Chapter 991 Growing Up (Jingkong Fan)
After leaving the palace, Xiao Heng was about to hand his three children over to his parents, but as soon as he turned around, his father decisively took his mother to Zhuque Street.
Xiao Heng didn't even catch a glimpse of the two men. He stared at the carriage disappearing down the street and muttered, "What are they doing?"
Gu Jiao hummed in agreement: "Let's go on our honeymoon."
Xiao Heng's lips twitched. A honeymoon twenty years overdue...
He looked at the three little ones staring at him with wide eyes and felt his life crumble instantly.
He first sent Gu Jiao and the three children back to the princess's residence, and then set off for the Marquis of Ding'an's residence.
Xiao Jingkong is a well-rounded child who excels in moral character, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor skills. He not only keeps up with his academic studies but also excels in martial arts.
He has recently been learning martial arts from Gu Changqing. Although Gu Changqing said he would send him back, Xiao Heng still tries his best to pick him up every night.
It always feels different when a parent picks you up.
In fact, many people have taught Xiao Jingkong martial arts, including Xuan Yuanqi, Long Yi, Xuanping Hou, Gu Changqing, Chang Jing, and his master Liao Chen.
He learns well from everyone and never gets confused, which is truly a gift.
"Goodbye, big brother! Goodbye, sister-in-law!"
Xiao Jingkong bid farewell to Gu Changqing and Yuan Baolin at the entrance of the Marquis's residence. Xiao Heng also thanked the two of them, and then took Xiao Jingkong into the carriage.
Little Jingkong is not little anymore; he is nine years old (by Chinese reckoning). He is growing taller every day and is no longer a tiny little bean that would be completely blocked by the table when he sits down.
"Bad brother-in-law!" he snorted and got into the carriage with an air of arrogance.
Xiao Heng: He becomes unlovable as soon as he opens his mouth. I don't know where he learned this habit from.
Xiao Jingkong was already a tyrant at the Imperial Academy, aloof and cool, but he always acted so childish in front of Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng.
The carriage didn't take Chang'an Avenue, but instead headed towards Xuanwu Avenue.
"What are you going to do?" Xiao Jingkong has a great sense of direction, especially since the Imperial College is on Xuanwu Street. He is extremely familiar with this area and can tell whether the carriage is on the right track even with his eyes closed.
"This isn't the way back to the princess's residence." He glanced suspiciously at his wicked brother-in-law. "You're not planning to drag me out and sell me in the middle of the night, are you?"
Xiao Heng looked at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "Yes, I'm going to sell you off so you won't raise the rent for me later."
Xiao Jingkong crossed his arms, raised his chin, and snorted, "You still dare to talk? You haven't paid your rent for this year! It's been four months already!"
Xiao Heng dusted off his wide sleeves and said calmly, "Wasn't it used to pay off the debt?"
Xiao Jingkong's eyes flashed: "To offset... what debt?"
"I got into a bird-fighting contest and was given a demerit by the Imperial Academy. They called my parents, and I went to the meeting."
“I was punished twice by the Imperial College for collecting protection money, and they called my parents. I went to investigate.”
"I was punished three times by the Imperial Academy for cheating on the exam, and I was the one who went to investigate."
At this point, Xiao Heng glanced at the little guy and said, "It's settled then, I'll keep it from Jiao Jiao for you, five hundred taels each time. So, you still owe me three hundred taels."
Xiao Jing's arrogance vanished, and he said in a bluffing tone, "You, you, you've changed! You would never have been bribed by me before!"
Xiao Heng wasn't going to let him lead her by the nose: "So you mean I'm supposed to cover for you for nothing? Fine, I'll tell Jiao Jiao later."
Xiao Jingkong exploded: "No way!"
The two, one big and one small, were bickering when the carriage suddenly stopped.
"Young Master, Young Lord, we've arrived," the coachman said.
Xiao Heng stood up: "Get out of the car."
Xiao Jingkong followed him off the carriage.
He looked around, puzzled, and asked, "Huh? What are you doing at the Imperial College so late?"
"I'll introduce you to someone," Xiao Heng said.
He led the way, and Xiao Jing followed reluctantly.
Upon entering the Imperial Academy, Xiao Heng led him directly to the teachers' pavilion.
At this hour, the teachers had long since finished their shifts, and the attic was completely dark, with only one room seemingly lit by an oil lamp.
The two arrived at the door, which was open. A scholar was engrossed in writing something and did not notice anyone approaching.
“Master Sun?” Little Jingkong recognized the other party.
Master Sun was one of the teachers in the prodigy class. Later, due to some personnel changes, he stopped teaching in the prodigy class, and Xiao Jingkong rarely saw him again.
Master Sun looked a bit more weathered than he had a few years ago, with a few strands of white hair on his head, but he was actually not old, only in his forties.
"Why did you bring me to see Master Sun?" Xiao Jingkong asked, puzzled.
Xiao Heng looked at him and said, "It's not that I wanted to bring you to see Master Sun, it's that Master Sun himself wanted to see you."
"Huh?" Xiao Jingkong was even more confused.
Master Sun's eyes were sore. As he raised his hand to rub them, he noticed that Xiao Heng and Xiao Jingkong had arrived. He wasn't too surprised; instead, he felt a sense of relief that they had finally come.
He smiled and said, "Come in."
The two went inside.
Xiao Jingkong then noticed a large number of papers on his desk, covered with all sorts of strange formulas. He had studied a little bit of it and knew that these were the mathematics Jiaojiao had learned in her previous life. One of the classics of the Yan Kingdom contained a lot of mathematical knowledge.
"I apologize for keeping Master Sun waiting," Xiao Heng said.
"It's no trouble at all," Master Sun hurriedly waved his hand. "It's already an honor for me that you agreed to come, sir."
Who could have imagined that the little cripple they once looked down on would rise to become the Grand Secretary of the court?
It was my own poor eyesight that prevented me from recognizing him as the young Marquis of Zhaodu who perished in the fire.
However, his achievements today have little to do with his social status; they are due to his exceptional talent and profound knowledge.
Master Sun didn't beat around the bush; he bowed directly to Xiao Jingkong.
This terrified Xiao Jingkong.
What's going on?
Master, you suddenly bowed to me; I was quite flustered.
After bowing, Master Sun smiled and said sincerely, "The ancestral rules you recited back then were correct. I was too arbitrary and wronged you."
This happened when Xiao Jingkong had just entered the Imperial Academy.
Master Sun was explaining an arithmetic problem to the children in the prodigy class. He extended the problem to the ancestral method, which was passed down from their ancestors and only calculated to seven decimal places. This was recorded in the "Ten Books of Mathematical Classics". However, Xiao Jingkong recited seventeen or eighteen decimal places in one breath.
Master Sun insisted that Xiao Jingkong was talking nonsense and disrupting the class.
Xiao Jingkong then questioned Master Sun's teachings, and threw ten arithmetic problems that Gu Jiao had taught him in private tutoring at him, successfully stumping Master Sun.
Master Sun was not convinced, so he gave him ten questions as well, and he solved half of them.
He also left behind a truly infuriating quote: "What's so strange about me not being able to do the remaining questions? I'm a student! I came here to study precisely because I don't know the answers. If I knew them all, what would I need a teacher for?"
Master Sun was so angry that he took a ruler to hit his palm, but Xiao Jingkong dodged quickly and fell down instead of being hit.
The whole class burst into laughter, and students from the other four classes also came to watch. Master Sun lost all face and dignity, and the grown man was so angry that he cried on the spot.
Afterwards, Xiao Heng took Xiao Jingkong to apologize to Master Sun.
As a student, he should not disrespect his teachers or disrupt the class.
However, Xiao Heng also made a request to Master Sun: "Regarding the issue of the ancestral method, I will try my best to verify it. If it turns out that Jingkong is right, then I hope that Master Sun can also apologize to Jingkong, because you have wronged him."
Xiao Jingkong was touched by his bad brother-in-law at the time, but afterward, his brother-in-law never mentioned it again, and he gradually stopped thinking it was a big deal and forgot about it.
Xiao Heng discovered the formula for calculating the ancestral ratio in the book of the Yan state, and after learning it himself, he taught it to Master Sun.
Master Sun calculated it three days ago.
...
As I stepped out of the attic, it was raining outside, with large raindrops pattering against the eaves.
The rain came suddenly, and no one expected it.
The coachman waited outside the attic with an umbrella.
There were only two umbrellas. Xiao Heng gave one to the coachman and handed the other to Xiao Jingkong.
The rain was heavy and torrential, and small streams were already meandering through the low-lying areas.
Xiao Heng squatted down in front of Xiao Jingkong: "Come on up."
Xiao Jingkong muttered, "I can walk by myself."
"Hurry up," Xiao Heng urged.
Little Jingkong slowly climbed onto his bad brother-in-law's back, opened the umbrella, and shielded himself from the torrential rain.
Xiao Heng waded through the puddles, his clothes and shoes soaked through.
The rain in late spring is icy cold, as if carrying the last bit of resistance against summer.
Xiao Jingkong lay on Xiao Heng's broad and warm back, unable to help but feel his presence.
He thought back to what happened today and muttered to himself, "Why do you still remember? Who cares if he apologizes?"
Xiao Heng said, "Then shall I have Master Sun take it back?"
Xiao Jingkong: "No!"
Xiao Heng chuckled.
"Fine, I'll waive your rent this year."
"Remember to pay back the three hundred taels you owe me."
"Bad brother-in-law!"
...
After the New Year, Xiao Jingkong turned nine. He was undoubtedly a child prodigy, far ahead of the children in elementary school, which made Xiao Heng and the old priest have to give him extra tutoring from time to time.
He wanted to take the imperial examination.
Xiao Heng had no objections, and Gu Jiao agreed as well.
He passed the exam on his first attempt and became a student of the lowest rank.
It was quite rare for a nine-year-old to pass the imperial examination. He was very happy and took the certificate to show off to his bad brother-in-law. As a result, he learned that his bad brother-in-law had passed the examination at the age of eight.
He was completely devastated!
How could that wicked brother-in-law get here before him!
"How old was your brother-in-law when he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar?" he asked the servants in the mansion.
The servant said, "At ten years old, the young marquis could have become a scholar after passing the preliminary examination, but the princess said it was not necessary to do it too early. She postponed it for two years before letting the young marquis take the exam, and he passed it on the first try."
He wants to be a nine-year-old scholar! He wants to be better than his wicked brother-in-law!
The previous dynasty held the imperial examination for scholars twice every three years, but this dynasty changed it to once a year in order to select more talented people.
The imperial examination for scholars hadn't arrived yet, and Xiao Jingkong eagerly registered.
He was confident about the exam, and the old chief priest and Xiao Heng also thought there wouldn't be much of a problem.
However, no one expected that he, who was always so lucky, would have a stroke of bad luck on the day of the exam.
Xiao Ba's dog son chewed up his notebook.
—That's right, the little puppy Xiao Ba that Gu Yan brought from the manor to the capital has grown up and become a father, with two puppies.
Xiao Jingkong broke down and cried.
Passing the exam at ten years old isn't too late; it's enough to be on par with my wicked brother-in-law.
But yes, he's having another Mercury retrograde.
He broke his hand the day before the exam.
Although eleven years old is a year late, it's not that much.
This time he finally managed to get into the exam hall, but after he finished the exam, the exam paper caught fire...
He roared in frustration, looking up at the sky, "You wicked brother-in-law, did you pass on your bad luck to me?!"
At the age of twelve, he stopped taking the exam.
The six kingdoms were at war again, and he joined the army.
Hoping for some guaranteed monthly votes~ Mwah~
(End of this chapter)
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