Under the gold list, Chang Zhi and Su Xuan stood at the front of the list. Chang Zhi stared at them with his eyes wide open and pursed his lips, but he was still a little short.
Butler Ding was stunned for a moment, then he pushed the crowd away in ecstasy and ran towards the carriage in the mansion.
Su Xuan pulled her husband's sleeve. Chang Zhi had already come out of his lost mood and said with a smile, "Second place, it's good to be like dad."
Liu Song and the genius from Jiangnan were also very confident and stood in the front row. The young genius was stunned, as he was actually the third place in the imperial examination.
Liu Song loosened his clenched fists. He was under a lot of pressure, from his family and from the Crown Prince's Mansion. Now he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and turned around, "Congratulations, Brother Zhou."
Changzhi also returned the greeting, "It should be Mr. Zhou who congratulates Brother Liu."
The servant beside Liu Song had already run away. Liu Song said, "I have to go back to the mansion and wait for news. I'll leave first."
Chang Zhi nodded. He couldn't go back yet because there were too many people and he couldn't find Mingshan. He could only walk towards his own carriage.
When Zhulan heard that he was the runner-up, she was surprised that another runner-up appeared in her family.
Yu Shuang and Yu Lu were surprised, and Yu Shuang asked, "Who's the first?"
Steward Ding replied, "Young Master Liu is the top scholar, and it is said that the very handsome genius from Jiangnan is the third scholar."
At this time, Changzhi and Suxuan had returned. Changzhi smiled and said, "Mom, my son is the runner-up."
Zhulan smiled when she saw that her fourth son was really happy. After two setbacks, Changzhi was not complacent, so he was promoted to the next position. He quickly accepted the result, "Okay, okay, second place is good. We already have a second place, as good as your father."
After hearing what his mother said, Changzhi felt that he was as good as his father, because his father was the runner-up in the exam and had worked his way up to where he was today.
Mingshan came back soon, with a look of joy on his face, "Uncle, I got into the second class of the imperial examination. I actually got into the second class."
It's incredible. He was clearly at the bottom of the list, but this time he was in the second class, in the middle.
Zhulan was happy, "Good news, hurry up and get on the carriage."
Ministry of Revenue, once the list comes out, all other departments will know it. Zhou Shuren looked at the list and he also felt that the second place was pretty good.
Officials from the Ministry of Revenue congratulated him one after another, because Zhou Shuren was also the runner-up in the imperial examination. It is said that a son resembles his father, and this is also a blessing. They wished Changzhi would have a smooth career like Zhou Shuren.
Zhou Shuren was happy and said he would treat us during the day off.
The Ministry of Rites and Chang Yi were also congratulated. Their family had three people who had passed the imperial examinations, two of whom were runners-up. Plus, their third brother was a Jinshi, so the family's background was also revealed.
Gu Zhuomin was full of envy. His own son was not good enough, but his grandson was more outstanding. There was really no comparison.
Gu Zhuomin looked at Changyi and felt jealous again. Zhou Changyi's official rank was lower than his, but in the end, he had to work under Zhou Changyi. Zhou Changyi could get the task of building the embassy and could choose people to follow him, but he could only watch.
Gu Zhuomin looked at Lord Wang again. Lord Wang smiled as if his own family had produced the runner-up in the imperial examination. Indeed, the Zhou and Wang families were married, and Zhou Changyi's household registration was under Lord Wang's care. There was nothing to envy, because Lord Wang had a good father.
Wang Ju pulled Chang Yi and said, "I haven't seen your father for a long time. Go back and ask when your family will hold the wedding banquet and let me know later."
Chang Yi, "... ... You don't need me to tell you, my father will inform you."
Wang Ju coughed and said, "Your father doesn't like me very much."
Changyi smiled and said, you know that!
The Zhou family has produced another runner-up in the imperial examination. The good news came quickly, and officials brought the runner-up's clothing. He will go to the palace to express gratitude and parade through the streets tomorrow.
Changzhong reached out and touched the clothes, "Fourth brother, put them on and show them to your younger brother!"
Changzhi also reached out and touched it. Students have fought through all the difficulties all the way for this. He is also a common man. Although he regrets that he is not the top scholar, he is also happy. He looked at his family and said, "Then I will try to change it?"
Zhulan, "Go ahead, I want to see your mother too."
Changzhi quickly changed his clothes and came back. Changzhi was good-looking and looked very handsome in the clothes.
Chang Zhong exclaimed, "Fourth brother is so handsome. If he is like this, he can't be the third place winner. How much more handsome must that genius from Jiangnan be?"
Chang Zhi's ears were red, but he still spoke fairly, "Your second brother is not as good as the third place winner."
Li smiled and said, "I don't know if the third place winner has been engaged. If he is not, he will be a good son-in-law from a noble family."
As for the young master of the Liu family, everyone knows that although he is not engaged, his future wife's family background will not be bad.
The good news for Mingshan also came. Mingshan was urged by the young men in the clan to put on his clothes. Only after the people who came to congratulate him arrived did Changzhi and the other two change their clothes.
Zhulan also knew that Ran Zheng’s grandson had also become a second-class Jinshi, but no one paid attention to the Crown Princess’s family.
The next day, Changzhi and Mingshan entered the palace, followed by a parade through the streets, and a banquet was held in the evening. The next day, Zhulan learned that the emperor had only stayed for a short while at the banquet last night, and the prince had accompanied him the entire time.
Zhulan understood that this session was to select talents for the crown prince.
Zhulan asked Mingshan, "You are staying in Beijing to join the Imperial Academy this time, what are your plans?"
Mingshan was really surprised by the series of surprises. It was too unexpected. He thought he would not stay. Liu Jing was naturally a good choice because his uncle was here!
Mingshan had a plan in mind, "You know that our branch has a solid foundation. I have money in my hand. I was not sure before, but now that I am staying in the capital, I want to ask my uncle and aunt to help me find a nice two-story house. I want to bring my family to the capital when I go back to worship my ancestors."
Zhulan nodded, "Okay, I'll find a house for you."
Zhulan looked at Changzhi and the eldest brother again, "This time we go back to worship our ancestors, your father meant that the eldest brother should go back to worship our ancestors."
Boss Zhou is very experienced in ancestor worship. "Don't worry, mother. I will do it well."
The eldest wife, Mrs. Li, was excited when she heard the news. "I, I will go back with you. Then we don't have to wait for our son to take the exam."
Boss Zhou also felt sorry for his wife. He had never been back home in all these years. "Okay, I'll go tell mom."
Zhulan got the letter. A few days ago, the eldest daughter-in-law was still talking about her parents. She knew that the eldest daughter-in-law missed her parents' home, especially last year's drought. Even though Changzhi came back and said that Lijia Village was very good, the eldest daughter-in-law was still thinking about it. She would not feel at ease unless she saw it with her own eyes. "Okay, let's go back together."
Afterwards, Zhulan asked Mrs. Song to go to the warehouse to pick out gifts to take back to her in-laws. To be honest, the only in-laws that the Zhou family had good relations with were the Li family.
In the teahouse, Shi Huai was very excited. His son no longer stopped him from leaving the house. He was free to do whatever he wanted. He watched the parade yesterday and felt sorry that he didn't see his own son parading. He lowered his head to drink tea and felt someone sitting opposite him. He thought Yu Yun had come. He looked up and said, "Ah, Lao Gu, what a coincidence, I thought you left the capital."
Gu Ren smiled and said, "I still have some unfinished business, so I stayed a little longer. It's such a coincidence that I met you again."