Nowadays, the Emperor values talent highly. As long as one has ability, their background is not an issue. Therefore, the saying that merchants cannot enter official service no longer affects them.
They arrived at the perfect time – the results had just been posted, still fresh.
Moreover, they encountered an unexpected person at the announcement board: Yun Yan.
"Brother Yun Yan? How did you come back?" The five Gu siblings were delighted to see the man in the distance.
Yun Yan, along with his fellow disciples Yun Mu and Yun Yi, had taken the imperial examination together, competing for the positions of Top Scholar, Second Scholar, and Third Scholar.
At that time, when people learned that they were all disciples of Old Master Xu, they were shocked for quite a while.
Even the Emperor bestowed upon him the title of 'Teacher of Generations'.
Needless to say, the Gu and Wang families became instantly famous throughout the land when the news broke.
And Gu Family Village truly became the talk of the town.
A remote little village had somehow produced several outstanding young men.
Top Scholar, Second Scholar, Third Scholar, and then there was Gu Jinchen and his wife, the wealthiest couple in the empire.
To this day, Gu Family Village is still considered a feng shui treasure and a blessed place for raising children.
Because of this, the villagers' lives in Gu Family Village have greatly improved.
Now, Gu Family Village could be called the most prosperous and joyful holy land in the entire dynasty without exaggeration.
Although Yun Yan had achieved the rank of Second Scholar at the time, he ultimately didn't enter civil service as an official.
Instead, relying on the martial skills he had picked up from childhood play with Yun Mu and Yun Yi, and what he had learned from Gu Jinchen, he joined the military.
Now he had become the youngest Second-rank General Guarding the Nation in the court, stationed with the newly appointed Prince of Nanyang (the Little Crown Prince) to guard the northern and southern borders of our dynasty.
But in recent years, the northern border had been unstable, and Yun Yan's chances to return home had become fewer and fewer.
Counting carefully, it had been nearly more than a year since they had last seen him.
One can imagine how surprised they were at this moment.
Seeing this group of younger brothers and sisters, Yun Yan's tanned face broke into a smile, his big white teeth dazzlingly bright.
He reached out to fist-bump with Eldest Brother Gu and Second Brother Gu, patted Third Brother Gu and Fifth Brother Gu on the shoulders, and nodded with a smile to greet Fourth Sister.
"Brother Yun Yan, when did you come back? Why didn't you notify us!" Fifth Brother Gu, his eyes full of admiration for the person he respected most after his eldest brothers and father, asked eagerly.
"I just arrived today. I heard that today was the day the results would be posted, and I remembered you were also taking the exam this time, so I came to have a look," Yun Yan said, patting Third Brother Gu and Fifth Brother Gu on the shoulders again and nodding.
"Well done! Go and check quickly. The Congratulatory Official will probably be at your door soon, so you'll need to hurry back."
"I'll go check right away!"
"Brother, wait for me!"
Hearing this, the Gu brothers present were delighted. Coming to their senses, Third Brother and Fifth Brother quickly pushed through the crowd towards the results board.
"The Third and Fifth Young Masters of the Gu family are here!"
With such outstanding appearances, it was hard not to recognize them.
People in the crowd, seeing them appear, smiled and called out, making way. The two brothers easily made it to the front.
There, at the top of the list in the most eye-catching position, the characters for "Gu Chen" were clearly written.
"Top Scholar! Brother, you're amazing! From now on, our family will have two Top Scholars! No, three Top Scholars!" Fifth Brother exclaimed, remembering that his martial arts Top Scholar title also counted.
As for the literary exam, although he hadn't made it to the top three, fourth place was already quite good!
After all, he had already claimed one Top Scholar title. Their mother always said you can't have both fish and bear's paw, and that one should be content with what they have, right?
"Mm." Hearing his words, Gu Chen, who usually maintained a cool demeanor, rarely showed a smile in public. The young man's eyes were full of joy.
He had also seen Fifth Brother's ranking – excellent! Truly worthy of being called proficient in both civil and military affairs! But he couldn't say it, because this guy would definitely get cocky!
However, seeing the other's slightly expectant look, he couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.
This was what their mother had taught them – the best way to praise someone.
"You did pretty well too," Gu Chen said, his actions belying his words.
Seeing his brother's tsundere behavior, Gu Ran laughed heartily.
He had seen Gu Chen's gesture. Getting praise from this ice cube was really rare!
Haha... he was very happy.
The three Gu siblings who had squeezed in behind them, along with Yun Yan, all silently smiled at this scene between the brothers.
After the exam results were released, the Congratulatory Officials would visit each household to deliver the good news, in order from first place to last.
Gu Chen was first, so the official had probably already arrived at the Gu residence.
Realizing this, the Gu brothers hurried back home, with Yun Yan following to pay his respects to Luo Ge and the others.
...Although they had a slight premonition, they truly hadn't expected that when they returned home, their father and mother, as big as they were, would both be missing!
When they hurriedly returned to the Gu residence, the Congratulatory Official had indeed already arrived, and Luo Shiyan and his wife, along with Luo Qinheng, were helping to receive him.
Seeing this scene, the Gu siblings were momentarily stunned. Gu Chen was the first to recover, smiling at the Congratulatory Official.
"My apologies, sir. We just received the news outside and returned a bit late. Please forgive our rudeness."
The Congratulatory Official waved his hands upon hearing this: "It's no matter, no matter. This humble official has only just arrived as well."
Joke aside, this was now the Gu residence, not only the mansion of the Gu family who were as wealthy as a nation, but also the home of the current First-rank Grand Chancellor, Lord Gu.
The man himself was standing right in front of him, not to mention the Great General Guarding the Nation beside him.
And there was also Princess Ziqin, who possessed superb medical skills, had cured the Empress Dowager's stubborn illness, and had helped many poor citizens with her medical expertise, earning her an exceptional title from the Emperor!
One after another, they were all important figures. Could he say he had been waiting? Certainly not! And he didn't feel like he had been waiting at all.
This was the Gu family, with three Top Scholars, one Third Scholar, one princess, and two of the wealthiest people in the country.
Moreover, now that Third Young Master Gu had once again achieved the rank of Top Scholar, his future official career was bound to be illustrious!
Who wouldn't want to curry favor with such an influential family? He certainly did.
This job was one he had struggled to get! He was more than happy to do it.
Thinking of this, the Congratulatory Official's smile grew even wider. He congratulated the Gu family according to custom, received a generous reward from them, and then left with his entourage.
From beginning to end, he was nothing but smiles.
"Uncle, Aunt, where are my parents?" As soon as everyone left, Fifth Brother Gu Ran couldn't sit still anymore and anxiously asked.
The other Gu siblings, including Yun Yan, all turned to look at them expectantly.
Fifth Brother Gu's face showed a bitter expression.
It couldn't be true, could it? Their parents couldn't have really sneaked away while they weren't looking, just as he had joked about in the teahouse.
"See for yourselves," Luo Shiyan said quietly, handing over the envelope left by Luo Ge to his nephews and nieces.
Then he gave another envelope to his own son and patted him on the shoulder.
"You read these first. We'll be going now." Having said what needed to be said, it was time for them to make their exit. If they left too late, their parents, sister, and brother-in-law might not wait for them.
Luo Qinheng was a bit confused when he received the letter. He had been present when his aunt and uncle were giving instructions, but they hadn't mentioned any letter for him. Strange.
Slightly bewildered, he opened the envelope while following Fifth Brother Gu and the others...
By the time he finished reading the letter and realized what was happening, he rushed out, but his parents' figures had already disappeared into the crowd.
At that moment, six loud shouts echoed through the Gu residence.
The five Gu siblings, plus the poor Luo Qinheng.
"Our parents really ran away!" Fifth Brother Gu exclaimed, his face filled with anguish.
"I was still looking forward to the ice cream Mother promised. How could she just leave like that?"
"I told you we shouldn't all go out at once! Look what happened, we weren't paying attention for a moment, and our parents just up and left."
The other four Gu siblings: "........."
They couldn't help but wonder if there was a possibility that it was because of his constant nagging and disturbance.
Always interrupting Father and Mother's intimate moments, being such a big third wheel – could that be why Father took this chance to run off with Mother?
Listening to the Gu siblings' words, Luo Qinheng just wanted to curl up into a ball.
"Aunt and Uncle have simply gone out for a trip," he said.
"But my grandparents and parents, while on their way to travel, have conveniently left me with a huge mess to deal with."
He had just taken over as the Young Master of the Family of the Luo family and had only recently gotten used to handling the affairs.
He never expected that with just one letter, his parents would dump all their business on him.
He was no longer happy.
Mother, what happened to your former ambition?
Hearing Luo Qinheng's words, everyone present expressed their sympathy for him for a second.
...........Meanwhile, the couples who had made their early escape were naturally unaware of the situation at the Gu residence.
But from their frequent sneezing, they could guess a little.
However, this didn't affect their joyful mood for the trip.
"Shiyan, how do we get to that country you mentioned earlier with the most beautiful scenery? Your mother and sister want to see the flower islands there. Hurry up and lead the way!"
"Alright, Father. You all just sit back and relax. I'll guide you. I'm familiar with all these places!"
Hearing the conversation from the front, Gu Jinchen and Luo Ge exchanged smiles, gently leaning on each other, quietly enjoying this peaceful moment.
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End of the novel
