Chapter 447 The new champion
Gu Taohua later said to Tong Huaqiong, "Mother, I didn't expect Manager Sun to accept Master Wen as the general manager so quickly. I thought he would continue to make excuses to shirk his responsibilities."
Tong Huaqiong said, "Don't think of Shopkeeper Sun as such a mean person. Since he was able to catch He Chao's eye and become a shopkeeper, he is a capable person. A shopkeeper cannot be perfect. Shopkeeper Sun did look down on Master Wen in the past, but Master Wen showed his ability, so he was willing to put aside his prejudice. Otherwise, if he didn't even have this kind of mind, how could he have been a shopkeeper for more than ten years?"
"Taohua, you will be the boss in the future and will have to manage a lot of things. You can't deny the other person just because of different ideas."
Gu Taohua listened carefully as her mother taught her another lesson.
On the day Tong Huaqiong left the city, Master Wen’s joint event actually had a follow-up.
Early in the morning, lists were posted at the entrances and prominent places in the city.
The list was a message that was transmitted from Shengjing at full speed.
Lu Zhaoyang won the first place in the palace examination, which means he was the top scholar in this exam.
The Lu family was overwhelmed, and Mr. Lu spent his wealth lavishly.
Mr. Huang and Mrs. Huang, who had already left the Lu family and planned to return to Yanguan Town with Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua, excitedly turned back after receiving the news.
Tong Huaqiong naturally couldn't go back either, so she had to go back to the Lu family to congratulate them. After all, Lu Zhaoyang was Gu Jingzhe's brother-in-law.
County Magistrate Liu went back the day after Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao got engaged, so Han and Tong Huaqiong rode in the same carriage. At this time, Han was so excited that she held Tong Huaqiong's hand and cried.
The whole city was in an uproar, and the people in the city were even more excited than the teachers and students of Wanliu Academy.
Wanliu Academy has produced many top scorers, but before that, none of the top scorers were from Ningcheng. They were all foreign students studying at Wanliu Academy.
Lu Zhaoyang is the first local top scholar in Ningcheng, how can everyone not be excited.
Tong Huaqiong, Huang Yuanwai and others turned back and came to Lu's house, but the place was already packed with people.
I finally reached the Lu family's door after sweating profusely.
"congratulations."
Tong Huaqiong congratulated Mr. Lu.
Mr. Lu's beard trembled with joy, and the butler invited out the lion dance team, gong and drum team, and suona team that had been prepared long ago.
As a result, the entire street where the Lu family lived was immersed in a noisy and festive atmosphere.
Magistrate Yao, wearing a bright red dress, rode his horse quickly to the Lu family.
The proud and triumphant Mr. Lu began to like Magistrate Yao. Anyway, his grandson was married and won the top spot in the imperial examination, so Magistrate Yao and his grandson could only be apprentice brothers.
If Prefect Yao knew what Mr. Lu was thinking, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood.
"Manager Tong, you are the great benefactor of my Lu family. If it weren't for you, my Zhaoyang wouldn't even be alive, let alone the top scholar he is today."
After the crowd dispersed, Mr. Lu burst into tears in front of Tong Huaqiong.
Mr. Huang knew about Tong Huaqiong's kindness to Lu Zhaoyang, and his daughter was introduced by Tong Huaqiong. He thought that if it weren't for Tong Huaqiong, his daughter might still be unmarried, and there was no way he could feel the excitement of having a son-in-law who was the top scholar.
Thinking that everyone in Yanguan Town would know that he was the top scholar, his father-in-law Huang Yuanwai became even more excited. He was no less grateful to Tong Huaqiong than Grandpa Lu.
As soon as Mr. Huang expressed his gratitude to Tong Huaqiong, he began to choke up.
Infected by Mr. Lu's crying, Mr. Huang couldn't help but choked up and burst into tears.
So, the two of them cried together in front of Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong: “…”
Lu Zhaoyang won the top spot in the imperial examination, which meant that the fate of Lu Zhaoyang and everyone in the Lu family would be completely changed.
Mr. Lu wouldn't have to worry about his grandson dying, and Lu Zhaozhao wouldn't have to become an orphan.
However, Lu Zhaoyang is about to start his official career. Tong Huaqiong does not know whether he will be a treacherous minister like Gu Jingzhe in his previous life, but a capable minister.
In any case, Lu Zhaoyang's career is likely to have a certain impact on the lives of everyone in this dynasty.
As a working woman of this dynasty, and since she is closely related to him, Tong Huaqiong naturally hopes that he will be a capable minister.
"I wonder if there is enough money for Zhaoyang and his grandson's wife? I don't know what official position he was appointed to. The salary he just received is definitely not enough. Steward Xu, take 10,000 taels of silver to Shengjing."
"Oh, I'm afraid Zhaoyang will have to stay in Shengjing this time. His current house is a little small, not worthy of his status as the top scholar. The last time I went to Shengjing, I heard that Prince Ruyang had a house for sale. The house has five courtyards and draws water from Shengjing. The scenery is great, and more importantly, it is very close to the palace, which is convenient for Zhaoyang to go to court. Well, Steward Xu, you can use another 20,000 taels of silver to buy the house for Zhaoyang to use when he goes to court."
After crying for a while, Mr. Lu wiped his tears, called his butler and excitedly told him to go to the capital to give money to his grandson to buy a house.
Huang Yuanwai, who was dazzled by the title of his father-in-law who was the top scholar, followed suit and also wanted to send money to the capital. It was said that the wealth of Shengjing was dazzling, and he couldn't let people laugh at his son-in-law who came from a small place.
"Old man...Prince Ruyang's house is not suitable..." Prefect Yao shook his head after hearing this.
"What? My grandson is the top scholar, so he is not worthy of living in that house?" Old Master Lu said to Prefect Yao in a bad mood.
Tong Huaqiong advised, "Old man, Lord Yao is right to remind you. You just said that Zhaoyang has just entered the officialdom and his salary is barely enough to support his family. If you buy the house of Prince Ruyang and give it to him, many people will think that Zhaoyang is only greedy for wealth and luxury. Moreover, who knows what the relationship between Prince Ruyang and the emperor is like? If the emperor doesn't like him, and Zhaoyang lives in Prince Ruyang's house, wouldn't the emperor think that the top scholar is going against the emperor? He is the top scholar appointed by the emperor, and he must always let the emperor think that he and the emperor are in the same boat."
If Lu Zhaoyang were to live in the prince's house, he would be so cool that he could become a meteor from a rising star in his career.
Huang calmed down and said, "My dear, Manager Tong is right. We can't hold Zhaoyang back at this critical juncture."
Mr. Lu thought about it and felt that he was being reckless.
As an imperial merchant, he acted cautiously every time he went to Shengjing. This time, it was because his grandson got the top spot in the imperial examination that he was so happy that he lost his mind.
Mr. Lu said, "Butler Xu, you still have to go to the capital to see how Zhaoyang is doing. Just pretend I never mentioned buying a house."
Butler Xu agreed and went out to prepare.
Just like the banquet held by Tong Huaqiong, the first person in the Gu Jingzhe case, Mr. Lu also happily held a banquet.
After all, he is the number one scholar, a great event that will make the Lu family's ancestral tomb smoke, so the standard of the banquet must not be low.
He hired a chef from the best restaurant in the city to slaughter cattle and sheep. Mr. Lu also sent someone to Tong Huaqiong's pig farm in Qinghe Bay to buy a pig.
The banquet lasted for several days.
Tong Huaqiong celebrated for two days and said goodbye and returned to Qinghe Bay on the second day.
Wherever they went, they heard the news that the young master of the Ningcheng Lu family had won the top spot in this year's imperial examination. Whether it was a wine shop or a teahouse, or in the countryside, everyone was talking about the top spot.
There is no way around it. This is the first time that a native Ningcheng student has won the top spot.
Even those elders and villagers who didn't know Lu Zhaoyang felt proud of him.
We look forward to this top scholar bringing tangible benefits to his fellow villagers after he enters the officialdom.