After the results were announced, Zhou Shuren felt the eyes of people staring at him when he went to court, especially from those who had a bad relationship with him. Among them, the one looking at him with the most gloating look was that of Grand Secretary Ding.
Zhou Shuren, "..."
Has he fallen behind the times? Is second place, second in the country, not good enough
After the morning court session, Li Zhao walked over and asked, "Are you okay?"
Zhou Shuren, "... What can I do?"
Li Zhao lowered his voice and said, "I was afraid that you would be disappointed, so I came to care about you. In fact, second place is already very good."
Zhou Shuren could feel the pride he had for his eldest grandson. Everyone knew that Zhou Mingyun was taught by Zhou Shuren himself, so one could imagine his expectations.
Zhou Shuren curled his lips and said, "I really don't care. Second place is more than good. We are selecting talents nationwide. I am second in the country. What else can I be dissatisfied with?"
Li Zhao confirmed that Zhou Shuren was not disappointed. He smiled and was about to speak, but someone else spoke first, "Be stubborn."
Zhou Shuren sneered, "Where is your rank on the list of young masters?"
Academician Ding's face turned green. He was ranked in the top 70 and was furious. Before the exam started, Zhou Mingyun had stolen the limelight from the students in the capital, and now he had disappointed everyone. Yet Zhou Shuren was still talking and laughing. Why
Zhou Shuren continued to stab: "Master Ding, are you embarrassed to say it? Does anyone know? Oh, who told me to only care about the top ten."
Wang Ju took a step back. Zhou Shuren was an expert at stabbing people with knives.
As Zhou Shuren finished speaking, many ministers fell silent. Although they were not the first, the second place was also very good! When did they become so arrogant that they actually disliked the second place!
Academician Ding's face turned red. He wanted to take the opportunity to mock Zhou Shuren, but now everyone's attention was focused on him.
Zhou Shuren looked at the rapidly leaving Academician Ding and said with a sigh, "You haven't even finished one round yet!"
Wang Ju thought to himself, don’t you see the destructive power of your words? Every word you say is like a knife piercing people’s hearts.
Zhou Shuren looked at the ministers around him with a smile, "Everyone is walking very slowly today!"
After a brief silence of one second, the ministers quickened their pace and left.
At Zhou's house, Mingyun changed his clothes and Zhulan asked, "Are you sure you want to go out with me?"
Mingyun nodded, "Grandma, I should go out with confidence at this time. It's obvious that being second in the country is something to be proud of."
Zhulan smiled, "Who knows, the rumor out there might spread that our family is the runner-up in the imperial examination!"
Mingyun was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Yes, Grandpa and Fourth Uncle were both runners-up!"
It would be quite fun if three generations of people all had a runner-up in the imperial examination, and the family of the runner-up would be firmly established.
Changzhong heard his father say yesterday that his nephew had no chance of getting the top spot in the imperial examination. He wanted to pat his nephew on the shoulder, but it was not high enough. He looked up at his nephew's height, climbed onto the chair swiftly, patted his shoulder and said with satisfaction: "Nephew, I will get the top spot back for our family."
Mingyun chuckled, "Then I'll wait for my uncle to win the first place."
Changzhong clenched his fists and felt very motivated.
Zhulan knocked her son on the head and said, "Come down quickly, we are leaving."
Mingyun looked at his uncle with a smile. His uncle didn't have many days of carefree life left. He would go to the academy after the palace examination. When he thought of the academy, the academy also invited him back to give a few classes.
Today Zhulan went to the painting building to pick up the painting she had ordered, a snow scene. Zhulan waited in line for a long time before she got it. It was a work of a famous artist, so naturally it was very expensive.
The Hualou has always been a favorite place for literati and scholars. For Mingyun, who is very recognizable in the capital, he attracted everyone's attention as soon as he appeared.
Mingyun could hear words that seriously hurt him, and he felt disdainful in his heart. Most of these people were jealous of him.
Changzhong couldn't stand it anymore. While his mother was going upstairs, he glared at the people who had gathered together and pointed at them. "Did my nephew eat your food or drink your water? If not, my father didn't say a harsh word. Don't act like my nephew is your elder. How dare you?"
Mingyun retracted his outstretched hand. His uncle has always been a responsible elder. Even though he is young, he always remembers that he is the elder and protects his uncle.
Seeing that no one was talking, Changzhong smiled sarcastically, "Although my nephew didn't win the first prize, he was still the second place. What about you? Let me guess, either your grades are bad or you failed the exam. Tsk tsk, with such grades, you have the nerve to look down on the second place in the country? Who gave you the courage? Are you thick-skinned or shameless? Ah, it should be shameless, because jealousy is so ugly."
Zhulan stood at the entrance of the building and looked at her little son who was in full swing, with a smile in her eyes. Her mouth was really poisonous. Looking at the people below who were blushing, her expression became more and more pleased.
Chang Zhong saw that no one was talking to him, and his eyes were full of sarcasm. Finally, he concluded: "Wait until you surpass my nephew before you talk about him. I will still respect you as men. But now, ha!"
The last "ha" sums it up. Although the little guy is small, he has a very strong aura. His chin is held high, and he looks so proud.
Mingyun took his uncle's hand and looked around. "Zhou is waiting for your guidance. You are welcome at any time. Let's see what we can do with our writing."
Changzhong smiled and said, "Nephew, second is better. You see, dad is second, and fourth brother is second. You were taught by dad, so it should be passed down. It would be great if our family has three generations in one."
Mingyun touched his uncle's head. In order to reduce the impact and not attract too much hatred, his uncle used this sentence to divert attention.
Sure enough, when they went upstairs, some people had already started talking.
Mingyun could also hear someone say, "The one who ranked second is a member of the Zhou family!"
Mingyun, "..."
No, in fact, everyone in their family wants to win the top spot!
When Zhulan saw her son running over, she took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He was wearing too many clothes, and children are hot-tempered and sweat easily.
Changzhong is never stage-frightened. The environment he grew up in makes it difficult for him to be stage-frightened. As the youngest son of Shangshu Zhou, he has met too many people, including the six ministers, not to mention princes and other dignitaries. Due to the environment, Changzhong has been confident and confident since he was a child.
Because the prince was very concerned about Zhou Mingyun, he soon found out about the painting tower.
The prince's eyes sparkled, "Master Zhou's youngest son has a great tongue."
The emperor was concerned about, "If Zhou Mingyun is the second place, he is indeed the third second place for three generations."
Prince, "Will the Emperor choose Zhou Mingyun as the runner-up?"
The emperor stroked his beard and said, "It depends on Zhou Mingyun's performance in the palace examination. I will not let him off."
Of course, even if Zhou Mingyun performed well and won the first place, he would not be the top scorer. He gave Zhou Mingyun a chance, but unfortunately Zhou Mingyun lacked some luck. He specially looked at Zhou Mingyun's answer sheet, and actually the difference between him and the top scorer was not much.
When Zhulan returned home, she saw Changyi's letter, opened it and read it, and asked Qingxue to invite Li.
Li asked, "Mother, what do you want from your daughter-in-law?"
Zhulan said, "This is a letter from Changyi. Mingshan didn't make it and has passed away. You are our eldest daughter-in-law. Please go and see if Wang Shi needs any help on behalf of our family."
Li was stunned. "He went?"
"Um."
After Li left, Zhulan's thoughts became a little scattered. This was the ancient times, the ancient times when imperial power was supreme.
Wang was mentally prepared for Mingshan's departure. Although it was hard to accept, she accepted it quickly. Wang had a child and could not allow herself to be weak. So she was decisive and took her people to return to Zhoujia Village.
In a blink of an eye, the palace examination was over. Because the Zhou family had produced a runner-up in the imperial examination for two generations, the family was regarded as a family of runner-up, and some also said to be a model family. Shangshu Zhou's career was very inspiring.
This time, he didn't pay much attention to Mingyun.
On the day of the announcement of the results, Mingyun did not go. Mingteng went to see the results. Mingteng came back very quickly. Seeing that her son did not speak, Li became anxious and said, "Why don't you say something?"