The emperor interrupted the brother and sister's eye contact. He saw that Jiang Bojian had a tall and straight figure, with his brows slightly restrained, and behaved more gracefully than those who were older than him. He began to like Jiang Bojian a little.

The palace examination is a policy essay and also a written test.

After everyone had answered, the emperor read them one by one and began to announce them.

The top scorer was Jiang Bojian, the second was Meng Hong, and the third was Ji Qing.

When Jiang Bojian heard the word "top scholar", he was stunned.

He felt as if he was in the clouds, dizzy, and everything he saw seemed unreal.

He did it himself? He really graduated from high school?!

Although his mind had not yet come to his senses, his body had already taken the first step to salute.

The emperor became more and more satisfied with him and couldn't help but glance at Jiang Zhaorong, who was looking at him with surprise.

Xu Youran's three children were all exceptionally talented, yet who knows what this man was thinking, abandoning his own children for a fabricated treasure from the previous dynasty...

He has regrets.

The emperor thought to himself.

After giving a few simple compliments, Jiang Bo ran straight to Jiang Zhiyu after leaving the court without even looking at Jiang Zhaorong.

Jiang Zhaorong's face was as cold as iron.

Outside the palace, the Xu family's carriage was already waiting. Jiang Kangan and Jiang Wenjing were sitting outside the carriage, while Xu Yanli and Jiang Sulan were inside.

Knowing that the palace examination would be held today, Xu Yanli asked the emperor for a day off to prevent his grandson from seeing him nervous.

"I don't know what Youran is doing. It's been so long, and she hasn't come back to see me?"

Xu Yanli looked at Jiang Sulan.

Jiang Sulan went to help Xu Youran for a while, but Xu Youran repeatedly asked her to keep it a secret. Xu Yanli was the Grand Tutor, and Jiang Sulan was afraid that if she said too much he would guess what she was thinking, so she just said a few perfunctory words and lifted the car curtain to look outside.

Xu Yanli sighed lightly and didn't ask any more questions.

“It’s coming out!”

Seeing the crowd coming out one after another, Jiang Sulan said excitedly.

Jiang Kangan and Jiang Wenjing stepped forward immediately, without saying a word, but just patted his shoulder lightly.

Jiang Bojian said, "Big brother, second brother."

Jiang Kang'an and Jiang Wenjing each nodded, and surrounded him and Jiang Zhiyu as they walked towards the carriage. Jiang Zhaorong stopped and watched for a long time.

This was the first time Jiang Bojian met Xu Yanli since he grew up.

He licked his lips, no longer as humble as he had been in the palace, and seemed a little embarrassed: "Grandfather..."

"Good boy, good boy."

Xu Yanli nodded with satisfaction and looked at the five children in front of him with loving eyes.

Several colleagues passing by came forward and said, "Congratulations, Grand Master! Bo Jian has won first place at such a young age. His future is undoubtedly bright!"

"That's right, the brothers and sisters are all so outstanding, they are really the envy of others."

Xu Yanli could not hide the smile in his eyes. His usual serious look was gone, and the corners of his mouth were raised almost to his temples.

He returned the greetings one by one.

More and more ministers came to congratulate him.

After all, in the current situation, anyone with eyes can see how much the emperor values ​​this family now.

Why don’t you make friends with me right away?

Compared to the lively atmosphere on Xu Yanli's side, Jiang Zhaorong seemed lonely.

His hands were clenched tightly under his sleeves.

That's obviously his son!

But now, they didn't even look at me.

Some strange eyes were looking at Jiang Zhaorong. Jiang Zhaorong couldn't understand why they were congratulating Xu Yanli while cursing herself in their hearts.

Unable to stay any longer, Jiang Zhaorong turned around and got on the carriage.

After thanking the ministers who came to congratulate them one by one, Xu Yanli and Jiang Bojian got on the carriage.

The others did not follow in. They had been together for a long time and knew that Xu Yanli must have a lot to say to Jiang Bojian. They spontaneously left them some space to be alone and sat in a row outside the carriage.

Jiang Kangan and Jiang Wenjing sat on the outside, while Jiang Zhiyu and Jiang Sulan sat on the inside.

It attracted a lot of attention along the way.

The carriage arrived at Xu's house in a short while.

Jiang Bojian and Meng Hong learned a lot and made the old man laugh.

Even after getting out of the car, she refused to let him go and held on to him tightly.

Jiang Bojian enjoyed it very much.

Tan Shujing sat at the table and looked up: "I'm back."

Compared to Xu Yanli, he is many times more stable.

Xu Yanli's eyes narrowed.

Jiang Zhiyu looked at her suspiciously.

[There's a light layer of sweat on his face, obviously from some exercise. There's still steam rising from the teacup, obviously freshly poured.]

[He must have been pacing around the room worriedly, but when he heard the noise he quickly sat down and pretended not to care.]

[Forget it, I won’t expose it, let’s save some face.]

Tan Shujing: “…”

The others: “…”

Jiang Bojian was the first to speak up, breaking the awkward atmosphere: "Grandma, I'm an unfilial grandson. I haven't been able to see you for such a long time..."

As he spoke, he knelt down.

"Kid, we are all family, what are you doing?" Tan Shujing hurriedly went to help him.

Jiang Bojian stood up with her help. Tan Shujing didn't want to compete with Xu Yanli anymore. She looked at Jiang Bojian's body inch by inch, and then patted him with red eyes: "I'm glad you're back, I'm glad you're back."

Jiang Bojian's voice was choked with sobs. He was afraid that if he continued to follow Tan Shujing's lead, they would both burst into tears. So he changed the subject and asked, "Where's Mom? Why haven't I seen her?"

Jiang Zhiyu had the same question. Calculating the time, she hadn't seen Xu Youran for a long time.

When asked, Jiang Sulan refused to say anything.

"I don't know what your mother wants the farm in the east for. She hasn't been back for a long time. I have sent someone to deliver a letter to her. If she knows you are back, she will definitely come down."

Tan Shujing patted Jiang Bojian's hand gently. A hint of disappointment flashed in Jiang Bojian's eyes, but he still tried to smile.

…

On the other hand, things looked a bit bleak.

Before Jiang Zhaorong entered the courtyard, she heard Song Shiwei's crying and Taohong's exhortation.

Song Shiwei was carrying bags of things and was about to put them on the carriage.

"What is this for?!"

Jiang Zhaorong said angrily.

"Father, Yanli has been confined to his residence for two years by the Emperor. I must return home to look after him!"

Song Shiwei sobbed, but his voice was extremely firm.

"What can you do?" Jiang Zhaorong looked at her with disgust. "The emperor has already ordered that no one is allowed to visit. With your ability, I'm afraid you'll be taken back by the Jinyiwei before you even reach the door."

His words were full of sarcasm, and Song Shiwei looked at him in a daze.

Jiang Zhaorong suddenly felt extremely upset.

When something goes wrong, she just cries. We grew up together, so why is there such a big gap between us?!

Think about Jiang Zhiyu, Jiang Kang'an and Jiang Wenjing, who are highly trusted by the emperor, and then think about Jiang Bojian, who won the top spot in today's palace examination, and the scene in front of the palace.

Jiang Zhaorong felt regret for the first time in her life.

If he had punished Song Shiwei more severely at that time, things would not have come to this point today.