Chapter 81

Daliucun

Late at night, Yingxiang lay on the warm kang (a heated brick bed), holding her chubby son in her arms. She couldn't help but think of Wenshi. Calculating the time, she knew he must have already arrived in the capital.

Yingxiang opened her eyes. The room was dark. She wasn't too confused or lost. Even if things didn't go well, she would still live in the prefectural city. Wen Shi had told her what kind of business she wanted to do in the future. She had already thought about it and was just waiting for his news. In the blink of an eye, he had been gone for almost three months.

"mother."

The baby in her arms called her name in a drowsy voice. Yingxiang quickly patted his back, and soon the little guy fell into a deep sleep again.

The child is almost two years old, and according to the village elders' calculations, he's nearly three. Yingxiang disagrees with this, but she doesn't argue; there's no need to.

As he grows older, he becomes more and more like Wen Shi. Sometimes he can be naughty, but as soon as Ying Xiang points it out, he corrects himself. He is a sensible child.

Yingxiang sometimes thinks that when her child grows up, he will most likely follow in his father's footsteps and pursue a career in government. That is Wen Shi's expectation for him. But as for whether he will do something else when he grows up, it is hard to say now.

As drowsiness washed over her, Yingxiang closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. The day of her reunion with her husband was drawing ever closer, and she felt no unhappiness.

On New Year's Eve, Xiuyu and Yuqin, unusually, did not quarrel. The two of them were busy in the kitchen all afternoon, and by evening, they had prepared two large tables full of dishes, all of which were exactly the same.

Neither Old Man Wen nor Liu said anything; men and women were kept separate.

Wen Chuanzong and Wen Xiaowu also came back for the New Year. Wen Chuanzong looked a bit fatter than before. He wasn't bad-looking. If he weren't too fat, he would be a decent-looking scholar.

Upon hearing that he had passed the imperial examination, he returned to the county school to study, and benefited greatly from it. Originally, based on his ranking, he would not have been able to study under the best teacher, but the dean made an unprecedented move by arranging the best teacher for him, encouraging him to study hard, and even remembering his name.

He understood this, so after finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, he gave Wen Leqian a rather large red envelope. It looked a bit awkward, but Old Man Wen glanced at him and continued eating.

Yingxiang had already made preparations to distribute lucky money to the children. She would not show favoritism; they would all receive the same amount.

"That's great! The fourth son's wife is about to give birth, and there will be one more person in the family."

After eating and drinking her fill, Liu sat lazily in her chair.

Old Man Wen called Wen Chuanzong aside.

"You haven't done anything stupid, have you?"

He returned home three days ago for the New Year, but this was the eighth time Old Man Wen had asked him. Wen Chuanzong felt uncomfortable hearing this. He wasn't stupid; how could he abandon his family? What good would it do to be kicked out?

Right now, he's practically useless in this family. And with Xiao Wu about to be eliminated, Wen Chuanzong doesn't even want to think about how humiliated he'll be if he ends up like his third brother.

"Dad, I didn't do it."

"That's good. If I find out you've done anything to wrong Lao San, don't blame me."

Wen Chuanzong nodded. He thought the third son was foolish, having so much money but refusing it. But if you asked him to accept it privately, he wouldn't dare, afraid of being abandoned by the family.

Wen Shi is, after all, his own younger brother. Now he has benefited from this. He also has a child, and A Mian is about to give birth. Although she is not valued in this family, the child is still his.

"Your woman..."

“Dad, she lives at her parents’ home. She took care of the child herself after it was born. She can work, she’s not just a freeloader.”

Old Man Wen sighed and ultimately said nothing more.

"What happened before was my fault. I was too selfish. Dad, don't worry, I will definitely not do it again in the future, and I will try my best."

Old Man Wen glanced at Wen Chuanzong, said nothing, and turned to go into the inner room.

Staying up all night is very boring. Everyone chats and laughs together for the first half of the night, but everyone gets sleepy in the second half. The child couldn't stay up any longer and had already fallen asleep, so Yingxiang simply carried him back to the house.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family ate dumplings, with cabbage and pork filling. While watching the children play in the yard, Yingxiang and her second sister-in-law made dumplings together.

The weather was nice, just dry and cold, and everyone could go back to their parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

Early that morning, she brought some things and, holding her child, went with Brother Wen and the others. Her sister-in-law's family was also in Xiaoliu Village, so it was on the way.

The group returned together in the evening. These days, Yingxiang is a guest of honor wherever she goes.

Just after the seventh day of the lunar new year, A-Mian said she had a stomachache. Liu was very reluctant, but she couldn't just watch her suffer like that, so she called two women from the same village to help her give birth.

That night, A-Mian finally gave birth to a boy.

Xiuyu looked at the baby in the swaddling clothes and endured it. She wasn't that bad. Wen Chuanzong was quite happy, as he had another son.

Old Man Wen and Mrs. Liu didn't seem particularly happy, but they still looked at the child.

Ma's belly was swollen. She wouldn't go to the county after the New Year, but she was worried that if she didn't give birth to a son, her mother-in-law would scold her.

Nowadays, women's status is inferior to that of men, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Yingxiang lowered her eyes and couldn't help but sigh.

Afterwards, when A-Mian was in confinement after childbirth, no one took care of her. Wen Chuanzong helped her bring her meals. The two shared a period of hardship and joy outside, and they developed feelings for each other.

Wen Chuanzong thought that they would go to the county together when the child turned one month old.

Once the Lantern Festival is over, the imperial examination will begin soon. Wen Shi has been to the examination hall several times to familiarize himself with the route, as his residence is quite far away and it takes an hour to walk there.

That day, he carried his book box and a bundle he had prepared beforehand. He got up very early, before dawn, and carried a lamp to barely see the road.

There were many carriages at the entrance of the examination hall, but there were also candidates who walked there like him. As soon as the gate opened, he remembered that when he arrived at the examination hall in the prefectural city, the conditions inside were a little better. There was a wooden plank for lying down, which was a little better than in the prefectural city. The rest was about the same.

Similarly, the difficulty of the exam questions has increased. While he wouldn't be unable to answer them when asked, this time the focus was on policy questions, which his teacher had mentioned before, so he was very cautious about it.

The exam lasted three days, and he spent the first two days repeatedly deliberating and thinking about how to best answer the questions.

Half a day before the exam ended, Wen Shi finally finished writing the last word. After the ink dried, he carefully put away his answer sheet and set it aside.

The weather was gloomy, but not too bad. The surroundings were very quiet, and no one was sighing. The examiners were more serious than those in the prefectural city.

The imperial envoy was in charge of supervising the examination. There were many candidates, including scholars from various regions and students from the Imperial Academy. The examination hall was quite crowded.

After the exam, we waited for the papers to be graded.

If you pass the exam, you'll become a tribute student, and this time the next half of the candidates will be selected.

As he left the examination hall, he was about to return when a large carriage suddenly stopped beside him. The carriage was drawn by two horses. The next second, the curtain was pulled open, and he saw Hu Yong'an. He wasn't too surprised.

"Brother Wen, how did the exam go?"

"Not bad, how about you?"

"It's a sure thing."

Hu Yong'an was somewhat smug. You see, he had been praised for his intelligence since he was a child. Wen Shi glanced at him and nodded.

The carriage disappeared in an instant, and he paid little attention to the person in front of him.

"He's already so smug before the results are even out; if he doesn't win, he'll be even more embarrassed."

Someone walked up to him and suddenly said this. Upon looking up, he saw it was Guo, the scholar who had clashed with him last time. This man was very steady and reliable.

"Let's wait for the results to be released."

The next exam was the palace examination, which was held in the imperial palace and presided over by the emperor himself.

Guo, the scholar, nodded. The two walked side by side without speaking. When they reached an intersection, they parted ways. They were from the same prefecture but not the same county, and they had some acquaintance, but not much.

Even while waiting for the results, Wen Shi didn't slack off; he continued to study diligently.

In the village, family members left one after another. After the New Year, only Yingxiang, her child, and Ma were left at home. Ma was too pregnant to go to the shop, as she had to climb stairs to go up and down. It would be more convenient for her to give birth in the village.

Old Man Wen has already said that when she reaches her due date, he will have Liu come back early to take care of her.

She was a legitimate wife who had been married into the family, so Liu had no choice but to serve her, even if she didn't want to. Leaving her alone at home would cause a lot of gossip in the village, and Ma's family members were also numerous.

In the mountains and forests, the frozen streams gradually melted, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Wen Shi went out to check the results. He was dressed neatly and left the house with a calm expression, but he didn't have much confidence in his heart.

Wen Shi walked steadily until he reached the entrance of the examination hall, where many people were already waiting. The list of successful candidates had not yet been posted, and everyone was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Another person walked excitedly up to Wen Shi, and Wen Shi caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye.

"Brother Wen, you've arrived quite early."

After Hu Yong'an finished speaking, he held a hand warmer in his hand. The New Year was over, but it was still cold that day. Most people were wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, and he was no exception.

The weather will be completely warm by April, and it will start to get hot in May. The seasons come and go, year after year. Standing at the gate of the examination hall, I thought of last year's autumn examination.

He hummed in agreement.

Almost all the scholars from the same prefecture knew who Hu Yong'an was. They either ignored him or exchanged a few words with him, avoiding any awkwardness.

Those who ignore him are mostly people who were angered by him before, and those people are too angry to argue with him, so they just ignore him.

At noon, as the sun slowly rose, the official who posted the list of successful candidates came out, still surrounded by several tall and burly soldiers who pushed the candidates back.

He quickly finished posting the notices on the small notice board.

On those few thin sheets of paper were the fates of these students who had studied hard for many years in various places. If they could pass the imperial examination and become Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), the Ministry of Personnel would definitely grant them an official position. Most of the candidates who had no money or connections hoped for this.

After the officials who posted the notice left, everyone rushed over in a swarm. Wen Shi frowned; of course, he was no longer as calm as before, and naturally joined in as well.

Hu Yong'an was also quite adept at this. He pushed this person and pulled that person, causing the people in front of him to shout incessantly. He wasn't embarrassed at all and quickly darted to the first row to start looking at the list.

Before he had even finished looking at the first list, he shouted, "I passed! I passed! I'm ranked tenth!"

Hahahaha.

"I passed the exam! Grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, wife, you all passed the exam! Yong'an passed the exam!"

His voice was loud, and everyone looked at him. Of course, some people congratulated him. Wen Shi clearly saw this scene but didn't say anything.

As expected, he will be smug for a long time to come, but it has nothing to do with him.

He was currently in the fifth row, staring at the people in front of him. Many people left disappointed and dejected, but some had passed the exam. Hu Yong'an shouted loudly, his eyes searching for acquaintances, also wanting to show off.

He wanted to go to Wen Shi's place, but there were too many people there, and it was too crowded. He couldn't squeeze in, so he stood outside and waited for them to come out.

He was overjoyed and very excited. Heaven had been kind to him and blessed him so much. When he got back, he would write to his family and ask his mother to donate more money to the temple to thank Buddha, Bodhisattva, and of course, his husband.

Hu Yong'an was from a wealthy family, and his path to education was quite different from that of ordinary students.

He never went to any private school or academy. His family always paid a lot of money to hire tutors to teach him. He never slacked off, except for the two days of the Lunar New Year.

In addition, he is indeed talented. Wen Shi had only known him for a short time when he told him that he had been pampered since childhood, that he was ambitious, and that his family was wealthy.

As he approached his turn, Wen Shi immediately focused his attention. The black characters on the list were already clearly visible. He held his breath and walked forward step by step.