Back then, the matter of Jiang Yingyue was handled rather vaguely. Generally, people only knew that Jiang Yingyue looked down on Gu Liyue and resorted to a vicious scheme, almost killing her. Fortunately, Fourth Young Master Gu showed up in time. Only then did they discover that Gu Liyue was actually a young lady of the Gu family, and the truth came to light.
Since the Jiang family and the Gu family hadn't fallen out completely, people naturally didn't know the inside story that Jiang Yingyue was an illegitimate daughter of the Jiang family.
At this moment, hearing Gu Liyue speak so frankly, the young ladies didn't have any other opinions. A gossipy person asked, "Liyue, if you like, you can also go and play the game of matching verses."
Gu Liyue shook her head. "I don't understand these things. Listening to you recite poems with their interesting rhythms, I find it really difficult myself."
The young lady quickly comforted her. "Of course you won't if you haven't learned. Even someone like me who has studied since childhood isn't very good at it. It's actually more fun to go over there and feed the swans."
Everyone burst into laughter and pulled Gu Liyue to go and tease the swans by the riverbank.
Just then, Jiang Che walked over. He nodded to everyone and looked at Gu Liyue. "Miss Gu, I... I have a line of a poem here and would like to ask... you to match it."
Before Gu Liyue could react, Qin Caiyin said quickly and pulled Gu Liyue behind her. With a gloomy face, she asked, "Young Master Jiang is a handsome and outstanding man. Why do you want to make things difficult for others?"
Jiang Che was stunned. "What?"
Qin Caiyin sneered. "Everyone knows that Liyue can't recite poems. She only got familiar with characters when she went to your Jiang family. How could she match verses? Coming here with a poem like this, aren't you being offensive?"
Jiang Che was taken aback and quickly withdrew his hand to explain. "Sorry... I didn't know... Miss Gu, I'm just sorry for what happened before. I've heard about those things from my mother and the maids. I'm here to apologize to you today."
Gu Liyue said, "Young Master Jiang is joking. What happened before is all in the past. There's no need for an apology. I don't need it. Moreover, Young Master Jiang isn't sincere. Why do you make things difficult for yourself?"
Jiang Che was extremely embarrassed and silently stepped aside to let them pass.
Qin Caiyin was extremely angry. "I was just praising him to you. I didn't expect him to be like this. He clearly wanted to make you look bad in public."
Gu Liyue didn't comment. She didn't think Jiang Che did it on purpose, but what Jiang Che said made her laugh. Before, because of a few words from Jiang Yingyue, he had thought she was extremely evil. Now, because of a few words from Mrs. Jiang and the maids, he had rushed over abruptly to apologize.
This man was really childish in dealing with things.
On the way back, hearing Qin Caiyin chattering about the top three scholars in this year's special imperial examination, she said that the number one scholar was in his thirties. He had a good appearance and personality, but unfortunately he was already married.
Qin Yuyin laughed. "What do you mean, sister? If he wasn't married, would you go and give it a try?"
Qin Caiyin said boldly, "Why not? I heard the Princess Yunxi say not long ago that there wasn't a single suitable young man among this year's top three scholars. Otherwise, she would have carefully selected one."
Qin Yuyin tapped her sister's forehead. "The Princess Yunxi is used to having fun. With the Empress Dowager and the Emperor doting on her, it doesn't matter if she makes a ruckus. You're different. It's important for you to marry a good man in the future."
Qin Caiyin immediately lifted the curtain and told the coachman to turn the carriage around and go to the place where the list was posted.
Qin Yuyin asked, "What are you up to again?"
Qin Caiyin said with a smile and pulled Gu Liyue. "Since you said so, sister, I'll go and have a look under the list to see if there's a suitable young man. I'm not the Princess Yunxi. I don't have to choose from the top three. As long as he passed the imperial examination, it's fine. Liyue, you can also choose one. It'll save you from having a blind and boring marriage."
The two scholars Gu Liyue had met in this life were her cousin Liu Zhenghui and Feng Lanqing. These two people really didn't give her a good impression of poor scholars. Although she knew she couldn't generalize, she would rather have a blind marriage than choose a husband from the list.
Moreover, her marriage was probably going to be arranged soon.
When they arrived under the list, Qin Caiyin looked at it carefully from beginning to end. The information here was incomplete. There were only names, ages, and where they were from. She just needed to write down the young men she was interested in and check them later.
Qin Yuyin shook her head helplessly and said to Gu Liyue, "She's becoming more and more naughty now. My parents are worried about her."
Gu Liyue smiled. "It's the age to be naughty. She won't be able to have this kind of fun for many years. Why not just let her be?"
Qin Yuyin just looked at her sister with a smile and nodded. "Liyue, you might as well go and have a look too?"
Just then, Qin Caiyin came back quickly and spread her hands helplessly. "There are forty-eight successful candidates in this year's imperial examination, but there are only three who are of a suitable age. It's really a pity."
Qin Yuyin sneered. "Among the forty-eight, there are three who are under twenty. It shows that there are really a lot of capable young men this year. By the way, there are nearly a hundred candidates with the same status as successful candidates. Don't you want to take a look?"
Qin Caiyin muttered, "I look down on those with the same status as successful candidates. Forget it. I'll take a look."
Gu Liyue was with Qin Caiyin. Somehow, she had a sudden thought and also carefully searched on the list. There were a total of one hundred and forty-two people on the two lists. There were more candidates with the same status as successful candidates. When Gu Liyue counted to the one hundred and twenty-second person, she finally saw a few words: Feng Lanqing.
Feng Lanqing had passed the imperial examination. Although he was only a candidate with the same status as a successful candidate, for a place like Yangxin Town, this was simply the most proud news.
Gu Liyue quietly looked at that name. After thinking for a while, she asked Qin Yuyin, "Sister Yuyin, will all these successful candidates become officials in the future? Once they pass the imperial examination, they can receive the imperial salary, right?"
Qin Yuyin nodded and explained, "They will first study in the Hanlin Academy and then be assigned according to the situation. They will either stay in various departments in the capital or be sent to local areas to take up positions. Those who pass the provincial examination will receive a salary every year. The amount is more for those who pass the metropolitan examination and the most for those who pass the palace examination."
Gu Liyue asked again, "So, will those who pass the palace examination stay in the capital to be officials, while those with the same status as successful candidates will be sent to various places to take up positions?"
"Generally, it's like this, but there are also some exceptions. For example, if someone has family protection, even if they only pass as a candidate with the same status as a successful candidate, they can stay in the capital."
Gu Liyue felt relieved. Feng Lanqing's family wasn't prominent. He was only a candidate with the same status as a successful candidate and ranked low. He probably wouldn't be able to stay in the capital. Although sometimes she was curious about whether Liu Qinting had married Feng Lanqing, it was just curiosity. She didn't want to have any contact with them anymore.
When they got home, as soon as Gu Liyue got off the carriage, she saw Jiang Che standing beside her.
Jiang Che might have been waiting for a while. When he saw Gu Liyue, he immediately walked over and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Miss Gu... I have something to say to you."
Gu Liyue wasn't very happy. "What do you want from me, Young Master Jiang?"
Jiang Che hesitated. He hadn't sent an invitation, and it wasn't very appropriate to visit a young lady abruptly, so he had been waiting here. But although there weren't many common people at the entrance of the marquis's mansion, it wasn't good for the two of them to talk face to face here, right?
However, looking at Gu Liyue's expression, it seemed that she had no intention of inviting him in at all.