Xu Di now buries himself in his studies every day. Zhang Zhaoci prepares various medicinal meals for Xu Di to nourish his body. Considering that the old lady is getting old, she also sends the prepared meals over. Because of these medicinal meals, the old lady's health has improved a lot. After the Spring Festival, when the weather warmed up, she would stroll from her own courtyard to Zhang Zhaoci's place with someone accompanying her. Sometimes she would play with Xu Bai, who could walk and could clearly call out "Grandmother," and sometimes she would talk to Granny Lu. Zhang Zhaoci repeatedly told the old lady to maintain appropriate exercise, but not to overdo it.
By the time Xu Di was preparing for the basketball exam, it was already February of the following year.
This wasn't the first time Zhang Zhaoci had served the examinees. After Xu Rao married Zhang Zhaoci, he started taking the imperial examinations as a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) and had already taken the Jinshi (another successful candidate in the highest-level imperial examinations) twice. Although Zhang Zhaoci hadn't arrived yet at that time, she possessed the original owner's memories, and these memories were very well integrated with her, almost as if they were her own. Therefore, preparing the examination basket for Xu Di was a very simple matter.
To pass the county-level examination and become a scholar, one had to go through the county-level examination, the prefectural-level examination, and the provincial-level examination. The county-level examination was held in the county, the prefectural-level examination was held in the prefectural capital, and the provincial-level examination was held in the prefectural capital. The chief examiner of the county-level examination was the county magistrate, the chief examiner of the prefectural-level examination was the prefect, and the chief examiner of the provincial-level examination was the provincial education commissioner.
The exams will begin in the second month of the lunar calendar. We have already received the notice of the start date. After receiving the notice, the Marquis began to busy himself with preparing various materials for Xu Di. In addition to the registration form that he had brought back, there was also the agreement for the five candidates to mutually guarantee each other, as well as the guarantee certificate of the local students who had already obtained the title of Xiucai, and other documents.
After the county examination began, Xu Di would carry his prepared examination basket to the examination hall before dawn every day and would not return until sunset and darkness. The examination basket that Zhang Zhaoci prepared for Xu Di contained not only the Four Treasures of the Study, but also some simple snacks. The snacks were bite-sized, and he carried a thermos cup that Zhang Zhaoci had made herself. The hot water he brought every morning was still warm until noon. When he was hungry, he could eat some snacks and drink some hot water, which always made him feel comfortable.
The exam lasted for five days. Fortunately, he was able to go home and sleep on the warm kang (a heated brick bed) every day. After the exam, Xu Di went home, took a hot shower, and then came to Zhang Zhaoci's place. Zhang Zhaoci had already prepared a hot meal for him. She had gone to the street in the morning to buy big pork bones, and the soup had already turned milky white.
Xu Bai knew that Xu Di had been taking the exam for five days. When he saw Xu Di enter the room, he quickly took his short legs and walked over shakily. When he got close, he quickly hugged Xu Di's leg.
Xu Di bent down and picked Xu Bai up in one go. Zhang Zhaoci said, "You've been working hard for several days. Come over and have a bowl of hot soup first, and then you can have a good rest."
Xu Di, holding Xu Bai, saw that Zhang Zhaoci had set the food on the kang table on the daybed and said, "Why don't you eat outside?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "The temperature has been a bit low these past few days. It's cold outside, so we mothers and children eat here at the kang table. It's warm here."
Granny Lu brought in a plate of food, and Zhang Zhaoci quickly helped her to the bed. After Granny Lu got up, she took Xu Bai from Xu Di's arms and said, "Our Bai-ge'er must be good. Your brother has been tired these past few days. Let him rest well, and he'll come back to play with you when he's rested."
Xu Zhi brought in the food and quickly told Xu Di to sit down and eat. Zhang Zhaoci asked, "How do you think you did on the exam?"
Xu Di said, "Well, whether there's a standard answer depends on how the magistrate grades my paper. I think there shouldn't be any problem. I understand the questions, and my handwriting is alright. If nothing unexpected happens, I should pass."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "The next prefectural examination will be in April, right?"
Xu Di said, "That's right. If you pass the county exam, you need to take the prefectural exam in April."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "I don't know which day it is, but our eldest daughter is getting married on April 16th."
Xu Di said, "She can get married, and I can take my exam. If the times don't conflict, I'll go with her. But if the times conflict, can I skip my exam just because she's getting married?"
Xu Di didn't have a good impression of the Crown Prince's family. As soon as Xu Di woke up, he had the original owner's memories. Unlike Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci, the original owner's memories were slowly recovered. When Xu Di first received the original owner's memories, he was very resentful. In the past few years, he followed Hexi and slowly dissolved those resentful feelings. However, he still didn't want to get too close to the Crown Prince's family.
Zhang Zhaoci naturally understood why Xu Di said that. He sighed and said, "We're all family. Can you go too far? If you do too much, people will say you're being inconsiderate."
Xu Di waved his hand and said, "Mom, let's eat quickly, I'm starving."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "I've already spoken to the old lady. After dinner, I'll go and say hello to her. During your exams these past few days, she's either come over herself or sent someone over. You have to remember how kind she's been to you."
After dinner, Xu Di wanted to go to the old lady's courtyard. Xu Bai hugged Xu Di's neck and insisted on going with him. Zhang Zhaoci could only find a small cloak to cover the little guy from head to toe and let Xu Di carry him. She and Qingmiao carried lanterns and the three of them went to the old lady's courtyard.
When Zhang Zhaoci arrived, Ning Shi was there, and the old lady's expression wasn't very good. She thought she would just have Xu Di greet the old lady and briefly mention the exams that had been going on these past few days. But the old lady took Xu Bai away, hugged him, and had Granny Shen serve Xu Di a pot of almond milk, as if she wanted Xu Di to tell her something seriously so she could listen carefully.
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