Jiang Yuqing stood on the platform, looking at the shining, expectant eyes all around her. She felt extremely comforted, extremely happy, extremely warm.
Love this sweet, how could it be let down? Only children make choices, adults of course—want it all.
She staggered to the corner of the platform, lifted up a corner of the velvet cloth, folded it in, then pulled hard, dragging it to the middle.
Then she went to another corner, lifted the velvet cloth, folded and pulled it to the middle. She did the same for the other two corners, messing up the nice piece of velvet cloth into a large, unclosed bundle with everything wrapped inside.
Then, she stood in the middle of the velvet cloth, hands on her plump waist arrogantly announcing: "Mine!"
The crowd was surprised for a moment, then burst out laughing. Even young master Jing Yan's mouth corners curled high.
This little one is a cunning child, not offending anyone.
Old Lady Hu hugged her granddaughter into her arms, laughing out loud: "Good, good, it's all yours. It's all my good baby's. My good baby will definitely grow into a well-mannered young lady who can enter the hall and kitchen, knowing books and rites with spiritual and skilled hands."
The story of Jiang Yuqing sweeping everything on the table quickly spread.
The Jiang clan all said that our clever baby is very smart and will have great success in the future.
Of course among outsiders, there were also some sour women who said: "No matter how successful, she is still a girl. How could she become an official in the future?"
The woman had just finished speaking when her husband immediately covered her mouth: "Watch that broken mouth of yours. I don't know if the girl can be an official or not, but her father definitely can."
The woman's expression changed and she didn't dare say any more.
The day Jiang Yuqing did the baby grabbing game was also the last day of the imperial exam for Jiang Wenyuan. After the gong rang to end the exam session, the examinees of that exam hall trudged out one after another after being cooped up for a full nine days.
Most of the examinees who came out had disheveled hair and ashen faces. Some were so weak they needed support to even walk.
Only Jiang Wenyuan strode out vigorously. Other than looking slightly tired, his hair wasn't even that messy. His condition really attracted attention among the stumbling examinees.
Seeing his good condition, servant A Ping was slightly relieved. He supported Jiang Wenyuan onto the carriage.
Jiang Wenyuan was also tired. Upon returning to the inn, he didn't even bathe before falling asleep.
He slept for a full day and night before waking up. After waking up, he had the inn send up hot water and took a nice bath and ate a good meal before finally feeling revived.
The exam hall was damp, cold, narrow and small. Examinees slightly taller even had difficulty lying down.
Especially examinees from the south who were not accustomed to the climate and environment. Staying in this kind of place for several days, other than the three bowls of hot water every day, they really didn't even have a trace of warmth.
Many could not endure and had to be carried out midway. Fortunately, the food and spring water prepared by his darling daughter allowed him to avoid much suffering.
The results would be posted on the 5th day of the 4th month. There was still half a month before then. Jiang Wenyuan didn't have acquaintances in the capital, let alone connections to befriend officials.
Fortunately, he had a good mentality. Most of the time he stayed in his room reading books. Occasionally he would discuss and exchange with acquainted examinees or fellow townsmen. He wasn't impatient at all.
On this day, he went to a teahouse at the invitation of a fellow townsman to meet with some examinees to discuss classics and history. When the gathering ended and there was still some time, he wanted to go out for a walk.
His darling daughter's one year birthday was such an important occasion, yet he as the father was not home. He felt it was quite regrettable.
He still had some silver on hand and wanted to buy a nice little gift to please his daughter.
Of course his dear wife and mother should also have gifts. His two sisters-in-law were also working hard and could not be forgotten...
North of the exam institute street was an extremely lively commercial street.
Here there were restaurants, bars, silk and satin shops, jewelry stores, cosmetics shops, etc. lined up side by side.
There were also street peddlers selling snacks and trinkets, hoop spinning, truly everything for food, drink, entertainment and leisure.
Jiang Wenyuan browsed for a while. For his darling daughter he bought a pair of butterfly pearl hairpins, a pair of velvet flowers, two exquisitely embroidered small pouches, and a small tiger shaped pillow.
For his dear wife he bought a jade hairpin. For his mother a pair of gold bracelets. For each of his two sisters-in-law a gold hairpin.
Because he had to buy a lot of things, the money on him was insufficient. On the way he even went to a medicine shop to sell a 100-year ginseng.
Since the inn was not far, the master and servant did not take a carriage. They just walked back like this.
When passing through a small alley, he saw two rogue-looking men pressing down a very small child and rummaging through his belongings.
Seeing this, Jiang Wenyuan hurriedly shouted, "Hey, hey, hey, what are you two doing? Stop, you hear me!"
Hearing the voice, the two rogue men were startled, thinking some formidable character had arrived.
Looking up and seeing it was a scholar, they were rather angry: "Scram, it's none of your business. Stop minding other people's business!"
But the child heard the voice and shouted loudly for help: "Uncle, save me! They want to rob my stuff!"
Hearing this, Jiang Wenyuan sternly shouted, "Let go of the child! Let go! Didn't you hear me? This is under the Son of Heaven's feet, how can you run amok here! If you don't let go, I'll report this to the officials!"
At the same time, he rushed over with A Ping and started brawling with them.
Although Jiang Wenyuan was a scholar, he came from a farming family. He was quite strong from doing farm work at home.
A Ping was also a strapping young lad, hot-blooded on his own. Fighting together, they actually gained the upper hand.
The two rogues got hit hard several times. Knowing they were no match, they hurriedly threw down the stuff and ran away limping.
Although master and servant won the fight, they also got hit several times.
Especially Jiang Wenyuan. He got hit hard on the chin. The corner of his mouth was cut and bled. Some teeth also became loose, fortunately none fell out. They should grow back after recuperating.
He used a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, caught his breath, then handed the retrieved jade pendant back to the child. "Here, your belonging. Hide it well, don't let it get snatched again."
The child accepted the jade pendant and earnestly bowed to him in thanks.
Seeing the blood at the corner of his mouth, the child was rather worried. "Uncle, are you alright?"
Jiang Wenyuan licked the corner of his mouth, unconcerned. "I'm fine. How about you? Did they hit you?"
The child shook his head. "No, they wanted to hit me but you came."
"That's good!" Jiang Wenyuan squatted down, patted the child's head, and brushed the dust off him in passing.
This child looked about five or six, similar age to his own naughty son.
"Whose family's child are you? How come you're alone here? Where are your elders?"
The child shook his head and after a while muttered, "I got separated from my family, I'm lost."
Jiang Wenyuan sighed. "Forget it, do you remember where your home is? I'll take you back! You've been missing for so long, your family must be worried."
The child hesitated for a bit before answering, "My home is in Ningkang District Rong An Street in the west." Hearing this, Jiang Wenyuan thought, good, it's quite far from here.
Oh well, see the Buddha off till the West. He led the child out of the small alley onto the busy commercial street from before. He had A Ping go rent a carriage and according to the address given by the child, they found Rong An Street in Ningkang District.
When the carriage stopped in front of a majestic mansion with a pair of giant stone lions crouching in front under the direction of the child, the master and servant were both stunned speechless.
They saw a large horizontal tablet hanging above the vermilion gate with six big characters "Duke of Protector's Mansion" written on it in gold paint on a red background, with an awe-inspiring aura.
Jiang Wenyuan's expression was complicated as he looked at the child beside him. Turns out he's a little noble. But whether he's nobility or not doesn't matter much to him. Anyway, he's returned the child safely.
Jiang Wenyuan carried the child off the carriage and patted his head. "Go in, your elders must be anxious."
The child nodded. "Thank you uncle. I'll remember not to run around randomly again. Even if I go out to play, I'll bring more people."
Jiang Wenyuan watched the child knock on the vermilion gate. Soon someone came out. Seeing the child, he was extremely delighted and shouted, "Oh my! It's the young master! The young master is back!"
The child looked back at him and Jiang Wenyuan waved his hand. "Go in, I should get going too." Then he turned and boarded the carriage, leaving swiftly.
Duke of Protector's Mansion
The Duke of Protector's Mansion was shocked to find the missing heir. The entire mansion was thrown into chaos looking everywhere but not finding the child. They were about to send people to search outside when a servant came to report the young master had returned through the main gate.
Jiang Wenyuan was brought back and carefully questioned. It was then discovered that this mischievous child had awoken from his afternoon nap and, taking advantage of the maid who was nodding off, had sneakily evaded the attendants and servants and slipped out through the back door.
He had run so far away. And had even been robbed by thieves. If he hadn't been rescued and brought back in time, who knows what would have happened.
By the time they understood what had happened and went out to search, the benefactor was long gone without a trace.
Fortunately, investigating an individual was no difficult task for the Duke of Protector's Mansion. After giving the order, information on Jiang Wenyuan was on Duke of Protector Yuan Meng's desk in less than a day.
"Lingzhou Prefecture, Qingzhou County." Yuan Meng tapped his desk with a crooked finger: "Oh, I remember that Qin Family boy is there!"
"You mean Guan Zhi? He's in Qingzhou," said Heir Apparent to the Duke of Protector Yuan Yun as he put aside the military book in his hand and flipped through the information on Jiang Wenyuan.
He smiled. "Oh, he was the second place in last year's Lingzhou Prefectural Examinations. This person seems quite learned."
"Mm!" Yuan Meng habitually stroked his sparse precious moustache. "With his ranking, he's guaranteed a spot on the top tier as long as nothing unexpected happens."
"Does Father want to support him?"
Yuan Meng said, "A weak scholar who fought street ruffians to save an unfamiliar child, and was injured in the process, clearly has backbone and grit.
Later, when he found out it was a child from our mansion, he didn't fawn or flatter or take advantage to ask for favors. Instead, he quietly left. From this we can see he has excellent moral character.
But it's too early to make a definitive judgment now. There are still some days before the lists are posted. Yun'er, quickly send a sealed letter to the Qin Family boy to investigate Jiang Wenyuan's background.
If his character is indeed reliable, then give what support you can within your capabilities. If he doesn't bring it up, our mansion can't pretend not to know - that would be ungrateful!"
"Yes, Father!"
Of course, Jiang Wenyuan didn't know what was happening in the Duke of Protector's Mansion. After returning that afternoon, he put the matter out of his mind.
For this examination, he was eighty to ninety percent confident.
If his name was on the lists, there would still be the palace examination. He absolutely could not waste any more time and should concentrate on studying.
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