At this very moment, the Zhong Family and the Chen Family were thinking the same thing.
After the list was announced, government officers visited each household to notify them, letting the relatives and friends of those who passed know the good news.
Both the Zhong Family and the Chen Family were wealthy and the officers rushed to be the first to bring the news to them, so these two families quickly received the news that their esteemed sons had passed as Scholars.
The Zhong Family patriarch was playing cards at the gambling table when the officer came with the good tidings. He was about to raise the stakes at the Gambling House, but upon hearing this joyous news, he stopped the game immediately and kicked out his betting partners. He gleefully closed the Gambling House, ran home, and gathered everyone in the Zhong Family to celebrate his beloved son’s achievement with a banquet.
It was much the same at the Chen Family. Originally living in lavish indulgence, upon receiving this news, they shut down the dance house and wrote invitations for friends and family to come and celebrate.
Over at Zhang Zhaodi’s place, it was equally joyful. The women of the family crowded into the kitchen, putting all their efforts into preparing a heartwarming meal to celebrate Zhou Wangshu becoming a Scholar.
"Wang Shu is truly amazing. Let’s see who dares to call him an idiot now. If our Wang Shu is an idiot, then that Xiao fellow is even less than that," Zhang Zhaodi said. "The look on Zhong Lanhua’s face earlier was priceless. She always brags about how incredible her son-in-law is, saying he’ll surely become the Champion Scholar. Now he just barely scraped by as a Scholar. It’s a slap in the face, ha ha ha..."
"Mother, Xiao Ci does have some ability. If it weren’t for his diarrhea, he wouldn’t have scored so low," Su Yaoguang interjected.
Zhou Wangshu looked at Su Yaoguang, his gaze deep and his smile not reaching his eyes: "Yaoguang seems to admire him quite a bit."
"Pah, if you’re not going to say something nice, don’t say anything at all. What I mean is, don’t underestimate him. He’s petty, and if provoked, might hold a grudge and retaliate against us in the future."
"I haven’t done anything to him, so why would he retaliate?"
"Mocking him is humiliation enough for him to retaliate," Su Yaoguang said. "Like I said, he’s as petty as the eye of a needle. Best to stay away from him."
"Alright, I got it."
After all, she only wanted to irk Zhong Lanhua and Jiang Yihuan. She didn’t care about that Xiao fellow at all.
Bam bam! Bam bam bam! Bam bam!
Zhong Lanhua kicked over the tables and chairs in the room.
She vented her anger fiercely, so much that she was gasping for breath.
Jiang Yihuan stood cautiously to the side, tears glistening in her eyes.
Xiao Yanci held her hand, looking at her with a heartache.
From the moment before, Zhong Lanhua had been cursing non-stop. When she was done, she started smashing things. She knew the expensive items would be gone once broken, so she specifically chose to smash the tables and chairs. The commotion frightened Jiang Yihuan into staying still, like a startled little rabbit, truly heartbreaking to see.
"No matter what, at least I’ve become a Scholar. Only after becoming a Scholar can I continue to take the exam for a higher rank," Xiao Yanci said. "This time it was because I wasn’t feeling well. Next time, I’ll make sure I’m in good health, and this won’t happen again."
"Next time? Easy for you to say. I bet you’ll just talk big but embarrass us again when it comes down to it. I swear, Xiao, are you sent by the other side to torment our mother and daughter? Why else would you always help them and piss us off? You’re practically their weapon against us, driving me mad every time you make a move."
"Mother, I’ve said it before, I’ll definitely give you and Huan’er a good life. At the very least, I’m already a Scholar now," Xiao Yanci said.
Zhong Lanhua pursed her lips, her face full of irritation.
Just mentioning this Scholar business was enough to make her hang her head low.
Now everyone in the city knew he had spent those exam days relieving himself in the examination hall, and they jokingly called him "shit Scholar."
If she boasted to the other ladies, they’d laugh, "I know, your son-in-law is something else. Because he pooped during exams, everyone calls him ’shit Scholar’ now!"
Zhou Wangshu sat on the rooftop, listening to the laughter and clinking of glasses from the room below.
Today was his big day, but the Zhang sisters claimed he was too young to drink, while they were down there celebrating and laughing heartily.
Su Yaoguang climbed up the ladder to the roof.
"Be careful," Zhou Wangshu stood up and extended his hand to help her over. "What are you doing up here?"
"I noticed you always liked sitting here staring at the sky, so I guessed the view here must be great. Since there’s a good view, of course I have to share it with you," Su Yaoguang said, sitting next to him and handing over a flask. "Here, fruit wine, not too strong. I snuck some, don’t tell Mom."
"Didn’t you say I’m not allowed to drink?"
"Today is special. If you want to drink, have a little, but not too much," Su Yaoguang replied, clinking her cup against his. "We were all pleasantly surprised you passed as a Scholar."
"None of you thought I could make it as a Scholar, did you?" Zhou Wangshu said. "Even the Mountain Master and the teachers didn’t expect it. What they couldn’t imagine was that Brother Zhong and Brother Chen made it too."
"Besides those two, weren’t there two others from your polo group who passed as well?" Su Yaoguang said. "You’ve been busy studying, hardly coming home, and barely eating or sleeping. It’s been tough. I used to think you were just putting up a front, but now I know you were genuinely studying hard."
"I passed the Scholar exam. Don’t I get a gift?" Zhou Wangshu extended his palm.
Su Yaoguang replied playfully, "Who goes around asking for gifts?"
"I don’t care, you have to give me a gift. If you don’t have one today, you have to prepare one for tomorrow," Zhou Wangshu said haughtily.
Su Yaoguang pulled out a box from her sleeve: "I wouldn’t dare neglect you, Young Master Zhou, you’re the family darling now."
Zhou Wangshu accepted the box, feeling its surface.
"Open it!" Su Yaoguang urged. "I chose it carefully, though I’m not sure if you’ll like it. If you don’t, I can always get you something else."
Zhou Wangshu opened the box to find a jade ring inside.
The vibrant red jade ring, red as blood, was particularly vivid and bold.
While many men wore jade rings, he hadn’t seen one wear a red jade ring. Older men preferred black jade and younger men preferred white jade; red jade was not easy to pull off.
He placed it on his finger.
"Indeed, this jade ring suits you perfectly. When I saw it, I thought it would look great on your hand," Su Yaoguang praised.
Zhou Wangshu caressed it, murmuring, "I like it very much, thank you."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter