Kangxi nodded, then hugged Mingxiu tightly in his arms.
The Lunar New Year passes quickly, and by the time it's over, it'll be exam time.
The capital city has been incredibly lively these past few days. Mingxiu and Kangxi sat in the restaurant, looking down at the sea of people below, and couldn't help but gasp in amazement.
"There are so many people here, and many of them don't look like scholars. Why are they all taking advantage of this time to come to the capital?"
Kangxi glanced down and said, "Aren't they all students? There are some business people among them, and some who probably want to take this opportunity to meet talents from other fields." The capital is developing rapidly now, and it's not just those who passed the imperial examinations; there are many talents from various fields. For example, many women from the girls' school that Mingxiu founded are now doing business.
Before they came out, I didn't realize it, but now that these women have come out, their abilities are unmatched by many men. In addition, there are some who know various foreign languages. These are rare talents, and many of them are in the capital and coastal areas.
The imperial examinations in the capital attract many people who want to meet talented individuals. Some also come to explore business opportunities, taking advantage of their children's or others' exams to witness the development of the capital. This explains the large number of talented people involved.
Mingxiu nodded after hearing Kangxi's words.
"That's good. I knew there weren't this many people before. With so many people, it would be so dangerous if something happened." Mingxiu looked at the crowd below and was hesitant to go down. It would be very dangerous if a stampede or a child abduction occurred.
"Don't worry, although there are many people, the government is not to be trifled with. Especially at this time, if something happens, they can't afford to take responsibility. So they are very well prepared." Kangxi said, raising his eyes to Mingxiu: "See those tea stalls ahead? They are all government officials, and those standing on them have binoculars in their hands. They are watching very carefully. If anything happens, they can find out immediately and deal with it."
Mingxiu followed Kangxi's gaze and indeed discovered many people hiding in the shadows; at first glance, they were truly undetectable.
"Great, you've come up with that! That's exactly how it should be." Mingxiu nodded. New technologies are meant to be used, and this is a perfect opportunity to apply them.
"Shall we still go downstairs? There are so many people, I'm afraid we'll get squashed," Mingxiu said.
"Let's not go down now. Let's wait until there are fewer people before going down." Kangxi frowned as he looked at the crowd.
"Okay, by the way, have any of the students you taught before come to take the exam? Have they contacted you?" Mingxiu asked curiously.
Kangxi nodded: "They've arrived. I left them an address before coming to the capital, so they could come here to find me. I also rented a place in the capital for them to stay during the exams, to avoid any further trouble."
Mingxiu nodded. These days, anything is possible.
"Shall we go see them?"
Kangxi shook his head: "I won't see him. It's inappropriate for someone of my status to see him. Besides, seeing him now would inevitably give others something to say. Let's wait until everything has settled down before making a decision."
Since Kangxi had already spoken, Mingxiu naturally had no objections, since he wasn't her student anyway.
Every year after the exams, there are bound to be betting and parties.
Mingxiu's restaurant was already doing very well, but now it's doing even better. It's always packed, and this is the only room that's reserved for Mingxiu and her family.
Their room was the best in the restaurant, with windows on three sides offering views of what was happening inside and on the streets on both sides. So, although they couldn't go down to join in the fun, Mingxiu was still quite happy watching from up there.
These past few days, since they had nothing else to do, Mingxiu and Kangxi stayed in the restaurant instead of going back home. It had everything they needed for eating, drinking, playing, and studying.
Fortunately, there were no unexpected problems with this exam. Mingxiu was worried that something might go wrong because of what happened before the New Year, but it ended so smoothly.
The results came out quickly after the exam, and Mingxiu and Kangxi soon found out their rankings. Kangxi had five students take the exam this time, and all of them passed, although their rankings were not high.
When Mingxiu heard the news, she was so happy that she ate two extra large bowls of rice.
"Eat slowly, eat less, don't choke again." Kangxi watched Mingxiu eat, his heart pounding with fear.
"Aren't you happy? These are your first batch of students to take the exam, and they all passed! You must be famous in Jiangnan now, hahaha, amazing!" Mingxiu praised, giving a thumbs up.
Emperor Kangxi was happy, but still somewhat dissatisfied: "Although they passed the exam, two of their rankings were too low. I feel ashamed to admit that I taught them." After all, he had been emperor for many years and knew the affairs of the court better than anyone. He had taught them everything in detail, so it would be truly shameful if they still failed the exam.
Mingxiu glared at Kangxi with annoyance: "You're just never satisfied. It's already pretty good that you passed the exam. So many people take the exam to compete for these few spots, it's very difficult, you know?"
"That's true. It's good enough if they can pass the exam. After that, it's up to their own fate," Kangxi said.
He won't interfere in anything.
Mingxiu nodded. Yes, they would have to figure out the rest themselves.
"Are you planning to meet them?" Mingxiu asked curiously.
Kangxi pondered for a moment and shook his head: "Let's leave it at that. It's not good to say anything if we meet again. Let's leave it at that. If there's a chance, we'll meet again sooner or later."
So on that day, several people who had passed the exams and were overjoyed to receive the good news all received gifts from Emperor Kangxi.
"Young masters, these are gifts from my master, who is also your teacher, to congratulate you on your high school graduation. However, he is currently unable to see you."
Ah! The group of people who were initially happy suddenly lost much of their joy upon hearing the news that the Master didn't have time to see them.
"It's alright, we're all in the capital anyway, we'll meet again sooner or later," a scholar comforted him.
"Yes, yes, it's okay." They comforted each other.
Then he accepted the gift, and was stunned by the house deed in his hand.
...
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