Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 102 Three Years
Granny Kong saw it clearly: among the Sheng family's daughters, Mo Lan was too selfish. She was always proud of her own glory and completely disregarded the needs of her younger sisters, only caring about satisfying her own vanity.

Selfish and lacking in consideration for the bigger picture!
Rulan, on the other hand, is domineering and arrogant, relying on her status as the legitimate daughter. She loves to boss people around. To put it nicely, she is naive, but in reality, she is muddleheaded and lacks shrewdness.

They argue for the sake of arguing, and they always speak recklessly, showing no respect whatsoever for the children of officials.

As for Minglan, she didn't commit any major mistakes, but she did make some minor ones. She was mindful of her status as an illegitimate child and tried to protect herself, which was understandable to Granny Kong.

However, since Granny Kong was invited by the Sheng family, she naturally had to consider the interests of the entire Sheng family. Moreover, Minglan was ultimately a member of the Sheng family. If her sisters had bad reputations, how could she benefit from it?

Therefore, Granny Kong needs to take Minglan as a lesson so that everyone can understand that the sisters are one, sharing both glory and loss.

Finally, Granny Kong pointed out Sheng Hong's faults, saying that he was not upright and that he had caused the Sheng family to fall into chaos.

As a ruler, one must treat all subjects equally, ensuring that the weak and unfavored are further disfavored while the favored are further favored. Such an imbalance is hardly the way to achieve moderation and longevity.

At the same time, Granny Kong also pointed out that Sheng Hong's mistake was due to "public," meaning fairness; Madam Wang's mistake was due to "method," meaning method; and Lin Qinshuang's mistake was due to "propriety," meaning propriety and law.

The failure of any of these three things is a major taboo for the family.

As a result, everyone gained something, and then reflected on themselves, gaining enlightenment and understanding.

……

Once the three-year term was over, Granny Kong immediately bid farewell to Old Madam Sheng. Although the old lady tried to persuade her to stay, Granny Kong was determined to leave. Her visit this time was merely a convenient opportunity to reunite with her old friends while teaching the Sheng family's daughters.

At this point, after spending three years with Old Madam Sheng, Granny Kong was already content.

"Sister, please don't send any more!"

Outside the Sheng family gate, Granny Kong sat in a carriage and waved to Old Madam Sheng: "One day, we old sisters will reunite!"

"Ugh!"

Standing by the wind, Old Madam Sheng, supported by Minglan, held back her tears as she watched her old friend depart.

Although she was saddened and reluctant to part with her old friends, she also understood that she couldn't stop this from happening.

Granny Kong had already told the old lady that after returning to her hometown this time, she planned to live out her days there. She wanted to return to her roots, and even though she had experienced all the vicissitudes of life, after all the trials and tribulations, she would ultimately be all alone.

The Imperial Palace was an extremely dangerous place, and it was already remarkable that Granny Kong was able to escape unscathed on her own. Returning to her hometown was her lifelong wish. Therefore, Old Madam Sheng could only bid farewell with tears in her eyes, hoping to meet again someday.

"Grandmother, please don't be sad!"

Minglan helped Old Madam Sheng up and comforted her, "Granny Kong is just going back to her hometown. If you have time, your granddaughter will go with you to Granny Kong's hometown to visit her!"

"Ha ha……"

Grandma Sheng turned to look at her little granddaughter beside her, and waved her hand listlessly: "I hope this old woman can really hold on until that day!"

The old lady was inevitably saddened by the departure of her old friend, and as she grew older, she naturally felt sorrow.

"grandmother……"

Seeing this, Minglan could only let out a mournful cry.

"Let's go back!" Only after Granny Kong's carriage disappeared from sight did the old lady wave her hand and lead everyone back to the mansion.

……

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the years, the Sheng family has undergone considerable changes.

First, Sheng Hong's official position finally changed, and he became a fifth-rank assistant minister in the Ministry of Works. Although it was not an important position, the benefits were good, and there was no competition for interests, which suited Sheng Hong's unambitious nature. At the very least, after entering the Ministry of Works, Sheng Hong was able to thrive and was highly regarded and trusted by his superiors and colleagues.

Secondly, the most important event for the Sheng family is also approaching.

The most important step for Sheng Changbai, Sheng Changfeng, Qi Heng, and others—the difficult imperial examination—is about to begin.

This year, Sheng Changbai turned eighteen and was entering the examination hall for the first time. In fact, he had already passed the provincial examination a few years ago and had the opportunity to participate in the metropolitan examination. However, Sheng Changbai felt that he was not good enough, so he gave up the spring examination and left it for the next time.

Similarly, Qi Heng and Sheng Changquan were in similar situations, both taking the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination in the same year.

Sheng Changfeng, on the other hand, had just passed the imperial examination last year, and his ranking was not among the top. However, he felt that he was very strong and that his writing had reached a high level. Therefore, he was determined to make a name for himself in one fell swoop!
Therefore, Sheng Changfeng couldn't wait to participate in this year's Spring Examination, preparing to compete against his older brother.

So, for a while now, everyone in the Sheng family has been busy with this matter, preparing everything for the few promising students in the mansion, just waiting for them to pass the imperial examination.

It is worth mentioning that Gu Tingye, the second son of the Marquis of Ningyuan, also recently graduated from Bailudong Academy and returned to Tokyo to prepare for the imperial examination. Because of the reputation of Mr. Zhuang Ru and the good relationship between Gu Tingye and Sheng Changbai, he enrolled in Sheng Family Academy before the examination to listen to the guidance of Mr. Zhuang.

Therefore, this time, there were four students waiting to take the exam at the Sheng Family Academy.

Meanwhile, it was also time for Sheng Changquan to step down from the field.

However, the exam he was going to take was the first step in the imperial examination system, namely the preliminary examination.

However, the preliminary examination was divided into three sessions: the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the provincial examination. The first two sessions were selection examinations to obtain the qualification of a student, while the provincial examination was the first step for a student to become a scholar and advance into an official career.

Although the three periods were different and there were many restrictions, Sheng Hong, as a Beijing official, always received preferential treatment for his children. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, in order to bestow favors upon the civil officials, an imperial edict was issued, clearly stating that the children of Beijing officials could take the county and prefectural examinations nearby as a sign of imperial favor.

After all, although the students who became scholars had literary reputations, they were still not considered part of the mainstream and were of little use to the imperial court, so they were let off lightly and were not strictly punished. But the provincial examination was different!
Once one passed the provincial examination, one would become a scholar and enjoy many privileges, such as not having to bow to officials, not having to perform corvée labor, and being exempt from rent and taxes. Therefore, Emperor Taizu ordered that everyone must return to their hometown to take the examination and not to favor those who were closer to their hometown, so as to prevent any cheating.

Therefore, Sheng Changquan could first take the preliminary examination in Tokyo, and then return to his hometown of Youyang to take the provincial examination.

……

Zhiyuantang.

In Sheng Changquan's courtyard.

"Changqing, have you prepared everything I asked for?"

A clear and gentle male voice came from the study.

"Young master, everything is ready!"

Outside the door, a burly man with a simple and honest appearance respectfully replied.

First of all, those of you who invested should have made a small profit (﹡o﹡). Also, I need to let you all know that I have to go back to my hometown for a few days. The mountain roads are remote, so I might not have time to update. Please forgive me! I'll definitely catch up when I have more free time! (*￣3￣)╭ (I typed this chapter on my phone on the train…)
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(End of this chapter)