Chapter 444 The Flower of Barrenness (19)
Chapter 444 The Flower of Barrenness (19)
Fu Jinzhang watched as the boy answered the questions stroke by stroke, his writing flowing smoothly without a single pause, and all the content he wrote was substantial and feasible.
This is somewhat inconsistent with his exam paper. If the exam paper was unremarkable, then this answer sheet can be described as brilliant.
Moreover, the emperor standing next to him was not nervous at all, which shows he has potential.
Thinking this, the emperor wandered over to Tian Zhuang's side. Tian Zhuang's answer was not similar to Tian Ye's because of their different approaches. However, Fu Jinzhang could tell that the two seemed to have come from the same school and were taught by the same teacher.
But judging from the way he answered the questions, it didn't seem to be the way those people in the capital used, which made Fu Jinzhang a little curious.
Fu Jinzhang then looked around at the other candidates before returning to the dragon throne.
Some people lacked composure; after the emperor stood by for a while, one person's hand trembled so much they could barely hold the pen. Others tried to appear calm, but their blank exam papers betrayed their nervousness.
The exam papers were completed and graded on the spot, but the specific results didn't come out until evening.
The list was posted the next day, and Tian Ye was surprisingly third place, while Tian Zhuang also achieved a commendable seventh place.
After reviewing Tian Ye's answer sheet and the list of the top ten papers, Wang You reasonably suspected that Tian Ye was chosen as the third-ranked scholar because of his good looks.
After all, throughout history, the third-place scholar has always been the most handsome.
However, the third-ranked scholar was not bad either. Wangyou got up very early to watch them parade through the streets, while Murong Guan followed along smoothly.
Then Wangyou saw that the three people at the front were about to be buried with sachets and fans, with the third-ranked scholar receiving the most.
Wangyou thought this was a highlight moment for her younger brother, and it would be a pity not to record it, so she took out a scroll and quickly made a painting, which she would show him when he got home.
"I also want."
What do you want?
"painting."
Wangyou looked at the painting, then at Murong Guan's slightly envious expression, and suddenly laughed, "I've given you quite a few before!"
"Nobody's here."
"You want me to draw you? You can't just say so. Okay, I'll draw you when we get back." Wangyou smiled slightly. She would draw his jealous expression when she got back; it would definitely look great.
Murong Guan was pleased.
Once the parade was out of sight, Wangyou packed up and prepared to go home.
When Tianye returned home, he was in a really messy state. If you didn't know better, you would think he had just come from a group of women.
"Go wash up quickly!" Madam Song hurriedly arranged for people to tidy up the fields.
A few days later, Tianye and his colleagues were assigned their roles.
Perhaps to compensate Tian Ye for not winning the top scholar title, the emperor generously granted him a three-month leave, while everyone else received two months.
After some discussion, Tian Laosan and Tian Ye decided to return to their hometown to pay respects to their ancestors, while Song Shi and Wangyou would not have to make the trip.
No need for trouble, forgetting worries will make you happy, but Song was a little reluctant to part with it.
However, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau soon sent the wedding date, and Song Shi couldn't care less about that anymore. She busied herself preparing Wangyou's dowry.
Since the wedding date was set, Murong Guan has been sending gifts even more diligently, and he tries every day to find ways to invite Wangyou out.
However, Wangyou also wanted to go out and play, so naturally, no one refused.
During this time, the talented woman ran into trouble again.
It turns out that the talented woman disguised herself as a man to visit a brothel, where she met a prince. When the two became somewhat intimate, they were seen by the woman's eight admirers.
But this talented woman was also quite remarkable; she managed to balance the relationships between these people.
Wangyou suddenly felt something was off. Were these people under a spell? They were all chosen ones, yet they were completely bewitched by a woman.
Wangyou admired her greatly. She felt that even one Murong official was enough for her to handle, yet she could move among so many men without getting entangled in anything. What's more, she was always inspired to write poetry, which made everyone think she was even more unique and admired her even more.
Wangyou and Murong Guan went out several times and bumped into each other several times.
And today, Wangyou also saw a few familiar faces; in fact, she was quite familiar with them.
One of them was the man Tian Xiaoyu picked up, who turned out to be the heir of the Marquis of Ding'an. Looking at him, you couldn't tell at all that he had fallen on hard times before.
The other two were the Lu family girl from the prefectural city and the man she picked up. However, it seems that her life-saving grace has not made her life better.
Both men were fawning over the talented woman. Wangyou couldn't help but turn her head to look at Murong Guan, who was staring at her intently, ignoring everything else.
Don't you think that girl is amazing?
"Not as good as you."
"You know how to talk." Wangyou lowered her head and continued eating.
However, watching these people's performances, Wangyou suddenly had the idea of writing a storybook again. Aren't these people's experiences just as outrageous and absurd as a storybook? I'm sure many people would like to read it.
Wangyou is very proactive and wrote as soon as she got back; the content is extremely melodramatic.
The story is full of melodramatic tropes, like "You love me," "I love him," "He loves him," and "He doesn't love him," but the ending is always tragic, with everyone suffering a bad fate.
Wangyou is no longer afraid of offending people because her backing is strong enough. This woman named Li Susu is too strange. It's fine for her to harm these powerful and wealthy young men, but she shouldn't harm the emperor. The emperor is still a wise ruler.
More than a month passed, and Wangyou's storybook became a hit. Tian Laosan and Tian Ye returned, bringing Tian Xiaoyu and her child with them.
"How is this going?"
"Sister, Xiaoyu said she has something to tell you in person."
"Then come with me." Wangyou thought for a moment and led Tian Xiaoyu to her study.
"Speak, what do you want from me?"
"I have discovered several high-yield grain varieties, with yields of up to 10,000 jin per mu, and they can be grown on any type of land."
"It was grown with your precious treasure." Wangyou spoke with certainty, and Tian Xiaoyu was not hiding anything at all, even though it had only been less than half a year since she last saw her.
"Well, I can't save it. I think you must have a way."
"Look at these words, what do you think?" Wangyou pulled out a few sheets of paper, on which were the poems written by the talented woman.
"This, this, this, you're from the same hometown?" Tian Xiaoyu's eyes widened.
"Can't you improve a little? This was made by Li Susu, the illegitimate daughter of Prime Minister Li. Does it look familiar?"
"She plagiarized; this wasn't her work at all."
"I know, but judging from your reaction, you two must be from the same place. This capital city really has a peculiar feng shui, gathering all sorts of strange and monstrous things," Wangyou said helplessly.
When did you discover it?
"I could tell the first time I saw you after you fell into the water."
si-mexico