After three days and three nights of torment, Li Yaonan stepped out of the examination room, looked at the scorching sun outside, and breathed a sigh of relief. The exam was finally over! He felt relaxed physically and mentally. If it weren't for the teacher appreciation banquet the next day after the results were announced, he would have wanted to go home right now. He had never missed home so much, missed his son, and missed his husband so much. He hadn't seen him for more than half a month, and he didn't know if his son had grown up.
Dragging his exhausted body, Li Yaonan returned to the inn and had a good sleep. Until the day when the results were announced, he was a little absent-minded and wished he could grow a pair of wings and fly back.
It was dinner time again that day. Li Yaonan had just ordered a few side dishes when Li Yaozong walked in from outside.
Li Yaonan frowned. He really didn't like seeing him. It wasn't because he was afraid of Li Yaozong, but because he felt annoyed.
Some people just remember to eat but not to be punished. When seeing Lai Yiu Nam, Lai Yiu Chung started to mock him: "Hey! You look listless. Did you fail the exam? Some people made big promises. Let's see how you can face others."
Li Yaonan was too lazy to pay attention to him. He felt that this man was annoying, just like a fly after a meal.
Li Yaonan ignored him, but someone couldn't stand it. Recently, Li Yaonan had gained a lot of fame among the talented people in Jiangnan. A scholar who was acquainted with him came out to argue and scolded him, "Brother, you are also a scholar, why are you so aggressive? I heard that you are brothers. Such habits are simply a shame for scholars. You are worthy of the teacher's teachings."
Li Yaozong was furious. He found himself losing his temper whenever he saw Li Yaonan. He was obviously the pride of the family and the one being praised by others, so why was he being suppressed by this little beast? He felt that Li Yaonan was really his nemesis.
Li Yaonan smiled slightly and ignored Li Yaozong. He only said to the scholar, "My dear brother, I have a seat here. Would you like to share the table with me?"
"Okay!" The scholar said without any pretense and sat down.
Li Yaonan has a good reputation among students. He is self-reliant and hardworking, and is a role model for those who fail the imperial examinations.
Of course, not everyone likes him. A small number of people have dark minds and just hope that what Li Yaozong said can become a reality. If Li Yaonan fails the exam, the big words he said that day would be a slap in the face and his reputation would definitely plummet.
But no matter what, when the results were announced, Li Yaonan ranked third in the high school, which instantly shattered the hopes of many people. There was jealousy and envy. In a word, Li Yaonan truly became a Jiangnan talent and his reputation reached a new level.
Li Yaonan was quite satisfied with the result, as she finally had the face to go back and see her husband.
Li Youp also passed this time. In addition to him, another cousin also successfully passed the examination and became a scholar.
That night, everyone invited each other to drink and agreed not to go home until they were drunk.
The next day, the government office prepared a banquet to thank the teachers. All those who passed the examination had to attend. Calculating the date, it was exactly July 24th.
Li Yaonan's heart had already flown back to Yangzhou.
The farewell banquet for teachers was held in the evening. Li Yaonan almost felt uncomfortable after not seeing Li Yaozong for the whole night. After asking, he found out that Li Yaozong did not pass the exam this time. Li Yaonan was in a rare good mood. No wonder that guy did not come out to jump around. He just hoped that he could stay quiet for a while this time.
However, although Lai Yiu Chung has quieted down, some people dislike Lai Yiu Nam. It is simply because Lai Yiu Nam's fame rose too quickly and overshadowed many people.
After much inquiry, they found out that the chief examiner seemed to have a different opinion of Li Yaonan. How could they not be jealous? If they got the approval of the chief examiner, they could get a place as a student, which was equivalent to getting a signpost for a juren. With the recommendation letter of the chief examiner, they could go to the official school to study.
When you enter an official school, you will interact not only with children of officials, but also with truly knowledgeable people, which will be of great help to your official career.
On the spot, someone started to make trouble: "Brother Yaonan looks uneasy, but what's on his mind?"
The words were clearly of concern, and the voice was loud enough for everyone present to hear.
As the chief examiner of this Tongshi exam, Lord Yang frowned. The student was distracted at the farewell banquet, which was obviously disrespectful to the chief examiner. Even if he liked Li Yaonan, such behavior would reduce his impression of Li Yaonan in his heart.
After all, there were so many students who passed the exam, and he didn't have to choose Li Yaonan. He just wanted to win over one or two of them because he saw that Li Yaonan had some talent.
Li Yaonan was not pretentious. He admitted it openly and apologized to Lord Yang in a hurry. At this time, no matter what he said, it would be just quibbling. It would be better for him to be honest about his mistakes, which would make people feel that he was upright.
"It's my fault, please forgive me." Li Yaonan smiled embarrassedly, paused, and said shyly: "Before I took the exam, my family just gave birth to a son, and I was a little worried, so..."
Someone immediately laughed: "It turns out that Brother Yaonan is worried about his lovely wife and young children at home."
"Puchi!" Someone else also joked, saying with a smile: "Brother Yaonan, this is not good. A real man should have ambitions."
"Haha, it's rare to see Brother Yaonan blushing. I must pay a visit to my sister-in-law someday to see who is so capable that he could defeat our eloquent official Li."
Li Yaonan just smiled and said nothing.
Lord Yang's expression softened. Although he still had some minor grudges in his heart, he felt that it was understandable.
Zhuang Yingyan disagreed and said, "Brother Yaonan, you are wrong. We study hard to make a name for ourselves. How can we be sentimental?"
Lord Yang's expression froze. What Zhuang Yingyan said was true. He was too sentimental. In other words, he was indecisive. He was not a good material for being an official.
Li Yaonan did not argue with him, but said frankly: "I am a father for the first time, so I am bound to be happy. It is said that one should cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. If you can't even take care of your own family, how can you talk about the big family and the country."
Zhuang Yingyan was stifled by his words, and his face turned extremely ugly. He couldn't refute that Li Yaonan's statement was wrong. In this case, where would he put his family? How could a person who didn't even care about his family respect his parents? Wouldn't he be a disloyal and unfilial person
Someone applauded and shouted, "Well, that's a good point!"
The others followed suit and gave their praises.
Li Yaonan responded very modestly: "Thank you for your compliment, brother."
The farewell banquet went smoothly. Lord Yang did not talk to Li Yaonan afterwards. When he looked at Li Yaonan, there was a hint of regret, confusion, and consideration in his eyes. He probably wanted to think about it for a while. Anyway, after the examination, the candidates did not go back so soon. It was obvious that Zhuang Yingyan's words left a deep impression on Lord Yang. He felt that Li Yaonan was too sentimental. If he could change this, he might become a talent in the future. It was always right to do him a favor.
Lord Yang had a good idea. He wanted to leave Li Yaonan alone for a few days before calling him in for questioning. As long as he was a smart person, he would know how to choose. However, if Li Yaonan was stupid, there was no need to feel sorry for him. There were so many talented people in the world, and there were even more talented people in Jiangnan. There were many students who wanted to become his students, so why bother to hold on to one? If he hadn't seen that Li Yaonan was eloquent and indeed smart, he wouldn't have spent this much time on it.
Of course, the most important thing is that Li Yaonan has no background. The more you help him in times of need, the greater the rewards you will get in the future. It would be best if you can completely control this person. In Lord Yang's opinion, Li Yaonan is just a poor scholar who has knowledge but no background. If he extends an olive branch, wouldn't Li Yaonan be overjoyed and rush forward to thank him
Sir Yang's idea was not wrong. As early as a few days ago, Li Yaonan's identity and background were clearly revealed in Li Yaozong's revelations. After Li Yaonan was adopted, he had no parents and no brothers. In the eyes of others, he was a lonely and pitiful man. It can be said that he was in great difficulties. After all, it is difficult to support himself alone. Li Yaonan had no one to help him. If he had not been promoted by the examiner, with his identity, it was unknown when he would be able to succeed.
There is no official who is without some selfishness, and one can never have too many connections.
Lord Yang never thought that Li Yaonan would go on to take the provincial examination, and he even less thought that when he sent someone to the inn, the waiter actually replied that Li Yaonan had taken a boat back to Yangzhou early the next morning after the farewell banquet for his teachers.
Lord Yang was furious at the time. Since Li Yaonan didn't know how to appreciate a favor, there would be someone who would. Zhuang Yingyan also caught his eye because of this. He felt that although this young man was a little too cunning, there was nothing wrong with him. This was the kind of person that the officialdom needed.
With the promotion of Lord Yang, Zhuang Yingyan and three others were given places as students and a letter of recommendation from the official school.
As for the top scholar in the Tongshi, Lord Yang wanted to recruit him under his wing, but the problem was that he was going to take part in the provincial examination and also had a famous teacher, so he had to give up.
There were several other scholars who were also quite knowledgeable, but they had strong backgrounds and their fathers were higher officials than him. He could not win them over and could only use luring as a means. However, Li Yaonan had long been forgotten by him. After all, although Li Yaonan's performance in the child examination was okay, it was not outstanding. What Jiangnan lacked the most was talented people. This was only the Suzhou examination hall, and the provincial examination would be held in the provincial capital. Lord Yang never thought that when he saw Li Yaonan again, his status would be completely different. Lord Yang regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. If he had known this, he should have lured Li Yaonan on the day of the teacher appreciation banquet.
Of course, our party involved has no idea about all this. Li Yaonan is feeling very uneasy. The closer he gets to Yangzhou, the more excited he becomes. It seems like a long time has passed since they last saw each other, even though it has only been a short time.
After getting off the boat, he called a carriage and headed straight to Li's house.
Seeing the gate of the Li residence still the same as before, I suddenly felt homesick. All the longing in my heart seemed to pour out, and my heart felt swollen and sour and could no longer calm down.
"The master is back." The servant at the door saw him, shouted immediately, and ran in quickly to report the news.
Li Yaonan laughed, and the little emotion he had just felt turned into joy in an instant. He was finally home.