Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 40 The name of the eight young teachers, tuition fees!

Sun Miaoran felt a little more at ease.

She used to fear marrying the wrong person, but now she realizes she had worried too much.

Her Majesty has a keen eye for people; she is sure to be right.

She was secretly pleased and prepared to leave, but Su Qing'er wouldn't let go of the topic. Having finally gotten a chance, how could she give up so easily?

Sun Miaoran could only stop with a wry smile, a faint sense of anticipation growing in her heart for her future husband.

"Your Majesty, what does that young man look like?"

Su Qing'er's face lit up as she continued to ask.

Ma Xiuying bent two fingers and gently tapped her head: "Don't worry, he's handsome. You two take good care of yourselves, and on your wedding day next year, he'll definitely be a handsome groom, making you two little girls very lucky."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing'er chuckled, like a little fox about to get its chicken, both happy and smug.

Sun Miaoran couldn't help but smile slightly.

Everyone loves beauty. What girl in the world wouldn't like a talented and handsome young man?

Wait a minute!

But at that moment, Sun Miaoran suddenly sensed something was wrong, her expression changed slightly, and she unconsciously looked at Ma Xiuying.

Su Qing'er also realized what was happening and asked anxiously, "Your Majesty, are Miao Ran and I marrying the same person? Then who will be the elder and who will be the younger?"

"Your Highness, this can't be done. Qing'er also wants to be the head mistress of the household."

Compared to Sun Miaoran, Su Qing'er really had no confidence that she could compare.

The thought of two women vying for one man already gave her a glimpse of her eventual defeat.

How pitiful.

"This servant will obey Your Highness in everything."

Sun Miaoran spoke up at the opportune moment, displaying complete obedience.

"Of course you listened! You're the older one, and I'm the younger one, that's not fair."

Su Qing'er puffed out her cheeks and glared fiercely at Sun Miaoran, as if their past sisterly affection had vanished in an instant.

Seeing the dramatic scene of chaos before her, Ma Xiuying had no intention of stopping them. Instead, she watched with great interest, her heart already bursting with joy.

"Hahaha!!! Wen boy, you're in luck!"

……

The Qin Family Residence in Qingfeng County.

The county-level examination will conclude in about four or five days before the list of successful candidates is posted and the results announced.

At this moment, the sound of reading aloud could be heard clearly and pleasantly from the side hall next to the study in the mansion.

Several figures appeared here, no longer leaving only one person to live here as before.

After inquiring with the steward, he learned that Ma Wenxiang was the temporary master of the place. Although he was only staying temporarily, he still had a lot of power. He then brought his father Ma Xiulin, his teacher Wang Yangsheng, and Sun Wen and others into the mansion.

These people are all his closest relatives and friends. Even if the famous teacher Qin Yubo finds out in the future, he will not blame him. On the contrary, he will be pleased.

Only a person so loyal and filial can truly be entrusted with one's life.

"I wonder how well I, Ma Xiulin, will rank in this county examination?"

The thought swirling in his mind only lasted a moment before Ma Xiulin looked to the left and right.

Wang Yangsheng was one thing, but he was a former scholar who had passed the imperial examinations. The examinations he was to take now were no longer the preliminary examinations like those in Qingfeng County. The county examination, the prefectural examination, and the provincial examination—the three examinations for scholars—were all irrelevant to him.

He was going to Daming Prefecture to take the provincial examination, which was the only way to obtain the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination).

Today he is reviewing his lessons in this side hall, especially the current affairs essays he has been studying for several years.

Although Ma Wenxiang had explained the essence of the Eight-Legged Essay, it would still take considerable effort to memorize it, apply it properly, and write a qualified article.

Always stay with me.

Wang Yangsheng has been waiting for the imperial examinations for several years. This time, he is confident that he can make the most of every moment and not waste any time.

If it were just him doing this, it would be fine, but Sun Wen, who was even younger than Ma Wenxiang at the time, was also diligently catching up and never slacking off, his eyes focused solely on the books.

Such behavior naturally makes people dare not relax their vigilance in the slightest.

Therefore, the elderly father, Ma Xiulin, dared not be careless in the slightest.

Without a sound or a sound.

Within this mansion, the three of them began a silent competition.

……

Ma Wenxiang's gaze lingered on the three of them. He held a book in one hand, but it wasn't a set of essays or current affairs texts. Instead, it was the classics he had studied, such as the Doctrine of the Mean and the Spring and Autumn Annals.

"Young Master."

As you walk out of the ancestral hall into the long corridor, a group of scholars are arriving again. They are the ancestors of Daming Prefecture and other families from various parts of the Central Plains that Qin Yubo took with him when he left Majia Village.

The parties had already signed a contract and reached a consensus.

Now, nearly half a month has passed, and thanks to the efforts of various families across the Central Plains, they have actually succeeded in making "the great flourishing of culture and education" a reality.

It circulated in all the important places in the Central Plains.

As for its spread to other places, it is nothing but rumors and baseless gossip. Even if it were to reach the south, without any real evidence, other scholars in the world would certainly not believe it.

At least this time.

In the first imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty, scholars from the north were considered to have secured their places.

However, due to the special timing, when these family members came again, their relatives naturally followed them.

The allure of the eight-legged essay system is evident.

At this moment, all the scholars showed respect and did not look down on Ma Wenxiang because of his young age.

They were dressed in Confucian robes and long gowns, with handsome faces and clean features. They all looked like upright scholars with regular features. People with crooked eyes, crooked noses, or ugly faces would never have been sent.

So as not to needlessly offend Ma Wenxiang's eyes and affect his impression.

"I'll be entrusting the next year to you, young teacher. This is my tuition fee, a token of my appreciation."

The student from the Yang family smiled slightly and handed over a delicate vermilion box with both hands.

Ma Wenxiang casually opened the box and saw that it was filled with glittering silver. With just a quick glance, he estimated that there were at least several dozen taels of silver inside.

Even just as tuition, this amount of money is already quite substantial.

After all, if we were to actually bring in mountains of gold and silver, wouldn't that tarnish the very essence of "eight-legged essay"?

However, such a display of skill inevitably left Ma Wenxiang somewhat disappointed: Is this the kind of work left behind by the various families, large and small, after the wars that raged in the Central Plains during the third year of the Hongwu reign?

It's not fair to call it shabby, but it didn't meet Ma Wenxiang's expectations, though it was still barely acceptable.

Ma Wenxiang nodded and was about to let him enter the side hall behind him when he suddenly saw that the Yang family student in front of him was still motionless.

Ma Wenxiang cast a questioning glance at him.

"Young sir, what I offered was merely gold and silver. I only did so because I knew of your family's poverty, and that is why I offered it as a token of my sincerity."

Does this mean there's more?

As Ma Wenxiang grew increasingly suspicious,

Upon seeing this Yang family scholar, he treated him as a precious treasure, taking out an ancient inkstone from his bag. It looked simple yet exquisite, with intricate patterns, making it a truly fine item.

However, Ma Wenxiang's descendants were liberal arts students, not antique experts. Even after entering society, he made a living through nutrition and had no connection with the antique trade.