A commotion broke out in the crowd, but no one dared to step forward to stop them.

"It looks like a carriage from the Minister's residence. The Minister's residence is the maternal family of Consort Yue, and they are currently very powerful. We should stay away from them."

Upon hearing that it was a carriage from the Minister's residence, the queuing pedestrians spontaneously made way for them.

Bai Luochen calmly handed the travel permit and identity card to the gatekeeper, who acted as if he hadn't seen them, bowing and scraping as he approached the tall horse: "Miss Zhou, you must be tired from your journey, please go first!"

Bai Luochen reached out to stop her: "It's our turn now, why let her go first?"

Before the gatekeeper could answer, the carriage doors opened, and a maidservant said impatiently, "My young lady specially prayed for the Imperial Concubine's safety and well-being. It cannot be delayed. Why don't you all move aside?"

Upon hearing the name of the Imperial Concubine, Bai Luochen's expression darkened, as if a storm was brewing.

"The Imperial Concubine! We can't afford to offend such a powerful figure, being new here." Gu Nanjiao quickly tugged at Bai Luochen's sleeve: "It's her first day in the capital; let's avoid trouble and let her go first!"

Seeing Bai Luochen step aside, the maid sneered disdainfully, "You're smart to know what's good for you."

"Qingci, don't be rude. We'll just follow the rules," a gentle female voice said.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the gatekeeper opened the city gate and personally escorted him into the city.

Bai Luochen sat silently in the carriage, his gaze somewhat cold. Manager Yun quickly took the voucher from his hand and handed it to the gatekeeper with a smile on his face.

After entering the city, with the help of Manager Yun, we found an inn to settle down.

Bai Luochen said he had to go to Bai's Pharmacy, and after settling Gu Nanjiao and the others in, he left.

The next morning, Gu Nanjiao and Lü Siniang disguised themselves and went to the announcement point to wait. After learning that the results would be announced in ten days, the two went to the most bustling place in the capital to stroll around.

The capital city was indeed bustling, with shop signs and flags flying high, carriages and horses moving about, and crowds flowing endlessly.

Even ordinary people wear fine cotton clothes and wear serene and contented smiles, which contrasts sharply with the sorrow and simplicity of the small county town.

At night, the lanterns are lit up, the neighborhoods open, and the whole place is ablaze with silver lights. The streets and alleys are bustling with people, revealing a prosperous scene everywhere.

If one can establish a foothold in the capital, even a small shop can make a fortune.

The two walked around for a while, bought some necessities, and then returned to the inn.

Prices in Beijing are shockingly high, more than ten times more expensive than in small county towns.

Gu Nanjiao only had three thousand taels in her copper token, which she had scraped together with Lü Siniang. She didn't know if it would be enough to open a shop.

The next day, Lü Siniang and Gu Nanjiao met with the manager of Yunshang Pavilion.

The head manager was in his thirties, neither fat nor thin, with a shrewd glint in his eyes, which made Gu Nanjiao have to deal with him carefully.

The three talked for a whole morning. No matter how much the manager Ren promised, Gu Nanjiao wouldn't budge an inch and insisted on having her own brand.

In short, cooperation is possible, but we will never be at the beck and call of Yunshang Pavilion.

By the end of the conversation, the head manager almost laughed out of anger. He said that if it weren't for Bai Luochen's sake, he wouldn't have come to talk to them in person at all; he didn't even consider the small Jiaoniang Pavilion worthy of his attention.

Later, Gu Nanjiao learned that the head manager of Yunshang Pavilion was the brother-in-law of Bai Luochen's cousin. This convoluted family relationship gave Gu Nanjiao a headache.

Finally, with Bai Luochen's assurance, Yunshang Pavilion reluctantly agreed to cooperate with Jiaoniang Pavilion and share 20% of the profits.

Both Lü Siniang and Gu Nanjiao were decisive and acted on their words. In less than a week, with the introduction of the head manager, they rented a shop of moderate size. The transfer fee alone cost 300 taels of silver, and the rent was 100 taels of silver per month. Paying for a year would save them 200 taels of silver. With the transfer fee and rent, 1,300 taels of silver were gone in an instant.

After calculating the costs of renovation, inventory, and hiring, there should be about 1,000 taels left.

Fortunately, I have some extra money.

With the shop settled, the next step is to rent a residence.

The house was located in a remote alleyway, chosen for its cheap price. The small, dilapidated courtyard cost ten taels of silver per month, and eighty taels per year.

Beijing is truly a place where every inch of land is incredibly valuable.

Ten days passed quickly, and the day for the results to be released arrived in the blink of an eye.

While Lu's mother and others were extremely anxious, Lu Yanzhao remained much calmer in comparison.

These ten days have been incredibly boring, and I have no idea when Gu Nanjiao will return.

Lu Yanzhao walked listlessly along the country road, watching the busy farmers, and couldn't help but sigh.

In September, a gentle breeze carries the fragrance of ripe grains, a time for spring planting and autumn harvesting, and winter storage.

His years of hard work would finally pay off today, and he knew in his heart whether he would be on the list. It was just that he couldn't share this joy with Gu Nanjiao, which was somewhat of a regret.

Busy villagers greeted Lu Yanzhao with smiles: "Yanzhao, we heard you went to the capital to take the imperial examination. How was it? Did you pass?"

As a child prodigy in the surrounding villages, Lu Yanzhao's participation in the autumn examination attracted much attention from the villagers, whether they were hoping for a successful candidate to emerge from the village or wanting to kick him when he was down.

Lu Yanzhao replied calmly, "The messenger hasn't arrived yet, so I don't know either."

"Oh, how long have we been waiting? The messenger hasn't arrived yet. Could it be that he didn't..." Li said in a sarcastic tone, then stopped talking, but everyone understood what she meant.

Seeing that Lu Yanzhao remained silent, Li wanted to say something sarcastic, but Lu Lao Er tugged at her sleeve and glared at her, so she shut her mouth in embarrassment.

Lu Lao Er cleared his throat and said like an elder, "Yan Zhao, don't be discouraged if you don't pass the exam. I heard that it's very difficult to become a Juren. Our county only produces a few in three years. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. You are still young, you can try again."

Lu Yanzhao nodded, offered no explanation, and left.

As soon as Lu Yanzhao left, the villagers behind him began to murmur among themselves:

"Judging from his appearance, he probably didn't pass the exam."

"Sigh, so much money was spent on education, and it's all for nothing in the end. What a pity."

"That's not necessarily true. The messenger hasn't arrived yet. Maybe our village will really produce a scholar who passes the imperial examination?"

Li scoffed, "You think passing the imperial examination is so easy? Which one doesn't pass it when they're in their forties or fifties? He's so young, does he think he can pass it after a few years of studying? Pshaw, let me tell you, he has absolutely no chance of passing."

"I haven't seen them smile in all these days. They must know what's going on; they're just devastated because they didn't do well on the exam."

As soon as Li said this, the villagers all fell silent.

Although they were illiterate and knew very few characters, they all knew that passing the imperial examination was not an easy task.

A few years ago, their county finally produced a scholar named Fan, who reportedly took the imperial examinations for decades and finally passed at the age of fifty.

How could Lu Yanzhao, who is so young, possibly pass the exam?

They overestimated him, thinking that the village could produce a scholar who could bring honor to the family!

Some people sighed in dismay, while others secretly gloated.

Seeing this, Li made no attempt to hide her schadenfreude, and even laughed out loud.

Not far away, the sound of gongs and drums rang out, drawing the attention of the Li family and the villagers.

A man dressed as a yamen runner rode up to Li on horseback and asked, "Auntie, does Scholar Lu live in this village?"

A bad feeling crept into Li's heart: "Lu Jieyuan? There's no one in our village with that name!"

The yamen runner was taken aback, then realized that it was perfectly normal for a country woman not to know what a Jieyuan (top scholar in the imperial examinations) was.

After a hasty explanation, Li turned pale and waved her hand, saying, "I don't know!" Then she fled as if she were running away.

Seeing this, a villager quickly stepped forward: "I know where it is, I'll take you there!"

...

When Lu Yanzhao returned to the Lu family courtyard, his mother was busy moving pears from the cellar.

Upon seeing Lu Yanzhao, he quickly asked, "Where have you been? Hurry up and help me load these pears onto the car."

"I'm going out for some fresh air." Seeing the boxes and boxes of pears, Lu Yanzhao asked curiously, "Mom, why are you moving the pears?"

"It's autumn now, and everyone's throats are dry and itchy. I'm going to move the pears to Meiwuzhai and make pear syrup for everyone to drink."

Lu Yanzhao nodded, rolled up his sleeves, and helped his mother carry the pears onto the car. He had no airs of a scholar. Apart from missing Gu Nanjiao a little, he spent the rest of his time working under his mother's instructions.

A group of people quickly gathered in the Lu family courtyard, shouting excitedly, "Yanzhao, the messenger for the results has arrived!"

Lu Yanzhao stopped what he was doing and opened the courtyard gate.