Chapter 162 Examination

Ji Yong did not return to Yuqiao Hutong until it was time to light the lamps.

Nanny Han didn't dare to say that it was Han who was looking for him, and she winked at her children who were walking behind him.

The son nodded, indicating that he understood. Nanny Han then went back to report to Han: "Young Master has returned. I have told the son that he will come over to report back soon."

Han felt relieved and accompanied Ji and his son for dinner with a smile. She sent Ji Qi to the study to study, and she drank tea in the living room while waiting for her child.

About half an hour later, the son who had returned from his mission came to pay his respects to Mrs. Han.

Han arranged for Nanny Han to guard outside the door and took her children to the warm room to talk.

"Young Master, do you have any women you like outside?" Han's voice was a little low.

Zixi was stunned for a moment, and only after a moment did he realize what Han was asking.

"No, no!" he said repeatedly, "Young Master never visits Qinlou and Chuguan."

Han breathed a sigh of relief.

Logically speaking, my son was already old enough and should have arranged a marriage. But when my son just passed the imperial examination, the wealthy families in Jiangnan heard the news and the matchmakers were about to break down the door of the Ji family. However, my son snorted coldly and wrote a couplet and posted it on the door without any discussion, and even said: "Whoever's daughter can come up with the couplet I like will be the perfect match for me, Ji Jianming."

Women in Jiangnan are knowledgeable in poetry and literature, and I wonder how many of them wanted to make this a wonderful story.

Among the couplets that he came up with, those that stood out the most were those of Buzhifanji. Even the old lady couldn't help but nod in approval after reading some of them. But none of them caught Ji Yong's eye.

After a while, everyone got to know the flavor.

How can Ji Yong be choosing a wife? This is a disguised way of rejecting a marriage!

The women who had written the second half of the couplet felt humiliated and pale, and the eldest master of the Ji family, who understood Ji Yong's meaning, broke out in a cold sweat and took down the first half of the couplet with his own hands - if this matter was allowed to continue to develop, the Ji family would probably offend all the well-known families in Jiangnan.

The ladies of the aristocratic families who had daughters waiting to be married had a love-hate relationship with Ji Yong, so naturally no one took the initiative to talk about his marriage anymore.

Han was afraid that her son would be fooled by some adulterous woman.

Given Ji Yong's personality, he would bring the dog home even if he didn't want to keep it outside.

What will they do then?

If she doesn't admit it, will Ji Yong obey?

Admit it. Even if they pretend to be deaf and dumb and don't reveal the identity of the woman, those families whose marriage proposals were rejected by Ji Yong will probably not let the Ji family go. How will the Ji family keep their dignity then?

She felt uneasy just thinking about it.

Now that she heard that her son was well-behaved, she was immediately delighted.

But this joy only lasted for a moment, and Han immediately realized that something was wrong.

That wooden hairpin is clearly for women!

Although the Ji family was not rich enough to rival a country, emerald, cat's eye stone and even diamond were not rare items. Ji Yong left these things unused and hid a wooden hairpin. Moreover, the hairpin was most likely carved by him himself... If we say that the person who took the hairpin was just an acquaintance of Ji Yong, it would be more reliable to say that the iron tree has blossomed.

Her smile froze on her face, and she asked her son anxiously, "Since leaving Yixing, where have you been? Who have you met?"

Ever since Ji Yong carved that wooden hairpin with her own hands, her offspring have been like being roasted on fire.

The young master treats the fourth daughter of the Dou family too well... He wanted to remind Han about this, but was afraid that Han would not take it seriously; but if the young master continued like this, and something happened to him one day, it would not be a question of how respectful or not they were to the elders of the Ji family, but of misbehaving and instigating their master to do bad things. Even with the young master's protection, the Ji family would no longer be able to tolerate them.

When Han asked him about this, he was really surprised and happy. He knelt down in front of Han with a plop and told Han everything about how Ji Yong came up with the idea of ​​visiting Ji in Zhending, how he got to know Dou Zhao, how Dou Zhao treated Pang Kunbai, and how Ji Yong looked at Dou Zhao differently...

Han's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, and it took her a while to come back to her senses: "You mean, Jianming carved this hairpin for the fourth young lady of the Dou family?"

The son nodded: "Young Master drew the pattern himself and carved it himself. It took him almost a month to complete it."

Han was surprised and asked, "Why didn't he give it to the fourth daughter of the Dou family? If I remember correctly, the fourth daughter of the Dou family had her coming-of-age ceremony on the tenth day of the first lunar month."

Ji Ling went to attend Dou Zhao's coming-of-age ceremony.

The son looked worried: "Young Master said that if he can't pass the imperial examination this time, how can he be qualified to send a gift to the fourth lady of the Dou family..."

Han's expression changed drastically.

The fourth lady of the Dou family actually holds such an important position in her son's heart!

If that's the case, why didn't he tell me and propose marriage legitimately?

Is he afraid that Fourth Miss Dou will dislike him?

As the thought flashed through his mind, Han felt mixed emotions.

My son, who is so talented, well-educated, and a darling of heaven, who has been envied by so many people and has had so many people fawning on him to become his in-laws, actually has to humble himself and try to please a girl one day!

What's so good about the fourth young lady of the Dou family?

Not only is she the eldest daughter of a widow, but she is also cold and arrogant. She would beat someone to death if she said she would. If she really married her, her son would try so hard to please her. How could she be qualified to show off to her mother-in-law? Wouldn't it be like marrying a living ancestor?

But if they don't agree... apart from the old lady, there will be no one else in the family who can control their son.

The old lady is very old, she can’t take care of her son for his entire life, right?

According to what the son said, although Miss Dou Si was ruthless, she was also a person with her own ideas. The reason why the son was able to obediently participate in the imperial examination this time was because he was ridiculed by Miss Dou Si.

Marry a wife for her virtue. Being able to control your husband, help him make progress, and bring honor to the family is the greatest virtue for a woman.

Thinking of this, Han's heart underwent subtle changes.

Even if my son doesn't marry the fourth daughter of the Dou family, would he be closer to me?

But if her son marries the fourth daughter of the Dou family... this woman's world is in the inner courtyard. If she can keep her daughter-in-law, she can also keep her son...

Han couldn't help but secretly think that his idea was good.

It looks like I have to ask my aunt about the fourth young lady of the Dou family.

She made up her mind and told her children, "What happened today, once it comes out of your mouth and into my ears, you can't tell anyone else about it. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Madam," the son knew the importance of the matter and swore, "If I mention it again after this, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"

Han nodded, asked her son to stand up, and said, "Don't worry about this matter. I will take care of it." There was a hint of joy on her brow.

The children understood it immediately.

He cried out inwardly, "Oh no!" and said hastily, "Madam, the fourth daughter of the Dou family has been engaged..."

"What did you say?" Han was shocked. "What's going on? Is there anything else you haven't told me?"

"I have not hidden anything from you, Madam." The son knew that Han had misunderstood the relationship between Ji Yong and Dou Zhao, and he told her everything that happened between them in detail.

Han's expression was uncertain, her mouth half open, and after half a minute she murmured, "So, Jianming was too enthusiastic about the job?"

The son lowered his head and dared not say a word.

"What should I do?!" Thinking about her son's character, Han was so anxious that she almost cried.

"What happened?" Ji Qi walked in at some point, "Did Jianming get into trouble again?" He was very worried when he saw the situation.

"No!" Han asked Zixi to leave and forced herself to help Ji Qi change clothes. "I called Zixi to ask what Jianming has been doing these days."

Ji Qi just dotes on Ji Yong and turns a blind eye to some things, but it doesn't mean that he is careless.

He held his wife's shoulders and said sternly, "Do you know why grandfather didn't let Jianming grow up with us? A man cannot stand without virtue, and a country cannot prosper without virtue. Jianming has been very smart since he was a child. Grandfather was afraid that we would spoil him too much, so he only let him study and ignored his character... If Jianming did something wrong, you must not help him cover it up. He is so young now that no one can control him. If you indulge him blindly, even if he gets the top score in the imperial examination, he may not become a famous official who will be recorded in history."

It would have been better if Ji Qi hadn't said anything. After he said this, Han couldn't hold back any longer and tears fell like raindrops: "Jianming, he has fallen in love with someone else's wife..." While crying, she told Ji Qi the whole story and the fact that Ji Yong had carved a wooden hairpin for Dou Zhao.

Ji Qi listened, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Are you telling the truth?"

"This is not a good thing. Am I lying to you?" Han said, wiping her tears. "The hairpin is still under Jianming's pillow!"

Ji Qi didn't know what to say.

This son of mine has never been at peace since he was a child.

If this matter is not handled carefully, not only will the fourth daughter of the Dou family be disgraced, but Ji Yong will also be cut off from his official career.

He thought for a moment and said resolutely, "We have to tell Grandfather about this matter and ask him to help us make a decision." He added, "Now Jianming is just thinking about the fourth daughter of the Dou family. You should not make a fuss and don't let him suddenly run to Zhending in the middle of the night. Everything will be decided after Grandfather makes up his mind."

Han agreed, helped her husband write a letter, and sent her personal maid to deliver it to Yixing early the next morning.

Ji Yong knew that his son was called by his mother for questioning.

The people around him were called in for questioning every few days.

Ji Yong thought that he had nothing to fear from others, and he did not take it to heart. After sending all the books in the Shuntianfu School house to Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang, he wanted to go to Daxing, but he thought that the imperial examination would be held in a few days. If he could get a good ranking in the imperial examination, he could instruct the housekeeper of the Ji family to help him. It would be tiring and he would not get any information if he ran around aimlessly. It would be better to wait until the imperial examination results were announced. So he moved back to Yuqiao Hutong, found all the court reports of the past ten years, consulted his uncle and father, guessed the emperor's intentions, and thought about all the possible situations he might encounter in the imperial examination. When the results of the imperial examination came out at the end of February, Ji Yong ranked fourth.

The Ji family could no longer conceal their joy, nor did they need to.

Given Ji Yong's age, even if he performed poorly in the imperial examination, he could still be named third place.

Ji Yong looked normal, doing what he had to do, but he was muttering in his heart: Could it be that Dou Zhao really guessed it right? He could only announce the results in the palace...

Han was extremely worried. She said to her husband in private, "Can't you give an explanation to the fourth daughter of the Dou family?" Ji Qi stared at her and could not help but scold his wife, "What nonsense are you talking about?"