The maid's road to success

Three days later, An Wenniang sent An Zizhong to the examination place and straightened his clothes.

"I'll wait here for you to come out."

The academy examination is not as torturous as the provincial examination. Each examination lasts for one day and one night, and An Zizhong will be able to come out by this time tomorrow.

An Zizhong nodded, straightened the wooden hairpin in her hair, and walked into the gate with his book basket.

An Wenniang returned to the inn and cooked a bowl of fresh tofu and fish soup herself. She also took some clothes to change into, rented a horse-drawn carriage and waited at the entrance of the examination hall in advance. Many people had already occupied the good spots, so An Wenniang tied the carriage to a willow tree on the side.

She stayed in the car and did needlework. The weather was hot. The Fourth Young Master had never suffered such hardship before, wearing thick coarse cloth clothes and staying in the simple examination hall. Fortunately, after this time, the Fourth Young Master became a scholar in full swing.

She was wearing something a little better but not too eye-catching, a silver silk undergarment that she had made herself. Although it was not as good as any of her previous clothes made of Yueling brocade, it was much better than this coarse cloth.

An Zizhong was the first one to come out in the early morning. It was still dark. An Wenniang saw him from afar and hurried over to support him.

Although he seemed to be in good spirits, his complexion did not look very good and I guess he was not feeling well.

An Zizhong's condition was actually not bad, much better than the others inside, but he was reluctant to push An Wenniang's shoulders away, and just let her support him and walk into the carriage.

"Here, fish soup. I wrapped it in cotton cloth. It's still hot. Here are some clothes to change into. Here's some water. It's a little cold. You can use it for now. Bamboo salt, watermelon..."

An Zizhong watched her take out clay pots, wooden basins, fresh fruits and clothes as if by magic. He couldn't help but laugh, but quickly suppressed his smile.

An Zizhong washed his face in the carriage, brushed his teeth with bamboo salt, and changed his clothes.

Touching the soft fabric and looking at the petite figure outside, I felt a little uncomfortable. Stupid man, he doesn't even deserve his own name now, but you still try your best to give him good clothes and food. It's really stupid.

No wonder she did the most work in Fu Shou Tang.

After An Zizhong had packed up, An Wenniang drove him back to the inn. The student enrollment list would be out tomorrow, so they should wait until the results came out before leaving.

"Stop busying yourself and do it."

An Zizhong pulled Wen Niang to sit next to him.

An Wenniang felt a little restrained, and listened to An Zizhong speak with her hands on her knees.

"I probably won't be number one on tomorrow's list, but I'll be in the top ten."

Wen Niang was a little puzzled. These days, people outside were saying that An Zizhong would be the person with the greatest hope of winning the first place in the case this year.

"I made a deal with the prefect. I gave up the first place and let Li Changan be the first, and the prefect was willing to provide me with a place in Gongzhou Academy."

An Wenniang thought about it and asked about her doubts.

"Young Master Gongzhou Academy, can you get in based on your ability?"

Seeing that she was not that stupid, An Zizhong nodded.

"But there are too many people paying attention to the first place, and it will be inconvenient for me to do anything in the future. Besides, the prefect is rich and generous, so he gave me this."

Wen Niang took it and looked at it.

"Three thousand taels? To buy a first place in the case?"

An Zizhong nodded. The money they had was a lot for ordinary people, but he would need a lot of money in the future. These three thousand taels and the money in his hand could help him gain more benefits.

An Wenniang naturally would not object to An Zizhong's decision. She was a maid and her job was to take good care of An Zizhong. She could not help in any other way.

"I will listen to you, Master."

An Zizhong looked at his well-behaved appearance and thought of the days at Fu Shou Tang. It seemed that she had always been so well-behaved and never got angry with others.

The next day, when the list was announced, he was ranked fourth just as An Zizhong had said. The people who had been surrounding An Zizhong for the past few days immediately surrounded Li Changan.

Huaye Sheng also became a scholar with the last place score of 86.

While Li Changan was surrounded, Hua Yesheng had already prepared a carriage to take the An brothers and sisters to Lin County.

An Wenniang was placed in Miss Hua's carriage, while Hua Yesheng and An Zizhong were sitting in the front carriage discussing something.

"Who are you to Brother Zhong?"

Hua Yejiao raised her chin and looked at An Wenniang.

"My daughter's name is An Wenniang, and she is An Zizhong's younger sister."

Hua Yejiao suddenly smiled happily, took An Wenniang's hand and asked her about her well-being, without any trace of the resentment on her face just now.

This made An Wen's mother very uncomfortable.

In the carriage in front, Hua Yesheng looked at An Zizhong's face and sat up straight.

"Brother Zizhong has great ambitions. Why are you willing to give up the first place?"

Hua Yesheng listened to An Zizhong's plan to open a store and do business, and he became even more suspicious of him. How could such a person come from an ordinary villager?

"Rong Lu should know that a small first place in a case is not what I want."

Hua Yesheng looked at An Zizhong for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter and hugged An Zizhong.

"Brother Zizhong has great ambitions, Hua will definitely follow him. When he is promoted to a noble or a prime minister, please remember to support him."

Hua Yesheng has been carrying the title of the richest man in Lin County for so many years, but he is neither up nor down. People in the provincial government look down on him, and ordinary people below also have many complaints.

Now that he has met An Zizhong, he has been lucky enough to pass the examination. After talking with An Zizhong today, he suddenly feels that he will be able to fulfill his dream of many years and become the richest man in Gongzhou, or even the richest man in the world. Become a real superior person.

After returning to Lin County, An Zizhong bid farewell to Hua Yesheng and took Wen Niang back to Anjia Village.

"Please pack up. We are moving to Gongzhou. I have already asked An Lan and An Huang to rent a house. We will move there once we have packed up."

An Wenniang didn't expect that she would also have to go to Gongzhou, and she felt a little reluctant. She had just adapted to life in Anjia Village, and now she had to go to Gongzhou City.

"I'll tell Uncle Si and then I'll clean up."

An Lan and An Huang are A Lan and A Huang who were rescued by Wen Niang. An Zi Zhong changed their surnames to An.

"Well, I'll go with you. The academy will be closed at the end of the year, and we'll have to come back."

An Wenniang and An Zizhong came to the headman's house with the four-color gifts they bought from the provincial government.

"Fourth Uncle, are you busy?"

"Oh, the scholar is back. Please make two bowls of tea for me."

When An Gu saw An Zizhong, he smiled so hard that his eyes were squeezed. After so many years, this was the first time that Anjia Village had a scholar, and he was one of the top few.

The good news from Lin County had already arrived.

"Uncle Si, stop busying yourself. We are here today to say goodbye, and we have to leave after we are done."

An Yu's smile froze on his face.

"The prefect has recommended my brother to study at Gongzhou Academy to try his luck at the provincial examination next year. We must hurry there as soon as possible. The sooner we can enter the academy, the sooner we can learn to write."

An Gu was not a short-sighted person. He knew that this was a good thing, so he quickly took his sons with him to clean up the mess.

"Good news. It's rare for Anjia Village to have a scholar. He should continue to study, take the provincial examination, and go to Beijing. What's the point of staying in Anjia Village?"

An Zizhong chatted with An Gu peacefully.

"Thanks to my fourth uncle's care these days, Wen Niang and I have discussed that it would be better to let Sanxi follow me to Gongzhou. Although he can only enter the academy as my book boy first, at least we can learn some skills together."

When An Gu heard this, his eyes lit up. This meant that An Zizhong was trying to help their family. Gongzhou Academy was the best academy in Gongzhou. Many scholars and juren had graduated from there. Once you entered that place, you were like a golden boy.

"Okay, okay, Fourth Uncle is a useless person, but you are willing to help us. I am grateful for your kindness. Sanxi, go pack your things and go with your brother Zizhong. Be diligent and don't be lazy. Work hard and take good care of Zizhong and Wen Niang. When you have a promising future, remember their kindness."

An Gu's eyes were a little red. He was a head of a village with dozens of households. How could he have deserved that his son could enter the gate of Gongzhou Academy? Although he was just a book boy, it was a good thing that many people wished for.

An Zizhong and his sister are both kind-hearted children.

An Wenniang pulled Wang aside and told her what An Zizhong had taught her.

"My brother said that after all, we are five generations apart. Although Sister Meihua also calls me brother, we are not related by blood. It would be better for me to become sworn sisters with Sister Meihua. Then we can find a matchmaker later and say that I am the godsister of the scholar. Then I can choose from more families."

Wang was so happy that she kept nodding her head and couldn't utter a word. Sister Meihua followed behind her, her face blushing but she was also very happy.

With the help of the An Gu family, they packed up quickly, left the keys to Wang, asked her to take care of the house, and then got on the carriage back to Lin County.

An Zizhong was very busy when he arrived in Lin County. He entrusted An Wenniang to the care of Miss Hua and went out with Hua Yesheng every day, always busy until night.

Thanks to Hua Yejiao for thinking of An Zizhong and taking good care of An Wenniang.

Around mid-August, after being busy for twenty days, An Zizhong finally took An Wenniang to Gongzhou.

On the way, they saw several newly opened shops, which were very busy. Wen Niang stuck her head out to look for a while before sitting down quietly in the carriage.

An Zizhong looked at the sign "Wennen Pavilion" in the distance and closed his eyes. He wanted to open Wen'en Pavilion all over the world.

An Wenniang could never have imagined that these newly opened stores were actually opened jointly by An Zizhong and Hua Yesheng.

When they arrived in Gongzhou, An Lan was already waiting at the city gate. Then they entered a two-story courtyard in the west city.

"Miss, this yard was rented by my master for three years, sixty taels. An Huang has already prepared it. My master said you will live in the main house at the back, and An Huang will follow you. My master, I, and Mr. Sanxi will live in the front yard."

An Wenniang was quite satisfied with the house, which was simple but clean and tidy. But how could she live in the main house in the backyard?

Outsiders don't know the true relationship between her and An Zizhong, but An Zizhong knows it clearly. Why would such an arrangement be made? After all, she is a servant in the marquis's mansion, so how could she live in her master's house?

"Brother, this main room..."

An Zizhong knew what An Wenniang meant without her having to finish her words. He looked at the other people and signaled her not to say more.

"You are my sister, so you should live in the main house. Don't worry. I will live in the academy more often in the future. If you have any problems, ask An Lan to come to me. Li Changan and the others have made an appointment at the restaurant, so I have to go there. You can pack up and rest first."

An Wenniang knew that he was trying to avoid letting An Lan and the others hear, so she nodded and moved into the backyard first. She only wanted An Zizhong to find a woman as soon as possible so that she could move to another place.

An Lan and An Huang looked at each other, lowered their heads respectfully and said nothing. Only Sanxi was happy that he had come to the provincial capital.

"An Huang, where have you been all this time?"

An Wenniang was a servant herself, so how could she really let An Huang serve her? The two of them made the bed together and chatted.

"My master sent us to the escort agency to learn martial arts so that I can protect the girl in the future."

An Huang has experienced so many things, and he sees many things more clearly than An Wen's mother. Of the two siblings, the younger sister takes extra care of her brother, no matter how big or small the matter is. The brother has different feelings for his sister, although he hides it well, but after being around her for a long time, he will find something unusual. However, the girl seems to know nothing.

However, this master was very capable. In just a few days, he convinced them and made them dare not rebel. They also looked forward to following this master, doing great things and becoming the real masters.