Chapter 504 Miss Lin's Thoughts

Cheng Wanwan explained her intentions.

Madam Lin immediately agreed: "These are minor matters, not worth Anren making a special trip for."

“This is no small matter,” Cheng Wanwan said. “I’m just a peasant woman, and I don’t know anything about things in the capital. When the gifts arrive in the capital, I’ll have to trouble the Lin family to take them to the palace. I don’t know if it will cause any trouble for the Lin family in the capital.”

"The current head of the Lin family is my master's maternal uncle, who is also the Grand Tutor of the court. How could there be any trouble?" Madam Lin said with a smile, then suddenly frowned. "By the way, has Madam An heard about what happened in the provincial capital?"

Cheng Wanwan nodded: "I heard that more than 130 candidates have all been disqualified from the provincial examination."

Every three years, Yunnan Province produces about two hundred successful candidates in the provincial examinations, but more than half of them are disqualified. In the provincial examination next February, Yunnan Province will probably become a laughing stock of the Great Yu Dynasty... However, if Zhao'er ranks high in the provincial examination, she may be able to win back some reputation for Yunnan Province.

Madam Lin asked with concern, "I wonder if Young Master Cheng is alright..."

“My nephew has never liked gatherings, so he escaped unscathed by not going,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “He’s planning to go to the capital in a few days. Going early will allow him to rent a small courtyard and familiarize himself with the city. I wonder if he’ll be able to travel with the Lin family?”

In this era, some places enjoy favorable weather, while others inevitably suffer from drought or floods. Almost every year, there are homeless refugees. If the government provides timely disaster relief, all is well; but if it doesn't, the refugees turn into bandits and rob people on the road, which is a very dangerous situation.

Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng, two scholars, along with three others, traveled a long distance from Yunnan Province to the capital. There were too many uncertainties on the way. If they could travel with the Lin family's birthday celebration procession, which was, after all, an official's procession, they would be greeted by government post stations along the way, which would greatly increase their safety.

Madam Lin readily agreed. Last time, Sui Anren saved her daughter, preventing her from being forced to marry into the Zheng family. She had always wanted to do something for Sui Anren, and now that she could help Sui Anren in some way, she finally felt more at ease.

The two talked for a while before Cheng Wanwan got up to say goodbye.

Mrs. Lin wanted her to stay for dinner, but she declined. She was not particular about etiquette when it came to meals and didn't like to follow rules. She felt a little restrained in other people's homes.

“Mother, I’ll go with you to see the Sui’an people off.”

Miss Lin walked out from the side, dressed in a light blue dress, looking very charming and possessing the most beautiful appearance of a young girl.

Madam Lin chuckled: "You, my girl, dislike entertaining guests the most, but today you actually took the initiative to see the people from Sui'an off. You've finally improved a bit."

Miss Lin blushed slightly and escorted Cheng Wanwan to the door.

Just as Cheng Wanwan was about to help Granny Qi into the carriage, Miss Lin suddenly stepped forward and whispered, "Sui'an native, if I may ask, has Young Master Shen been implicated?"

Although the incident in the provincial capital caused quite a stir, the names of the arrested scholars were not leaked in order to protect their reputations. Otherwise, these people might still be affected by public opinion in the upcoming imperial examination three years later.

Because the Yunnan provincial government did not release the names, the Lin family was unable to find out exactly who had been imprisoned.

Miss Lin had been embroidering in the side hall of the flower hall. She only heard her mother ask if Young Master Cheng had been implicated, but she never mentioned Young Master Chen. She was itching to find out what was going on, so she used the excuse of seeing off a guest to come and find out.

Cheng Wanwan was completely stunned.

Why would a young lady from a respectable family ask about Xiao Zheng's situation?

She looked at Miss Lin, whose face was flushed. Oh my, could it be what she imagined?

By the way, Xiao Zheng mentioned before that if he passed the imperial examination, he would ask his godmother to help him propose marriage. Could it be that he has his eye on the eldest daughter of the Lin family?

"Rong'er." Madam Lin frowned. "Why are you asking this?"

Her daughter was like a blank sheet of paper. She used to be able to see right through her daughter's thoughts, but now she couldn't understand what her daughter meant by asking this question.

Could it be that her carefully raised daughter has really been bewitched by someone?

“Xiao Zheng is fine.” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, “There weren’t many people who passed the imperial examination in Huzhou this year, so it’s normal for Miss Lin to ask about it.”

Mrs. Lin pursed her lips.

Is this normal? Not at all.

When has her daughter ever cared about such things? This behavior is really out of line.

After seeing Cheng Wanwan off, Madam Lin called her daughter into her bedroom and said sternly, "Tell me, what exactly is going on between you and that Shen Zheng?"

Miss Lin was initially quite composed, but under her mother's stern gaze, she slowly lowered her head and murmured, "He helped me out last time, and I didn't get a chance to thank him properly, so I asked about his situation. I really didn't mean anything by it."

Madam Lin wanted to say something more, but fearing it would backfire, she pulled Lord Lin aside and said that evening, "Let Xiao Yan go to the capital this time. Firstly, it will allow him to pay his respects to your uncle's family in advance, and secondly, it will allow him to get closer to that Young Master Cheng. If Young Master Cheng becomes a top scholar in the imperial examination, our Xiao Yan will be able to get to know the newly promoted official in advance."

The eldest son of the Lin family is named Lin Yan. He is thirteen years old this year and is only a student in the imperial examination. Lord Lin has high hopes for him.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the head of the Lin family is the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty. He is his uncle, which is a distance from him. His uncle is a rigid and upright man who has made it clear that all Lin family members must obtain official titles through their own abilities. If they do not have this ability, then they should go into business. In other words, if Xiao Yan does not work hard, he may become a merchant in the future.

Who would want their child to go into business?

Lord Lin immediately nodded: "I have something to take care of. Go talk to Xiao Yan."

Madam Lin called her son over and explained the matter in detail. Lin Yan was immediately overjoyed. He had grown up in the capital, but had to come here because his father was sent to a post outside the capital. He was not used to being away from his hometown. This time, he could stay in the capital until after the New Year, and without his parents to look after him, he would be very carefree.

"On this trip back to the capital, two other successful candidates will be traveling with you. One is Cheng Zhao, who was the top scorer in the previous provincial examination, and the other is Shen Zheng, the son of Lord Shen. You should learn more about writing from Cheng Zhao. Also—" Madam Lin paused, "A year ago, it was said that Shen Zheng would never pass the county-level examination, but now he has become a successful candidate. You can also get to know Shen Zheng better."

Lin Yan nodded: "Mother, I've remembered everything."

Madam Lin sighed, feeling somewhat reluctant to part with her son, but hoping even more that he would learn something from this trip. She also had a small selfish wish: that her son could get close to Shen Zheng, because only through deep interaction could one truly see what kind of person he was.