In early April, the results of the imperial examination were announced, and Cheng Xu ranked fifth in the second class, which was better than Cheng Chi's result that year.
Mrs. Guo was naturally very happy to hear this, and ordered Zhenzhu to open the boxes and take out a few Duan inkstones, some medicinal ink, and two pieces of Chengxin paper as a gift for Cheng Xu.
Seeing this, Zhou Shaojin bought two boxes of brushes and sent them over.
Yuan's face turned ashen, as if she had been drenched in ice water in the coldest days of winter.
Fifth in Class 2!
Why don’t you work harder and get one more place in the exam, so that you can be admitted; or work harder and get into the top three...
Yuan sat there in a daze, her mind blank.
Everyone who served in her room was terrified, fearing that the slightest noise would anger Yuan and make them a punching bag.
It was Yuan's nurse who stepped forward tremblingly and whispered, "Madam, the official who brought the good news is still waiting outside. Do you think we should reward him with ten taels of silver according to the old rules?"
There was a precedent for such good news, and a reward of five taels of silver would be enough. The Cheng family was particularly generous, and usually rewarded ten taels of silver, which was neither shabby nor extravagant.
Only then did Yuan feel that she was "alive" again, and tears began to fall.
Her nurse had no choice but to signal the maids in the room to quietly withdraw, and gently persuaded Yuan: "Master is only 23 years old this year, and I'm afraid he is one of the youngest Jinshi in this subject. This is a happy event that other families can't even think of, and now Master has easily won it for you, what else are you dissatisfied with? Look at the top three candidates in the imperial examinations throughout the dynasties, how many of them can enter the cabinet and become prime ministers? People still have a long life ahead of them, and it depends on the future. How do you know that Master won't become a cabinet elder like the old master? Why do you insist that Master fight for the top three?"
"What do you know?" Yuan glared at her wet nurse and said, "Both the Yuan and Min families are full of talented people. If Jiashan doesn't pass the imperial examination and come back as the top scholar, how can the people of the Yuan and Min families take him seriously? How can they support Jiashan in his career?"
Her nurse couldn't help but sighed and said, "Madam, no matter how good the master is, his surname is Cheng. Unless there are no scholars in the Yuan and Min families, why wouldn't they help their sons and nephews or their sons-in-law and grandchildren?"
The nurse's words hit Yuan's head like thunder. She panicked and said, "No, no, a grandson is always closer than a nephew, right?"
not necessarily
When the uncle dies, the nephew has to visit the grave. But when the grandfather passes away, how can it be the grandson who offers sacrifices
The nurse couldn't continue, so she stood up and said, "Madam, I'll get you a basin of hot water so you can clean your face. The mistress will be here to congratulate you soon. If she sees you like this, what if she gives the master a bad look?"
Min Jia has never been a gentle person.
When Yuan thought of this, she became angry again.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, the wet nurse hurriedly ordered the maid to fetch some water and arranged for the steward to reward the yamen runner who came to report the good news. Finally, the matter was resolved.
Cheng Xiao had already gone to Taiyuan with Gu Xu, but she had been thinking about Cheng Xu's fate and the result of the Spring Examination. When Cheng Xu passed the examination and became a Jinshi, she was also happy and sent someone to deliver something to him.
Even from Zhouzhen, gifts were sent over.
Old Madam Guo instructed Zhou Shaojin to prepare several banquets and invited Cheng Jing and others to dinner during the day off.
In this way, there are four Jinshi among the five men in the family.
Mrs. Guo was very happy and drank a few more cups. She teased Yun Ge'er and said, "Grandmother is looking forward to you asking for an imperial decree for me!"
She had already been granted the title of the first rank, so even if Yun Ge'er became a first rank official, she could not ask for a title for him. The old lady said this only to place her hopes on Yun Ge'er, hoping that he would be successful in the imperial examination.
Everybody laughed.
Yun Ge'er didn't know what everyone was laughing at, so he also grinned, revealing a row of little white teeth, looking very cute.
Qiu couldn't help teasing him: "Brother Yun, you will have the "Zhuazhou" ceremony in a few days. Have you decided what to grab? Do you want your aunt to put a gold hairpin on the table?"
Yun Ge'er had somehow fallen in love with gold jewelry during this period. Whether it was the hairpin worn by Mrs. Guo, Zhou Shaojin's earrings, or the red gold cloves on the maids' ears, whenever he saw them, he would pick them with his little hands. Once, when Mrs. Guo opened a box to clean things, she found a palm-sized red gold fawn. He held it in his hands and refused to let it go. Finally, Mrs. Guo had no choice but to let him take the fawn back and put it next to his pillow, and repeatedly warned the maids and servants around him: "Don't let Yun Ge'er bite off a piece or swallow the deer's ears, hooves, etc."
Red gold is soft and easier to bite off.
The maids and old women serving in Yun'er's room were so frightened that they took turns guarding Yun'er's bed and didn't even dare to take a nap.
This became a source of laughter for everyone.
Zhou Shaojin also laughed.
She liked this kind of good-natured joke.
"If you want to put it, just put the golden deer on the table." She said with a smile, "When the time comes, he will definitely hug the golden deer. I just don't know what the meaning of hugging the golden deer is?"
"Those who sang praises are all smart people," Qiu said with a smile, "I think even if your Yun'er had grabbed an onion that day, that person would probably have described Yun'er as smart and talented."
Everyone laughed again.
Qiu took off the gold bracelet from her hand and gave it to Yun'er to play with: "Look, what is this?"
Cheng Rang sat quietly behind his mother with his head lowered.
Cheng Xu passed the imperial examination and everyone suddenly treated him like an adult. His uncle, who used to criticize Cheng Xu, now looked at him with admiration and asked his maid to pour him a glass of wine. He was only a few years younger than Cheng Xu and was already married, but after lunch, he was called over by Mrs. Guo and sat with the women in the family... and they treated him like a child.
He was a little depressed.
But I can’t blame the elders in my family.
If he could study hard like Brother Xu Congxiong and bring back a plaque of Jinshi for his family, he would also be able to sit at the table outside and talk, right
Cheng Rang lowered his head even more.
Someone gently tugged at his sleeve.
He looked up.
Seeing my wife’s eyes as bright as stars.
"Uncle studies so hard every day that he has no time to spend with sister-in-law." His wife whispered in his ear, "He didn't go for the outing a few days ago. Abao and Aren envied the kites you made for me. When you have some free time, why don't you make a few for Abao and the others? We'll go out to fly kites in a few days."
Cheng Rang felt as if a warm current was flowing through his heart.
The corners of his mouth slowly curled up and he quietly said "Okay".
Xie smiled and handed the red bean soup in the sweet white porcelain bowl on the tray to Cheng Sheng who was not far away.
Cheng Sheng smiled slightly, and looked at Xie with a very gentle gaze, and a bit of relief.
Although her sister-in-law did not have the same appearance and family background as Min, she was gentle and lovely, and was a perfect match for her brother.
Money can’t buy the right thing.
My mother really found a good wife for my younger brother.
She invited Rui Ge'er to eat red bean soup: "It was made by my aunt herself for us!"
Rui Ge'er took one bite and ran away.
Abao and Aren attracted him more than red bean soup.
Cheng Sheng ate the red bean soup mouthful by mouthful with a smile and found it tasted very good.
Zhou Shaojin began to arrange the furnishings in the house, preparing for the one-year-old ceremony for Yun Ge'er.
Chang's younger brother arrived in the capital with his two sons and eldest grandson.
Cheng Chi personally went to Chaoyang Gate to pick up the people and brought them into the city, and settled them in Yuqian Hutong. He also sent Nanny Shang to personally entertain the Chang family.
Zhou Shaojin and others were not able to visit due to gender differences, so they sent people to pay their respects to Uncle Chang.
The uncle of the Chang family is addressed as such because of his generational status. In fact, he is only 38 years old this year. His two sons are 23 and 20 years old respectively, and his eldest grandson is only four years old. He was carried by his wet nurse to pay respects to Madam Guo on behalf of the Chang family.
When Zhou Shaojin saw that the young master of the Chang family was fair-skinned and delicate, and looked 70% similar to Chang, he liked him very much. In addition to clothes and accessories, he also gave the young master of the Chang family a bamboo dragonfly and a kraft paper kite.
The young master of the Chang family liked it very much and soon kicked his feet to get down from the ground.
How dare the wet nurse let him run around? She hurriedly said, "My wife is in poor health and can't stand the fatigue of traveling. The second master hasn't married yet, but the eldest mistress diagnosed that she was three months pregnant before leaving. So I have no choice but to take the master to the capital. Please don't blame me if it's rude."
"That's great." Mrs. Guo smiled and exchanged a few words with the old woman. Seeing that the young master of the Chang family was impatient to play with Abao and the others, the old woman was afraid that something strange might happen, so she said a few words and then carried the young master of the Chang family out of the house.
Mrs. Guo knew very well what the wet nurse was worried about.
The old man laughed and was about to talk to Zhou Shaojin when a maid came to report that Yuan's wet nurse was coming.
Mrs. Guo didn't understand what was going on, so she asked Yuan's wet nurse to come in.
The wet nurse came in and kowtowed to Old Madam Guo, then glanced around the room.
Zhou Shaojin stood up and was about to leave.
Madam Guo kept her and said, "You are in charge of the household affairs in this mansion, so you should also listen."
Yuan's wet nurse couldn't help but glance at Zhou Shaojin. Seeing that there was no one else in the room, she said, "Madam and master got angry with each other. Madam used family rules to beat master, and master didn't dodge or evade and let Madam beat him..." When she said this, her tears were about to come out.
Madam Guo frowned slightly and asked, "What did your wife do?"
The wet nurse couldn't help feeling ashamed.
In the eyes of her mother-in-law, Yuan was such a person.
The wet nurse couldn't help but feel sad for Madam Yuan.
She whispered, "This time it's not Madam's fault, it's Master. He said he won't take the exam for the Imperial Academy anymore, and will seek to be transferred to a distant place after Master Yun's first birthday... Our Madam is so angry that she can't speak..."
Not participating in the selection of Shujishi means giving up staying in the Six Ministries to observe government affairs and giving up entering the Hanlin Academy as an official.
There has always been a practice in the court that "only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet", so he was essentially giving up the opportunity to become a Grand Secretary later.
It would be strange if Mrs. Yuan wasn't furious.
Madam Guo asked hurriedly, "What time is it now?"
"Three quarters past noon." said Zhenzhu.
Cheng Jing would not leave the office until the afternoon.
Madam Guo stood up and said, "Hurry, help me get dressed. I need to go to Xinglin Hutong."
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Hey guys, today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)