308 The Mother of the Top Scorer
“Good sister, you’re my sister-in-law. You have to help Yang Shaoqun and Yang Kun in the future.”
“Among the people in our village, only your family’s Jiang Si has become the top scorer. This is a great honor. Even your daughter has become the empress. Your family has brought honor to your ancestors!”
“You haven’t been back to the village, so you don’t know. Your second daughter-in-law has been making money in that shabby house of yours. You have to pay money before you can enter and visit it. If you want to go to Jiang Xi’s room, you have to pay more money. If you want to bring out a handful of soil from the house, you have to pay a lot more money. The money has been divided between your second and eldest daughter-in-law. They are living a good life in the village.” The woman’s words made Yang Fen’s heart ache on the spot. Although she had a good life in Jing City, she did not have much money in her hands. Last time, all the money had been taken away by Jiang Si. She usually kept a little for her family’s expenses. This time, she had borrowed the money for the banquet and firecrackers in the name of Jiang Si. She was waiting for Jiang Si to win the top scorer to recover the cost.
“Make way! The mother of our scholar is here! The scholar’s mother is here to see the ranking!” The women surrounded Yang Fen and shouted.
In an instant, the bustling crowd became quiet. Everyone turned their heads to look at Yang Fen, who had a smug expression on her face, like a nouveau riche. When an examinee heard that the scholar’s mother had arrived, he immediately stood up straight and wanted to get acquainted with the scholar’s mother. “This must be the mother of the scholar, right? I’m Zhou Yang, the second place this time. I’m here to salute you, Madam.”
This ordinary-looking man actually got second place? For a moment, the way everyone looked at him changed.
Yang Fen straightened her back and raised her head high. She mimicked the postures of the official’s wives she usually saw. However, when she did this, she looked like a proud old peacock.
“Yes, although he is not as knowledgeable as my son, he is still not bad.” Yang Fen nodded.
“It’s not just not bad. If he didn’t meet the top scholar, Zhou Yang’s grades would have made him the top scorer! Oh, but there’s someone even worse among the candidates. When the results were out, he refused to admit defeat and actually ran to our top scholar on the spot!” A failed candidate laughed out loud.
Someone beside him asked what was going on. The candidate who failed the roll fanned himself and said with a smile, “This year’s examination candidates are full of jokes. Our top scholar is handsome and talented. That candidate with the surname Jiang failed the examination, but he didn’t believe that he failed. He kept insisting that our top scholar earned the empress’s appreciation with his looks and refused to accept the fact that he failed the examination. Then, he bumped into the scholar during the announcement of the results and ended up hitting his head against a stone pillar. His head was covered in blood, and he sent little stutterer to his house to deliver a message. He’s still lying on the ground now. As soon as the candidate who had failed the exam said that, the whole hall burst into laughter. He really bumping into the top scorer! Hahahaha!”
“Do you think this person has gone crazy trying to be the top scorer? Would he be the top scorer if he killed the top scorer? Even if something really happened to the top scorer, the top scorer would still be Zhou Yang, who was in second place. There’s no place for him!” Someone laughed so hard that he couldn’t straighten his back.
“Hahaha, I’m afraid he doesn’t know his own worth and is getting too arrogant. I heard that he grew up in the countryside and has no foundation or inside information. He’s a nobody and even tried to establish a relationship with the empress in court. Fortunately, the empress is clear about gratitude and grudges,” the candidate who failed the exam said. Previously, everyone was worried that the woman would be narrow-minded and not presentable if she was the empress. Now, it seemed that their empress was indeed handpicked by the heavens. She was so magnanimous!
Yang Fen’s expression changed several times, and she felt her legs and stomach tremble a little.
“Why do I feel that the person they’re talking about sounds so familiar…”The women behind Yang Fen looked at each other, and even the cheerful servant girls behind her changed their expressions.
“Brother Zhuang Heng, I finally get to see you! Is that madman still lying on the ground? Are you hurt?” Zhou Yang’s eyes lit up when he saw one of them. He walked up to them. The other scholars also followed. The group of people laughed heartily and magnanimously, showing their sincerity.
“Is this the top scorer? He’s really good looking!” The crowd was slightly excited.
Yang Fen’s body shook and her legs went soft. She almost knelt down.
“Top scorer, your mother is here. She even bought a lot of candy and sent it all the way here. Just now, the whole Jing City was setting off firecrackers. Your mother is so good to you. You also fought for your mother’s pride!” Zhou Yang pointed at Yang Fen. His words made Yang Fen’s face turn pale and her legs tremble even more.
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