met free Chapter 118 Shen Yanxi followed to the restaurant
Chapter 118 Shen Yanxi followed to the restaurant
Shen Yanxi knew Wei Congze. After all, they were candidates for the imperial examination in the same year. In addition, Wei Congze had been trying hard to make friends with him during this period, so they had met twice before.
However, he had never heard that Wei Congze and Jiang Suining knew each other, and judging from the situation... could it be that they came specifically to pick up Wei Congze after the imperial examination?
Behind Shen Yanxi, candidates came out one after another. Someone familiar saw Shen Yanxi and walked up to him, "Brother Shen."
The candidate was called Xie Lin. He followed Shen Yanxi's gaze and saw Jiang Suining had already entered the carriage. The candidate who was speaking happened to see Wei Congze who was getting on the carriage.
"Isn't that Brother Wei? He said his family is not in the Imperial City. Judging from the carriage, it doesn't belong to the carriage and horse business. Could it be that someone came to pick him up?"
Shen Yanxi glanced at the person next to him, "Brother Xie and Wei Congze are familiar with each other?"
"We are not that familiar with each other, but we stayed in the same inn and had meals together a few times." Xie Lin seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "By the way, Wei Congze seems to have found a good marriage."
"Marriage?" Shen Yanxi's face darkened. Could it be Jiang Suining?
"I don't know the details. He was drunk at the time and let slip a few words. I only know that someone seemed to have chosen him and wanted to marry him. He was very happy, but he refused to say more when I asked him in detail."
Now that the exam was finally over, Xie Lin was thinking about writing a letter to his family. He didn't say much to Shen Yanxi. After saying goodbye, he quickly left the Imperial Examination Hall.
Jiang Suining's carriage had gone far away, but Shen Yanxi was still standing there. The calm mood he had just had when he left the Imperial Examination Hall was gone at this moment.
When Shen Yanxi thought that Jiang Suining might be discussing marriage with Wei Congze, he became uneasy, his face darkened, and his brows furrowed.
This was the expression he saw when the servant Yuan Liang squeezed through the crowd to get to his young master's side.
Yuan Liang's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
It’s over. Why does the young master look so unhappy? Could it be that he didn’t perform well?
That's not right. Even if he didn't perform well, based on his understanding of the young master, he wouldn't look like this, so... could it be that he performed particularly badly?
Yuan Liang felt disappointed, but he hurried forward and whispered to Shen Yanxi to comfort him, "Master, it's okay. It's no big deal even if you don't do well in the exam this time. This is only the first year, and there aren't many people who can pass the exam in the first year."
"Who told you that I didn't do well in the exam?" Shen Yanxi looked at Yuan Liang.
The latter was stunned for a moment. Didn’t he do well in the exam?
"Then why do you have such an expression, young master? You scared me to death."
Shen Yanxi looked at Yuan Liang and asked without explaining, "Where is the carriage?"
"It's right there." Yuan Liang pointed to a place not far away, "Master, let's go quickly, the Madam and the others are waiting at home."
The young master didn't want his wife and the others to come to the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall with a large force, so they waited at home and came to pick him up herself.
"No hurry, go in the direction of Suzaku Street."
Jiang Suining's carriage just went in that direction.
"Master, what are you doing on Suzaku Street?" Yuan Liang was puzzled.
But Shen Yanxi had already walked towards the carriage, and Yuan Liang could only hurry to catch up.
At Shen Yanxi's instruction, the carriage drove quickly towards Zhuque Street, and soon after arriving at Zhuque Street, Shen Yanxi saw the carriage parked in front of the restaurant.
After confirming that it was Jiang Suining's carriage, Shen Yanxi stopped the carriage and entered the restaurant.
Yuan Liang followed behind, wanting to tell his young master that the food was already prepared in the mansion, but before he could open his mouth, Shen Yanxi had already walked in.
Yuan Liang had no choice but to follow.
After making sure that there was no one on the first floor, Shen Yanxi went up to the second floor and saw Jiang Suining and Wei Congze sitting by the window.
Shen Yanxi wanted to walk over and say hello as if they met by chance, but when he saw the smile on Jiang Suining's face, he stopped.
If I rush forward now, will Jiang Suining be annoyed?
As soon as this thought came to his mind, Shen Yanxi hesitated again. In the end, he walked to the other side and chose a corner to sit down. He was able to see Jiang Suining's expression, but because of the distance, he couldn't hear clearly what they were saying.
At this moment, Jiang Suining had just mentioned Wei Congze's two articles, and his tone was full of praise.
She had someone find all the articles Wei Congze wrote after he came to the imperial city, including those poems of petition. Although the writing was quite good, Wei Congze's articles were like his personality, which always made people feel a little empty.
"Miss Jiang, you are so polite. It is my honor to be appreciated by you." Wei Congze felt a little flattered by the compliment. Although he was still being polite, he was already very proud in his heart.
"Mr. Wei, there is no need to be modest. I believe that you will be on the list when the imperial examination results are announced this time. Speaking of which, some scholars and candidates have found Ning Mo Zhai before, hoping to compile their poems into a collection, but..." Jiang Suining smiled and shook his head, "Some of their poems are really difficult to be compiled into a collection. Although Ning Mo Zhai was generous, he still refused. But if Mr. Wei needs it in the future, remember to come to Ning Mo Zhai."
"Publish a collection of poems?" Wei Congze was a little surprised. "I haven't heard of this news before. Does Ning Mozhai still help people publish poetry collections?"
"Ning Mo Zhai has the permission of the court to publish books. In addition to the books specified by the court, there are a certain number of books every year, and they can decide the content of the publication independently. As for publishing poetry collections..."
Jiang Suining's smile was full of meaning. "Maybe he wants to gain some fame. After all, if he publishes a collection of poems, he will have one more thing to boast about when his peers talk about it, and he will be more likely to be looked up to by those high-ranking families."
Wei Congze immediately had an idea in his mind. Although the Chu Palace had already expressed its intention to have him as their son-in-law, it had not made it public after all. As long as there was no engagement, he could not be 100% sure.
However, he did not have any extra points in terms of family background, and he was not completely sure that he would pass the imperial examination this time. In case he failed, he must have some other bargaining chips to prevent the Prince of Chu's Palace from changing its mind.
"Miss Jiang, if your Ningyuezhai publishes a collection of poems, how much silver will it cost?"
"Not much, just one thousand taels."
"One thousand taels?" Wei Congze frowned instantly.
It's just publishing a collection of poems, why would it cost so much money?
I don't have much money left for this trip to the imperial city, and I can't come up with a thousand taels.
Wei Congze secretly glanced at the box placed aside. There were quite a few silver ingots in the box, but there should be no more than three hundred taels.
"After all, there are limited places, and many people want to spend money to gain a reputation. Compared with the benefits that fame can bring, this one thousand taels is naturally nothing." Jiang Suining smiled leisurely, "Of course, if Mr. Wei wants to publish a collection of poems, the place will naturally be reserved for you, and you can also get a discount."