Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

"It's my sister-in-law?!" This was something Qin Yunhe never expected.

Li Chang was only in his teens at the time, so his wife should have been in her teens as well.

"My wife is really good at chess. If she weren't a woman, she might have become a famous scholar." Li Chang sighed, "It's a pity that she is now confined to the harem and doesn't have the ambition she once had."

A teenage girl with excellent chess skills.

Qin Yunhe knew that Tan came from a scholarly family, but he didn't expect that she was also so good at chess.

"My mother and my mother-in-law are close friends, so the two families often visit each other. When I first got engaged to my wife, she heard that I was setting up a formation in Qingyun Tower and said she wanted to play against me.

Then I… lost three games in a row, haha.”

Talking about the past, Li Chang looked very happy.

"My wife said that I used money to gamble in Qingyun Tower, and it must have attracted vulgar players. Not only is there nothing to be proud of when I win, but it also makes the chess style clichéd and boring.

I thought about it and it seemed to make sense. I suddenly felt that there was no point in setting up the chess game, so I withdrew."

I didn't expect it to be like this. Qin Yunhe also found it interesting and joked, "Sister-in-law is really knowledgeable. She is even smarter than Zigao."

"Hahaha——Of course, my wife is more clever."

After the court session was over in the evening, Qin Yunhe returned to his inner residence.

Qin Shi took the words he had written and showed them to Qin Yunhe. Qin Yunhe circled a few places to demonstrate and then gave it back to him.

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with your handwriting, it's just a matter of weight."

"My dad always says my handwriting is stiff."

"You're only fifteen, just practice more."

Qin Shi thanked Qin Yunhe and said, "Uncle, can you write a few pieces of calligraphy for me to copy?"

Qin Yunhe was surprised: "You don't need a copybook to practice calligraphy now, right?"

Qin Shi didn't know what to say, so he could only say, "Uncle, can you just write a few for me? I...I'm asking for them on behalf of someone else."

Anyway, there was time now, so Qin Yunhe didn't ask who it was for, but just said: "Okay, I'll write a few when I have time. What do you want to write?"

"Just write as you see fit, anything is fine."

After a day or two, Qin Yunhe gave Qin Shi a few large characters and a piece of small characters.

Qin Shi thanked his uncle, sorted out the few pieces of calligraphy, picked out a suitable brush for practicing calligraphy from his own collection, and gave them to Zhao Ping.

Zhao Ping was very happy to get the calligraphy copybook and brush.

"Thank you, Brother Shi!"

"I've used this brush several times before, so don't be disgusted. Although it's not new, this brush is more suitable for beginners."

"No problem, no problem. If you let me buy it myself, I'll know what to buy. It's a good opportunity for me to get some of your talent. I'll ask you for your guidance after I've practiced."

In the next few days, every time Zhuzi came back, he saw his son practicing calligraphy. After dinner, Zhao Ping would also practice for half a day.

"Where did you get this copybook?"

"I asked Brother Shi to teach me how to write before, and he gave it to me later. I told him I'd show it to him after I'd practiced it."

Zhuzhu nodded.

Seeing his son working so hard, he felt a little relieved but also a little uncomfortable.

"The list of cases should be announced tomorrow. After you have looked at the list, you should go back."

Zhao Ping paused for a moment and continued writing: "Then I will write for a while longer tonight. After I finish reading the list tomorrow, I will ask Brother Shi for some advice before he goes back."

Zhuzi didn't say anything else and went to bed alone.

The next morning, it was time for the case to be handled.

When Zhao Ping and others saw Qin Yunhe going to the yamen, they said they wanted to check the list for Qin Shi.

"Bring Shi'er with you, and go look at the list together."

In fact, Qin Yunhe had already asked someone to go to the government office to inquire about the result in advance, but he did not tell Qin Shi because he wanted to give him a surprise.

Zhao Ping happily ran to the inner house to find Qin Shi. The two of them did not take a carriage, but ran to Bangting.

There were already quite a few people gathered under the notice board. Zhao Ping and Qin Shi squeezed in close, waiting anxiously for the bailiff to post the notice.

After an unknown amount of time, some bailiffs came out of the government office, shouting and trying to disperse the crowd.

People stepped back slightly and looked eagerly at the notice board in the hands of the yamen runner.

When the first one was posted, Qin Shi quickly and anxiously browsed the names, but unexpectedly Zhao Ping spotted it at a glance.

"Brother Shi, look, you are here, third place!"

Qin Shi's heart moved, and he quickly looked forward. His name was ranked third.

Zhao Ping hugged Qin Shi and said, "Brother Shi, you got third place, that's amazing."

Qin Shi was also very happy, his heart was beating like a drum, but he just said: "Yeah!"

"Hurry back and tell the adults the good news!"

Zhao Ping pulled Qin Shi back and the two of them ran back to the government office in a short while.

The two of them hurried to the study where Qin Yunhe worked, and there was no one else in there except Qin Yunhe and He Sheng.

Qin Yunhe smiled knowingly when he saw the two people running towards him excitedly, but he still asked, "How is it, did Shier pass the exam?"

Zhao Ping couldn't wait to say, "Sir, it's passed. Master Shi got the third place."

Qin Shi suppressed his excitement and said calmly, "Uncle, I passed."

Qin Yunhe smiled and said encouragingly, "Third place? Not bad, not bad, Shier is really smart! I'll ask the kitchen to cook a few more dishes for you to celebrate tonight. It seems that my uncle has to prepare a good reward."

In the evening, the whole family sat together to celebrate Qin Shi winning the third place.

Qin Yunhe gave Qin Shi a set of stationery. Although Qin Yunhe said it seemed like they were prepared at the last minute, it was obvious that they were carefully selected in advance.

The pen holder is designed with bamboo in mind, with a simple yet interesting style. Qin Shi fell in love with it at first sight.

"Thank you, uncle."

"This is what you deserve for your hard work. You don't have to thank me. I just hope that after receiving this reward, you will continue to study hard and achieve better results in the future."

"Yes, Shi'er will study hard in the future and live up to my uncle's expectations."

Zhao Ping knew that Qin Shi would probably have to go back within two days, so before he left, he showed him the words he had written in the past few days.

"Brother Shi, can you help me take a look and give me some pointers?"

Qin Shi took the calligraphy that Zhao Ping had practiced in the past few days and looked at it. He found that in just a few days, Zhao Ping's calligraphy had shown obvious improvement.

Although it is still a bit rough, it has already taken shape.

"Have you written all this in the past few days?"

"Well, this is from yesterday. Do you see anything wrong?"

"I didn't expect your handwriting to have improved so much in just a few days." Qin Shi looked up at Zhao Ping in appreciation: "It looks much better than last time."

Zhao Ping was relieved and grinned: "Then my practice was not in vain. Thanks to the copybook and brush given by Brother Shi."

"The calligraphy brush is just a tool. You must have practiced it for a long time, right?"

Qin Shi had practiced calligraphy himself, so he naturally knew how much effort was needed to achieve significant progress.

"I learned calligraphy late and I don't have much talent, so I can only practice more. Brother Shi, can you help me take a look? Is there anything else that needs to be improved?"

Qin Shi picked up a few more questions and gave Zhao Ping some pointers. Finally, he suggested, "Why don't you ask my uncle to help you. My uncle likes hardworking people the most. He knows you are so hardworking, so he will definitely be willing to give you some pointers."

Zhao Ping hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, let's wait until I have time later."