Although less than half of the villagers were willing to follow Yuan Jing and the clan leader to try growing herbs, Yuan Jing said the result was already very good. This is not a modern society with information explosion. It is really difficult to make farmers who have relied on farming for their lives to think about change.

Those with less land gave half an acre, and those with more gave half of their family's land. The herb planting in Taojia Village kicked off. To show their support for their son and grandson, Tao Dayong and Song Shi, except for leaving two acres of land to grow food for the family, used the rest to grow herbs.

As for where to sell the herbs after they are grown, Yuan Jing felt that his father could take over this task very well and train two followers. As long as the herbs were of good quality, there would be no worries about not being able to sell them.

After two years when everyone's life becomes better, Yuan Jing thinks he can suggest to the clan leader that a school be set up in the village for the children to go to school.

But now he needs to set off, as the time agreed with Yu Xiao and Zou Weiting is almost here.

This time Niu Niu knew his brother would not be back for a day or two, so he hugged his brother's legs and cried loudly, not wanting him to leave. Yuan Jing was so sad and helpless that he picked him up and said, "How about brother take Niu Niu with you to the academy?"

"Okay, okay." Niu Niu abandoned his parents and grandmother without hesitation, which made Xiao Song tear his face off angrily. This little son was an ungrateful person who didn't even respect her as his mother.

"Then can brother make a promise with Niu Niu?"

"What agreement?" the cow asked in a milky voice, sobbing from time to time.

Yuan Jing touched his little nose and said, "If Niu Niu studies well, I will take him to the capital in three and a half years. I will never be separated from him again."

Three and a half years? Little Niu Niu started to count on his fingers how long three and a half years was, but when he heard his brother say that they would never be separated again, he became happy again: "Brother is a man of his words. Niu Niu will study hard and get the first place in the exam like brother in the future."

"Okay, it's a deal, let's make a pinky promise."

"Make a pinky promise, and don't change it for a hundred years."

Tao Dayong has seen through everything. Only the eldest son Za can pacify the younger son in the family. Look, after they made a promise, the younger son no longer pesters his brother and won't let him leave. But that little look makes him tremble.

"Grandma, Mom, our family is well off now, so we should hire someone. Otherwise, let Dad go and buy a family." When in Rome, follow the local customs. Yuan Jing didn't want to be the maverick who opposed human trafficking. "You should take good care of your health and live a long life, so that you can enjoy the blessings of your grandchildren and sons in the future."

"Hey, grandma, listen to your good grandson."

"Mother has also remembered this. Mother will help you keep an eye on your grandmother." The old lady is getting older and older, so she has to be taken good care of.

Yuan Jing knelt down and kowtowed to Song and Little Song, then stood up and followed his father. This time it was his father who sent him out to the academy, accompanied by a newly added servant, whom his father insisted on buying. He said that the servant would help him take care of his life in the academy so that he could concentrate on his studies.

As for the Wang family in the village who are becoming more and more worried, Yuan Jing is not worried at all about leaving Taojia Village. With the clan leader and grandmother keeping them in check, can the Wang family escape from their Five Fingers Mountain?

It was because he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar that Tao Daya was finally able to find a good marriage partner. It was also fate that the couple was still the same family as in Tao Yuzhu's memory of her previous life. Without Tao Yuzhu's interference, Tao Daya and her husband lived a prosperous life.

If there is a difference, it is that his original self was really good to his sisters in his previous life. He taught them how to read while studying himself. This was one of the reasons why Tao Sanya was able to marry well later. But now that he is in this life, the family has already separated, so how could he think of teaching them how to read? He would not take on Tao Sanya's affairs. How they will live in the future depends on their own abilities.

Bailu Academy is located between the province and the neighboring province, and the journey takes longer than going to the provincial capital. Tao Dayong sent his son to the academy and left reluctantly after helping him settle down. He had never been separated from his son for such a long time, and he missed his son before he even left the academy.

But no matter how reluctant I was, I had to leave. There were only two women and a child at home. Although I entrusted them to my eldest brother's care, I was still worried, so I had to hurry back.

Yuan Jing's study life in the academy began. After integrating into it, he gradually fell in love with it. Not only were the teachers here highly skilled, but he could also choose courses in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, riding and archery. Moreover, the academy was well-informed. No matter what happened in the court, he could know it immediately. Yuan Jing could read every issue of the court bulletin.

For example, after Yuan Jing arrived, he heard people talking about the situation of King Zhenbei Mu Cheng'an, and also learned from others the origin of the King Zhenbei of Daxia, a king of a different surname.

The King of Zhenbei, as the name suggests, is the one who guards the northern border against foreign invasions. He has made great contributions. However, this time, on his way back to Beijing, the King of Zhenbei was seriously injured and disappeared due to a scheme by foreign enemies. In order to avoid causing a border crisis and allowing the enemy to take advantage of the situation, the news did not spread until the King of Zhenbei returned to the capital with injuries. After Yuan Jing came to the academy, he heard many people talking about the injury of the King of Zhenbei, and some of them held different opinions and argued with each other.

In fact, the Great Xia Dynasty was established not long ago, and the current emperor is only the third one. When Taizu started the army to overthrow the old dynasty, the first generation King Zhenbei made great contributions. Taizu once said that without the King Zhenbei, there would be no world under my rule, so I made the King Zhenbei a king of a different surname to share the world.

It’s just that all the previous Kings of Zhenbei did not live long. The current King of Zhenbei, Mu Cheng’an, is the fourth one. If this one also dies in the attack, the fifth King of Zhenbei will soon inherit the title.

Knowing this, Yuan Jing was very suspicious of the reason why the successive Zhenbei kings had short lives. A powerful achievement that shocked the master was enough to cost the Zhenbei king his life. Mu Chengan was attacked on the way. Who was the attacker? Was it an external enemy or an internal enemy?

Yuan Jing felt that even if an external enemy appeared, it would be strange if they could sneak into the country without attracting the attention of King Zhenbei without the cooperation of an insider.

Yuan Jing remembered that there was such a scene in the plot. Before the heroine met the hero, she had heard people gossip about the hero's life experience. It was said that he was adopted by the old King of Zhenbei as his heir. But the hero was very likely a dragon son. Although he was born outside the palace, he was often taken to the palace by the emperor to live for a short time. When the old King of Zhenbei expressed his intention not to marry, he adopted the hero to the old King of Zhenbei, waiting for the day when he would inherit his throne.

Although the protagonist's life experience was never specifically mentioned later in the plot, Yuan Jing thought that some things would not be groundless. If the protagonist was really a prince who was living outside, that is, the illegitimate son of the current emperor, then the reason behind Mu Cheng'an's distress this time would be even more worthy of consideration.

However, he believed that Mu Cheng'an, who was in the situation, should be more aware of his situation than himself. And knowing that Mu Cheng'an was now back in the capital and was safe, he felt much more at ease. He concentrated on his studies, waiting for the day to go to Beijing for the exam.

In the capital, the Prince of Zhenbei’s Palace.

Mu Cheng'an's injuries had almost healed, but he pretended to be seriously injured and needed to stay in bed to recuperate. He stayed in the mansion and refused to see anyone who came to visit him. Even the young prince in the mansion found it difficult to see his father.

That day, Mu Chengan was talking to his aide, who had just returned from the border. He looked at his master's pale face with worry and said, "Your Highness, your injury..."

Mu Chengan waved his hands and patted a few spots on his body. Soon, his face gradually regained its rosy color. The staff went from being surprised to understanding. It turned out that the prince was using this to deal with outsiders.

Mu Chengan said: "The emperor has just sent his eunuch to visit me. I have to let him know that I am indeed very ill, so that he can rest assured."

The aide's heart sank: "That's really true..." He pointed a finger in the direction of the palace.

A trace of anger flashed in Mu Chengan's eyes, but it quickly disappeared: "He has put a lot of effort into it. The position of King of Zhenbei will come to an end with me. However, he can't feel at ease as long as I am alive. He hopes that I will pass on the throne as soon as possible."

The staff members felt sorry for their master. Without the successive Zhenbei Kings guarding the northern border, could the emperor stay in the palace so peacefully?

But what every emperor wants to do is to be ready to get rid of the donkey at any time. By the generation of the prince, the bloodline of the King of Zhenbei has actually been cut off, because the prince asked the one in the palace to be sterilized early on and he could not have his own offspring. The throne will fall into the hands of the royal family themselves.

"We can't let our guard down at the border. My Mu family has guarded the border for generations. We must not allow foreign enemies to enter and invade the people in our territory. You should go back to the border in a few days and keep a close eye on everyone you send over here."

The staff member stood up and respectfully accepted the order, then asked: "What about the young prince? The emperor wants the young prince to go to the border for training, right?"

"Yes, I want him to take over my army as soon as possible. Don't worry, just go ahead. I will take care of the rest. This kid has been raised in the capital, and he is not qualified to be the successor of the Zhenbei Army."

After hearing what the prince said, the aide felt relieved. When he came, he met the young prince. He had to admit that the young prince was indeed too young.

Now that the prince is fine, he knows that he doesn't need to worry about what happens next, as the prince will make proper arrangements.

After the staff left, another man in black brought news from the outside world. Mu Chengan opened the letter. If Yuan Jing was here, he would find that what was written in the letter was exactly what happened after he entered Bailu Academy.

He was the only one in the study. Mu Chengan's lips curled up, no longer cold. After reading the letter, he flicked the letter in his hand with his fingers and murmured, "What a little fox, he can thrive in the talented Bailu Academy so quickly."

But he could only keep an eye on his little savior in secret. If the old emperor knew that it was Tao Yuanjing who saved his life, Tao Yuanjing would have no chance of surviving, and his family and clansmen would also be implicated. This made Mu Cheng'an a little unhappy. He was still waiting for his little savior to come to Beijing, but after he arrived, they could not have any open contact.

Thinking of this, anger appeared in his eyes again. His patience with the old emperor was almost coming to an end. However, the key was how to properly handle the subsequent matters, so he had to slow down and take it slowly.

Just like what Mu Chengan saw in the letter, Yuan Jing was like a fish in water in Bailu Academy, and was loved by teachers of various subjects. Not long after, the dean of the academy accepted Yuan Jing as his closed disciple. Of course, Yu Xiao was also noticed by another vice-dean and accepted as a disciple. The two of them quickly made a name for themselves in the academy.

In addition to preparing for the imperial examinations, Yuan Jing also learned chess and painting, and learned a musical instrument, the flute. In his spare time, he would also learn to play the qin. In addition, his riding and archery results were unexpectedly good. The only bad thing about being in the academy was that it was too far away from home. He could only go home once every six months, and usually relied on correspondence.

In order to be able to exchange letters with his brother, Niu Niu learned to read and write in a very short time. Although his handwriting was crooked, Yuan Jing could still understand it. He could imagine how his brother wrote letters with a pout on his face and hands covered with ink, and his mother had to give him a good beating.

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Not to mention Yuan Jing himself, Taojia Village has also changed a lot. Every time Yuan Jing goes back, he finds that it has changed a little. Now every household grows herbs, and the processed medicinal materials sell very well. Since the sales have been opened up, medicinal material merchants from far and near no longer need Taojia Village to deliver the goods to their door, and they all come to pick them up.

A school was opened in the village at Yuan Jing's suggestion. The teacher was a student introduced by Master Chen. It was enough to teach the children in the village to read and write. If they wanted to make further progress, they could go to schools in the town and county.

Three years later, Yuan Jing, who had grown a lot taller, came to Wenchang City again. Yuan Jing wrote a letter to his father saying that he didn't need to come, but Tao Dayong was worried and arrived here a few days in advance. This time he didn't need to rent a house. Yuan Jing directly moved into a house of his teacher in Wenchang City. The place was spacious enough, so Yu Xiao and Zou Weiting came with him.

As soon as Yuan Jing and the other two arrived, they saw Tao Dayong waiting for them at the door. The doorman knew Tao Dayong's identity and of course would not keep him out.

"Dad, I told you not to come. It takes a lot of time to run back and forth."

"Dad has nothing to do anyway. I won't feel safe at home if he doesn't come to look after me in person. Your grandma and mom are worried and have urged me to leave a long time ago." Tao Dayong smiled. His complexion was much better than when Yuan Jing first came. He greeted Yu Xiao and Zou Weiting very freely.

Sun Wenmin did not come this time. He had barely passed the college examination three years ago, but he had no confidence in the provincial examination, so he did not come to suffer. He usually exchanged letters with Yuan Jing, and they would discuss homework in the letters.

"Your brother wanted to come with you, but wouldn't it cause trouble for you if he came? We were asked to stop him. Maybe he will complain in the next letter I write to you." Tao Dayong knew that his son missed home, so he told him about the situation at home. Although his wife did not give birth to any more children, he was very satisfied. Both the eldest son and the youngest son were his pride.

Yuan Jing also laughed: "Soon, Dad, do you want to go to the capital?"

Tao Dayong widened his eyes slightly: "Yuan Jing, what do you mean?" His son is so confident that he will pass the imperial examination and then go to Beijing to take the imperial examination?

My son is only thirteen years old this year.

Yuan Jing thought for a moment and said, "I think it should be possible if there are no unexpected events, so we should make plans early. Dad, I want our whole family to move to the capital. After the provincial examination, we can start making arrangements, so as not to rush until next year. It will be difficult to find a house in the capital."

Tao Dayong stood up excitedly and rubbed his hands. He was really going to Beijing. Although he had thought about it, he didn't expect it to be possible, and to come so soon. But he also had concerns.

"What about the sheep at home? Should we stop raising them or give them to your uncle?" Although what happened in the past has passed and Tao Dayong now has a harmonious relationship with his eldest brother, the incident still left a shadow in his heart. He cannot trust his eldest brother wholeheartedly, so he never thought of giving his eldest brother the recipes for raising sheep.

In fact, his eldest brother helps him raise sheep and grow herbs, and they live a pretty good life. Look, they have already built a new house of bricks and tiles. Without his son, the eldest brother would not have lived such a good life. If he had more, Tao Dayong would be stingy.

Yuan Jing suggested: "After arriving in the capital, you can buy a small farm nearby and raise the child there, or see if there are other ways to make a living when Dad arrives."

Tao Dayong realized that going to the capital city was not that difficult after hearing what his son said, so he smiled and said, "Okay, when I go back, I'll discuss it with your grandma. Your grandma has to make the decision on this matter, but she will definitely listen to you."

Tao Dayong knew that his son's words were more useful than his own, and his mother could not bear to be separated from her grandson for a long time.

Yuan Jing smiled, he also didn’t think it was a big deal.

He actually has quite a bit of money in his hands now. After studying at Bailu Academy, his monthly expenses are quite high and he cannot rely solely on his family for support. Besides, he will have to spend more money when he goes to the capital in the future. So Yuan Jing thought about it and decided to follow the path taken by the heroine in the plot, which is to cultivate flowers.

With the spiritual spring water, he cultivated many famous flowers. In addition to giving them to teachers and teachers of other subjects, Yuan Jing mainly sold the rest to Yu Xiao and Zou Weiting. They, or the family connections behind them, had a demand for these famous flowers.

Yuan Jing did not have a lot of training, but over the past three years, he had saved up several thousand taels of silver, which should be enough to buy a house in the capital.

His actions did not attract the special attention of the teachers and students in the academy, because many students regarded it as a way to cultivate their sentiments. It was just that Yuan Jing cultivated more famous flowers with a very high success rate, and they just regarded it as his ability, and some people were just particularly good at growing flowers.

Yuan Jing hasn't told his father about this yet, for fear of scaring him, so he decides to wait until he finishes the provincial examination.

The treatment this time was different from that three years ago. People often posted invitations to them to participate in literary and poetry gatherings. In addition to Yuan Jing being the top scorer in the academy examination, he was also the closed disciple of the dean of Bailu Academy. This identity greatly enhanced his status, and Yuan Jing didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

However, the three of them unanimously agreed to study behind closed doors and wait until after the exams before participating in any activities outside.

It can be said that in the past three years, Yu Xiao and Zou Weiting were like a pair of enemies. In fact, if Yuan Jing were asked to use a word to describe them, he would rather use love-hate relationship to describe their relationship. The two of them started betting again, betting on the order of the rankings of the three people this time. Yu Xiao was still full of confidence in Yuan Jing, thinking that if Yuan Jing did not participate, it would be fine, but if he participated, he would definitely win the title of Jieyuan in the provincial examination.

Yuan Jing and his father did not participate. Yuan Jing actually wanted to remind them that the bet made three years ago had not been fulfilled. Did they forget it by coincidence? So what was the point of this bet?

But the two of them were very excited. They even argued until their faces turned red, but after a while they came to Yuan Jing with the same question to solve it together.

And so the day of the provincial examination finally arrived.