Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 162 Pt. 2
Translated by gingercat
Edited by gingercat
Jin Wang didn’t lead Yaoniang to continue shopping but arrived at a three-storey restaurant instead.
The inside of the restaurant was full of guests and the seats were all full, especially on the second and third floors. The windows were also wide open, which was really rare.
On the way there, Yaoniang had seen from the streets that all the restaurants were full of people. The windows upstairs were also all wide open. If it was summer, that would be normal, but it was winter. Soon she found out why.
“With so many people, will there be seats for us?”
“Of course there are.”
Sure enough, upon entering, Fucheng called someone over, and they were led upstairs.
As soon as she stepped on the stairs, Yaoniang saw a group of people just arriving at the door. It was the Xiao Family and Consort Qing.
“Jirou, here.”
Yaoniang was so happy to see her that she couldn’t help but say hello. Several people turned to glance at her. Only then did she realize what she had done, and hid behind Jin Wang.
What a scaredy cat!
Jin Wang sneered in his heart and motioned for Fucheng to step forward.
Soon the Xiao Family and Consort Qing came over. Jin Wang didn’t say much, besides that they were welcome to join them if there weren’t enough seats left.
Indeed, there really weren’t any seats left. The eldest young master of the Xiao Family originally didn’t want to trouble Jin Wang, but they had decided to come out on the spur of the moment. At this time, not to mention this place, it was likely that all the restaurants were already full. Seeing that the women and children were all looking at him in anticipation, he cupped his hands and apologized for intruding.
Jin Wang nodded without saying much and led them up.
The private room reserved wasn’t on the second floor, but on the third floor, which was the best spot.
Others may not know, but the eldest young master of the Xiao Family knew that the third floor of Xian Kelai wasn’t open to officials that weren’t of high rank. Sometimes even high-ranking officials weren’t able to use the third floor. Being able to book such a place when the entire city was celebrating the Lantern Festival, the means and power of Jin Wang could be seen.
Maybe this Xian Kelai belonged to Jin Wang. This thought suddenly flashed through the mind of the eldest young master of the Xiao Family. As far as he knew, the people behind Xian Kelai were very mysterious and powerful, and no one dared to provoke them.
Soon someone served trays of tea, fruit, and snacks. Everyone took a seat.
This private room was huge, occupying half of the entire third floor. Women and children sat on one side, while the men were on the other side. Even then, it wasn’t very noisy.
After getting to know each other, Yaoniang greeted the eldest young madam and the second young madam. Together, they enjoyed the fruits and snacks with Consort Qing and two children. There were a lot of people out on the streets today, so the second branch of the Xiao Family only brought the older children out. The younger ones stayed at home, just like Xiaobao and the others.
On the other side, the men seemed to be discussing something. Yaoniang looked at them from a distance and guessed that they were talking about Consort Qing’s matter. Even now, Yaoniang still doesn’t know what Jin Wang’s plan was for Qing Wang and his wife.
At this moment, the night sky outside suddenly lit up, followed by loud consecutive explosions one after another.
The two children from the Xiao Family jumped up immediately. Unlike their previous quiet and reserved selves, they shouted loudly, “Father, mother, fireworks!”
After saying that, they walked over to the window.
Everyone stood up and went to the window.
The heaven and earth seemed to be lit up at once. The scene that filled everyone’s sight was the dark blue night sky with the bright moon hanging high, and stars twinkling in the distance. What was even more dazzling were the colourful flowers blooming in the night sky not far away.
There was a great deal of noise. Even with the naked eye, Yaoniang could see the countless people on the streets below.
‘Boom – bang, bang, bang’. The explosion of fireworks continued incessantly.
Beautiful strokes of colour began to paint the night sky.
The fireworks came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some were like fireballs while others resembled silver snakes. The most common ones were those that bore resemblance to blooming chrysanthemums of various colours. All in all, the fireworks were extremely beautiful.
“It’s so pretty!” Yaoniang said.
A large hand wrapped around her fingers. Unable to resist, she leaned back against his chest.
If only this moment wouldn’t pass and could last forever.
Just as everyone was intoxicated by the beauty of fireworks, a person standing on the corner of the street was looking up in their direction.
Qing Wang had followed the Xiao Family all the way here. He wanted to go forward countless times, but he always stopped.
He raised his head and looked at Consort Qing’s beautiful face under the light, and all kinds of emotions intertwined in his heart. He didn’t realize that there was another woman standing not far behind him. The woman looked at him with turbulent emotions flashing in her eyes, before finally regaining their calm.
She took something out and handed it to the man behind her.
“Give this thing to him.”
A flash of surprise flashed in the man’s eyes. “You finally thought it through.”
She didn’t speak.
The aftertaste of the Lantern Festival had yet to dissipate when the capital was swept by a storm again.
The imperial exam is held in February, and a large number of Jurens and other students from across the country gathered in the capital. Everywhere, including hotels, restaurants, homes, and even monasteries was overrun with people.
The capital was very lively. Everywhere you went, you could hear people talking about the imperial exam. Emperor Hongjing appointed Xiao Chen, the Assistant Minister from the Ministry of Rites, to be the chief examiner. The deputy examiner was Tian Mu, the top scholar from Imperial Academy.
Both of them were highly respected people. No one dared to refute their capability to preside over the imperial exam.
There were three sittings for the exam, which started on February 9th, 12th, and 15th. The exam lasted for three days with all sessions combined together to be a total of nine days. As the saying went, sitting through the exam causes one to shed a layer of skin.
However, after years of hard work, this was an opportunity to rise to famous across the country. After studying books for a lifetime, some people still don’t give up even when they are gray-haired. Even if they had to go through a mountain of swords and seas of fire, countless people fought desperately for this opportunity.
However, all of this has nothing to do with Jin Wang Manor. Jin Wang still went to the Ministry of Work, as usual, every day, and would return once his work was done.
In late February, the imperial exams were finally over.
But the wave of people in the capital still hasn’t dissipated. It even became more lively than before. The exam results are released in March. The candidates gathered in the capital were waiting until the rankings are released before they decide whether to leave or stay.
Now that the exams were over, everyone knew what the topics covered and what the questions were. It was inevitable that some people copied down their essays, confirming their thoughts with one another, and the essays were soon spread everywhere. Many candidates gathered together in restaurants and teahouses to discuss the length and subjects of their essays.
In fact, after a while, most of the candidates had some idea about who will be able to pass the exams. Even if they couldn’t be a hundred percent sure, seventy to eighty percent was no problem.
But at this moment, something happened.
As this matter was investigated, it was found that it was actually related to Qing Wang, to the surprise of many people.
