Chapter 487 Warm Midnight Snack
The atmosphere was originally very touching, but Fan Houyang suddenly exclaimed, "Second brother, have you washed your hands? What's on your hands?"
The whole room suddenly became quiet. Looking at her youngest son's surprised look, Zhao Lingmeng had no choice but to ask Qiuyue to bring a mirror.
Then she saw the black on her face.
Zhao Houming was so embarrassed that he wanted to hide his hand. "Mom, listen to my excuse. I was just competing with them in poetry at the Qionglin Banquet and got so excited about writing. After the banquet was over, I was in a hurry to get back, so I forgot about it."
It would have been fine if Zhao Houming hadn't explained, but once he did, everyone in the room started laughing. Especially Fan Houyang, who had first discovered it, he laughed especially loudly.
Fan Houyang didn't know why, but he found it funny to see his mother who looked like a tabby cat and his second brother who became more irritated the more he explained.
Zhao Lingmeng could only glare at Fan Houyang. Seeing him covering his mouth with his hands, Zhao Lingmeng turned around with satisfaction to comfort her second son who had won the top spot in the imperial examination today.
"It's just a small matter. Just wipe it off. Go wash your hands first! And change your clothes. Then we can have a midnight snack as a family and talk while we eat to celebrate."
When Zhao Houming heard what Zhao Lingmeng said, he immediately followed Chunshui downstairs to change clothes, "Son, listen to your mother."
Qiuyue immediately stepped forward and wiped Zhao Lingmeng's face with a wet towel, while Fan Houyang, Zhao Houjing and Zhao Zhili were curious about Zhao Houming's top scholar uniform, so they followed Zhao Houming down happily.
Zhao Lingmeng looked at the room that had been completely emptied in an instant and said in a feigned anger, "These little brats can run fast!"
"Everyone is curious about the second young master's top scholar uniform!" Qiuyue explained to Zhao Houjing and the other three.
"Haha, this is the result of not studying hard, you can only care about others." Zhao Lingmeng wasn't really being sarcastic, just a little bit of gloating. Really just a little bit.
Zhao Houjing: Is this me? Or is this me?
However, Zhao Houjing and his group ran fast, so their return could barely be considered fast! It was only after Zhao Houming promised to let the three of them try on the clothes after they were washed that he successfully persuaded the people who were reluctant to leave his champion uniform to leave.
Even so, when Zhao Houjing and the others returned, the black ink on Zhao Lingmeng's face had been wiped clean, and the beef hot pot was already set on the table.
Qiuyue and her friends personally ordered this beef early this morning. They put in a lot of effort just to ensure that the Second Young Master, who likes beef as much as His Highness, can eat his favorite food today.
"Wow, beef hotpot. If I had known, I would have eaten less at night." Fan Houyang was excited and annoyed at the same time. He reached out and touched his slightly bloated stomach, full of regret.
Zhao Zhili also looked at the beef hot pot on the table with a look of regret on his face. He had eaten quite a lot that night.
Zhao Houjing even yelled directly, "Mom, are you biased? Why is there no beef hotpot at noon?"
"You are not partial and want to eat alone at noon." Zhao Lingmeng is not indulging the eldest brother at all now.
Zhao Houjing knew he was in the wrong, so he could only touch his nose in frustration and muttered softly, "I was just joking."
Zhao Houming was afraid that his elder brother would be sulking, so he quickly pulled Zhao Houjing and asked him to sit next to him, "Brother, come and sit here!"
Zhao Houjing saw the stairs and immediately went down them without any pretense. He felt very happy to sit next to his second brother.
Zhao Lingmeng quickly invited the two younger children to sit down, and then everyone toasted their tea glasses, congratulating Zhao Houming on his success. Everyone drank with great enthusiasm, though everyone's cups were filled with digestive tea.
After that, Zhao Houming was the only one who ate hard, while the others ate a little occasionally. The others were really not hungry.
Zhao Houming really didn't eat enough at the Qionglin Banquet. In a place like that, everyone was serving food. How could they be so casual like at home, where they would just eat with a chopstick?
Later, everyone competed in poetry, and Zhao Houming had even less time to eat.
Fan Houyang endured it for a long time, but finally, seeing his second brother wolfing down his food, he asked the question he was most curious about at the moment: "Second brother, isn't the Qionglin Feast enough for you?"
Zhao Houming nodded sincerely, put a large piece of freshly cooked meat in his mouth, gulped it down, and then replied: "It's no different from not eating it. I just took a couple of chopsticks for show."
"Ah?" Even Zhao Houjing next to him was surprised.
Even the youngest, Zhao Zhili, felt that this had somewhat overturned his perception, and couldn't help asking, "Didn't they say that there would be endless delicious food at the Qionglin Banquet?"
As Zhao Houming put the dishes into the pot, he patiently explained, "It looks like there are a lot of delicious dishes, but there are only a few in front of you. The rest are in front of others. Everyone cares about their image. You can't just stand up and take the food in front of others!"
So everyone tacitly agreed to only touch the food in front of them, but there were only a few plates in front of them, and you couldn’t take all the food while everyone else’s was full!
And the Emperor was still here! Afterwards, everyone toasted and competed in poetry, leaving even less time for food.
But Jingguo has many talented people. Today I have truly witnessed what it means to be someone better than you! "
"Is there anyone better than my second cousin?" Although Zhao Zhili asked this, he didn't think that there was anyone else who could study as well as his second cousin. In his heart, his second cousin was the best.
"Yes! Second place winner Xie Qinglin's poetry is better than mine, and third place winner Shangguan Xiangkun's insights on farming are more practical than mine. And the one who passed the imperial examination has excellent calligraphy."
Zhao Houming felt that he had won the top prize, and despite his knowledge, he did not think that others were inferior to him. He felt that he had some luck involved.
Zhao Houjing and Fan Houyang, who were attending the class as auditors, had only one thought: they needed to study harder. Even their second brother felt he wasn't good enough. They were simply not good enough.
Zhao Zhili just nodded perfunctorily. Although his second cousin's words were sincere, he felt that in his heart, his second cousin would always be the best. No one could shake the position of his second cousin, the academic genius, in his mind.
Zhao Lingmeng listened silently to the children's conversation, occasionally asking a question or two. She took the initiative to use the serving chopsticks to heat food for Zhao Houming, and occasionally helped the other children with a chopstick. Otherwise, someone would accuse her of favoritism. She resolutely refused to take the blame.
When Zhao Houming and his companions walked out of Zhao Lingmeng's yard, they all walked with bulging stomachs, looking very full.
Finally, they moved to Zhao Houming's study and chatted all night. In the end, they slept on the floor of the study. Fortunately, the carpet in the study was thick enough, so sleeping on the floor was not cold.
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