Chapter 667 - 344: The Imperial Examination is Approaching
Chapter 667: Chapter 344: The Imperial Examination is Approaching
The couple walked away, but even from a distance, Mrs. Guo’s fierce interrogation about where Xu Shiniang had hidden his private stash of money could still be heard, along with his endless complaints and cries of injustice.
Seeing that his father was not faring well, Xu Yanlin, afraid that the fire would spread to him, quickly pulled Miss Huang away too. Chang Yao and her sisters felt it inappropriate to openly watch the elders make a scene. They could only smile playfully, bow to Xu Suying, and leave together with Xu Yanhe.
Once everyone was gone, Xu Suying poked Yao’an’s forehead. "You brat, it’s truly your father’s great fortune to have a son like you. He isn’t young anymore, and he has suffered his whole life. Now that his days are finally getting better, can’t you wish him well?"
Yao’an argued defensively, "How am I not wishing him well? I was just afraid you two would get a divorce."
"Divorce, my foot! Your father and I are doing perfectly fine. Why would we get a divorce? You’re so young, yet you worry about so many things. It’s clear you have too little homework and too much free time. Here’s what we’ll do—go back and memorize Zhou Yi as well. In two days, I’ll have Jing test you on it."
Yao’an looked miserable. "Mother, have some pity on Jing. He’s about to take the Imperial Examination."
Xu Suying suddenly remembered this fact. "AH," she gasped. "Look at my memory. But it doesn’t matter. If Jing doesn’t have time, De’an does. I’ll just have De’an test you instead. It’s the same thing." She then warned De’an that if he dared to slack off on this task, she would deal with him too.
De’an was left completely bewildered, wondering what any of this had to do with him.
Xu Suying glared fiercely at her son. He shouldn’t think she didn’t know—it was his whispering with Qing’er earlier that had attracted Yao’an’s attention in the first place. All that nonsense had originally come out of his mouth. Thinking of this, Xu Suying became even more worried. She reminded Wanqing, "See less of De’an in the future, and spend more time with Jing."
Chen Wanqing was momentarily stunned. "Mother, why is that?"
"I’m afraid that if you spend too much time with De’an, the baby in your belly will end up like De’an. He is unreliable, but Jing is much more dependable."
As the group walked out of the main courtyard, De’an was so devastated he looked ready to cry. He and Yao’an wore matching expressions of distress, chiming in one after another.
"Whose biological mother is she, really?"
"Just another day being despised by Mother."
"Is being good at studies really that big of a deal?"
"There’s no point complaining to Father either. Mother runs the house. Sigh..."
After bidding farewell to the two brothers, Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing headed toward the backyard together.
It was already quite late, and Uncle Shiniang and her cousins, who had left earlier, had long since returned to their respective courtyards. The path was dead silent, illuminated only by the glow of the lanterns hanging at the entrances of the various courtyards. Zhao Jing held a lantern to light the way, while the maids and older servants were left trailing behind the young couple.
They chatted as they walked. "Kaiyan and Lian’er should be arriving in Capital City soon, right?"
"Probably."
"The Imperial Examination begins in early March. Most of the scholars who are taking it should have arrived by now. Have you run into anyone familiar when you went out these past few days?"
"I actually did. I saw him yesterday when I went out with Yanhe."
Chen Wanqing was curious. "Why didn’t you mention it?"
"When I got home, I was entirely focused on asking if you liked the dried apricots. Who would have remembered anything else?"
Chen Wanqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She couldn’t help but praise his thoughtfulness and mention how sweet and tart the dried apricots he had bought were, making them incredibly delicious. After saying this, she asked again, "So, who exactly did you run into?"
Zhao Jing didn’t keep her in suspense. "I ran into Zhang Qishan."
The name sounded somewhat familiar to Chen Wanqing. After mulling it over, she realized it was that Zhang Qishan. Her father had learned the news that Court Chengyi Mansion was looking for her mother from him.
What was the excuse Court Chengyi Mansion had used back then? They claimed they had been searching for a daughter who had accidentally gone missing while visiting her maternal grandparents. Talk about shamelessly flattering themselves! Her mother was not from Court Chengyi Mansion at all. She was born into the Xu family and had married into the Chen family.
Setting aside the terrible luck associated with Court Chengyi Mansion, Chen Wanqing had quite a favorable impression of Zhang Qishan, given that he had spent a decade steadfastly seeking revenge for his beloved daughter. She asked Zhao Jing, "Before Mr. Sheng left, he cleared out a vacant courtyard in his home to serve as a resting place for the scholars from Heyuan Province traveling to Capital City for the Imperial Examination. Did you tell Zhang Qishan about this?"
Zhao Jing nodded. "Of course I did. It was quite a coincidence. At the time, he was distressed because he had arrived a step too late and couldn’t find an inn or a private residence to stay in. Once I told him about it, he expressed his gratitude, followed my directions, and went over to settle in."
The two of them continued talking about the Imperial Examination. Some things crept up on you. It felt as though they had just been discussing the Imperial Examination yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, the day of the exam had already arrived.