Imperial Examination

Ever since expressing her feelings to Bai Hui, life has become much brighter. It seems like she no longer needs to live with any expectations. Every day is exceptionally dazzling, sparkling, and lovable.

To sum it up in Qu Linghan's words, every ordinary day is a happy day, a time to be spent shining brightly.

Half a year passed like this, and Qu Linghan and Bai Hui became increasingly close, or rather, affectionate. When two people on the same wavelength are together, everything they do is interesting. However, what Qu Linghan loved most was chatting with Bai Hui until dawn, and going to the suburbs with Lu Shuyu and Liu Ziju to watch the sunrise and wait for the sunset.

"Brother Zhaoming, could you please stop supporting Sister Linghan like that? You two look like conjoined twins..."

Liu Ziju scoffed at his words with a face full of disdain, and he really couldn't stand it anymore. He was also really bold; Lu Shuyu had witnessed Qu Linghan's husband's coldness before, and she didn't dare to interrupt at all.

“I remember you were assigned to my command.”

Bai Hui's words were truly loaded with hidden meaning.

"Fine, fine, I won't say anything more, but don't you dare use your position for personal gain!"

Liu Ziju wisely shut his mouth and slunk away to Lu Shuyu's side.

Lu Shuyu smiled.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I've got your back."

This made Qu Linghan burst into laughter.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Sure enough, even the strongest person becomes the most delicate when they come to Lu Shuyu's side. Of course, Qu Linghan is no exception, as Lu Shuyu is her big sister.

The four people moved in the direction illuminated by the light.

"Oh, by the way, Bai Hui, I heard that His Majesty wants you to be the chief examiner for this year's imperial examination."

Qu Linghan was very puzzled. Why would His Majesty choose a military officer as the chief examiner? Wouldn't this give someone with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of the situation?

"Yes, it's me."

"You agreed?"

"We would never dare to disobey His Majesty's words."

Qu Linghan sighed heavily.

"What's wrong?"

"It's alright, but you're a military officer, so you must be very careful when doing these things. Sigh, why did you agree to that in the first place?"

Liu Ziju smiled at Qu Linghan with an ambiguous expression, and Qu Linghan simply rolled her eyes at him.

"This is really inexplicable."

Liu Ziju, however, continued to feign mystery and beckoned to Lu Shuyu.

"Who is it that would make my dearest Bai Hui take such a big risk and accept this job?"

Lu Shuyu also joined Liu Ziju.

"Who is it? Who is it? I really want to know."

Oh dear, this is really inexplicable.

Qu Linghan was caught off guard and fell far behind Bai Hui.

She ran over there as fast as she could.

"What exactly happened?"

"If the appointment of the chief examiner goes smoothly, and considering my past military achievements, I will have a legitimate reason to make a request to His Majesty..."

Bai Hui didn't continue, clearly wanting to hear Qu Linghan ask a question.

What do you want?

"I want you to be my wife."

The marriage between Qu Linghan and Bai Hui was originally bestowed by the emperor, and no one could shake it. Even Qu Linghan and Bai Hui themselves could not ask for a divorce or make him someone else's wife or husband.

Bai Hui had long wanted Qu Linghan to marry him legitimately.

She became Bai Zhaoming's only wife in this life.

......

Tears glistened on her eyelashes, fluttering and sparkling.

She could no longer think, nor weigh the pros and cons. She simply embraced, loved, and offered warmth...

Liu Ziju and Lu Shuyu stood behind them. Liu Ziju cautiously nudged Lu Shuyu's arm.

"what?"

Lu Shuyu glared at Liu Ziju with annoyance.

"Look at Sister Linghan and Brother Zhaoming, their relationship is slow and steady, isn't it wonderful?"

"What, you want me to treat you like this too?"

Before Lu Shuyu could react, Liu Ziju cupped his face and moved closer to her.

"Oh my, your big face almost scared me to death. Get lost, get away from me..."

Liu Ziju: Aaaaaaah! This isn't how I expected! What do I have to do to make my wife love me?!

......

Time flies by in the blink of an eye, and summer has arrived before we know it. The cicadas chirp incessantly, as if they have inexhaustible energy.

The sun was shining brightly, and the crowd in front of Lanxuge store was bustling with people. Everyone was sweating on their foreheads in the scorching sun, but no one wanted to leave.

"Please don't push, everyone. Please line up. The store is too crowded, so we had no choice but to limit the number of people. Please be careful and come to me for a number."

"Don't push! Don't push! There's room for everyone!!!"

Qu Linghan shouted until he was hoarse, but it was clearly of no use.

However, it is understandable. For such an important exam as the civil service examination, parents and wives all want to pray for the person taking the exam, even if it is just to buy a lottery ticket for good luck. Therefore, everyone is racking their brains to do so.

The merchants also made a fortune.

Qu Linghan, a conscientious and shrewd businessman, naturally wanted to seize this opportunity.

In the 21st century, Qu Linghan could easily manipulate phrases like "on the list," "winning the top prize," "passing the imperial examination," and "guaranteed to pass the high school entrance exam." Let alone in ancient times, she would definitely take advantage of such benefits. However, there's a proper way to do it. Qu Linghan is determined not to produce inferior products or make money off others indiscriminately.

This conscientious entrepreneur's products are of high quality, innovative, and guaranteed, and all her customers are repeat customers.

As a result, word spread quickly, and candidates from all around came to Lanxu Pavilion to buy things.

Lu Shuyu hosted the guests a couple of days ago, but after only a few days, Lu Shuyu's voice became hoarse and she had to go home to rest. At the time, Qu Linghan even mocked Lu Shuyu, saying that she was fragile. Now that he thinks about it, he was really awful.

The shop's famous sachets, auspiciously patterned clothing, and wishing charms... they're incredibly popular...

Even the least popular patchwork clothes are almost sold out, and Qu Linghan even hired a few temporary workers to train them to make new clothes.

Although life is busy, it is truly fulfilling.

Especially when you drag yourself home exhausted, and that once cold, ruthless, and incredibly handsome man approaches you with a smile and gentleness, massaging your shoulders, pouring you water, and washing away your fatigue...

It sounds wonderful, it's totally worth it.

Qu Linghan wished the sun would set right now; she wanted to go home to find Bai Hui and do things she couldn't do during the day…

"I'm back."

Finally, the sun set, and the students all went home. Qu Linghan asked Jing'er to stay at the shop to take care of the remaining business and settle the wages of the temporary embroiderers. These embroiderers were all from the Women's Pavilion and had great respect for Qu Linghan. They had only heard rumors about Qu Linghan before, only knowing that he was helpful. Of course, they had also been helped by Qu Linghan. This time, seeing him in person, they realized that Qu Linghan was even better than the rumors suggested. There was a lot of work, but also a lot of people, so everyone was not tired. They were also provided with food and lodging, and Qu Linghan would even give them some clothes and food. As a result, when it came time to settle their wages yesterday, several of the temporary workers said they didn't want any.

He waved his hand, insisting on saying something.

“Miss Linghan, you and Miss Ya’er have helped us so much. My son never went to school before. If it weren’t for your help, my son would never have been able to study and learn to read, and I wouldn’t have been able to settle down and go out to earn money.”

"Yeah yeah."

"Miss Ling Han, we really can't accept this money."

...

Qu Linghan really didn't want yesterday's scene to repeat itself. After all, everyone was there to work; no one owed anyone anything, and no one was owed wages. As for financial assistance, that was the Women's Pavilion's business. Although there was only one boss, they were now working at Lanxu Pavilion and had to follow Lanxu Pavilion's rules. So, no matter what they said, Qu Linghan handed over two days' worth of money to Jing'er, took several "Winning the Championship" outfits, wishing charms, and ribbons for the Golden List, and went home.

The little boy Zhao Shicheng, whom we rescued in Yuzhou, should be taking the imperial examination now.

Time flies.

Qu Linghan shouted loudly towards the study again, realizing that he had thought of so many things in just a few steps.

"I'm back."

Huh? What is Bai Hui doing? He's not agreeing to my request.

Qu Linghan frowned, then quietly walked into the study. The candle was dying and about to go out, but Bai Hui seemed not to care, staring blankly at a piece of paper in front of him.

"ha!"

Qu Linghan leaned on Bai Hui's shoulder, which startled Bai Hui. He chuckled, took Qu Linghan's hand, stood up, and let Qu Linghan sit down.

"You're back."

Are you tired today?

Qu Linghan said in a slightly coquettish tone, "I'm exhausted."

"Little Bai! Give me a back massage!"

After speaking, Bai Hui gently pinched the tip of Qu Linghan's nose, his words filled with affection.

"good…"

"By the way, if you're free tomorrow, give this to Zhao Shicheng."

After resting for a while, Qu Linghan remembered that there was still important business to attend to.

"OK."

Although Bai Hui agreed, his tone was sullen.

I don't know if he's in a bad mood or if something happened, but he won't say even after I asked him carefully.

Qu Linghan was exhausted and didn't want to care about anything else, so he grabbed Bai Hui and ran to the room.

Then I lay down beside him and listened to his slow breathing.

"It's okay, it's okay if you don't tell me. Everything will pass, the pain will pass."

"Okay?"

"good."

...

Qu Linghan tried to find out what Bai Hui was worried about, but Bai Hui seemed to have already guessed her thoughts and didn't want her to worry about him, so she didn't reveal any flaws.

The two continued living their lives as usual, and Qu Linghan no longer paid attention to the matter.

It wasn't until after the imperial examination that Qu Linghan noticed that everyone from his family's shop had a slightly malicious expression. At first, Qu Linghan just thought that they hadn't done well on the exam and were in a bad mood, so they spoke with contempt and he didn't pay much attention to it.

As soon as he got home, Jing'er ran towards him quickly.

"It's terrible, Madam! It's terrible..."