His handwriting was neat and tidy!
The brushstrokes were soft and smooth!
From his handwriting, one could tell that this Wei Xiaochang was not old, and that he was refined and elegant!
If he could be taken into service in the future, he would also be a good candidate!
At the same time, Xie Qianmo read another state of mind from Wei Xiaochang's poetry!
He frowned slightly!
What had he experienced to have written such a desolate piece!
The surface meaning of the poetry seemed to be about impermanence, and ordinary people could not understand the meaning behind it! However, Xie Qianmo not only understood it, but it seemed as if he also saw his miserable childhood!
Thinking that Wei Xiaochang's childhood was similar to his own, he was given second place!
The reason Qin Yun was given third place was that Qin Yun, a newcomer, had already shone brightly today.
If he were to win first place again! It would surely be met with criticism!
In short, his objective had been achieved, and Qin Yun had entered the top ten, so this was settled!
Xie Qianmo ranked the remaining seven spots in order!
The moment the rankings were announced!
Some were sad, others were happy!
Seeing Qin Yun take third place, Xue Jin was not surprised at all!
This was within his expectations!
On the other hand, Wei Xiaochang, the illegitimate son of the Wei family, took second place, which was something he had not anticipated, and indeed, the entire academy's students had not expected this!
It was originally thought that this poetry gathering would be like previous years, with Su Qingwen in first place, Zheng Haonan in second, and Ouyang Siqing in third!
This year's poetry gathering was held a month earlier. Since Su Qingwen was eliminated, Zheng Haonan took first place!
Wei Xiaochang, a previously unknown face, took second place!
Ouyang Siqing, who was originally third, dropped to fourth place!
Qin Yun and Wei Xiaochang, like dark horses, ranked among the top, which was truly unexpected!
Su Residence!
Su Qingwen knelt before Su Tai, his head buried low.
"Father, your son has embarrassed you!"
Su Tai looked sternly at Su Qingwen, who was kneeling before him, his eyes filled with anger!
"You couldn't even pass the second round? Who did you meet in the second round?"
"Qin Yun!" Su Qingwen buried his head even lower in shame.
He never expected that with his talent, he would lose to that scoundrel Qin Yun!
But today's Qin Yun was completely different from the rumors. Not only was he exceptionally intelligent, but he was also good at scheming!
Even if he put in twelve points of effort, he lost completely!
"Qin Yun? Qin Yuanzhang's prodigal son?" Hearing this name, Su Tai could hardly believe that his son would lose to that good-for-nothing Qin Yun!
Did this not mean that Su Tai's son was even more useless than a good-for-nothing?
Feeling the aura of humiliation, Su Tai angrily smashed the teacup in his hand to the ground!
"CRASH"
The ground was in a mess!
The cup fragments scattered everywhere!
Madame Su had fainted from the shock the moment she heard that Su Qingwen had been eliminated, and was currently unconscious in her room! Kuai Shu Ge
On this day, everyone in the Su residence dared not speak loudly, and even walked without making a sound!
Their eldest young master had lost, and he had lost to that good-for-nothing from the Qin residence. Was this not a disgrace?
Su Tai flew into a rage and confined Su Qingwen for over a month, only allowing him to come out when the imperial examinations approached!
Because of this matter, Su Tai caused a lot of trouble for Qin Yuanzhang in court, and even the judges Li Fengsheng and Xue Jin did not escape unscathed.
Meanwhile, the Wei residence, which had always been dispirited!
It was rare to have such a joyous occasion during this period!
Originally, Wei Chenggong was already upset about being demoted. His wife had been stripped of her noble title, and his beloved son's entry into Blue Mountain Academy was uncertain due to causing trouble there!
He had only arranged for his youngest son, Wei Xiaochang, to try his luck, but unexpectedly, Wei Xiaochang directly took second place in the poetry gathering, which made him overjoyed!
Thinking back carefully from beginning to end!
He seemed to have never paid attention to this youngest son over the years! He felt he owed him too much.
Thinking of Wei Maoran at this moment, compared to him, Wei Chenggong realized that Wei Maoran had always caused him trouble.
Even his demotion was caused by Wei Maoran!
Suddenly, Wei Maoran, this esteemed person, no longer seemed so appealing!
That night!
The Wei residence held a grand banquet! To celebrate Wei Xiaochang's second place in the poetry gathering, Wei Chenggong presented Wei Xiaochang with a qingci inkstone worth three thousand taels!
Looking at his youngest son, who had just turned fifteen, Wei Chenggong thought of the imperial examinations two months later.
As long as he thought about how talented Wei Xiaochang was, if he could also enter the top three in this imperial examination, the Wei family would still have a chance to recover.
Thinking of this, Wei Chenggong felt that he had let down Madam Fang and her son. He did not expect that at the critical moment, it would be the illegitimate son Wei Xiaochang who proved useful!
That night, to compensate for the years of neglect towards Madam Fang, Wei Chenggong selected several precious pieces of jewelry from the storeroom and sent them to Madam Fang. Not only that, but Wei Chenggong also stayed in Madam Fang's room that night.
This infuriated the eldest branch!
His precious son's injuries had not yet healed, yet Wei Chenggong had gone directly to the second branch's quarters to enjoy himself!
As expected, the dog man could not be relied upon; as soon as the second branch gained power, Wei Chenggong's old face fawned over them!
Watching the servants outside the second branch's room call for water three times, Madam Liu of the eldest branch gritted her teeth in anger.
Wei Chenggong, you truly have no shame. At your age, a man over fifty, you are still so flirtatious. Why are you not this diligent in my room normally?
As soon as he arrived at Madam Fang's room, he acted as if he had never seen a woman before, like a hungry wolf pouncing!
Liu Shi touched her wrinkled face, then looked down at her slightly plump figure, and then thought of Madam Fang, who was more than ten years younger than her. Her figure and face were indeed inferior to hers!
When she was young, Liu Shi's maternal family was powerful, and the son she bore was the legitimate heir. As the official wife of the Wei residence, she had always been favored in the mansion. Even after Madam Fang entered the residence, Liu Shi did not allow Wei Chenggong to visit Madam Fang's room.
She had been exclusively favored all these years. Now that her father had passed away, her maternal family had declined, and her son Wei Maoran had been expelled from the academy, and even disqualified from participating in the imperial examinations!
And now the second branch was in full swing!
As expected, Wei Chenggong doted on that woman again!
She thought that doting on her for one night would be enough!
Liu Shi did not expect that after the first night, Wei Chenggong would stay in Madam Fang's room every night.
And he called for water every night!
Even on the first and fifteenth of every month, although Wei Chenggong came to her room, he slept like a dead pig as soon as he got into bed, not moving at all!
He claimed to be too tired and wanted to rest, not wanting to move!
It seemed that he had used all his strength on the second branch and then fell asleep as soon as he reached her!
This day happened to be the first of the month!
Looking at Wei Chenggong sleeping like a dead pig on the bed, Liu Shi was so angry that she slapped him!
With a "slap."
Wei Chenggong woke up from his dream, touched his face, and said angrily, "What are you doing? Why are you hitting me in the middle of the night?"
Liu Shi gritted her teeth. "Wei Chenggong, don't forget, you owe your current position to me!"
Wei Chenggong sighed. "Madam, your husband understands. It's late, let's sleep."
Liu Shi flung away Wei Chenggong's outstretched hand and said disdainfully, "Don't use the hand that touched that slut Fang to touch me!"
Wei Chenggong began to lose patience, his tone heavy. "What is wrong with you today?"
"You only come to my room twice a month, on the first and fifteenth, and you don't even look at me, just fall asleep. Yet you stay in Madam Fang's room for more than twenty days a month, singing and feasting every night. What am I supposed to think? Do you dislike me because I'm old?"