Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 879: Planning for Champion Scholar (3)

Chapter 879: Chapter 879: Planning for Champion Scholar (3)

Therefore, Xiao Ruiyuan used his salary and rewards accumulated over the years to establish shops in various places across the country, arranging for some people to learn the business under the tutelage of the shopkeepers in the capital. Once they became proficient, they were placed in the shops, where they could make a living on their own merits, preserving their dignity.

However, several years on, despite the nationwide spread of shops, the number of people they could help was limited. Most of the soldiers with injuries or health issues remained in dire poverty at the frontiers, refusing any assistance from Xiao Ruiyuan, the Great General.

To most, the soldiers’ stubbornness might seem foolish and rigid, and although Mo Yan also felt there were some things not worth holding onto in the face of life and death, it was precisely because these soldiers persevered that they commanded even greater admiration.

Suddenly, Mo Yan wanted to do something for this respectable group of people, and so she said to Xiao Ruiyuan, "Our family’s fruit orchards and herb farms could use a lot of help. I think these people would be perfect for the job. I can’t guarantee anything else, but at least I won’t let them freeze or go hungry. What do you think, Bro Xiao?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ruiyuan looked at Mo Yan with a gaze filled with tenderness, shimmering brightly, "Yanyan, thank you!" Apart from expressing his gratitude, he didn’t know how else to convey his appreciation, even though there was no need for such formalities between them.

Mo Yan gave him a sideways glance and stubbornly retorted, "I’m not doing this for you, so why are you thanking me?"

"Sure, I know!" The man didn’t call out the woman’s "saying one thing but meaning another," his smile brimming with indulgence, "I’m thanking you on their behalf."

Mo Yan huffed and said nothing.

The reason for helping those heroes who once defended their country was out of admiration, but also to share the burden of the man she liked, and another important motive was to accumulate merit, propelling ’Space’ to upgrade again.

Mo Yan set a goal for herself to upgrade ’Space’ to Tenth Level within ten years, and with a significant merit right in front of her, how could she pass up the opportunity? Although she couldn’t help everyone in need at the border immediately, any help she could offer now was a step forward. The fruit orchards and herb fields she would possess were surely not limited to the current number, and in the future, more and more people would be needed.

Of course, these meritorious deeds alone were not sufficient. Even though she had a long-term plan for accumulating merit, the timing wasn’t right at the moment, and she could only set it aside for now. Once the time was ripe, the tasks she needed to undertake would be much more extensive than the present.

"By the way, it’s not a day off today. Shouldn’t you be at the Government Office attending to official duties?" Mo Yan recalled the question she had been meaning to ask from early in the morning and finally voiced it.

Xiao Ruiyuan gripped his cup a little tighter and then slowly relaxed his hold, "These couple of days have been slow, and knowing you would be sending your father into the palace for the court examination today, I came to see if you were here."

Mo Yan, not noticing Xiao Ruiyuan’s unusual behavior, spoke with some anxiety, "I don’t know what kind of questions The Emperor will pose today. It seems my father is aiming for the Champion Scholar..." If the essay questions were too difficult or if her father didn’t perform well for any other reason, she really didn’t want to see him disheartened.

Xiao Ruiyuan soothed her by gently smoothing the frown between her brows, his voice low and comforting, "Although The Emperor himself sets the questions, they are not without patterns to follow. Your father should have an idea about this, Yanyan, there’s no need to worry."

Mo Yan felt somewhat reassured and was about to speak when she suddenly remembered something and pushed Xiao Ruiyuan’s hand away, "The cold war isn’t over yet, you can’t touch me."

Xiao Ruiyuan was taken aback, looking at Mo Yan, who was serious in her demeanor, and not knowing what to say for a moment, he asked cautiously, "Then... how can this cold war be ended?"

Suppressing a smile, Mo Yan sternly replied, "It depends on my mood!"

This time, Xiao Ruiyuan was truly at a loss, but seeing her so lively, he couldn’t muster the slightest displeasure. Instead, he wished he could present everything beautiful in the world before her.

Although the two did not communicate much in the following time, they were both in a good mood. Silently savoring their tea, watching the glorious and peaceful sunlight outside the window, they each felt a sense of serene contentment in their hearts!

Time passed quickly, and just before the conclusion of the court examination, Mo Yan and Xiao Ruiyuan left the teahouse together. It was only after escorting Mo Yan to the palace gates that Xiao Ruiyuan left, reassured.

When Mo Qingze came out, he did not see Xiao Ruiyuan; the father and daughter returned home, chatting and laughing along the way, without delving into the details of the court examination.

Early the next morning, Mo Yan once again escorted her father to the palace gates. This time, she went nowhere else but stood right outside the gates, eager to be the first to know the final results.

At that moment, the solemn and august Golden Luandian was lined not only with the usual civil and military officials but also with a group of scholars dressed in scholastic attire. They were the one hundred Tribute Scholars who had survived the arduous journey to arrive at this final stage of the imperial examination.

Under Emperor Huian’s direction, Liang Gonggong personally announced the lists of eighty scholars at the Third Level and seventeen at the Second Level, and all eyes turned to the three not yet called out by name, among them the Chief Minister of the Imperial Temple, Mr. Zhao.

Of the three, one was an old man who had taken the examination nine times and was now beyond the prime of life, one was a young Jiangnan Scholar who had just passed the age of thirty, and the final one was Mo Qingze!

Everyone present knew that, regardless of which one among them ultimately captured the title of Champion Scholar, the other two’s prospects would not be dim, especially for Mo Qingze and the Jiangnan Scholar, who were still very young!