Chapter 31: First Place in the Provincial Examination
Half a month passed in a flash, and the day of the provincial examination arrived. During this half month, Jia Cong locked himself in his home and wrote articles every day, and Wei Qi also read the articles sent by Jia Cong carefully every day, circled them and sent them back.
Although it has only been half a month, Jia Cong's writing style is already completely different from before.
With Wei Qi as a master, everything regarding the scientific examination has naturally been prepared!
Early in the morning, Shumo and Xing'er were the same people who drove the carriage to see him off, but there was an extra servant named Guanyan. This servant was not from the mansion, but someone close to Wei Qi. It was obvious that Wei Qi was worried and sent someone to follow him.
The process was the same as the county examination. After entering the examination room, Jia Cong's originally nervous mind calmed down.
After reading the questions, I felt more at ease. Although I had never done it before, I had some understanding of it.
In this way, three days passed in a flash, and Jia Cong walked out of the examination room exhausted. To be honest, the imperial examination was really a physical job. Without some capital, it was simply difficult to persist.
Outside the examination hall, the original team was already waiting in their carriages. They helped Jia Cong get on the carriage and then returned to the mansion.
After a quick wash, he wrote out the test essay from memory, and then took it to Mengpozhai. As expected, Jia Zheng was waiting anxiously.
"how?"
"Uncle, this is my nephew's essay for the imperial examination!"
Jia Zheng took it impatiently, and after a moment he clapped his hands and laughed, "Good, good! If this essay doesn't pass, then Second Uncle will go to the examiner to reason with him!"
Afterwards, Jia Cong went out again and went to Wei Qi's house.
As soon as he got outside the door, he saw the servant Guan Yan welcoming him, "Sir, please come in, the master is waiting!"
He walked into the room and handed the article to Wei Qi, who nodded after reading it, "Cong'er's comprehension is indeed very high. This article will definitely be selected, and the ranking will not be low!"
"The next step is the college entrance examination, but it will take another four or five months. The college entrance examination will not begin until August!"
"Go back and rest for a few days first, and I will take advantage of these days to select some books and articles for you to study! The most important thing in studying is diligence. Although you have made some progress now, you can't slack off, otherwise you may fail in the provincial examination!"
"Disciple will follow your instructions!"
After returning home, Jia Cong took a good rest for two days, with Xiao Que'er and Qingwen taking care of him diligently every day.
The third day was the day for the announcement of the results, so Jia Cong naturally got up early to wait for the results! When he saw his name at the top of the list, Jia Cong was startled.
Another first case?
To get the first place in the case, in addition to writing a good essay, it also requires some luck. For example, the writing style of the examiner and the preferences of the examiner have an impact. There has always been a saying that there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. It is normal for different people to have different opinions on the two essays.
Finally, I squeezed out of the crowd and headed home.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Xiao Que'er and Qing Wen came with several other maids to pay their respects, "Congratulations, Third Master, for winning the first prize again!"
"Haha, rewards! Three months' monthly allowance for each person, ten taels for Xiao Que'er and Qing Wen each! In the afternoon, Qing Wen will take two taels of silver to the kitchen, and we will have a big meal in the courtyard tonight!"
Everyone was happy and thanked!
After bathing and changing clothes, Qingwen came to report, "Third Master, Sister Yuanyang is waiting!"
When Jia Cong arrived at the hall, Yuanyang hurriedly bowed, "I congratulate Third Master on his successive victories! The old lady sent me here to lead Third Master over!"
"Does the old lady know about it too?" Jia Cong asked as they left the yard.
"Someone has already delivered the good news to our door. The old lady even gave us ten taels of silver as a reward. The second master's servant also went to see it. When I came here, the two masters, their wives, and the girls were already there, waiting to congratulate the third master."
When they arrived at the flower hall in the old lady's backyard, they saw that all the masters of the mansion were there, even Youshi and Qin Keqing from the East Mansion had come.
"Congratulations, Third Brother Cong, for taking the first place again!" All the sisters and brothers congratulated him, and Jia Lian also smiled and greeted him, "I went to Ping'an Prefecture for the master a few days ago, but I never thought that within a few months, Third Brother has made great progress. In the future, you and I brothers need to help each other!"
Jia Cong said he dared not!
"Congratulations, Uncle San!"
A soft, greasy and somewhat seductive voice sounded beside his ear. Jia Cong looked over and saw that it was Qin Keqing.
Jia Cong hurriedly supported her, "Please get up quickly, niece-in-law! I heard from my second sister that my niece-in-law is a little unwell and needs to rest well! If you have time, you can accompany your fourth sister to stay in the West Mansion for a few days. Not only can you have fun with your sisters here, but you also have the old lady, the lucky star, to take care of you. How dare you let such a small disaster happen to you?"
Keqing's pretty face blushed, and her beautiful peach blossom eyes swept across Jia Cong's face curiously, but she quickly nodded.
"Thank you, Uncle San!"
"Old lady, look how lucky you are? You have a grandson who is a literary star who is willing to dress up and entertain you. Even if there are princesses or concubines in other families, how can they have such luck?"
"Besides, you can see that the brothers are friendly and the sisters are harmonious. Our family is really becoming more and more prosperous!"
The only person in the room who could say such words was Wang Xifeng.
The old lady was also very happy about this kind of scene. She immediately touched Wang Xifeng's brow and smiled , "You always say that I, the old lady, favor Feng Lazi. Since she is so popular with me, how can I not love her?"
This remark caused everyone to laugh.
Wang Xifeng stepped forward and hugged the old lady's arm, laughing sweetly, "Old lady, you can't just say you love me! Can you give me a few treasures from your bottom of the box? The other day, when I played dominoes with you, Sister Yuanyang almost asked someone to bring my dowry box here!"
"Hahaha, you monkey, are you still thinking about my things? I guess we must continue to have fun today!"
Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "I must prepare a few strings of money today. I must avenge that arrow and make a fortune from the old lady and the two ladies!"
"You poor fellow, get away from here as soon as possible!" The old lady pushed Wang Xifeng away with pretended disgust.
Wang Xifeng waved her hand at Jia Cong and said, "Brother Cong, why don't you come here quickly? I am a poor man and I cannot win the old lady's heart now. Only you, the grandson who won the first prize, are the treasure in her heart!"
"In my opinion, we should wait for a thousand years and let Brother Cong and Baoyu take you up to Mount Wutai. We will just watch from the sidelines and will definitely not help!"
Wang Xifeng is worthy of being the best atmosphere creator in the whole mansion. With just a few words, she caused the whole room to laugh, and the old lady was even more smiling!
"Grandson greets the ancestor!" Jia Cong prostrated himself and saluted.
