vrcanaries Chapter 589 This Prodigal Son
Chapter 589 This Prodigal Son
Yongchang Bofu.
The people of the Meng family were also waiting for the servant who went to check the list to return. Old Madam Meng was paralyzed in bed, and Meng Chengxing was confined to his own yard and could not come out. Now only Meng Dongyuan, Zhao, Meng Chengzhang, and Zhao's daughter Qiao Yunying were waiting for news.
Meng Dongyuan and Zhao were a couple in name only and disliked each other, but today they had the same goal and were surprisingly harmonious. Meng Dongyuan hoped that his son would be successful, and Zhao also hoped that his stepson would be successful so that she could also benefit from it. If her daughter had a promising stepbrother, she would have more choices when looking for a husband in the future.
Qiao Yunying was surprised to see her mother and stepfather getting along so harmoniously, talking and laughing. She didn't expect her mother and stepfather to get along so well. However, she didn't care whether her stepfather loved her mother, because her mother didn't love her stepfather either, and didn't seek love between men and women, but just wanted to live a stable life. Now that her mother was in charge of the household affairs, she and her mother lived well, and her stepfather could only be furious when he confronted her mother, and couldn't get any advantage.
In this family, her stepfather and stepgrandmother were not good people, but her stepbrother Meng Chengzhang was not bad. As for the other stepbrother Meng Chengxing, it was better not to mention him because he was a rotten guy. Of the two married step-sisters, she had only seen the eldest sister and knew that she was a good one. As for the second sister who married far away, she had also inquired about her and she was probably the same person as Meng Chengxing.
At this time, a maid came running in and said, "Master, Madam, Fugui who went to check the list is back."
Meng Dongyuan heard this and hurriedly said, "Let him in!"
The servant Fugui came in, sweat on his forehead, obviously he had run back to report the result. Seeing his happy face, it must be a good result. He bowed, then smiled and congratulated: "Congratulations, my Lord, congratulations, my Lady, the Crown Prince has won the prize!"
When these words were spoken, everyone was delighted.
Meng Dongyuan asked hurriedly: "What place did the prince get in the exam?"
Fugui replied, "The prince is at the top of the list, the winner of this autumn exam."
Everyone was shocked, even Meng Chengzhang was astonished. He obviously did not expect that he would be the top of this autumn examination.
Meng Dongyuan was even more excited. His youngest son had been spoiled, and he had long placed all his hopes on his second son. He did not expect that his second son would be so promising. He had previously been the top scorer in the college examination, and now he was the top scorer in the autumn examination. Even if he was not the top scorer in the spring examination next year, he would be able to get a good ranking. His future would be limitless.
Compared with the second son Chengzhang, Chengxing was really useless and could not even pass the examination to become a scholar. It was only because his mother was short-sighted that she stubbornly thought that Chengxing was smart and would have great fortune in the future. Fortunately, his mother had a keen eye and saw through Chengxing early on that he was an unambitious, vicious and evil person. She made Chengzhang the crown prince instead. Once the Bo Mansion fell into Chengzhang's hands, it would definitely help to revitalize the Meng family.
Zhao was also extremely happy, her eyebrows were beaming with joy, she really didn't expect her stepson to get such a good ranking in the exam, she glanced at the maid beside her and said, "Great, there's a reward!"
The maid responded and handed Fugui the red envelope which had already been wrapped with reward money, which was prepared to be given to the errand boy Fugui.
Fugui took the reward, thanked his master, and then left.
Zhao looked at Meng Chengzhang with a gentle gaze, then turned to look at her husband and said in a gentle voice, "My husband, Chengzhang has brought honor to our family today. Why don't we have a family dinner to celebrate?"
Meng Dongyuan nodded repeatedly, smiling: "My son is so successful, of course we have to celebrate. Not only do we have to hold a family banquet to celebrate, but we also have to send invitations to relatives and friends, and then invite the opera troupe to come back, and set up a three-day buffet to entertain the guests to celebrate."
After hearing this, Zhao frowned slightly. She should be happy that her child was so promising, but this kind of behavior was not only too ostentatious, but also costly. This prodigal son really didn't know how hard it was to manage the household. How could the Meng family afford such extravagant consumption now?
When Chengzhang passes the imperial examination next spring, it will be time for him to look for a marriage partner. Chengzhang is so promising, and he has a brother-in-law, the Marquis of Changxing. It is very likely that he will be chosen by a high-ranking official to be his son-in-law. To marry a daughter of aristocratic family, not only must the betrothal gift be decent, but the wedding must also be decent, which is a considerable expense. Instead of using the money to invite friends to eat, drink and have fun, it is better to keep the money for the child to get married.
Thinking of this, Zhao was about to refuse, but in front of the children, she had to save some face for her husband, so she said tactfully: "Husband, it is a good thing that Chengzhang got the first place in the exam, but it would be too ostentatious to hold a banquet to celebrate. I know that husband is just happy and wants to tell relatives and friends about the good news, but others don't think so. Others will only think that our Meng family is getting carried away. In my opinion, we should celebrate at home, wait for the eldest brother-in-law to take a day off, let the eldest daughter and the eldest brother-in-law come back, and then we can celebrate together. What do you think, husband?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Dongyuan frowned, dissatisfied with Zhao's proposal. His son was so promising, he must show off in front of his friends to regain the face lost due to the family scandal. So he glanced at Zhao with a suspicious look and said disapprovingly: "Women are just too thoughtful. It's normal to have a banquet to celebrate when there is a happy event in the family. Why are you getting carried away?"
Meng Chengzhang continued, "Father, I think what mother said makes sense. We can just celebrate at home as a family. There is no need to have a big banquet."
Zhao looked at Meng Chengzhang with a little surprise, and for a moment she was unsure whether he really agreed with what she said.
Meng Chengzhang smiled back. Although he was not the head of the household, he knew the family's situation. His stepmother was good at managing the household and all the money was put to good use without any extravagance or waste. In this respect, she was similar to his previous stepmother, Mrs. Dong. However, her personality was much stronger than hers and she had his father under her control.
Meng Dongyuan didn't expect his son to agree with Zhao's words. He frowned even more tightly: "Cheng Zhang..."
Meng Chengzhang interrupted him, "Father, I just passed the imperial examination, not the top scholar. It's better to keep a low profile. I just got the top place by luck this time. If I don't get a good ranking in the next spring exam, or even fail, won't people laugh at us for being too happy too early?"
Meng Dongyuan pondered for a while after hearing his son's words. In the end, although he was unwilling, he nodded and reluctantly agreed to Zhao's decision. There was already a gap between him and his son. If he played against his son, the gap would only deepen. To eliminate the gap, he had to follow his son's wishes when necessary.
Zhao listened to her stepson's words and looked at him with admiration. It was rare for someone to have achieved such success at such a young age and yet remain humble and modest. He would surely achieve great things in the future.
She didn't want to stay with her husband any longer, so she stood up and said, "My husband, I'm going to tell the kitchen to prepare for tonight's family dinner."
Although she could not know the results of the autumn examination in advance, she felt that it was better to be prepared, so she instructed the servants to prepare the ingredients for today's family dinner yesterday. Now that her stepson has passed the examination, she only needs to give a menu and tell the kitchen.