Chapter 99 – Passing the Provincial Level Imperial Examination
The news that Lin Jia Bao was conferred the title of the crown prince’s cejun gradually spread throughout Xu Province…
Lin Da Zhuang’s family has now become the most fragrant bun in Lin Jia Village. People from far and near all wanted to make connections with them. They could tell that this Lin family was on the verge of transforming into a phoenix and flying into the skies, so they all wanted to become friendly with them and get some benefits…
Lin Da Zhuang’s family was absolutely fed up with all the disturbances. Everyday they had to receive guests from prestigious families in Xu Province and shoo away numerous matchmakers.
Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
People were already thinking of Lin Jia Cai and Lin Xiu Er’s future marriages… There were even people who said they were willing to send their daughters to the Lin family to be concubines…
Lin Jia Wen has now become the most sought after man in the village. Without exception, every single woman wanted to marry him. Before, people saw Lin Jia Wen as this burly young man with the waist of a bear and the back of a tiger*. Although he was a scholar, he had a big family with a lot of younger siblings to take care of and his family background was really ordinary, so the village girls weren’t very fond of him.
[*T/N: “the waist of a bear and the back of a tiger” – Chinese description to illustrate someone of tough and stocky build]
But they never expected that Lin Jia Wen himself would pass the county level imperial exam, thus exempting his family from land tax, military service, and corvée service. His family also got more land. Furthermore, his younger brother became a nobleman in the palace. Afterwards, all the village girls would have expressions of endless admiration whenever they mentioned Lin Jia Wen…
Just a few days ago, Wu Qiao Lan’s mother was still praising her husband, saying that he taught his student well and that he chose a good son-in-law… But when she heard news of the Lin family taking concubines, she was full of worry and immediately hurried over.
Lin Jia Wen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he heard his mother-in-law’s worries.
“Please rest assured, Mother-in-Law, I have never thought of taking a concubine…”
“That’s right, dear in-law, our Lin family will never take in concubines…” Lin Da Zhuang also assured Wu-shi. Just a few days ago, someone actually wanted to send two pretty ladies to be his concubines. Zhang Hui Niang got so angry that she hasn’t shown him a good expression in two days. Lin Da zhuang felt very aggrieved. He was already old enough to have grandchildren…
Support the translator. Read this on vmnovels (dot) com
Lin Da Zhuang’s family once again closed their doors to guests, but some people refused to give up and still shamelessly showed up at their doors… The Lin family had no choice but to secretly go to town and buy a small house with three entrances and three exits. They temporarily entrusted their land to Zhou Hai’s family to take care of and the entire family moved into town.
They only told a few people about their move. After that, they bought a few servants. With a gatekeeper guarding the door and turning away unnecessary people, their days finally got a lot more peaceful. Lin Jia Wen was finally able to relax and focus on his studies…
At the Qin family’s house…
Lin Jin Er just came back from visiting the Lin family’s new house in town. The Lin family’s new place was not far from the Qin family’s place, so it was more convenient to travel back and forth now.
“Jin Er, you’re back. How are our in-laws settling in? Is there anything missing that needs to be bought? Are there enough servants?” Mrs. Qin asked with concern when her daughter-in-law came back.
Recently, the Qin family started to work together with the royal merchant Qi family, and their business has more than doubled. They earned a lot of money every month. Qin Kai Xing was full of enthusiasm every day and he wholeheartedly wanted to expand the Qin family’s business…
Mrs. Qin believed that Lin Jin Er was the Qin family’s lucky star, and she valued this daughter-in-law more and more. She was very happy to hear that her in-laws were coming to live in the town for a while.
“They’ve settled in well. There’s nothing missing.” Lin Jin Er replied.
“That’s good. Then let’s wait a while and see when our in-laws have free time. Our Qin family will officially pay our in-laws a visit.” Mrs. Qin figured that since the two families now lived close together, it would be convenient to visit more often.
In the blink of an eye it was already October. Lin Jia Wen went to Xu Province to participate in the triennial provincial imperial exam. When the results came out, Lin Jia Wen’s name was at the very top of the list. He got first place in the triennial provincial imperial exam. He was the jieyuan*.
[*T/N: 解元 jieyuan – first-placed candidate in the provincial imperial examinations]
The Lin family immediately set off firecrackers to celebrate. Then they held a banquet in the best restaurant in town and invited Lin Jia Wen’s mentor, relatives, friends, the prefectural magistrate of the Xu Province, the county head magistrate of Pei County, and all the big-name people in Xu Province. Those who could not personally attend all sent congratulatory presents.
Lin Da Zhuang drank until his face was flushed bright red. In the past year, his family has undergone earth-shaking changes. His sons had such good future prospects. What fortune…
Translations by Vanilla Muse.
In the days that followed, the Lin family’s social engagements increased once again. In one leap, the Lin family has become the rising family in Xu Province.
Lin Jia Wen did not become complacent just because he got the jieyuan position this time. He has already decided not to attend the imperial civil service examination next year.
He planned to give himself two years to enrich himself before taking part in the imperial civil service examination. Otherwise, with his current abilities he was likely to get a jinshi* status, but it was impossible for him to stand out and rank among the top out of all the outstanding students from all over the country.
[*T/N: jinshi means you passed the exam, but you could still be a low scorer]
Thank you thank you for the update!
^-^