Top Scholar

Chapter 521 Imperial Bestowal of the Top Scholar

"Why are the three ministers on this ship as well?" Su Lu asked in surprise after exchanging greetings.

"Hey, don't even mention it!" Hong Zhong waved his hand, his voice booming, "We ran into a civil uprising halfway there, and the rebels almost took it from us!"

"Ah?!" Everyone was shocked to hear this, never expecting that such a powerful team of three ministers would encounter such danger while sailing on the canal.

"Thanks to your family's help, and the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner Wang sent his son to lead troops to relieve the siege, and even escorted us all the way to the capital." He Jian continued, "It was a close call after all."

"It's what I should do." At that moment, a very familiar voice rang out, deep and resonant.

Su Lu looked in the direction of the sound, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. If his second brother hadn't been right next to him, he would have blurted out "Second Brother."

Upon closer inspection, well, although my second brother looks older than his age, he's only twenty, younger than this guy. Besides, this guy is also slightly shorter and broader than my second brother…

The two are so alike! They both have that same leopard-like head and bulging eyes, broad shoulders and thick waist, the arrangement of their facial features, and that same simple and honest look—they're practically cut from the same mold!

Su Tai was also stunned, and even looked down at the water to compare his reflection.

The man's gaze fell upon the two brothers, and his eyes immediately reddened. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally choked out, "Brother-in-law!"

Su Lu and Su Tai knew, of course, that this wasn't a call for them. Their wives were so young; how could they have such an old younger brother?

They all turned to look at their father behind them, only to see Su Youcai with a complex expression. His face showed surprise on the left and sorrow on the right, his eyes were red like a rabbit's, and he called out in a hoarse voice:
“Nai Ping…”

"Brother-in-law," the man called out affectionately again, this time much more smoothly.

With a single response, the brothers' doubts were instantly resolved.

Good heavens! I ran into my own uncle!

Su Lu thought to himself, no wonder his father always said that his second brother resembled his uncle. This is not just a copy, it's an enhanced version!

The three ministers were astonished. "Oh my, is this some kind of family drama?" they exclaimed. "We've never heard Young Master Wang mention that his father is the maternal grandfather of a top scholar..."

Given their status, it was inappropriate for them to gossip, so they took their leave and went to the meeting hall to report for duty.

Tang Bohu wanted to greet Su Lu and introduce Wen Zhengming, but Zhu Zhishan grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away, saying, "Let's go, there's plenty of time in the future, don't join in the fun!"

Only the Su family and that Wang 'Baby Bottle' remained on the dock...

Su Lu and Su Tai ignored the uncle who had appeared out of nowhere and first paid their respects to their aunt with their elder brother.

"mother!"

"Ma'am!"

The three Su brothers all knelt at their aunt's feet.

"Oh dear, he's already a top scholar and a third-place scholar, why is he still kowtowing? Get up, get up!" Auntie hurriedly said loudly, whether out of restraint or pride, it was hard to tell.

“Those are all children you raised,” Su Youjin said loudly, drawing respectful glances from the people on the dock.

"Hahaha!" Auntie laughed heartily. "So, it seems I'm pretty amazing after all."

"Yes, yes, yes." Everyone nodded in agreement, and the eldest aunt was even more pleased with herself.

After the three brothers greeted the clansmen, Su Youpeng said with a smile, "The clan chief said that now that you have all become high-ranking officials, you need your own people to take care of you, so he sent us to escort my sister-in-law and the three young mistresses to the capital."

"Uncle Jiu has come at just the right time!" Su Lu was overjoyed. He was desperately short-handed and had even written to his former classmates Li Qiyu and Cheng Wanfan, asking if they were interested in coming to Beijing to develop their careers.

Of course, it's not impossible to transfer people from the Six Ministries, but the core team must be filled with nepotism, otherwise, given his current situation, he'll end up like Maduro, with people infiltrating him like a sieve.

~~
After all the luggage was unloaded from the ship, the whole family rode in more than a dozen carriages into the capital.

Looking at the large and impressive group of his own people, Su Lu suddenly felt much more confident.

"Is this enough manpower? If not, we can send more from home!" Su Youpeng said with a smile beside him, "My father said that everything will be provided by the capital!"

"Thank you so much, Elder Chief. That should be enough for now. We'll talk about it again if we need more people later." Su Lu said with a wry smile, "However, the imperial court is short of funds right now and can't offer many official positions. We'll have to be patient with you all."

"How could we be so naive?" the clansmen laughed. "The top scholar's career is just beginning. We, the family members, will definitely endure the hardships first and enjoy the rewards later."

"Thank you so much." Su Lu clasped his hands in gratitude, finally relieved that he wouldn't have to fight alone anymore. Only then did he realize that his father and his 'milk bottle' uncle were not in the group.

“Dad said he’d like to talk to… first,” Su Tai said in a low voice. “He wants us to go home first, and we can talk about it later.”

"Okay." Su Lu nodded. "Let's go home first."

But the group didn't return to Luomashi Street. The small courtyard they had rented, including the kitchen and outhouse, only had five rooms. There wasn't even enough room for the whole family to stand, let alone stay.

Knowing that his aunt was going to take her wives to the capital for a family reunion, the men of the Su family had already planned to rent a more spacious house.

As for why not just buy a house? Absolutely not. This is the duty of the matriarch of the household; who would dare to overstep their bounds? If she were to rush to take the lead, she would likely be nitpicked by her aunt and never have a moment's peace.

In the end, he neither bought nor rented a house—the Emperor, in his boundless grace, bestowed upon him a magnificent mansion for the top scholar on West Chang'an Street!
These days, Su Lu has been busy managing the affairs of the Longhu Lecture Hall and visiting various temples in the capital. He works non-stop from morning till night, and this is the first time he has set foot in this bestowed residence.

"This way! This is it!" Although it was the first time for everyone, they recognized the place at a glance.

The main gate facing the street was simply too eye-catching. The gatehouse, a traditional Chinese house, was adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, and topped with blue tiles. The two black doors had gleaming brass door knockers. Above the gate hung a gilded plaque with three large, flowing characters that read "Zhuangyuan Di" (状元第, meaning "Residence of the Top Scholar"), which were actually inscribed by the emperor himself.

A couplet in gilded style hangs on either side of the main gate, its powerful strokes making each character shine:
'A family with a long tradition of scholarship has achieved the highest honors, ranking among the top three scholars;'

Two outstanding scholars, like twin beauties, vied for the top spot!

These unparalleled words fully express the supreme glory of the Su family; how could anyone not recognize them at a glance?
~~
After entering the main gate and passing the screen wall, everyone was stunned by the grandeur of the courtyard and gasped in surprise—it was a large mansion with seven bays across the front and four courtyards in the back!
Passing through halls and courtyards, the winding covered corridors connect the various buildings; the flowers and trees in the courtyard are lush, and each window offers a unique view, exuding elegance and solemnity everywhere.

The main hall was tall and bright, with two imperial plaques hanging high above it: "First-class filial son, six-time champion in the imperial examination"!
The plaques bearing the inscriptions "Third Scholar" and "Martial Arts Champion" hang prominently beside it, their imposing presence making one hesitant to speak loudly.

"Tsk tsk tsk! Good heavens!" Auntie looked at the sandalwood furniture in the hall with shining eyes and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"Now I know what it means to be blessed by the Emperor! This house, the furnishings, are even more magnificent than my in-laws' house!"

"Mother, what are you saying?" Zhu Yin was startled and quickly said with a wry smile, "My family is nothing."

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't know!" The eldest uncle quickly glared at his aunt, his tone full of awe, and said, "This is a reward according to the regulations for a Grand Secretary! Ordinary families wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing!"

The eldest aunt was speechless, but dared not speak carelessly again.

In fact, Su Lu knew very well that even the residences of those imperial scholars did not have such a complete set of rosewood furniture... This honor was clearly far beyond the norm.

However, he could not refuse the emperor's grace. Since it was a residence bestowed by the emperor, he could not say much. He told his family to settle down first.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Su Youxi, who was temporarily acting as the gatekeeper, announced loudly, "Eunuch Zhang has arrived!"

The Su family members quickly came out to greet them.

Zhang Yong, one of the infamous Eight Tigers and the powerful eunuch second only to Liu Jin, was now as amiable as a kind old neighbor. After greeting his younger brother, sister-in-law, and niece-in-law with a smile, he asked the women, "How is it? Are you satisfied with the accommodations?"

"Satisfied, satisfied." Aunt nodded vigorously, not daring to say another word.

This reaction is quite normal for the wives of officials who have just arrived in Beijing from small towns.

Zhang Yong smiled kindly and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be nervous. We get along with him like real men. Just ask if you need anything."

"Ugh, ugh." The eldest aunt's mouth went dry. What? Her husband's become sworn brothers with Eight Tigers? And he lives in the palace all the time? Could he have... you know... done it too?!
"Uncle, how can the scale of this bestowed residence be so high? I am truly flattered and unworthy of such an honor," Su Lu said to Zhang Yong solemnly.

"Hey, this was bestowed by the Emperor himself, so you can just stay here in peace." Zhang Yong waved his hand and explained with a smile, "This house was originally the former residence of Grand Secretary Shang, and it's considered small on West Chang'an Street. The Fengcheng Marquis's mansion next door is twice the size of yours!"

“How dare we, a small family like ours, compare ourselves to marquises?” Su Youjin said with a wry smile, “If you tell others about this, my brother, you’ll be laughed out of the house.”

"At least it's close to the Leopard House, which is convenient for your work, so just make do with it for now." Zhang Yong laughed, "Anyway, it's only a matter of time before my nephew enters the cabinet, so it'll save us the trouble of moving later!"

“I…” Su Lu was both amused and exasperated. I’ve only just started.

Zhang Yong waved his hand, signaling him not to be modest anymore, and then pointed to the room full of rosewood furniture, and said with a smile, "By the way, all of this furniture was specially given to you by me."

"Good heavens." Su Lu couldn't help but chuckle wryly. "The Emperor and I were given separate rewards?"

"Of course!" Zhang Yong nodded with a smile. "How could your intentions be the same?"

After saying that, he took out a land deed from his sleeve and handed it to Su Lu: "This is a small token of our family's appreciation. It's not much of a housewarming gift... This house is right behind yours, back to back with the Zhuangyuan Mansion. We see that your family has a lot of people, and the main courtyard is probably not big enough for them. It's good for them to live there, so they can take care of each other."

P.S. I'll revise this later, please vote with monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)