The yamen runners were stunned when they saw the young man in front of them. Although they already knew that the top scholar was only eighteen years old, they were still shocked when they saw Lu Yanzhao.
Congratulations, Lu Jieyuan!
Lu's mother was stunned. It took her a long time to come to her senses and ask, "What is a Jieyuan? Did my son not pass the provincial examination?"
The yamen runner explained with a smile, "The first place winner in the autumn examination is the Jieyuan."
"Wh...what?" The news exploded like a thunderbolt among the villagers, and Lu's mother almost collapsed due to weakness in her legs.
After realizing what had happened, Lu's mother was so excited that tears streamed down her face. She knelt on the ground and clasped her hands together, saying, "Yanzhao's father, Yanzhao's efforts have not been in vain. You can rest in peace now."
Upon hearing this, Li, who was hiding behind the villagers, was so shocked that her vision blurred and she could hardly believe her ears.
Seeing this, Lu Lao Er approached Lu Yanzhao with a beaming smile and gave him a thumbs up: "Yanzhao, your uncle was right about you. You really have brought honor to our Lu family."
Lu Yanzhao remained calm and composed, not even glancing at Lu Lao Er.
He turned to the constable and gestured for him to come in: "You must be tired from your journey, sir. Please come in and have a cup of tea!"
The constable nodded to Lu Yanzhao with satisfaction. He was neither arrogant nor impatient, and his manners were impeccable. He was sure to achieve great things in the future.
The village chief came over excitedly and waved his hand at the villagers: "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and slaughter pigs and sheep to celebrate, buy firecrackers, buy firecrackers! We've really accumulated a great virtue, our village can produce a scholar now."
The villagers were also very excited. Without the village chief's instructions, they volunteered to slaughter pigs and sheep, eager to make their presence felt in front of Lu Yanzhao.
Lu Lao Er awkwardly raised his hand: "I'll go buy firecrackers."
After realizing what was happening, Lu's mother quickly took out several dozen taels of silver from her purse and handed it to the village chief: "My son has passed the imperial examination today, and we should celebrate. Please help us buy pigs and sheep with these several dozen taels of silver. If it's not enough, just ask me for more."
When everyone saw that Lu's mother pulled out dozens of taels of silver without even blinking, they all exclaimed: "Doing business is still the most profitable thing! A single pull out is equivalent to two years' income for them."
Lu Yanzhao is so young and he has already become the top scholar in the imperial examination. His mother and wife are also good at making money and doing business. I don't know what good deeds their ancestors did.
When talking about their ancestors, the villagers thought of Lu Lao Er, who came from the same ancestor, yet his son was such a good-for-nothing.
He's the top scholar in the imperial examinations! Who knows, he might become the top scholar in the imperial examinations. If he becomes a high-ranking official, wouldn't he rise to the top in one step and never be able to escape his status as a poor commoner again?
They should take this opportunity to curry favor with her. The villagers waved to Lu's mother, saying, "This is a great joy, we are all happy. Each family can chip in a few taels of silver to celebrate. Aunt Lu, you don't need to spend any money."
"How could I let you pay for this?" Mother Lu stuffed the silver into the village chief's hand. "Please help me out, otherwise I'll feel bad."
Seeing this, the village chief had no choice but to accept it and instructed the villagers to carry out their tasks.
Inside the house, Lu Yanzhao served tea to the yamen runners. Lu's mother knocked on the door and stuffed all the remaining silver in her purse into the yamen runners' hands.
The yamen runner chuckled and said, "Congratulations, sir! To achieve the highest rank in the provincial examination at such a young age is unprecedented in our county. The county magistrate is overjoyed and says he wants to meet you. You should prepare to go see the magistrate tomorrow!"
After the yamen runners left, the village chief excitedly busied himself with preparations, first setting off firecrackers to celebrate, and then slaughtering pigs and sheep to host a feast for the whole village.
...
The county town, where the results were posted.
Lin Ji and Gu's father arrived last night and stayed there from dusk till dawn.
Finally, the list has been posted.
Gu's father searched the list for a long time before finally finding Gu Qingyan's name at the very end.
"Ah, I won! I won!"
Seeing Gu's father excitedly gesturing, Lin Ji's eyes held a hint of nervousness and anticipation. He squeezed into the crowd and scanned the list from beginning to end. He saw Lu Yanzhao's name at the top, the first-place winner, and Gu Qingyan's name at the bottom, but he didn't see his own.
He persisted and scanned several more times, but still found nothing.
Lin Ji collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected, as if the world had darkened.
He failed the exam.
Seeing Lin Ji's dejected expression, Gu's father patted him helplessly on the shoulder: "Don't be discouraged. If you don't pass once, there's always next time. I failed the exam many times back then, but I passed in the end. Think positively." After comforting Lin Ji, Gu's father remembered that his son-in-law had also passed, and even became the top scholar. He had to go to Toad Village to see him.
"Lin Ji, I'm going to find Yan Zhao. Excuse me."
Lin Ji smiled weakly: "Uncle Gu, please go ahead."
...
Yingniang carefully organized the account books, stacked them together, and prepared to close the shop.
A person stumbled in through the door, reeking of alcohol.
Yingniang grabbed the broom next to her and hugged it to her chest, swallowing nervously. "I...we're closed. We're not doing business today."
Lin Ji tilted her head, her cheeks flushed, and mumbled incoherently, "Huh? Isn't this... Fairy Sister? I... hiccup... how did I get here?"
Yingniang blushed and asked, "Have you been drinking?"
Lin Ji chuckled twice and staggered to Yingniang's side: "Fairy... Fairy Sister, I offended you with my words last time... hiccup... I'm so sorry."
Yingniang took two steps back and whispered, "It's okay, I didn't mind."
The wine had intoxicated him, and Lin Ji had drunk a bit too much today. His eyes glazed over as he looked at Yingniang: "Fairy Sister, what...what's your name? Have a drink with me, please." Before Yingniang could answer, Lin Ji plopped down on the stool and leaned forward.
Yingniang was startled. In the dead of night, why was she drinking with a man?
Although she thought Lin Ji was a good person, it was really disgraceful for a man and a woman to be alone in a room together.
"You've had too much to drink, you should go home right away."
She called out several times, but Lin Ji didn't respond. Yingniang carefully checked on him and found that he had fallen asleep.
What... what's going on here?
Lin Ji is a drunk man; she can't very well take him home. Even if she wanted to, she didn't have the strength.
But she felt embarrassed to leave Lin Ji alone at Meiwuzhai and just leave.
With no other option, Yingniang spent the night at Meiwuzhai.
The next morning, when Sister Wang and her employees opened the door, they were stunned by what they saw.
"How...how come there are still people here?"
Sister Wang looked at the two people who were fast asleep on the table, walked over and called out to them a few times.
Lin Ji rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned: "Good morning!"
Yingniang rubbed her eyes and got up from the table, rubbing her numb arms. When she saw the group of people in front of her, she almost screamed.
Oh no, these people will definitely think she's having an affair with a man.
Sister Wang smiled enigmatically and asked, "Master Ying, what's going on between you two...?"
Yingniang was so ashamed and indignant that she couldn't utter a single word for a long time.
Seeing this, Lin Ji quickly offered an explanation. But the crowd didn't believe him, and all looked at the two of them with gossipy eyes.
Some even bolder ones asked, "When did you two get together? You kept it a secret pretty well."
Yingniang couldn't take the teasing anymore, covered her face, and ran away crying.
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