One of the people in the group had a good eye and recognized him as the King of Yue.
"Your Highness, we are on our way to the He family to deliver the good news of the successful candidate Han Wenzheng."
The King of Yue said calmly, "Follow my carriage."
Having said that, he lowered the carriage curtain.
Upon hearing this, everyone wondered if the King of Yue knew the location.
Alright, let's go then.
So, the King of Yue's carriage led the way, followed by the procession delivering the news of victory, and the whole group headed towards the He family.
Upon arriving at the He family's residence, the gatekeeper informed them that the mistress and young master had not yet returned.
The people in the team delivering the good news looked at each other in bewilderment.
King Zhao Changqing of Yue entered the gate with familiarity and said to everyone, "Their carriages are moving slowly, so please come in and wait."
With the prince present, everyone felt somewhat restrained, unsure whether to go in or not, and unsure of what to do.
Seeing their reaction, Zhao Changqing said, "What? I've personally waited here, but you're unwilling to wait?"
Then everyone went into the courtyard and sat down casually.
The servants and young men of the He family busied themselves boiling water and pouring tea for everyone.
After waiting a while longer, He Youyou and Ali's carriage finally arrived at the door.
Upon entering the courtyard and seeing the crowd of people, He Youyou immediately understood what was going on.
After the gatekeeper introduced He Youyou's identity, the people who delivered the good news all stood up to congratulate He Youyou and Ali and ask for rewards.
He Youyou had the housekeeper take out the celebratory money that had been prepared in advance and distribute it to everyone.
The courtyard was noisy and bustling for a while, but after the crowd dispersed, it returned to silence.
Steward Qian carefully unfolded the report of victory and said to He Youyou, "This report of victory should, in principle, be posted in the main hall."
"Okay, be careful. Frame it first and then paste it. Don't ruin it."
Not long after, Cheng Tingrui also arrived.
"Minzhi, I haven't even had a chance to tell you yet, how did you find out so quickly?" He Youyou asked, somewhat surprised.
Cheng Tingrui didn't dare tell her that he had been keeping an eye on the results of the exam.
"The news of being in the top three is all over the city today, how could I not know?"
As Cheng Tingrui spoke, he looked at Ali with a somewhat complicated expression: "Ali, congratulations."
Ah Li raised her hand in thanks and said, "Thank you, Uncle Cheng."
Cheng Tingrui paused upon hearing this address.
Turning her head, she pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Youyou, I've prepared some small gifts as a congratulatory present. They're nothing but tokens of my respect."
He Youyou asked the housekeeper to compile a list of all the congratulatory gifts received, intending to register them under Ali's name later.
He Yi naturally included the fame and fortune his child earned in his own savings.
Next came the preparations for the banquet.
Just as they were getting ready, there was some noise outside the door.
Surprisingly, even the King of Qi arrived with congratulatory gifts.
He Youyou was quite surprised: "Oh, Your Highness, how did you find out too?"
King Qi gestured with his chin toward Zhao Changqing in the hall: "My fourth brother sent someone to tell me."
Then, he lowered his voice and whispered in He Youyou's ear, "From my fourth brother's perspective, Ali is also my nephew, so it's only right that I give him a gift."
Everyone enjoyed a lively meal.
After the party ended, He Youyou pulled Cheng Tingrui to a quiet place.
The two stood in the corner talking.
"Minzhi, is the Liu's Sandalwood Shop where you bought the incense in Yangzhou?"
"yes."
"Are you familiar with the people at that incense shop? Could you help me find out if there's anyone there named Ah Ren?"
Cheng Tingrui's eyes flickered when he heard the name.
"Youyou...how do you know about Ah Ren?"
"So there really is such a person?" He Youyou said happily. "Ali said his mother asked him to find this person before she passed away. If you know him, could you help me get in touch with him?"
Cheng Tingrui remained silent for a moment, then lowered his eyes and said, "Ah Ren... I don't know him well. It seems he left the incense shop many years ago, and I don't know where he is now. I can't contact him either, I'm sorry."
He Youyou was stunned.
Has this only lead gone cold?
"Does the shopkeeper or clerk of this incense shop know where he went?"
Cheng Tingrui shook his head: "Aren is no longer in Yangzhou, and they don't know that either."
The Prince of Yue's Palace.
Zhao Changqing was taking a nap on the couch.
The left guard entered and closed the door.
"Your Highness."
"explain."
"Cheng Tingrui seems to be lying to the mistress."
"oh?"
The left guard recounted the conversation he had just overheard.
He added, "Your Highness, Cheng Tingrui's heart was beating faster than usual when he spoke, which suggests that what he said was not true."
Zhao Changqing suddenly opened his eyes: "Go investigate."
"yes."
Cheng Tingrui left the He family and returned to the Cheng family's old residence.
When the old servant saw him return, he hurried forward and said, "Master, you're back."
Cheng Tingrui stopped in his tracks, his gaze lingering on him for a moment: "Uncle Ren, that child got into high school, third place."
Upon hearing the news, Renbo's face broke into a wide smile: "The Second Young Master has passed the imperial examination with flying colors. If the Master knew this in the afterlife, he would surely be gratified. We should go and offer incense to the Master and tell him the news."
Cheng Tingrui nodded silently.
But he added, "Uncle Ren, if anyone asks about you recently, don't say anything. Just pretend you don't know."
Renbo was completely baffled and didn't understand what he meant.
Cheng Tingrui said nothing more and turned to walk towards the small ancestral hall where his father's memorial tablet was located.
The pale blue figure, appearing and disappearing in the light and shadow filtering through the latticed window, gradually faded into the distance.
After the results of the provincial examination are announced, the palace examination will be held in April.
He Youyou, fearing it would affect Ah Li's mood, kept quiet about the fact that the Yangzhou lead had been temporarily cut off.
This dynasty follows the old system, and the palace examination is conducted by the emperor himself, with only one policy question.
"Based on your understanding of the emperor, what kind of questions do you think he would ask?"
He Youyou gathered the three members of the royal family at a table and asked them a question.
Zhao Changqing, a poor student, shook his head.
Zhao Wenqi, a poor student, shook his head.
Even Zhao Changyi, a poor student, shook his head.
He Youyou covered her face.
Sigh! Even with three people, we can't even produce half a top student.
After much deliberation, she finally went over the recent major political events with Ahri.
The recent policy of the imperial court has shown a clear inclination: to prioritize agriculture, promote land reclamation, exempt taxes, and increase national treasury revenue.
In terms of diplomacy, we will strengthen friendly exchanges with neighboring countries, open up trade routes, and accept foreign students.
In addition, we should also pay attention to the Hajj pilgrimage for officials that just took place at the end of last year.
From the examiner's perspective, candidates might be asked to discuss: How to evaluate officials? How to motivate officials to achieve more political accomplishments? How to prevent laziness and inaction in governance? How to reduce corruption?
Yes! Corruption!
Didn't a wave of corrupt officials get investigated and punished at the end of last year?
This incident caused quite a stir at the time, and it might be a test point.
He Youyou found the top three papers from previous years for Ali, and after reading them through, she discovered a commonality.
Those who can get into the top three are all very talented.
The article is rich in classical allusions and uses beautiful language.
They put forward unique strategies for governing the country, demonstrating their extensive knowledge and profound thinking.
However, for He Youyou, a modern businessperson, these articles all lacked something.
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