Chapter 83
Wen Shi received the exam paper and immediately began to look at it.
He pondered for a long time and began to work on his answers. The person next to him had a higher ranking and was older than him, but he wasn't as steady as him.
Wen Shi noticed out of the corner of his eye that the man was somewhat flustered. In fact, he was also very nervous. Although the emperor might not actually come to them, he was sitting up there and might come over on a whim.
He didn't know what the emperor looked like, but judging from his policies in recent years and his punishments of officials, he could tell.
He was a good emperor who cared about the people's livelihood, looked after the soldiers on the frontier, and was very disgusted by corruption.
Wen Shi wrote with a steady hand and began to answer the questions. He was extremely careful with each stroke. If the emperor saw his exam paper, it would be even better if it was well written. If the emperor did not see it, but the officials who were grading the papers did, he still had to write well. Attitude was also very important.
Emperor Jingyuan sat at the head of the table, waiting for the sun to slowly rise. He then got up and walked down, which startled the students in the first row.
Some people have almost finished writing, but others haven't even started.
He glanced around, walking from front to back, his eyes mostly lingering on the students who looked young, glancing at their answer sheets as he went.
Halfway there, he looked at the students behind him, but in the end he continued walking. Every now and then, he would stop, which put a lot of pressure on the students sitting near him, but many of them managed to stay calm.
Wen Shi noticed the bright yellow dragon boots to the side by chance, which was already half an hour later.
He had already written half of it, and the further he went, the more indifferent Emperor Jingyuan became, while the officials around him dared not even breathe loudly.
When Emperor Jingyuan's gaze fell upon Wen Shi's answer sheet, he walked directly over and looked at it intently.
After a while, he suddenly said, "Your handwriting is quite good."
He was taken aback when he heard this. Although he was nervous, he tried his best to keep his tone calm.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
Emperor Jingyuan glanced at him, then at the person next to him who couldn't even hold a pen properly, and suddenly laughed, a very hearty laugh.
Unsurprisingly, the students sitting here taking the exam today are all top performers from their respective regions; otherwise, they wouldn't be here.
He was sitting at the head of the table and could see very clearly, but once he came down, it became even clearer that some people's mental fortitude was indeed weak. Wen Shi, in his eyes, was very composed and looked young, a promising talent.
The surrounding officials naturally witnessed this scene, but they didn't dare say anything and simply kept it in mind.
Emperor Jingyuan did not linger and soon turned back. This time, his gaze was mostly on the older students as they answered the questions.
At midday, the sun grew stronger and stronger, and the weather was much warmer than before.
Wen Shi felt sweating profusely inside, but he dared not move. After finishing writing, he sat upright and checked his work.
When the exam ended, he breathed a long sigh of relief. The papers were collected, and everyone was taken away.
Next, he just had to wait for the Ministry of Rites to post the notice that the top-ranked candidates would be paraded through the streets. Of course, he had no hope of that; he only hoped that he could get a second-ranked candidate and be ranked higher.
Compared to Wen Shi, who remained relatively calm, Hu Yong'an, who came out of the palace, was visibly dejected. He felt that he had not answered well, but there was no chance to revise it. Thinking of this, he sighed and got into the carriage with a lonely expression.
Everyone was smart enough to know that once they got back to the inn, the innkeeper immediately brought Wen Shi several buckets of hot water and four extra main dishes.
Steamed fish, roast duck, braised pork, and old duck and bamboo shoot soup, plus a bowl of rice. The portions weren't large, but four dishes weren't bad either. They were all free, and Wen Shi wasn't the type to make a fuss.
The innkeeper knew that Wen Shi was going to take the imperial examination today, which means that he is a good student and has a promising future.
He gave these dishes to Wen Shi for free, hoping to make a good connection. He didn't look like a rich young master, but Wen Shi was very polite and never put on an arrogant attitude. He was much better than some students who looked down on merchants.
"These are all complimentary; you've stayed at our inn for quite some time now."
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
"Please take your time using it. Call me a smaller one if you need more."
Wen Shi nodded, closed the doors and windows, took off his clothes and took a shower. After showering, he changed into a set of dry clothes and felt refreshed.
Before he knew it, quite a few days had passed since he left. Most of the clothes he brought were thick, with very few thin ones.
It's only a bit hot at midday; it's still quite cool in the mornings and evenings. He thought about it and figured he could manage for now, but if it got too hot, he'd buy new clothes.
He was starving on the way back. He picked up his chopsticks and ate quickly and judiciously. Now he just had to wait for the Ministry of Rites to release the results. Hopefully, he would get what he wanted.
Daliucun
Ma was about to give birth, and Liu was sent back by Old Man Wen a few days in advance.
Her wrists weren't as flexible as before, so she still had to ask other women for help, and there were quite a few women in the village who knew how to deliver babies.
Two days later, Wen Laosi also returned.
The thought of becoming a father soon made him quite happy; he would finally have an heir. He hoped his wife would give him a son, which would be ideal.
Ma's family members have been coming over frequently these days. Sometimes, when Yingxiang sees Ma with her big belly, she thinks of herself when she gave birth.
At that time, Wen Shi and two old women took care of her. They were all very attentive, especially Wen Shi, who was extremely considerate during her postpartum period.
He would get up early to hold and feed the baby, and at night he would always soothe the baby. It can be said that Yingxiang's postpartum period was perfect. She was not tired at all, and apart from breastfeeding the baby, she didn't have much to do.
She didn't suffer from any postpartum ailments and is currently in good health.
On the other hand, she was also keeping track of the time; once she heard news from Wen Shi, she would have to start preparing the boxes.
The previous two were taken away by Wen Shi. This time, she would definitely need to make two more, and it couldn't be too late. She took the children to the carpenter's shop in town when she had some free time.
After I explained the task to the carpenter, he readily agreed. It was just a matter of adding a few wheels to the bottom of the box and a partition in the middle; he could do it.
"Please come back in five days to pick it up, sir."
Yingxiang nodded, paid the money, and then took the child for a walk around the town, buying him some pastries and snacks, and also buying him two sets of clothes.
He grew up quickly, and the clothes that were too small for him couldn't be worn anymore. Yingxiang didn't throw them away; she packed them all up. These clothes didn't even have any patches; they were all ready-made clothes that she had bought from the store before.
That night, Ma suddenly went into labor. In fact, she was two days past her due date. The originally dark courtyard was suddenly brightly lit. Since ancient times, childbirth has never been a trivial matter for a woman.
Old Man Wen's idea was that after the baby's one-month celebration, they should go to the county. Liu's objections were ineffective, so she had no choice but to listen to him.
At dawn, a loud cry came from inside the house. Yingxiang had barely slept that night; she had a very good relationship with her sister-in-law.
Hearing the child cry, Leqian, who was still half asleep, sat up abruptly and looked at Yingxiang with a blank expression.
"Fourth Aunt has given birth. Mother will take you to see her in a little while."
The little guy nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Ma gave birth to a boy, and Liu was quite happy. She held her grandson and adored him for a while before handing him over to her fourth son.
When Yingxiang took the child out, she saw Wen Laosi holding the child in the yard. It was already dawn, and he seemed a little excited, his posture was not quite right.
The baby in the red swaddling clothes was very well-behaved; it had stopped crying and its little eyes were closed, as if it were sleeping.
Leqian opened his eyes, and Yingxiang carefully picked up the child and sat him under the eaves so he could see.
"Congratulations, Fourth Brother."
"Thank you, Third Sister-in-law."
Wen Laosi stood to the side, rubbing his hands together, looking at the baby in the swaddling clothes with a smile.
"Third sister-in-law, Third Brother told Second Brother before that it's good for children to drink goat milk. You bought those goats, and Second Brother is raising them now. His son has been drinking milk. When my son is a little older, can he drink some too?"
Upon hearing Lao Si's words, Ying Xiang smiled and nodded.
"You can keep it at home and drink it."
Goat milk is indeed nutritious. Most of the children in the village who are the same age as Leqian are not as strong or tall as him. The reason he grew up so well is that he never went hungry and ate well. Wen Shi was very farsighted and bought a ewe before he was even born, as his family could afford it.
If he had only been fed regular rice water, he certainly wouldn't have grown up so well.
"For the first three months, my younger brother and sister-in-law will breastfeed the baby. After that, if it's not enough, they can supplement. As long as he's willing, he can drink it until he's seven or eight years old, but it must be warmed up before giving it to him."
"It's not the ten thousand that's scary, it's the ten thousand that's scary," Yingxiang patiently advised.
"Don't worry, Third Sister-in-law, I saw Second Brother warm the baby up."
"That's good."
After the house was tidied up, Yingxiang went in to check on Madam Ma. She was visibly weak, but the smile on her face was also very obvious.
Yingxiang thought of something and spoke up: "Sister-in-law, Leqian has many clothes that are too small. Do you want them? If so, I'll give them to you."
Mrs. Ma was taken aback, seemingly pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected to be part of such a good thing, and nodded repeatedly.
She's not blind. The third son and his wife bought ready-made clothes for the children. The workmanship was good, there wasn't a single patch, and whether it was thin or thick, it was all made of fine cotton. The children were comfortable to wear, the stitching was neat, and the patterns were pretty.
Moreover, with ready-made clothes, she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of making clothes for her child for the next two years, since her needlework skills weren't that good.
"Thank you, Third Sister-in-law."
"It's alright, we're all family. I'll get everything ready for you in a bit, and I'll have Lao Si wash the kids. The weather's been nice these past few days, so they'll all be ready to wear."
"good."
"Fourth brother, fourth brother, we don't have much meat at home. We'll go to the butcher's to buy some later. You go to the kitchen and make some porridge for your wife."
Liu called out from outside. Originally, she wanted to come back and direct Yingxiang. She was the wife of a scholar and the mother of a scholar. But she remembered what her father had said before she came back. Of the four daughters-in-law, she could control the others, but not Yingxiang.
She dared to cause trouble for her mother-in-law as soon as she entered the house; she wasn't the kind of person who would obediently listen to reason. It's better to avoid trouble than to cause more. It's good that the fourth son is back. Old Man Wen must have wanted him to come back so that he could take care of his wife.
He knew his own wife well. The family had finally achieved peace and quiet, so there was no need to cause trouble. There was no such thing as sisters-in-law serving each other. Old Man Wen specifically instructed Liu to bring Wen Lao Si back as well. A month wouldn't have much of an impact. They could just work a little more at the shop.
Liu was unwilling to serve her daughter-in-law, and she could let go of her grandson as well.
The fourth son has been back for a month, so he's been taking care of his wife. He can cook now too.
At noon, I gathered up all the clothes my son could no longer wear, as well as the toys he no longer played with. These were all in good condition. Before Ma gave birth, it was hard to say what the gender would be.
But now everything is settled, and she's not stingy, so she'll just give it away. Originally, she thought she wouldn't need it, so she took it all to the pawnshop to get some money, but there's no need for that now. Her family needs it, so it's perfect to give it to them.
The bundle was full of clothes, plus some toys. When Wen Laosi heard about it, he was also excited.
"Thank you, Third Sister-in-law."
"They're all clean, but some of the smaller ones have been sitting for a long time. You should wash and air them out so they'll be more comfortable for the kids to wear."
Wen Laosi put the clothes away and nodded.
Liu watched from the side without saying anything. There was nothing wrong with Yingxiang's actions. After all, he was her grandson. Besides, the third son and his wife were very generous to the child. Liu herself bought clothes for him, so she naturally knew that ready-made clothes were both good-looking and comfortable.
She had previously worried that Yingxiang might impulsively give away clothes that the child couldn't wear to her family.
It seems she's not confused; she knows that giving to family is the best thing.
In the days that followed, many relatives of the Ma family came to visit. Many of them would take the opportunity to talk to Yingxiang and praise Wen Leqian.
Everyone was very friendly, and Yingxiang didn't like to use her status to speak. It's always good to be amiable in your dealings with others.
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