On the first day of September, the results of the military examination came out, and Shao Zhongran ranked 14th.

When the good news came, the Weibei Marquis family immediately sent a steward to the Shao family's courtyard to set off firecrackers to celebrate. In contrast, the Yongping Marquis's residence seemed more reserved, and steward Zhao brought a set of half-new armor to the Shao family.

"…It was worn by the Marquis when he went to the Miao Frontier."

Shao Zhongran was greatly surprised. He took it with both hands and placed it respectfully in the study. Then he accompanied Manager Zhao to the flower hall for a drink.

The hall was full of people who came to congratulate. The manager of the Lin family's office was also there. They knew each other well and greeted him with a smile: "Young Master, please go and do your work. Manager Zhao, I will help you with the reception."

There was a room on the east side of the flower hall, where all the students sitting were from the same class as Shao Zhongran.

Shao Zhongran was not polite either. He smiled and said a few words before going next door.

The manager of the Lin family's return office introduced Manager Zhao to the people sitting in the flower hall.

A servant ran in breathlessly: "Someone has come from the palace, saying that the emperor wants to see our young master. Go to the palace now."

The whole room was in uproar, and everyone came forward to congratulate him. Some people said, "Zhongran, you have made it to the top", some said, "Zhongran, maybe the Queen wants to see you", and some laughed and said, "Zhongran, it is still easier to be an official if you have someone in the court."

Shao Zhongran responded to everyone with a smile, saying "Thank you all for your good wishes" or "I hope so." He did not hide his happiness, but he did not become complacent about it either. He behaved in a generous and appropriate manner.

Manager Zhao, who was standing in the crowd, nodded slightly, but his eyes showed some solemnity.

After seeing Shao Zhongran off to change his clothes and go out, he hurried back to the lotus garden, making the excuse that the lady was still waiting for his reply.

"At this time, summon Shao Zhongran to the palace..." Xu Lingyi put the pen on the shelf, leaned back in the armchair, and showed a pensive expression.

When Manager Zhao saw this, he stepped forward and whispered, "I have sent someone to deliver a letter to the palace. The news should arrive at the earliest at 11:00 p.m. and at the latest at the beginning of 9:00 p.m. tomorrow."

Xu Lingyi nodded and was about to say something when he heard the sound of running feet outside the door.

The steps were short and loud.

Apart from Jing'er, who else would dare to run outside his study like this?

The corners of Xu Lingyi's mouth curved into a happy arc.

Manager Zhao looked at him with a flash of eyes. Then he heard a "yeah", the door was pushed open, and Brother Jing ran in excitedly.

"Daddy, Daddy!" He walked around the desk and climbed onto Xu Lingyi's lap, who was sitting on the armchair. "My bird."

The short and fat little hand was holding a little sparrow tightly.

Xu Lingyi smiled slightly, his eyes full of fondness.

He touched his son's head and said softly, "Manager Zhao is here, why didn't you say hello to Manager Zhao?"

Jing'er turned around and called out, "Manager Zhao."

Manager Zhao bowed and politely said, "I don't deserve it." Then he said softly, "Did the Sixth Young Master go to the back garden to catch birds?"

Jinger nodded and turned to look at Xu Lingyi: "I caught them with the wind, and I caught some bugs. Birds eat bugs."

Speech is much clearer than it was a few months ago.

Xu Lingyi hugged his son and said, "Let's go to the back garden to catch bugs!" Then he told Manager Zhao, "We'll talk when there's a letter!"

Manager Zhao smiled and replied “yes”, and watched Xu Lingyi and Jing’er leave.

* * * * * *

The news came faster than Xu Lingyi and Manager Zhao predicted.

"…The Emperor asked Scholar Shao: In ancient times, the art of warfare depended on finding the right generals. Please ask Scholar Shao to study the ancient methods and apply them to the present!"

Ask about the art of war!

Xu Lingyi leaned over and asked, "What did Mr. Shao say?"

The one who answered was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old eunuch with very sharp eyes. Hearing this, he said respectfully, "Mr. Shao is seeing the emperor for the first time, so he is inevitably a little nervous. After thinking for a while, he said: If you get the right general, you can predict the enemy and win, and you can be as powerful as the wind and lightning, and no one can stop you. A wise and brave general, a highly respected general, a benevolent and righteous general, all need to be familiar with military strategies and have both wisdom and courage. When deploying troops and marching armies, they must enforce strict discipline, know how to adapt to changes, have both the unusual and the regular, and they will win in battle and take the city in attack..."

It's all empty talk!

As the eunuch spoke, he stole a glance at Xu Lingyi's expression.

The more Xu Lingyi listened, the more solemn his expression became. After the eunuch finished speaking, he forced a smile and said, "What did the emperor say?"

Such a rare opportunity was wasted by Mr. Shao. The eunuch felt that he could understand Xu Lingyi's thoughts, and a trace of sympathy flashed in his eyes. Thinking of how Xu Lingyi had been taking care of them over the years, his voice could not help but soften.

"The Emperor asked how many people there were in Mr. Shao's family and what they did." The eunuch said with his hands down, "I heard that Mr. Shao has a younger brother who is fifteen years old and is preparing to take the military examination. His expression suddenly paused, and he smiled and said to Commander Ouyang standing beside him: Don't you have a niece who is thirteen years old and has not been betrothed yet? There is a good match right in front of you. What are you waiting for? Send someone to Mr. Shao's house to ask for marriage!"

Commander Ouyang is Ouyang Ming, the commander of the Imperial Guard. He has been a guard beside the emperor since he entered the palace at the age of thirteen. He is a loner and never interacts with others except for a few fellow soldiers. He is the person the emperor trusts the most.

What the emperor said was equivalent to granting the marriage.

Given Ouyang Ming's personality, he would definitely agree.

Xu Lingyi and Manager Zhao's expressions changed drastically, and Manager Zhao even said, "So, the two families are preparing to get married!"

"Yes!" the eunuch smiled, "Commander Ouyang and Scholar Shao kowtowed to the emperor and thanked him for granting them the marriage. The emperor was very happy and gave Scholar Shao two jars of Yulu wine and asked us to escort him out of the palace. By now, Scholar Shao should have arrived home!"

"Thank you for your hard work, eunuch." Xu Lingyi glanced at Manager Zhao, then said politely, "Go back and ask Eunuch Lei for me!"

He hurriedly bowed and said, "I don't deserve the title of Marquis." After a few humble words, he followed Manager Zhao out of the study.

Xu Lingyi sat there and pondered for a moment.

Manager Zhao returned.

"I gave him a jade tablet." He said, showing some hesitation, "What do you think about this?"

Xu Lingyi waved his hand and said, "This is also the emperor's grace to the Shao family. You should prepare some gifts and go to the Shao family to congratulate them!" After that, he stood up and said, "Finally, it was over without any danger. We can sleep well tonight!"

Manager Zhao smiled and walked Xu Lingyi to the gate of the hanging flower garden.

Xu Lingyi walked into the main courtyard with a smile.

The big red lanterns under the eaves illuminated the yard with a bright red glow. The leaves rustled in the summer breeze, mixed with the sound of Xu Sijie reading aloud.

Xu Lingyi stood under the eaves and listened for a while, then he lifted the Xiangfei bamboo curtain and entered the main room.

The maid on duty turned around to report.

Xu Lingyi shook his hand and tiptoed into the inner room.

Eleventh Lady sat on the big kang near the window, while Xu Sijie stood in front of the kang with his hands behind his back. One of them was reading a book called "Youth Learning", while the other stood there straight and recited. There was also a little guy sitting opposite Eleventh Lady, pouting his mouth and moving around as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but smile.

The little guy's face lit up, and he stood up suddenly, shouting "Daddy" loudly, as if he had met a savior.

Eleventh Lady glanced at her son.

Jing'er sat down immediately and called "Daddy" softly, pouting his lips, not knowing how aggrieved he felt.

"The Marquis is back!" Eleventh Lady got off the kang.

Xu Sijie also turned around and saluted Xu Lingyi.

Jing'er looked at Xu Lingyi eagerly, but sat there not daring to move.

Xu Lingyi went forward and hugged his son: "What happened?"

Jing'er immediately hugged his father's neck and rested his head on Xu Lingyi's shoulder.

"Jie'er needs to memorize his lessons," Shiyi Niang served Xu Lingyi a cup of tea and called in a little maid to help him change his clothes. "He was running around. He didn't listen to me and instead made more noise. He even insisted that my brother take him out to play. I put him in the corner of the kang and he wouldn't let anyone pay attention to him."

Jing'er hugged his father's neck tightly, as if he was afraid that Xu Lingyi would stop hugging him.

Xu Lingyi's heart melted.

"It's okay, it's okay!" He patted his son's back gently and comforted Jing'er, "Brother has to recite his lessons, so let's not quarrel!" He then asked Shiyi Niang, "Has Jie'er finished reciting his lessons?"

"There are still two pages!" said Eleventh Lady.

Xu Lingyi whispered to Jing'er, "Then let's go to the study to paint, okay?"

Jinger immediately raised his head, smiling as brightly as the summer sun: "Okay! Okay! I want to paint."

Xu Lingyi smiled and kissed his son on the cheek, then carried Jing'er to the study.

Jinger sat on his father's lap, holding a brush and scribbling on the rice paper. Sometimes it was a ball of ink, sometimes it was a long stroke. Xu Lingyi added a few strokes on the ink ball to make a cute little chicken, and added a few strokes on the long stroke to make a dragon flying in the clouds. Jinger laughed happily and put the brush in his father's hand: "Draw a peacock, peacock open its hands!"

Xu Lingyi laughed and corrected Jing'er: "That's not called a peacock spreading its arms, that's called a peacock spreading its tail!"

Jinger followed suit and said immediately, "Paint a peacock spreading its tail!"

Peacocks usually spread their tails in spring, but Suifeng, who had been taking care of the peacock for more than two months, somehow managed to make the peacock spread its tail in front of Xu Lingyi and Jing'er. Jing'er clapped his hands, and Suifeng was rewarded with ten taels of silver.

Xu Lingyi had never painted a peacock before. He smiled and said, "Let's go to the back garden to paint a peacock tomorrow!"

Jing'er refused and twisted and turned in Xu Lingyi's arms.

Eleventh Lady walked in: "My Lord, it's getting late, you should wash up and rest early!"

Jing'er's movements were smaller.

Xu Lingyi found it very interesting. He patted his son's back soothingly and said with a smile, "You have finished reciting the book!"

"Yes!" Eleventh Lady said, hugging Jing'er, "I'll go help Jing'er take a bath!"

Xu Lingyi touched his son's head and went to the main house with Shiyi Niang.

A servant came running in: "My Lord, the eldest brother-in-law is coming!"

"At this time?" Eleventh Lady was stunned. She looked up and saw Xu Lingyi's thoughtful expression. She couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

"Let's talk about it when you come back!" Xu Lingyi whispered, "You should coax Jing'er to sleep first!" He and the servant quickly went to the outer courtyard.

Eleventh Lady coaxed the child to sleep, and embroidered a few stitches of "Valley Wind" under the lamp. She felt too hot, and Hu **, who was sitting in the hall, waved a palace fan and talked to Zhu Xiang: "... Tell Hubo that the child is a big deal, take good care of the child first. I have you here. If it doesn't work, just find a few more capable maids in the mansion."

"That's what I said!" Zhu Xiang said with a smile, "But Sister Amber is pregnant again. Thinking about what I promised you, I can't help but feel a little anxious."

"I'm not in a hurry, so why should she be in a hurry?" Eleventh Lady said, and saw Xu Lingyi lift the curtain and come in.

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I had some personal matters today, so the update is late.

O(∩_∩)O~

PS: The update is a little late, please get up tomorrow morning and read it!