A Records Of An Alpha’s Life In Ancient Times - Chapter 15

At the teacher-thanking banquet the next day, Shen Qingshu saw the chief examiner, Education Commissioner Hong, up close. During the exam, she had only glimpsed him once from afar.

Education Commissioner Hong was nearly fifty. He had originally been a reader-in-waiting in the Hanlin Academy before being assigned outside the capital as an education commissioner, and his term was about to end, after which he would return to the capital.

He was busy with official duties, and his time was precious. He only selected a few outstanding students to test and encourage. Then he moved his chopsticks over a few dishes as a token gesture and left the banquet.

After he left, the students seated there all became much more relaxed and at ease.

The seats were arranged according to ranking. Seeing that Shen Qingshu was around his age, Guan Yiming took the initiative to speak to her.

Although she had missed out on first place, Shen Qingshu did not have any opinion of him.

“Brother Shen, if I had not had a few extra years on you, I really might not have been able to beat you in this academy exam,” Guan Yiming said with feeling.

“Not at all. You deserved it,” Shen Qingshu said, shaking her head. After talking with him, she also admired Guan Yiming greatly. His learning was truly solid, and his poetry was excellent as well.

Guan Yiming was the son of an official family. His father was serving as an official elsewhere. He still carried a young man’s sincerity, and his words and bearing were proper, gentle, refined, and elegant. Shen Qingshu chatted with him for a while and found that they got along quite well.

After all, it was an official banquet. Everyone sat for a while longer afterward, and once enough face had been given, the gathering dispersed. When they parted, Guan Yiming seemed to feel quite strongly that they had met too late. Since Shen Qingshu would be returning to the capital that very day, the two agreed to meet again at the provincial exam four years later.

The provincial exam was held once every three years, and next year was also a provincial exam year. But both of them felt their learning was still insufficient and needed more polishing and accumulation, so neither of them would participate in that round.

With all matters settled, and after being away from home for eight months, Shen Qingshu’s heart had already flown back like an arrow.

——

“Young Master! Young Master is back!”

“Old Madam, Young Master has arrived!”

Along with Shen Qingshu’s footsteps, one shout after another traveled into the inner residence.

Ever since Old Madam Liu received the news that Shen Qingshu had passed and become a xiucai, she had counted the days waiting for her return. Over the past few days, she had gone to the entrance eight times a day to look.

Now, when she heard the commotion outside, she sprang to her feet at once and walked outside excitedly, moving so swiftly that she did not seem like an old woman at all.

When the two met in the central hall, before either could even speak, Old Madam Liu’s tears came rushing down, frightening Shen Qingshu into quickly stepping forward to comfort her.

“Grandmother, you should be happy that I’m back. Why are you crying? I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“You were gone for eight months in one trip.” Old Madam Liu’s hands tightly gripped Shen Qingshu’s arms with great force, as if she could hardly stand and needed to brace herself. “You’ve grown this big and had never once left Grandmother’s side, but in the blink of an eye, you can already go take the exams alone.”

Shen Qingshu supported her and slowly walked inside, saying with a smile, “Grandmother, don’t worry. This time, I passed and became a xiucai in one go. For the next few years, I’ll stay properly in the capital and devote myself to studying.”

Speaking of xiucai, Old Madam Liu wiped her tears with a handkerchief, revealing some comfort. “A xiucai this young—there aren’t many even among the families of the whole capital, let alone among military meritorious households like ours. Now that you have become talented, I can finally say I have done right by the Shen family.”

As she spoke, she grew somewhat resentful again. “When you were young, you were weak and often ill. Those heartless people actually cursed behind our backs that you would not live. Now that you have done so well, let me see who still dares wag their tongues about Count Chengyi’s household.”

Shen Qingshu guessed that the original owner had not actually been weak and often ill. Rather, her mother had been afraid of exposing her identity and had found excuses not to let her go out. But aloud, she agreed repeatedly. “Grandmother is right. In the future, I will still pass the provincial exam and the palace exam too.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Old Madam Liu was finally coaxed into smiling through her tears. Her wrinkled face came alive, making even the silver strands by her temples seem a little brighter.

After they entered the main hall and sat down, Madam He and Shen Peili also hurried over upon hearing the news. They held her and cried for quite some time as well. Within their emotion was also a kind of relief that only the mother and daughter understood.

After eight months apart, the family had endless things to say. They pulled Shen Qingshu along and asked this and that, as if they wanted to pour out all the words they had saved up in one breath.

Listening to their nagging, Shen Qingshu did not feel impatient. In fact, she rather enjoyed this feeling of being missed and cared for at all times.

Was her granduncle’s family well? What was the examination site like? How many hardships had she suffered on the road?

She answered every question seriously, one by one. She also casually recounted all the customs and scenery she had encountered along the way, telling them so vividly and amusingly that the whole family laughed.

Only after lunch did Old Madam Liu become somewhat tired. Under Shen Qingshu’s persuasion, she went to rest.

Shen Qingshu, however, still had to face her mother’s interrogation.

“Shu’er, now that the academy exam is over, tell Mother honestly. Exactly what method did you use to muddle through?” Madam He’s expression was extremely serious. Over these past few months, she had thought until her head nearly broke, yet she still could not think of any method. Surely it could not have been bribing all the soldiers who conducted the searches?

Shen Qingshu had already thought of a strategy for this question.

She checked inside and outside the door once, making sure there was no one around, before lowering her voice and pretending to be mysterious. “Mother, do you know hypnosis?”

Madam He was made nervous by her and also leaned closer, lowering her voice. “What sleep-nosis?”

Shen Qingshu began her grand method of bluffing.

“It is a kind of technique that came from the Western Regions. Through psychological suggestion, it can communicate with people and make them lose their self-awareness.”

“From the Western Regions? Then what does this sleep-nosis have to do with your exam?” Madam He listened to her vague explanation and did not really understand.

“Mother, look. After the great masters in temples hypnotize people, they can make them see their past and present lives. Human traffickers use this method too—one tap, and the person obediently follows them away. In the same way, after I hypnotized the searcher, he could not see my real body, so I passed.”

“Oh, so that’s how it was.” Madam He suddenly understood. She had indeed seen great masters chant scriptures over people before, and as they chanted, the person would fall asleep. After waking, their emotional illness would be completely gone. In addition, Shen Qingshu spoke with such certainty. Madam He was a woman of the inner residence with limited experience, and she did not suspect anything. “Then, Shu’er, where did you learn this sleep-nosis?”

“This… last time at Huayan Temple, an unknown eminent monk taught it to me.”

“Mm. Why did he teach it specifically to you?”

“I don’t know either, hehe. Maybe he saw that I had extraordinary talent!”

Although Madam He vaguely felt that this method had some loopholes, since the exam had already ended smoothly, she did not think too deeply about it.

Seeing that she believed her, Shen Qingshu let out a breath of relief. This was precisely why she had only been willing to say it now. A method that had already passed the test had a completely different level of credibility and persuasiveness.

If she had said this to Madam He before the exam, when no one knew whether this method would work or not, Madam He definitely would have worried and hesitated, asking around everywhere.

But telling her now, even if Shen Qingshu’s explanation had loopholes, Madam He would subconsciously overlook them and even find reasons herself to patch them up.

After figuring it out, Madam He became somewhat curious again. “Shu’er, can you use that sleep-nosis of yours and let Mother see?”

Shen Qingshu had no choice but to use her mental power to blind Madam He’s vision.

Seeing Shen Qingshu disappear right in front of her eyes, Madam He jumped in fright and became even more convinced of her explanation.

After finishing the demonstration, Shen Qingshu reminded her again, “Mother, when that great master taught me this technique, he specifically ordered me not to pass it on. This concerns the lives and fortunes of the entire count’s estate. Only we mother and daughter know about it. You must guard this secret carefully and absolutely cannot tell anyone else.”

“Mother knows. This is just like your identity. Mother definitely won’t speak of it.” Madam He nodded and agreed. Thinking of this matter, she became somewhat happy again. “Then won’t your marriage with the Lin girl be possible to conceal too?”

“How could that be? I can hide it for a while, but I can’t hide it forever. Even if I could, it would be far too unfair to Miss Lin, who would be kept in the dark.”

Speaking of this, Shen Qingshu thought of her trip to Suzhou and became somewhat depressed again. That Miss Lin had not accepted her good intentions at all.

“That’s true. Our family has wronged her.” Madam He sighed and patted her hand, her eyes turning a little moist. “But selfishly, Mother still wants you to marry the Lin girl. Even if she is also a woman, after we are gone a hundred years from now, at least there will still be someone with you, so you will not be all alone.”

Her loving heart was fully revealed in these words. Shen Qingshu was somewhat moved, and her voice softened as she comforted her. “Mother, that won’t happen. Can’t I still adopt a child?”

Madam He wiped her tears, then began blaming herself again. “Sigh, it’s all Mother’s fault for not giving birth to a son, ruining your whole life!”

There were so many things wrong with that sentence that Shen Qingshu had no way to begin. Every time they talked about this topic, Madam He would always end up feeling that it was her own fault. Shen Qingshu was helpless and quickly grabbed her mother’s hand before she could pat her own stomach. “Mother, haven’t I told you many times? I really don’t blame you. Things are quite good as they are now.”

“You don’t need to worry. When the cart reaches the mountain, there will surely be a road. As for the engagement with Miss Lin, I will handle it properly. Although I won’t have children of my own in the future, Sister will. Granduncle’s family also has descendants. I won’t be alone.”

Shen Qingshu spent quite some effort comforting Madam He before finally persuading her to stop. She let out a tired breath in her heart.