Chapter 123: Number One Scholar
In the evening, when Jiang Lan was about to count her luggage again, Qi Wuhan pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She turned her face away from him, seeming a little unhappy.
"I've brought enough things. I'm not staying here long. I'll be back after the storm has passed." He soothed her gently.
Jiang Lan still didn't look at him, and her lips were slightly pursed.
"I'm leaving tomorrow. Are you really not going to look at me again?" He coaxed, "Good Lan'er, don't be angry. It's all my fault. How about you hit me to vent your anger?"
Jiang Lan turned her head, raised her hands and gently held his face, and said slowly, "It's not your fault. They wanted to harm you, and it's me who implicated you." Qi Wuhan lowered his head and blocked her lips. After a lingering tenderness, he said to her word by word, "Xiao Lan'er, don't take everything on yourself. You and I are husband and wife. It's not one of us who implicated the other."
He smiled gently and said, "If you really want to count, I have accumulated quite a few enemies over the years. If you really want to talk about getting involved," Jiang Lan gently covered his mouth and shook her head. "I won't say such things in the future, and you are not allowed to say them either." Qi Wuhan nodded, his peach blossom eyes filled with a gentle and doting smile, "I'll do as you say~"
He planned to leave Ling Feng behind, but Jiang Lan disagreed and told him to take Ling Feng with him. She would feel more at ease with Ling Feng accompanying him. Besides, with so many black-armored guards in the mansion, it would be safer than for him to go out alone. If he really encountered any trouble, she would listen to him and ask the owner of Huajian Cottage for help.
"If you really encounter any trouble, don't hide it from me." Qi Wuhan held her face and warned her solemnly, "When I come back, I will deal with them one by one."
"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back and deal with them." Jiang Lan smiled. Qi Wuhan held her face and was reluctant to let go. He wanted to engrave her every frown and smile in his mind and not miss a single moment.
The night is lingering and gradually deepens.
It was already late at night when Jiang Lan fell asleep in Qi Wuhan's arms.
He gently stroked her face and looked at her sleeping face until dawn, then he took a nap.
When Jiang Lan opened her eyes, she saw that he was still asleep. She didn't want to wake him up, so she just looked at his sleeping face quietly, and her fingertips gently stroked his brow, nose bone, and thin lips... She wanted to remember every aspect of his features clearly and engrave them into every memory of hers.
It was already late by the time the sunlight outside the window illuminated the room.
She kissed him lightly on the forehead and whispered to him to get up. Qi Wuhan held her back in his arms, and Jiang Lan also wanted him to hold her for a while longer.
…
During the morning court session, the emperor announced the punishment for Qi Wuhan and ordered him to guard the imperial mausoleum.
All the civil and military officials were surprised. They did not expect that the emperor would punish Marquis Jin'an so severely this time. According to everyone's speculation, the emperor would most likely turn a blind eye this time and give him a verbal reprimand as before, and at most deduct some salary to make a big deal out of a small matter. However, they did not expect that the emperor would not favor the other party this time.
Jiang Cheng was very worried, fearing that the emperor's wrath would implicate himself and Jiang Shen. If they failed the exam because of this incident, how would he face his ancestors in the future? He also felt a bit resentful towards his son-in-law Qi Wuhan. He did not know how to restrain himself in his daily behavior and had aroused the jealousy of many people. Now that the wall had fallen, everyone was pushing it down. He did not know if he would be able to come back in the future. If he could not come back, he had to make plans early.
The next decree from His Majesty made him so happy that he didn't know what to do.
The emperor personally selected Jiang Shen as the top scholar.
Everyone's attention was immediately focused on Jiang Cheng, with envy, jealousy, hatred...all kinds of emotions.
"My dear Lord Jiang?" the emperor called out.
Jiang Cheng was still immersed in this great joy and hadn't come to his senses for a moment. Eunuch Liu raised his voice and called out, "Master Jiang?" Only then did Jiang Cheng come to his senses and hurried out to express his gratitude.
The emperor appointed Jiang Shen to the Hanlin Academy and conferred him the title of sixth-rank official, which made everyone envious. It seemed that he would be on the road to a smooth rise to the highest position in the future.
The emperor's punishment and reward made everyone even more confused.
After the morning court session, Ji Quan entered the palace and reported to the imperial study that Qi Wuhan would leave the city at noon today. The emperor did not say anything and let him leave first.
On this side, after Jiang Lan saw Qi Wuhan off at the city gate, Steward Shi hurried over to tell her the good news.
"Congratulations, Madam! The eldest son has passed the imperial examination and become the top scorer~"
Jiang Lan was stunned for a moment, the sadness of separation in her heart was greatly dispelled by this great happy event. After she came to her senses, she asked about Xie Yun's ranking. Steward Shi said that the Imperial Examination Hall had just announced the results and he had not had time to see them.
When Jiang Lan arrived at the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall, the place was already packed with people who were looking at the list, and cheers broke out from the crowd from time to time:
"I won! I won! I won~..."
Steward Shi finally squeezed to the front and saw Xie Yun's name on the first-class list. He finally squeezed out of the crowd and told Jiang Lan the good news: "Madam, your cousin is seventh in the first class. Congratulations, Madam, on this double happiness~"
Jiang Lan couldn't help but feel happy. If Qi Wuhan had left a day later, she would have known the good news. Then the two of them would have set up a celebration banquet in the mansion to celebrate for her elder brother and cousin...
"Miss, look quickly. Someone is looking for a husband through the list~" Qing'er pointed ahead, and Gui'er also looked over curiously.
Jiang Lan had heard of this practice of selecting a son-in-law from the list before, but she had never seen it with her own eyes. She only saw the young man who had won the bid being carried away by a family's servants with a cheer. The master of the family followed behind with a cheerful look on his face, as if he had won a great victory.
Two other families' masters even started fighting over a young man who was ranked first on the list. One of them grabbed the young man's arm and almost pulled him in half.
After the crowd gradually dispersed, a few shoes were left outside the door. No one knew which unlucky young men left them there.
Looking at this funny scene, Jiang Lan, Qing'er and Gui'er were all amused.
At this time, a carriage slowly drove over, as if it was waiting for everyone to leave before looking at the list.
"Sir, it's the second young lady." He Quan, who was following the carriage, reminded him.
Xie Yun leaned his head out of the car window and waved to Jiang Lan. Jiang Lan couldn't wait to tell him the good news that he had won.
"Seventh place..." Xie Yun walked to the front of the list and took a look at the name on it. He didn't look very excited, but seemed a little disappointed with the result.
"Cousin Yun, it's already amazing that you're on this list, and you're at the top. That's really amazing." Jiang Lan encouraged him from the bottom of her heart.
Xie Yun smiled at her and said, "I originally thought I could become the third place winner, but it seems I overestimated myself."
"Although I've never participated in an imperial examination, even the same excellent essay can have different reader preferences. Some like this writing style, while others prefer that. But since Cousin Yun made it into the top ten, there's naturally no distinction between good and bad essays. It all depends on which style Your Majesty prefers." Jiang Lan consoled him warmly, "In my heart, Cousin Yun and Big Brother are equally talented. Big Brother is the top scholar, so Cousin Yun is also worthy of being the third scholar."
"As your cousin, I still need your comfort as a younger sister. How pathetic!" Xie Yun said with his head held high. "Let's go and congratulate Big Brother. I won't leave until I'm drunk with Big Brother today~"
"Then I will also cook two delicious dishes for you myself." Jiang Lan said happily.
On the other hand, when Cui Yan learned that Jiang Shen had passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar, his face remained cold. He did not even look at the list and did not care whether he had passed the exam or not.
It was Princess Pingyang who asked the housekeeper to check the list. The housekeeper came back with the good news that she had passed the exam and ranked sixth in the first class.
Princess Pingyang and Cui Hai were both very happy. When they told Cui Yan the good news, he still looked indifferent.
"What's so great about getting sixth place? You're still outshined by others."
And he was still outshined by five people.
"You started studying liberal arts halfway through your studies. It's already very good that you can be in the top ten. Don't set your expectations too high." Cui Hai comforted him.
Princess Pingyang retorted, "What's wrong with Yan'er setting high standards for himself? It's better than some people living a life of mediocrity." She then said to Cui Yan, "Yan'er, if you can get into the top ten this time, you won't disappoint your mother. Don't worry about the arranged marriage; your mother will help you."
"She said she wanted to marry the most powerful person..." Cui Yan muttered to himself.
"Yan'er, what are you saying?" Princess Pingyang didn't hear clearly.
But Cui Yan didn't say anything.
At this time, the housekeeper came to report that Prince Fu and the princess had arrived.
After hearing the good news, Cui Jingshu forced Prince Fu to come with her. Prince Fu had a good relationship with Cui Yan and wanted to congratulate him, but he just didn't want to come with Cui Jingshu. However, he couldn't stand her throwing a tantrum anymore.
"Brother, Jiang Shen is just a nerd. You don't need to compare yourself with him."
Prince Fu didn't like what he heard and retorted, "If the top scholar is a nerd, then everyone else is worse than a nerd." Cui Jingshu glared at him angrily and said, "Shut up."
"Don't be rude to His Highness." Princess Pingyang reminded.
Cui Jingshu ignored Prince Fu.
Cui Yan was a little upset and left alone. Prince Fu asked him to wait for him and left together so that he wouldn't have to stay here and listen to Cui Jingshu's nagging.
"Mother, why does my brother seem unhappy?" Cui Jingshu asked puzzledly.
Princess Pingyang said, "It's because Princess Changle feels she's lost to that boy from the Jiang family and is afraid that His Majesty will marry the princess to him."
"If that's the case, it will be a good show to watch." Cui Jingshu said with a smile.
Princess Pingyang glanced at her with a warning, telling her not to be too complacent. Cui Jingshu restrained the smile on her face.
"Her family member was demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum. I wonder how she can be so arrogant in the future. She has been disrespectful to me time and time again. I must take this opportunity to teach her a lesson."
"Why are you so anxious? The emperor's intentions are unclear now. What if he transfers the people back in a couple of days?"
Cui Jingshu wanted to refute, but Princess Pingyang looked at her and she kept silent.
"What did mother teach you before? Have you forgotten what happened with Yanzhi last time? Haven't you learned your lesson yet?"
"My daughter has always remembered it. Even if she doesn't do it, I think others will do it first."
"Then let others explore the way for you first."
"That's what mother said."
…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
