Chapter 335: First Class

() Yazi couldn't help but think that Mrs. Zhou must be afraid that Zhou Gongshi would forget his first wife after becoming an official! Yazi felt that he had guessed the truth!

Zhulan took the two house deeds back home. When she got home, Zhou Shuren came back.

There was a small pile of banknotes on the table. Zhulan picked it up and counted it. "Just as I guessed, it has only increased tenfold."

Four thousand taels of silver in my hand!

Zhou Shuren has no vision for investment. He has never invested in modern times. He has never even bought a financial management product. He only knows how to save money!

He really admired Zhulan's investment vision and decisiveness. He worked very hard but could not earn as much as Zhulan did after just a few resales.

Zhulan took the banknotes, took out the box, put the property deed and banknotes in it, and sealed it again. Zhulan sat back in her chair, "Yao Zheyu must have realized your intention!"

"What does it matter if I react? Anyway, the remaining land has been sold. I would rather sell it at a lower price than give the remaining land to Yao Zheyu. I have already made my intention clear."

Zhulan was a little worried, "Even though you have torn down Yao Zheyu, he might be angry with you and use his connections to target you after the results are announced."

Zhou Shuren sipped his tea and said, "So I want to enter the first rank. Officials in the first rank are appointed immediately."

Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief. There were only three candidates in the first class: the top scholar, the second scholar, and the third scholar. Zhulan patted Zhou Shuren's hand and said, "Second place is also good."

Zhou Shuren, "........Yeah."

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was time for the palace examination. Zhou Shuren left in a carriage before dawn. According to modern time, the palace examination would begin at six in the morning, so everyone took a carriage to the palace in the dark.

In ancient times, there were no watches, so people had to walk ahead for fear of missing the time.

The palace examination lasts for one day and the papers are handed in at dusk. There is no re-examination before the palace examination in this dynasty. The examination is conducted directly in the palace. After the papers are handed in, they are sealed and reviewed by eight people. The papers are divided into five grades. The eight people annotate the grades respectively. Finally, ten first-class papers with the most annotations are selected and presented to the emperor. Finally, the emperor selects thirteen people from the first class.

Ever since Zhou Shuren left, Zhulan has been looking towards the direction of the imperial palace. Today is the last step. What the future holds depends on today.

Zhou Shuren didn't feel much pressure today, but because of Yao Zheyu's disruption, he felt the greatest pressure today.

The entire Zhou family was waiting, so they couldn't even enjoy lunch.

After sunset, Boss Zhou was guarding the gate of the house. The days in April were still not much longer. When Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming came back, it was completely dark.

Boss Zhou waited for the carriage to stop and quickly stepped forward, "Dad."

Zhou Shuren got off the carriage before Wu Ming. After Wu Ming got off, Zhou Shuren asked, "Is dinner ready?"

Seeing that his father was in good spirits, Zhou Lao Da felt relieved and said with a smile, "I have prepared it a long time ago. What I made today are all the dishes that Dad and Mom like to eat."

Boss Zhou looked at Wu Ming and paused, "There are two more dishes that Wu Ming likes."

Wu Ming, "........"

He just came along by chance, no need to mention it specifically.

Zhou Shuren was really hungry. Although there were snacks prepared for the palace examination, and the snacks in the palace were indeed delicious, few people dared to eat too much. Even though he liked to eat, he didn't eat much. Now his stomach was singing a song.

Zhou Shuren quickened his pace and walked into the main hall. Seeing the table full of dishes, his stomach started to growl even louder.

Zhulan smiled and said, "Go wash your hands and eat."

"Why!"

In the evening, Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming ate the most. They were completely relaxed after taking their last exam, while Zhulan and the others were still thinking about the results in three days.

After dinner, Yang Zhumu did not rush back to the house in Xicheng. Instead, he asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, did you see the emperor?"

Zhou Shuren, ".......I saw it."

How could he say that it was just a quick meeting? No matter how brave he was, he would not dare to stare at the emperor directly!

Yang Zhumu was excited, "How is His Majesty? Is he as strong and muscular as the rumors say?"

Zhulan almost spit out the tea in her mouth. She didn't know if it was because of her fear of the emperor, but there were so many rumors among the people!

Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched. "I only saw him once. The emperor was very thin. His face was blocked by a beard, so I didn't dare to look directly at him. I didn't see his detailed appearance, but judging from his outline, he should be good-looking."

Yang Zhumu was a little disappointed. The murderous emperor was not what he imagined. But according to his brother-in-law, he was just a weak scholar. Yang Zhumu couldn't help but look at his brother-in-law a few more times. When the weak scholar became cruel, he was really a cruel person.

Yang Zhumu had no brother-in-law to compare himself with. He accepted the image of the emperor and was not prepared to ask about his brother-in-law's achievements. "I'm going back to my house in West City."

Zhou Shuren stood up and said, "Brother, I'll take you there."

Yang Zhumu waved his hand, "You've been tired all day, have a good rest."

Zhou Shuren insisted on sending Yang Zhumu out, and he always did a good job in saving face.

Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to come back, "I'll get you some hot water to wash your feet. Go to bed early today."

Zhou Shuren was indeed a little sleepy. He had woken up at three in the morning and had been highly focused during the day. Now that he was full and drunk, he felt sleepy. Zhou Shuren held Zhulan's hand and said, "I can go get some water myself."

Having said that, the man went out.

Zhulan chuckled and made the bed. She was also a little sleepy, so she woke him up at the same time Zhou Shuren got up.

After Zhulan and Zhou Shuren finished washing up, they both fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, Zhao Bo came to the house. Zhao Bo was very confident in himself. Although everyone had guessed the test questions, he had prepared a lot. He felt that he could get into the top class this time, but he would not feel at ease if he did not come to Zhou's house.

Zhou Shuren understood Zhao Bo's intention, but Zhao Bo's wish was going to be dashed. In order to seek a balance, it was impossible for the top three to all come from the same place.

It's a good reputation for the first two or three to come from one place, but for the third one, it's a joke. We should all suspect cheating.

He was confident because his answers were indeed good. On the way back yesterday, he had asked Wu Ming about it, and he felt more confident.

After hearing Zhao Bo's answers, Zhou Shuren shook his head. Even if it wasn't for the sake of balance, Zhao Bo still wouldn't be able to make it into the first class.

Zhao Bo came with confidence and left with disappointment, and the uneasiness in his heart came true.

The results were announced on the third day, and there was a huge crowd of people under the list. Today, not only those taking the exam came to check out the list, but there was also quite a lot of excitement.