Chapter 247: Zhu's House, Crowded with People

"I didn't expect you to be so good. You are actually the second place in the high school entrance examination. I underestimated you before."

Wenren Yuebai lowered his eyes again with some boredom, wondering what she was going to ask next.

The next moment, a silver plate filled with all kinds of delicacies appeared before his eyes.

Qiao Youyou casually pulled over a low stool and sat down, looking straight at Wenren Yuebai, blinking and saying:

"I see they've been surrounding you for quite some time, and you haven't eaten a single bite. Look, all the delicious food has been snatched away. Luckily I secretly kept some for myself."

Wenren Yuebai's eyes trembled slightly.

Qiao Youyou raised her head and deliberately glared at the people around her, as if wondering why they were still standing there.

Those people also realized that Wenren Yuebai had not eaten anything. They looked embarrassed and made excuses to leave.

Wenren Yuebai did not reach out to take the silver plate handed over by Qiao Youyou, and there seemed to be a thin layer of frost in the bottom of his eyes.

"This kind of small matter doesn't need others to do it for you."

"ah?"

Qiao Youyou took a moment to react, then blinked and said, "You don't think... these are all for you, do you?"

Wenren Yuebai raised his eyes to look at her, with a hint of confusion in his cold expression.

"I saw that some delicious snacks were almost sold out, so I kept a few for myself. I saw that you didn't eat anything just now, so I came to share some with you as a friend. If I give you all, what should I eat?"

As Qiao Youyou spoke, she reached out and took a piece of peach blossom cake from the plate, put it into her mouth and started chewing.

Wenren Yuebai stared at her for a long while. There seemed to be a moment of surprise in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared along with the layer of frost.

He withdrew his gaze and elegantly picked up a piece of steamed chestnut flour cake with osmanthus sugar with a few fingers. His stomach growled at the right moment.

"Wait!" Qiao Youyou said suddenly.

Wenren Yuebai stopped and looked at her.

Qiao Youyou stared at his hand and hesitated for a long time before speaking:

“That sweet-scented osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut flour cake is the last piece left and I haven’t tried it yet.

Um, can you... break me a little bit?"

Wenren Yuebai was slightly startled and subconsciously handed the pastry back to her.

"No, no, just break off half of it." Qiao Youyou pinched the outer layer of oil paper, broke off half of it, and stuffed the other half back into Wenren Yuebai's hand.

"Hmm, as expected, the cakes made by the royal chef taste different...!"

…

Jiangzhou.

"Dad! Mom! Auntie! Aunt Su!" Zhu Chao shouted loudly outside the brand new gate of the Zhu residence. The clear childish voice echoed in the empty courtyard.

"Come out quickly, the people from the Ministry of Rites will be here soon!"

Pei Yue walked out first, followed by Su, Du Lanfang and Zhu Hongming.

Zhu Chao held his knees with his hands, panting, and loudly announced the news he had just heard with excitement on his face.

"Sister Lan, Sister Lan is the top scorer in high school!"

Pei Yue took a deep breath when she heard that. A hint of disbelief flashed across her eyes, and she unconsciously clenched the handkerchief in her hand.

"Then..." Su took a step forward eagerly. Before she could finish her words, Zhu Chao excitedly continued, "Sister Qingyan also won the third place!"

Su's body trembled and she almost fainted. Both she and Pei Yue had slightly red eyes.

The two women grabbed each other's hands, both choking with sobs, and it was hard to tell whose hand was trembling slightly.

Only Du Lanfang's loud voice was filled with pure joy: "Quick, Chao'er, go buy some firecrackers! We'll open the ancestral hall later and make your grandfather happy!"

"Okay!" Zhu Chao straightened his hat and left. But as soon as he stepped out of the door, seven or eight firecracker vendors had heard the news and gathered at the door.

Afterwards, officials from the capital rode in at full speed, announcing the achievements of Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan loudly in the streets and alleys of Jiangzhou. In less than half a day, the news spread like wildfire throughout the entire Jiangzhou city. People flocked to Zhu's house to see the lively scene.

Pei Yue and Su received the good news from the officials and were so excited that they could hardly control themselves and could no longer hear what others were saying.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law?" Du Lanfang called out to Pei Yue, and then to Su. Seeing that both of them were so happy that they seemed silly, he couldn't help but sigh heavily.

There are so many things to prepare right now, why are these two just standing there?

Du Lanfang was helpless. Alas, it turned out that he had to rely on himself as the pillar of the family at critical moments.

This family will fall apart sooner or later without her!

"Hurry, Chao'er, go and ask the county magistrate where we should build our new gate." After all, when Lan Jie'er won the top spot in the imperial examination, an archway had already been built at the gate. We can't have two archways squeezed together.

Du Lanfang rolled up his sleeves and got busy, directing Zhu Chao while asking Zhu Hongming to withdraw money from his family account and give it to the official who came to deliver the message as a prize. After taking care of everything inside and outside, everything was in perfect order, reversing the chaotic situation.

The imperial examination was held every three years, and it was a great joy for any prefecture to have a top three student. Who would have thought that two of the top three students this time were from Jiangzhou, and from the same prefecture!

When the good news from Zhu's house came, the whole Jiangzhou city was in an uproar.

The Zhu family is not blessed by Wenquxing, it is Wenquxing who refuses to leave! If this blessing comes a step later, I am afraid I will miss it.

Some of the more resourceful people have already hurried home to look for their land deeds.

"What do you want the title deed for?" asked the daughter-in-law.

"Hurry, let's sell this house and go to Nanqiao Lane in front of Zhu's house. Maybe we can snatch a small tiled house!"

"Selling such a big house to buy a small tiled house!?"

"No, no, no. We may not be able to get the small tiled house in Nanqiao Lane. We may still have a chance in Yangliu Lane, which is one street over. Hurry up, or it will be too late!"

While Du Lanfang was still spending his money lavishly and handing out red envelopes to neighbors and fellow villagers who came to congratulate him, he didn't know that the prices of houses within a five-mile radius of Zhu's house had tripled or quadrupled.

In addition to those who are anxious to buy a house, there are also those who are eager to propose marriage.

However, the Zhu family had two beautiful girls who passed the imperial examination. Since they were both girls, ordinary men did not dare to approach them. For a while, many young men in Jiangzhou City sighed.

Families with daughters seemed to see hope, and they came to Zhu Chao's house one after another to arrange marriages with him, which frightened the eight-year-old Zhu Chao so much that he fled. The incident ended with several families fighting for the "right to betrothal" and almost fighting at the door of Zhu's house.

The excitement lasted all night long, and Pei Yue's joy was finally diluted a little by the fatigue.

She and Su went back to the inner courtyard hand in hand and were finally able to rest for a while. Little Zhu Chao was massaging Du Lanfang's shoulders sensibly.

When Pei Yue and Su saw this scene, their longing for their daughter suddenly surged into their hearts.

Su sighed, "The exams are over, and I don't know when I can come home."

"Aunt Su, don't worry about it. My two sisters won't be back for a while." Zhu Chao's little face was full of confidence.

"Tsk!" Du Lanfang turned around and glared at him, disliking her son for not being able to speak.

Zhu Chao, however, counted for them in a very serious manner, like a little adult.

"My two elder sisters have passed the imperial examinations and attended the ceremony. They will also go to the Meridian Gate to express their gratitude. On the first day of May, Sister Lan will lead the newly elected scholars to the Confucius Temple to perform the ceremony of releasing the imperial robes. After that, they will go to Yilun Hall to pay respects to the Imperial Academy's chief academic officer and the dean... There are so many things to do!"

"Wow, you know a lot." Du Lanfang glanced at his son, teasing him with joy in his eyes.

"That's right." Zhu Chao raised his head proudly. "My two sisters and I are both scholars, so naturally we have to understand these rules and familiarize ourselves with the procedures in advance."

Su thought about it. She really didn't know much about the court and the imperial examination, so she asked Zhu Chao, "Now that your two sisters have passed the imperial examination, will they stay in the capital to become officials?"

Xiao Zhuchao cleared his throat and answered seriously, "According to the convention of our dynasty, the top three in the palace examination shall enter the Hanlin Academy. Sister Lan, as the champion, must be a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, and Sister Qingyan, as the third place winner, must at least be an editor in the Hanlin Academy."

"What's the difference?" Su asked again.

Zhu Chao scratched the back of his head, unable to answer. He was only eight years old, and this question was somewhat beyond the scope.

At this time Zhu Hongming just walked in. Little Zhu Chao turned around and threw the question to his father without thinking.

After hearing this, Zhu Hongming smiled and said, "They are all responsible for compiling the national history, drafting imperial edicts, and serving as lecturers in the imperial lectures in the Hanlin Academy. It's just that the position of editor is slightly lower than that of editor."

Du Lanfang grabbed a handful of melon seeds and seemed a little dissatisfied after listening to Zhu Hongming's words, "What? It sounds like he is just like the clerk under the county magistrate. He should at least be given a title of county magistrate or prefect, but in the end he is nothing. This court is really stingy..."

Zhu Hongming was speechless for a moment, wanting to say "You know shit", but because of Pei Yue and Su's presence, he held back and snorted:

"You are nothing. I think you are nothing! The Hanlin Academy editors are people close to the emperor. They discuss knowledge with the emperor and the princes every day. As a clerk, you are the clerk closest to the emperor. Do you understand that you are a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister?"

Du Lanfang curled her lips, "So according to you, they will spend their whole lives writing for the emperor in the Hanlin Academy?"

"Writing? You don't know how powerful writing is!" Zhu Hongming sneered, his expression exaggerated. "Do you know that our Daliang's left prime minister was also a compiler in the Hanlin Academy?"