Xu Su Ying pointed at De'an's nose, ready to scold him. But then she remembered—he *had* passed the Child Examination, so she should at least give him a pleasant look.
So she lowered her hand and swallowed the curses on the tip of her tongue.
But Zhao Jing was still Xu Su Ying's favorite. She turned to him and said, "My dear boy, you really did become the top student! That's incredible. A seventeen-year-old top student—you're the first in all of Qingshui County."
Zhao Jing smiled and said modestly, "Mother, I was just lucky."
"What do you mean, lucky? This is pure talent. Keep it up, Jing. If you place first in the Prefecture and College Examinations too, you'll achieve the 'minor triple crown' for us."
