CHAPTER 558: CHAPTER 547: THE MARCHIONESS’S MAID

"My Lady, all is well with me at the border; do not worry. As your belly grows, do not sleep alone at night, let your maids always attend to you. Should your legs cramp, have them massage you. I heard that drinking more bone broth might alleviate the cramps..."

It’s hard to imagine that Marquis Weiyuan, such a stern and harsh man, would write such a chatty letter, and Zhong Lan couldn’t help but smile more and more as she read.

"There may be some rumors spreading in the capital recently; do not believe them. Just stay calmly in the mansion and take care of the baby."

Upon reaching the end of the letter, Zhong Lan’s brows furrowed involuntarily. Was there some trouble at the border?

"My Lady, what’s wrong?" Ye Qiu, perceptive as ever, asked.

"The letter mentions that there might be rumors about Marquis Mansion in the capital soon."

"Did the Marquis reassure you?"

"He did, but I still feel a bit worried."

"This servant thinks that the Lady should not overthink things. The Marquis is deeply trusted by His Majesty; perhaps others are envious. You and your child in the womb are now the most important people to the Marquis. If something were to happen to you, then the Marquis truly wouldn’t know what to do," Ye Qiu analytically advised and reassured.

After listening to this, Zhong Lan indeed felt more at ease. That’s right—it would be the greatest blow to the Marquis if she encountered any problems now.

"Miss, great news!" Just then, Yang Chun entered with a face full of joy.

"What great news has you so happy?" Shen Dong asked with a smile.

"It’s the Eldest Young Master. He scored sixth in the Imperial Examination."

"Really?" Zhong Lan stood up excitedly.

"It’s true. The messenger of good news has already gone to the Zhong Residence."

"Truly the grace of the Heavenly Empress." Zhong Lan was moved to tears. With this, her eldest brother would no longer be at the mercy of others. Scoring sixth in the Imperial Examination meant that, at the very least, he wouldn’t drop to third-class rank in the final exam. He was only nineteen this year and now had enough standing to consider marriage.

"You mean the sixth place?" Zhong Huaiwen couldn’t quite believe the news and his eyes widened.

"Yes, I am here to congratulate Mr. Zhong and Young Master Zhong," the bearer of good news said with a face glowing with happiness.

Zhong Huaiwen hadn’t snapped back to reality when it was Zhong Jue who gestured to his Attendant Student to give the messenger a red envelope.

"How can it be the sixth place?" Zhong Huaiwen muttered to Zhong Jue, bewildered.

Zhong Jue looked at him with irony: "Oh? Are you disappointed I didn’t fail miserably?"

Mr. Zhong regained his senses and said angrily, "What do you mean by that? I’m your father; how could I think like that?"

"So what do you think?" Zhong Jue asked, his eyes barely concealing a smile.

"Of course, I am happy if you score high," Zhong Huaiwen finally wore a hint of a smile, "If only you could be this lucky during the Imperial Examination."

"Luck?" Zhong Jue widened his eyes in disbelief, "Do you seriously believe I placed sixth on luck alone? Are these the words of a former Assistant Minister of Rites who scored third place? Could it be that, father, you think your own success through the civil service exam was purely by chance?"

"Nonsense!" Zhong Huaiwen’s face went red, "With how difficult the imperial examination was back then, it surely wasn’t just luck."

"Oh, so your success wasn’t due to luck, but mine is. Weren’t the imperial examinations difficult then, and aren’t they difficult now?" Zhong Jue’s repeated disappointments left him indifferent now, "I think father has tarried in the arms of love for too long; his brain has gone to rust. To describe the imperial examination, of all things, as a matter of luck? By that account, should my younger brother succeed in three years, it must be luck; while if he doesn’t, then it’s simply bad luck?"

Having said that, he deliberately glanced at Zhong Lang who came hoping for a spectacle. Zhong Lang’s complexion didn’t look good; he had come expecting Zhong Jue to have done poorly but against expectation the result was a sixth place. Was he confident to achieve that rank himself in three years? He wasn’t sure.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Your younger brother is so talented, even our teacher praised him – he’ll certainly do well three years from now," Zhong Huaiwen instinctively rebutted Zhong Jue.

Zhong Jue continued to smile, a chill in his eyes: "Yes, he is talented and surely will outdo his elder brother in the future. I look forward to it. Father, I’m going to offer incense and pray that my mother blesses me with enough ’luck’ for the Imperial Examination."

Without giving Zhong Huaiwen and Zhong Lang a chance to retort, he quickly walked away.

Now Zhong Huaiwen’s face was a revolving door of red and black, both embarrassed and angry. He realized only now the gravity of the Imperial Examination, akin to a soldier crossing a single-log bridge without bias to any particular side – luck had no part in it. He knew he had spoken out of turn, but why couldn’t Zhong Jue respond calmly? Why did he have to make a scene, embarrassing his own father?

"Father, Elder Brother just lost his temper; please don’t blame him," said Zhong Lang, as usual making up for Zhong Jue’s indignation to their father, though whether he meant what he said was uncertain.

"Lost his temper? He’s already passed the examination and still can’t control his emotions. Won’t he just offend others once he’s an official?" Zhong Huaiwen, as if finding an excuse for himself, felt vindicated in his neglect of the eldest son. So what if he becomes an Advanced Scholar? As an official, he won’t likely go far and may even bring trouble to him and the younger son.

Hence, he earnestly said to Zhong Lang, "Lang’er, in these three years, you must study diligently. If your brother can score sixth, father is looking forward to you becoming the top scorer."

In response to Zhong Huaiwen’s earnest hope, the smile on Zhong Lang’s face was nearly unbearable to maintain. Top scorer? Said so casually – could he really achieve it? He felt as if a mountain bore down upon him.

But he indeed needed to put in twice the effort. What if he did worse than his elder brother three years from now? Wouldn’t his father be utterly disappointed?

"Sixth place?" Meanwhile, Aunt Wei in the back courtyard also heard the news, nearly snapping her own fingernails.

"Exactly, why is he so lucky?" Zhong Yin fumed, clearly resentful, "Mother, the Imperial Examination is just three days away. Could Elder Brother do even better then?"

"No, he won’t." Aunt Wei suddenly spoke loudly, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes, "He won’t have that opportunity."

Zhong Yin saw her mother like this for the first time and was somewhat taken aback, "Mother, what are you saying?"

After a moment of abstraction, Aunt Wei returned to normal, her face wearing its usual soft smile, "It’s nothing. Don’t worry about these things. I’ve asked you to sort out the accounts for the needlework room. How is it coming along?"

Zhong Yin pouted, "Mother, those ledgers are so troublesome, they make my head hurt. Can I not look at them?"

"No."

Zhong Yin was startled by the firm tone. Aunt Wei realized her harshness and urged gently, "Yin’er, you should know mother is doing this for your good. What will you do as the main wife without knowing how to manage accounts?"