In Jiang Sheng's heart, her eldest brother Xu Mo was the smartest and most capable person in the family.
Although she had been struggling with the big elbow, Xiao Jiang Sheng hadn't missed her brothers' words. She knew that her eldest brother was in trouble and that her second brother was a little confused.
But when it came to Fifth Brother, everything became easy, and he even pointed out the direction.
This surprised Jiang Sheng greatly. Could it be that Fifth Brother was smarter than Eldest Brother?
You wouldn't notice it at all normally.
As Jiang Sheng finished speaking, the boys' gazes returned to Chang Yan.
Xu Mo had witnessed Xiao Wu's abilities and knew that the child possessed extraordinary wit and cunning. He had also privately speculated about his background, but he had never asked him directly.
Wen Zhiyun was a bit confused, but he knew that his fifth brother was definitely smarter and more capable than him. He wouldn't have bothered with it if no one mentioned it, but today he was asked about it and couldn't help but get curious.
Only Zheng Ruqian was genuinely surprised, "Fifth brother, how do you have so many brains?"
Chang Yan pursed his lips, unable to speak.
He didn't want to lie to his beloved family, but he also couldn't tell them everything directly.
Those experiences of intrigue and backstabbing, those bloody past events, those unbearable memories.
If he could, he wished all of this could be buried in the past, as if he had truly been burned to death in that cold, desolate cave at the age of eight.
Living with his older brother and younger sister was his desire, his lifelong pursuit.
A silence fell over the courtyard.
Xu Mo sighed, just as he was about to help Chang Yan out of the predicament.
Jiang Sheng suddenly picked up the large pork knuckle in front of her and solemnly placed it on Chang Yan's plate. "Fifth Brother might be naturally intelligent, or perhaps he is well-read, just like little Jiang Sheng. He was born a smart child, so he will naturally be outstanding when he grows up."
She was serious, yet also boastful, which made the listeners chuckle.
Zheng Ruqian realized what was happening and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Little Jiang Sheng, you're being unfair! You gave all those big pork knuckles to Xiao Wu! I want some too!"
"I want one too, we can't forget Xiao Si," Wen Zhiyun said, pleading.
Chang Yan curled the corners of his mouth up, his eyes simultaneously welling up with tears.
It's good that no one in this family is pressuring him.
My sister's willingness to offer up the large pork knuckle was a genuine way of apologizing.
Changyan picked up his chopsticks and divided the meat evenly between his second and fourth brothers. Finally, he picked up a piece of braised pork knuckle skin that had been stewed until tender. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, an empty bowl was suddenly pushed in front of him.
Then Xu Mo's calm voice rang out, "What, no one for the eldest brother?"
...
Once you have a direction, life in Fengjing becomes simpler.
Xu Mo stopped racking her brains to get close to Zhu Zhi and instead chatted with her classmate Lang Lang in a natural and generous manner.
Who wouldn't admire a young man of integrity and purity? A scholar with outstanding literary talent is even more admirable. Xu Mo himself possesses a unique charm that can attract equally refined and noble students.
In just half a month, he made three friends at the Imperial College.
One of them is the eldest son of a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat. He just turned seventeen and passed the county-level imperial examination last year. He failed the provincial-level imperial examination this year. He accidentally met Xu Mo, a fourteen-year-old top scholar in the provincial-level imperial examination, and was so amazed by his talent that he begged and pleaded to befriend him.
Secondly, he was the eldest son of the Minister of Rites, who had just turned sixteen and had barely passed the provincial examination. He was preparing to consolidate his knowledge for two years before participating in the metropolitan examination the following year. He suddenly saw Xu Mo preparing for the metropolitan examination and immediately wanted to befriend him.
The third one was actually a young man from the Zhu family, but from a collateral branch. He could be called Zhu Zhi's cousin through a roundabout way, but he scoffed when Zhu Zhi was mentioned, which caught Xu Mo's attention, so he deliberately befriended him.
At first, everyone simply recited poems and exchanged verses, talking about anything and everything.
Over time, people inevitably become curious about each other's identities and family backgrounds, even wanting to dig into their backstories. Who says intellectuals aren't gossipy?
“My father was a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, barely a third-rank official.” Zhao Yuan waved his hand casually. “My father and mother were extremely loving, and they never took a concubine. So my name is Zhao Yuan, which means my first wife.”
That's a really crude name.
Qi Huai shook his head, "Although my father is the Minister of Rites, he is not as good as Lord Zhao in this respect. He has not taken many concubines, but he has two or three. As a result, there are not only illegitimate sons but also illegitimate daughters in the family, which leads to infighting and backstabbing."
Zhu Sihuan shrugged. "My father was just a high-ranking official, and my mother died early, so I had to grow up with my stepmother."
When it was Xu Mo's turn, he paused for a moment and said, "My parents are both dead, I have no family background, and I only have a few younger brothers and sisters to accompany me. We have walked all the way from the entrance of the village to where we are now."
The saying "birds of a feather flock together" applies everywhere.
The Imperial College was a place where families formed cliques based on their family background. The children of first-rank officials usually looked down on the children of second-rank officials, and the children of third-rank officials would fight tooth and nail to get in.
However, Xu Mo's open and generous revelation of his family background, coupled with his record of becoming a top scholar at the age of fourteen, made Zhao Yuanqi, Huai, and Zhu Sihuan unwilling to underestimate him; on the contrary, they admired him even more.
“Judging someone’s status solely by their family background is too boring. The imperial examination papers don’t consider your family’s official rank.” Qi Huai seemed to recall his experience of being at the bottom of the class, still feeling lingering fear.
Everyone burst into laughter, and couldn't help but make a few jokes, quoting classical texts.
Xu Mo listened, his gaze falling on Zhu Zhi not far away. His mind stirred slightly, and he looked at Zhu Sihuan, "There aren't many uncles and nephews studying together at the Imperial Academy. I heard you also have an uncle studying at the Imperial Academy?"
Zhu Sihuan was taken aback at first, but then quickly remembered something and frowned, saying, "We're not exactly close relatives, we're almost beyond the third degree of kinship."
Xu Mosong wisely remained silent.
Zhao Yuan, however, said casually, "You mean Zhu Xiao's third uncle? His name is Zhu Zhi. I've heard of him. He took the imperial examination nine times before he passed. My mother would always pull my ear and lecture me, afraid that I would end up like him."
Zhu Sihuan's face immediately turned red. "Why bring him up? It's bad luck."
This time, Xu Mo spoke up, feigning surprise, "What's going on? Is there something going on?"
Zhao Yuan and Qi Huai both looked over at the same time.
Zhu Sihuan's lips moved for a moment before he finally lowered his voice and said, "I have never gotten along with this cousin. I heard that he committed a crime while serving as an official in the local area, but his family protected him. After that, he refused to leave Fengjing no matter what. He had tried to find a wife several times before but failed. Now that he has finally passed the imperial examination, he wants to marry a young lady from Fengjing. I heard that he has already chosen two or three families."
This isn't really big gossip.
Although Zhu Zhi was over thirty and had been married before, his wife had passed away, and it was normal for a man to remarry.
However, at this moment, Zhu Sihuan looked around and dropped a bombshell, "I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone, my uncle looks righteous, but he actually keeps a concubine outside and has even fathered his eldest son. It's only because the Zhu family helped keep it under control that this marriage hasn't been affected."
But if no one is there to keep things under control, or if they can't be kept under control, will Zhu Zhi's marriage be affected?
Zhu Sihuan laughed gleefully.
Xu Mo, however, kept a deep look in his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
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