The residence of the Minister of Rites was not very large, so his wife instructed that each person could only bring one servant.
Therefore, the Madam brought Granny Li, Jiang Yinjin brought Chuyu, the Prince brought Guanshui, and Chen Mianmian brought Hanrong.
After disembarking from the carriage, the group entered the main gate under the attentive guidance of the steward of the Minister's residence. Soon after, the men and women were to separate.
The prince led Guan Shui to the waterside pavilion, where the invited male guests were all.
The lady, accompanied by a group of female relatives, went to the garden, where the women chatted and talked.
The two groups went about their own business until the banquet began, at which point everyone reunited.
This was Bai Qingzhou's first time attending a private gathering hosted by powerful and influential people.
That's right, it was the first time.
Bai Qingzhou had never attended such events before, but he reluctantly attended today because the banquet was hosted by the Minister of Rites, and he had to come.
Bai Qingzhou appeared calm on the surface, but was inwardly apprehensive. He walked through the long corridor and arrived at the waterside pavilion, where the invited guests were chatting. The men were mostly talking about academic matters.
When Bai Qingzhou appeared, the waterside pavilion fell silent for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, the host, Minister Zhong, said with a smile, "Look everyone, we have a rare guest here today."
The others chimed in, "Yes, what a rare guest!"
"It's actually Prince Bai. I've seen Marquis Anning many times before, but this is the first time I've met Prince Bai."
"There must be an auspicious atmosphere today, even Prince Bai has been invited."
Bai Qingzhou stood awkwardly at the entrance of the waterside pavilion, a forced smile on her face, so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into the ground.
Minister Zhong stood up abruptly, walked past the guests, and came to Bai Qingzhou's side. He chuckled and said, "Your Highness rarely attends gatherings. You must be feeling reserved, right? Don't be reserved. I'll tell you a little secret."
Bai Qingzhou was taken aback, and hurriedly clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, "This student is unworthy, please enlighten me, Your Excellency."
Minister Zhong said in a low voice, "The results of the county examination have been released, and the rankings have been completed, but they have not been made public yet."
Bai Qingzhou's heart leaped into his throat. He swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "Is it convenient for you, Minister, to tell me whether I... passed? If it's inconvenient, please don't make things difficult for me. I can wait until the results are released."
Minister Zhong laughed heartily, “Once the education commissioner finishes arranging the list and submits it to the Ministry of Rites, it’s just a matter of making it public. It doesn’t count as leaking information without authorization.”
He paused, then looked approvingly at her, "Congratulations, Your Highness, on becoming the top scholar in the county."
The top official in the county.
He was the top scorer in the county examination!
Bai Qingzhou was stunned—the top scholar in the county!? First place? He could get first place? He must be...dreaming.
This was his second time taking the imperial examination; the first time was for military affairs.
Indeed, he not only failed the county-level martial arts examination, but he was also injured. When those present heard that the injured man was the only son of the Marquis of Anning, a man of great martial arts skills and military achievements, they probably laughed their heads off.
Some even joked that while Prince Bai might not be able to beat people to a pulp, he could make them laugh until they were rolling on the ground.
That wasn't all. He returned home anxiously, and before he could even recover from his injuries, he was brutally beaten by his father.
His father called him a good-for-nothing, and he also felt like a good-for-nothing.
This time, he agreed to take the imperial examination because he was persuaded by Mianmian. It was a decision he made inexplicably. Later, in order to get Mianmian to agree to have a child, he tried his best to pass the provincial examination.
But unexpectedly... he became the top official in the county?
Bai Qingzhou pursed his lips and said modestly, "Thank you, Minister. Most of the other test takers are young students. I am just a bit older, so I have an advantage."
Seeing the Crown Prince's composure, Minister Zhong nodded with satisfaction, "What you say is true, but it is not uncommon to see an old scholar who has passed the exam until his hair turns white. Moreover, many people pass the county exam, but only one person can be the top scorer, so it is still something to celebrate."
Bai Qingzhou bowed again and expressed his gratitude.
Minister Zhong patted Bai Qingzhou on the shoulder, "Young Master, please sit next to Vice Minister Jiang. Vice Minister Jiang is pleased to hear of your achievement."
"..." Bai Qingzhou was having second thoughts—how could he possibly sit next to Minister Jiang after having wronged someone's daughter so much?
But there was nothing he could do; Minister Zhong had already pushed him over, so he had no choice but to sit down reluctantly.
...
At the same time.
Chen Mianmian followed the lady to the women's quarters, and was surprised to find that she saw an old acquaintance—people from the Xuanping Marquis's residence!
The wife of the Marquis of Xuanping, and her two daughters-in-law.
That's not the point. The point is that next to the second daughter-in-law, Zhou, was a woman of equally stunning beauty.
When Shen Mianmian appeared, some murmurs arose in the women's area. While marveling at Shen Mianmian's beauty, the crowd also looked at the stunning woman next to Zhou Shi, comparing them back and forth as if trying to determine who was more beautiful.
Shen Mianmian looked at the woman with curiosity and gasped – she was so beautiful! The woman's skin was so white it was almost transparent. Her small face, no bigger than a palm, was flawless, without a single wrinkle or blemish. Her features were exquisite, and she was as clear and bright as a dewdrop on a lotus leaf in the morning.
Shen Mianmian wondered if she was wearing a filter, or if she felt that she was better and that the other woman's face was more attractive.
Jiang Yinjin caught the provocation in Zhou's eyes, smiled slightly, and then asked kindly, "Sister Zhou, who is this beautiful lady? I've never seen her before?"
Zhou replied, "This is a slender horse that my husband bought from Jiangnan."
The lady was taken aback, and so was the young mistress—Huo Rang? Huo Rang also went to buy young horses?
Chen Mianmian thought to herself, "Well, she's become a living advertisement, directly boosting the 'skinny horse' industry."
However, this Zhou family is quite strange. She suspected that Huo Rang was having an affair with her, so she went to the Anning Marquis's mansion to quarrel, but then she allowed Huo Rang to let her buy slender horses.
Why? She couldn't understand!
When the Minister's wife saw the Marquis of Anning arrive, she personally came out to greet her and invited the Bai family to take their seats.
The ladies attending the gathering were all seasoned spectators. As soon as they saw that there was a good show to watch, they quickly gave a wink to the few people who had been sitting next to the Marquis of Xuanping's residence. Upon receiving the signal, those people immediately stood up and greeted her warmly, "Madam Bai, there is a seat here, please sit here."
Several other ladies, eager for a good show, also joined in and forcibly dragged Ding over.
Ding, "..."
In front of so many people, Ding couldn't very well start a fight, so she could only sit down with an awkward but polite smile in the seat furthest away from the people from the Xuanping Marquis's residence.
Jiang Yinjin sat next to Ding Shi, leaving the last empty seat for Chen Mianmian.
Shen Mianmian had no choice but to sit down, otherwise there would be no place to sit. Beside her was the slender horse that the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion had just bought.
Chen Mianmian was helpless—God, she wanted to watch the show, but she didn't want to be the one being watched! If she had known it was a trap, she would have broken her leg instead of coming.
He had barely sat down when the stunningly beautiful woman beside him spoke up, "Heh, you've only been in the capital for a few days, and you've already become so high and mighty? Don't you recognize your old friends?"
Chen Mianmian was taken aback, looked back, and whispered, "Miss, judging from your tone, we know each other before? Well... I bumped my head a while ago, and I don't remember things from before very well."
She had no choice but to resort to the "head-smashing amnesia technique"—there was no other way, this character wasn't in the novel, and she genuinely didn't know who he was!
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