Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 792 - 790

Chapter 792: Chapter 790

Xiao’er couldn’t help but attend banquets held by large families as the New Year quietly passed, and the Imperial Court welcomed another important event, the triennial examination and the imperial examination.

In early February, scholars from all over the country flocked to the Imperial City. Every inn in the Imperial City was filled to capacity, and business at the Four Seasons Restaurant was booming. Every day, there was a long line of scholars’ study companions buying food for their masters.

Due to the differences in local food cultures, many scholars who had just arrived in the Imperial City were not used to the local food or had difficulty acclimating to the new environment. However, these problems did not exist at the Four Seasons Restaurant!

The central examination was not the first of its kind, and some scholars already knew about the various conditions in the Imperial City through inquiries with those who had participated in the exam before. Many people recommended the Four Seasons Restaurant and Garden Hotel, praising their services, food, and lodging conditions. Hence, even before the end of the lunar new year, all the private rooms in the restaurant and guest rooms in the hotel were fully occupied.

Even the villas and hotel rooms in the hot spring resort were completely booked, since it was not too far from the Imperial City, and it was better to stay there and get up a bit earlier on the day of the exam rather than living uncomfortably, eating poorly, and sleeping poorly.

During this period, the people of the Imperial City were careful to be quiet to avoid disturbing the scholars with their studies.

The whole city entered a tense exam preparation atmosphere.

Every day, Xiao’er made a pot of soup that was good for the brain and delivered it to Jingrui.

Health is the capital of revolution. She didn’t want Jingrui to fall ill from exhaustion.

Mrs. Liu also cooked for Jingrui in various ways. Jingrui, who stayed up late every night to study, was not gaining weight. Instead, he had lost some.

Jinghao, who was enjoying the benefits of Jingrui’s situation, ate well, slept well, and had gained five pounds. Xiao’er couldn’t help but call him a little fatty when she saw him.

Finally, the examination was over, but the scholars didn’t leave the Imperial City. They were waiting for the exam results to be announced so they could prepare for the imperial examination.

On the day the results were announced, Jingrui lived up to everyone’s expectations and becoming the top scorer, thanks to his eight years of diligent studying. He ate better, stayed up later, and got up earlier than others.

From then on, Shen Jingrui’s name became well-known among the scholars nationwide.

Next came the imperial examination. The last one in line went first, so when it was Jingrui’s turn, he was the last one. But in the throne room, the scholars who had finished their exams still stood there, watching Jingrui’s response.

The Emperor knew that the top scorer was the eldest son of Marquis Shengping and the brother of Xiao’er. Both sons of the Marquis Shengping were well-known for their knowledge, the young scholars are definitely the future pillars of the nation.

As a result, the Emperor didn’t give any preferential treatment due to their familial relations. In fact, he dealt with them more strictly.

The Emperor originally planned to ask one more question than others.

But Jingrui’s unique and profound views deeply attracted the Emperor, and he couldn’t help but ask three more questions. Jingrui’s answers made the Emperor repeatedly approve.

In the throne room, some elites knew that Jingrui was the brother-in-law of Prince Rui. They had originally doubted Jingrui’s ranking as a top scorer, but now they were deeply impressed by his upright figure.

Especially the last question, how should a gentleman cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.

Jingrui used small things to illustrate big concepts, arguing clearly his own thoughts in a unique way, which made people feel deeply convinced.

Without a doubt, Jingrui was the top scorer of this imperial examination. None of the officials who examined the exam with the Emperor had any objections to this.

These officials had heard that the eldest son of Marquis Shengping was a good scholar. They thought that there was a hint of Prince Rui’s influence in the rumors, but today, in this main hall, everyone knew that he was genuinely good, regardless of who his relatives were.

The top scorer, the runner-up, and the third-place examinee had to parade through the streets. The runner-up was a twenty-five-year-old scholar, and the third-place examinee was Du Chun’an, the brother of Du Yijin.

The three of them slowly walked down the street on their high-headed horses. Countless young women and wives continuously threw handkerchiefs and flowers at Jingrui and Du Chun’an. The runner-up in the middle felt awkward!

There was no one throwing handkerchiefs or flowers at him!

After all, he was also the second-place, a young and talented runner-up. Comparatively, there were few runner-ups in history who were as young as he. How could these people completely ignore him!

Was it because his scholarship wasn’t as good as the top scorer’s, he wasn’t as handsome as the third-place examinee, and he was a bit older? But he was also quite charming among the crowd, wasn’t he?

Generally, the third-place examinee often looks better than the top scorer, but Jingrui looks more outstanding than Du Chun’an, people on the street were discussing why the top scorer of this session looks better than the third-place examinee.

Du Yijin and Xiao’er watched their brothers’ parade from the private room at the Four Seasons Restaurant.

When the three of them passed by below, both of them threw flowers down.

Xiao’er shouted at Jingrui, "Big brother, well done!"

Du Yijin didn’t let loose as Xiao’er and remained silent.

Xiao’er’s voice was clear and melodious, and beautiful, like a clear stream flowing into the ears of the three men on the street amidst the noise of the crowd.

All three of them looked up.

For the first time, Jingrui reached out and caught the flowers Xiao’er threw down and smiled at her.

Du Chun’an also caught the flower that Du Yijin threw down.

Xiao’er waved back and gave Jingrui a sweet and radiant smile.

The runner-up looked at the girl in the building who had a heavenly voice, a stunning beauty, and a sweet smile. His heart was pounding.

How could there be such a beautiful woman in this world? She made all the beautiful scenery in the world pale in comparison!

Xiao’er noticed the runner-up was foolishly staring at her and no one threw any flowers or handkerchiefs at him along the way. She couldn’t help but say to Du Yijin, "This runner-up is really unlucky to be up against my brother and your brother. Actually, no one threw flowers or handkerchiefs at him."

After Xiao’er finished speaking, she picked up a flower from the basket and threw it at him.

Du Yijin also felt that this was too embarrassing for him, so she also threw a flower at him.

The runner-up did not expect Xiao’er to throw a flower at him. When he reacted, the flower had already fallen in front of him. He hurriedly reached out to catch it, and because he missed the best time to catch the flower and he was too anxious, he fell off the horse.

"Puff!" Xiao’er and Du Yijin couldn’t help but laugh then quickly pulled their heads back into the window in fear of being noticed.

The runner-up whose name was Fang Quan, which was the cousin of Chu Die’s husband Fang Rong, picked up the flower from the ground and quickly got up with a red face and climbed back onto the horse.

Seeing this, Jingrui asked, "Brother Fang, are you hurt?"

"No." Fang Quan looked up at the building again, but Xiao’er was no longer in sight.

He felt a faint sense of loss.

The parade continued...

An eighteen-year-old top scorer, who also passed the three categories in the examination, originally came from a peasant family and only began learning at nearly ten years old. This simply became a model for parents to educate their children.

From then on, the name Shen Jingrui was known to all the people in the country.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.