After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 668 The tip of the horn

Jin Jiashu was getting too hung up on this. Seeing this, Ma Shangyi could no longer speak well of the emperor or Prefect Xin.

She felt guilty and regretted not discovering the emperor's plan in advance, so after the provincial examination, she was too sure that Jin Jiashu had a good chance of passing, so she said too many good things in front of him. Now that the news of his failure came, it was not because Jin Jiashu himself was not knowledgeable enough, but because someone deliberately suppressed him, so it was no wonder that he was angry.

Ma Shangyi could only persuade Jin Jiashu to calm down: "The emperor was confused for a moment, so he issued such an order. In fact, Prefect Xin was unwilling in his heart. He didn't take it to heart at first, but later he had to demote you in order to obey the imperial edict. However, he didn't want to wrong you too much, so he put you first on the second list, hoping that you can continue to study hard and do better in the next exam. As long as the emperor doesn't issue another order for the next exam, Prefect Xin will never block your way again. Don't worry, the Empress Dowager and Madam Xu know what's going on, and they will never really let you lose your birth!"

Jin Jiashu took a deep breath: "What if the emperor gives the next exam or continues to give orders to Prefect Xin? Can Prefect Xin still disobey the order? I am just a small relative, I dare not say that I have this dignity!"

Ma Shangyi lowered her head and did not answer directly. Instead, she sighed and talked about family matters: "The Empress Dowager sent a letter last month... She has always been very concerned about my brother's studies and hopes that he can win the provincial examination! She also wanted General Zhou Si to bring her daughter to the capital for a reunion, but the affairs of the Imperial Guards were complicated and General Zhou Si was really busy, so the matter had to be postponed until next year. But who can say what the situation will be like next year? The Duke and the Duchess are also worried about the Fourth General. He is now serving in the Imperial Guards, responsible for guarding the imperial city. The more seriously ill the emperor is, the heavier his responsibilities will be. He is still young, and the Duke is very worried that he has not experienced anything big and something will go wrong. He is thinking of sending a few more young men from his family to help him!"

She looked up and saw Jin Jiashu was listening to her words carefully, as if thinking about something, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Jin Jiashu could understand the hint in her words and stop giving up on himself, the current predicament would be solved in no time.

Really, it will probably happen within the next two years.

When the Empress Dowager, Empress Xu and the Eighth Prince took power, it would be no problem for Jin Jiashu to take part in the provincial examination and gain fame based on his real ability.

Even if the emperor has a will, how to follow it is still up to the nobles in the palace to decide, right?

Jin Jiashu looked up at Ma Shangyi with a calm expression, not knowing whether he understood what Ma Shangyi meant. Ma Shangyi hesitated to ask more clarifications, and then she heard Jin Jiashu suddenly stand up and say, "I feel a little depressed, and want to go to the backyard to relax. Ma, go back, I'm fine. I just... couldn't think straight for a while, so I got angry with myself."

Ma Shangyi was stunned: "Why is my brother angry with me?"

"If my provincial examination results were not so bad, even if I was on the list, I would only be at the bottom. How could Prefect Xin easily dismiss me? How could the other examiners not fight for me?" Jin Jiashu sneered, "If I was at the top, would Prefect Xin really not care about his feathers at all? It is obvious that I was suppressed because I was not outstanding enough. Of course I have to be angry with myself. Why can't I study better? If I were a well-known talent, people would be suspicious if I failed the exam, and today would not be the result!"

Ma Shangyi just thought he was talking nonsense, but it was not easy to refute him directly: "Brother, you have learned very well. How old are you? How many years have you been studying with Mr. Xie? Others of the same age as you, who have studied with famous teachers since childhood, may not be as good as you!"

Speaking of "others", Jin Jiashu remembered something: "Wu Ke is third on the vice list, he... couldn't he also be deliberately suppressed?"

"That's not the case." Ma Shangyi answered frankly, "The person who told me the news said that Wu's brother was already at the top of the secondary list. The original first place on the secondary list was promoted to the main list. You became the first place on the secondary list, and his ranking did not change. Because of his family background, several examiners reviewed his test paper after the name was announced. They said that his writing was good, but he didn't have many insights, his ideas were a bit too naive, and he knew too little about practical affairs... He still needs to study for a few more years and go out among the people to gain more experience!"

This is Wu Ke's old problem. Since the age of three, the orphan of the Wu family has rarely seen the outside world. He either lives in hiding in the Cining Palace or is trapped in the backyard of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion. After arriving in Chang'an, he finally had a little freedom of movement and was able to see the vast world outside, but at most he rode out of the city with his friends. He didn't know how ordinary people lived, nor had he taken care of household affairs himself, and didn't understand the prices of firewood, rice, oil and salt in the market. Teacher Xie said more than once that he didn't know the world, but the Zhenguo Mansion had always protected him very well and was unwilling to let him leave his sphere of influence easily or come into contact with ordinary people. It is estimated that this shortcoming of his will not be easy to correct. However, it is good to know that Wu Ke has not been suppressed. Wu Ke still has a good hope of entering the Imperial College. With his "precedent", he will be more confident of entering the Imperial College in the future.

Jin Jiashu looked at Ma Shangyi, but didn't tell her what he was thinking. He just lowered his head and walked out: "I'll go to the backyard. You can have someone bring dinner to my room. I'll come back when I'm hungry."

Ma Shangyi hurriedly put a cloak on him and watched him leave. She couldn't say much. She felt bad just thinking about it. As the person involved, Jin Jiashu must feel even more wronged. She immediately returned to her room and planned to write a letter to the capital. No matter what, Jin Jiashu couldn't be allowed to be as he guessed, because his identity as a "relative" had always been feared and suppressed by the emperor. This child had sacrificed too much for the sake of the overall situation. How could he continue to suffer?

I'm afraid Empress Xu is also unwilling in her heart.

Jin Jiamu came to his backyard with a sullen face. He did not sit down in the thatched pavilion directly. Instead, he came to the corner of the wall and looked towards the wall on the Hai family's side. He lowered his head to find a small stone, estimated the direction, and then raised his hand to throw the small stone over.

After a while, the sound of stone hitting the wall came from the other side of the wall, first three times, then two, and then three times again, and then there was no sound.

Jin Jiashu then retreated back to the thatched pavilion, put on his cloak, sat down, and waited quietly for his good friend to arrive.

It soon got dark, and there was a knock at the front door. After a while, Haijiao went into the backyard and found Jin Jiashu: "I thought you didn't take the failure to the exam to heart. In front of my uncle, you were so open-minded and calm, but it turned out to be all fake? In my opinion, who am I? Who are my uncle and the others? Why do you have to endure it? If you have grievances in your heart, but don't vent them to us, do you think we are outsiders?!"

Jin Jiashu's eyes suddenly turned red: "Not only that! If I really just failed the exam, there is nothing to feel wronged about. It's just that I haven't learned enough knowledge. I just need to continue studying hard. But I... I'm not really..." He gritted his teeth, not knowing whether he should tell the truth.

Haijiao had already guessed what he wanted to say: "You didn't really fail the list. You were on the list and then deliberately eliminated, right? I was just talking about this with my younger sister. Who is so mean to deliberately block your future?!"

Jin Jiashu was a little surprised. Just as he was about to answer, he saw Haijiao reaching out to stop him: "Don't rush to speak. Wait until everyone is here."

Jin Jiashu was puzzled. Haven't all the people arrived yet? He was waiting for the reef.

While he was wondering, he saw a dark shadow slowly falling from the top of the wall where he had just thrown the stone. He was immediately shocked.

(End of this chapter)