Fu Changfeng and his two companions were ranked at the back and stood a bit further away. When Xichun saw him coming, she called out to him. Seeing that he was looking in her direction, Xichun threw the flowers over to him.
In such a lively scene, the people at the front naturally steal the show, so they didn't receive much attention.
On the contrary, after the gathering dispersed, the families around who were preparing to find a son-in-law through the announcements began to act on their own initiative. Whenever they saw a young and handsome man, they would go up to him and ask if he was married.
Just as Xichun and Sister Cao were about to meet up with Fu Changfeng and his group, they saw several servants blocking their way.
“Please wait, gentlemen. My master is a fifth-rank Imperial Guard General. He would like to ask if you are married?” A steward-like man blocked their way.
"We are all married, and we hope that your esteemed household will be lenient and allow us to pass." Seeing that this was a sign that the scholar Xie was not going to give up, he wanted them to run away together.
Little did he expect that the other party had already seen through his intentions and stopped him. Seeing that Xichun and the other two were standing next to the other two Jinshi, they immediately said with a smile that he must not be married.
"Quickly, invite this scholar home and marry him to our young lady." Several servants grabbed him and swaggered over.
"Brother Zeng, Brother Fu, save me! I don't want to get married!" Seeing that he was already being held up by them, the scholar could only shout at them.
"What should we do now? Should we chase after them and stop them?" Fu Changfeng and Zeng Jinshi stared at each other, completely unaware that the people of the capital were so fierce that officials dared to snatch men right on the street.
"Hehe, don't worry. If this scholar really doesn't want to, they'll have no choice but to ask him to come out. They won't dare to hurt him. If you're worried, just wait at the gate of the mansion. In our capital, there's a tradition of 'catching a son-in-law after the exam results are announced.' If you two aren't married, you'll probably have to go through this too."
The other scholar standing next to them, who was clearly from the capital, couldn't help but find the answer to their question upon seeing them like this.
"Thank you, brother. Let's go take a look. We came together, so we can help if anything happens." The four of them then set off together in the direction the others had gone.
They hadn't gone far when they indeed saw a mansion. The plaque above the entrance read "Xu Mansion." Several servants, who had clearly just brought Xie Jinshi over, didn't stop them but simply told them to wait there.
After waiting for a while, they indeed saw Xie Jinshi come out from inside. When he saw the group, he walked over quickly with a warm smile on his face, showing no sign of coercion.
"I suppose this trip of yours, Brother Xie, is a good thing, hehe."
"Oh dear, thank you so much, Brother Zeng and Brother Fu, for waiting for me here. This is a good thing. I have already agreed to marry Miss Xu, but this matter will have to wait until I inform my family and then we will formally marry Miss Xu."
Xie Jinshi didn't pay attention to the two men's teasing until they returned to their rented courtyard, where he told them what had happened.
"Brother Xie, Brother Zeng, I just heard from Lord Xu that we have passed the imperial examination and are waiting for the Ministry of Personnel to assign us officials. Now we can start to make connections. After all, the assignment of officials varies in distance. If we don't have any acquaintances, we can only wait for the higher-ups to assign officials randomly."
So you should also think about it, find someone to put in a good word for you, and try your best to get a good position. Only the top few can stay in the capital; the rest of us can only be appointed as county magistrates in other places, starting from the bottom.”
“I didn’t expect Brother Xie to go in to discuss serious matters. I think we can’t just sit and wait for an official to be appointed. We should make some connections. Brother Fu, do you know any officials? You should contact them as well.”
"I'll think about this carefully later." Fu Changfeng had already given it some thought after hearing this.
"Before we went to the capital, didn't Grandpa Hu tell you that you could go and discuss it with his son, Lord Hu? I think we should go and send him a formal letter tomorrow and ask Lord Hu for his opinion?" After they parted, Xichun and Fu Changfeng closed the door and talked about this matter.
“Yes, we only sent a visiting card once before, but we didn’t visit in person. It seems we still need to build up this relationship.” Fu Changfeng agreed after hearing this.
Master Hu's eldest son is an official in the capital. After inquiring, Fu Changfeng learned that he is a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of War, while Master Hu himself was a third-rank official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
After finishing his shift, Lord Hu saw the visiting card that had been handed to him. He heard that it was from a student his father taught in Weinan County. Although he hadn't officially accepted the student as a disciple, he treated him as one. So he had his servant reply that the student was off tomorrow and could come to visit.
Upon receiving the news, Fu Changfeng and Xichun both breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Lord Hu was willing to do them this favor, that was good enough. The two made some preparations and went to the street to buy gifts for their visit the next day.
Sister Cao and Scholar Zeng were also trying to find connections, and they were also planning to meet a government official in the capital. However, their relationship was not yet close enough for them to recommend each other, so they had to figure it out on their own. Sister Cao and Xichun were aware of this situation and did not object to each other's plans to seek help.
Fu Changfeng brought Xichun to the Hu family's door. As soon as they entered, they were led to the backyard by Madam Hu's maid. Madam Hu, having heard her husband's words, then personally received Xichun.
"Hehe, we've heard about Madam Fu from Father-in-law before. Madam Fu is truly an extraordinary woman. She originally said she wanted you to stay at home, but you went to live outside on your own. Come, let me introduce you. This is my youngest daughter. You can call her Mingyue. She's always heard her grandfather talk about you, and she's curious about you now."
"Madam Hu, Miss Mingyue, I've also heard Old Master Hu mention that he has a lovely and well-behaved granddaughter." Xichun said with a smile, seeing that Madam Hu was very polite.
"Now that you're here, we're all family. Don't be shy. Here are some snacks, have a taste. You've finally finished your exams, so I'm sure you're all feeling much more at ease now. You've all been pretty busy these days, so come visit us often."
The two chatted animatedly in the inner courtyard. Xichun told them about her experiences along the way and the interesting things that happened in her hometown, while Fu Changfeng and Master Hu got busy with serious business.
“I’ve already inquired around for you. Right now, if you want to stay in the capital, your ranking is clearly not high enough, unless your family has stronger connections. Plus, your family used to be in business. As far as I know, the Ministry of Personnel doesn’t like this kind of status, so I’m afraid they’ll assign you to an even more remote place.”
"Lord Hu, what can I do? Is there any chance to find someone close to home?" Fu Changfeng was also worried when he heard this. Although the court had opened up the policy of allowing sons of merchants to take the imperial examinations, many people in the court did not like to use officials from merchant backgrounds. Old Master Hu had also told him this before.
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