Chapter 139 The Second Daughter-in-law Who Was Ugly in the Farming Literature 23
Yes, Old Lady Zhang’s hatred for the Second Wife had reached its peak. She only wanted the Second Wife to suffer with them. This was the situation she least wanted to see.
But no matter what they thought, Luo An's life was still prosperous. From time to time, he could "come across" some good things that could be exchanged for money when he took a walk in the mountains. Therefore, Zhang Rui had no worries about lack of money and only had to concentrate on his studies.
But what they didn't say is that in their eyes, their mother is God's biological daughter. If bad guys come to her door, God will punish them, and if they are short of money, the mountains will help them. Anyone who knows this will be envious for a long time.
As expected, Zhang Rui had been progressing according to Luo An's expectations. He arrived in the capital before he was twenty years old and was ready to take part in this year's Spring Examination.
"Mom, sister, I'm going in."
Luo An straightened his clothes for him, smiled and nodded, "Go ahead, keep calm, it's just a small test."
That being said, it's impossible not to be nervous at all. However, Zhang Rui has been successfully trained by Luo An and can quickly transform this nervousness into motivation. He must do well in the exam, as his mother and sister are waiting for him outside.
But he still didn't know his mother well enough. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, his mother took his sister back home for a feast. Not only that, his mother also bought him a two-story courtyard house while he was taking the exam. This scared him so much that he didn't even care how he did in the exam.
"Mom, did you really buy this?"
"Could it be that I stole it? If you don't want to live here, go out and find a place to live."
Zhang Rui immediately shook his head. "Live in, live in, live in such a nice house. How could I not be happy to live in it?"
After saying that, he happily followed Zhang Hua to his own room. However, during dinner, he still asked a question from the bottom of his heart, "Mom, what if I don't pass the exam, or if I pass, I get demoted to another place? What if this house is just going to be empty here?"
Luo An nodded in his heart as he ate the food cooked by Zhang Hua. She was truly a winner in life. Her adopted son was good at studying, and her adopted daughter had good cooking skills. It turned out that she was the one who knew how to train her.
Hearing his adopted son say this out of the blue, Luo An looked at him coldly and said, "What are you thinking! Go wherever you want to go. Your sister and I will stay here and won't run away with you."
What? He was abandoned by his mother?
"No, mother, how could you abandon me?"
"What's the use of abandoning or not? We both deserve to be tired from following you around! Besides, your sister is grown up now. There are many well-off families in the capital. I have to find a good one for your sister. How can we find a good family by following you around?"
"Besides, you are old enough. It's time for you to leave us and fly on your own. Mother believes in your ability. No matter where you go, you will be a good official."
Zhang Rui: ...No, who asked you to be so confident?
"Mom, it's not that you can't leave me, it's that I can't leave you."
I wanted to be gentle and affectionate, but Luo An slapped me on the back, "What are you talking about! I don't want to raise a sissy boy, grown men, don't be so clingy. And it's easy for us if you really don't want to leave. Do well in the palace examination. I want to go out and brag that I'm the mother of the top scholar."
Seeing that his mother described the exam as easier than eating and drinking, Zhang Rui really wanted to break his mother's fantasy, but he was timid. The words that deserved a beating circled on his lips twice but were finally swallowed by him.
However, there were many top candidates in this exam. Although he was quite confident, he could not guarantee that he could really make the list. His mother was really blindly confident in him.
He complained a little, but was secretly happy in his heart.
Zhang Rui is such a proud little brat.
On the day the results came out, Luo An and Zhang Hua were preparing to make shepherd's purse dumplings. Zhang Rui staggered home after looking at the list. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice that he excitedly announced the good news, "Mom, sister, I made the list."
"If you're on the list, then you're on the list. Why are you shouting so loudly? Come and eat your dumplings."
Zhang Rui wasn't upset at all. He happily walked to the table and asked while eating, "Mom, aren't you excited?"
"What's there to be excited about? I've been thinking about this day since I decided to send you to school."
Although Luo An looked as calm as could be, he was thinking: "Little guy, do you think your mother's elixirs are for nothing? Do you think your mother's books are for nothing?"
Zhang Rui obviously didn't know what she was thinking. He just felt that this was his mother's trust in him, and he was instantly full of motivation.
"Mom, I will work hard to make you the top scholar's wife. Just wait and see how I perform."
After saying that, he finished the dumplings in the bowl in a few bites and returned to his room to prepare for the upcoming palace examination.
The mother and daughter burst into laughter upon seeing this.
"Mom, I'm usually very smart, but why do I become so stupid when it comes to your situation? I didn't even realize you were joking with me."
"Fools have their own luck, let him be."
Zhang Rui did not disappoint Luo An. Perhaps it was because Luo An often instilled some advanced theories in him, and he happened to meet a young emperor who wanted to reform. The two of them had different ideas and created different sparks.
The young emperor was very excited after reading Zhang Rui's article, and finally appointed him as the top scholar.
To be honest, Zhang Rui was confused until this moment. All he could do was work hard. As for the final result, he really couldn't predict it. After all, he didn't know what kind of articles the examiners and the emperor liked.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he thought about some things he wanted to write. He wrote very happily, and the little emperor read it very happily, and then... then good luck fell on him.
"What? Unhappy?"
Zhang Rui was startled back to his senses by these words, and immediately replied respectfully, "No, I just didn't expect my luck to be so good."
"Luck? Isn't luck also a part of strength?"
The little emperor laughed heartily. "I like your point of view very much. I hope you can keep your word in the future. Otherwise..."
“The students understand.”
When the dust settled, Zhang Rui got the result he wanted and was directly admitted to the Hanlin Academy.
He didn't know how he got home, he only knew that he caught a glimpse of his mother in the crowd while riding a horse in the parade.
The next second he jumped off the horse, knelt on one knee in front of his mother, and said, "Mom, I didn't let you down."
Luo An looked at the young man in front of him, thinking about how sickly he looked when he first came here, and couldn't help feeling a little proud. Look! I can even raise a child.
Not only the people in the capital were paying attention to the Spring Examination, but also the people in Zhangjia Village thousands of miles away. When the news reached this land, the villagers were shocked.
I have long known that Zhang Rui is a smart kid, and I have accepted that he may be able to pass the imperial examination, but who could have thought that he would come out on top and win the top three prizes.
The villagers didn't understand how difficult it was to win the "Big Three Yuan" prize, but that didn't stop them from telling everyone about it after they were shocked. One of the people who told everyone about it was the thatched cottage at the end of the village...
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