Tian An was afraid of oversleeping, so she set the alarm for herself. She said she would get up early, and she really did. She felt like she had just fallen asleep when the alarm went off.
He pushed himself up and, with the help of Deng Xue, quickly baked pancakes for Zhao Yiming for lunch and prepared breakfast. Then Zhao Yiming walked out of the room.
After a quick breakfast, they headed towards the examination hall. The sky was still overcast.
As we got closer to the examination hall, the crowds grew. Some, like Tian An and his companions, arrived in oxcarts, some arrived in horse-drawn carriages, and some walked. Most were accompanied by family, with only a few carrying their own belongings.
Tian An took a look around and found that the age range of these candidates was extremely wide!
From young men like Zhao Yiming to white-haired elders in their seventies and eighties, Tian An was worried about him as he watched his trembling body. He didn't know if he could survive the difficult conditions inside.
The crowd grew larger and larger. The candidates had to line up at the front, and their families had to retreat to the periphery. Zhao Yiming grabbed his belongings and followed the crowd in.
The time came, and there was gradually movement in the examination room. The door opened, and the yamen runners came out one after another. They looked straight ahead, with serious faces, and began to check the candidates' certificates, verify their identities, and then the search officers began to search the candidates.
Everything went on in an orderly manner. After waiting for a long time, Tian An finally saw Zhao Yiming enter the examination room.
Suddenly, there was a commotion up ahead, and a yamen runner was seen escorting a candidate out. Tian An asked Deng Xue to go forward and inquire about the situation.
Deng Xue was gone for a while, then returned to explain the whole story. It turned out that a candidate had concealed the recent death of his elderly father and had taken the exam before completing the three-year mourning period. This was discovered, and he was disqualified.
Tian An's eyelids twitched. There was such a rule? She really didn't know this.
Three years of mourning? Zhao Yiming's mourning period wasn't even three years! Doesn't that mean...
Tian An hurriedly looked towards the entrance of the examination room, his heart beating faster and faster.
However, a quarter of an hour passed, two quarters of an hour passed, half an hour passed... an hour passed, and the door was still calm.
What is this? Didn't find out? Or...
Tian An just thought that maybe County Magistrate Gu helped him conceal it, but then she immediately shook her head and denied it.
This kind of thing can't be concealed at all. Once investigated, it will be discovered. Even if the county exam was concealed, what about the prefectural exam? County Magistrate Gu couldn't have been unaware of it. He was an honest official and there was no way he would knowingly commit a crime and test the law with his own body.
But... Tian An looked up at the entrance of the examination room. The candidates had already gone in, and the exam should have started by now!
The information from the yamen couldn't be wrong, and it was impossible not to find it. When they first hired long-term workers before the New Year, several yamen runners had stayed in their village for several months! What wouldn't they know? She just saw two familiar faces!
Deng Xue watched Tian An from the side. She stared at the entrance to the examination room, frowning, dazed, and shaking her head. "Miss, should we continue waiting here? The people who sent the exam have all gone home!"
Tian An looked around and saw that everyone had left. "Let's go too!"
She had a vague idea in her mind, but she could only wait for Zhao Yiming to come out and ask him.
After leaving the examination room, Deng Xue drove a bullock cart carrying Tian An and walked aimlessly on the street.
Tian An was lost in thought, and when he came to his senses, he was already at the entrance of Huibao Pavilion. He thought it had been a while since he had been here, so since he was already there, he might as well go in and take a look.
As soon as she entered the door, Shopkeeper Liu came up to her and said, "Miss An An, long time no see!"
"I've been so busy since the end of last year that I haven't been here for a long time." Tian An said as they walked. "By the way, when will Peng Zhang come to Jinning County this year?"
Shopkeeper Liu was just ordering someone to serve tea to Tian An when he heard this and hurriedly said, "Miss An An, my young master wrote to say he might not be able to come this year. You can just pay me directly for the doll and the hair ornament."
After that, he went to the counter and took out a letter and handed it to Tian An: "This is a letter from the young master to you. It just arrived a few days ago. I was planning to wait for the villagers to come and deliver the goods and let them take it back! Now that you are here, I will give it to you directly."
Tian An took the letter and opened it to read. The content of the letter was the same as what Manager Liu said.
He was being pestered by his family, who forced him to go on a blind date. If they didn't agree, he wouldn't be allowed to leave until the marriage took place. He could just go directly to the shopkeeper to pay the money.
Tian An couldn't help but sigh that people of this era are really precocious!
After drinking a cup of tea at Huibao Pavilion, Tian An asked Deng Xue to take her to have a bowl of noodles.
It was already noon. Since it was a busy time, the two asked the kitchen to make a bowl of noodles for lunch. After eating, they returned to the backyard where they were staying.
Tian An got up in the middle of the night and had to go back to catch up on his sleep before picking up Zhao Yiming in the afternoon.
After sleeping for an hour, Tian An got up and took Deng Xue out.
The two left a little early because they could hand in their papers early. Tian An was afraid that Zhao Yiming would come out early and he would not be there.
Sure enough, not long after they arrived, they saw the familiar figure of Zhao Yiming. Zhao Yiming was young, but tall, and he was easily recognized in the crowd.
Tian An took a few steps forward and waved at him: "Brother Yiming, this way."
Zhao Yiming heard someone calling him, and following the voice he saw Tian An at a glance. He greeted the people around him, turned around, and took a few quick steps with his long legs to Tian An.
"How is it? Are you tired?" Tian An reached out to take the exam basket from his hand.
Zhao Yiming didn't give the basket to Tian An. He held her outstretched hand with one hand, and with the other hand, he carried the exam basket and led her towards the ox cart. "This is such an important thing, why do you have to carry it? How tiring can it be to just take an exam?"
Zhao Yiming's words successfully made the person next to him, whose face turned pale and whose legs were trembling, feel jealous.
A scholar muttered in frustration, "We're both taking exams, but why do others look calm and steady, while I look exhausted?"
Seeing another weakling being supported by his family, he instantly felt better. "This is normal behavior! The one just now was the exception."
After returning home, Tian An first boiled a pot of hot water and added some fatigue-relieving medicine bags before letting Zhao Yiming soak his feet. He was busy preparing dinner with Deng Xue in the kitchen.
Exams were a headache, so Tian An cooked a bunch of delicious dishes to reward Zhao Yiming. They say that what you eat nourishes you, and she originally wanted to steam some pig brains for him, but then she realized that pigs are naturally dumb, and if that backfired and made him dumber, wouldn't that be worth it? She decided to give up.
After dinner, Tian An helped Zhao Yiming organize the things he would need for the next day and replace what had been used, while Deng Xue was responsible for cleaning the kitchen.
After Tian An finished tidying up, he went out and saw that the light in Zhao Yiming's room was still on, so he went to remind him to go to bed early.
I quickly went to take a shower and go to bed, because I had to get up early tomorrow morning to cook for him!
Before going to bed, Tian An always felt that he had forgotten something. He thought about it for a long time but couldn't remember it, so he simply stopped thinking about it.
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