Chapter 231 Hongxiu's suitors: some are happy, some are sad

Hongxiu found it strange, "The Crown Princess also likes to eat this pastry. It's very famous and very expensive. We used to buy it often and had to queue up. How come you bought so much so quickly this time?"

Cheng Feng said, "Then I must thank Miss Hongxiu for her patronage. This pastry shop is owned by me, and the pastries inside are all carefully developed by me. They are made with various flowers as raw materials, and are not as sweet as powdered sugar. Moreover, they can beautify and nourish the skin for women."

Hongxiu laughed and said, "Beauty and skincare? You're just creating a gimmick!"

"I didn't expect Miss Hongxiu to be so clever, seeing through it at a glance, but it wasn't entirely useless." Cheng Feng didn't hide anything.

Hongxiu said, "But your pastries are indeed quite delicious, and your business is so good. You must be making a lot of money selling them at such high prices!"

"A little bit of silver is no problem to prepare a betrothal gift and get a wife," Cheng Feng blurted out.

Hongxiu remained silent, her expression indifferent.

Cheng Feng turned to look at her. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Focus on driving, there's nothing to say." She wasn't planning on getting married anyway. If her mistress went to the palace, she would follow her to serve her. She and Lianye had already made a promise to follow their mistress for life, no matter where she went.

Seeing that she had become indifferent, Cheng Feng did not dare to speak easily. It had been so long since they had finally spoken. In fact, he had known Hongxiu for a long time. She used to come here often to buy snacks, so he knew her.

Is she unhappy because he sold the pastries at a high price and she feels he made a lot of money off them?

Cheng Feng decided to lower the price and sell it cheaper when he got back.

-

On the other side, Feng Jingyuan, along with Zhang Yumo and Jiang Rumeng, arrived at the entrance of the examination hall early in the morning to wait for the results to be announced. Although they knew that Jiang Jinyan was capable of passing the exam, they were still very nervous. Rather than waiting at home, they decided to go out and join in the excitement.

As soon as the gates of the examination hall opened, officials came out to drive away the candidates and their families who were crowding in, and the scene instantly became chaotic.

Everyone was nervous and expectant. Grand Tutor Pan personally came to the entrance of the examination hall to give everyone psychological counseling. "Everyone, please calm down and be quiet. Ten years of hard study have been waiting for this day. Compared with the terrible scene during the exams these past few days, I am very gratified today. Your efforts have paid off."

Several promising students in this year's exams possess excellent writing skills and unique insights. With proper nurturing, they will surely become pillars of the nation in the future. As for who they are, I won't say; just look at the results!

As soon as the officers and soldiers posted the list on the bulletin board, the atmosphere instantly became lively, with candidates and their families rushing forward to look for their names.

Soon someone exclaimed excitedly, "I won! I won! I'm on the list, number forty-eight!"

"I got in too, twenty-eighth place..."

"I passed, Mom and Dad, I passed!"

A cacophony of voices rose and fell from the crowd: some were happy, some broke down in tears, some cried and cursed, and some threw tantrums. The scene was chaotic.

The invigilator was the highly respected Grand Tutor Pan. He caught many students cheating in the examination hall, including the sons of high-ranking officials. He upheld fairness and justice, and no one dared to object.

Outside the examination hall, there were many fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law waiting to choose their sons-in-law. The scene was even more exciting than the exam itself, with everyone fighting and scrambling to grab a son-in-law.

Looking at the scene, Feng Jingyuan sighed, "It's a good thing Ruan Ruan didn't come. She's so pregnant, what would have happened if she had been squeezed like that?"

They couldn't squeeze in either. Jiang Zhiqin, the fourth young master of the Jiang family, and the doorman Jiang Can squeezed to the front like two eels. When they found Jiang Jinyan's name was second, they were a little disappointed. Then they glanced at the first name, which was Xiao Yu, and they didn't want to look at the others.

Jiang Zhiqin also saw that his mother and second sister were unable to get in from the outside, so he stood on tiptoe and waved to the outside, "Mother, I'm here. My eldest brother won, he won second place."

Those queuing to see who the next son-in-law was instantly dazzled when they heard the name of the second-place candidate. "Whose son is the second-place candidate? Is he married or has a fiancée?"

Jiang Zhiqin said, "The eldest son of the Jiang family has already married the granddaughter of the Duke of Zhang. You all have no chance."

"Ah, so it's the eldest son of Grand Tutor Jiang. Is he looking to take a concubine? My daughter is fifteen, gentle, beautiful, and has a generous dowry..." A wealthy-looking man stopped Jiang Zhiqin.

"My daughter is sixteen years old, and my family's dowry..."

Jiang Zhiqin quickly stopped them, saying, "We will not take concubines. The men of the Jiang family will not take concubines. Thank you all."

The woman before him saw that he was exquisitely handsome, as if he had stepped out of a painting, and asked, "Young man, are you married? My granddaughter is only fifteen years old..."

"I'm only fourteen years old, I'm not getting married." He was at his wit's end, desperately trying to squeeze his way out, wishing he hadn't come at all.

Just then, a handsome young man dressed in fine clothes burst into tears, crying, "Look again, why isn't my name on the list? How could I have failed the exam?"

"Young master, your name really isn't on the list. Maybe we should just give up!" The servant was embarrassed for him. The young master had only studied diligently for a few days. He wanted to become the top scholar, but there were plenty of people who had studied hard for over ten or even decades and still hadn't passed the exam.

"What do you mean 'forget it'? How can I face Miss Lin if I didn't become the top scholar? How can I marry her?" Guo Xiao never expected that even if he didn't make the list, he could at least be last on the list.

The servant was speechless. "Young Master is really going all out for Miss Lin."

Another servant advised, "Young master, don't be sad. Miss Lin Yu has seen all your efforts. Sincerity can move mountains, and you will surely move her."

When Jiang Zhiqin heard what they were saying, he felt that this was the real lunatic.

Huh! Miss Lin Yu, which Lin Yu? Are they talking about Sister Lin?

Jiang Zhiqin kept a close eye on him and carefully examined him before realizing that he was Guo Xiao, the纨绔公子 (playboy) from the Guo family.

He had heard of Guo Xiao, who led a group of纨绔子弟 (spoiled young masters) from Shengjing City to play outside every day, doing nothing productive.

He also took the imperial examination, but luckily he failed, otherwise everyone would have said that Grand Tutor Pan had cheated by accepting bribes.

Since he still harbored desires for Sister Lin Yu, Jiang Zhiqin also took Guo Xiao to heart.

At that moment, the crowd suddenly became agitated.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Someone cheated! Wang Qing is a complete idiot. How could he be on the list and even get fifth place? He probably paid money to get that ranking!"

Everyone was shocked upon hearing about cheating. Those who studied hard failed, while the good-for-nothing passed. How could this be? Wasn't it said that Grand Tutor Pan was impartial and selfless?

“It’s also possible that other officials leaked the exam questions. We’re not happy about that. Some candidates cheated, so did they all take bribes?”

"Let's all make a scene! This matter must be more complicated than it seems. If we don't make a scene, no one will take care of it, and all our efforts over the years will be in vain!"

"A person's entire life can be ruined by these corrupt officials. All that talk about first place and second place is a lie..."