Chapter 447: Group Photo of Key Class
general's office.
After getting off the carriage, Xu Wan did not return to her room, but said, "Originally, we said that we would draw a group photo of the whole class after they entered the Gongyuan. So, shall we go to the study room to start working now?"
"Okay." Zong Zhao responded.
Because the project was large and might take a long time to complete, they selected a long, blank scroll in advance and placed it in the large study room early on.
The two first made a sketch on a small piece of paper. Zong Zhao was responsible for drawing two versions of the outline of the large study to be used to fill in the character draft.
Xu Wan began to list the people in the key class:
The student group consists of five people: Zong Jincheng, Zong Wenxiu, He Zheng, Shen Yibai, and Wei Xinglu.
The five members of the Master Group are: Xu Wan, Bai Lixi, Yan Suxue, Su Xi, and Zong Zhao.
The five members of the private training group are: Pan Hongzhi, Zhao Yin, Cheng Zhidong, Jiang Yan, and Xu Jin.
Xu Wan hissed and said, "I don't know if I don't line it up. There seem to be too many people in a row. There are fifteen people. Wouldn't it be too dull to just draw a group photo of everyone?"
Zong Zhao picked up the two sketches in his hand and said to her, "Take a look at this. How about drawing two pictures side by side? One is in the courtyard of the study, and the other is in the inner room of the study. Both pictures have five children, and the teachers occupy half of the inner and half of the outer rooms."
"Then the children are a bit repetitive..." Xu Wan pondered, and suddenly an idea flashed in her mind, "I got it, I will draw the five children in the room when they just entered the class, and I will draw them outside when they are older!"
Teenagers are always growing up.
There may not be much difference between his appearance when he was a child and now, but his personality and behavior have changed a lot, so it is just right to draw him like this.
Zong Zhao nodded in agreement: "Not bad, that's a good idea."
Xu Wan took the fifteen names in her hand and began to assign positions: "The five people in the private tutoring group will be placed inside the house to accompany the children to study, and the five people in the teacher group will be placed outside the house to accompany the children to dig water spinach."
"Can."
Just do it.
After deciding on the framework, positions and ages of the characters, the two began working simultaneously.
Zong Zhao was more familiar with Su Xi and the others, so he was in charge of drawing the group photo outside the house. Xu Wan remembered how they looked at the beginning, so she was also able to draw it with ease.
But when Xu Wan thought of how naughty those kids were when they first entered the class, she couldn't help laughing out loud and felt very happy while drawing.
Three days passed in a flash.
The couple finally completed the photo. After the ink dried, they framed it and hung it on the back wall of the study, waiting for them to see it when they returned from the scientific expedition.
The entrance to Gongyuan.
Just as Zong Jincheng said, after only staying in there for three days and two nights, it was indeed not as dirty as before.
"Mom! I finished the exam!! Hahaha, I feel like I performed really well. I will definitely get the top score!" The little devil was as confident as ever.
Xu Wan used a handkerchief to wipe his face as usual. She had done this skillful movement thousands of times. Her eyes became more and more gentle. Although she had never been a real mother, the maternal instinct in her was getting stronger and stronger.
These are the feelings that come from raising children.
Xu Wan smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll wait for you to come back with a top scorer in the exam, you boastful king."
Zong Jincheng raised his head proudly and said confidently: "Humph, I'm definitely not bragging this time, I can definitely take first place!"
Xu Wan shook her head helplessly and said, "Let's go home and rest for a night and see what surprises your parents have prepared for you."
"Surprise? What surprise? Is it a celebration banquet?" Zong Jincheng's eyes flickered, full of curiosity.
Xu Wan chuckled: "The celebration banquet is held when the results are announced. Your banquet is at most a welcoming banquet. It is another surprise."
Zong Jincheng asked anxiously, "Where is it? Is it in our room? Or do we need to go to the front hall to check?"
Xu Wan smiled gently and said, "In the big study."
"!"
The little devil had been looking forward to it all the way. When he got home, he was the first to jump off the carriage and shouted excitedly: "Brothers, don't rush to take a shower. Come to the study. Mom and Dad have prepared a big surprise for us!!!"
"Ah? What big surprise?"
"I don't know, go check it out!"
The five young men ran faster than each other. The remaining four private tutors thought they had nothing to do, but Xu Wan smiled and said to them, "Teachers, why don't you go and take a look too?"
The four of them ran in quickly.
As soon as I arrived in the yard, I heard the teenagers exclaiming in surprise: "Wow!!"
“Oh my god!!”
"What a masterpiece!!"
"This is me, this is me, two of me, an eight-year-old me, and an eleven-year-old me!"
"And me, and me, I have two too, haha, why is it this expression?"
"Hahaha, it feels so sneaky. You two must have been planning to skip class. Auntie saw it all and wrote it down!!"
"Brother, don't laugh at me, He Zheng, what's that black spot on your arm? Is it evidence of your crime left after you burned the quilt?"
"!!!"
The dark histories of the teenagers were revealed one by one. This long and exquisite group photo recorded their growth over the past three years and evoked everyone's memories.
"This was painted by my uncle and auntie together. They are really good at painting."
"It's so beautiful. I want to hang it in my room so I can see it every day."
"I want it too, I want it too!"
"It's useless even if you want it. There's only one copy, and no one can snatch it. If you want to read it, why don't you come to the big study?"
“That makes sense.”
"Hehe, it's really beautiful..."
Xu Wan stood at the door and watched the children's happy faces. She felt that all her hard work over the past few days had not been in vain. She even wanted to paint a few more paintings. She turned to Zong Zhao and asked, "How about choosing a time to paint a few more paintings?"
Zong Zhao never refused her suggestion: "Okay."
That was the agreement.
But they don't have time at this stage anyway.
While waiting for the results of the joint examination to be announced, the young men had to continue their studies, because the palace examination, the final test of the imperial examination, would be announced right after.
Ministry of Rites.
The people in charge of the imperial examinations this year were Shao Jiming, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Han Daxueshi of the Hanlin Academy.
After more than twenty days of reviewing the papers, they continuously picked out outstanding students from thousands of essays and ranked them for the emperor's reference in the future palace examination.
"This is a good one. He is thoughtful and considerate. His literary talent and ability are both excellent. He can be a candidate for first place."
"This one is not bad either. It can be a candidate for first-class."
"This one can also be a candidate for first-class."
Shao Jiming continued to pick out the papers that would get the top marks, and soon there were three of them. He looked up and saw that Han Dashi was also picking people, and he was still muttering to himself:
"First class, well deserved."
"Yijia, Yijia, great article!"
"One armor!"
Shao Jiming: "..."
We have selected so many top-ranked students from this year's imperial examination, and we have to present them to the emperor for reference in a month... I'm afraid the emperor will beat me to death, right?
He reminded weakly: "Master Han, are there really so many students who can get first place?"