Hearing this, Meng Zhao couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, "It seems you've encountered a situation where the candidates are being sought after. Brother Zhou is quite handsome, so I imagine he's been chosen by many families."
Aunt Qian's eyes widened as she listened to hear if her son had found a good family.
Zhou Yunyuan, feeling embarrassed and annoyed by everyone's stares, decided to shift the blame, saying, "Hey, stop talking about me. What I did is nothing. If we're talking about attracting attention, you have to look at Brother Shen. When we left the city, countless beauties surrounded us at the city gate to see us off. Our carriage had to be stopped by people every now and then. If it weren't for that, we would have been home yesterday." He then looked at Shen Qinghe with a mocking expression.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghe's expression changed slightly. He quickly glanced at Meng Zhao and, seeing that she remained calm, felt somewhat relieved. He then explained, "Brother Zhou is joking. They are all young ladies from the inner chambers, and they rarely have anything exciting to see. That day, many candidates left the city, and the city gate was very lively. They were just out to watch the excitement, not to see me."
A sixteen-year-old top scholar is rare enough, let alone Shen Qinghe, who is also good-looking. It's only natural that she would attract attention, but this matter has nothing to do with her.
Meng Zhao said softly, "You must be tired from your journey. Hurry up and get ready. I'll cook some good dishes for you today, and we can have a lively celebration together to welcome you back."
Since the family runs a food shop, they naturally have no shortage of ingredients. Aunt Qian and Uncle Zhou also came to help. Meng Zhao asked Shen Qingze to call her parents over. Everyone pitched in, some washing vegetables, some cutting meat. Before long, a sumptuous meal was ready.
With two scholars at the table, everyone's spirits were exceptionally high. Meng Dashan and Uncle Zhou even drank a whole jar of wine. After a few rounds of drinks, they wanted to persuade Shen Qinghe to drink with Zhou Yunyuan, but Meng Zhao stopped them.
"They just got back, and I bet a lot of people are watching them. Who knows what kind of people or things they might encounter? It's better to stay calm."
The two listened, and although they were somewhat reluctant to leave, they also felt that it made sense, so they did not insist. Sure enough, as soon as their family banquet ended, the county magistrate sent someone to invite them. Shen Qinghe and Zhou Yunyuan quickly changed into clean clothes and hurried to the county government office.
I heard that a total of 2,800 scholars participated in this provincial examination, but only 66 were admitted, with an admission rate of less than 3%.
Of the 127 scholars who participated in the provincial examination in all the villages and towns within Qingshi County, only four ultimately passed and became Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination): Shen Qinghe, Zhou Yunyuan, a student from the county school, and a veteran scholar who was taking the provincial examination for the fourth time. In addition, five scholars were listed on the supplementary list. Although they could not participate in the metropolitan examination next year and could not be considered official Juren, it still showed that they had achieved excellent results and had great potential in the future.
This ratio is quite good for Qingshi County. After all, there were years when there was no harvest at all. Moreover, there was Shen Qing and this sixteen-year-old Jieyuan, who really brought glory to Qingshi County.
After Shen Qinghe was summoned away by the county magistrate, Meng Zhao and Gu Shi were waiting for him to return with their two children. However, he did not return for a long time, and the two children couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep early. Only Gu Shi and Meng Zhao were left in the house, and the two chatted softly.
"Zhaozhao, look at these two children, how fast they've grown! When we first came to the county, they were only a little taller than the stove, and now they're big kids." Gu Shi looked at Shen Qingze and Shen Qingyu, who had fallen asleep, and said with a touch of emotion.
"Yes, time really flies. It's been two years since we came to the county."
"Zhao Zhao, we've really been so grateful to you these past two years. Otherwise, we wouldn't know what to do." Madam Gu held Meng Zhao's hand, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Meng Zhao gently patted the back of Gu Shi's hand and said softly, "Mother, why are you saying such things again? It's fate that I was able to marry into our family."
The two chatted for a long time inside the house, from the hardships of getting up early to make boxed lunches in the village to the helplessness of encountering difficult customers when they opened a shop in the county. People always recall the hardships of the past after their lives get better. On the one hand, they can cherish their current life more, and on the other hand, they can remind themselves not to forget their original intentions.
The two talked for a long time. Meng Zhao looked at the sky outside the window and said softly, "Mother, we have to get up early tomorrow to open the shop. You should go to sleep early. I'll wait for you."
That's how business works. Unless something catastrophic happens, you have to keep the shop open. Even if Shen Qinghe passed the imperial examination, the shop still has to keep doing business.
Madam Gu nodded and stood up: "Alright, I'll go to sleep first. If you're sleepy, you can go to sleep too. Just leave the door open for Qinghe. Qinghe passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. Everyone in the neighborhood knows that. I don't think anyone will dare to come near our house."
Meng Zhao nodded and watched Gu Shi return to her room. She then adjusted the wick of the lamp to make the candlelight brighter before starting to review the accounts for the past few days.
After looking at the ledger for an unknown amount of time, Meng Zhao heard the sound of a door opening outside. He put down the ledger and opened the door to check.
The night was as dark as ink, and a dim yellow lantern came into view. A gentle breeze blew, stirring a few strands of hair on the forehead of the person in the courtyard, revealing picturesque eyebrows and eyes, a high nose bridge, pale red lips, and skin that glowed like jade under the lantern's light, as if it were gilded with a layer of light.
Meng Zhao stepped forward, his tone tinged with concern: "Second brother, why are you back so late?"
Shen Qinghe didn't answer immediately. Instead, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and she looked at Meng Zhao with a somewhat dreamy gaze, "Is sister-in-law waiting for me to come home?"
As soon as he spoke, Meng Zhao sensed something was wrong. "Have you been drinking?"
"No, I only had one drink." Shen Qinghe first shook his head, then frowned and nodded, his tone still somewhat ambiguous.
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