At this ti, more and more citizens gathered at the palace gate. Those without relatives taking the imperial examination didn’t care who would pass or fail. They were there rely to secure a pri spot to wait for the sight of the new Champion Scholar, Second Top Scholar, and Top Third Scholar parading on horseback through the streets, witnessing their mont of boundless glory.
There were n and won, young and old among the crowd. So parents brought their children along just to partake in the joyous atmosphere, hoping to inspire them to strive higher and dream of bringing honor to their family one day.
A few young girls and newlywed won stood aside, looking at the grand and tall palace gates while laughing and chatting, "Who knows what the Champion Scholar and Second Top Scholar who will parade on the streets look like this ti. The one three years ago was quite unattractive."
"So what if he was unattractive, didn’t he still beco an official, make a fortune, and marry a Mistress of Official Family? That’s really sothing, isn’t it!"
"Exactly, who cares what he looks like, as long as we get to enjoy the lively spectacle. The best would be if we could witness the sa excitent as last ti again today. That would truly be entertaining!"
"Hee hee, dream on, that kind of excitent doesn’t happen every ti!"
"..."
Mo Yan stood to the side of these chattering people, also growing interested in the "spectacle" they ntioned. After listening for a while, she learned it bore resemblance to a story similar to that of Qin Xianglian and Chen Shii, even the ending had so parallels.
It was said that in the previous session, there was a Top Third Scholar from Jiangnan, an ordinary-looking young man with considerable literary talent. After completing the spring examinations, he composed many exquisite poems. Of course, none lanting the peace and prosperity of the country concerned with the people’s sufferings, but mostly expressing sentintal and wistful emotions, which touched the hearts of many won secluded in their chambers.
What followed was one scandalous event after another. The Young Scholar in Third Rank from Jiangnan, coming from a common background, passed the exams as Top Third Scholar and caught the eye of a Minister. He ended up marrying the Minister’s only legitimate daughter.
Unknown to many, the Scholar already had a wife and child back ho. After marrying the Mistress of Official Family, he abandoned his wife and child and sneakily brought his parents to Jing City. To prevent his wife from growing suspicious and tracking him down, he lied, saying he had caught a cold on the way to the exams, and claid his parents had left under the pretense of visiting a married daughter.
However, the Scholar’s wife was a shrewd woman who knew her husband all too well. From the mont her in-laws were taken away, she suspected her husband was up to no good. Accompanied by her brothers, she followed them all the way to Jing City, revealing her husband’s sche.
What ensued was a fierce battle for the husband between the original wife and the Mistress of Official Family. The Mistress had power and influence, unwilling to give up the prize she had acquired. The original wife held a marriage contract and had not breached any of the traditional grounds for divorce, her position unshakable, steadfastly refusing to back down.
The deceitful Scholar, caught between two wives, was harassed to the point of losing his wits. Negative publicity led to errors in his official duties, earning him a severe reprimand from Duke Shangguan. In his depression, he went to a tavern to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Ultimately, he drank too much and fell into a river on his way ho, never to rise again.
As a result, the Mistress of Official Family shed a few tears at his wake then returned to her parents’ ho with a generous dowry. Not long after, she married a Widower of equal social status, who had lost his wife and had no children, and now she was happily mother to a two-year-old son.
Yet what surprised everyone the most was the original wife of the Scholar. After the Scholar’s death, which left the elderly in-laws unable to bear the grief, she managed his funeral, ensuring a dignified and honorable burial.
Just when everyone thought the woman would stay with her in-laws to observe widowhood for her deceased husband, she married, as fast as lightning, a Fourth Rank General who had been delayed in marriage because of long years on the frontier. She beca the exalted General’s Wife, stunning countless onlookers.
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