When Su Hua received the message, the Su family was preparing the items Su Dahu would need for the county examination the next day.
Since deciding to participate in this year's imperial examination, Su Dahu has been staying in Qingshui County almost the entire time. He only returned once, on the day he received the reward, and went back to the school early the next morning.
Qingdai knew that the county examination was a major event for the Su family, so she found an excuse to call her young lady out and said in a low voice, "Miss, Xiao Zhong is dead. His body was thrown into the ravine next to Sweet Potato Valley by the Xiao family's master and servants."
Su Hua's almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise. "This Xiao Baocong is so ruthless! He dared to kill someone on his very first day in Shanghe Village!"
She was initially unsure of Xiao Baocong's intentions, thinking he was there to settle scores for Jun Qingcheng, so she had Qingdai keep an eye on them. But she never expected that his move would be to kill Xiao Zhong!
She had skimmed through Xiao Zhong and Qu Feiqing's correspondence.
Over the years, Xiao Zhong had been working for Qu Feiqing. Could it be that Xiao Baocong killed him suddenly to silence him?
If it really was murder to cover it up, who would they be afraid of finding out? The Yu family, or Prince Xiao Hongyu?! Thinking of this, the girl couldn't help but shake her head. It shouldn't be the Yu family. Judging from Xiao Baocong's reaction during the day, they should already know that Zichen and the Yu family had recognized each other long ago.
That leaves only Prince Zhan.
But if this Prince Zhan could marry a new woman while Yu Heng's body was still warm, how deep could his feelings for Yu Heng and Zi Chen really be?
The young girl lowered her eyes, suppressing her doubts. "Xiao Zhong is dead, but what about Old Lady Xiao and Xiao Jinyan and his wife?"
“The three of them, including Old Lady Xiao, are not at home. I just inquired in the village and found out that Xiao Jinyan caught a fever yesterday and is quite ill. The three of them went to the county for treatment and haven’t returned yet.” Qingdai pursed her lips and paused.
"However, Xiao Baocong has sent his attendants to guard the Xiao family, so I'm afraid he doesn't intend to let them go."
Su Hua's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she pondered for a while. "Qingdai, send a message to Wang Ergou by carrier pigeon and tell him to find Granny Xiao and the other two in the county and take them to the manor outside the prefectural city to stay for a while. They can come back to the village after Xiao Baocong leaves Shanghe Village."
The vegetable fields grown by the villagers of Shanghe Village were only enough to supply the restaurants in Qingshui County. In addition, Shanghe Village was far away from the prefectural city, and it was not cost-effective to travel back and forth. So she asked Su Erhu to buy a small estate in the suburbs and to buy a few experienced vegetable growers from a broker.
Sending Xiao Jinyan and the others to hide for a while wouldn't be a problem.
"Yes, I will write a letter immediately." Qingdai smiled and replied, "You are truly kind and righteous, young lady."
Su Hua shook her head. "No, it's not a pity that Old Lady Xiao died. It's just that Xiao Jinyan's mind is like that of a child, and Huiniang is unable to speak. The two of them are innocent and should not have lost their lives because of the grudges of the previous generation."
By the way, does Zichen know about Xiao Zhong's matter?
"Yes." Qingdai nodded. "Xiao Baocong originally intended to feed Xiao Zhong's body to the wolves. After the master found out, he ordered Yu Feng to take people away and bury the body deep in Fuhu Mountain."
Su Hua smiled knowingly. This was in line with his usual style. If it were someone else, after being tormented for so many years, it would be good enough if they weren't kicked while they were dying. How could he possibly bury them?
No sooner had the mistress and servant finished speaking than Madam Su Bai's loud voice rang out from the main room, "Hua'er, come here and help your mother see if the food we prepared for your elder brother is enough?"
Su Hua stepped into the house and saw that the large dining table was fully stocked with all kinds of food, including pancakes, rice balls, boiled eggs, hot and sour noodles, and multigrain noodles.
While Zhao and the others were still moving things onto the table in the kitchen, she couldn't help but twitch her lips and quickly stopped them.
"Mother, even though my elder brother is staying at the examination hall for four consecutive days to take the county exam, everyone has prepared enough food for forty days. Could it be that you want him to do business inside while taking the county exam?"
Everyone stopped what they were doing, and Madam Su Bai smiled awkwardly, "If Hua'er thinks so, how about reducing some of it?"
Looking at the food on the table, he didn't know which one to cut. The pancakes and rice balls were filled with cured meat, which was very filling. Boiled eggs were good for the body. Hot and sour noodles were Da Hu's favorite. The multigrain powder was convenient; you could just add hot water and eat it.
Seeing her troubled expression, Su Hua knew exactly what she was thinking, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
"It's hot these days, so just bring enough flatbread, rice balls, and eggs for the first day. Bringing too much will cause them to spoil. As for hot and sour noodles and multigrain noodles, they are dry foods, so you can bring a couple more packs. Also, bring two bamboo tubes of water, a bowl, and a thin blanket."
Just in case, I'll cut a few more slices of ginseng for my older brother to take with him later.
“Yes, Hua’er is right.” Madam Su nodded repeatedly. “All the food and utensils brought in must be inspected. The more streamlined the better. With the addition of ginseng slices, at least we won’t have to worry about ailments like colds or fevers.”
I've heard that every year during the exams, several students collapse on the spot.
Upon hearing this, Zhao quickly put away the items Su Hua had mentioned, and had the Su brothers put the rest back in the kitchen.
Su Hua couldn't help but chuckle. "Mother and sister-in-law, you're just too nervous! You're even more nervous than my brother who's about to take the exam!"
Ever since they brought back the sweet potatoes, the whole family has been huddled in the kitchen all afternoon, working non-stop, just as they did when they sent Su Sanhu to the army camp.
“Da Hu has only been in Baichuan Academy for less than four months, yet he has the audacity to take the county examination.” Su Bai sighed. “Many people study for more than ten years and are still taking the county examination. Just thinking about this makes me nervous.”
Zhao nodded with a slight blush. "My husband came back a few days ago and told me not to worry, but the closer it gets to the county exam, the more my heart starts pounding."
Su Hua smiled and glanced at the two of them. "Although my elder brother has been in Baichuan Academy for less than four months, he spends all his time studying every day. In terms of effort, he is not much less diligent than others."
Moreover, the eldest brother is intelligent and quick to understand, and he has a photographic memory when reading and practicing calligraphy. Not only do the teachers at Baichuan Academy praise him highly, but Uncle Qin also thinks highly of him.
I trust my elder brother; a mere county-level exam is no challenge for him at all.
In the time of Yu the Great, scholars who wanted to take the imperial examinations had to go through six tests: the county test, the prefectural test, the academy test, the provincial test, the metropolitan test, and the palace test.
Among them, the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the academy examination are collectively referred to as the children's examination.
The county examination was presided over by the county magistrate and held in mid-June. Only those who passed the county examination were qualified to participate in the prefectural examination, which was presided over by the prefectural governor and held in mid-August.
Those who pass the county and prefectural examinations can be called "child scholars".
After becoming a student, one needs to take the county-level examination to become a scholar. The county-level examination is conducted by prefecture, and is presided over by the education commissioner in charge of Confucian scholars appointed by the imperial court. Therefore, the time of the county-level examination varies from prefecture to prefecture.
In a sense, the path to the imperial examinations only truly begins after passing the preliminary examination.
Upon hearing this, the Su family felt much relieved and, without further delay, harnessed their horses and headed towards Qingshui County, taking advantage of the remaining hour or so before curfew.
When the family arrived at the restaurant, just as Su Hua had said, Su Dahu was already fast asleep in the courtyard, snoring loudly, showing no sign of nervousness whatsoever.
The Su family did not disturb him any further. They washed up and went to bed. The next day, they got up very early and saw him off at the entrance of the examination hall.
Before dawn, many students were already queuing to enter the examination hall, and among them were quite a few familiar faces.
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