On the day when the results of the provincial examination were released, the whole family got up early in the morning, and the servants and maids cleaned and prepared breakfast.
In Lin Qi Pavilion, Lin Sushuang and Sheng Molan knelt in front of the portrait of Confucius, praying that their son would win the exam.
"Mom, why do we kneel in front of the portrait so early in the morning?" Sheng Molan was still young and could not understand Lin Sushuang's mood at this time.
"Mo Lan, we sincerely pray that your brother can go to high school." Lin Sushuang said.
"Then why don't you come over and kneel down, brother?" Sheng Molan said a little unhappy.
"Your brother has just finished the exam. It was too hard. Let him have a good sleep." Lin Sushuang said to her daughter.
"Mom knows how to care about my brother, but not me." Sheng Molan pouted and said jealously.
"You damn girl, if it weren't for your brother, would you be able to live such a good life now?" Lin Sushuang accused:
"Now you won't even kneel down, so I raised you in vain."
Ever since Wang Gang started tinkering with glass bottles and toilet water, money has been shipped to Linqige box by box.
Lin Sushuang and Sheng Molan don't need to rely on the regular money for their daily expenses. Even the servants of Lin Qige's monthly salary is twice as high as that of Dafang.
Sheng Molan followed Wang Gang and Lin Sushuang to get rich, and all expenses were in accordance with the standards of a legitimate daughter, or even more than that. She was completely a wealthy young lady.
"Mom, will my brother be able to go to high school this time?" Sheng Molan said nonchalantly: "I heard people say it's very difficult to pass the national examination. Many old men in their seventies or eighties are still taking the exam."
Lin Sushuang clasped her hands together in prayer and said, "Feng'er has learned five things and is sure to win in one go. He will definitely win."
Sheng Molan disagreed, rubbed her sore legs, looked at the portrait of Confucius, and thought about buying some gold hairpins to show off to Ru Lan and Ming Lan later.
Mrs. Wang, like Lin Sushuang, had people put up incense tables early in the morning to worship Confucius, hoping that her son Sheng Changbai would pass the exam.
However, Mrs. Wang did not drag her daughter Ru Lan to worship Confucius. Instead, she dragged her husband Sheng Hong and insisted on kneeling down together.
"You are just cramming. Whether Bai'er can pass the exam depends on his own knowledge. What's the use of worshiping him?" Sheng Hong accused Wang Ruofu.
"People say that Confucius will bless scholars. It doesn't matter if we worship him. What's wrong with you reading books about sages and worshiping Confucius?" Wang Ruofu said.
Sheng Hong said disapprovingly: "If you want to worship, go and worship. I won't. I'll go have breakfast."
Wang Ruofu held Sheng Hong in his arms and refused to let him go, saying, "I think you don't have Bai'er in your heart, only the one in Lin Qige."
Since Wang Gang's business has grown bigger and bigger, Lin Xige's position in the Sheng family has become more and more subtle.
Wang Gang would distribute a large amount of money to Sheng Hong and the old lady every year. Although Sheng Hong prided himself on being a clean-blooded person, he was still very happy with his son's filial piety.
As a result, I became more and more fond of Lin Qige, and slept there seven days out of ten.
This made Mrs. Wang very jealous. Now she was not only jealous of Lin Sushuang, but also Wang Gang.
The reason is easy to understand. The more outstanding Wang Gang is as a concubine, the greater the threat to his legitimate son Sheng Changbai.
Mrs. Wang is now counting on the imperial examination so that her son can beat Lin Qige.
Soon the sound of blowing and beating reached the Sheng Mansion.
"This is the sound of good news." Sheng Hong beamed with joy when he heard the sound.
Wang Ruofu couldn't help it anymore. The eldest lady in the house didn't want to lose face, so many servants rushed to the door together.
Then she saw a person announcing the good news and shouted loudly: "Congratulations to Mr. Sheng's high school graduation!"
Wang Ruofu thought his son had graduated from high school, so he was ecstatic and took out a bag of copper coins.
Sheng Hong calmed down and asked: "Which member of the Sheng family will win the title of Yuan?"
This time Sheng Changbai and Wang Gang will take the provincial examination together, and they will both be able to go to high school.
The person who announced the good news said: "Mr. Sheng Chang Feng Sheng, the first place in the high school provincial examination!"
When Sheng Hong heard this, a smile finally appeared on his face, but Wang Ruofu felt as if the sky was falling.
"Isn't it my son from Changbai High School?" Wang Ruofu couldn't believe it and asked the person who caught the good news.
When Sheng Hong saw that Wang Ruofu didn't care about her etiquette, he couldn't help but feel unhappy. He quickly pulled her away, and then asked the person who brought the good news:
"Changfeng won the first place, is Changbai also in high school?"
The person who brought the good news scratched his head, not knowing how to answer.
Usually people who announce good news only report the top three, mainly because they want to get a lucky draw and get some reward money. As for the other rankings, who cares?
This is just a provincial examination, not a general examination or a palace examination!
Sheng Hong also reacted quickly and hurriedly asked his servant to look at the list.
At this time, Lin Sushuang arrived late. She already knew about her son's high school education. She was feeling proud and walked past Wang Ruofu with her head held high.
Wang Ruofu was so angry that his teeth itched.
Lin Sushuang took out a piece of silver and handed it to the person who brought the good news. Everyone around was surprised.
Because Lin Sushuang was too generous with her money, one ingot of silver was worth at least five taels.
The person who brought the good news was already happy. After taking the money, he poured out auspicious words as if he didn't need the money.
Lin Sushuang stood in the middle of the crowd, accepting everyone's congratulations. She felt that she had never been so glorious in her life.
Sheng Hong and Lin Sushuang stood together, and many people thought that Lin Sushuang was the head lady of Sheng Mansion.
Wang Ruofu couldn't bear it anymore and ran directly into the house.
Soon the person who was watching the rankings from the Sheng family came back and told Wang Ruofu that Sheng Changbai was also in high school, but he was ranked seventh.
Originally, Wang Ruofu should be happy that his son could win the exam, but when he thought about Lin Sushuang's son getting the first place in the exam and overwhelming Sheng Changbai, Wang Ruofu felt like he had eaten a fly.
Sheng Hong didn't care about this. He only knew that his two sons had won the imperial examination and had entered the official career. He was so happy that he grinned from ear to ear.
He even wanted to have a grand banquet to celebrate, but if Mrs. Sheng hadn't stopped her in time, the banquet would have been over.
"It's great that your two sons won the exam, but what about those who didn't?" Mrs. Sheng taught her son:
"It's a good thing to be happy, but don't be too high-profile. Don't forget, you are only a sixth-grade official."
Sheng Hong was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat. Then he remembered that he was here in the capital, and a falling brick could hit three officials.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The Sheng family is too high-profile and can easily make others jealous.
"That's what my mother taught me," Sheng Hong said humbly.
Mrs. Sheng said: "Now that the two brothers Changbai and Changfeng have grown up and have been elected, their marriage may not be postponed."
Sheng Hong said respectfully: "Actually, I have already considered it. I want to wait until the cypresses grow and the maple leaves grow before we can discuss marriage. Didn't I get married only after I became a Jinshi?"
Old Mrs. Sheng sighed: "I'm not worried about Changbai, I'm worried about Brother Feng."
Sheng Hong was stunned and puzzled: "Chang Feng has been better than Chang Bai since he was a child. How can his mother worry about his marriage?"
At this time, Wang Gang wanted money, talent, and talent, and he won the lottery. It was the most prosperous time.
Old Mrs. Sheng said: "It is precisely because Chang Feng is too outstanding that he always takes precedence over his legitimate son. If things continue like this, it is not a good thing!"
Sheng Hong finally understood what the old lady was worried about.
Unlike the previous Tang and Sui dynasties, the Song Dynasty was not too strict about the inheritance system of the eldest son. The bastard was also eligible to enter the family tree and divide the family property, but the majority was always on the side of the eldest son.
In other words, Wang Gang is qualified to share the Sheng family property.
But the problem now is that Wang Gang is so good at business that his own wealth is about to exceed that of Sheng Hong, which creates another problem.
That’s separation!
Once families are separated, even if they are blood brothers, they are two families in the final analysis.
"There is another thing that I am very concerned about." Mrs. Sheng said: "None of the maids serving in Brother Feng's room have been slapped, and he never goes to those places."
Sheng Hong was completely stunned.
The so-called open-face means having sex between men and women. As for those places, they are naturally brothels and elegant houses.
At this time, the maidservant served the young master and had a very important job, which was enlightenment.
Don't underestimate this matter. In a wealthy family, carrying on the family line is the first priority, even more important than the imperial examination.
Although Sheng Changbai was concentrating on his studies, Wang Ruofu still sent several good-looking maids to serve him, commonly known as the maids in the general room.
Wang Ruofu naturally wanted his son to show off to the maid, and it would be best if he could conceive one to prove his fertility.
Similarly, Lin Sushuang also assigned Wang Gang with maids, all of whom were young and beautiful. However, Wang Gang did not touch any of them, and even transferred several maids away and replaced them with servants, book boys.
This made Mrs. Sheng wonder whether Wang Gang was bad or just didn't like women.
Don't blame the old lady for thinking so, Sheng Hong was a little suspicious.
He has also been through this in his youth, and he knows how passionate men of this period are about the opposite sex. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. It is just nature. It has been like this from ancient times to the present, even if it will be like this for more than a thousand years in the future.
There must be a reason why Wang Gang is so contrary to his nature!
Either I can’t, I just don’t want to!
No matter what it is, it is not what a parent wants to see.
