Joy of Life: The Mei Family's Son Grows Up

Chapter 64 Origin
Mei Chengan waved his hands quickly.

"No, no. I think Mr. Guo is straightforward and cute. He says whatever he wants to say and never hides anything. I think that's a good thing. It feels very easy and comfortable to chat with him."

Mei Chengan's praise of Guo Baokun did not make Guo Youzhi happy, but instead made him sigh deeply.

Mei Cheng'an was a little confused by Guo Youzhi's sigh. He shouldn't have said anything wrong, so why did he react like this?

"Why is Uncle Guo sighing?"

Guo Youzhi poured him a cup of tea and filled his own cup.

"I know what you said. If he was a child from a commoner family, it wouldn't be a bad thing. But he is my son, and he is determined to be an official. In the officialdom, being shallow-minded and outspoken is a taboo. I feel worried for him just thinking about it."

Mei Cheng'an silently gave a thumbs up to Guo Youzhi's foresight. It was Guo Baokun's mouth that brought disaster to his family in the future. The result was revealed before anything even started.

Tsk tsk, it’s true that a father understands his son.

"Don't worry too much, Uncle Guo. Everything will work out when the time comes. We can talk about the future later. Uncle is still young. With Uncle's protection, nothing serious will happen to Young Master Guo. Don't worry."

Guo Youzhi shook his head helplessly.

"Forget it, let's not talk about him anymore. Let's wait until he passes the Spring Examination."

Mei Cheng'an didn't respond and just drank his tea in silence.

While drinking tea, Guo Youzhi also took a close look at the handsome young man in front of him. His thoughts couldn't help but recall the scene when he first saw his test paper. It seemed to be five years ago. Time passed so quickly.

Mei Cheng'an was waiting for Guo Youzhi to speak first, but he didn't expect that even after he had drunk a cup of tea, there was still no movement from the other side. When he looked up, he found that Guo Youzhi was staring at him in a daze, wondering what he was thinking about.

Mei Chengan spoke softly.

"Uncle Guo?"

Guo Youzhi was awakened by the shouting and realized that he had been in a daze for a long time. The teacup opposite him was empty. He picked up the teapot and refilled Mei Chengan's tea while smiling embarrassedly.

"I'm old now, and I can't help but think about your memories when I see you young people. I guess you've been waiting for a long time."

Mei Cheng'an pushed the teacup forward to make it easier for Guo Youzhi to pour tea, then thought for a moment and asked.

"No, what did you remember?"

Guo Youzhi put down the teapot.

"Nothing, I just thought of the scene when I saw your test paper in the Ministry of Rites. Come to think of it, I personally delivered the poem and test paper you wrote to His Majesty."

Mei Cheng'an knew about this; Eunuch Hou had told him about it, but at this moment he pretended not to know and looked surprised.

"Is there such a thing?"

Guo Youzhi smiled and nodded.

Mei Cheng'an stood up with a serious face, bowed deeply and performed a great salute.

"I actually only found out about this today. So, Cheng'an owes you a formal thanks. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be Cheng'an today."

Guo Youzhi hurried over and helped him up.

"You are too kind. Even without me, it is only a matter of time before your poem reaches His Majesty's ears. No need to be polite."

The two exchanged some pleasantries before sitting down again.

The effect of such an artificial performance was still very significant. Guo Youzhi looked at him with obviously much closer eyes and his attitude was more enthusiastic than before.

"Let's talk about the Spring Examination. His Majesty wants you to see the Spring Examination. What do you think?"

Mei Chengan shook his head.

"Isn't Mr. Guo trying to say that His Majesty might want me to be in charge of the next imperial examination?"

Guo Youzhi raised his eyebrows.

"You really understand what His Majesty means."

Mei Chengan stroked the teacup with his fingers.

"Didn't Mr. Guo ever think that His Majesty might just be acting on a whim?"

Guo Youzhi naturally thought about it.

"It's unlikely. If His Majesty was just acting on impulse, would he specifically order me, the Minister of Rites, to take you with him?"

Mei Chengan added in his heart, Maybe it seems you are too idle.

Guo Youzhi's analysis was based on his perspective, and Mei Cheng'an did not intend to refute it.

"What the uncle said makes sense."

Guo Youzhi smiled and took a sip of tea.

"Since His Majesty intends to let you preside over the Spring Examination in the future, you can't just watch this time. You must at least have a general understanding of the various procedures and preparations for the Spring Examination so that you have a clear idea of ​​what's going on."

Mei Chengan nodded slightly.

"Please teach me, uncle." Guo Youzhi admired Mei Cheng'an more and more. His attitude and courtesy were very appropriate. He nodded with satisfaction.

"There's no rush for this. I'll prepare a booklet for you later. It will record every process and precautions in detail. Please take a look at it when the time comes."

Ah, the booklet, I wonder if it will be the same as the one that the next Minister of Rites Guo Zheng wrote to Fan Xian, omitting many important points.

Mei Cheng'an immediately felt that he was a little dark in thinking this way. Guo Youzhi had no reason to deceive him. Besides, he only wanted to understand the general situation. It was not so important to write down the details. It would be enough to deal with His Majesty's inquiries.

"Then I'll trouble you, uncle!"

"Hey~ It's no trouble, just a piece of cake. It will be ready by tomorrow. I'll have someone send it to you later."

"Okay, I understand. By the way, uncle, when should we start preparing for the Spring Examination? His Majesty asked me to temporarily resign from the Honglu Temple during the preparation period, and I don't know when to start counting."

Guo Youzhi stroked his beard and smiled slightly.

"The examination hall has begun renovations today, so naturally preparations have begun today. So from today until the announcement of the spring examination results, you don't need to go to the Honglu Temple."

Mei Chengan felt there was a blind spot in the words.

"Calculate?"

Guo Youzhi laughed.

"You are indeed perceptive. The actual preparations are done three days before the exam, because that is when the exam questions will be finalized and a lot of preparations will really begin.

At present, they are only renovating the examination hall, decorating the number rooms after the renovation, and ordering candles for the examinees. There is nothing else. If you want to go to the Ministry of Rites to take a look, wait until three days before the exam. You won't see anything now."

Today is the 16th day of the first lunar month, the exam day is the 9th day of the second lunar month, and the first three days are the 6th day of the second lunar month. Does that mean he has an extra 20 days of vacation out of thin air?

Why does he feel embarrassed when others are working and he is resting? Is he the legendary holy body of the working man? He feels uncomfortable if he doesn't work?
Oh~ Mei Chengan quickly threw this evil idea away.

After calming down the random thoughts in his mind, Mei Chengan asked.

"Then I can just rest at home these days?"

Guo Youzhi smiled. He was still young and felt uncomfortable even if he was lazy.

"It's up to you. You can look through the booklet I gave you if you have nothing to do. If you have any questions, you can come to my house and ask me. You can also go to the street to feel the atmosphere of students preparing for the exam. That atmosphere is quite good and very contagious. You can experience it for yourself."

Mei Chengan nodded to indicate that he understood.

After finishing his conversation with Guo Youzhi and coming out of the study, Mei Cheng'an went to look for Guo Baokun. To be precise, it was Guo Baokun who received the news that he had come out and came to pick him up.

The two chatted for a while under the garden pavilion, and then Mei Chengan said goodbye and went home.

On the way home, Mei Cheng'an observed the street carefully through the car window. At this time, many students had already come to Beijing, but the number was not as many as he thought. He thought it was still a little early. After a few days, a large number of students should have arrived in Beijing.

After returning to the Mei Mansion, Mei Cheng'an went to the study first and recounted in detail what happened when he met the Crown Prince and the Second Prince after the morning court session. The father and son reviewed it carefully, and the atmosphere became relaxed only after confirming that the response was appropriate and there was nothing missing.

Afterwards, the two of them talked about the Spring Examination. As expected, Mei Zhili thought the same as everyone else. They all felt that His Majesty was paving the way for Mei Cheng'an.

Mei Cheng'an did not express his thoughts, because no one knew whether His Majesty was just speaking on a whim or had some deep meaning behind his words.

The next afternoon, the booklet prepared by Guo Youzhi for him was delivered to him. The words on it were written in beautiful small regular script. I wonder if it was written by Guo Youzhi himself.

The content is written in great detail, even the precautions against water and fire in the examination room are described in detail.

Mei Cheng'an took a quick look at it and put it down. It was enough, enough to deal with Emperor Qing.

His main job was in the Honglu Temple. Not to mention that the task of presiding over the Spring Examination would not fall on him, even if it was really given to him, he only needed to pay attention to the key points marked by Guo Youzhi to ensure that no major chaos occurred.

In the next few days, Mei Cheng'an would go for a stroll on the street when he had nothing to do. He also went to Tongfu Inn to check in and chatted with the male shopkeeper Tong.

As the spring examination drew closer, more and more students gathered in Kyoto, and even students living in remote areas made the journey to the capital.

The age span of the students is really astonishingly large. When I watched the drama in my previous life, I could only have one or two small feelings, but I didn’t feel that shocked in my heart. However, when you witness with your own eyes some white-haired old people still concentrating on reading and preparing for exams, the feeling is really indescribable and indescribable.

Mei Cheng'an has always been a lazy person at heart. He was unwilling and didn't want to embarrass himself, so he decided to turn a blind eye.

After spending some time among the young students, the bad mood was quickly dispelled.

You don't say it, you really don't say it, sitting among a large group of students, listening to them reading aloud, reciting or discussing in a low voice, Mei Cheng'an felt his learning gene stirring, which reminded him of the scenes when he was preparing for the Level 4 exam several times. At this moment, he just wanted to stand up and yell.

abandon! Give up, abandon, terminate.

……

It was not until three days before the exam that Mei Cheng'an reluctantly broke away from the intense learning atmosphere and followed Guo Youzhi into the Ministry of Rites and Ceremonial Department.

People in the Ministry of Rites were not familiar with him, after all, they had only seen him a few times. But they were very familiar with his name. After all, his name as a child prodigy first spread through the Ministry of Rites, and it was not just an ordinary relationship.

After Guo Youzhi introduced himself to everyone, the officials from the Ministry of Rites were very enthusiastic towards him, which made Mei Chengan quite flattered.

When everyone talked about what happened in the past, Mei Chengan suddenly realized that there was such a connection between them.

Suddenly I felt that everyone was much friendlier.

(End of this chapter)