vstars Chapter 399: Another chance encounter with Lin Xiao, and a decision to go to the capital together.
Chapter 399: Another chance encounter with Lin Xiao, and a decision to go to the capital together.
Chapter 399 Another chance encounter with Lin Xiao, and a decision to go to Beijing together.
Jiang Xiaoqi was the first scholar to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examinations in the Jiang family for so many generations, and at such a young age.
The future prospects are limitless, and the elders of the Jiang family attach great importance to it.
After several days of discussion, it was finally decided that Jiang Mingfei would have a separate page in the Jiang family genealogy!
Jiang Xiaoqi was stunned when she heard the news. Scenes she had only ever seen in the news in her previous life were actually happening to her!
Good heavens, Jiang Xiaoqi has really made something of himself! He's even getting his own page in the family genealogy!
"Oh no, Mingfei's gone crazy with joy! He's just grinning like an idiot!"
Jiang Hao looked at Jiang Xiaoqi as if she were an idiot, almost ready to go up and shake her.
"If the family tree were to have a separate page just for you, you'd be even more foolish than him!"
Jiang Lin bluntly exposed him, saying that although he himself was also envious, his abilities were only enough to pass the imperial examination as a second-class scholar, and the title of first-class scholar was just a dream.
Passing the imperial examinations requires hard work and a bit of luck, but becoming the top scholar requires talent, hard work, luck, and even good looks.
Coincidentally, their cousin Jiang Mingfei has them all!
Jiang Xiaoqi snapped out of her daze and glanced helplessly at Jiang Hao: "Stop giving me that weird look. I'm going out for a walk. Do you guys want to come along?"
"Where are we going? I don't want to go see some Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) archway again. I don't want to go."
Jiang Xiaoqi remembered the unreasonable Xue family members they encountered three years ago. Later, she asked her third brother-in-law and found out that they were indeed from the same clan.
However, the Xue family clan has never paid much attention to Xue Xu's branch of the family, which consisted of an orphan and a widow, so Xue Xu's connection with the clan was not deep.
The Xue family and clan are only superficially on good terms now; their relationship is not as close as that of their neighbors.
"No, no, the Jinshi Archway isn't going anywhere. We can see it anytime! Wait three years until you all pass the Jinshi exam again, and we'll have twenty archways in total before we go see it!"
Jiang Hao blushed slightly, but still nodded in agreement.
Of the few people present, he was the only one who wasn't a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). There were over a dozen Jinshi archways, but none of them were won by Jiang Hao.
"Where shall we go, Mingfei? Where do you want to go? Puyang County isn't as lively as Xinghe Prefecture. There are hardly any people on the streets. It's quite boring."
Jiang Yan seemed to have guessed that Jiang Xiaoqi wanted to go to the market, but the market in Puyang was nothing compared to that in Xinghe Prefecture.
It is small in scale, occupies a small area, has few vendors, and offers a limited variety of goods.
"It's nothing, we're just browsing around. Otherwise, it'll be boring anyway. If you don't like going to the market, I have some carefully selected test paper collections here..."
"Stop! Let's go to the market! The market is great!"
"Yes, yes, the market is quiet and perfect for us book lovers to stroll around!"
"That's right, that's right, let's not waste any more time, let's go, let's go!"
As soon as Jiang Xiaoqi said that, the fear of being dominated by a sea of homework returned to Jiang Lin, Jiang Yan, and Jiang Hao.
They hurriedly pushed the person out of the room and headed to the market! The market was great! There were no exam preparation guides, no explanations of wrong answers, and no endless test papers at the market!
Who says Puyang markets are boring? Puyang markets are incredibly fun!
Jiang Xiaoqi was practically carried out by three people, but the smile on his lips betrayed his smug little thoughts.
Along the way, I pretended to feel a little regretful, thinking that it would have been more fun to do some practice problems and review papers together, and that going out to the market was a waste of time.
"No waste, no waste, Mingfei! People are like bows and arrows; the string can't be stretched too tight, or it will break. It needs to be relaxed just right!"
As Jiang Lin spoke in a serious tone, Jiang Xiaoqi realized for the first time that his honest cousin was also extremely clever.
"Yes, yes, Brother Jiang Lin is right."
Jiang Yan and Jiang Hao are like yes-men; as long as they don't do the test papers, what's wrong with being a yes-man for a while?
Amidst laughter and playful banter, the four boys arrived at the market in Puyang County.
Just as I imagined, it was small, dilapidated, sparsely populated, and lacked vitality.
The reason why most of the Jiang family moved away from this place was that Puyang was relatively remote. Back then, the roads were not as convenient as they are now, and it was even more difficult to leave the county town.
After more than a hundred years of development, Puyang is still the same, which makes the Jiang family sigh.
Is it because the common people aren't working hard enough? Is it because the local officials aren't doing their jobs?
Over a hundred years, surely a few good and capable officials would have emerged?
The reason for this is its poor geographical location. Even though the roads are almost finished now, it's only accessible from one side.
If you want to go somewhere else, you have to leave the city via the same route and then take a detour, which is still not very convenient.
Compared to the well-connected Xinghe Prefecture, it's understandable that Puyang County developed more slowly.
After all, "favorable timing, geographical advantage, and popular support" are all necessary, but Puyang does not have the "geographical advantage."
"As expected, there's nothing to see."
Jiang Hao said in a low voice, thinking that Jiang Xiaoqi hadn't heard him.
Jiang Xiaoqi smiled but didn't say anything, instead carefully searching for what she needed at each stall.
A nest for the furry little creature, oh no, I mean a bed for it.
Seeing that he was seriously browsing around, the other three also looked around to see if there was anything useful they could take to the capital. Things in the capital were too expensive, so they decided to bring them from home if possible.
After Jiang Lin and Jiang Yan returned to the capital, they still had to take the examination for the position of Shujishi (a junior official in the Hanlin Academy), so it's no wonder that Jiang Xiaoqi once again became a test-taking expert.
Deep down, Jiang Xiaoqi still hoped that more of his own people could stay in the Sixth Department.
While it's possible to slowly build up experience by working away from home, there are easier paths available, so why choose to endure more hardship?
Besides, they weren't all top-ranking scholars, but rather second-ranking scholars. Why couldn't they give it a shot and widen the gap between themselves and their peers at the starting line?
Jiang Xiaoqi was focused on selecting several exquisitely woven small bamboo baskets and was about to ask about the price.
A familiar figure nearby made him stop asking the price. "What are you doing here!?"
The man was dressed in coarse linen clothes, and his hair was somewhat disheveled; he looked much more disheveled than when they last met.
"Mingfei! What are you doing here!?"
Lin Xiao's eyes instantly went from tired and listless to bright and sparkling, almost blinding Jiang Xiaoqi.
“This is the ancestral home of our Jiang family. We’ve come to pay respects to our ancestors. You still haven’t told us how you ended up here.”
"Hey, it's a long story. By the way, did you pass the imperial examination? Are you going to the capital after the ancestral worship ceremony?"
"Yes, we're probably leaving in about ten days. What's wrong? Why are you here? And why do you look like this? Were you robbed?"
Jiang Xiaoqi asked for the third time.
Lin Xiao still didn't give a direct answer, only saying that it was a long and complicated story, but he wouldn't explain how complicated it was.
"If the story is long, then keep it short; if it's complicated, then get to the point and get to the heart of the matter!"
Seeing that Jiang Xiaoqi was really angry, Lin Xiao pulled her aside.
"Oh dear, don't worry, don't worry, I am... I ran away from my arranged marriage. Cough cough, so I disguised myself and avoided being robbed."
Jiang Xiaoqi's gossip-loving spirit was burning brightly, and she really wanted to keep asking for more details.
Lin Xiao seemed to understand Jiang Xiaoqi's meaning and interrupted her directly: "This isn't the place to talk. You buy your things first, and I'll go back with you to talk after you're done."
Jiang Xiaoqi deftly picked out three small bamboo baskets of different sizes, gave the stall owner a piece of silver, and without waiting for change, pulled the group back home.
The honest stall owner chased after them for dozens of meters, his straw sandals almost flying off, but he still couldn't catch up with the young men.
"Honey, stop chasing. Your legs aren't very strong. That young master is probably just taking pity on us and doing it on purpose."
"Sigh~ We've run into a kind person."
Jiang Shanren Xiaoqi pulled the person back, pretending to listen attentively.
Lin Xiao shook his head helplessly: "I said yes, but you have to promise me that you'll take me with you when you go to the capital."
Jiang Xiaoqi nodded without thinking, while the other three did not recognize that the "beggar" in front of them was their former classmate from the clan school.
Lin Xiao wiped his smeared face, which only made it look a little whiter: "This all started when I took back my mother's dowry..."