Chapter 203 2/3

At Uncle Jin’s house, the only ones who benefitted were Jin Sangshu and his wife.

Jin Sangshu joined Jin Xiaoshu’s shipping business, and his wife became the cook at Chongcheng Primary School.

However, Jin Sangshu did not get along with his brothers! Moreover, the couple earned their money through their own skills and couldn’t help the rest of the family much.

Aunt Jin was very upset: “Jin Xiaoye and her family must have known about Li Qingzhi’s abilities long ago and deliberately separated from us.”

“Mother, you’ve said that eight hundred times already,” Jin Liushu replied.

“Now that Li Qingzhi has become a Juren, if our land were in his name, we wouldn’t have to pay taxes, but he definitely won’t agree,” Aunt Jin grumbled.

Jin Liushu said, “It’s because you were unkind to Jin Xiaoye and her family before.”

“When was I ever unkind to them?” Aunt Jin exclaimed angrily.

The Jin family started arguing again.

Grandma Jin, seeing this situation, couldn’t help but feel regretful.

She always thought that after the separation, without her experienced help to save on expenses, both of her sons’ lives would not be as good as before. However…

Jin Dajiang’s family was doing better and better, and her eldest son Jin Dahai’s family was also living comfortably.

Grandma Jin felt resentful.

Jin Moli, seeing this situation, was also resentful.

She originally had a chance to become the wife of a Juren, and in the future, she might even become the wife of a Zhuangyuan (top scorer in the imperial examinations)!

Such a good opportunity, and she lost it!

If she had been reborn and married Li Qingzhi as in her previous life, helping him avoid being captured, she might already be an official’s wife by now.

But now… she could only toil in the fields.

In the prefecture city.

Gou Tongzhi had also heard the news that Li Qingzhi had become the top scorer.

Realizing that his wife would never harm him, Gou Tongzhi started spending more time at home, mainly because he was not busy recently.

At this moment, while eating, he praised Li Qingzhi repeatedly and said, “The top scorer in Jiang’an Province usually ends up passing the imperial examination. Li Qingzhi has a bright future!”

Mrs. Gou felt extremely uncomfortable hearing her husband say this.

When Li Qingzhi passes the imperial examination, he will also become an official, and the Jin Xiaoye she once looked down on will become an official’s wife…

Why should that be!

Wait, even if Li Qingzhi passes the imperial examination, it won’t be easy for him to get promoted, while her husband is already an Tongzhi!

In the future, Jin Xiaoye will still have to salute her!

Thinking this, Mrs. Gou felt happy again.

In the provincial capital, Governor Zhang was also pleased for Li Qingzhi.

He had long regarded Li Qingzhi as a younger generation member of his family, so his success was a great joy.

He thought for a while, then found paper and pen to write a letter to his friends in the capital, asking them to take care of Li Qingzhi in the future. He also asked Butler Li to prepare some gifts to send to Li Qingzhi.

Elsewhere, Qian Fugui, who had been “sick,” had his servants prepare some wine and drank himself into a stupor.

Drunk, he began to cry: “Sister, your son has made it, much more successful than your husband!”

“Sister, I have children now!”

“Sister, do you blame me?”

…

Qian Fugui and Li Zhao were classmates.

His own academic performance was average, but Li Zhao was talented and willing to study, so he deliberately matched his sister with Li Zhao, hoping to have an official brother-in-law in the future.

But then his sister died.

In the dead of night, Qian Fugui often felt guilty.

Today, despite his happiness, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

That night, countless people talked about Li Qingzhi.

Most people genuinely admired him, though some were envious. However, these people only spoke behind his back; none dared to confront him directly.

The day after the provincial examination results, there was a Luming Banquet to honor the new Juren.

The Luming Banquet was hosted by local officials, inviting the new Juren and the provincial examination examiners to attend.

On this day, all the newly minted Juren would wear their best clothes and attend the banquet.

This was their first appearance in the officialdom, and it was crucially important.

Li Qingzhi arrived early and saw the new Juren gathered together, exchanging information and discussing the preferences of the officials attending the banquet.

When Du Yongning saw Li Qingzhi, he explained the details about the officials.

“Thank you, Brother Du,” Li Qingzhi thanked him.

Actually, Governor Zhang had already told him this information, but he was still grateful to Du Yongning.

Some people, even if they knew the details about the officials, wouldn’t share it with others.

Some would even deliberately give false information to make other Juren offend those officials.

Among the hundred Juren who passed this time, Li Qingzhi knew almost all of them. He smiled, greeted, and chatted with everyone. If someone asked about the officials, he would share what he knew.

While they discussed the officials, those officials were also talking about them.

They talked mostly about Li Qingzhi.

“I wonder what kind of person Li Zixiao is,” said Lord Ping. “His examination papers were perfect!”

He believed Li Qingzhi’s papers were worthy of being kept as family heirlooms.

The essays were excellent, and the calligraphy was impressive.

During the provincial examination, Lord Ping had seen Li Qingzhi but had not spoken with him and didn’t know much about him.

As for the other officials… many had not met Li Qingzhi before. They were curious about him, and when they entered the banquet hall, they saw a group of Juren surrounding Li Qingzhi like stars around the moon.

Li Qingzhi was so talented that they expected him to be somewhat arrogant, and they thought the other Juren might resent him.

After all, in the literary world, there is no first place, and in the martial world, there is no second place.

But… Li Qingzhi was not arrogant at all, and the other Juren were very enthusiastic about him?

Scholars officially enter the bureaucracy starting from the Juren level.

Many of those who passed the Juren exam might never pass the imperial examination in their lifetime, but some might rise rapidly in their careers.

The officials at the Luming Banquet were smart people; they wouldn’t offend anyone needlessly, so they treated all the Juren very well.

Li Qingzhi could sense that some officials didn’t like him, but they didn’t show it, so he pretended not to notice.

He smiled and conversed with the officials, answering their questions fluently and giving other Juren opportunities to showcase themselves in front of the officials.

Lord Ping, seeing this, was full of admiration for Li Qingzhi.

This person was not only knowledgeable but also very adept at handling people.

If he had Li Qingzhi’s abilities, he wouldn’t still be stuck in the Hanlin Academy at his age.

Someone like Li Qingzhi, as long as he didn’t take the wrong side, was bound to have a bright future.

But the current court was a mess!

Who would ultimately come to power was uncertain.

If Prince Jin ascended the throne, Lu Qingxi and Prince Yan would meet bad ends. If Prince Yan ascended, he would surely deal with the other two factions.

Of course, if the child supported by Lu Qingxi in the palace ascended, he wouldn’t spare Prince Jin and Prince Yan either.

Lord Ping chatted happily with Li Qingzhi and subtly hinted, “Zixiao, you are still young. You can afford to wait a few more years before going to the capital to take the imperial examination.”

Given the current situation in the court… Li Qingzhi might inadvertently get involved in the conflicts.

It would be a great pity if Li Qingzhi were to fall in the midst of it.

Lord Ping spoke subtly, but Li Qingzhi understood his meaning.