After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 459 Is the Imperial Envoy a relative of yours?
Upon hearing the name Xiong Feng, Su Tai instinctively stared at him for a long while until Xiong Feng turned around and she looked away.

Shen Congrong noticed her unusual behavior and asked in a low voice, "Mother, what's wrong? Do you know Xiong Feng?"

Su Tai quickly shook her head.

After Shen Congrong received the set of ancient book annotations and paid the money, they left the study.

As soon as they got on the donkey cart, Su Tai asked curiously, "Do you know that guy named Xiong Feng?"

Shen Congrong nodded without hesitation, "He had been copying and reading books in the study for a long time, spending almost the entire day there until the study closed before leaving."

"Do you know about his family situation?" Su Tai continued to ask.

Shen Congrong thought for a moment, recalling, "I heard the shopkeeper mention something before. He doesn't seem to be a local from Dahe Town. He only went to the study last year. He also has a grandmother at home, and the two of them depend on each other for survival."

I was curious about how they made a living. The shopkeeper said that Xiong Feng had good handwriting and sold Spring Festival couplets at a street stall outside the town during the Lunar New Year. He could earn quite a bit of money. Occasionally, people would ask him to do some writing and drawing work, which would earn him a little money to support his family.

"Mother, you really don't know him?"

Su Tai nodded with a smile, "I really don't know him, I'm just a little curious. I came back this time mainly for the imperial examination pilot program. Son, you must seize the opportunity. I don't expect you to get top grades right away. As long as you can get a medium grade, and then work hard to get top grades in three years, you can not only be appointed as an official, but also find a good marriage. Then I really won't have to worry anymore."

Shen Congrong was a little speechless. "Mother, how old am I? In three years, my eldest sister will only just be of marriageable age. You can't just say things like that."

"Hahaha," Su Tai laughed uncontrollably at her son's serious expression and stopped teasing him.

Spring arrived and the snow melted. The aftershocks of the imperial examinations were still lingering, but the villagers had finally regained some of their senses and stopped focusing solely on the examinations. They continued to farm diligently as usual.

Shen Yi is the county magistrate, and he's extremely busy right now.

Whenever someone reports a problem with spring plowing in a village, he has to go there. Fortunately, this year he can send someone to the ice field to negotiate, so he doesn't have to make the trip himself anymore.

Even so, he was extremely busy.

Spring plowing will proceed in an orderly manner.

Before Shen Yi could even breathe a sigh of relief, he received news that the imperial envoy had returned to Zhaohua County from the prefectural city.

He and Lu Tong quickly tidied themselves up and went to pay their respects.

The two men entered the hall with trepidation. Shen Yi kept his head down and said, "This humble official greets Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy!"

"Everyone get up!"

Shen Yi stood up properly, and when he caught a glimpse of Tang Yu next to the imperial envoy, his eyes widened instantly.

Tang Yu winked at him and whispered respectfully in Murong Chen's ear, "Your Highness, this is Magistrate Shen."

"The adopted son of the Marquis of Yong'an? The adopted brother of the concubine?" Murong Chen's scrutinizing gaze fell on Shen Yi.

Shen Yi's muscles tensed up, and he quickly knelt down again, "This humble official is right."

Murong Chen smiled gently, "Since he is the concubine's sworn brother, we are practically family. There's no need for such formalities." Shen Yi carefully stood up, not daring to actually claim kinship with the imperial envoy before him.

Murong Chen stopped with pleasantries and said seriously, "I called you here today because of the preliminary examination. I heard that it was Magistrate Shen who suggested it?"

"Yes!" Shen Yi stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Speaking of which, it should be my wife who reminded me. When she returned to the village, she talked to the villagers about the imperial examination. At that time, all the men in the village were eager to try. Whether they were joking or serious, I think this is a matter of great importance and should not be taken lightly."

The initial screening can weed out some unscrupulous people and reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Murong Chen nodded thoughtfully, his gaze towards Shen Yi now showing more appreciation. "Since it was your suggestion, you and Lord Tang can discuss it later and write a detailed plan for me to review."

"Yes!" Shen Yi respectfully withdrew.

After the meeting, Lu Tong looked at Shen Yi with great enthusiasm, "Good brother! When did you become related to the Sixth Prince?"

He only knew that Shen Yi was the adopted son of the Marquis of Yong'an, but he didn't know that Shen Yi also had connections with a prince! This was a real powerful patron, and he had to hold on tight!

Shen Yi gave a helpless bitter smile, "That was the Sixth Prince giving face to my godfather, what kind of relative am I! Brother Lu, please don't make fun of me! But Lord Tang, who serves the Sixth Prince, is truly my relative!"

Lu Tong: "."

Good heavens! So he was the only outsider in that room just now!
Tang Yu first escorted the Sixth Prince back to the county government's inner quarters to rest, and then scurried off to find Shen Yi, "Brother-in-law, can I speak to you in private!"

Shen Yi led Tang Yu back to the mansion.

As soon as Tang Yu entered the door, he couldn't help but say enviously, "Zhaohua County is so much better. Such a big house would cost at least ten thousand taels of silver in the capital where land is so valuable."

Shen Yi jokingly said, "If you really like it, you can buy a house here. Five or six hundred taels is no problem. The problem is, what will you do with it? A while ago, Da Gou and the others bought houses to compete with the Zhu family, and now the houses are still sitting there unused."

"The Zhu family? What happened to the Zhu family?" Tang Yu put away his joking thoughts.

Shen Yi explained the situation in detail: "The Zhu family had previously clashed with the county government over the demolition issue, and later offended the garrison troops. In the end, the county government agreed to compensate them with a street, and the matter was finally dropped."

After learning about the situation, Big Dog and his gang secretly competed with the Zhu family, and they all bought houses and shops in the vicinity. Fortunately, the county town was more prosperous than the countryside, so the houses and shops wouldn't run away. I turned a blind eye and let them do as they pleased.

Zhu Yixuan also registered for this imperial examination.

Tang Yu curled her lips in a mocking smile. "I wonder what Zhu Yixuan would think if he knew that Acheng got an average grade at Lushan Academy! Heh. I'm just overthinking it. He probably forgot he even has a biological son now."

“That’s not necessarily true.” Shen Yi’s eyes were deep as he poured Tang Yu a cup of hot tea and slowly said, “Zhu Yixuan’s wife, Cen, became pregnant during the mourning period. She suffered a difficult childbirth and postpartum hemorrhage. Although she survived, her health was damaged, and she could no longer conceive. It is unknown whether the child she is carrying is a boy or a girl. The Zhu family has not given any word of it. On the surface, Zhu Yixuan does not even have a legitimate child now.”

Tang Yu was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "Serves you right!"

Knowing that Zhu Yixuan's life wasn't as smooth as they had imagined, Tang Yu's mood improved considerably, and she turned to talk to Shen Yi about serious matters.

Shen Yi then explained the plan he had prepared in advance.

"The preliminary test is not a big deal. What I mean is to let the town officials of each town handle it, so that they can organize it and filter out those who are just trying to take advantage of the situation. The preliminary test papers can be simpler, such as recognizing large characters and reciting basic surnames and the Three Character Classic. If they can't even write these simple things, is there any point in taking the test?"

As a pilot county, Zhaohua County must set a good example. It would be a joke if all the test takers were illiterate!