Chapter 275: Great Sorrow

Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Great Sorrow

Ji Qingshan was stunned. His first instinct was to scold Mrs. Zhu.

’What Mr. Song? How could they get something like this wrong? He had clearly heard them say Mr. Ji.’

The government officer’s tone had grown impatient.

"Song Jing! First place in this county examination. How could we be mistaken?"

The courtyard, which had been buzzing with excitement just a moment ago, fell instantly silent.

A deathly silence spread as countless pairs of eyes turned in unison to Ji Qingshan.

Ji Qingshan’s lips trembled, but he couldn’t manage to form a single complete sentence.

In the silence, Mrs. Zhu’s booming voice was like a megaphone.

"What did you say? Isn’t it for our Fourth? Isn’t the Scholar supposed to be Ji Liantang?"

By now, the officers also realized something was wrong.

Just then, another series of firecrackers erupted, mixed with the sound of gongs, crackling all the way to the east.

Faintly, they could hear shouts rising and falling.

"Great news for Mr. Song! Great news for Mr. Song!"

The lead officer instantly put two and two together. He grabbed a skinny man from the crowd and barked angrily, "Didn’t you say this was the Scholar’s home!"

The man who’d been grabbed felt deeply wronged.

Song Jing was usually quiet and unassuming. On the other hand, Aunt Kang had been telling everyone she met that her son was already halfway to being a Scholar and that passing this exam was a sure thing.

So, as soon as they saw the announcers arrive, everyone assumed it was for Ji the Fourth. Before the officers could even finish speaking, they had pointed them toward the Ji family’s home.

’Who would’ve thought it was a mistake! Ji the Fourth was clearly already attending the county school!’

Ji Qingshan also said, "It can’t be a mistake. How could it be a mistake? It has to be our Fourth. It couldn’t possibly be anyone else... It’s the Fourth, it must be the Fourth..."

To prove his words, he tried to unroll the announcement scroll to confirm it in front of everyone.

However, the officers had confirmed it repeatedly before coming. It was undoubtedly Song Jing.

And judging by that commotion just now, someone had clearly beaten them to the Song family’s home to deliver the good news!

You see, besides the official government officers, there were also idle men in the city who would volunteer to act as messengers.

For just running an errand and saying a few auspicious words, they could ask for a hefty tip. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance?

These idlers had been waiting by the announcement boards since the day the exam ended, all for the sake of getting the confirmed news and being the first to rush to the successful candidates’ homes.

They wouldn’t just go to the inns where the students were staying; they would also go to the students’ hometowns.

Those with connections would focus on the wealthy families, while those without would run to the poor, remote villages. By visiting several places in a day, they could still earn a good amount in tips.

In previous years, there were even incidents of people snatching the official announcements midway and delivering them to the families themselves to claim the reward money. Although the announcement scroll hadn’t been snatched today, someone had still beaten them to it!

The lead officer was both anxious and furious. He had no desire to dawdle here any longer. He snatched the announcement scroll from Ji Qingshan’s hands, turned his horse around, and prepared to leave.

Aunt Kang reluctantly handed over two more red envelopes. But just as she stepped out of the courtyard gate, she heard everyone gossiping about the mistake—the announcement wasn’t for her Fourth, but for that Song Jing.

’How is that possible! How could it not be for her Fourth?’

She was about to argue with them when she saw that the officers were actually leaving—and they had taken the announcement scroll with them.

’How could they do that?’

’The announcement belongs to her son!’

"Stop! All of you, stop right there!"

Aunt Kang shouted as she ran after them. She grabbed hold of the officer holding the announcement, clinging to his arm as she tried to snatch it away.

In her mind, as long as she got her hands on the announcement scroll, the title of Scholar would undoubtedly belong to her son.

The officer was in a hurry to deliver the news to the rightful person and had no patience to get entangled with her, so he tried to shake her off.

But Aunt Kang was like a madwoman, clinging to him for dear life and refusing to let go. The officer raised the hand holding the scroll high up, but Aunt Kang, still not giving up, used both her hands and feet, grabbing and scratching.

Caught off guard, the officer’s neck was scratched raw. He flew into a rage, threw Aunt Kang to the ground, and pointed at her, shouting, "If you dare cause any more trouble, we’ll see you charged with obstructing official duties!"

After leaving this harsh threat, the five men left without a backward glance.

Aunt Kang clutched her back, wailing in pain. She couldn’t get up for a long while, but she kept shouting, "Don’t go! Come back! Give me back my son’s announcement! Oh, heavens, open your eyes! Someone is robbing my son of his Scholar title in broad daylight! There’s no law! There’s no justice!"

Her shouts eventually turned into wails as she rolled on the ground.

In contrast, the rest of the Ji family stood frozen like wooden chickens, as if they still hadn’t processed their sudden fall from the clouds.

The family head, Ji Qingshan, paid no mind to the farce unfolding before him. He just stared in the direction the officers had left, his face shifting from pale to ashen before turning a deathly purple. Finally, after swaying a few times, he fell straight to the ground, stiff as a board.

"Father!"

"Grandpa!"

"Husband!!!"

The shouts rose one after another, but the area in front of the Ji family’s home was already empty. Everyone had run off to the Song family’s place to see the real Scholar.

In the blink of an eye, the entrance to Song Jing’s home, as well as the two adjacent alleys, were packed so tightly you couldn’t even get a drop of water through. The sound of firecrackers went on, one string after another.

Village Chief Meng was grinning from ear to ear. He handed a red envelope to one of the first messengers who had arrived with the good news.

He wasn’t a government officer, but as long as the news was solid, it didn’t matter who delivered it.

The idlers’ smiles grew even wider, and auspicious phrases poured from their mouths as if they were free.

Just as Village Chief Meng was about to ask something, he heard the resounding beat of gongs and drums and the blare of horns filling the air.

The real announcers—the government officers—had arrived!

"Mr. Song Jing has ranked first in the county examination! Hearty congratulations!"

Village Chief Meng hurriedly led his clansmen forward to greet them. Before he even spoke, he handed over a red envelope. "Thank you for your trouble, thank you. Please share in our good fortune."

The officers subtly weighed the envelopes in their hands, their expressions quite satisfied.

Village Chief Meng took the opportunity to introduce himself. "I am the village chief of Dafeng Village and also Song Jing’s maternal uncle. Song Jing is still studying hard at the academy. I’ve already sent someone to..."

"No matter. Our task is just to deliver the announcement scroll," the officers said, holding it out to Village Chief Meng.

Before Village Chief Meng could even reach for it, Mrs. Meng snatched it from their hands.

She eagerly unrolled the scroll. Seeing Song Jing’s name, hometown, and the names of his ancestors for the past three generations written clearly on it, she was overcome with an emotion that was part laughter, part tears, part sorrow, and part joy.

"Little Sister, the clan was thinking of posting this in the ancestral hall, what do you think..."

Mrs. Meng’s expression turned cold. She quickly rolled up the scroll and put it away.

"Song Jing’s surname is Song, not Meng. There is no reason to hang it in the Meng clan’s ancestral hall."

Village Chief Meng was suddenly embarrassed.

Because this sentence was almost identical to what Mrs. Hong had once used to rebuke Mrs. Meng: "Song Jing’s surname is Song, not Meng. There is no rule for him to return to the Meng clan."

Embarrassment was one thing, but he couldn’t ignore the bigger picture.

"Everyone, you’ve had a long journey. I’ve already had people prepare a meal. If you don’t mind, please come to my humble home for a few cups of simple wine..."

Village Chief Meng put his smile back on and led both the government officers and the idlers toward his own house. Mrs. Meng’s place was too small to entertain them all.

But Mrs. Meng didn’t care about that.

She clutched the announcement scroll tightly, neither following to greet the guests nor responding to the villagers’ compliments. She turned, entered her courtyard, and bolted the gate from the inside.

The villagers locked outside looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Ahem! That’s just Mrs. Meng’s personality. She’s never been very sociable..."

"She might be a bit lacking in social graces... but you have to admire her. If she hadn’t gritted her teeth and persevered, Song Jing wouldn’t be where he is today."

"That’s right! If I could raise a Scholar for a son like that, I could die with no regrets."

"Oh, give me a break! Your son is as dumb as a post. Even if you died eight hundred times, he’d still be fit for nothing but farming!"

"Don’t look down on people! I’m going home right now to discuss it with his father. No matter what, we’re sending our boy to school. We’ll have him learn from Song Jing and become a Scholar too!"

"To be honest with you all, I was thinking the same thing..."

But there were also some hot-tempered ones who were angered by Mrs. Meng’s behavior, their words full of resentment.

"You try to be nice and get the cold shoulder, and you still bend over backward to make excuses for her. What a thankless task! It’s just passing the Scholar exam, what’s so great about it!"

"That’s because you don’t know. Becoming a Scholar comes with a lot of benefits!"

"What kind of benefits?"

After a flurry of chatter, the one who had been bad-mouthing Mrs. Meng immediately shut his mouth.

’The mother of a Scholar, huh? Of course she has the right to be arrogant!’

"Hey, you all think, when will our Scholar be back?"

’That’s right, the announcement has arrived, so when will Song Jing be back?’ Ji Huan wondered.