Chapter 68 Entering August, the Great Flight begins...

Dafei arrived in August. He took Su Yunting's page and went to find the pageboys or family members of other candidates who had participated in the Autumn Hunt to inquire about things that those who went with them during the Autumn Hunt should pay attention to.

After inquiring for two days, most of the candidates had started to set off, and many had already booked their accommodations much earlier.

As for Su Yunting, he had already instructed Lu, the county magistrate, to stay at the villa he had prepared when participating in the autumn hunt.

Therefore, Su Yunting only needed to bring people and supplies, and didn't need to worry about where to stay.

On the morning of the third day of the eighth lunar month, they set off from the county and arrived at the prefectural capital in the evening. When they arrived, Lu Yide had already been waiting for them at the city gate for a long time.

Not only Lu Yide, but he also brought Lu Tongzhi's eldest son, the fifteen-year-old Lu Yihe.

Although Lu Yihe was young, he was the son of a sub-prefect, so Su Yunting had to give him the respect due to his position. Upon seeing him, Su Yunting said to Lu Yide, "Why do you have to trouble the young master to personally greet me?"

Lu Yide laughed and said, "If he insists on coming along, can I stop him?"

Lu Yi was particularly humble, saying to Su Yunting, "Brother Su, please just treat me as your own brother. You must not call me 'Young Master' anymore!"

Su Yunting: "In that case, I will address you by your name, young master."

Lu Yihe laughed and said, "Brother Su can call me Xiao He along with you. When Brother Su passes the high school entrance exam, I, the younger brother who was recognized first, will definitely be closer to him than those who came later."

Lu Yihe was sincere in his words. He was unaware of Su Yunting's advice to his father at the time. It wasn't until Lu, the county magistrate, was successfully promoted to assistant magistrate that he learned from his father that Su Yunting had helped him plan it.

His father has now achieved merit in his post, which is also thanks to Su Yunting.

With just two strategies, he achieved what his father had accomplished in his official career over a decade! Lu Yihe had long admired Su Yunting to the point of complete awe.

Previously, Su Yunting was observing mourning at home and did not go out unless necessary, so the two had only met once.

Lu Yi had long wanted to get closer to him, and today he finally seized the opportunity to come and greet him with his cousin.

Looking at the child with the clean smile, Su Yunting felt a surge of affection for him. Because of his relationship with Lu Tongzhi, he said directly, "Since you call me brother, don't complain that I'm too nosy in the future."

Lu Yi was overjoyed: "Brother, don't worry, I will definitely obey!"

Concerned that Su Yunting was tired from the journey, Lu Tongzhi had his nephew pick him up and take him directly to the other residence.

This was a two-courtyard house. Lu Yide arranged for Su Yunting to stay in the main house in the back courtyard, but Su Yunting could not possibly stay in someone else's main house. In the end, he followed his own wishes and stayed in the side room in the outer courtyard.

The villa was quiet and comfortable, with only two servants in the courtyard, a couple in their forties. The husband was responsible for guarding the gate and cleaning the outer courtyard, while the wife was responsible for cooking.

After settling Su Yunting in, the two took their leave.

The next day, before Su Yunting could set off to pay his respects, Lu Tongzhi arrived first.

Upon hearing the voice, Su Yunting quickly went out to greet them, "It's such a bother for you to arrive first, sir! I've been so rude!"

Lu Tongzhi quickly went over, grabbed his arm, and said, "Your exam preparation is the most important thing; don't bother with those formalities."

The two entered the house hand in hand. Lu Tongzhi took the seat of honor and said, "Your knowledge is not a problem. As long as you can persevere until the last round, you will definitely reap rewards in this autumn hunt."

Su Yunting stood up, cupped his hands in acknowledgment, and replied.

Lu Tongzhi asked him to sit down and then shared some of his experiences from when he participated in the imperial examinations, giving him some pointers on things to pay attention to.

Having explained everything, Lu Tongzhi said, "Focus on your studies before the exam. You don't need to go to my place again. You can go after the exam and when you've had a good rest."

Lu Tongzhi was truly offering Su Yunting advice at every turn, and every word he spoke was sincere.

Su Yunting made a special effort to get to know him because he wanted to live in the county without being overly constrained and knew that Su Yunting's character was acceptable.

After they got to know each other, Su Yunting received financial assistance and care from him on several occasions.

In their subsequent interactions, Lu Tongzhi treated Su Yunting just like an elder in his family.

Both were people who sponsored him, but compared to Lu Tongzhi in his previous life, the Sun family lacked genuine care and respect by a significant margin.

Having been reborn, Su Yunting valued sincerity above all else. He rose again and respectfully replied to Prefect Lu, "Yes."

After seeing off Magistrate Lu, Su Yunting only went to check on the cell location once and did not leave the house again.

After resting and recuperating for several days in the villa, the day of the exam finally arrived.

...

Ever since Su Yunting went to the prefectural capital, Qiu Yuruo has been anxious, and as the exam date draws closer, her anxiety becomes more and more pronounced.

On the day of the exam, a family member of Su Yunting's classmate came over and invited her to go to the temple to pray for blessings.

Qiu Yu wouldn't object to others going, but she herself wouldn't go, not because of her faith, but simply because she was afraid of causing trouble.

He declined the invitation from his classmates' families and stayed home, feeling extremely anxious, so he copied books in his room.

After copying books all day, my hands were swollen, but my mind gradually calmed down.

Qiu Yuruo felt anxious, and Yun Che and the other two also felt uneasy.

Seeing the three of them looking worried, Qiu Yuruo tried her best to relax and led them to imagine their eldest brother's life after passing the imperial examination.

After thinking it over for a while and seeing that the three of them had recovered quite a bit, Qiu Yuruo finally told them to go to sleep.

She went back to her room, stopped thinking about his situation in the cell, lay on the bed and repeated "calm mind" countless times before slowly falling asleep.

The next day, Qiu Yuruo got up at the usual time, sent Yun Che to the school, checked on her two younger sisters, and only went to the workshop after seeing that they were alright.

She returned to her usual self, and her younger siblings also relaxed again.

Qiu Yuruo did not show any anxiety until the end of the exam.

...

When the autumn examination ended, Su Yunting was among the first batch of candidates to emerge from the examination cells. Compared to the others who were sick or exhausted, his listless state meant he was in good condition.

Dafei and Lu Yihe picked them up and took them to the carriage back to the villa, where a doctor was already waiting.

Su Yunting first instructed his page to grind ink and write a letter to his wife to let her know he was safe before having the doctor take her pulse.

After the doctor took my pulse and confirmed that I was fine, I ate a meal, washed up briefly, and went straight to bed and fell asleep.

Three exams, lasting nine days, left Su Yunting exhausted despite his strong physique and thorough preparation.

He slept straight through until noon the next day. After getting up, he ate lunch and then wrote a letter to his wife.

The last letter was just a simple notification that I was safe, but this one is much more detailed.

The autumn harvest season ends on the 17th of August, and the results will be released either at the end of August or the beginning of September.

Most students who persevere and finish the exam will wait until the results are released before going back home.

However, after writing a letter to his wife, Su Yunting did not want to wait any longer in the prefectural capital. After meeting with Magistrate Lu, he immediately had Dafei book a carriage.

On the third day after leaving the examination hall, Su Yunting boarded a carriage to go home.

...

In Mingshun County, Qiu Yuruo received his first letter on the third day after the exam.

Although it was only a few short sentences, I can finally relax after being on edge for so many days.

The three sisters-in-law were having a good time at home when there was a commotion in the front yard.

At this hour, Qiu Yuruo initially thought that Yun Che had returned and that she had made such a commotion because she was anxious about news of her older brother.

It wasn't until the commotion reached the inner courtyard gate that Qiu Yuruo noticed something different in the footsteps.

She was filled with disbelief and anticipation, yet she couldn't help but walk towards the door.

Su Yunting entered the inner courtyard, passed the screen wall, and saw his lover coming to greet him.

Qiu Yu stopped walking. In just half a month since they parted, she had worried more than she missed him. Only now, seeing him again, did she realize how much she had missed him.

A cheer came from behind: "Big brother's back!"

The younger sister ran up to Su Yunting and said, "We were just guessing with my sister-in-law about the day the results would be released. We were all hoping for the results to be released soon, but we didn't expect you to come back before the results were released!"

Su Yunting withdrew his gaze from his wife, looked at his younger sister, and said with a smile, "I missed you guys, so I came straight back after finishing the exam and getting some rest."

The second sister stood beside Qiu Yuruo and said, "It's good that you came back soon, eldest brother. You said in your letter that everything was fine, but we were still worried because we didn't see you."

After comforting his two younger sisters with a smile, Su Yunting walked to his lover's side and said, "How come you've lost so much weight in just half a month!"

The younger sister covered her mouth and laughed: "Big brother, you still ask? It's because I'm worried about you!"

Qiu Yuruo smiled and said to her, "There's no fish soup tonight."

Upon hearing this, the younger sister's smile vanished.

Qiu Yuruo said, "I'll make it for you tomorrow. Tonight I'll make your older brother's favorite dish."

Younger sister: "Oh"

...

That evening, after their passion subsided, Su Yunting held his lover in his arms and whispered about how much he had missed her these past few days.

After talking for a while, he lowered his head and kissed her again.

Worried that he might get angry again, Qiu Yuruo stepped aside and changed the subject, saying, "Tell me about the exam."

His wife dodged away, so Su Yunting propped himself up, trapping her between his arms, and said, "The exam is no different from before, it's easy, nothing new."

After saying that, he lowered his head and kissed her again.

Qiu Yuruo had no choice but to be blunt: "You've been in the cell for so many days, take a good rest for a couple of days, and I'll make sure you have a good time in a couple of days."

Su Yunting gently stroked his lover's face and coaxed, "I've rested. You made sure I had my fill so I could sleep soundly. Otherwise, I'd be so angry that I couldn't sleep at all."

Qiu Yu is naturally easy to coax, especially since the couple had just consummated their marriage and had been separated for half a month. He wasn't the only one who wasn't satisfied with their love.

Now that he said that, she softened and finally gave in to him, letting him have his way.

The two argued until midnight, releasing all their longing and love, before finally falling asleep in each other's arms.

I don't know when it started, but it began to rain outside.

Autumn rains are usually light drizzles, but today's rain gradually intensified from a light drizzle.

Su Yunting was awakened by the sound of rain, and suddenly his mind drifted to a heavy rain that would cause turmoil in the imperial court many years later...