Chapter 430: Failure
Tong Huaqiong looked towards Gu Ruinian.
Gu Ruinian's face turned pale and red.
At this moment, he wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
"Aunt Tong, Jingzhe won the first prize and is a role model for all the brothers in our clan. Shouldn't you set up a few tables?"
The person who said this was Gu Daqiang.
Gu Daqiang was overjoyed.
Mr. Gu forcefully took back the land, but he couldn't stand the pressure and compromised. At this time, he was so happy to see Mr. Gu's family disappointed.
Gu Ruinian instigated Old Man Gu to seize his wheat and even made up a lot of excuses to accuse him of being ungrateful. He couldn't argue with Gu Ruinian and he wanted to put a sack on him and beat him up.
Now Gu Ruinian couldn't even get the title of scholar, let alone the first place in the case. Gu Daqiang felt as happy as if he had drunk a bowl of ice water on a summer day.
Gu Daqiang loudly congratulated Gu Jingzhe and took the lead in forming a group that created a lively atmosphere.
"There are so many students in Ningcheng, and Jingzhe can get the first place. Let's think about how valuable this is." Gu Daqiang said to everyone, "Do you think Aunt Tong should hold a banquet?"
"Yes, yes."
Led by Gu Daqiang, the people who brought the good news and the villagers surrounded Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe, and one after another called for a toast. Of course, they couldn't help but praise Gu Jingzhe again.
"There must be a banquet."
Tong Huaqiong was so happy about everyone's praise that she couldn't stop smiling. She ordered Gu Dahan, Gu Taohua and others to distribute the prepared wedding money to everyone. The cakes, candies and melon seeds had already been distributed once and were not enough. Fortunately, Su Chengmin was smart and had already brought some more from home.
Those who came to report the good news pinched the red envelopes and felt that their trip was worthwhile, as Shopkeeper Tong was really generous.
"When our top candidate passes the imperial examination, we will come back to announce the good news." The person announcing the good news said auspicious words with a smile.
Tong Huaqiong said: "Thank you for your good words."
The villagers ate cakes, candies and melon seeds, and thinking about the banquet to come, they happily surrounded the freshly-minted scholar and said words of congratulations.
"This is just a scholar. There will be juren and jinshi in the future. Mother-in-law, just wait for Jingzhe to bring you wave after wave of good news." Mother-in-law Zhao said happily to Tong Huaqiong.
Zhao was very happy when Gu Jingzhe got the first place in the case. She thought that Jingzhe had a bright future and her daughter and son-in-law would also benefit from it.
The village chief excitedly led the villagers to move benches, set up tables, and buy wine and food.
Tong Huaqiong was going to have a wedding banquet, and as the village chief he wanted to help with the preparations.
He was proud of being the village chief. After all, Gu Jingzhe represented the villagers of Qinghewan. It would be a great honor for him to tell others about the first case in Qinghewan.
The emergence of a scholar in the village will bring many benefits to the village.
Let’s not talk about anything else. In the future, if there are disputes between villages and they need to be brought to justice, Gu Jingzhe can directly file a complaint with the county.
Tong Huaqiong was in high spirits, while Mr. Gu's family seemed more lonely compared to Tong Huaqiong.
Mr. and Mrs. Gu were like eggplants hit by frost. They felt very uncomfortable when the villagers congratulated them. It would have been even better if it was Gu Ruinian who passed the imperial examination.
When County Magistrate Liu said that Gu Ruinian's name was not on the list, Gu Youtian left in anger.
He placed such great hopes on his youngest son, and had already made an agreement with the clan that after his son passed the imperial examination, he would use the clan's money to do business. Now that his son has failed, who would dare to lend him money?
More importantly, he was utterly embarrassed.
He returned in disgrace after failing in business in the south, and the villagers had already gossiped about him behind his back. The only reason he could still maintain his dignity in front of the villagers was that everyone thought Gu Ruinian could pass the imperial examination.
Now that Gu Ruinian’s dream of becoming a scholar has been shattered, how can he have the face to go out again?
Gu Youtian's resentment towards his youngest son grew deeper and deeper. First, he made him join the escort agency and lose their shop in the south. Now, he was so sure that he could pass the imperial examination and win the first place, which made him lose face.
If his youngest son had not been so sure that he could pass the imperial examination, how could he have been so embarrassed?
Gu Ruinian looked at everyone surrounding Gu Jingzhe and became crazy with jealousy.
The first place in the case should be his, and the honor should be his. He felt that Gu Jingzhe had taken away his luck. He was doing well in the south, but why did everything go wrong when he arrived in Qinghe Bay and met the aunt's family?
He now has some doubts that everything he has experienced in the capital city was a conspiracy set up by Aunt Gu Jingzhe, Tianxiang Tower and Third Master Xie.
"You said this...Ruinian...you have really screwed me..." the head of the Gu family said to Gu Ruinian.
If Gu Ruinian had not repeatedly emphasized that he could only win the first place in the case if he was the best, he would not have offended Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe to death.
Now that the Gu family has a suspect, it was originally an opportunity for him, the patriarch, to gain honor in front of County Magistrate Liu, but now the limelight has been stolen by the village chief.
Jia defended her son, "It's not my son Rui Nian's fault. Rui Nian was thrown by a carriage before the exam and was injured all over, which affected his performance."
The clan leader sneered and said, "You are starting to say that now, why didn't Rui Nian say it at the beginning? The only thing he asked was whether he could pass the exam to become a scholar."
He has brought shame to the Gu family.
Gu Ruinian pretended to be calm and said, "Grandpa clan leader, you can't deny me because of one failure. It's true that I was affected by the accident during this exam. If nothing unexpected happened, I would definitely pass the exam. Don't look down on young people because they are poor. You wait and see, I will definitely get the first place next time."
Before the clan leader could reply, Gu Ruinian's eldest sister-in-law Wei sneered and said coldly, "Don't look for excuses, second brother. What if you fail the exam next time? Are you going to have to wait until the next time, and the next time? Are you really going to take the exam until you are 70 or 80 years old like that official said?"
She really couldn't stand Gu Ruinian.
He was stuffed with all the delicious food and drinks, and he used studying as an excuse to do nothing all day long. She would have accepted it if he could have passed the imperial examination, but the key point was that he didn't.
What? He still wants the whole family to tighten their belts to support him to continue taking the exam. How long will it take?
According to Wei, Gu Ruinian is a student who can read and do accounting, so he should find a job as an accountant to make money.
After saying this, Wei turned around and left.
Gu Ruinian's face turned red and white when he was told this.
Jia was also furious.
I was mad at Wei.
Gu Honglian glanced at Gu Ruinian. The new clothes on Gu Ruinian were bought with a silver bracelet given to her mother when she became a pawnbroker. The silver bracelet was promised to her in marriage.
She accepted the fact that Gu Ruinian could pass the imperial examination and become a scholar.
Now that she didn’t win, Gu Honglian was very angry and felt that she had wasted the bracelet.
"Ruinian, you are so useless."
Gu Honglian stabbed Gu Ruinian and quickly ran to Tong Huaqiong.
She was willing to do it today even if she had to put her face in the cold arms of her sister-in-law, at least there would be a banquet to eat.
After the ancestral hall became lively for a while, Tong Huaqiong invited County Magistrate Liu to her home for a visit. County Magistrate Liu was interested in a matchmaking, and he wanted to act as a matchmaker for Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao.
"Grandpa, grandma, let's go together." County Magistrate Liu waved to Grandpa and Grandma Gu.
With the invitation from the county magistrate, Mr. Gu's mood improved slightly.
Anyway, Gu Jingzhe is also a grandson, and he will feel proud if he wins the first place in the case in the eyes of outsiders.
"Ruinian."
Old Man Gu was afraid that Gu Ruinian would be sad, so he turned around to comfort him.
"Ruinian, it doesn't matter if you didn't pass this time. You're still young. We can take the exam again next year."
Gu Ruinian's heart was bleeding. He smiled at Old Man Gu and came to Gu Jingzhe and Tong Huaqiong.