Chapter 103: Dinner with the Top Escorted Examinee (2/2)
It was even more unamusing for Ren Zhixian as his mind circled in denial, convincing himself that he would have been the one to come in first place and not that Sang family’s lad had he himself participated!
“I think Mother’s really becoming foolish! What does the Sang family coming in first in the examinations have to do with our family? Is there even a need for us to fawn over him! Even Second Uncle, who usually remains uninterested, even came to join the crowd! Just look at those two Sang members, acting all mighty now! Hmph!”
In Banana Courtyard, Shi Yumei was extremely unhappy.
Ren Zhixian sneered and scoffed, “You shouldn’t say that about Mother-in-law, Second Uncle, and the rest. After all, the Shi household had never produced a top scorer before. Now that a relative has finally done so, they’re finally freed from their vicious fate, so that’s to be expected!”
“I still think they’ve turned foolish! There’s no need for our family to gain reputation from a broken family!” Shi Yumei glared at her husband and continued, “It’s all because of you and you injuring your foot. Otherwise, that title would have been yours and would never have been his in the first place!”
Those words were like a dagger slicing at his heart, but that made him feel even more confident, and he let out a sour sigh, “Of course it would have! But fate was not on my side! Ai, this time is such a pity!”
Shi Yumei raised her gaze to look at him. “There’s still a next time! Next time, you have to buck up and bring home that title for me! That will let the Sang family, Mother, and everyone else see who the real gifted scholar is.”
Only allowed on Creativenovels.com
Ren Zhixian’s expression turned somewhat dull, and he seemingly wandered into his own world of thoughts.
Venting his dissatisfaction was one, but when it came to applying his knowledge, Ren Zhixian was somewhat lacking in confidence. After all, he was clear of his own intelligence.
“Ai, did you hear me or not! You have to fight for us!” Shi Yumei yelled at him.
“I hear you! I hear you!” Ren Zhixian answered impatiently, “With his age, how many books has he studied and how much knowledge has he gained? I think it’s only because his luck was good this time, like a blind cat who caught a dead mouse! Either that, or the one assessing the examination was blind! As if he’d be at my level!”
Shi Yumei’s eyes lit up, and she asked rhetorically, “Do you think that maybe he might have paid off someone?” But she quickly shook her head, “That shouldn’t have been possible! Where would their family even find the money?”
On the other hand, Ren Zhixian remained fixated on that suspicion and said, “That’s difficult to say for certain! The Sang family may not have money, but doesn’t your Shi family have a lot? The Shi Ma’am is, after all, his own sister!”
Dear Readers. Scrapers have recently been devasting our views. At this rate, the site (creativenovels .com) might...let's just hope it doesn't come to that. If you are reading on a scraper site. Please don't.
“That’s also possible!” Shi Yumei nodded, despising Sang Yufei and his luck even more.
The two decided on their own speculation, and although they did not report their baseless accusations to the officials, their devious plan seemed to coincide with each other. If he can pay off others, why can’t we? After all, the Shi household isn’t lacking any money. Why should others be able to play cheap while we can’t?
During the feast at night, other than the missy who was yet to be married, everyone else was present at Wang Shi’s place. Needless to say, the dishes were sumptuous, and the wine was refreshing.
Second Uncle Shi’s two concubines, Concubine Shui and Concubine Fang, were present as well. They came wanting to see the top scorer for themselves. They often went up to him with words of praise and offered him a cup of wine before stepping back.
Wang Shi, Second Uncle Shi, and the rest were even more enthusiastic to entertain Sang Yufei, while Sang Wan also shared the spotlight with him.
That made Shi Yumei and Ren Zhixian even more unhappy. Their faces stiffened, and they forced a smile which could hardly hang on to their faces.
Other than his own sister and brother-in-law, most of the other members at the table were elders. Sang Yufei did not dare to excuse himself, and he toasted with every one of them. When Ren Zhixian’s turn came, he raised his cup and toasted with Sang Yufei before gulping the last of his wine. Acting all pompous, he patted Sang Yufei’s shoulder and advised, “Young man, you must always be on guard against arrogance and continue to work hard! The examination you took was just the beginning, and there’s definitely lots of luck in play. But the conference examination after it will truly test your actual knowledge! Many who scored well in the township examinations had actually ended up dropping out from the list during the conference examination!”
No matter how Sang Yufei tried to interpret those words, they sounded absolutely uncomfortable to the ears, but he had never liked to compete with others in squabbling. With his expression unchanged, he nodded with a smile, “My brother-in-law is right, Yufei understands! In the entire country, the number of talented people in the country is many, like the uncountable hairs on a cow’s tail. Compared to the great wise men, Yufei is but a frog at the bottom of a well!”
Shi Fenghua was called back by his mother. He was only three years younger than Sang Yufei, and fortunately, the two had a similar temperament. Before dinner, the two happened to run into each other, and a bond formed between the two after a small conversation. After hearing Ren Zhixian’s bitter words, he felt that those words did injustice to Sang Yufei, so he smiled and said, “Second Brother Sang, you’re being too modest. You came in first and are now a top escorted examinee! There are many talented and renowned people in Jiangnan, which equates to more than half, around the region. By being the first in the whole of Jiangnan, you’re basically the top in the nation. Who knows, obtaining the degree as an advanced scholar might be easy for you. And maybe, you might even be awarded the top thesis scholar!”
[TLN: Sang Yufei went to Hangzhou for the township examinations (an imperial examinations). Jiangnan is a region consisting of many major cities, including Hangzhou.]
Hearing so, everyone laughed. Second Uncle Shi raised his cup jokingly and conducted a toast to their future top thesis scholar. Everyone cheered and raised their cup, but Sang Yufei remained humble as ever. On the other hand, Ren Zhixian was feeling even more dissatisfied.