Chapter 873: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 873: The Fame of the Imperial Examination (Part 3)
On the sixth day of the fifth lunar month, Mo Yan drove the carriage to deliver Mo Qingze to the palace gates right on time. When the father and daughter stepped out of the carriage, only seven or eight tribute scholars remained in line, waiting for the guards to complete their checks.
These individuals had never seen Mo Qingze before and did not know he was this year’s top scorer. They simply noticed his distinguished demeanor, glanced at him briefly, and then looked away.
Seeing this, Mo Yan smiled and said, “Arriving just at this time is perfect. If we’d come any earlier, someone might have recognized you, Father.”
On the day the results were posted, there had been much talk about her father in the teahouse. Later, the news of his achieving Huiyuan spread, causing a sensation in the capital. Some gambling houses even started betting on whether he could secure the title of Zhuangyuan, offering exceptionally high odds.
Mo Qingze smiled wryly. “If we didn’t live in the countryside and if Hanzhang hadn’t spoken to the authorities, I fear our family would have had no peace recently.”
Mo Yan’s thoughts involuntarily drifted to that night’s events. Her fair face reddened, and she bit her teeth in frustration because the apology letters someone had been sending her daily had suddenly stopped, and the person himself was nowhere to be seen.
Noticing his daughter’s unusual expression, Mo Qingze asked with concern, “Yan’er, are you feeling unwell? Why is your face so red?”
Embarrassed to explain, Mo Yan quickly shook her head. “No, it’s probably just the sun coming up—it’s hot!”
Mo Qingze glanced at the sky, then looked at his slightly uneasy daughter with suspicion but said nothing.
Although the weather in May was warming up, the morning sun was hardly strong enough to cause someone’s face to flush.
Feeling guilty under her father’s scrutiny, Mo Yan patted her cheeks and raised her chin, pretending to be proud. “It just means your daughter’s skin is too delicate. A little sun and it turns red!”
Mo Qingze’s eye twitched. He felt a deep sense of shame for his daughter’s shamelessness.
Soon, the seven or eight people in front completed their checks, and it was Mo Qingze’s turn. Mo Yan could go no further and stepped aside, watching as one guard verified her father’s identity and another conducted a body search.
Whether due to special instructions or respect for the Huiyuan, the guards treated Mo Qingze with noticeable courtesy, unlike their cold demeanor toward others, as if those individuals owed them hundreds of taels.
Behind him, four or five scholars who had arrived later observed the contrasting attitudes of the guards. Curious about Mo Qingze’s identity, they couldn’t help but pay closer attention.
When Mo Qingze finished and began putting away his identification documents, one of the scholars inadvertently caught sight of the name on the topmost page: “Mo Qingze.” Unable to contain himself, he exclaimed, “Mo Qingze! The famed master Ziyu!”
Hearing this, Mo Qingze instinctively turned around, meeting the excited face of an unfamiliar scholar.
The others, startled by the name, immediately looked up and cast doubtful glances at Mo Qingze. One of them asked the exclaiming scholar, “You’ve seen Young Master Ziyu before?”
The man quickly shook his head, pointing to the document in Mo Qingze’s hand. “I saw it! The name is right there. It’s Young Master Ziyu, no mistake!”
Hearing this, their gazes lit up as they stared at Mo Qingze.
Mo Qingze, having encountered such looks countless times, was no longer fazed. He nodded politely to them as a greeting and turned toward the palace gates.
As he walked away, some scholars instinctively tried to follow but were promptly stopped by the guards.
“Bold! Do you intend to trespass into the palace?”
The reprimand jolted the scholars back to reality. They quickly halted and stood still under the unfriendly gaze of the guards, waiting for their identities to be verified. However, their eyes kept drifting toward Mo Qingze’s departing figure.
One of them muttered, “Who would have thought we’d be so lucky to encounter Young Master Ziyu in person? He truly lives up to his reputation—graceful and refined, without a trace of arrogance. He’s destined for greatness.”
Another agreed, “That’s true. At first, I thought the accounts of his Huiyuan victory were exaggerated. But to secure that title proves his genuine talent. I wonder if he’ll make it into the top three in this examination.”
Yet another added, “Though I haven’t personally witnessed Young Master Ziyu’s scholarly prowess, I’ve encountered the famed Four Talents of Jiangnan. They’re exceptional, but they ranked behind Young Master Ziyu in the Huishi. That shows how extraordinary he must be! Moreover, the emperor himself has acknowledged Young Master Ziyu. Winning the Zhuangyuan title is probably a given—just wait and see!”
The group nodded in agreement, their admiration for Mo Qingze growing with each word. They were far from envious; instead, they felt genuine reverence for someone so far ahead of them in ability.
For those only slightly better, one could view them as rivals. But for someone leagues beyond, admiration and respect were all that remained.
When they finally entered the palace gates, hoping to catch up with Mo Qingze, he was already out of sight.
Mo Yan had overheard their conversation and couldn’t hide the pride in her smile. Feeling elated, she got back onto her carriage and drove toward the rice shop in East Market. She planned to return in an hour and a half to pick her father up after the exam.
[End of Chapter]
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