At the victory celebration banquet, many details were revealed. Most of the northern aristocratic families huddled together, their faces beaming with smiles of relief after surviving a calamity, so happy that they seemed to forget themselves.
Unlike in the capital, most of the scions of the northern aristocratic families who passed the assessment this time were previously neglected commoner sons. Once they were confirmed to stay, their fate would be completely changed, and they might even have the opportunity to surpass those once high-ranking sorcerer sons. For them, this was like a windfall.
Even now, many people feel like they're dreaming. Overly excited, they gather in small groups, their drinking in high spirits. Before the banquet even begins, one or two of them are already flushed from drinking.
However, it's understandable that they're so smug; they've been suppressing their feelings for too long.
During the month of family review, they endured the gloomy pressure from the sorcerer's children. During the assessment, they were filled with anxiety, fearing they would miss this opportunity. Under this pressure, many of them barely slept during their days in Jiangnan. There was no way around it; everything Jiangnan presented was too wonderful, so wonderful that they felt that if they missed it, it would be like missing out on a whole world!
Therefore, the northern students who had passed the exam were now extremely unrestrained. However, not all the scions of noble families in the hall were like this. Compared to the northern students, the students from the capital behaved completely differently.
Most of the prominent families in the capital are very tolerant and have a great capacity for understanding people. Moreover, many of the students who passed this assessment are disciples of sorcerers. Rather than celebrating wildly, they are more focused on planning for the future.
Therefore, you will find that the scions of prominent families in the capital city are almost not in large groups like those in the north. Instead, they are scattered in various places and sit with the people from the Jiangnan!
Chen Ying observed this and nodded slightly. The northern aristocratic families were still as corrupt and rigid as before, and the children they raised performed far worse than those in the capital.
That makes sense. The aristocratic families that can enter the capital are all families with great vision back then. They placed their bets even before the Xiao Household had secured their rule. They are all people with foresight and extraordinary spirit. On the contrary, the atmosphere in the north is extremely conservative. If it weren't for the Duke of Wei's strong recommendation, many people probably wouldn't have looked up to the Jiangnan Academy.
This can be seen from the children they have educated. The children from the capital are clearly more open-minded and have better vision. Even the children of officials who passed the imperial examinations did not become overly proud. Instead, they took the initiative to build good relationships with the students from Jiangnan.
This is a very wise choice. Those who occupy special channels are already disliked by students from Jiangnan. If they are isolated from the group, they will only be increasingly ostracized in the future. On the contrary, the students from Jiangnan have a much better foundation in Confucianism than them, which puts them at a great disadvantage in terms of progress.
Once they are completely ostracized, the first batch of senior students in the college will definitely favor the locals, which will be very disadvantageous for them.
Actively making friends can not only ease tensions, but if you can befriend one or two, you can also take the opportunity to cooperate. The students from Jiangnan will definitely learn faster and will be more exposed to exquisite techniques. If you can befriend them, you can exchange techniques that your own family cannot use.
At this moment, Yun Ke'er and her daughter were surrounded by a group of people from prominent families in the capital.
I was initially worried about my young daughter attending such a large banquet. After all, she's a mischievous girl, and if she secretly drinks and gets drunk, she might suffer in the chaos and I'd be devastated.
But that couldn't dampen the little girl's enthusiasm to see it for herself, so she applied to bring her child along to the banquet. The higher-ups quickly approved this, since while there are few child prodigies who can get into the academy, they do exist, and most of them come with their elders, for fear of offending others.
Yun Niang was somewhat glad she had come, because she could clearly sense that everyone around her had come for her daughter.
"Gentlemen and ladies, judging from your accents, you're all from the capital?" Yun Niang removed her veil at this moment, revealing that the scars on her face had faded considerably, but she still looked somewhat ferocious, and some people might find it unappetizing.
However, these young men seemed very well-mannered, not paying any attention to the other person's scars, and still wearing humble smiles. A woman in a blue dress even took the initiative to refill Yun Niang's tea.
"Young lady, there's no need for such politeness." Yun Niang accepted the teacup with a smile, but she became even more wary. Ever since being tricked by Lu Ming, she had become especially wary of people from the capital who appeared sunny and had a gentle demeanor!
The young men from these families were worldly-wise and quickly sensed the woman's wariness. After exchanging glances, they didn't continue probing and chose to be more honest.
"This lady must be Yun Ke'er's mother, right?"
They really came for their own daughter!
"Does everyone know my daughter?"
Yun Ke'er looked around at the people in a daze, feeling that her mother seemed very hostile. She obediently drank her tea. She did want to sneak in and drink, but her mother would definitely not allow it later.
"Your daughter's grades Southern Capital; it's hard not to notice her."
That's quite frank.
Yun Niang nodded slightly, though she remained wary, a hint of smugness flashed in her eyes.
She was naturally proud of her daughter's achievements.
It should be noted that many of the participants were scions of prominent families in Jiangnan, who had been taught by renowned teachers since childhood and were exceptionally talented. Yet, even so, my daughter still managed to get fifth place, and was first among the girls!
"We all come from the capital," the black-clad young man at the head of the group bowed and said, "My name is Pang Xing, a member of the Pang Family in the capital. We are fortunate to have come to Jiangnan and passed the examination. However, we know that if it weren't for the separate examination papers, we would have had no chance of passing. Now, seeing your daughter's talent in Confucianism at such a young age, we are truly envious."
"Young master, you are too modest." Yun Niang was pleased to hear this, but she didn't get carried away. She quickly said, "I know a little about it. You young men from the capital only started preparing last month. Of course, it's unfair to compare you directly with the young men from Jiangnan who have been preparing for two years."
"Madam Xie understands, but we also know that Neo-Confucianism is profound and difficult to learn and master. Even if we had two years, it would be difficult for us to compare with your daughter in this regard."
"No, no." Yun Niang's eyes curved into crescents, and she smiled much more happily than before. She had been in a gloomy mood for many days because of Lu Ming's matter, and this was a rare moment when she showed a smile.
Is your daughter married?
"Pfft!" The sudden turn of events caused Yun Niang to spit out her tea!
Fortunately, the surrounding area was full of sorcerers, so the tea did not cause any trouble for everyone. Before the tea could even touch the people around them, it was blocked by wind magic, and the water droplets floated in the air, which made Yun Ke'er's eyes widen!
Yun Niang's expression tightened. She had heard that the young men from the capital were no ordinary people, but she hadn't expected them to be so capable.
Excuse me, everyone.
"It's alright, it's alright. We were just being too presumptuous." Pang Xing smiled slightly, waved his hand, and the tea clumped together and gently fell to the ground.
You know it's your recklessness that's the problem?
"Young master," Yun Niang looked at him seriously, "My daughter is still young. Is it inappropriate for her to ask such a sudden question in this setting?"
"Please forgive us, Madam," Pang Xing quickly apologized, "We didn't mean to be presumptuous; we just didn't want to miss this opportunity."
"Missed the opportunity?"
"Your daughter is exceptionally talented; she's destined to be a sought-after girl. We outsiders can only try to seize the opportunity like this."
These words of praise and honesty made Yun Niang relax a little. What the other party said was true. When her daughter's preliminary examination results came out, many famous teachers in the capital had come to her, wanting to arrange a marriage. Not to mention that they had knocked down her door, she had received dozens of invitations.
She never expected her daughter to be so sought after in marriage!
She had originally thought that girls who made a name for themselves wouldn't be well-received by men these days, and she hadn't expected her daughter to rely on a man in the future. But the situation was completely different from what she had imagined. The world around her not only didn't reject her, but instead made her daughter a hot commodity.
Moreover, most of the people who came to propose marriage were from scholarly and etiquette-conscious families. In her impression, these were the people who valued rules and etiquette the most, yet now they were the most enthusiastic in their proposals.
"I'm sorry, Young Master Pang, the girl is still young and we have no plans to marry her yet. Besides, I'm an only child, and I'd be lonely without my daughter. I plan to keep her for a few more years. You should consider other families."
"We are already aware of Madam's situation." Pang Xing, unperturbed by the rejection, calmly continued, "Madam raised Miss Yun Ke'er alone, and naturally doesn't want her to marry too far away. Compared to the capital, a local family is clearly more suitable for your situation. After all, if you marry here, Madam can still see her occasionally when she misses her daughter."
"It's good that you understand, young master." Yun Niang didn't hide anything. That's exactly what she thought. No matter how powerful the other party was, she didn't want her daughter to marry so far away. If her daughter married so far away, it would probably be difficult for her to even see him in the future.
"What if our family were willing to send an outstanding son to marry into the family?"
"What??"