Tong Cheng'er took Rulan and Ruxue to the bookstore first, where they selected several newly published novels. Then they went to the jewelry shop and bought some new styles of jewelry for their mother and sister-in-law, as well as some exquisite silver hairpins for Ruxue and Rulan.
Then I went back.
After returning to her residence, Tong Cheng'er waited for the Fourth Prince to open his shop. However, she waited and waited, but before she could see anything, the results of the imperial examination were released. After that, Tong Cheng'er stopped paying much attention to the Fourth Prince's activities.
The day before the results were announced, Tong Cheng'er specifically instructed Ru Lan and Ru Xue to wake her up early the next day, even if she was grumpy in the morning.
On the day the results were announced, Tong Cheng'er struggled to get up, washed and dressed, and then went to Shumulu's courtyard to have a meal with her mother. Afterward, the mother and daughter went out to the restaurant closest to where the results were posted.
Upon entering the restaurant, having reserved a private room in advance, we were respectfully led by the waiter to a private room on the second floor.
Seeing that Shumulu was a little nervous, Tong Cheng'er comforted her, "Father and the teacher have both read Second Brother's article, and they both said there's no problem. Mother, just wait for good news!"
Shumulu Shi: "Although that's what I said, the results haven't come out yet, so I'm not sure. How can I put my mind at ease?"
Tong Cheng'er thought that the results would be out soon anyway, so she stopped saying anything. Saying too much would only make Shumulu Shi think more.
The two were drinking tea when, before the results were announced, the nanny beside Lady Shumulu came in and said, "Madam, Princess, Princess Shuyu also came to the restaurant today. She recognized me when I was waiting outside and said she wanted to come in to pay her respects to Madam."
When her soon-to-be daughter-in-law came to pay her respects, Shumulu naturally had no reason not to.
Shumulu said with a smile, "Please come in quickly."
The old woman replied, "Yes, Madam."
Shu Yu came in shortly after. She was quite eloquent, and with her keeping Shu Mulu company, Tong Cheng'er had nothing to do.
Before long, there was some activity in the restaurant.
The results are out.
The servants of the Tong family squeezed their way in from below, finally reaching the front of the list. They then began searching for a familiar name on the list, and soon spotted it at the top.
Then the servant said with a joyful expression, "Second Master has passed... passed the imperial examination with top honors."
As soon as he said this, everyone around him looked at him. The servant was overjoyed and kept repeating it several times before he remembered that he was supposed to go and announce the good news.
The servant squeezed through the crowd and hurried to a private room on the second floor of the restaurant. He then said with undisguised joy, "Greetings, Princess Consort! Second Master has won the top prize."
Shumulu was overjoyed: "Really?"
The servant quickly replied, "It's true! I was afraid my eyes were playing tricks on me, so I checked it several times before coming to report the good news."
Shumulu: That's wonderful! My son is so promising!
Upon hearing this, Tong Cheng'er and Shu Yu both beamed with joy; it was indeed a joyous occasion.
Tong Cheng'er had blind confidence in her second brother. When she heard the result, she was happy. She felt that her second brother deserved the title, so she was not so surprised, but rather delighted.
Shu Yu was different. She was happy and surprised at the same time. She was already very lucky to be able to marry into the Tong family, a family with good traditions and background. Then her fiancé, whom she was about to marry, passed the imperial examination with top honors. She was really surprised.
She had heard that Master Tong was good at studying, but she never expected him to be this good! He was a top scholar!
After her initial joy, Shumulu couldn't sit still any longer.
"Let's go home. Such good news deserves a celebration."
When Shumulu said she was going back to the manor, Tong Cheng'er naturally had to leave with her. Shu Yu took her leave at the right time. She had come out of the manor today to see her fiancé's ranking. Now that the results were out, she should go back to the manor to tell her family the good news and make her father and mother happy too.
Meanwhile, Tong Wenxue, who was gathered in a private room with several close classmates, also received the news.
When Tong Xuewen heard the news, he was a little dazed. Born into a prestigious family and with a talent for studying, he naturally had his own pride and had dreamed of being the top scholar in the imperial examination. But now that he had actually achieved his wish, he felt a little unreal.
However, this light-hearted feeling only lasted for a short while. He learned solidly and lived up to his reputation without any falsehood.
Tong Xuewen was congratulated by his classmates, and then he was found by the servant sent by Shumulu. The servant first congratulated him, and then explained his purpose: "The Princess Consort already knows the Second Master's ranking and asked me to invite the Second Master back. Now, people from the family will be coming soon."
Tong Xuewen thought that the top scorer in the imperial examination would likely be visited by officials from the government office, and it would be inappropriate for him to be absent. So he said goodbye to his friend and went back with the servant.
As soon as Tong Xuewen returned home, he was immediately congratulated. From the gatekeeper to the steward, from the maids to the old women, everyone who saw him congratulated him.
He walked into the courtyard of the Shumulu family, and when he arrived, he found that the family members were all there.
Naturally, I was congratulated again.
Before long, people from the prefectural government came to the door. Although they already knew the ranking, it was still a rare occasion for the government officials to come. They gave them a generous reward, and the government officials, having received good luck and practical benefits, left with smiles on their faces.
Then Shumulu also began to give bonuses to the servants in his household.
This brought joy to the entire Tong family.
Not only the Tong family, but even Shumulu's maternal family received the news and distributed reward money in their household, expressing their joy.
The same goes for Tong Xuewen's fiancée's family. To the Guarjia family, Tong Xuewen was already a rare and good husband, and now that he has become the top scholar in the imperial examination, he is even more so. They should celebrate this occasion.
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