Chapter 76 The Fifth Young Master Appears
The next morning, Lu Qiniang took Daya out.
When she went to sell dry food yesterday, she heard that someone was moving his family out of the capital and that all the things in his house were going to be sold.
Lu Qiniang wanted to see if there were any bargains to pick up so she could buy some things for the house.
Although the house is not yours, your life is yours.
To the best of your ability, make your family live more comfortably.
As a result, when she got there, most of the things had been sold out.
"Mrs. Lu, there are still fifteen ducks, this year's ducklings, fifteen cents each. Do you want some?" the old woman from the selling shop asked her.
Lu Qiniang waved her hands: "No, no, it's too expensive."
There must be a reason why this thing didn't sell.
If the price is right, can it still be sold?
The woman probably realized that her price was too high, and since there were not many people around, she gritted her teeth and said, "If you want to take them all, it'll be ten cents each."
"I bought a freshly hatched one for only three cents. You've only raised it for a month or two, and it's worth ten cents?" Lu Qiniang said that she was good at making a living and would not be fooled at all.
"No, Madam Lu, this duck of mine isn't something you can buy for three cents a piece. This is a different breed, from the south. I don't know what it's called, but it's very expensive!"
In order to prove that what she said was true, the old woman also specifically explained the origin of these ducks.
"I'm telling you, it's tribute." She lowered her voice and said, "You can't tell anyone about this. My husband works in the Imperial Household Department!"
"Nonsense." Lu Qiniang didn't believe it at all. "Isn't this just a mallard? Can it lay phoenix eggs? Or can eating one of them make you immortal?"
"Indeed," the old woman said, "Twenty ducks were sent here. We picked out the best pair for the emperor, and the rest were killed. My wife couldn't bear to part with them, so she brought them home to raise. Now she has fifteen alive."
"If it were really so bizarre, why would you tell me?" Lu Qiniang didn't believe it. "Besides, why do we have to keep two ducks for the emperor and kill eighteen?"
"Scarcity makes things valuable. If there are too many, they will seem worthless," said the old woman.
"Oh, then sell them to someone else. I don't want them. Hey, do you still want these coarse porcelain bowls? Sell them to me at a discount."
"What coarse porcelain bowl? You don't understand. That's from the official kiln." The old woman was a little impatient. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Forget it. You can't take those ducks with you. Four cents each. Take them all."
In fact, she also had some suspicions that the emperor had been fooled.
This is really no different from an ordinary duck.
Moving is imminent, so deal with it quickly.
Lu Qiniang counted on her fingers for a while, bargained, and finally took fifteen ducks home for fifty coins.
"Xiao Yan, look at the ducks I bought. Hahaha, I made a profit today. She even said it was a tribute to the emperor! We've made it big, raising the same ducks as the emperor."
Lu Qiniang drove the ducks home and found it more and more interesting the more she thought about it.
In order to sell things, these people even arranged for the emperor to participate.
After Xiao Yan heard her story, he also laughed: "In fact, maybe it's true."
"real?"
"The Emperor has lived in the inner palace for a long time, and those who buy things take a lot of money. Anything sold to the Emperor is several times more expensive than outside."
"Oh my god, how can these people be so bold?" Lu Qiniang was shocked. "It would be great if we could also sell things to the emperor."
Xiao Yan smiled but said nothing.
"Let me see where we can fence in a place to raise ducks." Lu Qiniang looked around the yard.
I already have chickens, and if I raise ducks, there won’t be anywhere to put them.
"Forget it, let's just keep her in the pigsty." Lu Qiniang felt a little distressed. "I hope Princess Zhaoyang won't be so bored as to send someone to poison her. How much silver do you think she has to give to someone who will do such a shameful thing?"
Give her the money!
She got the silver, killed the pig, and sold the meat.
In short, whenever Lu Qinniang thought of this matter, she would feel heartbroken, and at the same time, she would curse Zhang Heyao, the unfaithful man, in her heart.
It doesn't matter if you are unfaithful.
You should find a good person!
Harm my pig, let my pig take her away!
Zhang Heyao, who was scolded by her, was now standing in the court with cold sweat on his back.
Because someone was passionately stating his crimes in front of the emperor.
—Divorcing one’s wife and remarrying is ungrateful…
The one who sued him was none other than Zhou Xiaoyao, the fifth son of the Zhou family.
Today is the palace examination. The ministers who are marking the papers have selected six essays to present to the emperor, who will decide and select the top three winners.
This is a moment that everyone is watching.
The emperor was obviously looking forward to it. His face, which had been pale due to long-term illness, seemed to be a little rosier today.
His eyesight was already blurry, and he had difficulty reading the test paper. He even needed the eunuch Teng Wenfu next to him to help him read the unclear small characters from time to time.
The emperor carefully looked through all the papers and finally picked out three.
He smiled and said, "I like all three papers very much. Each has its own merits. I am very pleased to see so many talented people emerge. However, I must discuss this with you, my dear ministers, to decide who will be the top scorer so that we can be satisfied."
After saying this, the emperor said to Teng Wenfu, "Summon these three tribute scholars into the palace."
All the tribute students were outside at this moment, waiting with bated breath.
Teng Wenfu then raised his voice and said, "The Emperor has ordered that the tribute scholars Zhou Xiaoyao, Li Chengming, and Wang Run come to the audience!"
There are young eunuchs outside, passing messages down layer by layer.
Soon, the three of them entered the hall under the watchful eyes of the crowd and knelt down together to pay their respects.
The three of them are not very old.
Li Chengming is the oldest, but only 29 years old, Wang Run is 24 years old, and Zhou Xiaoyao has just reached the age of 20.
The emperor was delighted to see that the three of them were young, promising, and had good temperaments.
Talented people emerge in every generation, and this is the honor of being an emperor.
The emperor asked about his family background and education one by one.
All three of them answered fluently without any fear.
The emperor was even more satisfied.
He suddenly smiled and said, "I am very satisfied with all three of you. But there is only one number one. Come and talk to me now, who should I nominate for the top spot, second place, and third place!"
This is a life-threatening question.
Recommending yourself is not modest.
When recommending others, if you praise them too falsely, it is insincere; if you praise them too sincerely, you may be afraid of being squeezed out.
It’s so difficult.
So for a moment, the three of them were silent.
The emperor waited for a moment and was about to call out his name when Zhou Xiaoyao stood up.
The emperor looked expectant.
To be honest, he was most satisfied with Zhou Xiaoyao.
He is the youngest and has the most outstanding temperament. Even if his writing is comparable to theirs today, he will surely surpass the other two in five or ten years.
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