Li Xinniang eventually left with Yan Qingqing, but she seemed preoccupied the whole way.
Yan Qingqing thought that Li Xin's mother was reluctant to leave the Wu family, so she said with a stern face, "If you really don't want to leave, I won't force you. I'll send you back to the Wu family now."
Just don't come looking for me again if anything comes up in the future.
Why would Steward Wu risk betraying the Wu family to come to Mingzhao Prefecture to tip them off? Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Yan Qingqing knew he must have been instructed by Li Xinniang.
Since Li Xin's mother wasn't being honest, Yan Qingqing decided to pretend she didn't know.
Yan Qingqing was willing to break ties with the Wu family for Li Xinniang's sake, but if Li Xinniang used her as a pawn while still thinking about the Wu family, Yan Qingqing would definitely be heartbroken again.
Upon hearing this, Li Xinniang quickly said, "Mother, I don't want to go back to the Wu family. I just feel that getting married is so difficult. Why is it so different from what I imagined?"
Yan Qingqing replied calmly, "Of course. If two people are in love before marriage, it's just a matter between the two of them."
But after marriage, it involves two families.
Li Xinniang fell silent again after hearing this.
Mu Xi, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Sister, why do you have to hang yourself on one tree?"
If the Wu family treated you well, that would be fine, but judging from Madam Wu's attitude, she doesn't even respect our Madam, so how could she possibly look favorably upon you?
And Wu Jingzhi, you suffered such a great injustice, didn't he show any appreciation at all?
Mu Xi also found it strange. As the son-in-law of the Li family, Wu Jingzhi should have paid a visit when they came to the capital. Today, Yan Qingqing came in person, but he still didn't show up.
Yan Qingqing had naturally thought of this as well, and calmly said, "Wu Jingzhi should not be in the capital."
Li Xinniang nodded and said, "He was sent out of the capital by Madam Wu to investigate the accounts more than half a month ago."
After speaking, Li Xinniang looked at Mu Xi beside her. The more she looked, the more familiar he seemed, and finally, his face gradually overlapped with the face in her memory.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at Mu Xi, asking, "You, you are Mu Xi?"
Mu Xi nodded, without denying it.
Yan Qingqing replied, "This is the wife I found for my second son. They are already engaged, and she will be the mistress of the house from now on. You should call her sister-in-law."
Li Xinniang knew how loyal Mu Xi was to Yan Qingqing. Mu Xi had even slapped her once.
However, she now feels that Mu Xi did the right thing.
Mu Xi was also very perceptive. Seeing this, she stood up, bowed to Li Xinniang, and said, "I hope you will forgive me if I have offended you in the past."
Li Xinniang knew how much Mu Xi meant to Yan Qingqing, and since it was indeed her fault at the time, she quickly replied, "It's not my fault, sister. I was the one who made the mistake."
Soon Yan Qingqing and her group returned to Mingzhao Prefecture. When Li Xinniang saw Li Yueniang and Li Xiangyang, she burst into tears again.
Yan Qingqing asked Steward Yu to arrange a separate courtyard for Li Xin's mother.
There's no need to arrange servants; Yan Qingqing brought back all the dowry that was originally arranged for Li Xinniang.
They were naturally willing to come back with Yan Qingqing, after all, they had suffered all kinds of ostracism from the servants of the Wu family.
Although Li Xinniang defended them, they weren't in the Li family after all. They had all been punished by Madam Wu to some extent.
After learning about their ordeal, Yan Qingqing had Ruyi reward each of them with twenty taels of silver as compensation for the suffering they had endured over the past year.
Yan Qingqing's actions immediately won over the hearts of the people, who became even more grateful to her.
A few days later, the emperor held the palace examination, and these scholars entered the venue full of high spirits.
Regardless of the outcome of today's imperial examination, from this day forward they will all be disciples of the emperor.
Those with good grades can stay in the capital and be given important positions. Even those with poor grades can become county magistrates as long as they get into the second-class class.
If nothing goes wrong in three years, he will undoubtedly be the best candidate for prefect.
Of course, if one falls into the third rank, one can only be granted the title of Tong Jinshi. The future prospects of Tong Jinshi are not great unless one's own abilities and connections are particularly strong.
Someone like Magistrate Gao, who was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), had to endure many years of hardship and possess considerable ability to eventually become a magistrate.
However, in the eyes of ordinary people, being able to become a county magistrate is a remarkable and important position.
Meanwhile, betting was taking place in various gambling dens in the capital, with everyone betting on who would become the top scholar in the imperial examination.
Han Yu, from Chengyang in Xuancheng Prefecture, also had people betting on him, but his popularity was low, not as high as that of Ji Tongwen, the grandson of Grand Secretary Ji.
Ruyi excitedly told Yan Qingqing what she had found out.
Then, smiling, he asked, "Madam, would you like to place a bet? The gambling den is quite lively right now."
Yan Qingqing thought for a moment and asked, "How about Han Yu? Is he popular?"
Ruyi covered her mouth and laughed, "Young Master Han is now paying out ten times the price."
Yan Qingqing understood; they didn't think highly of Han Yu.
So he said, "Take 50,000 taels of silver from my private treasury and bet it all on Han Yu."
Yan Qingqing's sudden offer of so much money surprised Ruyi quite a bit.
It wasn't that Yan Qingqing trusted Han Yu that much, but rather that among all the students, Han Yu was the only one she knew.
Han Yu, who had been detained for 50,000 taels of silver, also entered the main hall with a group of people.
Today's imperial examination topic is disaster relief. The question asks how an official should respond to a year of major disaster or epidemic.
This is a topic closely related to current events. It is said that the topic was set by Xiao Mochen. He believed that officials of the Great Yan should care about the people's livelihood, rather than being fools who are oblivious to the world around them and only read books.
This question has brought joy to some and sorrow to others.
Some students from impoverished families have experienced this pandemic and will pay more or less attention to it.
In particular, the advice given by Lady Mingzhao was very practical.
However, many wealthy young men, especially those from official families, did not care as much about this matter.
After all, they have food and drink, so it doesn't affect them.
Regardless, once the emperor gave the order, the students began to answer the questions.
While others were still thinking, Han Yu had already begun writing. He came from Chengyang County and was most familiar with the plans implemented by Yan Qingqing and Ling Ziyuan.
Furthermore, he had repeatedly pondered these plans and even added his own insights, which is why he could write so fluently.
Even the emperor noticed Han Yu and secretly noted it down, thinking that he would definitely take a good look at his test paper later.
Xiao Mochen also knew Han Yu, although they had only met once. However, Han Yu was the son-in-law his aunt had chosen, and his aunt had even gone to great lengths to make a trip to the prefectural city for him.
When Han Yu enters the court as an official in the future, he will naturally take good care of him.
An hour later, it was time to answer the questions.
Some students were full of ambition and confidence, while others were dejected.
The emperor and several cabinet ministers reviewed all the examination papers.
Finally, four names were selected, and without a doubt, these four people were the soon-to-be champion, runner-up, third-place winner, and honorable mention.
The four individuals are Han Yu, Mu Yang, Ji Tongwen, and Xing Wenfeng.
These four men were all equally talented in literature, so this ranking made the emperor quite troubled.
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