The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 1940 - 1915: Youthful Talent Deserves Respect
Zhai Dalang frowned and kept silent; he didn’t want to get married since marriage meant waking up even earlier.
At this time, Bai Erlang was also yawning. He irritably tossed aside his pen and said, "There are too few books here; this one is missing, that one is missing, it’s nothing like the Chongwen Pavilion. I can’t find the books I’m looking for. Why does Mr. Zhuang assign us so much homework?"
Bai Shan stuffed the book he flipped through quickly back onto the shelf, pulled out another one after seeing the title, and said, "That’s what training is about, isn’t it? Stop complaining, just get on with transcribing. I’ve already figured out the solution to one problem."
Manbao was reading the exam papers County Magistrate Zhai collected for his son. "I took a look; the exam papers from Shangzhou Prefecture two and three years ago were really hard."
Bai Shan thought for a moment and said, "It seems the exams at the Imperial Academy were tough at that time too; their papers probably changed in difficulty based on the exams at the Imperial Academy."
Bai Erlang, upon hearing this, immediately asked, "If you hadn’t entered through a recommendation and had taken the big exam yourself, do you think you could have passed the Imperial Academy exam?"
Bai Shan glanced at him and said, "Even if I couldn’t pass the first year, I would pass the second or third year at least. You’re different."
Bai Erlang: ...
He snorted angrily, turned his head to continue transcribing, and said, "That might not be true. Perhaps my luck is better than yours, and the examiners happen to like my essays?"
Bai Shan seriously considered it and thought it was quite possible. After all, luck is a form of ability too.
When it was time to attend the gathering, Bai Shan still couldn’t find everything he wanted from the pile of books. In the end, he could only take two pages of notes and join Manbao and the others in a carriage to the restaurant for the banquet.
To have more time, they hadn’t ridden horses for the past three days.
After Bai Shan reviewed the content he had copied, he handed it to Manbao, took the exam paper Bai Erlang had copied, and said, "It really is difficult. I’ve thought about this problem for a long time but couldn’t figure out how to solve it. Were the exams in the counties around the capital always this hard?"
Manbao looked it over and nodded, "No wonder the number of students from Jiannan Road getting admitted to the exams in the capital has always been lower compared to these few states. It’s because the questions they start with are much harder than ours."
Bai Erlang, with aching eyes, leaned against the carriage window, shaking his head and saying, "That’s what they call ’there are always skies beyond skies and people beyond people.’ Hey, Manbao, I see your uncle from the Yi Clan."
Manbao also leaned over to the window and saw Xia Yi driving an ox cart full of things coming from another road. She immediately pulled Bai Erlang into the carriage and closed the curtain, whispering, "Don’t let him see us."
Bai Erlang teased her, "Are you scared to see him?"
"What do you know? This is called etiquette and humility. Otherwise, if we meet by chance on the street and make a scene, he’ll lose face, and would I not lose face too?"
Bai Shan nodded and said, "This is called maintaining appearances. You should learn this: whenever you can let someone save face, do so, because arguing only brings momentary satisfaction and no benefits, while the downsides are plenty."
Manbao nodded repeatedly.
Bai Erlang said, "Now you two could act as teachers."
Manbao then slapped his shoulder and laughed, "It’s because you’re our junior brother. Of course, we have to teach you a thing or two."
Once the carriage passed the intersection and confirmed Xia Yi wouldn’t turn back and see them, Manbao and the others lifted the curtain again.
Bai Shan glanced back before turning his gaze away and said to Manbao, "I fear the resentment in his heart will be hard to extinguish."
Manbao said, "These past two days, my Fifth Brother and our brothers went to Songhua Alley to ask around about past affairs, and Uncle Lord Xia also mentioned things from those years. Even if there hadn’t been the incident of me reclaiming the house, his relationship with our family wouldn’t have been good."
Manbao continued, "He took my grandparents’ house but never went to pay respects during Tomb-Sweeping Day. Since that’s the case, whether we offend him or not doesn’t matter."
Bai Shan nodded in agreement with her but said, "But we can’t let him hold a grudge against you forever. I’ve had Daji inquire into it to see who Patriarch Xia plans to give the land to, that should go to Xia Yi. They split that half piece of land between several families back then. When we go to Hongtian Village, we’ll know others as well as ourselves."
Bai Erlang said, "Are you going to sow discord again?"
Bai Shan said, "What sow discord? This is called a strategy. Can’t you use a nicer term?"
"Aren’t they the same?"
"They’re naturally different. One sounds like a gossip, and the other is a military strategy. How can they be the same?"
Outside, Daji said, "Young Master, Miss Man, Young Lord, we have arrived at the restaurant."
The three exclaimed in surprise and could no longer argue, "I haven’t finished looking yet."
Manbao: "I just started reviewing the exam papers."
And Bai Erlang hadn’t had a chance to look at the information Bai Shan and Manbao collected, except for the exam papers he transcribed.
The three started blaming each other, "It’s all your fault!"
"You started it clearly..."
"If you hadn’t brought up the topic, would I have started?"
Manbao, already frustrated, jumped out of the carriage and shouted at the two, "Stop arguing, or I’ll have the teacher expel you from the sect. It’s all your fault! Talking about everything but what’s important along the way."
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were not convinced, "Clearly, it was you..."
From upstairs, Mr. Zhuang, hearing the voices of three of his disciples, opened the window of the private room with a headache and looked down at the three arguing at the restaurant entrance, "Since you’re here, why not come upstairs quickly?"
The three immediately composed themselves and obediently went inside, went upstairs, and saluted and greeted.
Mr. Zhuang was sitting with several officials, two of whom Manbao and the others hadn’t seen in the past few days. They couldn’t help but sneak a glance.
Mr. Zhuang introduced them, "This is Lord Lu, the prefect of Shangzhou, and this is Lord Zhen, the chief historian of Shangzhou. Won’t you come and pay your respects?"
Manbao led her two junior brothers forward to salute. Lord Lu and Lord Zhen accepted Bai Shan and Bai Erlang’s salutes but returned a half salute to Zhou Man, then smiled and said, "Lord Zhou, please sit."
Manbao glanced secretly at their teacher and decided it would be best to behave today, so she politely declined Lord Lu’s kind offer.
Lord Lu, seeing her still so apprehensive of her teacher, couldn’t help but smile and asked, "Has Lord Zhou gotten used to returning to Shangzhou?"
This word "return" was used very aptly. Mr. Zhuang and Bai Shan, Zhou Man understood that Lord Lu had been paying attention to her return home.
Manbao smiled and said, "When I came back, everything felt so familiar, especially when I ate the cold noodle and sourdumpling soup of Shangzhou, it felt like a return from a dream."
Lord Lu couldn’t help but laugh heartily upon hearing this, and he said to Mr. Zhuang and the academic experts of the prefectural school who were seated with him, "It shows Lord Zhou is naturally one of ours from Shangzhou. Besides these two, our big stew of Shangzhou is also delicious. I’ll have Lord Zhou try it later." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Manbao then smiled and thanked him.
