Chapter 37 Ranking

Early in the morning, Su Zhao asked Madam Wei to kill a hen and made a pot of chicken soup herself. She not only put wolfberries, fungus, lotus seeds, and red dates in it, but also took out the ginseng that the county magistrate had given her, cut off a piece of the ginseng and put it in.

The chicken soup was cooked at noon, and the aroma spread a mile away. Su Lanzhang was so delicious that she couldn't help swallowing her saliva from time to time.

But it was dark and their stomachs were rumbling. Su Lanzhang didn't say that he wanted to eat first. He just sat on the doorstep with Su Huihui, glancing towards the village entrance from time to time.

Mrs. Su Zhao was also getting impatient, but after glancing at the two children at the door, she said, "Lan Zhang, Hui Hui, are you hungry? Why don't you eat something first?"

Su Lanzhang shook her head like a rattle: "Mom, I'm not hungry. I want to wait for my second brother to come back and eat together."

Su Huihui also nodded.

Su Zhaoshi wanted to persuade him again. When Su Dianli was still alive, she treated these two illegitimate children in the same way. Now that Su Dianli was dead, she was more sincere to the two children.

Aunt Bai smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry about them. They won't have the heart to eat until Erlang comes back."

"These two children are my real Erlang." Su Zhao said with a smile, but she felt that this was the best. Dalang was gone, and the Su family was weak after all. Ming Zhang and Cao Zhang were cousins, so there was always a layer of distance between them. It would be better if Lan Zhang and Huihui were closer to Feng'er.

"Second brother is back!" Su Lanzhang suddenly shouted, jumped up and ran out.

Su Zhao also hurried out and saw an ox cart swaying towards them. Sitting in the carriage were Su Fengzhang and Second Uncle Su.

"Second brother, you are back. Are you tired? Is the test difficult?" This is Su Lanzhang.

"Second brother, drink some water and take a rest first." This is Su Huihui.

"Feng'er, come in quickly, wash your face and rest a little before eating." This is Su Zhaoshi.

Aunt Bai and others also expressed their concern and several of them blocked the door to talk.

Su Fengzhang was helpless and warm-hearted, so he could only say one by one: "I'm not tired, mother, let's go in first, second uncle, you can eat here before going back?"

Su Zhao also called out, "His second uncle, come in and have a rest. You've been working hard these past few days. Come in quickly."

Uncle Su said quickly, "Don't worry, the family is still waiting. Eat, and I'll take you to the city to see the list in two days."

After saying this, he drove away in his carriage without waiting for them to pull anyone over.

Su Fengzhang was pulled into the house. Su Lanzhang moved a stool for him, Su Huihui brought him a cup of warm water, and Su Zhaoshi got him some water to wash his face. Aunt Bai and the others were busy setting out the food, all surrounding him.

After a while of lively conversation, the family finally sat down to eat. Su Zhaoshi reached out and tore off a chicken leg, which contained half a piece of chicken meat. It looked as if she had cut half a chicken directly for him. "Feng'er, eat quickly. Eat more to replenish your body. You have lost weight in the past few days."

Su Fengzhang did not refuse her kindness. He took a bite with a smile and said, "Mom, you made it so delicious."

"If you like it, eat more. Mother will make chicken soup for you tomorrow." Su Zhao was happy to see him eating so happily.

"Mom, you eat too." Su Fengzhang picked up a big piece of chicken for her, and after thinking about it, he gave a big piece to his two younger brothers and sisters. As for Aunt Bai, he did not touch her. After all, she was his stepmother and he had to avoid suspicion.

Su Zhaoshi was happy in her heart, but she still said, "Eat quickly. If mother wants to eat, she can help herself."

"I love it. The one my second brother picks for me tastes even better." Su Lanzhang looked up and shouted, then lowered her head and started gnawing on the chicken wings.

Su Huihui, who got the chicken drumstick, nodded vigorously and said, "Brother, I'm full after eating this chicken drumstick. The rest is yours. Drink more soup. Auntie said chicken soup is the best for nourishing the body."

The Su family actually has no shortage of food, after all, Su Zhao has hidden a lot of silver.

However, she felt that her son's future imperial examinations would definitely cost a lot of money, so she was usually quite frugal. Although she started to have extra meals from time to time after the mourning period, unlike some families in the village who only had meat a few times a year, she only had extra meals every now and then.

Su Fengzhang had said it several times, but Su Zhaoshi had her own concerns. There was no income at home, and only she and Aunt Bai could earn money through needlework, so she was reluctant to spend money lavishly.

"It tastes better if everyone eats together." That was all Su Fengzhang could say.

But Aunt Bai, Madam Wei, and Zao'er only picked up the leftovers to eat. When they were drinking the soup at the end, Su Zhaoshi even put all the tonic into Su Fengzhang's bowl.

Aunt Bai particularly agreed with this and said, "Erlang, you can eat it yourself and don't worry about them. This has ginseng added to it. Those two children can't eat ginseng. They get nosebleeds when they don't have it. What a waste."

After finishing the dinner happily, Su Zhaoshi couldn't help but ask, "Feng'er, how did you do on the last exam?"

During the previous few exams, Su Zhaoshi didn't dare to ask and didn't want to ask, for fear that it would affect her son's performance later on, but now that all the exams are over, she can't hold it back anymore.

I know it's useless to ask now, but I still can't help but worry.

Su Fengzhang did well on the exam and felt somewhat confident, but he only said, "It's not too difficult, but whether I can pass depends on the county magistrate's opinion. There is always a certain amount of luck in the imperial examination."

Su Zhaoshi didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed, and she also said, "Isn't it true? Even good knowledge depends on luck. Your eldest brother was lucky back then, but he took the exam twice before he passed."

Speaking of Su Zongzhang, Su Zhaoshi couldn't help feeling a little depressed. This eldest son used to be the pride of the family. He passed the imperial examination and became a scholar at the age of 19. He was at the peak of his career. Who would have thought that one day his engagement was broken off and he just died like that because of it.

Thinking of this, Su Zhaoshi shuddered, held Su Fengzhang's hand, and smiled and comforted him, "You are still young, not even eighteen years old. Even if you don't pass the exam this time, we can take it again next year."

Su Fengzhang didn't know Su Zhaoshi's psychological changes, so he smiled when he saw that she was relieved. "That's right."

Inside the county government office, all the examination papers had been sealed and sent to the examiners.

Several instructors from the Confucian Academy sat in a row, looking through the test papers one by one. If they thought the answer was good, they would draw a circle; if they thought it was bad, they would put a cross; if it was neither good nor bad, they would put a triangle.

Judging from the proportion, the papers with crosses far outnumber those with circles, which shows that the quality of this batch of candidates is average.

One instructor even muttered to those around him, "I wonder if it's because of the flood in Qingzhou last year, which also affected Hushan County, that these candidates weren't focused on preparing for the exam, and their essays are just mediocre."

This was agreed upon: "It's possible. We were lenient in the first few rounds to make it look good, but we have to be stricter in this final round. Otherwise, if they go to Qingzhou to take the provincial exam, it will be a disgrace to Hushan County."

Just as Su Fengzhang guessed, Lord Cai held the county examination as scheduled in order to dilute the impact of the flood. He even relaxed the standards for this purpose, greatly increasing the number of people who passed the previous exams.

But all this ends here. If these people pass the last county exam, they can go to Qingzhou to take part in the prefectural exam. If what they write is nonsense, the prefect might think that they have abused their power for personal gain and committed fraud in the county exam, which would be more trouble than gain.

That's why, before grading the papers, Lord Cai reminded them, "My Lords, the fifth county exam is crucial. Please examine the papers carefully and don't be careless. We must select useful talents for our Great Zhou."

Everyone present was smart and knew what to do after hearing this, so more papers were crossed out.

Mr. Cai was tired of sitting, so he walked down from his seat to inspect the papers. He felt particularly troubled when he saw that most of the papers were crossed out. He was really afraid that in the end, less than twenty people would be admitted.

He picked up a paper with three crosses on it without giving up, but after reading the beginning, he sighed and put it down.

It was because the exams in the first few rounds were too lenient that this person could only make it to the fifth round. Apart from anything else, he even wrote the words of the saints wrong in the scriptures he wrote. How could such a person take part in the provincial examination?

Lord Cai looked at three papers marked with crosses in a row and had to admit that the deputy examiners had read them very carefully and were definitely not too strict. Each of these papers had its own problems, and anyone who had read the books could see them at a glance.

Lord Cai sighed slightly in his heart, full of disappointment. He felt that there were not many talented people in Hushan County, and he didn't know how many people would pass the provincial examination this year. If no one passed, it would be a loss of face for him as a local official.

Putting down the paper with the red cross, Mr. Cai turned around to look at the one with the circle. He felt much better after seeing it. At least the sentences were coherent. Compared with before, he felt refreshed.

Suddenly, his expression changed slightly, just because the handwriting on the paper in his hand looked familiar.

The county examination papers were not copied, but sealed, so after a brief recollection, Lord Cai remembered whose handwriting it was.

The first few deputy examiners all gave circles, which showed that they were satisfied. There were only three such papers in total.

Lord Cai calmed down and read it. The more he read, the more he liked it. He also remembered that Su Fengzhang had come to visit him from time to time in the past few years. Although he did not appear in person, he wrote him a lot of letters, often asking for advice in the letters.

Because of Su Dianli's favor, Lord Cai would reply to the letter when he was free and give guidance in the letter.

In this way, he can be considered half a teacher of Su Fengzhang.

After reading from beginning to end, County Magistrate Cai nodded in satisfaction and said softly, "Not bad," then he carefully put the paper down.

He didn't say much, but the deputy examiner's eyes moved slightly. He took the paper and looked at it again. He felt that it was indeed good. It was no wonder that County Magistrate Cai was satisfied.

He had an idea and put this test paper on the top when ranking, and put a paper he was familiar with in the second place. After several people determined the ranking, they handed it to County Magistrate Cai.

Magistrate Cai looked down and was delighted. He smiled and said, "I admire your knowledge. There is no problem with the ranking. Have everyone open the sealed envelopes and copy the names to file a case."

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