Chapter 64: Passerby A in Ancient Marriage Exchange Stories (9)
The next morning, before dawn, Jiang Ze got up and began to carefully prepare for today's re-examination. After washing up and dressing, he felt both nervous and expectant.
Just like yesterday, Jiang's father sent Jiang Ze into the examination hall and then went home, leaving the rest to Jiang Ze on his own.
After a full day of exams, Jiang's father and Jiang Ze returned home in the evening. They hadn't dared to take a bath before going to bed, fearing they would get sick and be unable to take the exams. Today, Chen prepared hot water for Jiang Ze, and the family only started eating after Jiang Ze had washed and changed his clothes.
Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Chen wanted to ask how the exam went, but they didn't know where to begin. Jiang Yue broke the silence first and asked, "How was it? How did it go?"
"I think it went fairly well. I handled most of the questions quite well and was fairly confident. As for the outcome, I can only let nature take its course and leave it to fate."
After dinner, Jiang Ze went back to his room to sleep. He hadn't had a proper rest during the two days of exams, and he was so sleepy after eating. The next morning, Jiang Ze went to the school to write down the exam paper from memory for the teacher to see. Whether he passed or not might not be clear, but at least the teacher could see if there were any obvious flaws.
During the days of waiting for the results, Jiang Ze was not idle. He practiced calligraphy and read books during the day, and chatted with his family in the evening. Jiang Yue also looked at Jiang Ze's test paper. It was not outstanding, but it was written in a mediocre way. It was the kind of paper that could be marked or not marked. It all depends on whether there are any amazing people in this year's class. If the previous ones are too amazing, there is basically no hope.
The days of waiting are always hard to bear. In the days leading up to the release of the results, Jiang Yue could clearly feel that Jiang Ze was getting impatient. As the days passed, the exciting moment finally arrived. When Jiang's father and Jiang Ze arrived at the Confucius Temple with the crowd, the area in front of the temple was already packed with people. In addition to the candidates, there were also parents who came with them, servants from the family, and so on. The list of candidates was surrounded by people.
Jiang's father found the corresponding list and ignored his son, pushing his way to the front. Jiang Ze was also helplessly pushed and shoved into the crowd. Under the list, some people laughed and some cried. Because Jiang Ze was still young and short, he was pushed to the very front before he could find a gap to see the list. Jiang Ze didn't have much ambition, so he started looking from the last place.
Su Zheyu, Sima Xiangru, Lin Yunxuan, Jiang Ze, and Song Qingyun—that's five already! Suddenly, it dawned on him, "Hey, hey, Jiang Ze! There's Jiang Ze, right?" He quickly looked down and saw that Jiang Ze was the fourth from the bottom! In that instant, Jiang Ze was overjoyed, incredibly excited, surprised, delighted, and felt a sense of relief.
Jiang Ze was still standing there, processing the news of his success in the imperial examination, when his father suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Jiang Ze's arm tightly, and shouted with ecstatic joy, "Xiao Ze, look! You passed! You passed!"
"Dad, I won!" Jiang Ze shouted excitedly, his voice not loud, but unable to hide his excitement and joy. Upon hearing this, the people around him cast envious glances and offered their congratulations. Jiang's father smiled and responded to everyone, while pulling Jiang Ze to squeeze out and prepare to go home.
Jiang Yue and her mother, Chen, were waiting for news from Jiang's father when several yamen runners rode up on horseback. As soon as they arrived at Jiang Yue's door, they set off a string of firecrackers. Jiang Yue and Chen heard the noise and thought it was some kind of happy occasion. They went out of their house to see what was going on, but as soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard someone knocking on their front door.
Jiang Yue led Chen Shi to open the gate, and the person announcing the good news clasped his hands and shouted, "Congratulations to your esteemed family's Grandfather Jiang Ze for passing the preliminary examination and becoming a Xiucai!"
The people who came to deliver the good news were all eloquent and knowledgeable. They showered Jiang Yue and Chen with compliments, and the neighbors also rushed forward to congratulate them. Chen was all smiles. Jiang Yue quickly took out some red envelopes from her sleeve. Each of the yamen runners who delivered the good news received a large red envelope, and each of the people who came to congratulate her also received a red envelope.
"Oh, congratulations! I knew your Jiang Ze was destined for greatness."
"Yes, yes, maybe he's even the God of Literature reincarnated."
"I've known since I was a child that your Jiang Ze is no ordinary person."
Not long after the first group of people left to offer their congratulations, two more groups arrived. When these latecomers realized they were late, they cursed their bad luck in secret and turned to leave. However, Jiang Yue did not show favoritism. No matter who it was, as long as they came to offer their congratulations and say a few auspicious words, she would give them a red envelope. Those who received the red envelopes immediately beamed with joy, and kind words kept flowing out.
After most of the people had left, Yue helped Chen, whose legs were a little weak, into the house. Chen had a big smile on her face and was muttering something to herself. After a while, Jiang's father and Jiang Ze finally returned home, but they were stopped by the neighbors as soon as they reached the door. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before entering the house. After closing the door, the family was finally reunited.
Everyone was overjoyed upon receiving the news. When they gathered together, they didn't know what to say, just grinning from ear to ear. After calming down, Jiang's father said, "Tomorrow we'll go back to your grandfather's house. You've passed the imperial examination and become a scholar. You should tell them so we can all celebrate together." His mother, Chen, nodded repeatedly.
The next morning, the family rode the oxcart back to the village. After traveling for more than an hour, the oxcart stopped in front of a courtyard. Jiang Ze jumped off the cart first, and then helped Jiang Yue down. The siblings helped Chen Shi down as well. At this time, the people inside the house also came out. When Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Jiang saw the Jiang family, they thought something had happened and hurriedly went to the door to open it.
"What's wrong? Why are you all back? Did something happen?" The old lady asked Mr. Jiang anxiously. Mr. Jiang glanced at everyone with a smile on his face, indicating that it wasn't anything bad.
"Dad, your grandson passed the imperial examination and became a scholar!" Father Jiang shouted to Old Master Jiang with a wide grin.
"What? You really won?" The old lady rushed over and pulled the old man aside. The old man almost fell because he wasn't paying attention. Jiang Ze quickly went over to help him up. The old man held Jiang Ze's hand tightly: "Xiao Ze! You really won?"
Jiang Ze nodded, and the old couple immediately beamed with joy. They held onto Jiang Ze's hands tightly, praising him for his intelligence. The whole family was quite happy, and the commotion alerted the families of the eldest and second uncles next door. Soon, the whole village knew about it. You have to understand that the last time someone in the village passed the imperial examination was decades ago.
As the family was chatting in the courtyard, there was a knock on the door. Mr. Jiang went to open it and saw several respected elders from the village. The last to enter was a hunched-over man leaning on a cane. "Grandpa! What brings you here?" Mr. Jiang quickly went to help the old man, and Jiang Ze also rushed over to help him sit down at the head of the table.
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