Ling Ling looked at the smile on Shen Huaixu's face again, and felt that the smile seemed to have another layer of meaning. Since he could describe murder and arson as so common, General Fu probably didn't know much about this county lady.

Her first impression of County Lady Mingyi came from General Fu and Sister Bai Lan. They both said the Lady was kind-hearted. When she first met her, she thought she was like a fairy from heaven. First impressions were very fixed, so she wasn't as afraid of Shen Huaixu as she was of Fu Yin. She mustered up the courage to ask, "Then what about General Fu..."

"He can't do that either. You have to make a choice between him and me."

Ling Ling was very conflicted. General Fu was her savior and he also made the tragedy in Anhe Village known to the world. Not only that, she thought General Fu was very powerful. She only needed one sleep to get from Anhe Village to the capital, although she didn't know how long she slept. Until now, she still remembered the shock she felt when Sister Bai Lan said, "This is the capital."

She remembered all these, but General Fu was unwilling to take her with him, so she could only find an opportunity to repay his kindness in the future.

"My Lord, can I consider it and come back to you?"

Xiaoman listened from the side, feeling that this little girl named Ling Ling was being ungrateful. How could General Fu compare to her daughter? What was there to consider?

Shen Huaixu nodded, "Okay, go directly to the Marquis' Mansion to find me tomorrow night."

On the evening of the second day, Ling Ling came to the Marquis' Mansion with her shriveled little bag. Shen Huaixu met her once and then left her to Shuangjiang.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was time for the palace examination. Jiang Erlang rode his horse to the palace before dawn.

Jiang Erlang heard about the many things that happened in the capital recently from his family at the dinner table. He couldn't be distracted too much. After hearing that Shen Huaixu and Lord Shen were fine, he stopped paying attention.

In any case, he had to be in the first class, the top scorer, the role model, the third place, and the closest to the Jinshi, and he could be immediately granted an official position.

The palace examination takes a whole day. The papers must be submitted at dusk and sealed. There will be eight examiners who will mark the papers, which are divided into five grades. Finally, ten papers with the most first-class marks will be selected and presented to the emperor, who will select three people as the first class.

Those who were taking the exams felt that every moment was extremely tormenting, but for Shen Huaixu, it was just a blink of an eye. She happened to come out of the Prince's Mansion at dusk. When she looked up, the setting sun was leisurely falling on the horizon. A small cloud passed by that place, and it was dyed red like the sky, which was gorgeous and dazzling.

"The palace examination should be over."

Xiaoman and Yinghua both knew what day it was today, or rather, the whole capital knew it.

Yinghua said with certainty, "Don't worry, young lady. The second young master is so handsome. Perhaps His Majesty will be pleased to have him become the top scholar, or even the third scholar. I heard that the third scholar is always handsome!"

Xiaoman rolled her eyes at her, obviously feeling that this girl was beyond help.

Shen Huaixu nodded in agreement, "You're right. Second brother has the looks to be a good candidate for the third place in the imperial examination. He should have received the most sachets and handkerchiefs during the parade."

Yinghua nodded continuously, feeling that the young lady was her confidante.

Three days after the palace examination, the results were finally announced. This was a big event, and the idle people in the capital came to see the list, and there was a huge crowd of people under the list.

Jiang Erlang did not go to see it in person, but just waited for the official to come and report the good news.

He could wait, but Jiang Sanlang and Jiang Wei couldn't, especially Jiang Sanlang. He returned to Beijing yesterday just for the announcement of the results, and he had to go to the list in person to see what position his second brother ranked.

Seeing that the two of them were about to leave, Jiang Erlang took out a pen and paper and handed them to them, asking them to copy a list back. Jiang Sanlang was not happy about it, but it was useless to do so.

Qian Xiuzhu and Jiang Boliang paced back and forth in the courtyard. Even Jiang Dalang looked nervous. After a while, a maid rushed in, "Master, Madam, the official with the good news is outside!"

On the day of the success in the imperial examination, officials in red stopped at the gate of Jiang's house. One of them was holding a court robe. Even Jiang Erlang couldn't contain his excitement and couldn't take his eyes off the court robe.

The officer said a long string of words, which were of little use, and finally announced the name, Jiang Erlang, who was the new third place winner.

Jiang Erlang was very fortunate to have just squeezed into the top class. His foundation was not as solid as that of the old men who were several generations older than him. He was still young, so he was very satisfied to be able to enter the top class.

He stepped forward, kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace, then accepted the court robes and handed the prepared wedding money to the official. The official took it with a smile and said a long string of auspicious words. Finally, he said, "Tomorrow a carriage will take the third place winner to the palace to thank the emperor in person. Third place winner, please stay. We will return and report."

Jiang Erlang bowed and said "thank you for your hard work", and his heart was completely at peace.

Jiang Boliang grinned from ear to ear, and with a wave of his hand, he shouted to the onlookers, "Today, a great event has happened in my Jiang family. I'm inviting everyone to a feast at Songjiao Tower!"

The people around immediately applauded.

The Jiang family's bustle was something Shen Huaixu and his daughter only experienced that evening. As the family sat together for dinner, Shen Su said to Jiang Erlang, "The relationship between our two families is well known in the capital. They'll most likely side with you, but it's inevitable that the various major powers will try to win you over. Playing both sides is the norm in officialdom, and sticking to your position is the only way to avoid criticism. You need to think carefully before you act."

"My Lord, I understand." Jiang Erlang picked up a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp. He had always regarded Shen Su as his role model, and up to this point, he had only one goal. From the beginning, his position was unwavering.

"Don't drink too much when you meet the emperor tomorrow," Chen Su reminded.

Jiang Erlang wasn't drunk, he was sober. It was only when he saw someone that he felt the alcohol kick in. He thought, his feelings being seen through, he'd finally distanced himself.

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