Chapter 82
The Lu family was overjoyed, but because the head of the family was away on a business trip and the mistress was bedridden, they had to postpone all celebrations.
But this time, Lu Shang was not the only one who went to the capital to take part in the imperial examination. There were also people from local academies of all sizes, and there were about thirty or forty people who went. After the results of the imperial examination were announced, these people also sent gifts back to their families and teachers, and naturally some of them mentioned the names of the top scorers.
Not to mention the distant past, in the letter Feng He sent home, he mentioned that Lu Shang had won the top spot in the imperial examination, and the Feng family also had some knowledge of the date of Jiang Wanning's delivery. With a little calculation, they knew that the Lu family had a double blessing!
Mr. and Mrs. Feng quickly prepared expensive gifts, which not only expressed their gratitude to Jiang Wanning for teaching their only son, but also congratulated the Lu family on the double happiness as close friends. In addition to some common gifts, there were also longevity locks and swaddling clothes for the newborn.
When the couple arrived at the Lu family, they heard that the Lu family had a new daughter. The daughter was usually taken care of by her mother and wet nurse, and the whole family was very happy.
Jiang Wanning was still in confinement, and it was not convenient for outsiders to enter the house, so only Mrs. Feng went in to visit her. She left a lot of supplements for women after childbirth, and praised the young lady's beauty. She sat by Jiang Wanning's bed for a while, but seeing that she looked a little tired, she had to leave for the time being.
After the Feng couple left, several other families came one after another. Most of them had children studying in unnamed private schools and had passed the imperial examination this year. Like the Feng family, they prepared both celebration gifts and gifts for their children.
Jiang Wanning was not in a position to handle these things, so she handed them all over to Jiang's mother.
Two days later, someone from the Qu family also came. Qu Heng stayed in the Lu Mansion for half a day, but had to leave in a hurry because there was an urgent matter to deal with in the government office.
But Qu Heng's wife, Xiao Yu, stayed behind with her two daughters, agreeing to live in the Lu family for a while to help take care of the mother and the newborn. In the evening, she could also help Jiang's mother sort out the accounts and take inventory of the things sent by each family.
Although Grandma Lu did not participate in entertaining guests, she was also very busy.
She always got up early, and after her family had a daughter, she wanted to stay in Jiang Wanning's room all day. If the child cried, she would be more skillful than a wet nurse. She would pick up the child, rock him gently, and coax him. No one in the family cared more than her.
Of course, while everyone was paying attention to the child, Jiang Wanning was also not left out.
After giving birth, she completely relaxed and her body was not as heavy as before. Someone took care of her from the moment she opened her eyes to the moment she closed them. Even the child was looked after by a wet nurse, saving her the trouble of getting up at night.
Usually, there are two people guarding her. Grandma Lu is always there, and Jiang's mother and Xiao Yu take turns. Whether she wants to get out of bed or drink water or eat, she only needs to say a word and someone will soon be there to serve her.
The original three meals a day became five or six meals a day. Some of them were nourishing foods, and the other part was all kinds of dishes made according to Jiang Wanning's preferences. It was not like other families who did it for milk production or something, but just for the good of the adults.
After half a month, the number of visitors to the Lu family gradually decreased, and the house became quiet. Then someone remembered: "Speaking of which, Wanwan gave birth to a girl. Did she write to Lu Shang?"
After Jiang Mu asked the question, she saw everyone looking at each other in confusion, and instantly understood the answer.
She was quite amused and confused: "We only know that Lu Shang won the first place in the high school entrance examination, but we didn't tell him that he had a daughter. He must have known about Wanwan's birth. I wonder how anxious he would be if he hadn't heard from her for so long!"
"Hurry up, get some paper and pen, and ask Wanwan to write him a letter personally."
The maidservant who was serving beside her turned around and prepared to go to the study, but before she even walked out of the door, she heard a completely different voice coming from behind her.
Jiang Wanning hurriedly said, "You are not allowed to go!"
The maid turned around and said, "Madam... Madam said..."
Mother Jiang was also surprised for a moment. She waved her hand, signaling the maid to wait a moment, while she asked, "Wanwan, what does this mean?"
Jiang Wanning pursed her lips, her brows lowered, and her voice was clear and cold, with an inexplicable sense of arrogance added: "No one is allowed to write to him. If he wants to know, tell him to come back and read it himself."
"..." Mother Jiang pondered for a long time before she heard the resentment in her words.
She couldn't help laughing and wanted to persuade her not to be so willful, but then she thought, who knows if this is just the emotion between the young couple. After thinking for a moment, she decided not to say anything more.
"Then you can decide for yourself. Anyway, I think it's still some time before Lu Shang returns. The palace examination just ended, and it's still unknown whether the Qionglin Banquet will be held. Besides, it will take him at least a month to get back. I don't care if you can bear to make him worry for so long."
Jiang Wanning frowned and muttered softly, "Why can't I bear it... I just won't write to him. If there's anything, I'll wait until he comes back."
Mother Jiang could only cover her face and laugh when she heard her childish remarks.
Grandma Lu, who was standing by, didn't even stand up for her grandson after hearing this. She even said, "Wan Ning is right! Let's ignore him and let him come back and see for himself!"
As she was speaking, the little great-granddaughter in her arms started crying again. Grandma Lu immediately forgot about Lu Shang and Sun Shang, and her mind was filled with coaxing the little great-granddaughter.
Just as Jiang's mother said, Lu Shang, who was far away in the capital, had been worried every day since the palace examination.
Those students who came to visit and want to make friends with the new top scholar saw that he had a sad face all day long, and thought that their words and actions made him unhappy. After asking, they found out that the top scholar was worried about his wife who was about to give birth at home. She had not received any news for a long time and was very nervous!
Speaking of this, everyone has to think of——
On that day, the emperor personally selected the top three in the first class. The three of them were helped onto their horses by the eunuchs and were about to ride around the capital. Even the common people were standing crowded together.
Who would have thought that the number one scholar would take the lead, riding his tall horse and almost flying. His speed was so fast that the ladies on both sides forgot to throw their flowers and sachets. When they came to their senses, only the runner-up and third place scholars were left far behind on the street.
The appearance of this year's number one scholar is not inferior to that of the third place, which has led many young ladies to wait to see his true appearance. It would be great if they could be lucky enough to win his favor.
In the end, let alone seeing him favorably, they couldn't even see the appearance of the top scholar clearly.
In previous years, the horse-riding parade would take two or three hours, but this year, led by the top scholar, it took less than an hour. The young ladies threw their silk flower sachets in their hands, and even the streets felt much cleaner.
It is said that after the parade, the top scholar went straight into his room, and ran out in less than half a minute, heading straight to the post station at the city gate and caught up with the last wave of messengers of the day.
Now that I think about it, I’m afraid the top scholar was also in a hurry to send a letter to his wife and children at home that day?
Little did people know that this seemingly unbelievable speculation is actually the fact.
Lu Shang sent two letters home in a row, but still didn't get a reply from Jiang Wanning. He calculated the time and found that her due date was in the next few days. Even if the new letters hadn't arrived in the past few days, there should have been letters before that, right?
If the palace had not already sent him an invitation to the Qionglin Banquet, Lu Shang would have wanted to leave Beijing and go home that very day.
Unfortunately, not only could he not leave, he also had to deal with many students who came to visit and make friends with him. Even the Qionglin Banquet that he had to attend was scheduled for the end of June, so he had to wait a full month!
Lu Shang tried to ask the emperor for mercy, but he had not yet been appointed as an official and could not even enter the palace, let alone submit a memorial. He had no choice but to wait.
He waited for a long time for a letter from home, so he could only relieve his worries by writing letters one after another. By mid-June, he had even reduced the number of letters to two a day, and was almost staying in the inn.
At the same time, because of his behavior, the adults who wanted to invite him to their homes gave up the idea. They couldn't guess whether he was really a family member or was deliberately acting like this as an excuse to avoid attending the banquets held by various families.
But no matter what the reason was, Lu Shang avoided taking sides before being appointed as an official.
On June 25, the second letter from the capital was delivered to the Lu family.
Along with the letter came two messengers in official uniforms. They wore big red silk flowers, red sashes on their heads, and sat on tall horses. Although they were only announcing the results of the imperial examinations, they looked very proud and high-spirited.
The gatekeeper of the mansion rushed into the courtyard again, knelt in front of the door, kowtowed three times, and then shouted: "My dear madam, my dear old lady, the official who brought the good news from the capital has arrived!"
Not long after the words fell, the door opened.
Mother Jiang and Grandma Lu came out together and couldn't help asking, "But Master has passed the high school entrance exam again?"
The gatekeeper, unable to get any definite information, said only, "I don't know! But the messengers from the capital are waiting outside, along with the letter from the master, and they're followed by many ordinary people!"
Hearing that someone had come from the capital, Jiang's mother was at a loss for a moment.
At this time, Jiang Wanning should have been asked to go out and greet them personally, but she was still in confinement and could not go out in the open. Due to her status, it was not appropriate for her to appear in front of officials. However, if only Grandma Lu was asked to go out, it might be disrespectful to the other party.
Just when Jiang's mother was in great trouble, she heard footsteps behind her.
She turned around and saw that it was Jiang Wanning walking towards her. She was wearing a thick cloak and a headband. Because she was afraid of the wind, she simply wrapped her head with a headscarf, basically covering all the parts that were easily affected by the wind.
Jiang Wanning said, "I'll go."
"But..." Mother Jiang hesitated.
Jiang Wanning shook her head. "It's okay. I've wrapped myself up tightly. I'll be back soon. I should be fine. You and grandma should also get ready and come with me. There's also a red envelope for the messenger, and put some extra silver in it."
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Jiang's mother did not try to persuade her any further. She just quickly asked someone to bring a red envelope and silver, twenty taels per person, and asked them to go and come back quickly.
The three of them went out together, and as soon as they walked out of the Lu family's gate, they ran into the two good news officials.
The two men immediately dismounted, and after asking for the identity of the visitor, they smiled and bowed, "Congratulations, Madam Number One Scholar!"
As early as when she learned that a special official had come to the capital to announce the good news, Jiang Wanning had guessed that Lu Shang must have made it into the first class this time.
But when she really heard the ranking, she still felt dizzy.
Jiang's mother and Grandma Lu, who were following her, exclaimed in surprise and said in disbelief, "Number one scholar? Is it really Shang'er?"
"It's absolutely true!" the official announcing the good news said, "Master Lu has passed the imperial examination and will not return until after the Qionglin Banquet. We have come to announce the good news in advance so that the family of the top scholar can rest assured."
"This, this, this..." Mother Jiang and Grandma Lu looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes.
The common people following the official announcing the good news were even more surprised. Soon they began to talk about it and asked each other who this Mr. Lu was. They wondered if their Songxi County had also produced a number one scholar!
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