"In the spring of the sixth year of Jingwu, was Zhang Jian from Fengyang Fengxi County the top candidate in the Palace Examination?"

Xiang Yingxin's face was filled with melancholy.

He felt that nothing was going right for him.

As for the names of the other two advanced scholars from Fengyang County, Xiang Yingxin no longer had the heart to look.

"Commander Princess, what are you...?"

The Personal Guard Commander, who came to deliver the good news, couldn't quite grasp Xiang Yingxin's complex and helpless state of mind, but was somewhat startled. He had heard from aides that having a Champion Scholar emerge in the Commandery City was an achievement attributed to the Governor.

This was due to the flourishing of local culture and education, which could produce the current Champion Scholar.

He was indeed the Wenqu Star Monarch.

Even though Daqian claims to be culturally and educationally prosperous, how many Champion Scholars could there be!

This was surely an accomplishment for their Governor.

Xiang Yingxin could roughly guess the thoughts of the Personal Guard Commander. He was too weary to get angry.

Although he was the Governor of Fengyang County, he was newly appointed. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he didn't dare claim that the appearance of a Champion Scholar in Fengyang County was due to his governance.

If there was merit, it belonged to the deceased former Governor!

"Go, call the County Minister and have him deliver the decree to the Zhang Family!"

He dismissed the Personal Guard Commander in front of him as if swatting a fly.

Hearing this, the Personal Guard Commander nodded, re-rolled the court document that had been hastily sent over six hundred miles, and took it away.

"The Commander Princess wants me to go?"

At the County Governor's Mansion, the newly appointed County Minister, Lu Zhao, wore a conflicted expression.

He was around fifty, with a slightly dark complexion and a goatee. He was drinking tea in the back courtyard of his residence while listening to music.

Gazing at the court document in front of him, he had no choice but to agree with reluctance.

Logically speaking, since our commandery has produced a rare young Champion Scholar, the Governor should personally lead the way and notify all the heads of the government offices in the commandery, making a grand entrance to the Zhang Family.

Promoting the culture and education of a commandery is a great way to make an impression in the eyes of the Emperor and Champion Scholar.

But just recently, the Governor had a fallout with the head of the Zhang Family, and it's a matter of pride. Lu Zhao understood this.

But Lu Zhao knew that the Governor didn't want to go, so he couldn't avoid it.

The Governor wanted to save face.

He could only put aside his pride, made up his mind, and immediately ordered the heads of various government offices in the Commandery City to quickly assemble in front of the County Governor's Mansion, together with gongs and drums, heading towards the Zhang Family Mansion and announcing along the way!

This great commotion stirred excitement throughout Fengyang County.

At the Gu Family, the patriarch Gu Chengye was writing letters at his desk, addressing old friends and connections from the Ministry of Revenue in Haojing.

After the loss of the tribute ship last time, although the real culprits were identified, the loss of tribute was still noted by the officials from the Ministry of Revenue of the court, shaking the foundation of the Gu Family.

As the new Patriarch of the Gu Family, Gu Chengye had no choice but to find ways to patch these cracks and re-establish connections with the Ministry of Revenue.

The best approach would be to connect with officials in the Ministry of the Imperial Household, which is directly above the Ministry of Revenue.

Gu Chengye was racking his brains to achieve this goal, but lacked the means of Gu Chengyan, finding it challenging to make any headway.

Hearing the sound of gongs and drums outside the Gu Family walls, Gu Chengye felt slightly agitated.

"Who is making such a racket outside?"

He slapped the table in anger and shouted, "Who allowed them to cause such a commotion!"

Upon hearing this, a servant immediately came in from outside, hesitated slightly, and respectfully said,

"Clan Leader, the Palace Examination results have arrived!"

Gu Chengye tidied his clothes and coldly snorted, "The Palace Examination results? Even if someone became an advanced scholar, it shouldn't cause such a huge disturbance with all these gongs and drums! The sound of horse hooves is deafening, isn't it?"

As he stepped out of the room and looked up, he saw Gu Xiu'Er at a high-floored window, accompanied by a maid, looking at the long procession outside the courtyard.

Seeing this, he also went up to the pavilion and looked out from under the eaves, only to see a crowd stretching like a dragon on the street, with colorful flags fluttering everywhere. Numerous officials in festive red and yellow attire were carrying banners heading towards the eastern city.

The banners had the words "Champion Scholar" written on them.

Witnessing this, Gu Chengye's expression slightly changed, immediately realizing what had happened.

Unable to resist, he asked, "Xiu'er, did you hear clearly, which advanced scholar became the Champion Scholar?"

Gu Chengye's expression also showed a hint of surprise, as Fengyang County hadn't produced a Champion Scholar for a long time!

Gu Xiu'Er's beautiful jade-like face showed a tinge of complexity as she had already heard the name announcement earlier.

She softly said, "It's Zhang Jian, the Young Master of the Zhang Family!"

"The Zhang Family?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Chengye's expression changed, glancing at Gu Xiu'Er, looking as if he wanted to say something but stopped.

Gu Xiu'Er softly said at this moment, "At sixteen, he's a Champion Scholar. Father's foresight was indeed remarkable. It is just a pity I hesitated and failed to live up to his careful planning!"

Gu Chengye gazed at his niece, pondering silently.

Gu Chengyan had mentioned Gu Xiu'Er's marriage before his passing, having intended to marry her off, but was preempted by the Qi Family.

In hindsight, a fine match was missed!

...

To the East of the City at the Zhang Family

As the Fengxi Zhang Family gradually established its footing in Fengyang County, Zhang Yi moved the rest of his concubines and children, who stayed behind in Fengxi, to this mansion.

The magnificent mansion spanned a hundred acres, with rooftops connected in a continuous stretch. Zhang Min was in his room studying.

For the past few months, his ears enjoyed newfound peace as Aunt Zhou's people no longer whispered next to him.

Zhang Min was quite content.

From a young age, Zhang Jian instilled in him the belief that "all pursuits are lower in grade, except for scholarly pursuits," and so he too developed a strong interest in reading.

Especially over time, as Zhang Jian passed numerous exams—county, prefectural, provincial, and finally the Palace Examination—witnessing Zhang Jian's reputation as a young prodigy spread through Fengyang firsthand, winning praise from the older generation. This made Zhang Min deeply believe in it, and he admired his elder brother Zhang Jian greatly.

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