Old Master Tai quickly responded, "Please tell me, Mr. Wu. If there is anything you need, our family will definitely help you."
Tai Yongning and others also listened respectfully.
Mr. Wu then said, "Originally, according to the old rules, there would be a gap of more than six months between the Tongsheng exam and the Xiucai exam. For example, if the Tongsheng exam is now in May, the Xiucai exam would not be held until the end of the year at the earliest, or even the beginning of next spring. However, there have been some changes at the court this year, so the Xiucai exam may have to be scheduled for two months later."
Two months later?
The old man and Tai Yongning were all surprised and couldn't react for a while.
Mr. Wu didn't take it seriously and continued, "If the news is accurate, then we'll go back to Tai'an tomorrow, and I'm afraid we'll have to come back in a month. So, I thought we'd stay here, study hard, and go back together after we pass the exam."
"Of course, with your current level of knowledge, it's a bit of a stretch to take the exam. But if you're lucky, even getting the last spot on the list will save you three years. If you're unlucky and fail, it's also a valuable experience. You'll definitely pass the exam next time you take it."
"Let's take a step back and say the news is inaccurate, there won't be any exams in two months, so there's no loss in studying hard for two months. What do you think?"
Mr. Tai understood Mr. Wu's methods. Since he told the news, he must be 100% sure of it.
In other words, there will definitely be a scholar examination in two months.
Mr. Wu wanted to lead his disciples to make another push. One of the four students had graduated from high school, which was a great encouragement and guidance for the other three.
Even if you fail one, this kind of examination experience is extremely valuable.
The more Mr. Tai thought about it, the happier he became. He simply replied, "Okay, Mr. Wu is right. I support Yongning staying to study! This child has loved reading since he was a child because his family was in financial difficulty, but he never had the chance to touch a book. I have always felt guilty about this. Now that Mr. Wu is planning for him, and our family can afford to support him to study without distraction, what is there to hesitate about? I must give it a try!"
Tai Yongning was a little worried about going home to check on his family. After all, a pack of wolves had just broken into the village. What if someone in his family was injured and they didn't tell him?
But what the teacher and grandfather said makes sense. This opportunity is rare. It's only two months long. Whether you pass the exam or not, the scholar will go home!
So he stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your advice, sir. I am willing to stay and study for the exam."
Song Hui and the others were not stupid either, they all stood up and saluted.
"Sir, I'd like to stay too."
"Sir, I want to try it too."
"If I pass the exam, I will be the youngest scholar in Tai'an!"
The last sentence was said by Qi Ming, which made everyone laugh.
Mr. Wu gestured for them to sit down and instructed, "Since you all agree, we'll stay for another two months. I'll take care of the rest of the chores, and you just focus on your studies."
Old Master Tai chimed in, "Your husband is right. If you have anything to take home, just give it to me. I'll personally hand it over to your family and explain the reason for your delay. I'm sure your family will understand!"
"Thank you, Mr. Xie!"
Song Hui and the others all expressed their gratitude and planned to write a good letter later...
When she heard that Yongning couldn't go back with them, others were fine, but Zhuzhu was disappointed.
She threw herself into her grandfather's arms and asked aggrievedly, "Why can't my second brother come home? Mother misses him! Mother thought Zhuzhu was asleep and was talking to Daddy, and Zhuzhu heard everything."
The old man quickly hugged the fat girl and explained, "Zhuzhu, don't you want your brother to pass the imperial examination? Your second brother stayed here to study hard. He can only go home after passing the examination and becoming a scholar in two months. By then, your mother will be the mother of a scholar, and she will definitely be even happier!"
"Really?" Zhuzhu tilted her little head. There were silver bells tied to the two little rings on her head, which tinkled.
Finally, the fat girl sighed, waved her chubby hands like a little adult, and said in a baby voice, "Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot be achieved at the same time!"
The room was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The fat girl is so cute, she is so young but speaks like an adult.
Tai Yongning took his sister, kissed her chubby cheeks gently, and said with a smile, "Yes, sister, you are right, second brother is like that. But second brother must go home early after the exam, okay?"
"Okay." Zhuzhu responded with a pout, then took her second brother's hand and put it on her head.
Tai Yongning rubbed his sister's soft hair familiarly, and his heart was also soft.
"Don't worry, Zhuzhu. I'll take my time and make sure you get the top score."
The matter was settled at this point. Grandpa Tai and others would go back the same way they came.
However, there was one more person, Chen Ruiyang, in the team, as well as things bought for their families and letters written by Song Hui and others, plus a pile of goods bought by Tai Jiye. As a result, seven or eight more carriages were added, and it looked like a small caravan.
Mr. Wu was worried, so he asked Manager Wu for help and found a large caravan to accompany him to the border.
The manager of the caravan was very proud and never came forward to speak to the Tai family. Whenever there was something to say, he would only let a small manager pass messages back and forth.
The Tai family didn't think it was a big deal, after all, they were just traveling the same way.
If you are destined to be together and have similar personalities, then get together in more places; more friends mean more paths.
If you don't like each other, just stay away from each other.
It was only about five or six days' journey and it was over in a flash.
But no one expected that the journey was smooth day and night when coming, but problems arose when returning to join the huge caravan.
Just fifty miles out of the city, it started to rain heavily. Seeing that they could not continue their journey, the caravan left the official road and took a dirt road instead, intending to stay the night in a mountain village.
But someone had dug a big hole in the dirt road, and seven or eight carriages got stuck. When they wanted to turn around, several fallen trees blocked the way from behind!
At this moment, even a fool would know that he was being tricked!
The Tai family's convoy was already at the end. Old Man Tai saw that things were not going well, so he immediately stood on the shaft and quickly gave orders to everyone.
"Close the carriages, everyone draw their swords and load their bows and arrows, I'm afraid someone is planning to rob the team!"
There were not many people from the Tai family who came this time, all of them were young and old, and only He Shan and a few were considered the main force.
But Grandpa Tai is a veteran who has been through many battles. Tai Yongan feels uncomfortable if he doesn't fight for a day. Tai Yonglu and Tai Yongyue have followed Tai Jiye to fight on the grassland!
Only Chen Ruiyang was a little worse, but he was also a ruthless man who ran back to the north from Shunde Prefecture alone.
Chen Ruiyang was originally playing cat's tuck in the carriage with Zhuzhu in his arms. When he heard the noise, he was about to jump out, but Tai Yongan pushed him back.
"Take good care of Zhuzhu, you are not needed here!"
Chen Ruiyang felt a little depressed, but when he turned around and looked at Zhuzhu, who was blinking her big eyes and didn't know what was going on, he could only pick up the flower rope again...
The Tai family's small convoy quickly formed a circle, with the carriages connected end to end, forming a temporary small fortress.
Everyone occupied the "checkpoint" and stared outside.
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