, Cheng Lu was still a child of the Cheng family. Cheng Lu's mother was sick and had to sell her land. Even if Jiuru Lane did not give him money to help him through the difficult times, it could not let the ancestral property of the Cheng family fall into the hands of others. It should buy the property that Cheng Lu wanted to sell. Especially the fourth room, which was very close to Cheng Lu, would be misunderstood as too cold if there was no movement at all.
Mrs. Mian nodded, and sent Cheng Mian away with a heavy heart. She thought about it for a while in the room, left Zhou Shaojin in Hanqiu Pavilion, and went to see Old Madam Guan herself.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
In his previous life, after being expelled from the Cheng family, Cheng Lu sold his property to the third branch and left Jinling City with his mother Dong.
Since he is facing the dilemma of being expelled from the government in this life and will not be able to enter the officialdom in the future, he should cherish his ancestral property more. Why would he sell it
What exactly happened to Cheng Lu
She always thought that Dong's illness was caused by Cheng Lu. Could it be that Dong was really sick
Or does Cheng Lu have some conspiracy
After waiting until the evening, Cheng Mian came in with a serious face and bowed to Old Lady Guan and Madam Mian, saying, "I have found out everything. Madam Bai is really ill, and Madam Zhou went to see her. But Madam Bai's illness is very strange, sometimes better and sometimes worse, and Madam Zhou can't tell what it is. Doctor Zhou said that it would be best to go to the capital to invite an imperial physician to take a look. Cheng Xiangqing rushed back three days ago, and now he is at home taking care of the illness. The sale of the land is all handled by Zhao Dahai, Cheng Xiangqing's attendant. Before I came, I went to see Chi Congdi and the ancestor of the second house. Chi Congdi said that if it really came to this, he could give 500 taels of silver to support Cheng Xiangqing. The ancestor of the second house said that he could buy Cheng Lu's property..."
Mrs. Guan frowned when she heard this.
Cheng Chi was willing to pay five hundred taels of silver, but the ancestor of the second branch wanted to buy Cheng Lu's property... The difference was immediately apparent.
She pondered and said, "Then you can go and tell Cheng Xiangqing a message." She then said to Madam Mian, "You can take some tonic medicine to see Madam Bai, which will also preserve the relationship between the two families."
Cheng Mian and Mrs. Mian answered "yes" in unison. Old Mrs. Guan shook her head and sighed, then was helped into the inner room by Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin comforted Mrs. Guan: "Don't worry too much, everyone is helping them, they will get through this difficult time!"
Old Lady Guan nodded sadly and said, "Maybe it's because I'm old. I believe more and more that good deeds will be rewarded with good and evil deeds will be punished with evil. It's not that there will be no retribution, but the time has not come yet. It's better for people to be kind to others."
Are you talking about Mrs. Bai's sudden illness
Zhou Shaojin didn't say anything, but he was still very suspicious in his heart.
Returning to Hanbi Mountain Villa, she went to Tingli Pavilion.
Cheng Chi was practicing calligraphy under the lamp. He looked up when he heard the noise and said with a smile, "Are you here for Cheng Lu's matter?"
Under the dim light, the faint smile in his eyes was like the warm sun in winter, intoxicating.
Zhou Shaojin's heart paused for a moment, then he nodded.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Don't worry about him. Dong is pretending to be sick so that Cheng Lu can have an excuse to sell the ancestral property and take care of the academic affairs."
Zhou Shaojin blinked and said, "Has it come to this?"
Cheng Chi's smile deepened, his voice became gentler, and he said, "Don't worry, it won't work no matter who he finds."
Zhou Shaojin naturally believed it, she was just a little confused and felt that this happened too suddenly.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "It's not sudden. He can make this decision at his age, which is decisive and wise."
He made it sound like he was very old.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but complain in his heart, pouted and said, "Then I'm leaving!"
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Sisters and brothers, today’s update.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: It is said that Qidian.com will return to normal tomorrow, and I guess I can resume posting twice a day.
※(To be continued)