Top Scholar

Chapter 368 Changing Families
Hejiang County, Su Family Mansion.

After lunch, the old man and woman sat in their recliners, basking in the sun while watching Jinbao'er play house with Xibao and Dongge'er on the veranda.

The old man had a joyful and peaceful expression on his face, and didn't find his grandchildren noisy at all.

The old lady was hard of hearing and soon became drowsy.

However, this harmonious scene was soon shattered by the eldest aunt and the younger aunt. Ever since the younger aunt went to Luzhou to take care of her during her postpartum period, the two sisters-in-law had no time to reconcile and were bickering every few days at home.

Nothing major, just the usual household squabbles... Basically, because my aunt is clumsy, no matter how she does something, she can't please my aunt, and if she doesn't do anything, my aunt complains that she's lazy.

It was unbearable not to talk back to my aunt's sharp tongue. At first, my aunt could tolerate it, but as time went on, she started to talk back, and then it escalated into bickering.

The two women chattered incessantly from the east room to the west room, driving the old man to the brink of despair. He slammed his fist on the table and cursed:

"You two unlucky women, are you trying to tear this house down?"

The two sisters-in-law shrank back and shut their mouths, then carried the trunk of winter clothes to the front yard to air them out.

The world finally quieted down, and the old man leaned back in his recliner, ready to take a nap amidst the laughter of his grandchildren.

Just as he was starting to feel sleepy, he heard a loud banging and banging on the door and walls. The old man was immediately awakened and slammed his fist on the table, angrily shouting:

"Just because I'm not showing my teeth doesn't mean I'm a pushover!"

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and stormed ahead to stop his two daughters-in-law from tearing the house apart.

But then his aunt rushed in, her face full of panic, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Dad, run! A thief has broken into the house!"

"Nonsense! In broad daylight, where would thieves come from in the county town?!" The old man naturally didn't believe it; his house was just across the street from the county government office.

"Dad, they rushed in and started smashing things, they're definitely not good people," Auntie said anxiously.

"Hmm..." Just to be on the safe side, the old man drew a nine-section whip from his waist.

The aunt's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Why was the old man carrying a weapon with him at home?
"It's better to be prepared." The old man asked anxiously, "Where is your sister-in-law?"

"My sister-in-law went to stop them and told me to take you away quickly!" The younger aunt said with red eyes, "Father, please go quickly. We will never forget my sister-in-law."

"Nonsense! How could a father abandon his own child?" The old man glared with his triangular eyes, his gaze fierce, and said, "You take them away, I'm going to rescue your sister-in-law!"

"Dad, don't go! We can't let my sister-in-law sacrifice herself in vain..." The aunt grabbed the old man's arm, trying to stop him from going to his death.

Just then, Su Daji and Su Youpeng rushed in excitedly. When they saw the old man holding a steel whip, looking like he was about to go out and fight, they were both startled.

"Sixth Brother, what are you doing?!"

"They said someone broke into my house and vandalized it. Didn't you two see that?" Seeing their expressions, the old man knew that the two foolish women had made a mistake, and he carefully tucked the nine-section whip back into his belt.

"Hey, you've got the wrong person!" Su Daji laughed loudly, "They've come to deliver good news!"

"What good news are you bringing? Are you going to smash up my house?" the old man frowned.

"Because once you pass the imperial examination, you'll be considered an official! You can smash the old doors and windows and change your household!" Su Youpeng said excitedly.

"What? You mean my grandson passed the imperial examination?!" The old man jumped, grabbed Su Youpeng's wrist, and asked, "Is it the eldest grandson or the youngest grandson?"

"They both passed!" Su Daji and Su Youpeng exclaimed in unison, "Hongzhi even became the top scholar!"

"Ah..." Upon hearing this, the aunt fainted from excitement.

"Ah!" The old man almost fainted as well.

"Sixth Brother, are you alright?" Su Daji and the other man quickly helped him up.

"It's alright!" The warrior's nerves were much thicker than the average person's. The old man waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Go out and take a look."

Then, supported by the two men, they walked towards the front yard.

The aunt lay motionless for a while before her maid, Erni, helped her up and pinched her philtrum and slapped her, finally bringing her back to life...

"Am I dreaming?" my aunt murmured.

"I don't think so." Erni was a refugee from the north.

“Tell me quickly, it’s true that Qiu-ge’er passed the provincial examination, but it’s fake that Chun-ge’er passed the provincial examination…” She grabbed Er-ni’s hand.

“But it’s all true,” Erni said.

"Oh dear, if my sister-in-law becomes a benevolent parent in the future, won't she start taking advantage of me? How am I supposed to live like this!" The aunt felt like she wanted to find a block of tofu and smash her head against it.

“The First Madam isn’t a dung beetle…” Erni said in a muffled voice.

~~
When the old man arrived at the front yard, he saw a bustling crowd in the courtyard. A group of neighbors and government officials were excitedly swinging axes and hammers, smashing his doors and windows, and even attacking the courtyard walls.

And they were incredibly efficient; the perfectly good front yard was quickly smashed to pieces. "Dad, stop them!" Auntie cried out frantically. "What a disaster! Stop it! I just finished renovating! Oh dear, they've even taken the front door down..."

"Official families are going to use grand gates with wide beams, and the old gates of ordinary people's homes are no longer in accordance with the rules and must be replaced!" Everyone quickly explained to 'Mother of Merit'.

“I just replaced this gate less than two years ago, and this screen wall too, why are you smashing them all?!” Auntie was reluctant to do so.

"Replace 'Meritorious Mother' with the black lacquered gate of an official's house, the kind with door studs!" everyone laughed.

“My husband was originally an official…” the aunt said.

“Military officials and gentry are not the same thing. Master Su passed the imperial examination, and you and your wife became benefactors. Only then can you truly be considered an official family.” The officials and neighbors all agreed.

"Oh, I see..." My aunt had always thought her husband was an official.

~~
The eldest aunt desperately stopped them, and that's how the crowd stopped smashing things into the house.

They then began to clean up the broken bricks and rotten wood on the ground. These were things used by the Wen Kui Xing (God of Literature) and Wen Qu Xing (God of Literature), and they were full of literary energy!
Take it home and make it into a drink for your child...

"Don't worry, Mother of Merit. Construction will begin tomorrow! It won't delay Lord Yuan and the scholar's return home!" Niu, the clerk of the county workshop, patted his chest and assured him, "Just make do tonight..."

"Well, alright. Out with the old, in with the new..." Since things had come to this, Auntie could only try to think positively.

She then came to her senses and asked the crowd, "You just said that my nephew passed the provincial examination with top honors and my son passed the provincial examination with top honors. Is that really true?"

"It's absolutely true!" Magistrate Cao and Registrar Bao arrived together, laughing and clasping their hands in greeting, "Congratulations, Mother of Merit!"

"Ah, I've become the aunt of a top scholar and the mother of a successful candidate in the imperial examinations?" The eldest aunt's reaction time was a bit slow; she had been too busy feeling sorry for him to react, and only now did she become excited: "Third son's wife, did you hear that? From now on, you must show me respect!"

My aunt put her hands on her hips and laughed loudly, "See if you still dare to argue with me, hahaha!"

"Alright, stop getting carried away and making a fool of yourself." The old man couldn't stand it anymore and said in a low voice, "Hurry up and prepare a banquet for the guests!"

"Okay, okay," Auntie replied hastily.

"No need, no need for the merit mother to go to such trouble." Registrar Bao quickly waved his hand and smiled at his aunt, "From now on, you can sit back and relax. Just give the order if you need anything."

“That’s right, there’s no need to worry about a mere banquet.” Magistrate Cao clapped his hands, and the owners of all the major restaurants in the county, along with their waiters, carrying food boxes and tables and chairs, filed into the Su family’s house. In the blink of an eye, thirty tables were set up in the courtyard.

But there were so many guests coming to offer their congratulations that all the seats were filled in no time, and they kept coming in one after another.

With nowhere else to sit, they knocked down the courtyard wall and continued the feast in the courtyards of their neighbors. The food and drink were naturally supplied by the major restaurants in the county, and Su Youpeng wanted to ask whether the bill would be settled now or later.

To his surprise, the shopkeepers all regarded money as dirt. They got angry with him as soon as he mentioned money, saying, "Hejiang County has produced a top scholar since the beginning of time. Aren't we allowed to give something in return? Do you look down on us?"

"Alright..." Su Youpeng had no choice but to respect them.

The old man then asked him to talk to the neighbors on both sides, saying that the demolished courtyard wall would be rebuilt afterward.

To everyone's surprise, the two families resolutely refused, and even brought out the imperial edict and land deeds, begging the old master of the Su family to take them in as servants out of consideration for their long-standing neighborly relationship...

In fact, the restaurant owners had the same idea: to take this opportunity to connect with the Su family and register their shops under the Su family's name.

Because those who passed the imperial examinations were exempt from taxes and corvée labor...

Of course, they wouldn't hang it up for nothing; they would give the Su family half the amount of taxes that were originally paid to the government.

Of course, a scholar could not have unlimited land under his name. Usually, he could only have a few hundred acres of tax-exempt land, a few dozen people exempt from corvée labor, and no more than ten shops.

If there were any more, the county magistrate would be unhappy...

But the Su family produced two successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and one of them was even a top scholar in the provincial examinations! Naturally, the amount of tax reduction was much higher than that of ordinary successful candidates.

Almost all the wealthy households and ordinary people in the county came rushing over, vying to become slaves or servants to the Su family. This left the old man, who had never seen such a scene before, completely bewildered and at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, the county magistrate came to comfort the old man and his wife, and no one dared to offer sacrifices in front of him, so the world finally calmed down.

Upon seeing his parents arrive, the old man hurried out to greet them. Just as he was about to kowtow, the county magistrate rushed forward to stop him, saying repeatedly, "Grandpa, you mustn't! Your grandson has passed the provincial examination with top honors and is now a close brother to us. So I must still address you as 'Grandpa'!"

Grandfather, that is, grandfather. The old man never imagined that he would hear the county magistrate call him grandfather in his lifetime...

After some polite refusals, seeing that the county magistrate insisted on being subservient, he had no choice but to agree to each side's terms.

Su Dacheng called the county magistrate "Old Parents," while the county magistrate called him "Old Grandfather."

You call me grandpa, and I call you dad... that's basically the idea.

When they entered the house and sat down, there was another round of intense politeness, with the old man wanting his parents to take the seat of honor, and the old parents wanting the old man to take the seat of honor.

In the end, the old man was forced to sit in the main seat, with the county magistrate sitting to his right.

P.S. I'll read the next chapter tomorrow morning...

(End of this chapter)