Chapter 19 Returning home in glory! Wei Ruixuan Old Madam Sheng was lonely in her early years, so she raised Sheng Hualan in Mucangzhai. Nearly ten years have passed, and the grandmother and granddaughter have been accompanying each other until now. Wang Ruofu thought her daughter had gone to the old lady's place, so she didn't pay much attention to it. She quietly sewed the soles of her shoes and took a sip or two of wine from time to time. At this moment, a strong, majestic, joyful and excited voice came into the room. "What a happy event, such a happy event!" After a few breaths, a pair of wide sleeves pushed open the door. It was not Sheng Hong but who else? "What happy event is worth shouting about from so far away?" Wang Ruofu put down the sole of her shoe and asked curiously. Sheng Hong also understood his wife and did not mind her straightforward words. He immediately picked up a glass of wine and drank it to calm his excited heart. "Father, what's the happy event? Is it about Brother Hong?"
Sheng Hualan knocked on the door gently, walked forward and poured a cup of tea for Sheng Hong, her eyes bright and expectant. She had just finished paying homage to the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and to her ancestors, and was about to come back to make a pair of knee pads to give as a gift, when she met her father who brought her the good news. "Hey, it's about that good kid Zifeng." Having said this, Sheng Hong paused deliberately. For some reason, he really liked this feeling of sudden interruption. "and then?" "Oh my, what does that mean? It's really frustrating. Give me an explanation whether he's dead or alive!" Seeing that her husband was quietly drinking tea and keeping the secret, Wang Ruofu immediately gave Sheng Hong an impatient look and asked anxiously. Although Sheng Hualan didn't say anything, her clear eyes were full of anticipation. Sheng Hong, who had satisfied his vanity, stroked his beard and said in disbelief, "The top scholar, that good boy passed the imperial examination and was personally selected by the government. Moreover, he has been relying on the towering tree of Han Zhang, the Grand Master, and has been accepted as the only closed disciple by the Grand Master. His future is limitless!" "Brother Hong won? I said he would definitely succeed." Sheng Hualan's clear eyes were full of admiration and joy, that was the admiration of a young girl. "What? Elder Han, isn't this the road to heaven?" Wang Ruofu was overjoyed. Hua'er and Chu Hong's marriage had already been settled. The more promising this child was, the better the future would be for her Hua'er! "Of course it's the road to heaven. It's said that in order to meet Han Gelao, he stood in the snow for half a day, and the snow was three feet thick. Now it has become a legend all over the world!" "It will be very common for Han Gelao's only disciple to wear a purple robe in the future. The Chu family has already sent people to set off porridge and set off firecrackers. In a few days, they will hold a grand banquet for ten days!" Sheng Hong spoke with great confidence, as if he had witnessed this happy event with his own eyes. "Oh, that's great! I said this child would have a bright future. It must be the blessing of the gods. I'll go to the Taoist temple in a few days to burn incense and worship, oh!" Wang Ruofu couldn't hide her happy expression at all, and she didn't know what it meant to hide it. "Confucius said: 'The Master does not speak of strange things.' It is obvious that Zifeng studied very hard, and that is why he has achieved such a good result." Sheng Hong shook his head in a literary manner and started talking about the Sayings of Confucius.
Just as Wang Ruofu was about to refute, Sheng Hong said another sentence. “However, it’s been a long time since we last worshipped our ancestors. Why don’t you burn some incense money with us when the time comes?” Wang Ruofu sneered, as if to say, “You are such a person too.” "Haha! Let's talk business. The Chu family has started to set up a porridge restaurant these days to entertain officials of all ranks in Yangzhou. Brother Bogui (Chu Yu's courtesy name) and I have discussed the general arrangement method. When the time comes, send all the servants out to help." "Of course. As Hua'er's mother, I will definitely take care of everything." "Ah, yes, yes!" Sheng Hualan also smiled, but thinking of her grandmother who might not know the news yet, she bowed and left immediately. The Sheng family was extremely lively for a while. Time flies, and half a month has passed in a hurry. On this day, the whole city of Yangzhou became bustling, because the Jinshi who were going to Bian Jing to take the imperial examination and the eleventh Jinshi would arrive in Yangzhou on merchant ships today, even including the top scorer. Yangzhou has always been prosperous, and every imperial examination can produce about ten Jinshi. However, the top three have not appeared in the past thirty years, let alone the number one scholar. For a time, all the scholars in Yangzhou went to the dock to meet the eleven new Jinshi, especially the top scorer. However, as there are more people, naturally there will be some people outside, and slowly a level of welcoming viewing will be formed from inside to outside based on their status. The innermost were undoubtedly the Yangzhou prefect, the associate prefect, the deputy prefect, the assistant prefect, the militia commander and other high-ranking officials in power. They were in the innermost layer, surrounded by soldiers to create a rather wide area, and it was not crowded at all. A little further to the outside are the children of the local Yangzhou nobles, Yangzhou officials, scholars, and gentry. These people have a certain influence in Yangzhou. They are either reserve officials or have high-ranking officials in their families. Sheng Hualan, Sheng Changbai and others are among them. This level of position is actually the real first row at a glance. There are not many high-ranking officials in front, so the view is not blocked much and the field of vision is quite wide. A little further back were the scholars, students, minor officials, wealthy merchants, farming and reading families, and ordinary people. In fact, in any dynasty, having money can make the way, but the welcoming of Jinshi is in public, and the rich businessmen can only be in the last row. If it is in secret, the powerful and wealthy businessmen are basically in the same status as the scholars. In the innermost part, Chu Yu, as the father of the top scholar, naturally received a lot of compliments, and even the co-magistrate couldn't help but flatter him when he spoke. No one knows the value of the top scholar better than these officials, and no one knows the influence of the cabinet ministers better than these people. When everyone had arrived and the time was almost up, the confidant of the Jiangnan East Road Governor sent some calligraphy and paintings, and the four treasures of the study, and said a lot of congratulatory words. Then they stayed in the innermost part waiting for the arrival of the ship. Not long after everyone waited, Chu Hong and his companions arrived on a merchant ship. As soon as they got off the ship, several people brought tall horses to the scholars. Chu Hong walked up to the ruling official of Yangzhou with a smile and greeted him. He then walked up to meet the confidant of the governor of Jiangnan East Road, who was a third-rank official with great prestige in Jiangnan East Road. There were too many people at the dock and it was not advisable to stay for long, so the eleven scholars rode on tall horses and slowly left, holding red flowers. In a trance, Chu Hong saw the dignified, gentle and kind girl and immediately smiled back at her. Sheng Hualan in the first row couldn't help but be startled, the corners of her mouth unconsciously rose, and her ears turned red. Chu Hong was riding on a big horse, looking at the huge crowd, and he felt very proud in his heart. This was the fruit of his hard work!
(End of this chapter)