Chapter 467: Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming take the imperial examination
Zhao Lingmeng looked at the two silly boys and said with a smile, "What are you two doing wandering around?"
When Fan Houyang and Yang Chengchen heard what Zhao Lingmeng said, they immediately ran over to greet her.
"Meet Dad, Meet Mom"
"Aunt, Uncle"
Fan Yong was used to seeing these two people acting like little adults, but seeing the childish expressions on their faces, he thought they were very cute and couldn't help but say, "Hurry up and sit down! The one with the good news will be here soon."
"Thank you, Dad/Uncle." The two of them listened to the advice and sat down obediently on the chairs in the pavilion. If you ignore the way they kept looking towards the main gate, they were still calm.
"It's too early for you two to get a ranking! The official who announces the good news has to start from the first place, you two..." Zhao Lingmeng shook his head cautiously.
The two were delighted to hear Zhao Lingmeng say this. Rankings weren't important; passing was all that mattered. Passing the exam would give them enough time to rest for half a year before continuing their efforts.
Yang Chengchen even joked in a good mood, "This time my cousin will benefit from my help and will definitely sign up with me."
"Then when you took the exam for the Tongsheng degree last time, did you take advantage of me?" Fan Houyang retorted bluntly.
When Yang Chengchen heard his cousin mention the last time, he could only use a silly smile to cover up his embarrassment, "Hey, I was just saying it, don't take it so seriously."
The four of them had just chatted for a while when Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming hurried back from the academy.
Zhao Houming was still far away from the pavilion when he quickly asked loudly, "Mom, did my third brother and cousin pass the exam?"
Zhao Lingmeng heard the voice and turned around in surprise, "Why are you back?" Then she turned to look at Fan Yong, "Did you call me?"
Fan Yong nodded with a smile on his face. "If we don't inform them about this kind of important matter, they'll be upset if they find out later."
Just as they finished speaking these two sentences, Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming had already run up to them.
Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming bowed to Zhao Lingmeng and the others, then sat down inside the pavilion. Zhao Houming quickly responded to Fan Yong's words, "Father is right. How can I and my elder brother be left out of this matter?"
No matter what Zhao Houjing thought in his heart, he still looked like a good brother and echoed Zhao Houming's words, "That's right!"
Zhao Houming didn't care what his mother and father were mumbling about! He turned around and congratulated Fan Houyang and Yang Chengchen, "Congratulations, third brother, congratulations, cousin!"
Zhao Lingmeng was actually praising Fan Yong! He had indeed done a great job today.
"Congratulations, cousin, congratulations, third brother!" Zhao Houjing also followed suit, thinking that in their family, being a scholar was really worthless now, and anyone could pass the exam to become a scholar. Zhao Houjing felt a little aggrieved.
Yang Chengchen grew up in the Princess's Mansion and was familiar with his two cousins, so he spoke casually. "I'm very happy that my two cousins are back!"
"I'm happy too." If Fan Houyang had to choose, it would be just having his second brother back. But since his eldest brother hadn't let him down today, he decided not to argue with him for now.
Zhao Houjing: Thank you so much!
Zhao Lingmeng didn't care what the brothers were talking about. She and Fan Yong were chatting about some matters in the court and were having a great time.
The main reason was that Fan Yong didn't spend much time at the mansion, and the children were busy with their own things. Zhao Lingmeng really had no one to talk to about court affairs.
When there are a lot of people, they start chatting about all kinds of topics and time passes quickly.
Everyone felt that it hadn't been long before the messenger arrived with the good news. Fan Houyang and Yang Chengchen went out together to receive the good news. Then the messengers took the purse given by the princess and left happily.
Zhao Lingmeng and Fan Yong sprinkled copper coins at the door together again, and both of them were very happy.
Everyone in Yuanjing now knew that the third young master of Princess Funing's residence had also passed the imperial examination. Wow, all three young masters of Princess Funing's residence had passed the imperial examination.
So tonight was another day for the dandies of Yuanjing to get beaten up. And after everyone knew that Zhao Houjing and his friends were attending the Imperial Academy, the academy was packed. Many families were fighting over spots at the academy.
Now even Zhao Ling can’t get a place in the Royal Academy as he dreams of doing. It shows how popular the places are!
Fan Houyang passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. Although Zhao Lingmeng and the others were happy, their happiness only lasted for one day. After that, they went back to school and got busy as usual.
Among them, there are many scholars as Zhao Houjing thought, and they are really not rare. The older children in the family are all scholars.
However, as a reward, Zhao Lingmeng still took Fan Houyang and Yang Chengchen to live in a special manor for half a year, implementing all their ideas for improving various weapons.
The two, who hadn't touched these items in a long time due to their preparations for the imperial examinations, finally had a chance to indulge themselves. The key point was that all losses were reimbursed by the emperor, using the money from his private treasury. Zhao Lingmeng also took advantage of the opportunity and created many small items.
Furthermore, living on this farm was very close to the main camp outside the capital, practically next door. This was also the reason Zhao Lingmeng and Fan Yong often spent time together after their mourning period ended. Fan Yong could return to the farm almost daily to rest.
Fan Houyang and Yang Chengchen were also very tactful. Most of the time they handled things on their own and rarely disturbed Zhao Lingmeng and Fan Yong.
But after living there for half a year, Zhao Lingmeng took her two children back to Yuanjing. The main reason was that Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming were going to take the imperial examinations, and she was worried if she didn't go back. This was a big deal.
On the day Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming took the imperial examination, Zhao Lingmeng didn't go to see them off, but she instructed the kitchen to prepare a lot of instant food for them. She also had someone make some instant noodles, imitating the instant noodles from her previous life, for the two of them, wrapping them in oil paper so they could easily cook them when the time came.
I also had the kitchen staff at the Princess's residence research various long-lasting pastries and dried meats. However, with the recent warm weather, these foods were quite salty. Eating them required drinking water, and drinking too much water was a nuisance, but there was no other solution.
The main thing was that the exam lasted three days, and you had to bring your own food. You ate and slept in a very simple little compartment. You were allowed to bring some charcoal and a small stove to boil water. But you were not allowed to bring anything else. The conditions were extremely harsh.
Although Zhao Lingmeng did not see Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming off when they took the exam, she went to pick them up three days later when they were released, accompanied by Imperial Physician Feng Shan.
Zhao Lingmeng went there in a carriage that she had recently had modified. It didn't look very good from the outside, but it had excellent defensive capabilities and was also very comfortable inside.
Of course, she also spent a huge amount of money to give one to the emperor. As for the fact that the emperor was so excited about the prey that the reward he gave was much more than what Zhao Lingmeng spent on building the carriage, that is a story for another time.
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