Chapter 990: Imperial Examination Essay: The Evil Mother-in-law (13)

It has been more than a month since Han Ji returned home after taking the exam with great difficulty. This time he did not feel as comfortable as in his previous life when he went to the county town to take the exam. In his previous life, Wu Shichu worked so hard doing embroidery that he earned a lot of money for his travel expenses and living expenses, and Zhang Luoyi also subsidized him with a lot of money, so he was quite well off.

In his entire life, he only took the silver given by Zhang Luoyi. He had to eat dry food all the way. When he arrived at the county, he did not dare to rent a good inn. He had to live in a cheap but poor place with his colleagues from the same poor family. If the food and accommodation were not good, his spirit would naturally not be good. What's more, the county was a strange place and he was not used to it everywhere. So when he arrived at the examination room and saw the test paper, he felt dizzy and his thinking was not as sharp as before.

Under such a mental state, it was impossible for him to get good grades, but he still had a bit of the aura of a male protagonist. Therefore, although his grades were not good, he managed to pass the exam and become a scholar, but his ranking was very low, not at all like in the original world where he was among the top.

Han Ji knew that he did not perform well in the exam, and he was depressed for several days after returning home. In the end, he was afraid that the villagers would see his failure, so he forced himself to cheer up and deal with the villagers who came to inquire about his situation.

"Husband, don't be so depressed. Maybe you did better than you thought. I believe in your ability. I think you have been setting too high standards for yourself in the past, which is why you feel that you did not do well in the exam." Zhang Luoyi racked her brains to comfort Han Ji.

Han Ji smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't even perform 60% of my usual level in this exam. It's really uncertain whether I can pass. I'm sorry, I may disappoint you and mother."

"No, if you don't do well in the exam this time, we can continue next time." Zhang Luoyi said distressedly, "My husband is a man of great talent. The little setbacks now are just small grains of sand to sharpen your will. I believe that my husband will be able to overcome this setback soon and soar to the sky."

"And my husband, the results haven't come out yet. You don't have to be discouraged so quickly. There might be a surprise." Zhang Luoyi really blindly worshipped her husband and felt that with his talent, it was impossible for him to fail the exam.

Indeed, she guessed right. Han Ji passed the exam. Just after he had been discouraged for more than half a month, the people who came to announce the good news came to Han's house with gongs and drums.

"Congratulations to Lord Han Jihan for passing the imperial examination!" The joyful messenger led a large group of onlookers to the door of the Han family and shouted loudly.

"Husband! You passed the exam!" Zhang Luoyi's eyes immediately turned red with excitement. Han Ji was stunned and then extremely surprised. He could hardly believe his ears and hurriedly asked the person who brought the good news, "Did I really pass the exam?!"

"You really passed the exam, and you are now a scholar! Congratulations, Mr. Han!" the person who brought the good news shouted repeatedly.

Han Ji then believed that he had really passed the exam, but he quickly asked again: "Then what place did I get?"

"Mr. Han ranked 235th in the provincial examination!" The person who brought the good news would certainly not be wrong.

Han Ji's smile froze. 235th place? There were only 240 successful candidates in the county! In other words, he was ranked fifth from the bottom?

How could Han Ji, who always prided himself on being a man of great talent and a sure winner of the top three spots, accept this fact?

However, although the ranking was a little lower, at least he passed the exam, which was much better than the result he initially thought of as failure. After all, he did not have to take the exam again.

However, this ranking was far worse than what he had expected before taking the exam, and for a moment he didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

Fortunately, Zhang Luoyi pinched his arm and reminded him not to show an inappropriate expression, so he had to follow Zhang Luoyi and Wu Shichu to entertain the person who brought the good news and the villagers who came to watch the fun.

Gao Li had just returned from hunting in the mountains when he saw a large group of people gathered in front of the Han family's gate. He couldn't help but pull over a neighbor who was passing by in a hurry and looked very happy, and asked, "Brother Hong, what are so many people doing in front of the Han family's gate?"

"Han Ji passed the exam and became a scholar. Today he came to share the good news! I'm going to go see the excitement right away. Do you want to come with me?" Brother Hong asked excitedly, and then he sighed and said enviously, "The Han family has finally made it. They will be different from us in the future. Our village finally has a scholar. Now we don't have to envy other villages..."

Gao Li lost interest immediately after hearing this: "Then you go, Brother Hong. I won't go. I need to go home and take care of the prey."

"Okay, I'll go first!" Brother Hong waved his hand and ran to the Han family impatiently.

Gao Li looked at the Han family whose doorstep was almost broken by trampling people, and suddenly thought of the woman who roasted pheasants and drank wine in the mountains. He wondered if the newly promoted scholar knew that his mother was actually a fierce and powerful woman, and not a weak and timid person?

After Gao Li encountered Wu Shichu's true face, he paid special attention to this person who surprised him. He found that in the eyes of the villagers, she was actually a weak woman who worked hard to embroider to support her son's education, and ended up overworking and exhausting her body. In fact, she was a gentle, kind and good-tempered person...

When Gao Li heard the aunties and sisters-in-law in the village actually evaluate Wu Shichu in this way, his eyes almost fell out. The Wu Shichu he saw with his own eyes was not such a person at all. He couldn't understand why Wu Shichu had such opposite images in the eyes of the neighbors and when she was hunting and barbecuing in the mountains.

However, after some investigation, he dismissed the idea that Wu Shichu was impersonating Han Ji's biological mother. After all, the villagers could see Wu Shichu almost every day, so it was basically impossible for someone to impersonate her. Moreover, even if someone wanted to impersonate her, there should be a motive, right? Impersonating a rural widow, was it just to go through so much trouble to support a person who had no blood relationship with her to study? Han Ji was young and talented, and there were many people who were smarter and more talented than him. Why did she pretend to be his biological mother? Wouldn't it be better to pretend to be the biological mother of other young talents?

Gao Li thought hard for several days and finally came to a conclusion, that is, Wu Shichu was a person who kept her true colors to herself. Maybe she had a different identity when she was young, but after marrying Han Ji's father, she became an ordinary woman. After becoming a widow, she had been raising her son with great difficulty. When her son finally got married, she indulged herself a little in a place where no one knew and put down the burden on her shoulders...

Wu Shichu didn't know that Gao Li had already given her a reasonable explanation in his mind. She was just like every mother who was ecstatic after knowing that her son passed the imperial examination. She excitedly entertained the guests and proudly told everyone how she had trained and supported her son...

(End of this chapter)