Today is the eighth day of the second lunar month, and it's finally time for students to enter the examination hall.
Early in the morning, Zhao Qingyan and Huang Shi got up and prepared the meal. Everything that everyone needed to bring, such as food, clothes, documents, and oilcloth, was laid out in the living room.
Especially for Zhao Qianci, there were snake and insect repellent powders, heatstroke prevention supplies, umbrellas, water bags, writing brushes, inkstones, oilcloths... There was nothing the grandfather and grandson hadn't considered.
Everything was ready, and it was still barely dawn when I picked up my lantern and went out.
It wasn't far to walk to the examination hall, and the group automatically surrounded Zhao Qianci, Huang Shi, and the two Qingyang brothers.
Zhao Qingyan and her father stood on either side of the procession. Zhao Changgeng led the way with his eldest son, while Zhao Yonggeng brought up the rear with his second nephew.
There was no other way; we had to form a team. After all, we had that unlucky kid in the family who didn't play by the rules.
The customs of Shenlong Kingdom are relatively open. At least, couples walking side by side are not criticized. However, couples supporting each other while walking may be considered immoral.
At this moment, Huang didn't care about being immoral; all she wanted was to get Zhao Qianci safely into the examination hall.
The group walked cautiously and nervously.
Everyone displayed the same focus they'd shown when hunting in the mountains. Alas, no matter how careful you are, you can't fight against fate.
Suddenly, a large white horse darted out of a dead-end alley that Zhao Qingyan had previously observed. The horse was clearly frightened and charged straight into the middle of the group.
It goes without saying who is in the middle.
Fortunately, Zhao Minggeng reacted quickly, grabbing the horse's reins with one hand and pulling it down with a forceful effort.
As the white horse lay down, it struggled to kick its legs. With a quick twist, the horse kicked Zhao Qianci, who had already tried to dodge backward.
Fortunately, Zhao Qianci was being supported by Huang Shi and Zhao Qingyan, the grandmother and granddaughter.
Otherwise, Zhao Qianci's leg would have been broken by that kick from the horse.
Zhao Qianci, who was suspended in mid-air, only lost his shoe to the horse and scraped his toe. Swelling and pain were inevitable.
Zhao Yonggeng picked up his father's shoes and carefully put them on.
When the horse owner saw that his horse had been brought under control, he ran out of the alley and offered a profuse thank you and apology.
Zhao Minggeng said coldly,
"No need for apologies. My father is injured, and you need to cover his medical expenses and lost wages. We don't have time right now, so just leave your horse here with us to pay off the debt."
After saying this, he told his daughter to hold the horse down, stood up, handed the examination basket to his second brother, and carried his father on his back as they walked forward.
The horse's owner, seeing Zhao Qingyan, a young girl, come over and hold the horse down, had a mischievous idea, thinking she was an easy target.
"Little girl, look, your family has all left. Why don't you hurry up and chase after them, or you won't be able to keep up once they've gone far away?"
Let me take this horse back with me.
Zhao Qingyan laughed, thinking to herself, "This old guy is probably trying to fool me. Giving it to you? Are you kidding me?"
"Grandpa, since this horse injured someone, you have to pay compensation."
The horse has no money, but you, its owner, must be rich, right? Today, my whole family is going to take the imperial examination.
The horse just kicked my grandfather, and it hurt so much. It will definitely affect my grandfather's performance. Won't this delay my grandfather's progress in the preliminary stage of the imperial examination?
My family is poor, and over the years, we haven't been able to save enough money to send my grandfather to the examination hall.
We finally managed to save up enough money this year, and then your horse kicked and injured our family. Tell me, how much money are you going to compensate us?
You know, once my grandfather passed the preliminary examination, he could take the county-level examination, and once he passed the county-level examination, he could pass the provincial-level examination. With my grandfather's talent and learning, passing the provincial-level examination would have been no problem at all.
Just because someone is a scholar who passed the imperial examination, they can get at least 200 mu of tax-exempt land. Just imagine how much money that would save every year! My grandfather is only in his fifties this year; he can live for at least another thirty or forty years…”
Zhao Qingyan went on and on, not because she really wanted to stage an accident, but mainly because she had been feeling too depressed these days. Her grandfather still got injured at the last minute, and even if the injury wasn't serious, it still hurt her heart.
My emotions were being suppressed, and I needed to find a way out. And guess what? This unlucky thing just happened to come my way.
The horse owner couldn't stand Zhao Qingyan continuing to calculate any longer. "Grandma, just tell me what you want."
Zhao Qingyan grinned, "I want this horse."
"No, you can name any other conditions except for the horse," the horse owner insisted.
"I want a thousand taels of silver," Zhao Qingyan demanded, making an exorbitant demand.
The horse owner looked at the horse, then at Zhao Qingyan, gritted his teeth, and stamped his foot, "Fine."
Zhao Qingyan was dumbfounded. "No way, are you stupid? You agree to a horse costing a thousand taels?"
The horse owner said, head hanging low.
"The fault lies with us, and you have every right to make any demands."
This horse is a rare and exceptional steed. It would be worth ten thousand taels of silver, let alone a thousand.
After hearing this, Zhao Qingyan looked at the horse carefully for a long time, but she still couldn't figure it out. How could such a precious horse be frightened and go crazy?
The horse owner sighed deeply.
“Miss, my house is just across the street. I’m going to get the silver. Could you hold my horse for a bit?”
After speaking, the person turned to leave. Zhao Qingyan stopped them.
"Alright, this isn't entirely your fault. The thousand taels of silver I mentioned earlier was just a joke."
I have something to do, so I'll be going now.
After saying that, Zhao Qingyan strode forward to catch up with the Zhao family's main force.
"Hey, young lady, wait a minute. My name is Jia Zhuang. I'm from the Jia family in the back street."
Seeing that Zhao Qingyan didn't even turn her head, he was a little puzzled.
"Is this little girl a bit off? She was promised money, but she refused. Strange things happen every year, but this year there seem to be more than usual."
After speaking, he looked at his big white horse. The horse was now completely normal, showing no signs of its earlier madness.
"Hey Dajun, what's wrong with you? Were you possessed just now?"
If Dajun could speak, he would definitely retort, "You're the one who's possessed! Your whole family is possessed!"
Fortunately, when Zhao Qingyan caught up with the main group, nothing else strange happened.
We finally arrived at the entrance of the examination hall without incident.
It wasn't time for inspection and release yet.
Queuing was still necessary, and the sight of the Zhao family, a dozen or so people, lining up at once caused a stir among the surrounding crowd.
"Whose family is this? Why are there so many people queuing up?"
Each person is carrying a test basket; are they all taking the exam? This must be a group of students from a private school.
"Wait a minute, do you see that old man? His hair is all white, and look, he even needs someone to carry him. Is this tutor escorting the examinee or the examinee?"
There was much discussion.
Just before the passage was about to begin, Zhao Qingyan quickly took out the Yunnan Baiyao she had just taken out and handed it to Huang Shi, who then handed the medicine to Zhao Changgeng.
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