Chapter 895
Casting a wide net
Chapter 895 Casting a wide net
Magistrate Kang gave Master Lu a meaningful look.
Master Lu sent his son to secretly go and find Kang Rong.
Unfortunately, he couldn't sneak in. Kang Rong pointed at Master Lu's son and said, "Hey you, you're from the groom's side, right? You haven't even gone through the traditional door-blocking ceremony yet, and you're already trying to sneak in. You're openly looking down on our bride's family! Classmates, gather around and beat him up!"
Magistrate Kang and Madam Kang lowered their heads... They must not let anyone know that this boy is a relative of theirs.
"Young Master Kang, please calm down. I'll retreat right away." Master Lu's son hurriedly retreated to the side of the wedding procession, no longer showing his face, lest Kang Rong hold him back.
Master Lu had no choice but to plead with Master Qiong: "Master Qiong, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to take action."
Ke Qiong Lao laughed and said, "The Qin family's daughter is very precious, so the groom should naturally complete the nine rites of blocking the door before welcoming the bride and thus uniting the two families."
Upon hearing this, Kang Rong felt that he had been upgraded from a lowly helper to a member of the bride's family. He immediately became smug, put one hand on his hip, and pointed at Guan Shuli and the others: "Hmph, behave yourselves. Only after the nine rites of blocking the door can you proceed with the wedding!"
Qiong Lao: "..."
That brat really thinks he can get away with anything just because you give him a little face.
However, youthful spirit is most precious, so the old man followed the students to their deaths.
Kang Rong started picking a fight: "Groom, your wedding poem was prepared in advance, so it can't be considered sincere... So, write a wedding poem on the theme of autumn harvest, within a hundred words, to show the groom's sincerity in welcoming the bride!"
Magistrate Kang/Madam Kang... This kid really has no manners at all.
Keep acting up! When news of your obstruction of the clerk's wedding reaches the capital, will your father, Kang Liwen, beat you up?
"Alright." Clerk Guan accepted the challenge and began preparing to compose a wedding poem on the spot.
"Count, count! We absolutely cannot let him go over the time limit. Every time he goes over the time limit, we add another level!" Kang Rong shouted. He was genuinely excited.
……
Qin Jingyi, Jiang Xiaozhu, Xiao Fubao, and Yao Baimei returned to the Qin family residence to report on the students' attempt to stop the wedding procession with a riddle.
Jiang Xiaozhu complained to Kang Rong: "That student is more concerned about it than I am about my own wedding."
Little Fu Bao nodded in agreement: "Mhm, mhm."
Hahaha!
The women inside burst into laughter.
Grandma Qin quickly said, "Children speak without thinking, and Xiaozhu is still young."
My dear, please be more ladylike! Don't say things like that, it's bad for your reputation!
Han Zhou, the wife of Han the clerk, was a little worried: "Most of those students are from Taizhou Academy. They have studied with famous teachers since childhood and their knowledge is exceptionally high. If they set questions to challenge the groom, will he be able to withstand them?"
These young masters are being a bit inconsiderate. How old are Clerk Guan and Miss Qin? They finally got married, and they're still running around playing around.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaogu also looked worried.
Seeing this, Qin Xiaomi was once again fed another dose of dog food... Her aunt looked so nervous, it seemed she really liked Guan Shuli.
Qin Xiaogu, who was always composed, quickly smiled and said, "It's alright, everyone knows their limits."
Qin Xiaomi nodded in agreement: "Auntie is right. With Master Xun and Master Qiong around, the young scholars won't cause any trouble."
If all else fails, send someone to urge them to let the groom in to welcome the bride sooner, so that the wedding can be completed sooner and they can finish their work and have their feast sooner.
Kang Rong, who hadn't expected this, was devastated!
The women were relieved to hear this and were in the mood to watch the play. They sent Qin Jingyi and Xiao Fubao out to check the situation and then report back to them.
"Okay, let's go find out right away!" Xiao Fubao said, calling to Yi Ge'er and Jiang Xiaozhu, and then quickly ran off.
"This child is so well raised, sturdy and lively, he looks like a blessed person," praised Granny Zhou, a woman of good fortune.
Aunt Xu and Aunt Qiao were delighted to hear this and thanked her in unison, saying, "Thank you for your kind words, Ms. Quanfu."
Xiao Fubao is an orphan, so ordinary families would avoid having him participate in wedding activities.
So Guan, the clerk, didn't earn any of the wedding money from the wedding night celebrations for Qin Xiaogu, and was heartbroken for a while, but fortunately he recovered quickly.
However, the elders like Aunt Xu and Aunt Qiao kept it in mind, which is why they happily thanked Granny Zhou after receiving her words.
Granny Zhou didn't say much, just smiled kindly.
...A quarter of an hour later, clatter, clatter, Little Fu Bao and the others came running back. Before they even rushed into the inner courtyard, they shouted, "Uncle Guan is so amazing! He broke through three trials in a row! The young scholars are all getting impatient!"
The three children were no exaggeration; the students were indeed extremely anxious.
The students were truly surprised to find that the clerk Guan's knowledge was as vast and profound as the ocean.
Therefore, Qiu Shi, He Mei, and Xing Jia composed three poems to welcome the bride. Xun Lao and Qiong Lao even spoke up for him, allowing him to pass each test with a poem.
The nine rites to block the door have already been performed three times.
Fifteen minutes later, Xiao Fubao and the others returned with the news: "Uncle Guan has passed the chess, Wei Lü, and puzzle-solving challenges again. He is now on the seventh challenge, but the young masters of the school have not yet decided what questions to give him."
"These young scholars are really no good; a whole group of them can't even compare to Uncle Guan alone."
"Some students, seeing that things were not going well, slipped away."
"That young master Kang also tried to slip away, but Grandpa Xun caught him on the spot and brought him back. He lost all face."
The three little ones were making fun of the students, which made the women laugh out loud.
Kang Rong has indeed lost face. Magistrate Kang and his wife have decided to keep their relationship a secret for the time being.
It's so embarrassing.
And Kang Lang, who was helping the Guan family entertain guests at the Taifu Restaurant, had already lost everything.
He was working diligently when he suddenly overheard the guests in the lobby mocking someone: "That young master Kang is such a troublemaker and has no sense of responsibility, he's a disgrace. If I had a son like that, I'd hang him up and give him a good beating!"
Some students even called him "Classmate Kang".
The guests in the lobby all turned to look at him, their gazes all changing.
Kang Lang hurriedly clarified: "My name is Kang Lang, the son of Magistrate Kang of this county. I have been helping out at the Guan family's place and have never been to the Qin family's place."
Remember my name, don't confuse me with that thing!
The guests exclaimed in surprise, "So you're the county magistrate's son...and you all share the surname Kang? Then you're all brothers from the same clan?"
This cannot be denied, so Kang Lang went back to the kitchen to hide.
……
Boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
After noon, Clerk Guan completed the nine rituals of blocking the gate and led the wedding procession into the Qin family residence.
The students suffered nine consecutive defeats and had to continue working on an empty stomach to entertain the guests of the wedding procession, all while being quietly chattered by crickets.
"Are most of these students really scholars who passed the imperial examinations? How did they pass? Did they cheat?"
shut up!
You're the one who cheated! We got our results through real hard work!
How could we have known that a lowly clerk from a run-down country was actually a polymath?!
but……
Students, take a look at Kang Rong.
Ah, I feel so much better now.
Although they are in a terrible situation, they still have Kang Rong to make up for their misfortune.
Besides feeling embarrassed and frustrated, many students also noticed the clerk Guan.
Ying Zilin, in particular, had already planned to find time to visit Guan Shuli and discuss scholarship with him.
And, ask him if he wants to enter officialdom; if so, his family should be able to help him.
It's a waste of talent for him to stay in a small rural town as a minor clerk.
Ying Zilin was unaware that having them confront the clerk and achieve this result was one of the purposes of the Duke of Yan, Elder Qiong, and Elder Xun.
Although even the clerk Guan himself was unaware of this matter, given his background, he had no choice but to step up when needed.
At present, we are in the selection stage of casting a wide net.
In short, Emperor Wuxing was very strong-willed, and he would not choose princes whose maternal bloodline was contrary to his ambitions.