Chapter 49

Although Shen Cui was still somewhat fearful of Mu Yunchuan, since there was no avoiding it, she could only console herself by saying that once Mu Yunchuan passed the academy exam, he would go to the prefectural school to study.

By then, with him far away and rarely coming home throughout the year, she would be able to continue living her leisurely life of “a few days in the mountains, a thousand years in the world.”

Thinking this way, she felt much more at ease.

The news of Mu Yunchuan’s top performance in the exam spread like wildfire. A few days later, even the villagers heard about it.

The original owner had poor interpersonal relationships, and although Mu Cheng was from the same county, he did not grow up in Shuiyun Village. Most of the time, he made a living in the county town, so the Mu family didn’t have much interaction with other families in the village.

At most, sometimes Shen Cui would buy some eggs and vegetables from the village—although Zhou Shi also raised chickens and grew vegetables, what she harvested from her hard work was not enough for the whole family. Besides, Shen Cui didn’t want to take advantage of her and preferred to spend a little money to buy from outside.

But since the news of Mu Yunchuan’s success spread, the villagers suddenly became enthusiastic about them.

They didn’t ask for anything in return, just came to congratulate them, sit for a while, chat about daily life, and share in the joy.

If it were the original owner’s character, knowing that his stepson was about to become a scholar, his eyes would have rolled to the top of his head, wishing he could shake up to the sky.

Shen Cui couldn’t do such exaggerated things. In her spare half-day, when people came to visit, she would invite them in and chat for a while.

The villagers quickly noticed her difference, and Shen Cui did not deny her change, saying, “My Second Fatty is now a scholar, and as his mother, I naturally can’t let him lose face.”

The villagers knew that the original Mu Er Pang was simple-minded. They had heard about the hiring of a teacher and the establishment of a academy in the old Mu house, and they had made fun of it in private.

But things were different now. Shuiyun Village had produced several scholars, and there were a few rare talents who had passed the imperial examinations, but there had never been anyone like Mu Yunchuan, who was seen by the villagers as a star in the literary world. Having a brother like him was it not normal for his younger brother to also show signs of improvement?

This explanation was very convincing. After all, Mu Yunchuan was not born from her womb. She didn’t need to change herself for Mu Yunchuan, but for her biological son, she was willing to do anything.

So, while treating the guests, in early May, Mu Yunchuan returned from outside.

In fact, he had returned from the capital the day before, but before returning home, he had more important things to do—reciting the exam questions and the entire exam paper from memory in front of the head of the academy.

The others who had taken the exam with him did the same.

Their papers would later become valuable educational assets in the academy.

After reading his paper, the head of the academy was very pleased. He didn’t say much in front of others, but after everyone left, a genuine smile appeared on his face.

“Yunchuan’s essay is well-written, flowing like clouds and water, written in one go, with magnificent language, both substantial and elegant. Keep it up, and the top spot in the academy exam will be yours.”

Mu Yunchuan still modestly said, “Master, you overpraise me. Yunchuan is just lucky.”

The head of the academy was more and more satisfied with his attitude, which was no different from before. “The academy exam is still some time away. You have been staying in the academy for the New Year, and it is indeed time for you to go home for a visit. I’ll give you a few days off, but you must not lose focus. The exam is the right path.”

Mu Yunchuan shouted a self-saved and rested for one night before returning today.

As soon as he entered the village, before even reaching the Mu family’s house, the villagers saw him and smiled, saying, “The star of literature is back!”

Then, they surrounded him and walked towards the Mu family’s house.

Shen Cui had calculated that he would return in a few days, and since there was no announcement from the academy that morning, she didn’t stay there and waited at home like Zhou Shi.

When she heard the noise outside, Zhou Shi immediately stood up from in front of the washbasin.

Walking quickly to the door, Zhou Shi suddenly hesitated to open it.

Her husband was now a student, and he was about to become a confirmed scholar.

Now when the villagers saw her, they would smile and call her “the scholar’s wife,” and their attitude towards her had become many times more polite.

Zhou Shi had always been convinced that her husband would succeed, and she had been looking forward to his return home. But now that the day had come, she felt a strange sense of unease and fear.

The lively voices grew closer and closer, and Zhou Shi combed her hair and straightened her clothes, but still didn’t dare to open the door.

Shen Cui stood up and walked behind her, gently patting her back.

Feeling the warmth on her back, Zhou Shi took a deep breath and opened the door.

Mu Yunchuan happened to arrive at the door at the same time. Zhou Shi saw the gentle smile on his lips, which was no different from before, and her heart finally settled.

Mu Yunchuan glanced at her and also saw Shen Cui standing behind her. He bowed and said, “Disrespectful son greets mother. For the past few months, I have been away from my mother’s side due to the exam preparations, and I have not served my mother well.”

Shen Cui was truly surprised that Mu Yunchuan, with his scholarly achievements, could still treat her so respectfully. After a brief moment of astonishment, she wiped away the nonexistent tears from the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief and then smiled, stepping forward quickly to pull him up.

“It’s good to be back! Look at how thin you’ve become, working so hard outside!”

“I dare not say it’s hard work. Achieving a small success is not to disappoint my mother’s teachings.”

The villagers followed behind, enjoying the joyous atmosphere. In fact, many of them had come to see the excitement—how would Mu Yunchuan, who had been mistreated by his stepmother for over ten years, treat her now that he had become successful?

The scene of “a kind mother and a filial son” was seen by the villagers, naturally causing quite a lot of discussion.

“Didn’t this Shen Cui used to mistreat this Mu Dalang? Why do they seem to have a good relationship now?”

“Surely it’s because Master Mu Dalang is generous and doesn’t stoop to her level!”

“Isn’t it a bit too much? I haven’t visited the Mu family much before. I came to sit for a while a few days ago, and Shen Cuihua doesn’t seem like someone who would do such extreme things. Could it be that it was all a misunderstanding before?”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, Shen Cuihua has never been a good person since she was young. The old people in the village all know this!”

As the villagers discussed, Shen Cui received a task notification from the academy, asking her to prepare a meal for the academy’s staff and students.

It was also convenient for her, so she wouldn’t be treated like a zoo monkey by everyone. She picked up her basket, said she was going out to buy vegetables, and planned to cook a meal to treat Mu Yunchuan, leaving the socializing to Mu Yunchuan and Zhou Shi.

The more people there were, the more Mu Yunchuan would care about his reputation and would not dare to cause trouble.

After leaving home, Shen Cuihua actually went into town, bought a catty of meat, and incidentally had the stall owner give her a few large bone sticks for free.

Zhou Shi was good at everything, but she was too thrifty. Although the family was much richer now than before, she still only cooked simple dishes, at most using some shredded or minced meat in each meal.

Shen Cuihua didn’t blame her, after all, she was really a bit greedy for meat.

Later, Shen Cui bought the ingredients needed for making fried vegetable pancakes in the market, and carried a basket full of vegetables back home.

At that time, there were even more people in the Mu family, and the other villagers who hadn’t seen Mu Yunchuan return home had also received the news and rushed over.

Then everyone surrounded him, asking him how he took the imperial examinations and what the capital was like.

Mu Yunchuan’s smile never wavered, speaking warmly and patiently answering everyone’s questions.

Zhou Shi couldn’t get a word in, so when she saw Shen Cui return, she followed her into the kitchen.

Shen Cui was familiar with making fried vegetable pancakes, so she started kneading the dough herself.

Zhou Shi was responsible for preparing the meat and vegetables.

This time, without Shen Cui specifically mentioning it, she didn’t chop the meat into minced or shredded pieces.

In just half an hour, Shen Cui’s vegetable pancakes were baked, and Zhou Shi also fried a plate of vegetables and stewed a pot of meat. There was only a pot of bone soup left, steaming on the stove.

Seeing that the villagers showed no signs of leaving, Shen Cui thought about inviting them to eat. After all, it wouldn’t be good to drive away guests who came to congratulate them.

But the villagers were self-aware. They came empty-handed and didn’t bring any gifts, so they felt it wasn’t right to eat someone else’s food for free, and they took the initiative to say goodbye.

The last to leave was an old lady who was already quite old and a bit confused.

She didn’t know what others were doing, but she followed along in a daze. When she saw others leaving, she followed suit.

Mu Yunchuan noticed that she had difficulty walking, so he reached out to help her.

The old lady happily praised him as a “good child” and even took out a piece of candy before leaving, saying she had kept it for a long time and couldn’t bear to eat it, offering it to him.

The candy wasn’t wrapped in oil paper, it was stuffed in her clothes, and who knows how many times it had melted and gotten dirty.

“The old lady is confused. Why would she give such a thing to a future scholar?”

“Yeah, this thing is so dirty, throw it away quickly!”

Amidst the complaints of the crowd, the confused old lady seemed like a child who had done something wrong, becoming flustered.

However, Mu Yunchuan didn’t mind as he accepted the dirty piece of candy, “It’s something the old lady treasures, how could I reject it?”

“Only our future scholar has such a good temper!”

Top of Form

Naturally, everyone praised him, then they left in pairs.

After everyone had left, Mrs. Zhou asked Shen Cui if she was going to serve the meal at the academy today or eat at home.

Before Shen Cui could decide, Mu Yunchuan said, “Studying is important, and it’s not far anyway. It’s fine to do as usual; there’s no need to make a big deal out of it for me.”

He hadn’t seen his own Cuiwei Academy yet, and he was a sensitive and suspicious person. If he wasn’t allowed to go and see it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t be at ease.

Shen Cui had nothing to hide, so she didn’t mind him going to check. She agreed to let him go.

Mrs. Zhou came out with the food box and started putting the dishes in it one by one. Shen Cui followed, and Mu Yunchuan said he was thirsty and would drink some water before joining them.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went out as usual. After a few steps, Mrs. Zhou suddenly looked embarrassed and regretful. “Oh no, I forgot to bring utensils.”

She wasn’t usually so careless, but today, with the excitement, it was understandable to feel a bit dizzy.

Seeing that Mrs. Zhou had more things in her hands, Shen Cui laughed and said, “You go ahead, I’ll go back and get them.”

Since they had just left, the Mu family’s gate was still open. When Shen Cui reached the doorway, she saw Mu Yunchuan washing his hands leisurely by the well, his face devoid of the previous smile.

His hands were as beautiful as he was, fair and slender, with distinct joints.

Beside his feet lay the piece of candy, its original color indistinguishable.