Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 108 Coming
"Wu Qihao?"

Sheng Changquan looked at the name and said he had never heard of it.

Is there such a talented person near Tokyo?

Judging from his demeanor, Sheng Changquan guessed that he must be an extremely confident, even arrogant, person!
If they didn't have some real skills, how could they dare to be so arrogant?
—Unless, he's an idiot.

Sheng Changquan waved to Xu Changqing behind him: "Changqing, come here!"

"Son!"

Xu Changqing quickly jogged over and awaited orders.

"Changqing, go outside and ask around."

Sheng Changquan pointed at Wu Qihao, who walked with a swagger inside, and asked, "Just who is this Wu Qihao?"

Xu Changqing looked up and carefully examined the guy in the examination hall, then nodded emphatically: "Yes, young master!"

Sheng Changquan nodded slightly: "Alright, I'll go in first."

As he spoke, he picked up the exam basket and stepped past the guards at the gate for inspection.

……

Shou'an Hall.

After seeing Sheng Changquan off, the old lady was helped back to her own courtyard by Minglan. At that moment, she was performing her morning prayers in her family's Buddhist hall, praying for the Sheng family's children and grandchildren.

Inside the pear blossom cabinet, Minglan had no heart to embroider anything anymore; her mind was filled with images of Sheng Changquan traveling.

After all, this was Sheng Changquan's first time going out alone, and Minglan, as his older sister, was inevitably a little worried.

"I wonder how my younger brother is doing now?"

Minglan sat blankly at the table, staring at the book "Lady Li Guards Niangzi Pass" hanging on the wall in front of her, lost in thought.

"Young lady, I hope you can bless my brother so that everything goes smoothly for him and his academic pursuits are successful!"

Because of Wei Xiaoniang's dying wish, Minglan still dares not call her "Mother"!
Even if it's in my heart!

"Young lady, you don't need to worry!"

Danju, who was standing nearby, served Minglan a cup of tea and comforted her, saying, "Quan-ge'er has a solid foundation and is diligent in his studies. This small preliminary examination will surely be a piece of cake for him!"

"Moreover, I heard from the magpie in the Fifth Sister's courtyard that Scholar Zhuang praised Quan'er's writing, saying that he would be more than qualified to take the provincial examination now!"

"Uh-huh!"

Xiao Tao nodded vigorously, echoing, "Sister Danju is right!"

"Girl, don't worry!"

When Minglan heard what the two maids said, she immediately felt relieved and realized that she had indeed been worrying too much.

"Yes, you're right, things will definitely go smoothly for my brother!"

After thinking it through, Minglan smiled and asked, "By the way, Xiaotao, didn't the messenger say there was a letter for me? Did you go and get it?"

Because she's been quite busy lately, and it's not so convenient for mail carriers to deliver letters, Minglan only now has time to inquire about the letter.

"Oh, by the way, young lady, your letter!"

After Minglan reminded her, Xiaotao suddenly realized what was going on and immediately took out a hot letter from her bosom and handed it to Minglan.

"hey-hey!"

Seeing Danju's reproachful expression, Xiaotao belatedly chuckled and said, "The shredded cheese on the street was so delicious that I forgot about it for a moment!"

"You!"

Minglan nodded helplessly at Xiaotao's head and smiled it off.

"Let me see, who wrote this to me?"

Minglan took the envelope with great curiosity, pulled out the letter inside, and began to read it.

Soon, a delighted smile appeared on Minglan's face!
"That's wonderful! Auntie is going to the capital!"

Before Xiao Tao and Dan Ju could even ask any questions, Ming Lan immediately shared the good news with those around her.

"Huh? Really?"

Xiao Tao licked her lips, a look of longing on her face: "If my period really came, that would be wonderful!"

"I remember, Auntie's pancakes were so delicious!" In the years since Sheng Changquan was born, Aunt Wei only came once, when Sheng Changquan was one year old. After that, for various reasons, she only sent gifts through others on the birthdays of the two children each year, but she never came herself.

Even when Minglan wrote to her asking her to come, she didn't come. I wonder if she was afraid of being accused of freeloading!

You glutton!

Minglan was both amused and exasperated by Xiaotao's words!
"My aunt said in her letter that she came to talk to me about something!"

"That's... a very important thing!"

Recalling what she had just read in the letter about that incident from a few years ago, Minglan's expression suddenly became much more downcast, and even her eyes seemed to grow much deeper.

It was as if a cloud of mist was swirling within it.

……

Yin County.

A place near Bianliang City where candidates for the imperial examinations for children gathered.

At this moment, a full six hours have passed since the examinees entered the examination hall.

Because of the Emperor Taizu's vigorous reforms, the preliminary examination for students was held in two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each session lasted one and a half hours. The morning session tested students' ability to memorize classics, such as writing and filling in blanks. The afternoon session tested students' ability to write poetry and prose, with the examiners setting the questions and allowing students to demonstrate their talents.

The founding emperor of this dynasty once said, "A student who is a child should not be overly complicated."

Therefore, in the first examination for the young scholars, the current dynasty only conducts two tests: one to test their understanding of the classics and the other to test their sharp thinking. This is to eliminate bookworms who can only study by rote, so as to prevent them from being inflexible and potentially harming the people in the future.

……

As time passed, the doors of the examination hall finally reopened.

"Bang!"

"Come out! Come out!"

Some of the examinee's family members who were waiting outside shouted out.

"Ah? Young Master!"

"Big brother!"

"younger brother!"

"..."

The cheers immediately made the scene much more lively.

"Son!"

The burly Xu Changqing was tall and strong, and he spotted Sheng Changquan in the crowd at a glance.

"Master! Master!"

With a stride of his long legs, Xu Changqing used his powerful body to shove forward, instantly clearing a path through the crowd.

"Son!"

Xu Changqing walked up to Sheng Changquan with a simple smile, took the exam basket from his hand, and made way for him to get out.

"hehe!"

Sheng Changquan patted Xu Changqing's strong muscles and laughed, "Changqing, you're really in great shape!"

"hey-hey!"

Xu Changqing led the way with a silly grin, but didn't say much.

"By the way, did you find out anything clearly outside?"

"Who exactly is Wu Qihao?"

It's funny, Wu Qihao's location in the examination hall happened to be near Sheng Changquan's examination center. Moreover, this guy was really confident. Not long after the afternoon session started, he handed in his paper early and swaggered out.

Unfortunately, this guy didn't know that the examiner for this preliminary examination was Lord Cui, the educational commissioner of Yin County. Lord Cui was a late bloomer with a calm and steady temperament. He looked down on those who were arrogant and conceited because of their talent. At this moment, Wu Qihao dared to hand in his paper early under his nose. Unless he was exceptionally talented, his fate was bound to be bad!

It is worth mentioning that understanding the examiner's temperament is a skill that only a family like the Sheng family, with officials and scholars, would understand in the imperial examinations. This shows that there must be no official in Wu Qihao's family.

Let me clarify one thing first: this book will continue to be written according to my own ideas. If any readers don't like it, they can leave without notifying me, thank you! (Anyway, it's not available for purchase, so there shouldn't be any loss.)
To avoid too many opinions that might disrupt the flow of my story, this book will include some characters who are sons-in-law. If you really don't like it, I won't force you...

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(End of this chapter)