Chapter 57 The Girl with Broken Wings

In the teacher's resting room, Song Yanjin, Su Lao and Master Ge were marking test papers by candlelight all night long. Occasionally, when they came across a good article, the three of them would gather together to comment and praise it.

A weird one, for example, Su Bai's article, the topic asked him to comment on the Jiangnan boat trip, but he wrote about the skinny horses in Yangzhou...

Song Yanjin was completely speechless!

"You know what, this person's use of words in describing characters is very vivid. I have personally visited Yangzhou and seen the style of the skinny horse."

Mr. Ge couldn't help but feel happy when holding the test paper.

Su Lao threw a tea pick at him, "You are so dishonest..."

Song Yanjin was marking the papers silently. This topic was not suitable to be discussed any further.

At three o'clock in the morning, they finally finished correcting the papers, and the three of them rubbed their sore shoulders and went back to the courtyard.

In the final exam after the holiday, there was not much difference in the students' scores. The first place was still Gu Jiajing, followed by Huangfu Yunqing, with a difference of two points between the two.

Xia Yange fell in the middle. Song Yanjin noticed that she was in a bad mood during class. She was in a daze and couldn't answer questions. It was obvious that she didn't read books when she got home.

After lunch at noon, he told Bai Zhu to call people to the Shanzhangyuan. Song Yanjin first poured a cup of hot water for the little girl, "Yan Ge, I see that you are in a bad mood recently. We are all girls. Tell me what difficulties you encounter."

Xia Yange knew that the headmaster was a very good person, but it seemed useless to say anything, as her fate was destined to be unchangeable.

But she felt wronged if she didn't say it. Xia Yange's slender, bony hands stroked the teacup, tears falling silently into it. "After the Flower Festival, I will participate in the selection of the Crown Princess. Girls above the fifth rank, except those who are engaged, will not be able to escape."

Song Yanjin sighed, thinking it was a big deal. The Flower Festival was after the Spring Examination, and after the results were announced, there would be another outcome.

The Xia Dynasty had a clear regulation that officials in the court were free to marry. With Xia Yange's current grades, it would be easy for her to pass the imperial examination, but she would still have to work harder to become the top scorer.

Song Yanjin held her hand and analyzed the situation for her carefully, "Don't worry, you are different from other girls in the boudoir. You are a juren, so you have a certain status. You don't have to kneel when you see county-level officials, and you can receive a salary every month."

"If you pass the imperial examination, you will be a Jinshi, and your future will be limitless. As for your majesty, you can't be arranged to marry at will. What's the point of being a crown princess? Even if you dare to marry, the crown prince may not dare to marry you."

"Anyway, there are still three months until the Flower Festival and two months until the Spring Examination. We'll know which one is more urgent. Let's deal with the more urgent one first and calm down to study for the exam."

When Xia Yange heard that there was going to be an election for the Crown Princess, it was as if the sky had fallen. She was immersed in sorrow all day long and did not have a good New Year. Her mother and maternal grandparents mostly advised her not to dream of taking the imperial examination, as there was not much hope with so many people trying to cross a single-plank bridge.

She was asked to learn etiquette and prepare for the prince's selection of concubines, saying that girls will eventually get married, and it is better to marry a dragon and phoenix among the best, who will be the future master of the imperial palace...

After listening to the headmaster's analysis, Xia Yange made up her mind and nodded, "Okay, I'll listen to you, headmaster. I will prepare well for the Spring Examination and pass the exam to get a good reputation. This way, my family won't be able to restrict me."

Song Yanjin nodded with satisfaction, "Yeah."

The people of Da Xia are open-minded and there is a wise ruler, otherwise many girls would have their wings broken and would have been stuck in the backyard for the rest of their lives.

For several consecutive days, Xia Yange's test scores continued to rise, and she has surpassed Ye Shiran.

"This tiger girl was still in the middle of the pack when she returned from vacation, but in just a few days, she has soared into the top ten..."

"She is the only girl in the Spring Examination Class. She is really amazing to have such good grades among a group of wolves!"

In front of the notice board, Shen Muzhou, with his hands folded, looked at the rankings with a smile on his face. The little girl finally came back to life.

At first, there were only ten people in the Spring Examination Class. Except for him and Xia Yange, the rest were lackeys of the prince and Gu Jiajing. They could only keep each other warm and encourage each other. The intensive classes were gradually ending their holidays, and people who wanted to sign up for school kept coming in an endless stream!

The entrance examination screened out batch after batch of candidates, and the Song family came again, but were rejected by Song Yanjin.

At this point, Song Yanjin was really too busy, and she had not yet settled the score for this good aunt who had ruined her reputation.

She ordered Baizhu to call Qingmu and asked him to keep an eye on the Fifth Master of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion or the Song family when he had nothing to do, and to report to her if he found anything suspicious.

It's very easy to find out any dirty deeds in such a prestigious family.

If Song Yanjin were to catch him, he would definitely post flyers all over the streets, give him a taste of his own medicine, and make the Duke of Ying's scandal known throughout the world.

宋府
Zhu spent a huge amount of money to hire an old maid from the palace to live in her mansion. Every day, she would pull Song Yanxi out of bed before the rooster crowed and teach her etiquette.

Song Yanxi has been proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was a child. Hearing that the prince likes women with bookish air, Zhu was tempted to send her daughter to Qingyun Academy. She proposed it to the master several times, but in the end she got nothing good in return.

The master's original words: "Xi'er is talented, why is she rushing to look for that rebellious girl? Just let Xi'er read more books at night."

Every day in the courtyard, there would be the sound of the nanny scolding Song Yanxi for her improper movements, and the twin girls hiding behind the rockery would use this to amuse themselves.

Song Yanhuan whispered to her sister, "Hahahaha... Sister, look at my second sister, she has been trained so hard that she doesn't know how to walk."

Song Yanxi smiled as she walked along the path, imitating the manner of a lady from a noble family. "Sister, look, does the Prime Minister's daughter, Gongshu Yuanyuan, walk like this? Do you think I have the potential to be a crown princess?"

"No, no, sister, your hands are not placed correctly. It should be like this."

Song Yanhuan held the handkerchief in her small hands and crossed them over her belly, then she walked in front of her sister with her hips twisting.

Song Yanxi's lips twitched, "Your butt is twisted up to the sky. Which good girl walks like this? Only prostitutes on the street do this..."

Before he could finish his words, he was pushed to the ground by his sister.

"Song Yanhuan, are you sick?"

Song Yanxi was helped up by the maid, and she patted the mud on the back of her skirt with her backhand.

Song Yanhuan put her hands on her hips and laughed with satisfaction, "Who told you to say that I walk like a whore? You deserve it!"

Song Yanxi didn't bother to argue with her. She patted the mud off her butt and turned away. The damn girl liked to hit people when she annoyed her and she was unhappy. She was unwilling to play with her.

"Hey~ Sister, don't be angry, I was wrong, I shouldn't have pushed you..."

Song Yanhuan made a series of promises, and she had to appease her narrow-minded sister. Now that her father was recuperating in bed and her mother was too busy to see anyone all day, her sister was the only relative left in the second room.

Song Yanxi pulled her hand out of her arms and scolded her with a stern face, "I am your sister, you naughty girl, stop hitting people all the time. If you dare to push the person closest to you today, you will get angry tomorrow and chop people to death if you don't like them."

"Who gave you the courage? You don't even know how to change. In two years, when you reach the age of marriage, who would dare to marry a wicked woman like you?"

Song Yanhuan was stunned by the scolding. She pursed her lips in grievance and went forward to hold her sister's hand, "I was wrong, sister, please don't ignore me in the future. If I make a mistake again, I will remind you and I will never make it again."

It was rare for a willful sister to admit her mistakes, so Song Yanxi softened his heart and let her go, holding her hand and walking out of the rockery path, "Let's go, it's time for Dad to take his medicine, let's go and serve him."

(End of this chapter)