Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 335 First Place_1

Chapter 335: Chapter 335 First Place_1

The broker couldn’t help but think that Mrs. Zhou was afraid that Scholar Zhou would forget his wife once in office—she felt she had guessed the truth!

Zhulan returned home with two property deeds. When she got home, Zhou Shuren had come back.

There was a small stack of Silver Notes on the table. Zhulan counted them and said, "Just as I had expected, they increased tenfold."

In her hand was silver totaling four thousand taels!

Zhou Shuren had no knack for investment. In modern times, he had never invested nor even bought financial products; he only knew how to save money!

He truly admired Zhulan’s eye for investment and her decisiveness. He had worked himself to death and had not earned nearly as much as Zhulan did in just a few transactions.

Zhulan put away the Silver Notes, took out a chest to store the property deeds and Silver Notes, covered it again, and put it back. Sitting back down, Zhulan said, "Yao Zheyu must have realized your intentions by now!"

"So what if he has? All the remaining land has been sold anyway. I would rather sell it cheaply than give it to Yao Zheyu. I’ve made my stance clear."

Zhulan was somewhat worried, "Although you’ve cut Yao Zheyu off, might he get angry with you and pull strings to target you after the results are announced?"

Zhou Shuren sipped his tea, "That’s why I need to place in the first ranking tier; the appointments for first-tier positions are granted immediately."

Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief. There were only three in the first tier—the Top Scorer, the second-place scholar, and the Third-rank Scholar, all being awarded the degree. Zhulan patted Zhou Shuren’s hand, "Second place is also very good."

Zhou Shuren, ".....Yes."

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the palace exam. Zhou Shuren left in a carriage before dawn. By modern times, the palace exam would start at six in the morning, so people would travel to the Palace in darkness.

In ancient times, without wristwatches, one had to leave early, fearing any delay might cause them to miss the appointed time.

The palace exam took a whole day. The exam papers were submitted at dusk; there was no reexamination before the palace exam in this dynasty. Papers were sealed after submission and reviewed by eight examiners. The papers were graded into five ranks, with each examiner marking the papers separately. In the end, ten papers with the highest number of first-rank annotations were presented to the Emperor, who then selected the top three candidates for the first tier.

Sinc Zhou Shuren had left, Zhulan’s gaze drifted continuously towards the direction of the Palace. Today was the final step; how the future would unfold hinged on this day.

Today, Zhou Shuren should have been under no great pressure, but due to Yao Zheyu’s meddling, his stress reached its peak.

The entire Zhou family was waiting, even their lunch didn’t taste good.

After dusk, the eldest Zhou brother was already waiting at the mansion’s main gate. The daylight in April was still not long; when Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming returned, it was completely dark.

The eldest Zhou brother rushed towards the stopping carriage, "Father."

Zhou Shuren stepped out of the carriage before Wu Ming and, once Wu Ming had alighted, he said, "Is dinner ready?"

Seeing that his father looked in good spirits, the eldest Zhou brother felt a weight lift from his chest and said with a smile, "We prepared it long ago. Today’s dishes are all father’s and mother’s favorites."

The eldest Zhou brother paused as he looked at Wu Ming, "And there are two dishes that Wu Ming likes."

Wu Ming, "....."

He was just tagging along; there was really no need to mention it specifically.

Zhou Shuren was indeed hungry. Although the palace exam provided snacks and the palace snacks were indeed delicious, not many dared to eat much. He liked the snacks but didn’t eat more than a few. Now, his stomach was ’singing songs.’

Zhou Shuren quickened his pace. Upon entering the main hall and seeing a table full of dishes, his stomach sang even louder.

Zhulan smiled, "Go wash your hands and eat."

"Okay!"

That evening, Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming ate the most. Having finished the last exam, they were completely relaxed. In contrast, Zhulan and the others, concerned about the results to come in three days, did not eat much.

After the meal, Yang Zhumu, not in a hurry to return to his residence in West City, asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, did you see the Emperor?"

Zhou Shuren, "....Yes, I did."

Could he admit it was just a fleeting glimpse? Even if he were bold, he wouldn’t dare stare directly at the Emperor!

Yang Zhumu became excited, "What is the Emperor like? Is he as the folk rumors say?"

Zhulan nearly spat out her tea. Perhaps it was fear of the Emperor that fueled the diverse rumors among the common folk!

Zhou Shuren’s mouth twitched, "I only glimpsed him. The Emperor’s frame is slender, and his face is obscured by a beard. I didn’t dare to directly gaze upon His Sacred Countenance, so I did not see his features clearly. But judging by his outline, his appearance should be quite passable."

Yang Zhumu felt somewhat disappointed. The decisive Emperor did not fit his image of a military general. Listening to his brother-in-law, the Emperor seemed like a frail scholar. Unable to help himself, Yang Zhumu took a few extra glances at his brother-in-law, thinking that when a frail scholar turned ruthless, he was truly formidable.

With his brother-in-law as a reference, Yang Zhumu reconciled himself to the Emperor’s image. He couldn’t really continue to ask his brother-in-law about how the exam went that day, so he rose to leave, "I’m heading back to my West City residence now."

Zhou Shuren stood up, "Big brother, let me walk you out."

Yang Zhumu waved his hand, "You’ve also had a long day, rest well."

Zhou Shuren insisted on seeing Yang Zhumu out. He was always good with formalities.

When Zhou Shuren returned, Zhulan said, "I’ll go heat up water for your footbath. Let’s go to bed early tonight."

Zhou Shuren was indeed tired, having woken up at three in the morning and concentrated intently throughout the daylight hours. Now sated and sleepy, he took Zhulan’s hand, "I’ll fetch the water myself. You’ve had a tiring day too."

With that, he left.

Zhulan chuckled softly and prepared the bed, feeling sleepy herself. Whatever time Zhou Shuren awoke, she had been awake too.

Once Zhou Shuren and Zhulan had washed up, both quickly fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Zhao Bo arrived at their door. Zhao Bo was very confident about himself. Although everyone had guessed at the examination topics, he had prepared much, believing he could make it into the first tier. However, he couldn’t settle his mind without visiting the Zhou family first.

Zhou Shuren understood Zhao Bo’s purpose but regretted that Zhao Bo’s hope was about to be dashed. To seek balance, they couldn’t have the top three places of the first tier all from the same locality.

Two of the top three coming from a single place carried prestige, but three from the same place—people would suspect cheating.

He was confident because he felt he had done well indeed. On the way back the day before, he had asked Wu Ming, and it had bolstered his confidence even more.

Now, after hearing a few of Zhao Bo’s responses, Zhou Shuren shook his head internally. Even without balancing issues, Zhao Bo wouldn’t make it into the first tier.

Confident upon arrival, Zhao Bo left in dismay—his unease had materialized.

Three days later, the results were posted amid a sea of people. Not only those who had taken the exam clustered to see the results, but many onlookers gathered as well.