Bai Qingzhou felt extremely shy after being praised so directly by the woman.
He had never been praised like this before.
His father... naturally wouldn't praise him. In his memory, his father had never even smiled at him. Whenever they met, his father always had a cold face, with deep contempt and disappointment in his eyes.
My mother praised me, but it was out of affection for her son and daughter, not genuine praise.
The servants will naturally flatter him, but how can flattery compare to genuine praise?
The woman, however, was praising him sincerely, and he could tell from her eyes.
If the previous rest and hangover soup had sobered Bai Qingzhou up by half, then the woman's sincere and determined gaze had completely sobered him up as well.
Bai Qingzhou took a deep breath, clearing her mind, and said in a light tone, "I'll go to the main courtyard to check. If Mother is asleep, I'll come back; if she's not asleep, I'll talk to her."
Despite saying that, Bai Qingzhou believed that her mother was definitely not asleep.
He was out on business and hadn't returned yet. At this time, his mother must be grinding her prayer beads, anxiously waiting for him.
If he hadn't been drinking, he would have gone to his mother's first, but having drunk so much, he was afraid of being impolite in front of her, so he could only wait until he sobered up before going.
"Mianmian, don't wait for me. If you're sleepy, go to sleep first. If I come back and find you asleep, then go back to Qingfeng Courtyard."
"good."
Afterwards, Bai Qingzhou took Guanshui to the main courtyard.
Chen Mianmian turned her head and saw Hanrong. "Your Highness has sobered up. You should go back and rest too."
"Well... how about I wait a little longer, until the young master returns and makes sure he and his concubine are resting, then I'll leave?" Hanrong said worriedly.
Chenmianmian—please don't. If you don't report it, how will the young mistress sleep?
She bet her kneecap, and Jiang Yinjin is also waiting for news.
"Aren't there maids outside? I can just call them if I need anything."
Seeing that Aunt Chen insisted, Hanrong respectfully took her leave.
...
When Bai Qingzhou arrived at the main courtyard, he indeed found the gate still open.
The courtyard was brightly lit, clearly indicating that someone was waiting for someone.
The old woman guarding the door saw the young master arrive and hurriedly stepped forward respectfully, saying, "This servant greets the young master. You've finally arrived. Madam has been waiting for you."
Bai Qingzhou felt a warmth in her heart, and her voice softened considerably, "Thank you all for your hard work. Please stay with Mother and wait for me."
The old woman's eyes welled up with tears. "What are you saying, Young Master? Serving your master is my duty." She paused, then asked softly, "If I may be so bold as to ask, Young Master, was today... all right?"
Bai Qingzhou nodded with a smile, "It went very smoothly."
The old woman breathed a sigh of relief and smiled broadly, "That's wonderful! Young Master, please come in quickly."
Bai Qingzhou didn't chat with the nanny any longer and stepped into the hall.
In other households, servants would not presume to ask such a question, and the master would not answer it either. But the prince has been gentle and kind since childhood, and the older servants genuinely love and care for him.
Bai Qingzhou was led by a maid to the madam's bedroom.
The maid announced at the door that her son had returned. Upon hearing this, Ding, who was sitting on the soft couch, hurriedly stopped her prayer beads and got up to greet him.
Granny Li hurriedly said, "Madam, please slow down!"
Ignoring Li Mama's advice, Madam Ding rushed to the young master and anxiously checked him over, "I heard you drank too much?"
Bai Qingzhou hurriedly explained, "Mother, please calm down. I did drink too much, but I didn't come over immediately because I was afraid of being impolite while drunk. I came as soon as I sobered up at Mingyue Courtyard."
Madam Ding sighed, "Silly child, how could your mother not know? Come on, sit down and let's talk."
As she spoke, she took the prince's hand and led him to sit down on the soft couch.
Granny Li has ordered the maids to prepare more hangover soup, liver-nourishing soup, ginseng tea, and other tonics.
Before his mother could ask, Bai Qingzhou recounted the events of the day in detail. "I'm sorry... I sought help from my father's friend without my mother's permission. It was truly impolite and presumptuous of me. When my father returns, I will take the initiative to ask for family discipline."
Seeing her only son's haggard face, Ding was furious. "Family law, family law! What else can he do besides family law? Don't worry about family law. Do whatever you want. If he dares to say a single word against it, I'll fight him to the death!"
Bai Qingzhou chuckled – his mother was always showing off in front of him, but as soon as his father returned, she immediately became so obedient that she didn't dare to say a word.
However, that's enough. Even if he knows his mother was just saying it in anger, as long as she cares about him, that's enough.
The more Ding thought about it, the angrier she became, and she took out her handkerchief to wipe away her tears.
Bai Qingzhou quickly comforted her, "Why is Mother crying? Wasn't everything going smoothly? You should be happy."
Ding burst into laughter through her tears, "Yes, yes, yes, I should be happy. Let's get down to business. You just said how long until the exam?"
"Ten days."
"What? The exam is in ten days?" Ding was so shocked that she dropped the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.
Bai Qingzhou bent down, picked up the Buddhist beads that had fallen to the ground, and carefully wiped them with a handkerchief. "Mother, don't worry. Today at the restaurant, Scholar Ma asked me some questions about my studies, and I answered them all. Scholar Ma said I will definitely pass the exam."
What he didn't say was that Scholar Ma asked quite a few questions.
It was common knowledge in the capital that the heir of the Marquis of Anning neither studied nor practiced martial arts, and spent his days cooped up in the mansion as a good-for-nothing. Therefore, Scholar Ma was worried that he would fail the preliminary examination and asked him a few simple questions.
Bai Qingzhou had long since memorized the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as some works by famous authors, and could answer the questions with ease.
Scholar Ma was surprised, and then he asked more difficult questions, but Bai Qingzhou was still able to answer them, which even surprised Lord Liu and the Minister of Rites.
Scholar Ma, refusing to believe in superstitions, directly brought up the previous year's examination questions and asked them.
The imperial examinations mainly tested knowledge reserves, understanding of the questions, and answering skills.
For example, the title may contain only one word or four characters.
Candidates must first accurately state which chapter of the Four Books and Five Classics the word comes from, then explain the main idea and theme of that chapter, and finally articulate their understanding and viewpoints in a clear, concise, and easy-to-understand manner.
Although scholar Ma's verbal questions could not expand the scope of the discussion, they could still test the Crown Prince's knowledge.
After all, the Four Books and Five Classics contain a total of 650,000 characters, and finding a single word accurately from those characters is no easy task.
Bai Qingzhou answered correctly.
Scholar Ma was so astonished that he almost accepted the young master as a student on the spot. Bai Qingzhou did not intend to tell his mother about his amazement at the dinner table.
It is worth mentioning that after the banquet, Bai Qingzhou quietly came to the Minister of Rites and asked the Minister to temporarily conceal the matter of the banquet from Vice Minister Jiang, and to explain it to Vice Minister Jiang later.
The Minister of Rites, aware of the complicated affairs of the Marquis of Anning's residence and the Vice Minister Jiang's family, and not wanting to get involved, immediately agreed.
Upon hearing this, Madam Ding exclaimed with delight, "Really? Scholar Ma really said that? Thank goodness! Scholar Ma has been kind to our Marquis's family. I will prepare gifts and definitely pay him a visit. Oh, by the way, what did Scholar Ma say you need to prepare for these ten days?"
Bai Qingzhou nodded, "Scholar Ma recommended a teacher to me who will come to our residence tomorrow morning to teach me exam techniques."
"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Ding was so excited that tears streamed down her face. She took the Buddhist prayer beads from her son and chanted "Amitabha" many times on the spot.
Bai Qingzhou struggled for a moment, then hesitated, "Mother, I...I have a small request, but I'm afraid...you'll be angry."
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