She immediately put down what she was holding, hurried to the door, and as soon as she opened it, a neighbor rushed in, panting, and shouted with a beaming face, "He passed! He passed! Mr. Shen passed! The messenger from the provincial capital is on his way!"
Hearing the commotion, the neighbors all poked their heads out of their homes and asked in unison, "What? Scholar Shen passed the exam again?"
"What kind of scholar is he? From now on, he can't be called a scholar anymore. He should be called a 'Juren' (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination)!"
Before long, the messengers arrived at the Shen family's gate with great fanfare, and the lead messenger asked loudly, "Who are Master Shen's family members?"
Meng Zhao quickly pulled Gu Shi forward, "This is Shen Qinghe's mother."
The official beamed and bowed, saying, "My apologies, so you are Madam Gu. Congratulations! Your son, Shen Qinghe, has achieved the top score in this year's provincial examination. Here is the list of congratulations; please take a look."
With trembling hands, Mrs. Gu accepted the wedding invitation. She opened it and saw that the address and name were correct.
Her son really passed the imperial examination! Madam Gu was so excited that she couldn't speak for a moment, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
After the results of the provincial examination were released, the list was first posted in the provincial capital, and then messengers would go to the homes of the candidates, accompanied by gongs and drums, to deliver the good news.
This was the special dignity and pomp unique to those who passed the imperial examinations, all to let everyone in the surrounding area know that someone in the family had passed the examinations.
The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in excitement, whispering among themselves, "First place? That's still the top scholar!"
"My God, my house is on the same street as the top scholar! If I ever sell this house, I'll get a high price for it."
"That's for sure. Qing Shi County has produced some Juren (successful candidates in the provincial examinations), but it's never produced a Jieyuan (top scholar in the provincial examinations)! Of course, the price of our houses will go up!"
At this moment, even those who didn't understand the imperial examinations could see that the Shen family was about to prosper.
Aunt Qian, who was standing nearby, also became anxious and quickly went over, "Sir, where's my son? Did my son pass the exam?"
The messenger patiently asked, "What's your son's name?"
"Zhou Yunyuan, Zhou Yunyuan from Qingshi County."
The congratulatory officer glanced down at the list of congratulatory items in his hand, then smiled and replied, "Congratulations, madam, your son has also passed the provincial examination, ranking fortieth."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Qian was overjoyed and started dancing with excitement. She grabbed the person next to her and shook them, laughing loudly, "Hahahaha, my son won! My son won!"
The man was dizzy from being shaken, but he didn't dare to say anything. After all, the unassuming woman in front of him would be the mother of a scholar in the future, and their status was very different.
However, before Aunt Qian could even utter two words, she suddenly tilted her head back and lay down straight, causing chaos in the scene. Meng Zhao remembered how Fan Jin's mother had died of joy upon hearing that her son had passed the imperial examination, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.
On the contrary, the messenger who brought the good news was quite experienced. He calmly stepped forward, put a finger under Aunt Qian's nose, and said, "She's fine. She just fainted from excitement. She'll be fine when she wakes up."
They often share good news with others; it's quite common. As long as they're not overjoyed to death, it's not a big deal.
Hearing that everyone was alright, Meng Zhao was relieved. He asked a familiar neighbor to take Aunt Qian back home, and then sent someone to inform Uncle Zhou at his workplace. He then hurried back to his house to get some silver and distributed it to the messenger who came to deliver the good news.
Upon seeing the reward money, the messengers showered the messengers with compliments, their voices rising higher and higher. As they departed, they left with great fanfare, banging drums and gongs.
After the excitement subsided, Madam Gu finally came to her senses and hugged Meng Zhao tightly. "Zhao Zhao, Qinghe passed the imperial examination! From now on, will we no longer be bullied?"
In ancient times, passing the imperial examination was far more prestigious than getting a job in modern times, representing the fastest way to advance one's social class.
Meng Zhao nodded and smiled comfortingly, "Yes, Mother, your good fortune is yet to come."
Madam Gu did not know what good fortune awaited her in the future, but she did know that the servants who used to have to bow and scrape before her were now all smiling and calling her "Madam Gu" at every turn.
For the next two days, the family received congratulatory gifts every day, even more than when the student had topped the imperial examination. Moreover, all the visitors were prominent figures in the county, and their gifts were incredibly generous: fields, houses, shops, and gold and silver.
Some people even heard that the scholar's mother still had to open her shop every day, so they simply sent two servants with indentures, saying they were there specifically to serve her.
Upon hearing Meng Zhao's words, Madam Gu simply smiled, closed the door, and saw the guest out, refusing to accept anything.
Seven days later, Shen Qinghe and Zhou Yunyuan returned in their carriage, where Meng Zhao, Madam Gu, Aunt Qian, and Uncle Zhou came out to greet them.
The carriage stopped, and Shen Qinghe jumped off first. Seeing that Madam Gu was in tears, he quickly stepped forward to support her arm and said with a helpless smile, "Mother, don't cry. Today is a good day, you should be happy."
Gu wiped away her tears, then smiled through her tears, and patted Shen Qinghe's hand. "It's all your fault. Everyone else had already returned after seeing the list, but you two were seven days late. We were so worried."
"After the results were announced, there were many banquets to attend, which I couldn't refuse, so I was delayed for a few days. As for the rest..." Shen Qinghe paused, then turned to look at Zhou Yunyuan, his eyes filled with a hint of teasing, "You have to blame Brother Zhou."
Zhou Yunyuan stood aside, a hint of embarrassment on his face. Seeing this, Aunt Qian stamped her feet anxiously, "What's wrong, son? Just say it! Don't beat around the bush, it's driving me crazy!"
Zhou Yunyuan scratched his head and sighed, "This is indeed my fault. When I was looking at the list, I was so happy that I shouted it out. As a result, a whole bunch of people appeared out of nowhere and detained me. They refused to let me go no matter what. I have to thank Brother Chen for rescuing me."
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