Yazi couldn't help but think that Mrs. Zhou must be afraid that Mr. Zhou would forget his first wife when he became an official! Yazi felt that he had guessed the truth!
Zhulan took the two house deeds back home. When she got home, Zhou Shuren came back.
There was a small stack of silver bills on the table. Zhulan picked it up and counted it. "Just as I guessed, it has only increased tenfold."
Four thousand taels of silver in hand!
Zhou Shuren has no vision for investment. He has never invested in modern times. He has never even bought financial products. He only knows how to save money!
He really admired Zhulan's investment vision and decisiveness. Even if he worked his ass off, he could not earn as much as Zhulan did by reselling the shares a few times.
Zhulan took the silver bills, took out the box, put the house deed and the silver bills in it, closed it again, and sat back in the chair, "Yao Zheyu must have realized your intention!"
"So what if he realized it? Anyway, the remaining land has been sold. I would rather sell it at a low price than give the remaining land to Yao Zheyu. I have already made my intention clear."
Zhu Lan was a little worried, "Even though you have torn down Yao Zheyu, will he be angry with you and use his connections to target you after the results are announced?"
Zhou Shuren sipped his tea and said, "So I want to enter the first rank. Officials in the first rank are appointed immediately."
Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief. There were only three people in the first class, the top scholar, the second place, and the third place. They were awarded the title of Jinshi Jidi. Zhulan patted Zhou Shuren's hand and said, "Second place is also good."
Zhou Shuren: “… … ..Yeah.”
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was time for the palace examination. Zhou Shuren left in a carriage before dawn. According to modern time, the palace examination would begin at six in the morning, so everyone rushed to the palace in the dark.
In ancient times, there were no watches, so people could only walk ahead for fear of missing the time.
The palace examination lasts one day and the papers are handed in at dusk. There is no re-examination before the palace examination in this dynasty. The examination is held directly in the palace. After the papers are handed in, they are sealed and graded by eight people. The papers are divided into five grades, and the eight people annotate the grades respectively. Finally, ten first-grade papers with the most annotations are selected and presented to the emperor, who finally selects thirteen people from the first class.
Ever since Zhou Shuren left, Zhulan has been looking towards the direction of the imperial palace. Today is the last step. The future depends entirely on today.
Zhou Shuren didn't have much pressure today, but because of Yao Zheyu's disruption, Zhou Shuren is under the greatest pressure today.
The entire Zhou family was waiting, so they couldn't even enjoy their lunch.
After sunset, Boss Zhou was guarding the gate of the house. The days in April were still not very long. When Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming came back, it was completely dark.
Boss Zhou waited for the carriage to stop and quickly stepped forward, "Dad."
Zhou Shuren got off the carriage before Wu Ming. After Wu Ming got off, Zhou Shuren asked, "Is dinner ready?"
Seeing that his father was in good spirits, Zhou Lao Da felt relieved and said with a smile, "I have prepared it a long time ago. What I made today are all the dishes that Dad and Mom like to eat."
Boss Zhou looked at Wu Ming and paused, "There are two more dishes that Wu Ming likes."
Wu Ming, “… … ..”
He just did it by the way, there's no need to mention it specifically.
Zhou Shuren was really hungry. Although there were snacks prepared for the palace examination, and the snacks in the palace were indeed delicious, few people dared to eat too much. Even though he liked to eat, he didn't eat more than a few pieces. Now his stomach was singing.
Zhou Shuren quickened his pace and walked into the main hall. He saw a table full of food and his stomach growled even louder.
Zhulan smiled and said, "Go wash your hands and eat."
"Why!"
In the evening, Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming ate the most. They were completely relaxed after taking their last exam, while Zhulan and the others were thinking about the results three days later.
After dinner, Yang Zhumu did not rush back to the house in West City. Instead, he asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, did you see the emperor?"
Zhou Shuren: "... I saw it."
How could he say that it was just a quick meeting? No matter how brave he was, he would not dare to stare at the emperor directly!
Yang Zhumu was excited. "How is His Majesty? Is he as strong and muscular as the rumors say?"
Zhulan almost spit out the tea in her mouth. She didn’t know if it was because of her fear of the emperor. There were so many rumors among the people!
Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched, "I only saw him once. The emperor was very thin, and his face was blocked by his beard. I didn't dare to look directly at his face. I didn't see his specific appearance clearly, but judging from his outline, he should be good-looking."
Yang Zhumu was a little disappointed. The decisive and ruthless emperor was not what he imagined. According to his brother-in-law, he was just a weak scholar. Yang Zhumu couldn't help but look at his brother-in-law a few more times. When the weak scholar turned cruel, he was really cruel.
Yang Zhumu had no brother-in-law to compare with, and accepted the image of the emperor. He was not going to ask about his brother-in-law's grades. "I'm going back to my house in Xicheng."
Zhou Shuren stood up and said, "Brother, I'll take you there."
Yang Zhumu waved his hand, "You've been tired all day, take a good rest."
Zhou Shuren insisted on seeing Yang Zhumu off, and he always did a good job of saving face.
Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to come back, "I'll get you some hot water to wash your feet. Go to bed early today."
Zhou Shuren was indeed a little sleepy. He had woken up at three in the morning and had been highly focused during the day. Now that he was full and drunk, he felt sleepy. Zhou Shuren held Zhulan's hand and said, "I can go get some water myself."
Having said that, the man went out.
Zhulan chuckled and made the bed. She was also a little sleepy, so she woke up at the same time as Zhou Shuren.
After Zhulan and Zhou Shuren finished washing up, they both fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, Zhao Bo came to the door. Zhao Bo was very confident in himself. Although everyone had guessed the test questions, he had prepared a lot. He felt that he could get into the first class this time, but he would not feel at ease if he didn't come to Zhou's house.
Zhou Shuren understood Zhao Bo's intention, but Zhao Bo's wish was going to be dashed. In order to seek balance, it was impossible for the top three to come from the same place.
It's a good reputation for the first two to come from the same place, but for the other three, it's a joke. We should all suspect cheating.
He was confident because his answers were indeed good. He had asked Wu Ming about it on the way back yesterday, and he felt more confident.
After hearing Zhao Bo's answers, Zhou Shuren shook his head. Even if it wasn't for the sake of balance, Zhao Bo still wouldn't be able to make it into the first class.
Zhao Bo came with confidence and left with disappointment, and the uneasiness in his heart came true.
The results will be announced on the third day, and there will be huge crowds of people under the list. Not only people are looking at the list for reference, but also there are many people just for fun.