Shen Cui tried hard to recall and confirmed that in the original book, there was no trace of this Master Cui in the plot related to Mu Yunchuan in the government school.
This is not difficult to understand. She is Tiandao’s own son. The relevant plot has been changed because of her, so there will definitely be substitutes standing up.
This young master of the Cui family is probably the substitute.
Otherwise, Mu Yunchuan might not even be able to raise the travel and accommodation expenses to go to the provincial capital, Linnan Prefecture, to take part in the provincial examination.
Listening to what Cui Wuniang said, it seems that things are moving in a good direction after Master Cui met Mu Yunchuan. Anyway, Cui Wuniang was very happy to see this happen.
Chen Cui did not comment on this, but continued with a smile: "That's really a coincidence. When I was thinking about moving the academy to the city, Yunchuan had already left the academy to take the exam in advance. I haven't communicated with him yet, maybe I can ask your family to inform him?"
"It's just a small favor. Don't be polite." Although Linnan Prefecture is quite far away from Qingzhou Prefecture, Cui Wuniang has always been concerned about her brother. She was planning to send someone to inquire about his grades these days. It's just a verbal message and it's not worth much.
However, this incident made Cui Wuniang smell something else - it seemed that Mu Yunchuan didn't have a good relationship with his family?
Otherwise, if communications were frequent, this kind of information gap should not occur.
In the eyes of her younger brother, Mu Yunchuan was the best man in the world, and after several contacts with Shen Cui, she also felt that she was a very nice person.
She looked at Chen Cui carefully again without any expression. At her age, she shouldn't have a son of Mu Yunchuan's age.
So that's the stepmother and stepson?
The man who is the head of the Mu family has not shown up until now, so I'm afraid he is no longer around. So is there a conflict between the stepmother and stepson?
That didn't seem right either - after Zhou served the tea, she sat next to Shen Cui. If Shen Cui hadn't introduced them beforehand, and the two of them didn't match in age, someone who didn't know would have thought they were mother and daughter just by looking at how harmoniously they got along.
But after all, it was someone else's family affair, so after thinking about it, Cui Wuniang didn't pursue it further.
Soon, the teenagers' morning reading in the classroom was over, and the only guest, Cui Wuniang, was in place. Shen Cui led everyone to the gate and watched the servants of the Wei family hang up the plaque of Cuiwei.
The ceremony was simply completed by tying a few red ribbons symbolically under the pillars.
Several young men at the back came to greet Cui Wuniang.
They were all well-mannered, clean-cut young men, and they all looked good. Cui Wuniang silently complained about her cousins and nephews at home who were not easy to trouble.
In the blink of an eye, it was noon and Zhou skillfully cooked a small table of dishes.
These dishes certainly cannot be compared with those Cui Wuniang eats every day, but she used to drink the high-foam tea from the dental clinic, so of course she would not dislike it now.
Moreover, Zhou’s cooking skills are really good. Home-cooked dishes have a different flavor when they are in her hands.
After the meal, Cui Wuniang ate half a bowl more than usual.
Because there were guests today, Chen Cui did not activate the time gain. After dinner, she took Cui Wu Niang to have a look.
The ornaments donated to the academy by the Wei family did add a touch of elegance to the old house, but they were somewhat out of place because the house was too dilapidated.
It fits perfectly here, and it really looks like a scholarly family.
Everyone's desks no longer had to be crowded together like before, but were arranged in two rows of three, in an orderly manner.
Most of their desks still had unfinished books or unfinished writings. In fact, Cui Wuniang could only be considered to be literate and could recognize words and characters, but she was by no means well-educated.
She didn't make any random comments. She just saw some drawings of clothing patterns on the desk in the corner, so she picked one up and asked, "This shouldn't be drawn by a student, right?"
Zhou smiled and admitted: "I just drew this randomly."
“This style is quite novel.”
Even Cui Wuniang, who is well-informed, said so. The style of the clothes must be novel because they were designed by Zhou herself - she had started a small business earlier because of an order from Song Li.
Later, she got used to adding some of her own ideas to the clothes she made. Now, having gained so much knowledge in the provincial capital, she has more ideas and started to draw design drafts like Song Li.
She has also taught herself to paint in the past two years, and would occasionally ask Lao Buyu for some guidance.
She is deft and clever, and learns things quickly. Although the pictures she draws now cannot be called artistic conception, they are quite decent, and are similar to the ones Song Li drew before.
"I came up with it myself." Zhou explained a little embarrassedly, "When I was in the countryside, I made clothes for people and did some small business. Although my livelihood has been cut off temporarily, I thought I couldn't give up this skill, so I still drew it whenever I thought of it."
What Cui Wuniang admires most is a woman who can stand on her own feet instead of just relying on a man and focusing on the things in the backyard.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to make friends with Shen Cui as soon as he met her.
Now she felt more and more that Chen Cui was to her liking. Not only did she run her own academy, but she also trained her daughter-in-law to be able to find a living on her own.
Cui Wuniang took a quick look around and asked about the schedule of Cuiwei Academy. She knew that the students did not take a nap after lunch and had to start studying immediately. She did not stay in the classroom for long. She sat in the main room with Shen Cui for a while before getting up to say goodbye.
This time she spent more time with Shen Cui, and their relationship became more harmonious. Before leaving, she said to Shen Cui: "If you encounter any troubles, just send someone to my house to pass on a message, and I will definitely help if I can."
Chen Cui also liked her shrewd and straightforward personality without being materialistic, so the two agreed to communicate with each other from time to time.
…………
At the beginning of September, Wei Shu, Wei Xi and Mei Ruochu went to the provincial school to report.
Mei Ruochu was the top scorer in the academy examination, and was already a first-class student on government scholarship. As for Wei Shu and Wei Xi, their ranks would still have to be determined through annual examinations.
If other people had just entered a place like the provincial school, they would inevitably feel a little nervous, but they all had a good attitude. Plus, they were a group of three and were only day students, returning to Cuiwei at night, so there was nothing to be nervous about.
If there was anything unexpected, it was probably that they didn't expect that their classmates in the prefectural school would take the initiative to talk to them after hearing that they were from Yongning County, and ask them if they knew Mu Yunchuan?
Wei Xi, Mei Ruochu and Mu Yunchuan could not be said to know each other, but Wei Shu and Mu Yunchuan were very close in their early years, but later they became the kind of friends who had a "friendship as pure as water".
He didn't try to take advantage of Mu Yunchuan or get close to him. He just said that he had also stayed in Qingzhu Academy in his early years.
Knowing that Wei Shu and Mu Yunchuan had been classmates for a long time, the students in the prefectural school had different reactions.
Some people said sourly that for a small place like Yongning County, it was enough to produce one or two scholars every year in previous years. Mu Yunchuan, who had just won the "three top prizes" in the imperial examination, had just emerged, and this year the top spot in the imperial examination went to Yongning County again. It had produced three scholars in one go, and no one knew what kind of luck it had.
Of course, there are more people who praise Mu Yunchuan, saying that he is not only good in knowledge but also in character and personality. There is nothing to say about him. You guys are from the same county as him, so your talents and character must be great!
So when they first entered school, just because they came from the same place as Mu Yunchuan, they were often compared with Mu Yunchuan.
This may be a good thing to be proud of in the eyes of some people, but it is actually also a kind of pressure.
In the original book, Wei Xi just couldn't stand this kind of pressure, and gradually he regarded Mu Yunchuan as an imaginary enemy and started to compete with him.
There is no need to worry about these now, because the person who has to bear the brunt of these is Mei Ruochu, who also ranked first in the college examination.
With such a strong heart, he can truly be said to remain calm even when faced with a mountain collapsing in front of him.
Shen Cui observed his mood value and never saw any changes. He is not pretending to be indifferent, but he is truly calm after experiencing many ups and downs.
In addition, his real talents and knowledge were no worse than Mu Yunchuan's, and he had already shown his talent not long after entering the provincial school.
When compared with Mu Yunchuan, he really deserves it!
In addition, although they have different personalities, they are actually easy to get along with. And compared with Mu Yunchuan's approach of getting along with someone who is a little distant, it is very different.
So within a few days, the three young men quietly found out what Shen Cui wanted to know -
The provincial school is different from other academies and schools. The students here are all people who have already achieved the title of scholar and are familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics. Professors and instructors are both officials with high ranks, and they do not monitor students' studies in detail.
Just like in universities in later generations, they had classes every day and if students had any questions, they could ask in class or after class. Anyway, it all depends on the students' self-consciousness. Don't expect them to follow behind the students and supervise them.
And it is very convenient to take leave here. Anyway, students who often take fake papers will not get good results in the annual examinations. If they do too poorly, they will be persuaded to drop out of the provincial school and give the opportunity to other students.
The young master of the Cui family who was closest to Mu Yunchuan was named Cui Fei. He used to take daily leave and rarely came to the school. He was on the verge of being persuaded to drop out.
This is also why Chen Cui could not recall the young master of the Cui family. After all, he was just an invisible person in the government school.
But ever since he became acquainted with Mu Yunchuan, he has appeared in the provincial school more often, his annual examination scores have also improved, and this year he even successfully took part in the autumn provincial examination.
After saying this, Mei Ruochu said with a slightly complicated expression: "That Mr. Cui, when others mention him... their expressions are a little strange. Not the kind of strangeness that comes from envy or jealousy, but... anyway, I can't put my finger on it."
He had been treated coldly and excluded by his classmates in Hongle before, so he was more sensitive than others.
What he said was already quite subtle. When other people in the prefectural school mentioned Cui Fei, they not only looked a little strange, some made faces, some even looked sarcastic.
Chen Cui felt mixed emotions after hearing the news.
In fact, she was more worried that after she changed the plot, it would have an impact on others - if he was just a tool, it would be fine, but if this person had to suffer exclusion and injustice on behalf of Wei Xi, then she would feel a little guilty.
But after all, Wei Shu and his team had only been there for a short time, so it was not easy to find out so much information. More things - was Cui Fei always unpopular in the academy, or did it become like this just because he was close to Mu Yunchuan?
It will take time to explore it slowly, or we can wait for Cui Fei and Mu Yunchuan to return from Linnan Prefecture and find a chance to meet him in person before making a judgment.
…………
Wei Shu and his classmates left the academy before Chenshi every day, attended classes at the provincial school, and returned at the end of Shenshi in the evening. Converted into modern time, this means they left home before 7am and returned after 5pm.
They were all people who were strict with themselves and had developed good study habits. They usually got up earlier and went to bed later than this. In addition, the new location of the academy was only a quarter of an hour's walk from the prefectural school, so it was not a hassle at all.
So they can also participate in morning exercises every day, have breakfast, and then go out to school.
After they left, Lao Buyu started one-on-one teaching with Mu Erpang.
They came back before dinner, had dinner together, and then gathered together to do their homework. The atmosphere in Cuiwei is no different from before.
In early September, Cui Wuniang came again in person to announce the good news, saying that she had helped Chen Cui pass on the message, and by the way, she also found out the result of the provincial examination - Mu Yunchuan won the first place!
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