Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 369 The day the results are released
That night, after having dinner with the whole family, Minglan and her siblings finally had time to get together for a while.

Because of the rule of not speaking while eating or sleeping, and because Sheng Changquan had just finished the autumn imperial examination, no one asked him much, only a simple question: were you confident you would pass?

Of course, Sheng Changquan also gave them the answer they wanted—

I dare not say I will be the top scholar, but passing the imperial examination is certain.

Because of his temperament, even if Sheng Changquan was very confident, he would not say it outright. Therefore, the answer above was just a guess by everyone.

Although it is not explicitly stated, it is not far off.

The green gauze curtain is still Minglan's former residence.

Although Minglan is already quite old and should have her own courtyard, she is reluctant to leave her old home and her grandmother because of the kindness she owes to Old Madam Sheng and because of the old lady's advanced age. Even though Old Madam Sheng has mentioned it several times, Minglan only wants to stay by her grandmother's side and enjoy her company.

However, no matter how reluctant or sad Minglan is, as time goes by, she will eventually grow up and leave the old lady.

Therefore, Minglan now cherishes the time she spends in front of the old lady.

house.

The lamplight was dim, and the warm candlelight, like golden sand, gently bathed everyone.

In a corner of the room, Xiaotao, along with Jiegeng, Qingfeng, Mingyue, Danju, Ziyuan, and others, all squeezed together, enthusiastically eating the snacks and delicacies that Sheng Changquan had brought back from outside.

Speaking of which, Bianliang City truly lived up to its reputation as the capital of the Great Hong Dynasty. It was incredibly prosperous, with exquisite food of all kinds, in no way inferior to Sheng Changquan's previous life.

Although they are quite different, they each have their own unique characteristics and charm.

Standing beside Xiao Tao and the others were Cui Wei and Cui Ming.

Perhaps because they were older and more mature, Cuiwei and Cuiming did not squeeze in with them, but stood aside, smiling as they watched the young girls playing.

The two whispered softly, occasionally glancing at Minglan and her brother not far away, their expressions showing a sense of ease and contentment.

Clearly, they were all aware of Sheng Changquan's predictions for this provincial examination.

It's quite amazing, but compared to Sheng Changquan himself, others, or rather, Cuiming and Xiaotao, had even more confidence in him.

At the very least, in the realm of the imperial examinations, Xiao Tao and the others genuinely believed that Sheng Changquan was a genius akin to the God of Literature, the most talented scholar in the world.

In response, Sheng Changquan could only helplessly offer a "praise that is too much."

Getting back to the main point, at this moment, in the center of the bright room, Minglan and her brother sat facing each other.

Coincidentally, neither of them spoke first; they just sat there quietly, each lost in their own thoughts.

The tranquil atmosphere is like a warm and comforting picture, bringing peace to the mind and soul.

However, Sheng Changquan was thinking about what would happen after the autumn examination, while Minglan was unaware of it. However, judging from her appearance, she didn't seem to be worried about whether her younger brother could pass the exam.

After a long time, Sheng Changquan finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He tapped lightly on the table in front of him, then poured himself a cup of tea and asked teasingly, "Sister, why are you looking at me like that?"

Under the candlelight, Minglan quietly watched Sheng Changquan, saying nothing and doing nothing. This scene inevitably left Sheng Changquan speechless.

As for his own elder sister, Sheng Changquan naturally spoke up whenever he had a question.

"Could it be that you doubt my chances of passing the imperial examination this autumn?"

Sheng Changquan knew that Minglan didn't mean it that way, but he deliberately teased her with a joke.

"Bah! Bah! Bah!"

Minglan was startled by her younger brother's words and quickly came to her senses, scolding him angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"Children speak without thinking! Children speak without thinking!"

Minglan clasped her hands together and quickly whispered a prayer to all the gods in the sky, hoping that they would forgive her for her false words.

"Hahaha!"

Sheng Changquan laughed heartily, revealing his confident side right in front of his older sister: "Sister, don't worry!"

"This time, I'm really confident I'll pass, and while I can't guarantee I'll be the top scholar, I'm sure I'll be in the top three!"

Having made ample preparations and thoroughly understood the examiner's temperament, Sheng Changquan was naturally full of confidence.

"Really?"

Minglan was overjoyed and immediately burst into laughter.

"You're still as lazy as ever!"

"..."

However, after laughing for a while, Minglan fell silent again.

After a long silence, he hesitated before finally speaking, "Little Seven, do you still remember our little mother?"

"Ok?"

Sheng Changquan's eyes narrowed, and he immediately made a connection to something.

"Little girl?"

Upon hearing Minglan mention her mother, Sheng Changquan gradually lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "Sister!"

"Have you forgotten?"

"My mother had a difficult childbirth because of me..."

Unlike Minglan, who referred to her as "Little Mother" in public or private, Sheng Changquan always openly called his birth mother "Mother," both publicly and privately.

Of course, there are some differences, namely that he will just talk less about it outside.

It's not that Minglan is unfilial, but because this was something Lady Wei insisted she do before she died; it was Lady Wei's last wish, so Minglan had no choice but to comply.

It is said that although Minglan had asked Sheng Changquan to do so and address Wei Niangzi as "Little Madam," he never complied.

Whether in the past, present, or future, Sheng Changquan has always remained steadfast in his commitment.

"no!"

"Brother, that's not what I meant!"

Hearing the self-reproach in Sheng Changquan's tone, Minglan quickly added, "Brother, I was actually talking about Sister Xiaodie!"

"Do you still remember Sister Xiaodie who was by my side?"

Seeing Sheng Changquan lower his head, Minglan felt a little flustered, but she still continued, "Although Sister Xiaodie left the Sheng family before you were born, she still gave you things when you were three years old. Do you remember?"

"Sister Xiaodie?"

Sheng Changquan lowered his eyes, his expression shifting slightly as he immediately thought of how he had gotten rid of Aunt Wei.

"Of course I still remember Sister Xiaodie."

Before anyone knew it, Sheng Changquan had silently tucked his hand back into his sleeve. However, his face remained expressionless as he murmured, "I remember it was my birthday."

“At that time, Sister Xiaodie gave me a bowl of longevity noodles outside the mansion, saying that the recipe for these noodles was taught to her by my mother before she passed away.”

As Sheng Changquan recalled the scene from back then, a warm feeling welled up in his eyes: "Moreover, Sister Xiaodie said that bowl of noodles was made for me on behalf of Mother!"

"I remember, you were the one who brought it to me back then!"

"Well, that's right!"

"Brother, it's good that you remember!" Minglan felt relieved when Sheng Changquan recounted the past.

“Brother, actually, when you went to participate in the autumn imperial examination, Aunt wrote to us.”

"The letter said that she had recently found Sister Xiaodie and that she would be bringing Sister Xiaodie to Beijing soon."

"Moreover, Auntie also said that Sister Xiaodie has something to tell us!"

Minglan looked at Sheng Changquan seriously and said solemnly, "This matter is very important!"

"It concerns the mother... the concubine's affairs!"

Although Minglan had considered not telling Sheng Changquan about this matter—after all, such sordid affairs in the inner quarters would inevitably offend her younger brother's ears—she also considered that as a son, it concerned the life-and-death feud of their mother, and she could not keep him from knowing.

In addition, Aunt Wei also made it clear in the letter, so after hesitating for a long time, Minglan finally chose to tell the whole story.

"Brother!"

"My aunt said she hopes we can stay in Beijing together and wait for her!"

Actually, Aunt Wei said this mainly to Sheng Changquan. After all, Minglan, being a young lady, had already returned to the capital, so it was unlikely that she would be traveling around much.

Sheng Changquan is different. What if he suddenly goes on a study tour again without prior notice?
"Ah."

After listening to Minglan's words, Sheng Changquan nodded gently and replied, "I understand, elder sister."

"I will stay in Beijing from now on."

After discussing this matter, the siblings inexplicably lost their interest in talking. Each of them had their own thoughts on their minds, and after sitting for a while, they parted ways.

……

Zhiyuantang.

After instructing Ziyuan and the others to return to Zeyutang first, Sheng Changquan sat alone at his desk, quietly thinking about things.

"My aunt wrote, which means my plan can begin?"

As he pondered his plan, Sheng Changquan unconsciously clenched his fists: "But?"

"If it were up to me, this shouldn't have been known to my older sister either, right?"

"But why did Auntie tell my older sister about Sister Xiaodie?"

Thinking about the doubts surrounding this matter, Sheng Changquan's thick eyebrows slowly furrowed.

"Or has something unexpected happened that I'm unaware of?"

After pondering for a long time, Sheng Changquan still couldn't figure out the truth of the matter, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, after a while, once Aunt Wei arrives in the capital, we'll know all the details.

"never mind!"

Sheng Changquan shook his head and thought to himself, "Maybe I should go see my cousin in a few days."

"Perhaps he knows something!"

Jiang Xingzong obviously knew some of the details about Wei Xiaoniang, after all, as Wei's eldest son, he remembered his aunt.

After making up his mind, Sheng Changquan's expression relaxed considerably.

"Forget it, let's go back and rest!"

"After all, the autumn imperial examination is no easy task!"

……

The next day.

After Sheng Changquan had a good sleep, he was about to go to his cousin Jiang Xianzong to find out about Aunt Wei's matter when, unexpectedly, a group of people suddenly came to his door.

This group of people were none other than Sheng Changquan's "fellow students".

Of course, the results haven't been released yet, so people can't really say they're from the same year, but that's the gist of it—it means that they're all candidates for the provincial examination from the same year.

Xu Changqing led the group into Zeyutang, where Sheng Changquan had already prepared tea and snacks to entertain his friends.

"Haha, Brother Changquan, please forgive my intrusion!"

"Yes! Yes! Brother Changquan, it's been a long time since we last met. We, your elders, have been rather impolite in visiting you for the first time!"
"..."

The four people who entered the room bowed and expressed their apologies to Sheng Changquan as they spoke.

"Brothers, what are you saying? I am honored that you could come to my place. How could I possibly blame you?"

Sheng Changquan was well-versed in the ways of the world. Although they hadn't presented visiting cards, which was somewhat impolite from a legal standpoint, given their respective backgrounds...

Pooh!
It's about their personal character, and Sheng Changquan would never mind that.

Speaking of which, among the four people who walked in, there was an acquaintance, Shen Li, who was the guy who wanted Sheng Changquan to be his brother-in-law.

Putting Shen Li aside, the other three also have remarkable backgrounds.

Among them, the older man who was in charge was named Niu Xingwen. He had an honest face, a straight posture, and a very upright demeanor, resembling a diligent and virtuous gentleman.

His father was Niu Qingyuan, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, who was a third-rank official. He was an official under Shen Laohu, and his rank was not low, much higher than that of a certain member of the Sheng family.

The slender, thin man next to Niu Xingwen, who looked as if he could sway in the wind, was named Liu Renyuan. He was an old friend of the Sheng family, Lord Liu, and the grandson of Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng is the patriarch of the Sheng family, a contemporary of Sheng Xu. He is currently a third-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel, holding a high position and wielding considerable influence in the court.

Over the years, if it weren't for Lord Liu's support from above, Sheng Hong's promotion wouldn't have been so easy.

Unfortunately, Lord Liu is getting on in years and will likely have to leave the court and return to his hometown in a few years.

Sheng Changquan expressed his deep regret, feeling that he would lose a great help in the future.

As for Liu Renyuan's father, Liu Qinxue, he died of illness at a young age, leaving behind only a daughter and a son, which caused the old man, Liu, to bury his son.

Over the years, if Sheng Changquan hadn't examined Liu Renyuan every now and then, this guy would probably have died young like his father, as you can tell from his thin physique.

As for the last and most handsome man, he was Lian Zhuo, the son of Lian Shangren, a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Works.

He was handsome and polite, and every move he made exuded the charm of a handsome man, which was truly enviable!
On this point, Shin Ye and Yoo In-won are the most qualified to speak.

"Please take your seats, brothers. I have prepared pastries and tea for you all. Please enjoy!"

Sheng Changquan greeted the four people with a smile, and at the same time gestured to Ziyuan and Jiegeng next to him to pour tea for the four guests.

After everyone was seated, he waved his hand, signaling Ziyuan and the others to leave.

Because he knew these guys; they would never have been so rude if they didn't have something important to say.

After all, their upbringing would not allow them to do such a thing.

"Brothers, what important matter brings you here?"

Sheng Changquan leaned forward and asked in a low voice, "Is it related to the announcement of the results?"

"Could it be that something unexpected will happen on the day the results are released?"

Actually, Rama's remains were under a small tree in front of my house. Recently, the young author dug them up, practiced with them, and discovered that he was a martial arts prodigy! So... his severed limbs regenerated!

(End of this chapter)