Chapter 1767 He Sishi
Time flies, and the provincial examination is approaching in a blink of an eye. The provincial examination did not attract much attention in the capital. Recently, the hot topic in the capital is the wedding of the second prince.
The second prince's wedding date was set, and it was scheduled to be after the college entrance examination. Because the Ministry of Rites had secretly prepared in advance, there was no rush.
The eldest son of the Li family got the task, and with the help of the Sixth Son of Wen, he did a good job. Recently, the second prince has also been visiting the Li family frequently, so the Li family has become more cautious.
At the Zhou Marquis's residence, Li asked uncertainly, "Mother, what gift should I give to the Second Prince for his wedding?"
"Just half of the prince's."
Li was relieved. "My daughter-in-law knows."
Zhu Lan added: "Send a gift to the Li family as well. The gift should be half of what was given to the Second Prince."
"The Second Prince's Consort's home?"
Li was puzzled, as there had never been any formalities between the two families.
Zhu Lan motioned Yu Jiao to write honestly, raised her head and said: "Well, the Li family's foundation is still a little weak, but there will be many people giving gifts, so don't fall behind."
She was sure that Prince Qi and others would send a gift. They were all capable of guessing the emperor's mind. A small gift would save the royal family's face and make up for the emperor's guilt. They were all very smart!
Li felt that she still lacked a lot and had a lot to learn.
Zhulan also said: "Li Jiaqinggui should be more careful when giving gifts."
"My daughter-in-law doesn't know much about the Li family, so I'll send someone to find out."
"Well, thank you for your hard work."
Li smiled, "It's not hard."
Yu Jiao waited for her aunt to leave, then put down her pen and said, "Grandma, it's really hard to be the mistress of a family."
"Yes, the hardest part is maintaining the network of relationships."
Yu Jiao, "Sister Yu Lu is tired too. Every time I go to the Wang family to see my sister, she is always busy."
He has to look for Sister Yu Lu for everything, as if he can't live without her.
Zhulan tapped the table with her fingertips, "Don't try to kill time, hurry up and continue writing, your sister is still waiting for your homework!"
Yu Jiao wailed, "My sister is too strict."
Zhulan tapped her granddaughter's forehead and said, "You are such a heartless girl. Your sister is doing this for your own good. You should cherish the days ahead."
Yu Jiao looked depressed. The motherly love of an elder sister was too heavy!
In Pingzhou City, Changzhong and his party were very low-key when they arrived at the city. Several horse-drawn carriages drove into the Zhou family's house in Pingzhou. Even though it was low-key, it still attracted the attention of the neighbors.
The Zhou family was too famous in Pingzhou. If they had not been so cautious and low-key, the doorstep of the Zhou family would have been trampled down. Every time the house in Pingzhou was opened, it meant that another member of the Zhou family had come to take the exam.
This time, everyone who was well-informed knew that the youngest son of Marquis Zhou in the capital, the younger brother of Princess Qin, had returned to take the examination for the scholar and had won the first place in the county examination.
Some people in Pingzhou City had been waiting early, but no one showed up after waiting for a long time. When the servants guarding near the house saw the carriage arrive, they ran away quickly to report the news.
Changzhong and Minghui's personal servants were carefully selected, and the guards who returned with them were highly skilled in martial arts and could be noticed before they even entered the yard.
The gate closed, and the group got off the carriage. The guard came forward and said, "Young Master, there are people guarding the door."
Changzhong walked inside and said, "If someone sends me an invitation, I will accept it. No one will come to my house when the examination is so close. As for gifts, I will refuse them."
Guard: "Yes."
The house has always been guarded. Before the palace examination, the clan leader sent clan members to take care of it, and the rooms for the group have already been allocated.
Changzhong and Minghui lived together. Minghui had no chance to hide the newspaper. As soon as he entered the room, he lay on the bed without moving. "I'm so tired."
"You've been eating all the way here. I don't see how tired you are."
Ming Hui, "I eat because it's boring."
Changzhong kicked Minghui's shoes and said, "Get up and read. Don't stop reading just because you think you can succeed. Many people fail because of carelessness."
Minghui thought he was not a careless person, so he got up and read. He took out the book he wanted to read and said, "Uncle, we are not free after the provincial examination. Why don't we wait until the college examination to come back."
Changzhong glanced at him and said, "Just stay here until the entrance exam is over."
Minghui, "Oh."
Half an hour later, the doorman received a lot of invitations. The servant came in with the invitations. Minghui put down the book in his hand and looked through the invitations.
Minghui pulled out the Zhao family's invitation, "Tsk tsk, you actually dared to send me an invitation. Lord Zhao has taken refuge with the Wang family."
Chang Zhong didn't even raise his head. "The Zhao family didn't expect us to reply to the post. The Zhao family just sent it to us following the crowd."
The Zhao family was afraid that if they didn't send the invitation, the Zhou family would think too much.
Minghui also responded, "I am more cautious this time."
Chang Zhong, "The Zhao family relies on the Wang family, no matter which family dares to offend our Marquis' Mansion."
Naturally, the Zhao family had to treat the couple with caution. They had some affection for each other before, but now all of it was gone. The Zhao family was deeply afraid of making any mistakes and getting into trouble.
Minghui took out the prefect's letter again, "A letter from the prefect's son."
Changzhong, "I heard that the prefect's term is about to end. He wants to follow in his father's footsteps."
Minghui clicked his tongue twice, "It's better to stay in Zhoujia Village."
When I have nothing to do, I can just teach the children in the tribe school or discuss knowledge with the younger generations in the tribe. There aren't so many twists and turns to disturb people's leisure.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye the provincial examination was over, and all that was left was to be announced. In the capital, Zhulan had already met Miss He's grandmother. The two met in a temple. The old lady of the He family brought two granddaughters, a concubine's daughter who had already married, and Miss He.
Zhulan and Suxuan brought Yuwen and her siblings. After investigation and understanding, Suxuan was very satisfied with He Sishi and even painted a portrait of the girl for Mingjia to see.
The two families met, and Zhulan went to worship Buddha with the old lady of the He family. The old lady did not mention her granddaughter, but asked: "I heard that the youngest son of the lady returned home to take the examination for the scholar. I heard from the old man that the young master is very smart and will definitely get a good score."
In fact, what the old man said most was that the young master of the Zhou family was surrounded by either the Fourth Prince or the future Prince Consort. It was rare for him to be able to keep a stable mind at such a young age. Marquis Zhou knew how to educate his children.
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "Thank you for your good words."
When her son's county exam results were sent back to the capital, she had the right reaction. Her son's teachers were either the top scorers or the second-best scorers in the imperial examination, and he had even taken classes taught by great scholars. She was looking forward to her son getting the top score and bringing it back for the family.
Zhu Lan looked at the illegitimate daughter of the He family who was kneeling in the distance, "I have long heard that the He family is kind to their children. Today I see how kind the He family is."
The old lady turned her head to look at her illegitimate granddaughter, "I can't say I treat them equally, but I haven't treated them harshly either."
Zhulan's good impression of the He family also comes from this. The He family did not treat their illegitimate daughters as concubines, and they were very careful in choosing marriages for their illegitimate children. They did not treat them as tools to be used.
Even though the He family has a concubine's child, the backyard is considered peaceful in the capital.
On the other side, Yuwen and He Sishi went to see the scenery together. The two had seen each other more often recently. Miss He was trying to please Yuwen, and Yuwen was trying to get along with her, so the two became much closer.
Su Xuan pushed her son and said, "I saw the real person today. Tell me how you feel about him."
Mingjia was a chatterbox when he was young, but he changed a lot when he grew up and became a calm young man. The boy's ears turned red, "Mom, this is not the place to talk."
Su Xuan curled her lips, "You are not as decisive as your sister. If I hadn't been more decisive, you and your sister wouldn't have been born."
(End of this chapter)