Chapter 1928 It’s Different
When Chief Xia saw this, he immediately asked his son to lead the young and strong people in the tribe to help. In the past two days, Zhou Man and his friends really participated in poetry and literary gatherings again, and people said that they were very popular. Even the teacher who used to teach Wulang and Qillang praised them for their rich knowledge.
At this time, Chief Xia only wanted to finish this matter as soon as possible and not cause any more trouble.
When Bai Shan and the other two returned to the inn, they were not as high-spirited as Patriarch Xia had imagined. Instead, they went back to their rooms and lay down on the bed without moving.
I’m so tired!
Participating in literary gatherings requires writing articles, and also responding to challenges from various people regarding essays and theories...
Participating in poetry gatherings also requires writing poems, and sometimes even competing in literary competitions...
The three people who usually just entertained themselves and bickered with each other suddenly felt that there were people with more knowledge than them. Of course, they were not afraid if it was a one-on-one fight.
But they are a group of three.
That large group included not only the students of the prefectural academy, but also the doctoral students and officials of the prefectural academy, and was not limited to the students and scholars from various counties who came here to participate in the literary gathering...
God knows what books they read privately. There are so many questions, and there are always three or four out of ten that they can't answer. It's so embarrassing.
In order to avoid being embarrassed, the three of them could only write down the questions they couldn't answer and take them back to the inn. They first asked the teacher, who told them the answers and let them find the answers themselves for the ones he didn't know. They only had a rough impression of many of them.
Where can the three of them go to find it?
Of course it’s the bookstore.
But there were very few books in the bookstore, so they finally went to borrow some books from County Magistrate Zhai. He had been busy running around there for the past two days and had completely forgotten about Xia Yi's move.
They don't remember, but Old Zhou and the others do. They have been secretly keeping an eye on Songhua Lane for the past two days.
Man Baoyang lay motionless on the bed, her face expressionless. Qian pushed the door open and saw her, then shook her head, put the basin on the shelf, and patted her. "Hurry up and wash your face and hands. Mother has poured hot water for you."
Manbao said blankly: "I don't want to take a hot shower, I want cold shower. Ice water would be the best."
"Girls shouldn't get cold," Qian patted her out of bed and said, "Wash up first. Mother has something to tell you."
Manbao got up and washed up. Qian sat by the bed and folded her clothes. She said, "The Xia Yi family started moving things today. Your eldest brother and fifth brother went to check it out secretly. It will probably be almost done tomorrow after another day. Your father and I are saying that they will definitely move everything out."
She sighed and said, "They've been using those things for more than ten years, and I don't really want to keep them, so I still have to buy more beds, tables, chairs, and benches in the house..."
Manbao raised his wet little face from the wooden basin and asked blankly, "Do we still need to decorate this house?"
Qian gave her a sidelong glance and said, "Of course it needs to be decorated. Not only does it need to be decorated, but someone needs to be assigned to look after it. Otherwise, if it's rented out, the house will become dilapidated if it's not occupied."
She said, "From now on, during every festival, especially Qingming and Double Ninth Festival, you must come back to worship your ancestors. Your grandparents and great-grandparents need you to pay respects to them. Although your father and I won't let you change your surname, you still have to fulfill your filial duty."
Manbao scratched his head and agreed obediently.
Seeing her tired face, Qian asked with concern, "You've been leaving early and coming back late these past two days. How come the students in Shangzhou are more capable than those in the capital?"
Man Bao hung his head and said, "Not really. It's just that when we were in the capital, we discussed things with each other. When we participated in literary gatherings, since we were young, few people would ask us difficult questions. But in Shangzhou, we have high status and both graduated from the Chongwen Academy. Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also studied at the Imperial College. So not only the students, but also the academic officials and doctors like to ask us questions."
The main thing is that everyone wants to know the level of the Imperial College and Chongwenguan in the capital. With the same number of people, Zhou Man and others are certainly not afraid, but that is not the case now.
Qian frowned and asked, "Are they trying to embarrass you?"
Manbao shook his head and sighed, "Master said they like and admire us."
So in order to live up to this love and admiration, they could only think about it all night to find the answer.
Manbao wanted to cry.
In Mr. Zhuang's words, "You've been living in praise for the past year. It's time to realize that there are always people better than you."
So, the three of them discovered that there really are always people better than you. Where did they read so many books and know so many questions?
At this time, County Magistrate Zhai was holding his bowl and chopsticks, staring blankly at his eldest son who was eating across from him.
Madam Zhai gave him a piece of meat with her chopsticks and couldn't help asking, "Why is the master staring at Dalang?"
County Magistrate Zhai came back to his senses, looked down at the food in his bowl, shook his head and said, "Let me see what's wrong with my son."
Madam Zhai: “…Did you see that?”
Magistrate Zhai nodded. "You can't tell from the outside, so I guess it's just that the brain matter in his head is a little different. Otherwise, how could he be so different if we were all studying the same thing?"
Zhai Dalang couldn't eat any more. He looked up from his bowl and said, "Father, are you going to praise Bai Shan and the others again? I've been hearing so much these past two days that my ears are almost callused."
Magistrate Zhai shook his head. "Why should I praise them? I already know you are far inferior to them."
Zhai Dalang looked somewhat unconvinced.
Magistrate Zhai said, "A man borrowed two books from me yesterday afternoon and returned them early the next morning. You were still washing up when he came to my study to look for books. He read the books and copied a lot of things before going to the literary gathering. Only then did you change your clothes and take your servants with you. Did you read a single page of the book that day?"
County Magistrate Zhai shook his head and said, "No, no, I was wrong from the beginning."
Zhai Dalang's body froze and he was speechless.
Madam Zhai reached out and poked him on the head, saying, "You should get up early tomorrow to study. It's like calling you to get up every day. Can you study harder?"
Zhai Erlang and Zhai Xiaomei, who were sitting nearby, immediately lowered their heads and ate quickly, wanting to leave the battlefield as soon as possible.
Zhai Dalang agreed very well, but he still couldn't get up early the next day. When he was finally dug out of bed by the servants, Bai Shan and others had already come to borrow books. They heard that this time they were borrowing the examination papers of Shangzhou Prefecture School two years ago. Someone had asked the questions yesterday, which were the examination papers from two years ago, and they were stumped.
When Zhai Dalang heard from the servants that everyone was in the study copying papers, he immediately couldn't help but lie down on the bed, wrinkling the clothes he had just put on. He said angrily, "Don't they need to sleep?"
He angrily said, "No wonder they are so short. How can they grow taller if they don't get enough sleep?"
Servant: ...Master, you are one or two years older than them.
The servant helped Zhai Dalang put his clothes back on while advising him, "Master, you're about to get engaged. You should be more diligent these days."
See you at 11:30 pm
(End of this chapter)
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