Only the first place in the list was written in bold red letters in the middle, so it could be seen at a glance.

While everyone was still twisting and turning to look for him, Qin Zhao had already withdrawn his gaze and hugged the person in his arms: "Now that you have seen it with your own eyes, are you satisfied?"

Jing Li hummed.

He was probably influenced by Qin Zhao's calmness. After seeing the case paper, he was not surprised, but felt that it was as it should be.

A familiar seat number was written on the first seat in the center of the desk.

——No. 086.

That was Qin Zhao's position.

.

Qin Zhao won the first place without any suspense, but Chen Yanan entered the inner circle with the 15th place, which can be said to be rapid progress.

You know, this person was eliminated in the first round when he took the county exam last time.

Before everyone could figure out how to celebrate, someone else came from the county government.

"Congratulations Mr. Qin for winning the first place in the exam." Pei An smiled.

However, not every case chief can receive greetings from the county government. Only when the county magistrate is particularly optimistic about this person will he send his subordinates to express congratulations.

The person who came was not other yamen runners but the legal advisor, which further proved that the county magistrate valued the case.

Qin Zhao also understood this principle. He led the person into the house and offered tea and snacks. "Thank you for the trouble, Lord Pei."

"No need to bother." Pei An sipped his tea and said, "My master values ​​talent, so this is only natural. I wonder when Mr. Qin plans to go to the capital?"

Qin Zhao: "We will set off tomorrow."

Registration for the prefectural city began three days after the county exam results were announced and lasted for ten days. Time wasn't tight, but Qin Zhao wanted to take Jing Li to the prefectural city for a stroll beforehand, so they decided to leave a few days ago after the results were announced.

"Okay." Pei An pondered for a moment and said, "In fact, the county magistrate sent me here not only to congratulate you."

He took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Qin Zhao: "Please keep this, Mr. Qin."

Qin Zhao asked, "What is this?"

"A letter of recommendation from my master to the prefect."

Due to the anonymous system, the county magistrate's recommendation could not actually help Qin Zhao with his exam ranking, but with it, his life in the provincial capital would be much better.

The county magistrate was trying to show goodwill to Qin Zhao.

Qin Zhao's eyes flickered slightly, and he put away the letter: "Thank you, I understand."

Pei An did not stay long, and after delivering the letter, he was about to leave. Qin Zhao gave him some small change, and Pei An accepted the money, said happily, "I wish Mr. Qin to win the top three prizes in the imperial examinations," and then turned and left.

The next day, the two said goodbye to Xue Ren and Ayi and boarded the boat to the provincial capital.

It only takes two days to get from the county town to the provincial capital by going downstream, which is three days faster than traveling by land.

There were four other people traveling with them for mutual protection.

Yan Xiu won the second place in this county examination. Together with Chen Yan'an who ranked 15th, He Zhixing who ranked 39th, and another classmate of He Zhixing, they formed the four people who had to guarantee each other with Qin Zhao in the prefectural examination.

As for the two people who had guaranteed each other with Qin Zhao in the county examination, they all failed and have returned to the town.

The six of them rented the boat and sailed downstream, enjoying the scenery on both sides of the river.

As for the reward that Jing Li still owed Qin Zhao, Qin Zhao reluctantly agreed to wait until he returned to the village after Jing Li acted coquettishly and made excuses.

Qin Zhao fetched some clean water on the deck and was about to return to the cabin when he saw Yan Xiu standing at the bow, gazing into the distance.

The back figure looks... quite melancholy?

"Don't pay attention to him." Chen Yan'an was a little seasick and was leaning against the deck to enjoy the breeze. "Let him be sad."

Qin Zhao asked: "What happened to him?"

"We've reached a sad place," Chen Yan'an said. "I heard that Prince Rong was killed near Jiangling Prefecture, and his body was dismembered. Speaking of which, wasn't it three years ago, before the Imperial Examination, that the Emperor announced Prince Rong's death? No wonder he failed..."

"Shut up!" Yan Xiu shouted coldly without even turning his head.

Chen Yanan shrugged and said nothing.

Qin Zhao ignored him, lifted the curtain and walked into the cabin.

The boat was not small, and there were several wooden beds in the cabin for travelers to rest at night. Qin Zhao walked to one of the wooden beds. A young man was curled up beside the bed, holding a wooden basin: "Ugh—"

Jing Li had been feeling extremely uncomfortable since he got on board. He had already vomited several times, but now he couldn't vomit anything out and just kept dry heaving.

Qin Zhao hugged him in his arms and handed the water to his mouth: "Drink some water first."

"Hmm..." Jing Li endured the churning in his stomach, forced himself to drink two sips of water, and leaned on Qin Zhao's shoulder.

He just couldn't understand why he, a fish, would get seasick???

Jing Li's face was completely pale. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said dejectedly, "If I had known this would happen... I might as well have swum there myself."