After the announcement of the results, the candidates completely relaxed. Those who failed returned home sadly, while those who passed began to get busy, making friends, entertaining guests, and paying respects to their teachers. The candidates gathered in groups of three or five to drink. They were candidates of the same class and were on the same list, so they had to at least get to know each other. Who knows if that person will succeed in the future, so it's always a good idea to build good relationships.
Li Yaonan was extremely busy. Among his friends, only two failed the exam, while the other six passed.
This time they met at Tianranju originally to celebrate, but Sun Ruisi and Qu Junliang failed the imperial examination, so everyone changed the name of the meeting to discussing politics and talk about the current situation.
Of course, sensitive topics will definitely not be involved in the conversation, and the chat will only talk about what is happening in the court, some situations in various places, and some of their own opinions.
This is why Li Yaonan likes to chat with them. Listening to everyone talk can make up for his own shortcomings. At least when it comes to court affairs, he is completely in the dark.
Seeing their friends speaking freely, Sun Ruisi and Qu Junliang felt disappointed and just drank alone the whole night. The image of them talking loudly and full of vigor some time ago seemed to be far away from them.
Everyone was talking happily, each expressing their own opinions, talking nonstop, and occasionally arguing loudly until their faces turned red. But after a while and a few glasses of rice wine, it was as if nothing had happened.
Li Yaonan likes this atmosphere, which is full of a vitality that modern people have never experienced.
Sun Ruisi and Qu Junliang were both very sad. They could imagine how disappointed they were when their friends passed the imperial examination. However, they also understood that their friends' attitude at this moment was the best for them. Any sympathy and pity at this moment would only make people feel that it was an insult.
Zhu Haoyan still couldn't stand it, and frowned and said: "Brothers, there is no need to be like this. If you don't pass this exam, you can try again the third time. Why do you have to act like this? Brothers, don't you have confidence in your own knowledge?"
Sun Ruisi smiled bitterly, looking a little melancholy: "I used to have confidence in my knowledge, but now I have no confidence at all, alas!"
Li Yaonan's heart moved, and he turned to ask, "Brother Sun, do you have any difficulties?"
Sun Ruisi shook his head and kept silent.
Seeing him like this, others didn't feel comfortable asking more questions. After all, they were just acquaintances and their relationship was not that good. What's more, scholars value privacy. If they rashly inquired about things that Sun Ruisi didn't want to talk about, it would be impolite.
Qu Junliang was silent for a while, then forced a smile and said, "I haven't congratulated you guys on your success yet. I will be returning home soon, and I'm afraid I won't have the chance to get together with you all again."
Li Mingzhang laughed: "Brother Junliang, don't be discouraged. I will be waiting for you in the capital in three years to pass the imperial examination."
Li Yaonan looked at him in surprise. Li Mingzhang's words revealed a lot of meanings.
Qu Junliang bowed, his face still showing an unrelieved sadness: "Thank you for your kind words, brother."
Zhu Haoyan said unhappily: "Don't be sad about the past and present. Come, have a drink. Don't go home until you are drunk. After this drink, we will meet in the capital in three years."
Qu Junliang was quite surprised: "Brother Zhu, are you planning to go to the capital again in three years?"
Zhu Haoyan said nonchalantly: "The teacher asked me to study hard for three years. Although I can take the imperial examination next year, the difference between a Jinshi and a Tong Jinshi is huge. The teacher was afraid that I would lose face for him because I was not knowledgeable enough, so he asked me to take the exam again in three years and try to pass it in one try."
Qu Junliang understood instantly and felt better. He picked up the wine glass and drank it all. "Okay, for what Brother Zhu said, I will study hard when I go back, and we will see each other in Beijing in three years."
"That's right!" Zhu Haoyan also picked up the wine glass and drank it all.
Seeing that he spoke so generously, everyone smiled knowingly. No one asked who his teacher was, and no one inquired into his background. They all had a tacit understanding and only talked about trivial things when they were together.
The same goes for Liu Jingye and Min Bowen. They plan to take the exam again in three years, so that they have a better chance of success. It should be noted that as a Jinshi, one can only be a fourth-rank official at most in his lifetime. They have ideals and revenge, so naturally they are unwilling to be buried.
This gathering of several people was also their final farewell. Although Li Mingzhang didn't say anything, everyone could tell that he was either originally from the capital, or he planned to continue to take the imperial examination.
Zhou Qian was Li Mingzhang's good friend, so the two of them naturally didn't talk about what they were thinking, and no one asked much.
Li Yaonan said frankly that he wanted to go to Beijing this year.
Lu Zhian also said with a smile that he would definitely go to the Jinke examination.
There was no appointment, no friendship, except for Zhu Haoyan and others who were not going to take the imperial examination. Li Mingzhang, Zhou Qian, Lu Zhian, and Li Yaonan knew that whether this friendship could be deepened in the future would depend on fate. It would probably be impossible to put aside status and family background and get together to express one's opinions like now. After passing the imperial examination, the court would assign officials to Jinshi. There was no such thing as pure friendship in the officialdom.
Everyone talked for a while, and when they had almost finished their drink, they said goodbye to each other and soon went their separate ways.
I don’t know if such a plain friendship can continue after this incident, but everyone seems very satisfied, so that’s good.
Li Yaonan was in a good mood. The friends he met this time seemed to be smart people, much better than those talented scholars who could only recite poems and compose couplets. It was not that he said that, but he felt speechless when he saw his third cousin attending poetry gatherings and drinking parties all day long, where a large group of literati were having fun. To be honest, he did not find anything substantial in that kind of occasion.
Oh! Of course there was, Li Yaonan suddenly remembered that he heard that a candidate wrote good poems and was favored by the Tongzhi of Jinling, who planned to recruit him home as a son-in-law. However, the prefect also favored him and wanted to marry his daughter to him. The two families almost broke up, but in the end, the Tongzhi gave in. After all, a higher-ranking official can crush a person.
The prefect happily exchanged business cards for his daughter, while the co-prefect turned around and chose a talented and romantic man as a husband for his daughter, which could be considered a beautiful story.
It was a typical melodramatic plot. When Li Yaonan heard it, he felt as if thunder was rolling in his sky. No wonder he found out before the provincial examination that most young students under the age of seventeen were engaged. It turned out that they were waiting here.
But no matter what, those things had nothing to do with him. Ten days passed in a flash. Under Zhang Qixian's reluctant gaze, Li Yaonan mercilessly took him to the carriage for the return trip.
Zhang Qixian frowned, his handsome face puffed up: "I just made an appointment with my classmates to meet in Juxian Building in the afternoon. You can't let me break my promise."
Li Yaonan had a blank expression on his face and sneered, "You made an appointment at Huide Building yesterday, and at Qunfang Pavilion the day before yesterday. Where do you want to make an appointment at tomorrow?"
"We have an appointment at Yanchun Pavilion tomorrow." Zhang Qixian answered smoothly.
Li Yaonan snorted and cruelly broke his hope: "Don't even think about it. Just come back with me obediently. This way, you can give an explanation to your second uncle."
Zhang Qixian instantly wilted, and his whole body was listless: "I'm just afraid to see him."
Li Yaonan couldn't help but feel a little angry, and said angrily: "That's your father—"
Zhang Qixian scratched his head, knowing that he had gone too far, and hurriedly said, "That's not what I meant. Alas, I was just afraid of his nagging. Who told you not to do so poorly in the exam? With my father's temper, his child is definitely not his own. He will be locked up again when he goes back. It's hard to be free for a few days."
Li Yaonan was so angry that he laughed: "You still think you are right? You got a bad grade in the exam, but you blame me. If you have the ability, come and compete again next year. If you can pass the exam, I promise that your second uncle will not bother you anymore."
Zhang Qixian opened his lips to refute, but after thinking for a while he felt that what he said made sense, and sighed, "Isn't it enough to pass the imperial examination? Why do we have to take the imperial examination?"
Li Yaonan said slowly, "As long as you don't pass the imperial examination, your second uncle will definitely discipline you strictly because he wants you to be successful. If you pass the imperial examination and become an official somewhere else like my grandfather, then even if you want people to nag you, it will probably be impossible."
"I don't like others nagging me." Zhang Qixian retorted disdainfully, thought for a moment, and asked, "You mean the Second Uncle?"
Li Yaonan nodded. Zhang Qixian’s second uncle was his maternal grandfather, and now his whole family is in Hunan.
Zhang Qixian pondered for a while, not knowing whether he was convinced by Li Yaonan. For the rest of the journey, he did not make a fuss about going back. Instead, he picked up a book to read. When he had nothing to do, he urged Li Yaonan to prepare the next volume of the Ancient Romance quickly. Now that the provincial examination was over, he was getting impatient.
Li Yaonan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He didn't know what to say about his cousin's temper. He just hoped that he would have a smooth career in the officialdom in the future.
As for Lin Yixuan, he has calmed down since Li Yaonan left and just stayed at home to take care of the children. Every time she looked at the raindrops falling from the sky, she couldn't help but worry whether her husband would be cold or hungry. Although she had never taken the imperial examination, she had heard about the situation of the imperial examination. Her husband had only been well taken care of for a month, and she didn't know how much weight he would lose this time.
Lin Yixuan had never felt this way before. The days of waiting were so hard to endure. Fortunately, this situation did not last too long. In mid-September, the gifts from the capital arrived. When Lin's mother learned of her son's situation in the capital, she did not need Lin Yixuan to remind her and sold her servants without mercy.
Before Lin Yixuan could get busy, on the morning of October 6th, people in the government office were beating drums and gongs, and they were heading straight to Li's house.
Neighbors all came to watch. They didn't expect that the Li family had already produced a scholar not long after moving in.
Lin Yixuan couldn't stop feeling surprised and quickly asked people to give her a reward. Her thoughts were completely occupied by her husband's success in the imperial examination and she no longer had the mood to think about anything else.
The capital city is where he grew up, it is also the place he hates, and it is also the place he will have to go to in the future.
As things were happening, Lin Yixuan's mind became complicated. Their next step was to rush to the capital!
Lin Yixuan was tangled up in his mind for many days. In fact, he missed his mother, but thinking about the situation in the capital and those troubles, he became irritated again. Before he could figure it out, a surprised voice came from the gate of Li's house, and someone ran all the way to the main courtyard, shouting, "The Juren Master is back!"
Lin Yixuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening and ran quickly to the door.
Li Yaonan stood not far away. He was thinner and darker, but his eyes looked brighter.
"Husband." When Lin Yixuan saw that figure, she could no longer see anything else, and the surrounding scenery seemed to have lost its color.