Chapter 15
In the depths of winter, fewer and fewer people venture out on the village paths. During the day, large families gather in the kitchen to tend the fire, as it's too cold and this helps keep them warm.
That noon, the sun came out, and stray dogs occasionally ran past the door. The Wen family members were all doing their own things in the yard. Wen Ersao had gone back to her parents' home and had not yet returned.
Liu was dissatisfied, but she didn't dare to go to the door to call the person back, as it wouldn't sound good if word got out.
After that incident, although Wen Ersao didn't say it, she became increasingly resistant to her mother-in-law. This manifested in her actions; sometimes she would deliberately go against her in private.
This annoyed Liu, but unfortunately, her father-in-law liked to smooth things over these days, and in the end, the matter was always left unresolved.
"Good news, good news!"
A loud sound came from afar, and a horse galloped on the road not far away, immediately attracting many villagers to open their doors. Everyone peeked out and looked at each other, some of them puzzled.
A strong middle-aged man dressed in military uniform was holding an envelope wrapped with red thread. Upon hearing this, the village chief and the head of the village hurriedly came out of their houses. The two rushed to the village entrance and were overjoyed to see the soldiers who had come to deliver the letter.
"You must be tired from your journey, sir. May I ask what brings you this joyous occasion?"
“Wen Shi from your village lives at that house. He passed the exam, and the county magistrate specially ordered me to deliver the good news, along with an invitation.”
As is customary, the county magistrate would host a banquet for each scholar who passed the imperial examinations and would also give them gifts. This was a significant step forward for the scholars.
"Follow me, sir, this way."
Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately smiled. Thinking of Old Man Wen, he felt a little jealous. Old Man Wen was truly lucky; his eldest son had passed the imperial examination and he had now passed the third one as well.
The thought of the Wen family gaining another fifty acres of land that could be used for farming filled him with mixed feelings. Why couldn't such good fortune befall their family?
What alarmed him even more was Wen Shi. This kid was taking the exam for the first time. His brother had been taking it for several years, but he passed on his first try. He was really amazing. With his knowledge, he would become a high-ranking official sooner or later.
Thinking of this, he and the village head exchanged a glance, both of them beaming with joy.
In any case, Wen Shi is from their village. This child has never been very talkative since he was a child, but he is very shrewd. Now it seems that he will definitely have a bright future.
"Congratulations, Scholar Father!"
Old Man Wen looked at the village chief and the village headman approaching, then at the soldiers behind them. Remembering what had happened before, there was nothing he didn't understand. He opened the door with a smile on his face.
"Third brother, third brother, stop reading and come out, come out!"
He shouted loudly.
"Great news! Great news! Your third son has also passed the exam."
After the village chief finished speaking, he took Old Man Wen's hand.
"Good, good, the third child, although he doesn't talk much, he studies very hard. Good, very good."
The thought of his third son passing the exam on his first try made Old Man Wen overjoyed. It wasn't that only his two sons were scholars in their village, but his third son passed on his first try, making him the only one to achieve this. The others had failed several times.
God bless them, they're going to be rich!
The hard times are finally coming to an end, and things will be better for our family from now on.
In the courtyard, Liu Shi also had a smile on her face. She couldn't help but think that the third son was really promising, not to mention Yingxiang. However, she had seen Wen Shi's previous efforts, and he deserved what he had achieved today.
"Thank you for making this trip, sir."
Wen Shi rushed out, looking dazed, but he didn't forget his manners. Although he was confident, he wasn't that sure. In his heart, he was also prepared to fail the exam. Now that someone had come to bring good news, he was extremely excited and happy.
The officers glanced at Wen Shi, handed him the item, and left. For the villagers, this was a joyous occasion.
For the people in the county, a scholar was merely a respectable figure, far from being someone they needed to curry favor with.
"That's great, third brother, this is absolutely wonderful."
Old Man Wen trembled with excitement.
"When are you going to hold the banquet? I'll have my wife help you out later."
As soon as the village head said this, Old Man Wen immediately said, "Three days, it will be done in three days, but it's not necessary. Old woman, go and call the second son's wife back. Everyone can just come and have a feast, just have a feast."
Wen had already opened the invitation, which stated the date as ten days from now, so there was no conflict.
Liu nodded. Right now, her second son's wife had to come back because there was an important event to attend to at home. It would be even better if her fourth son was also there.
"Then we'll wait there. Let's go back first. Congratulations, Third Brother Wen."
Thank you.
The village chief and the village head left one after the other. Before long, everyone in the village knew, and many people came to visit, some bringing fat chickens and ducks, and others bringing fish.
"Please don't be disgusted, Scholar's wife. This fish was caught by my eldest son in the river when winter was still in the air. We didn't want to eat it, so we kept it. Now we're bringing it to your third son. Scholars use their brains a lot, so they need to eat more nourishing foods."
"Don't be disgusted by this hen, Scholar's wife. We'll stew it for Scholar's husband later."
"Please don't be shy, everyone. Come and join us for the feast."
With so many new things in the house, how could Liu not be happy? She made arrangements for them first, and later took Yingxiang to find Sister-in-law Wen.
Yingxiang didn't want to go at first, but then she thought about it again. She and Wen Ersao's family were from the same village. Although they hadn't been in contact before, things were different now.
She had to go back and tell her parents to come to the feast, otherwise, she didn't want any bad rumors to spread.
Liu clearly thought so too. She still cared about her reputation in public. Although she had lost a lot before, things were different now. With two scholars in the family, who would dare to displease her or make things difficult for her? Her future was going to be much better.
Thinking of this, she walked with a brisk pace, and Yingxiang followed behind her, also in a very pleasant mood.
She's finally made it through the tough times, and now she can go to the county and start a business.
The county town, which had been quiet for many days, was unusually lively on the day the results were announced. There were many people on the streets and alleys. Some stood in front of the list sighing and preparing for the next time, while others were overjoyed and laughing.
Although the eldest brother of the Wen family didn't show much concern on the surface, he was faster than anyone else in his actions. He knew the day the results would be released and went to wait for them early, even earlier than the students in the county who were taking the exam.
He was thinking that since his third son hadn't passed the exam, he would comfort him properly when he went home for the New Year.
Wen Chuanzong looked at each list very carefully, but he was still disappointed. He saw Wen Shi's name on the third-to-last list. Just in case, he checked the household registration information next to it. This time, there was no mistake.
On his way home, he looked completely lost and dejected.
"What's wrong?"
Xiuyu looked at her husband, somewhat puzzled.
"The third child passed the exam."
When Wen Chuanzong said this, he was visibly dejected. His third son hadn't studied as well as him in the private school, but he had passed the exam on his first try.
"Was your ranking as high as it was back then?"
Xiuyu asked, her eyes wide open.
"No, I was on the fourth-to-last list before."
“There will definitely be a banquet at home. The third son is different now than before. Go and see if you can ask your husband for leave to go back. If not, I will take the children back to congratulate him.”
Wen Chuanzong didn't speak; he just nodded subconsciously.
To be honest, this is something he can't avoid. He never expected his third son to be so successful. In the future, he'll probably be just as good as his third son at home.
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