The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

Cheng Xi was unwilling to give up the imperial examination held every three years, so he came to the capital even though his body was not yet fully recovered.

A healthy adult cannot even endure the three-day imperial examination, let alone someone who is still recovering from a serious illness.

As expected, Cheng Xi collapsed on the second night of the examination and was immediately carried to the Imperial Examination Hall by the inspecting yamen runners to accommodate the candidates who had collapsed during the examination.

No one was allowed to enter or leave during the examination, so those candidates who fainted would be gathered together and taken care of by the corresponding teachers. They could only leave after the examination was over on the third day and the gate of the examination hall was opened.

Cheng Xi's eyes were filled with resentment, and his heart hated that person even more. If it weren't for him, he...

Seeing Cheng Xi's determination, Kang Juren thought of Cheng Xi's family situation and said no more. It was better not to go back, so as not to bring trouble to his family.

When Cheng Xi fell asleep, he also lay down on the other bed in the room.

They were not in an inn, but in some alleys. Some families had set up houses specifically for the candidates who were going to Beijing to take the imperial examinations. The price was cheaper than in the inns outside, only ten cents a day.

Their family conditions were not very good, and the money they had was only enough for them to live frugally for two months. When they arrived in Beijing, it was already late, and many inns were fully booked. The remaining ones were all black-hearted inns that exorbitantly charged exorbitant prices.

That's why they found this place. In fact, many people like this came here not to make a little money, but to establish a good relationship with the candidates who passed the imperial examinations, in case the future rising star in the court is among them.

Although this may be insignificant, for them it is just a matter of a house, and they can also earn some income to supplement their family expenses, so why not do it.

One day, Mr. Kang returned from a poetry appreciation banquet hosted by the Hongmanxuan Restaurant. He heard the family they were staying in talking about hiring a teacher, so he went up to ask out of curiosity.

After asking, they found out that the place they lived in was the house of a servant in Duan Bo's mansion. The owner of the house was surnamed Feng, and he was a servant of Duan Bo's mansion and the manager of the outer courtyard.

There was a daughter who happened to be working in Song Shengfu's house, and she was a second-class maid.

Mr. Kang was somewhat shocked. He had not expected that the capital city was so prosperous that even the servants of the inadvertently famous Duan Bo's mansion lived in two courtyards.

"Oh, how can we, the sons of a wealthy family, have any private property? It's all because of the kindness of the master. I, the head of the family, am a small steward beside the mistress. The stewards in the mansion all live outside. Several houses in this alley are occupied by servants of the marquis' mansion."

When he heard that Duan Bo's family seemed to want to find a teacher for his son, Kang Juren thought of Cheng Xi.

Cheng Xi was the top scorer in the imperial examination in Anping County, Nanyang. If that incident had not happened, he would have definitely been on the list of successful candidates in this examination. It's such a pity.

But this is a good opportunity. You can become a teacher in an official's family and review while teaching.

Moreover, if you win the favor of the host, you will have a strong backer.

After asking clearly, Mr. Kang was in a dilemma as to whether to tell Cheng Xi the news or not.

This is a good opportunity to go to Duan Bo's house, if he can go... But then he thought that if he passed the provincial examination, there would be the palace examination afterwards.

If he fails, he still has a newly-wed wife and parents at home. Besides, his knowledge is only average, and he will have to go back to the academy to continue his studies. How can he have the energy to teach his younger brother?

After thinking carefully for a while, Mr. Kang lifted the curtain and went into the house.

In the past few days, Mrs. Lu has seen many successful candidates coming to her house. There are a few that she is quite satisfied with, but her mother-in-law rejects them at first sight. As a result, she has been dazzled by the choices these days and still hasn't found any that she likes.

Sitting in the main hall, Lu took a big gulp of cold tea. For the first time, she wanted to quit. Her mother-in-law didn't like her anyway, so she might as well hand over everything to her. She still had a lot of things to deal with on the farm, and her mother-in-law's judgment of people was definitely correct.

Mrs. Lu recruited a little maid named Taoer.

"Go to Bisongyuan and tell the old lady that there are some things happening at the farm these days and ask her to help look after the master for a few days."

After saying that, he slipped away, planning to stay at the farm for the next few days and not come back, so as to avoid any trouble.

After listening to Tao'er's message, Song Shengfu waved her hand and asked her to leave.

"This Lu family is getting more and more lazy. Now they don't even want to take care of Kang Ge'er's teacher."

Mother Lu, who was holding Xuan'er beside her, knew the old lady was joking when she heard it, so she echoed, "It's because Madam trusts the old lady. Now Madam and the old lady have a much closer relationship."

Song Shengfu thought of Lu's increasingly cheerful expression, smiled and shook her head. It turned out that career was the best lubricant for women.

Sister Wei sat under the moon-viewing window, fascinated by the storybook of "Journey to the West" compiled by Su Xia. Her pretty face showed a mixture of discontent and joy.

At this time, a clear voice was heard.

"Madam, I have something important to report."

Song Shengfu was puzzled and asked someone to come in. It turned out to be Xiaodie, a second-class maid who was in charge of kitchen meals management.

As soon as she entered the house, Xiaodie bowed and greeted her mother. Thinking about what her mother had told her, she lowered her head and began to reply.

"There are two successful candidates living at home. One of them, surnamed Cheng, is said to have been the top scorer in the Anping County exam in Nanyang. He fell into the water earlier this year and fell seriously ill. It seems he won't make it through this imperial examination. So he's thinking of finding a job in Beijing to prepare for the imperial examination next three years. ... I heard from my mother that our mansion is recruiting tutors, so I thought I'd give it a try."

Jieyuan, that is equivalent to the modern provincial champion.

Oh my god!

The entire Great Chu is divided into four Yangzhous in the east, west, south and north. Each state has three counties, for a total of twelve counties.

Song Shengfu was calculating in her mind. Xiaodie saw that the old lady's face was not very dark and wondered if she didn't like it. It would be a pity that Mr. Cheng was waiting at the door.

What Song Shengfu was thinking at this moment was that although knowledge does not represent character, she could take a look first before making a decision, with a slightly satisfied smile on her face.

Seeing this, Madam Qi said to Xiaodie, "Where is Mr. Cheng now? Could you please invite him into the mansion so that the old lady can take a look?"

Seeing that things had taken a turn for the better, Xiaodie was secretly delighted and quickly said, "Mr. Cheng is very polite. He was waiting at the side door early this morning, afraid that he would miss the summons from the palace."

Mother Qi nodded with satisfaction, and being a person who knew etiquette, she immediately ordered someone to bring the person in.

To be honest, Song Shengfu initially thought that in this era, the age to pass the imperial examination, especially to get the first place in the imperial examination, was not too old, but at least in his thirties or forties. However, when Cheng Xi entered the house, Song Shengfu and the others were a little surprised.

Mr. Cheng is too young. He looks to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, about the same age as Duan Jing'an.

And although his clothes were not very conspicuous and were a little pale, his posture was firm and he exuded a refined and warm aura. Even in the Earl's Mansion, he was neither humble nor arrogant.

But his face was a little pale and he looked a little sick.

Song Shengfu was silent. Why did her house attract only unhealthy people?

A good eldest son, a sixth prince, and Cheng Xi in front of him.

In fact, the moment Song Shengfu saw Cheng Xi, she didn't like him much, but thinking that everyone was here, she asked a few questions casually.

This question gave Song Shengfu some ideas. Cheng Xi's conversation was different from that of ordinary scholars. It was obvious that he was a man of great knowledge and experience.

The key point is that when asked about teaching methods, Song Shengfu's eyes lit up.

"A teacher should see the whole student, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and maximize their strengths by highlighting their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. Students, on the other hand, believe that teaching is not just about the classroom, but about all aspects of life. Only by gaining insights into the smallest details can one truly resolve their doubts."

When Cheng Xi said this, he actually didn't have much hope. He had said similar things before and was ridiculed by his classmates at the time. They believed that one should concentrate on studying and not be distracted by external things in order to achieve success in learning. His ideas were criticized as worthless.

Seeing that the old lady above didn't say anything, Cheng Xi's heart sank a little bit. As expected, no one was optimistic about his teaching method.