Since high school, Hu Xu's surroundings have become noisy. In addition to teachers, friends, and classmates, countless strangers have also flocked to him.
There were those who tried to win him over, flatter him, curry favor with him, and even those who wanted to marry him... They turned his once peaceful days into a pot of boiling porridge, sticky and burning.
The joy of high school gradually faded away, and he soon became tired of all kinds of elegant gatherings, banquets, and all kinds of true and false compliments. In the end, he pushed away what he could and avoided what he could.
He hid in Yuan's mansion, and Yuan Zuzhi only gave him one piece of advice: keep your heart and don't forget your original intention.
Afterwards, he was allowed to stay in Yuan's mansion for half a month. This was tantamount to indirectly informing the court forces that were trying to win him over of his position, and also allowed him to calm down and prepare well for the next assessment.
Only after the noise gradually subsided did Hu Xu leave Yuan's house and return home.
The street where his house is located has been renamed Zhuangyuan Street.
As he walked through the streets and alleys, many people greeted him. He was no longer the failed scholar Hu Xu who was ridiculed, looked down upon, and had his poetry manuscripts thrown all over the place.
But he is Hu Xu.
When he walked into the familiar alley, he met Song Qiao who was coming back from selling flowers, and saw himself who had never changed in her eyes.
"Are you back?" They greeted each other in unison.
Hu Xu asked with a smile, "Have you sold all the flowers today?"
Song Qiao nodded, and then said the belated congratulations, "Congratulations on getting into high school, top scorer."
This is the sentence Hu Xu heard the most these days. He thought he was tired of hearing it, but when Song Qiao said it calmly, he felt happy and contented from the bottom of his heart.
"Thank you very much."
Song Qiao smiled slightly, then walked in front of him with a backpack on his back.
Hu Xu followed her and wanted to talk to her about her recent situation, but was stopped by Hu's father who was seeing off the guests.
"Ah Xu, you're back."
The guest was also very surprised and stopped walking immediately, "Oh, the champion is back."
Hu Xu frowned slightly, but soon returned to normal and walked forward to greet the unfamiliar guest.
Father Hu called out to Song Qiao again, "Ah Qiao is back too?"
Song Qiao nodded, "Since you have guests, I won't disturb you."
Father Hu thought to himself, it would be better to come and disturb them.
This guest was a very tactless person. He stayed in his house for the whole day and refused to leave no matter how much he hinted or hinted. After he finally waited until closing time and was about to let the guest leave, Hu Xu came back.
The guest bowed and congratulated, "Mr. Number One Scholar, congratulations, congratulations."
Hu Xu withdrew his gaze from the closed door and forced a smile, "Who are you?"
After the guests left, Hu Xu said to his father and mother, "From now on, if there are any guests, only relatives and friends will be received. All strangers will be turned away."
"But won't this offend people?"
"If I've offended you, I've offended you. It's better to offend now than later. Besides, if someone with bad intentions takes advantage of the situation, I'm afraid it will cause trouble. It's better to be cautious."
"That makes sense. Once you enter the officialdom, you must be careful at all times." Father Hu nodded.
Hu Xu asked again, "Have you returned all the gifts you received?"
Hu's father replied, "Except for the gifts from neighbors, relatives and friends, all other gifts have been returned." He almost broke his old legs running for this.
"That's good." Hu Xu warned, "From now on, when I'm not around, don't accept any gifts from people you don't know."
After receiving the gifts, it is time to help others. At that time, you will not only ask him for help, but also ask the teachers and gentlemen for help.
Father Hu responded, "Okay, I understand."
Hu Xu sighed slightly, then said to his parents, "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry for taking care of everything for me these days."
Hu's father patted his son's shoulder and said, "We are a family. We share honor and disgrace. It doesn't matter whether it is difficult or not."
Then he said proudly, "You have brought honor to our family. Our Hu family has been in decline for so long, but we have finally stood up again. Now we, my father and I, can comfort our ancestors with dignity."
Upon hearing this, Hu Xu also smiled.
Father Hu continued, "But you can't relax yet. Passing the imperial examination is only the first step towards entering the imperial court. You must continue to work hard and strive to become a high-ranking official, a good official, an honest official, praised by the people, and have your name passed down through the ages."
Hu Xu cupped his hands and replied, "Ah Xu will definitely live up to father's expectations."
"It doesn't matter whether you are a high-ranking official or not, as long as you are healthy and stable." Hu's mother was both relieved and worried.
She has seen the fickleness of human nature these days. When Hu Xu failed the exam, many people made sarcastic remarks and bullied their family.
Now in high school, those people have changed their expressions and presented us with generous gifts of gold and silver, as if no one knows what they are up to.
It is like this now, and I don’t know what will happen after I am appointed as an official.
She warned: "There are many people with bad intentions in the officialdom, so you should be careful in the future."
"Don't worry, mother. I will." Now the entire family's fortune and life depend on him, so he must be careful and cautious.
Hu Xu comforted them for a while, and then persuaded them to rest.
They are also very tired from dealing with visitors these days.
After persuading his parents to leave, Hu Xu closed the door and stood in the yard to feel this moment of tranquility.
Suddenly, a scent of flowers drifted over the wall. It seemed that Song Qiao's flowers had bloomed again.
His restless heart calmed down, and he went to the study with a lamp, hoping to find a book to sleep with.
He came to the study, lit the lamp and read a book, but accidentally discovered that the flowers that were originally placed on the flower table were gone, leaving only a bare ceramic pot.
The flowers Song Qiao gave him withered.
After learning that Hu Xu had returned, more people came to visit him.
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