Chapter 589 This spendthrift son
The Yongchang Earl's Mansion.
The Meng family was also waiting for the servant who had gone to check the results to return. Old Madam Meng was paralyzed in bed, and Meng Chengxing was confined to his own courtyard and could not come out. At present, only Meng Dongyuan, Zhao Shi, Meng Chengzhang, and Zhao Shi's daughter Qiao Yunying were waiting for news.
Meng Dongyuan and Zhao Shi were only husband and wife in name only, and they disliked each other. But today, their goals were aligned, and they were surprisingly harmonious. Meng Dongyuan hoped that his son would be successful, and Zhao Shi also hoped that her stepson would be successful, so that she could also benefit from it. If her daughter had a successful stepbrother, she would have more choices when looking for a husband in the future.
Qiao Yunying was astonished to see her mother and stepfather getting along so harmoniously, even chatting and laughing together. She never expected that her mother and stepfather could have such a peaceful relationship. However, she didn't care whether her stepfather loved her mother or not, because her mother didn't love her stepfather either, and didn't seek any romantic love, only a peaceful life. Now that her mother was in charge of the household affairs, both she and her mother were doing well, and her stepfather could only rage helplessly against her mother, gaining no advantage whatsoever.
In this family, her stepfather and stepmother were not good people, but her stepbrother Meng Chengzhang was not bad. As for her other stepbrother Meng Chengxing, it's better not to mention him; he was a scoundrel. Of her two married stepsisters, she had only met the eldest sister and knew that she was a good person. As for her second sister, who had married far away, she had inquired about her and thought she was probably the same kind of person as Meng Chengxing.
Just then, a maid ran in and said, "Master, Madam, Fugui has returned from checking the list of successful candidates."
Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan hurriedly said, "Let him in quickly!"
The servant boy, Fu Gui, entered, his forehead beaded with sweat, clearly having run back to report the results. Seeing his joyful expression, it must have been a good outcome. He bowed and then smiled as he congratulated him, "Congratulations, Lord! Congratulations, Madam! The young master has passed!"
Upon hearing this, everyone beamed with joy.
Meng Dongyuan hurriedly asked, "What rank did the young master get?"
Fu Gui replied, "The young master is the top scorer, the champion of this year's autumn imperial examination."
Everyone was shocked, even Meng Chengzhang was astonished, clearly not expecting to be the top scorer in this autumn examination.
Meng Dongyuan was extremely excited. His youngest son had been spoiled, and he had long placed all his hopes on his second son. He never expected his second son to be so promising. He was the top scorer in the provincial examination and now he is the top scorer in the autumn examination. Even if he doesn't become the top scorer in the spring examination next year, he will still get a good ranking. His future is limitless.
Compared to his second son Chengzhang, Chengxing was truly useless, unable to even pass the county-level imperial examination. It was only because his mother was blind that she stubbornly believed Chengxing was clever and capable of great things in the future. Fortunately, she had the foresight to see that Chengxing was an unambitious and wicked wretch, and thus made Chengzhang the heir apparent. With the Earl's Mansion in Chengzhang's hands, he was sure to revitalize the Meng family.
Madam Zhao was overjoyed, her face beaming with delight. She truly hadn't expected her stepson to achieve such a high ranking. She gave her maid a knowing look and said, "Good, reward him!"
The maid responded and handed Fu Gui a red envelope containing a pre-wrapped reward money, which was intended for the errand boy.
Fu Gui accepted the reward money, thanked his master, and then withdrew.
Zhao Shi looked at Meng Chengzhang with gentle eyes, then turned to her husband and said softly, "Husband, Chengzhang has brought great honor to our family today. Why don't we hold a family banquet to celebrate?"
Meng Dongyuan nodded repeatedly, beaming with smiles: "My son is so successful, of course we should celebrate. We should not only hold a family banquet to celebrate, but also send out invitations to relatives and friends, and invite an opera troupe back to hold a three-day banquet to celebrate with our guests."
Upon hearing this, Zhao frowned almost imperceptibly. It was indeed a cause for celebration that her child was so promising, but such behavior was not only too ostentatious but also wasteful of money. This spendthrift son truly did not know the hardships of managing a household. How could the Meng family afford such extravagant spending now?
Next spring, when Chengzhang passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi, it will be time to arrange a marriage. Chengzhang is so promising, and with the Marquis of Changxing as his brother-in-law, he is very likely to be chosen by a high-ranking official to be his son-in-law and marry a noble lady. Not only will the betrothal gifts be impressive, but the wedding will also be impressive, which will be a considerable expense. Instead of spending that money to invite his cronies to eat, drink, and have fun, it would be better to save the money for his son's wedding.
Thinking this, Zhao was about to refuse, but in front of the children, she had to save face for her husband, so she said tactfully, "Husband, it's good that Chengzhang topped the list, but to hold such a grand banquet to celebrate is a bit too ostentatious. I know you're just happy and want to share the good news with relatives and friends, but others won't see it that way. They'll just think our Meng family is getting carried away. In my opinion, we should celebrate at home. We can wait until our eldest son-in-law is on leave, and then have our eldest daughter and son-in-law come back so we can all celebrate together. What do you think, husband?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Dongyuan frowned, displeased with Zhao's suggestion. His son was so successful, he would definitely want to show him off to his friends and regain the face he had lost because of the family scandal. So he glared at Zhao with displeasure and said dismissively, "Women are always so scheming. It's perfectly normal to have a banquet to celebrate a happy occasion in the family. How is that being carried away?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "Father, I think Mother is right. The family can celebrate at home; there's no need for a big banquet."
Zhao glanced at Meng Chengzhang with a hint of surprise, unsure whether he truly agreed with her.
Meng Chengzhang smiled in response. Although he was not in charge of the household, he knew the family's situation. His stepmother was good at managing the household and the money was used effectively without any extravagance. In this respect, she was similar to his previous stepmother, Dong Shi, but she was much more assertive than his previous stepmother and had his father completely under her control.
Meng Dongyuan was surprised that his son would agree with Zhao Shi's words, and his brows furrowed even more: "Chengzhang..."
Meng Chengzhang interrupted him: "Father, I've only passed the provincial examination, not the imperial examination. It's always better to keep a low profile. I only got first place by luck this time. If I don't do well in the imperial examination next spring, or even fail, won't people laugh at us for being too happy too soon?"
Upon hearing his son's words, Meng Dongyuan pondered for a while. Although reluctant, he finally nodded and reluctantly agreed to Zhao's decision. His son already had a rift with him, and if he were to oppose his son, the rift would likely deepen. To bridge the gap, he would have to go along with his son's wishes when necessary.
After listening to her stepson's words, Zhao gave him an appreciative look. It was truly rare for someone so young to have achieved so much and yet remain so humble and composed. She was sure he would have a bright future.
Not wanting to stay with her husband any longer, she stood up and said, "Husband, I'll go tell the kitchen to prepare tonight's family dinner."
Although she couldn't know the results of the autumn examination in advance, she felt it was better to be prepared, so yesterday she instructed the servants who were in charge of purchasing to prepare the ingredients needed for today's family banquet. Now that her stepson had passed the examination, she only needed to give him a menu and give the kitchen an order.
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