Chapter 137 Thank you, female teacher, for clearing up my doubts.

The family knew about what Ming Er had done, but Ming Sheng didn't say anything, so it wasn't anyone else's place to discipline Ming Er.

Even Mingren, her own mother, couldn't discipline her without going through Mingsheng.

Mingzhuo greatly admired Ming'er, feeling that she had exceptionally high energy levels and never seemed tired despite doing so much.

She couldn't do it. While practicing the horse stance, she had to memorize the text in her mind. After a few times, Mingzhuo found that her mind seemed to become much sharper, so she started to learn to memorize the text while practicing the horse stance.

The family restaurant has been doing very well lately, and the income has increased significantly. Mingsheng bought new clothes for everyone in the family.

The second son of the wife, Ming San, also got a formal name, given to him by Ming Er, which was Ming Xuan.

There's also Ming Si, the daughter of Ming Lao San, who is only a little over a year old and has a long way to go before starting school.

Mingsheng meant that if they were going to choose a formal name, they should choose one for the whole family. So Ming'er wrote down Ming's formal name and called it Mingjing.

These are all characters from the name that the female tutor gave her.

She remembered that there was also the character 婳 in it.

The meaning of 婳 is very good, but Ming Er instinctively dislikes it.

When choosing a formal name for my younger sister, I subconsciously excluded this character.

She felt a vague sense of aversion to this name; she would rather always be called Ming Er than Ming Hua.

She thought that perhaps this word was not suitable for her, just as Ninth Master said, that she and this word were incompatible.

None of this affected Ming'er; he still dreamt of learning how to ride a horse every night.

Every time Ninth Sister saw her, she would stay far away.

Despite Ming Er's solemn oath that he was already very skilled and would never again overpower the Ninth Ninth Master.

"I believe you, my heart believes you one hundred percent." The system glanced around and found a very safe place to stay, saying this in a very perfunctory manner.

Ming Er looked at the system with a puzzled expression, holding the riding whip. "But you've already climbed very high."

As she spoke, Ming Er gestured with her hands, indicating that she and Ninth Sister were almost up to the top of the tree.

Hearing the noise, Xiang Bei carried a baseball bat over and looked up for a long time before she saw the system hiding its figure with leaves.

"Sir, it's not that serious. If you're scared, just say so. It's not like it's anything shameful."

The system tugged at a leaf and grumbled, "I'm not scared, host, don't talk nonsense."

Xiang Bei weighed the baseball in her hand. "Oh, okay. Then you'd better catch it."

The baseball in his hand was knocked away as soon as he finished speaking.

The system squeaked and squeaked on the stick, and for a moment I didn't know where to dodge, so the baseball only hit the stick.

Watching the baseball miss, the system felt confident and started to gloat, "Haha, host, your aim is terrible, you didn't even hit me."

Ming Er looked at the broken tree trunk and said, "Female teacher, the tree..."

Before he could finish speaking, the branch broke, and the system fell headfirst to the ground.

Xiang Bei poked it a couple of times with a baseball bat. Seeing that it was still breathing, she frowned and said, "Hurry up and go to class, stop dawdling."

The system sat on the ground, its entire body almost inflating like a balloon.

The host is clearly doing this on purpose. It's too much! She's gone too far!

Seeing that the Ninth Female Teacher had almost pulled the grass off the ground, Ming Er silently moved to the side.

She didn't know why the Ninth Female Master always called the Female Master "Host," but she interpreted it as meaning "Master."

The bucket that was called out to the female instructor must be the name of the Ninth Female Instructor.

So, is Ninth Female Master called Ninth Bucket?

What a strange name.

Ming Er didn't dwell on the issue too much. Ever since he tamed that horse, Ming Er's horse riding skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

The system handed the bow to Ming Er, saying, "Come on, let's learn archery now."

Seeing the bow being handed to him, Ming Er instinctively reached out to take it, but the bow was too heavy, and it took Ming Er a lot of effort to hold it.

"Master, this bow is so heavy!" Ming Er felt that she was already very strong, but when she held this bow, she still felt that she was not strong enough.

The system floated in mid-air, hands behind its back, and said with a serious expression, "Ming Er, this bow and arrow were custom-made for you. You need to find a way to make this bow recognize you as its master."

Ming Er struggled to hold the bow, but listening to the system's words didn't seem difficult at all; instead, it ignited her fighting spirit.

"Okay, I will definitely make this bow recognize me as its master."

She couldn't even hold a bow, let alone draw it and shoot an arrow.

The system found a place to sit down, took out a fan, and fanned itself. "Practice hard, I believe you will succeed."

"Okay." Ming Er was still struggling with the bow in his hand, but he still managed to reply to the system.

Xiang Bei glanced at the system from the side, then picked up her baseball bat and walked away.

Ming Er was panting heavily and couldn't even draw the bow. The system leaned over and patted her on the shoulder, "Little friend, you still need to keep trying."

"I will definitely draw this bow," Ming Er said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Go back and rest, we'll continue tomorrow." The system waved its fan and saw Ming Er out.

Xiang Bei looked at the bow standing on the ground, walked over in confusion, and picked it up.

She thought it would be heavy, but when she held it in her hand and weighed it a couple of times, she found it to be very light and had no weight at all.

"Commander, aren't you bullying a child a bit?"

The system shook its head and said calmly, "This is just a challenge I set for Ming Er. If it's too easy, she'll get the illusion that she can do anything. I need to set difficulties and challenges for her so she can grow through them."

"Well done, Tong, you're becoming more and more like a teacher."

Xiang Bei drew back the bow in her hand, tried it out, and felt that it felt alright.

He took another arrow and nocked it.

The system looked at Xiang Bei nervously, "Su Su Su, host, don't come any closer."

"Commander, don't run away!"

The system wouldn't listen to her and ran off in a flash.

*

Even as Ming Er was sleeping, he kept muttering that he was sure he could draw the bow.

That bow was indeed difficult, but for Ming Er, it was a challenge.

While she was battling with her bow and arrow, the results of her previous exams were finally released.

Ming Er once again ranked first in the examination, achieving the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations and becoming a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

Mingzhuo didn't make it into the top three this time, ranking fifth, and he is a true scholar.

When the messenger arrived with good news, the Ming family had already prepared gifts.

This time, instead of giving out celebratory money to the neighbors, the restaurant offered a three-day discount. If anyone asked, they said it was because two of their children had become scholars, to bring joy to everyone.

For the past three days, in addition to the cheap food, they also give away a free bowl of pork offal soup.

Before long, the news spread throughout the neighborhood, and everyone knew that the Ming family restaurant had produced two scholars.

One of the scholars even passed the imperial examination with top honors in all three categories.

The more lively Ming Family Restaurant became, the more attention it attracted.

The little beggars that Ming Er had befriended before came in handy now. When someone was lurking around the Ming family's house, they would tip Ming Er off.

"I understand, thank you." Ming Er gave them food and money, but didn't make a fuss about it.

Within two days, they caught the person who had put croton seeds in the food. Mingsheng ordered his two daughters to beat the man half to death and then take him to the county government to file a complaint.

Someone audaciously poisoned the restaurant owned by two scholars with croton seeds. The county magistrate immediately ordered an interrogation and discovered that the mastermind was actually the owner of a nearby restaurant.

The other party felt that Ming Family Restaurant was stealing their business, and in a moment of desperation, they took action, but they didn't expect to be caught so quickly.

Old Man Ming pointed at the other person and began to curse. Ever since he came to the city, he felt that things were different at home now, and he had restrained his temper.

I really couldn't hold back anymore.

His family was just starting to get by, and the two sisters, Mingda and Ming, were doing well. If something really happened to them, everything would be ruined.

The restaurant owner was filled with regret. Both of Ming's daughters had passed the imperial examinations and were now scholars, having earned official titles. What they had done was enough to land them in jail.

This alerted the Ming family, especially regarding the kitchen, which they insisted on having a close watch on to prevent anyone from putting anything in there.

If the diners get sick from the food, not only will the restaurant have to close down, but the future of Mingda and Ming'er schools could also be ruined.

Now that both Ming Da and Ming Er have become scholars, they no longer need to kneel before the county magistrate. Anyone who tried to get croton oil in their family restaurant has been arrested, so naturally, the people here dare not provoke the Ming family anymore.

The food has been cheaper these past few days, so more people are coming to eat.

It wasn't that no one had tried to imitate Ming's restaurant. At first, the family was quite angry, but Ming Sheng was easygoing, since it wasn't the first time someone had imitated him.

Those people can only imitate how they talk, not how the food tastes. As long as the food is delicious and the portions are generous, customers will always come.

Ming'er doesn't need to worry about things at home; with Mingsheng in charge, they can just focus on their studies.

Mingzhuo dared not slack off; she not only had to study but also began practicing martial arts. She felt that her body was much stronger than before, and she no longer felt the biting cold in winter.

Ming'er's daily routine remains the same, and the family is used to it.

Besides teaching the older sister, Ming Er also brought out the younger sisters, saying that it was better to start practicing now than to wait until later.

Mingxuan is a bit better off; he's also of age to become a prefect.

Even the youngest, Mingjing, couldn't walk steadily, yet he had to start learning horse stance.

Unfortunately, everyone in the family thought that Ming Er was doing the right thing. After a while, Ming Jing still had tears on his face, but he stood firmly in his horse stance.

Ming'er wasn't in a hurry. The provincial examination was held every three years, and she was quite confident in her abilities.

These three years have passed quickly, in the blink of an eye.

Ming Er is already ten years old. Perhaps because she exercises regularly and eats a lot, she looks taller than her older sister Ming Zhuo. If you go out and say that she is the older sister, people will believe you.

Mingzhuo tried her best to eat, but her appetite was nowhere near that of Ming'er, whose appetite was equivalent to that of half the family. Luckily, the family owned a restaurant, otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford to feed Ming'er.

Ming Er's horsemanship and archery skills are quite good now, and the system has also given him the horse and bow and arrows in the space.

Knowing that it was a gift from the gods, Mingsheng led his whole family to kneel and worship the statue of the god in excitement.

It was the first time they had ever seen such tall horses, and even the bows and arrows looked different.

The provincial examination required them to go to the provincial capital, and once again, Ming Sheng personally escorted Ming Da and Ming Er there. She always did it herself; she just didn't feel comfortable letting anyone else do it.

She didn't dare to speak in front of the statue of the god. Although she always prayed to the gods to bless her so that she could become the top scholar in the imperial examination, she still dared not easily say that she could achieve the highest honors in six consecutive examinations.

Ming Sheng and the others rode in a carriage, while Ming Er rode her own horse, which she named Swift Wind.

The provincial capital and the county town are two completely different kinds of prosperity. You can feel the difference as soon as you enter the city.

They arrived a month early. There were quite a few candidates taking the provincial examination this time, and if they arrived late, there would be no place to stay.

Now that the family has made money, Mingsheng naturally wants to ensure his two granddaughters live well, and then tells them to do well in their exams.

If both granddaughters pass the imperial examination with flying colors, they will need to prepare to go to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination.

Mingsheng had a strong premonition that Ming'er would definitely pass the imperial examination with top honors this time.

But it's hard to say, for fear of discouraging her eldest granddaughter. Mingzhuo is also a very hardworking person.

Mingsheng took out the statue again and prayed to it, but Xiang Bei was now able to ignore her actions.

Then he casually grabbed something from the counter to eat.

Xiang Bei was unaware that the more she acted this way, the more at ease Ming Sheng became. Since the gods had eaten her offerings, they would surely bless her two granddaughters.

Therefore, Mingsheng believes he can pass the exam this time as well.

Before entering the examination hall, Mingsheng gave two bags of dry food to his two sisters and told them to do well on the exam. After the exam, they could not leave the provincial capital immediately; they had to wait for the results to be released.

If you pass, you'll have to go to the capital to take the imperial examination.

Seeing that Ming Er had actually become the top scholar, Ming Sheng was no longer as excited as she had been when she first became the top scholar; she had already guessed this outcome.

This was expected, nothing to get excited about.

I never expected that the University of Minnesota would come in third place this time.

The messenger who brought the good news had already delivered it to them once. Mingsheng prepared some red envelopes and handed them over. The news also needed to be reported to the county magistrate and then to the Ming family to announce the good news.

Mingsheng hurried home with his two granddaughters.

After seeing off the messenger, they planned to send Ming Da and Ming Er to the capital.

"Mother, isn't it too early to go now? We're not that far from the capital." Mingren asked, puzzled.

"You don't know anything. Just listen to me, you can't go wrong." Ming Sheng waved his hand and sent Ming Ren away.

They decided to take Mingyi and his wife with them when they left.

“You two are both good at running the restaurant, so I’ll leave the household to you. I’ll take my second son and his wife to Beijing to see if we can settle down there.”

Everyone thought Mingsheng was bragging. Settling down in the county town was nothing to them, but settling down in the capital was something they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Ming Shengcai didn't care what they thought. "Old man, I'm leaving the house to you. If they don't behave, have Ming San write to me and see how I deal with them when I get back."

"Go ahead without worry, I'll take care of things at home." Old Man Ming watched them leave, feeling quite happy.

Looking back at the plaque above their restaurant, they saw that it was personally inscribed by the county magistrate. Who would dare to offend them in the future?

Mingsheng took Mingyi and his wife to the capital, naturally so that Mingyi could ask the immortal for a prescription again.

The prescription given by the immortal made Mingsheng's eyes light up.

"Scholar's porridge? This is good, this is wonderful!" Mingsheng looked on with a broad smile.

The name sounded auspicious; it was as if the gods were telling her that Ming Er would definitely become the top scholar. There was also a recipe for some kind of skewers dish. Ming Sheng glanced at it briefly and tossed it to his second son and his wife, while he focused on the recipe for the Scholar's Porridge.

When facing his own mother, Mingyi, as always, resorted to his inability to speak.

"Mother, this name is good, but what if someone drinks our porridge and doesn't become the top scholar in the imperial examination?"

Before Mingsheng could get angry, Mingda spoke up, "Second Aunt, what are you afraid of? This is just for good luck with the name. If someone actually drinks our porridge and becomes the top scholar, then it will truly be the top scholar porridge."

Mingsheng nodded, "That's right. Over the years, you've been quite eloquent in restaurants, but when it comes to your own family, you're still so stubborn. Let's just call this skewer shop 'Scholar's Skewers. We can just ride on the coattails of the name. If our Ming'er really does become the top scholar, what's there to worry about?"

“That’s right, with Ming Er here, what are we afraid of?” Ming Da nodded in agreement.

It takes three years to produce a top scholar (Zhuangyuan), and it's not like drinking the "Zhuangyuan porridge" will actually make you a top scholar; everyone knows it's just a lucky charm.

Mingyi's mouth moved, but Mingsheng glared at her and said, "Shut your mouth back."

I knew the second brother wouldn't say anything nice, so shutting him up was the best decision.

Mingyi stopped talking, scratching his head and grinning foolishly. Listening to his mother was always the right thing to do.

Upon arriving in the capital, they first found an inn to stay at, and then went to the real estate brokerage to inquire.

I heard he was a candidate going to the capital for the imperial examination. The brokers were quite enthusiastic. If he really became the top scholar, the house he stayed in would be rented out for more money.

The house that the previous top scorer rented was rented out after he moved out, and the price increased several times over.

As long as there's business to be done, the people at the brokerage firm are still very helpful.

The old lady's request was a bit strange.

But no matter what kind of house it is, they're the ones to go to.

Mingsheng wanted to buy the house, but he wanted to see if he could do business there first. Houses in the capital, even in remote areas, were much more expensive than in the county town.

Once they found a place to rent, they moved in immediately.

Mingda and Ming'er were in charge of studying, while Mingsheng led Mingzi and his wife to try making "Zhuangyuan skewers" and "Zhuangyuan porridge".

Skewers can be eaten cold or hot, which is quite convenient.

When it's hot, you can eat it cold, sold together with jelly noodles and cold skin noodles. When it's cold, you can eat it hot, fresh out of the pot, it's so delicious.

Ming Er will continue to interact with the people around him.

People in the capital are different from those back home, so Ming Er was very careful in his actions.

After staying for a few days, she found out some information and told her older sister when she returned.

"It is said that the chief examiner for this imperial examination is the third princess, Zhongli Shuang, personally appointed by His Majesty."

Ming Er also inquired about the chief examiner.

Speaking of this third princess, one must mention that she had a father who almost rebelled. That imperial attendant, incited by someone, attempted to seize power and even threatened the emperor with the life of the third princess to force him to abdicate.

Little did they know that His Majesty the Emperor had already known about this matter, made preparations, and captured the traitors.

As a royal attendant, she plotted against the emperor, enraging His Majesty, who ordered the execution of the entire family of the third princess's father. Unexpectedly, this act led to the third princess being lost to the common people and not being found until two years ago.

Perhaps feeling guilty towards his third daughter, His Majesty the Emperor doted on her especially, bestowing upon her a title and granting her a more fertile fiefdom than his other sisters.

There were even rumors in the court that His Majesty the Emperor intended to make his third daughter the Crown Prince.

Ming Sheng only overheard it briefly and didn't pay much attention. The Emperor and the Princess were too far removed from her life.

Mingda listened attentively to many things, as there were many things they needed to know to participate in the imperial examinations.

Ming Er also thought about it for a moment. When he returned to his room, he would talk to his Ninth Female Master about the current situation in the court.

She felt that Ninth Sister was a very capable person. When she had questions, Ninth Sister's words would enlighten her and make things clear.

Although it sometimes seems unreliable.

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, female teacher." Ming Er bowed deeply to the system.