Before Shen Ling took the county exam or the government exam, he had never passed by the candidates of the same class. Everyone only knew his name but not the person. Even if they wanted to send him a greeting, they had no way to do it and had to give up.
On the day when the list was released, Zhuang Er volunteered to wait in front of the list early, holding a piece of paper with Shen Ling's name in his hand.
He was illiterate and could only read by reading.
The people around him who were looking at the list were mostly book boys and young men who could read a few words. Seeing him like this, they couldn't help showing disdain, and even more exaggeratedly. They even sneered in front of him, mocking him for being an illiterate idle man who couldn't even read a word. If you don't even recognize me, you still have people look at the rankings, it's just tainting this place.
Zhuang Er was too lazy to talk to these children, so he just went to the place where the results were posted, and the taunting book boy was blocked by him. Because he was short, he couldn't even see the wooden board where the results would be posted later.
There was a huge crowd in front of the list. Zhuang Keqing was sitting in the teahouse and saw the yamen servant coming out from the direction of the examination room, lining up the crowd, and pasting the big red paper in his hand on the wooden board.
The yamen servant left, and the crowded crowd suddenly became extremely quiet. From her perspective, Zhuang Keqing couldn't even see the corners of the list clearly, but she also raised her body slightly, her face solemn and nervous.
"Shen Ling!"
"The head of the case!"
Those who can squeeze in front to look at the list are mostly curious about the first name in this case. When the list is posted, everyone will naturally focus on the number one.
Unexpectedly, I saw this extremely familiar name.
Zhuang Er was still holding the note and matching the names one by one when someone shouted Shen Ling's name in his ears. He was startled and his eyes quickly moved from the bottom of the list to the first name in front of him.
Sure enough, it was Brother Ling!
Zhuang Er's face was full of joy, he turned around and turned away from the crowd who were still squeezing in, and rushed up to the teahouse in one stride, shouting as he rushed back, "Brother Ling has been hit, the head of the case!"
Zhuang Keqing could no longer hide her excitement at this time, so she crossed the table and gave Shen Ling a big hug.
"Aling, you are awesome!"
The girl's eyebrows are curved, her cheeks are flushed with excitement, and her eyes are full of the handsome, clear, and dashing young man in front of her.
Many of the candidates sitting in the teahouse had heard of Shen Ling's name. Now that they saw the real person, they couldn't help but be impressed by his charming demeanor.
With this appearance and temperament, he is worthy of being named the leader of the case.
At this time, everyone has forgotten that the test in this academy is about talent, not appearance.
"Congratulations to Brother Shen for getting the head of the case."
"Congratulations to Brother Shen for winning the Little Three Dollars."
They all stood up and congratulated each other, but pushed aside Zhuang Er who ran upstairs to announce the good news.
"It's just a fluke, not as good as other talented people."
Although Shen Ling has always had a cold and indifferent temperament, at this time, he was extremely comfortable handling compliments from everyone, and there was no trace of arrogance on his face, which made people look at him even more highly.
"It turns out that my brother is Shen Ling."
The scholars were rushing to talk to Shen Ling, when a man stepped in and took over the conversation.
Zhuang Keqing looked up and felt that this person looked familiar. After thinking about it carefully, wasn't this the scholar who wanted to go upstairs to visit Aling after the first county examination.
What's his name?
"Congratulations to Brother Shen, for winning the first prize in one fell swoop and winning three small yuan. I am the second best person in this college examination, Li Shoucheng of Huaiqing Academy."
"Li Shoucheng."
"It's Li Shoucheng from Huaiqing Academy."
The scholars around him were whispering to each other, and the whispers could be heard endlessly. If you listen carefully, you will hear the sounds of admiration.
Li Shoucheng looked arrogant.
Huaiqing Academy is one of the best academies in Nanzi County. In addition, he is a leader among them and loves to participate in literary societies, so he is somewhat famous.
Humph, these scholars in the teahouse are quite discerning.
Looking around at the crowd, he was slightly startled when he saw Zhuang Keqing behind the tea table. After a brief moment of confusion, he turned his attention to the head of the case in front of him.
I saw that the other party's eyebrows were clear, his eyes were black and white, his lips were slightly pursed, and his eyes were very clear and cold, showing a little indifference and vigilance.
What does this mean?
Li Shoucheng didn't know why he was looking at him like this, and was just wondering when the book boy behind him called "Master" and handed over the name card he had prepared earlier.
It turned out that he had long expected that he would be among the top today, and that Shen Ling would also be admitted as a scholar, so he took his name card with him, thinking that he would take advantage of this opportunity to make friends with him in his own capacity.
But no one thought that Shen Ling could be so powerful, and that he could surpass himself and get the head of the case, making him a legend of three yuan.
After the introduction, he handed over his post in the envious and annoyed eyes of the scholars and said: "I have admired Brother Shen's talent for a long time. I wonder if Brother Shen will have time in the next few days. I will invite you to take a look at the scenery of this city. Let’s discuss some academic issues by the way.”
Unexpectedly, the person on the other side didn't answer the question, and instead spoke coldly.
"Sorry, I will go back to my hometown with my family tomorrow. Thank you Mr. Li for your kindness."
Li Shoucheng thought that he had given the other party enough face. He was the dignified chief of Huaiqing Academy. He kindly invited the leader of the Sanyuan case in front of a large audience. He thought that the other party would be happy to agree, but he was rejected so simply. In a moment, , the childish little face turned purple in humiliation.
The scholars around him who had just been busy making friends and flattering could not help but snicker in their hearts.
Do you have today too?
Li Shoucheng usually relied on his talent and looked down on mediocre scholars like them. He had heard that someone sent him poems in order to communicate with them, but he didn't want to. Instead, after accepting the post, he criticized the person for making a nonsense comment. The scholar has never been able to see anyone.
Shen Ling turned a blind eye to the joking expressions of the people around him, turned around, took Zhuang Keqing's hand, and walked downstairs.
"Brother Li, I remember that you also failed to return home last time."
Among the scholars who stayed in the teahouse, there were some who were watching the fun and did not mind the matter. One of the people involved in the incident left, and the other one was obviously in a bad mood, so he had to bring up what happened last time.
"Why come back in vain?"
There were other scholars who didn't stay in the same inn as them last time, so of course they didn't know about it. After being teased like this, they naturally became interested, and asked Li Shoucheng regardless of his red and slightly purple face.
"Let's talk about Shen's case last time..."
It was fine for Li Shoucheng to be rejected by Shen Ling. He could no longer bear the ridicule of these mediocre people. His face suddenly turned from red to white, he snorted and turned around to leave.
"Hey, Master! Master!"
The bookboy followed behind, glared angrily at these scholars who chewed their tongues like housewives, and hurriedly chased after them.
"Ah, Mr. Li was angry and ran away."
"No matter what he does, isn't he enough to show off his prestige with us on weekdays?"
"Just, come on, tell me, what happened last time?"
The scholars in the teahouse all gathered around the gossipers for a while, eagerly asking about the embarrassing incident of Li Shouchen being rejected for the first time.
Shen Ling was not interested in the atmosphere and communication among these scholars. He only read the rankings today and got the results. Then he could go back. He had no sense of pride or complacency in taking the case.
He had no reaction, but Zhuang Er was so excited that he could not speak coherently.
The head of the case!
Another case first!
What did those scholars say just now?
Little three yuan?
Isn’t it just Xiao Sanyuan!
Winning two yuan in a row is a high-quality incense burned by the ancestors, so wouldn’t winning three yuan in a row be as rare as the top prize?
But in fact, although since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the number of people who have been able to win the three-digit minors is only three people. They may have won the first place, the second place, or even the third overall, but there is not even a single winner of the minor three-digits.
Shen Ling knew in his heart that after passing the county examination, government examination, and college examination, it was just that you had just entered the scholar's class and opened the way for you to work hard, and it was nothing.
If you really want to be an official, you must at least be like Shen De and pass the examination for talents.
He still has a long way to go.
But Zhuang Keqing doesn't care about the future. Winning the first prize in the hospital examination is already their best achievement. Why can't they celebrate it properly?
I was disturbed by someone at the teahouse just now, so why not find a restaurant nearby, get a private room, have a good meal, relax, buy some specialty snacks, and start home tomorrow.
There was no way Zhuang Er could disapprove. He was usually a frugal person, but this time he nodded repeatedly and said that he wanted to find a decent restaurant. He paid half of the money and treated it as a congratulation to his niece and son-in-law!