Zhou Shuren, “… … ..”
No hope!
Seeing Zhou Shuren's expressionless face, Zhulan curled her lips and said, "You don't have to answer. I understand."
Zhou Shuren, “… .”
He didn't want to answer either. He was so sad. What did the top student fear the most? The top student was the academic god. Wu Ming was a genius academic god, and an academic god with a very active brain. No matter how much the fate of the big guy changed, he would still be the big guy!
In Wu Ming's carriage, the servant was extremely nervous. To ease his nervousness, he poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to the young master, "Young master, Mr. Zhou and the mistress of the Zhou family are so kind to you."
The servant had experienced too many calculations in the backyard of the mansion and was the most distrustful of human nature. However, his concept was broken in the Zhou family. Master Zhou and the young master were rivals, and the Zhou family not only did not frame them, but also took care of the young master meticulously.
What he didn't expect was taken into consideration by the mistress of the Zhou family. This time when she was guarding the list, she was afraid that the young master would catch a cold again, so she surrounded the carriage tightly and even the cloak on the young master was newly made!
He was on guard in vain!
Wu Ming held the teacup, and not only his hands were warm, but also his heart. The Zhou family gave him the warmth he desired most, and also made him realize that people's hearts are not all black, there are good ones too.
He performed better in this imperial examination than in the provincial examination, all thanks to the care of his aunt. He will always remember this kindness in his heart.
Time passed little by little, and soon the first ray of sunshine shone on the earth, and the sky finally brightened.
Zhulan drank a lot of ginger tea, but there was no other way. The wind outside was very cold, and the temperature in March was not very high. The carriage was not very warm, and Eryue, who was guarding outside the carriage, was so cold that he kept moving on the ground!
The closer the time is to the announcement of the results, the more tormented the people are waiting. The time for the announcement of the results is set every year. When the gong sounded, Zhulan concentrated her mind and said, "The results are out."
Zhou Shuren held Zhulan's hand and said, "Wait in the car. The boss and I will go down to take a look."
Boss Zhou huddled in a corner like a quail. He actually wanted to stroll outside with Eryue. Ever since he and Li kept running into his parents getting along, his parents no longer avoided him. To be precise, they just pretended they didn't exist!
It was a pity that his body was too delicate to withstand the cold wind outside, so he could only huddle in the corner of the carriage to avoid the cold.
After hearing what his father said, Boss Zhou hurriedly got off the carriage.
Zhu Lan shook her head, "I want to go too. I want to witness this honor with you."
Zhou Shuren: “… OK.”
It’s a pity to witness him becoming the second place!
Zhulan tied her cloak and wrapped herself tightly, then followed Zhou Shuren out of the carriage. The two of them met up with Wu Ming and went to look at the list. Wow, the list was full of people. Zhulan was not tall and was some distance away from the city wall. She could not see the names on the list clearly and could only see the moving heads.
Zhulan was speechless. The results of the imperial examination were announced. Could the court be more generous and write the names bigger? One hundred and fifty people were selected in each session. One hundred and fifty names, but they were only written on two sheets of paper, which were less than a foot long and half a foot wide. Zhulan seriously suspected that it was a bad taste.
There are so many people under the list, mainly servants and other servants, and guards with strong backgrounds are leading the way!
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren looked at each other and decided to wait for a while.
Fortunately, the number of candidates in each session was limited. After waiting for a while, those who failed the exam left one after another, while those who passed the exam either shared their joy with their family and friends, or waited on the side to see who would be the first place winner!
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren arrived at the list and looked confidently at the name at the top of the first sheet of paper.
The servant of Wu Ming's family was literate, and he said excitedly: "Sir, you are the champion."
Wu Ming loosened his tightly clenched hands, turned sideways and said, "My nephew has lived up to the care of my uncle and aunt."
Zhulan, “… … ..”
Actually you can live up to it, really!
Zhou Shuren saw his name just below Wu Ming. Except for the first place who was the champion, the others were tribute scholars. The ranking was really not important. What was important was the result after the palace examination.
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "My nephew has won the first place in the exam at such a young age. We must celebrate today."
Wu Ming smiled and said, "I, your nephew, also congratulate your uncle for winning the title of Gongshi."
When the tribute students who stayed behind met Wu Ming, they all had complicated expressions on their faces.
Because among these people, except for the tribute scholars who were born with cheats, the others who rely on themselves are all over 30 years old, and the oldest is about 60 years old!
Wu Ming won the first place in the imperial examination at a young age. While others were envious and jealous, they were also quick-witted.
A 40-something Gongshi stepped forward and said, "Sir, are you looking for a wife? I have a daughter who is only 14 years old. She is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I think she is a perfect match for you!"
Once the first one begins, there will be a second one.
Zhulan watched Wu Ming being surrounded. Although Wu Ming was mature beyond his years, he could not handle such enthusiasm. His face flushed and he didn't know how to start.
Zhou Shuren looked at him happily. He also wanted to vent his anger for getting second place in the exam. Hey, young man, this is just the beginning!
Zhulan saw that Wu Ming couldn't bear it anymore, so she tugged at Zhou Shuren's sleeve and signaled him to stop watching the show.
Zhou Shuren coughed and stepped forward. "Marriage requires the consent of the parents and the matchmaker. We appreciate your attention. How about we talk about it after the old lady arrives in Beijing?"
Wu Ming exhaled, bowed and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but the marriage will be decided by my grandmother, please forgive me."
Zhou Shuren continued, "It's getting late. We have to go a step ahead."
A scholar stopped him and said, "Please leave your address so that we can visit you later."
What a good son-in-law, we can’t let him go like this.
Zhou Shuren left his address with a smile. These people who could make it this far were all capable people. No one could predict what the future would be like. Well, more friends are better than more enemies.
When Zhulan and the others returned to the carriage, they all knew that Huiyuan was a young man, and an unmarried one at that.
Boss Zhou was sitting in Wu Ming's carriage. Zhu Lan and Zhou Shuren were in the same carriage. Zhu Lan pulled Zhou Shuren's beard and whispered, "Our family can't stay quiet this time. Wu Ming has become a hot commodity. I see that many servants of officials are eyeing Wu Ming. I'm sure they will be overwhelmed with visiting cards tomorrow."
Zhou Shuren laughed, "This is nothing, the results of the palace examination are really scary."
Zhu Lan's eyes sparkled, "In the play, there is a scene of catching a son-in-law from the list. Will someone really catch a son-in-law after the palace examination results are announced?"
Zhou Shuren said, "There is no such thing in this dynasty, but there was in the previous dynasty. The previous dynasty had loose control over merchants, and merchants especially liked to kidnap sons-in-law. In this dynasty, some officials took a fancy to the sons-in-law and summoned them by relying on their official status. As for others, they dared not join in the fun, so there would be no such thing as kidnapping people under the list."
Zhu Lan was quite disappointed, but then she became happy again, "I just looked around carefully. Among the 150 people on the list, there are not many young people. The tribute scholars from official families are probably engaged even if they are young. Among those from grassroots families, Wu Ming seems to be the only young man!"
Zhou Shuren was silent and said, "Zhao Bo hasn't married yet either."
Zhulan, "... I think I forgot something. We forgot to look at Zhao Bo's name. I don't think I noticed Zhao Bo just now."
She and Zhou Shuren were so busy watching Wu Ming having fun that they completely forgot about Zhao Bo.
Zhulan continued, "I only looked at the first and second positions, not the ones after that. Did you look at them?"
Zhou Shuren: "...No."
Zhulan was speechless. Well, neither of them paid attention to Zhao Bo.