As June arrived, everyone in Shanshui Village began to feel a bit nervous.
In late March, the Prince of Yan ascended the throne, and in mid-April, a notice was posted to reinstate the imperial examinations. Three people from their village were to take the exams this year, but they only had a little over a month to prepare. The time was too short, and everyone in the village was worried.
It's strange, but when we were poor, we didn't pay much attention to the imperial examinations. Every time Fan Jin took the exams, looking at his mother's arrogant face and boastful words, he even hoped that Fan Jin would fail. But now that every household is making money, we are eagerly hoping that someone in the village will pass the exams!
Even just a scholar who has passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations would be fine.
With a scholar emerging from their village, they gained official rank and status. This meant they wouldn't have to kneel before the magistrate, and they could submit confessions to grievances without being subjected to arbitrary torture. As for tax reductions on their land, that wasn't the most pressing issue. They weren't short of money, but now that they had more, they lacked a powerful patron to protect them.
People from their own village are the ones they can trust the most.
The provincial examination was to be held in Guangning Prefecture. In late May, Wang Guifen arranged for people to clean out houses in the prefectural city. A team of more than ten people, led by Li Wu, Xu Laosan, Hu Wenhua, and Fan Xiaoliu, was formed to take care of the three candidates from the village, including their food, clothing, accommodation, and examination arrangements.
More than ten people went to the location of the provincial examination and repeatedly tested the time required to get from their residence to the examination site. They were afraid that if they left too early on the day of the examination, the three of them would not get enough rest and would waste time waiting. They were also afraid that if they arrived late, it would affect their performance.
The women were worried that the food in restaurants might not be clean and could cause stomach upset, so they finalized the menu well in advance to ensure everything went smoothly.
The weather in June was already quite hot, so the village treasury spent money to buy several sets of cool and comfortable new silk clothes for everyone, in order to ensure comfort during the exam.
In addition, the writing implements were all paid for with public funds. Except for the brushes, which were made by our own family and were of the best quality, the other items were also the best available.
On the day before the exam, the escort team brought a horse-drawn carriage with a specially made side carriage to take the three of them to the prefectural city.
Everyone in the village temporarily put aside their work and gathered at the village entrance, watching the grand procession to see them off, their expressions filled with excitement.
"Don't worry when you get there. If anything happens, just ask the other villagers for help."
Studying and taking exams are tough, and they can't replace you in that regard, but they can still take care of your basic needs like food, drink, and toileting!
"We'll wait for you to come back in the village. If the exam escort team does anything wrong, don't be angry. Tell Grandma when you get back, and Grandma will beat them up!"
"Yes, study hard for the exam. Our village doesn't lack money, but it lacks people with official titles. Once you become officials, our village won't be afraid of being coveted no matter how much money we earn!"
"Hey, hey, why are you talking about such mundane things? Talking about these things before the exam is just adding unnecessary burden. Go away, if you can't say it, don't talk nonsense. You're just saying things that are unpleasant to hear."
"Yes, yes, I misspoke. I'm bad with words! Do your best on the exam."
...
Shui Qing and her group looked at the two students taking the exam at home, without saying much to them.
As mentioned earlier, the villagers were even more excited and attentive than the family members, taking care of everything to the extreme and being more thoughtful and meticulous than the family members themselves. They truly didn't need to worry about anything.
After watching the one adult and two children of the examinees board the carriage and slowly drive away, Shui Qing turned around and went home.
She didn't have high hopes for the imperial examination. It would be best if they passed, but it wouldn't matter if they didn't, because they already had other backers—when the Prince of Yan ascended the throne and rewards were distributed, Ling Ran, Fan Jiang, and Bai Manshan were all included.
"Alright, finally I don't have to hide my travel gear anymore!" Li Huyu said with a relaxed expression as she walked back.
These days, she dared not speak loudly, for fear of disturbing the two scholars.
Preparing travel items was even more inappropriate—while others were nervously preparing for the imperial examinations, they were preparing for a pleasant trip. How could they possibly concentrate on the exams? It just didn't seem right.
Bai Ziqian shook his head and reminded her, "Mother, we have prepared enough. Even if we are missing something, it's okay. We can just buy it when we pass through the prefectural city on the way."
They've been out transporting goods so many times over the years! Why is she so anxious this time, as if she wants to bring the whole family with her?
Li Huyu said irritably, "What do you know? It doesn't matter if we're short or lacking something when we go out. We're going to work hard to earn money anyway."
But can your aunt and Yan Qiuxing be the same as them? We're going on a trip to enjoy ourselves! Besides, girls are different from you; the more things they have, the better, and you can never have too many!
The others chuckled, listening to the two bickering, and were filled with anticipation for the trip.
The entrance exams will conclude in early June, and the list of successful candidates will be announced at the end of the month.
Fan Jin, Li Changlin, and Fan Hu were all on the list!
When the messenger arrived with the good news, the whole village was in an uproar. The old village chief was extremely excited, and Wang Guifen even gave the messenger a large red envelope containing ten taels of silver. The messenger was so surprised that he kept saying auspicious words and was determined to come over first after the provincial examination results were announced!
Shui Qing and her group's travel plans were postponed, but everyone was in high spirits and even more excited.
The provincial examination was in August. For two months, everyone in the village was extremely careful, as if they were afraid that even their breathing would disturb the three people. The cicadas on the trees around the village were all stuck clean!
When the list of candidates for the provincial examination was released at the end of August, Li Changlin and Fan Hu did not pass, but Fan Jin did!
The sound of firecrackers echoed throughout the village, and many villagers wiped away tears, thinking about how to celebrate in a grand manner.
What were Fan Jin's family doing?
They were packing their bags, preparing to leave.
Walk!
Go to Beidu.
Along the way, see the West Lake, beautiful whether adorned or plain, witness the surging Qiantang River tide, see the city walls of Nanjing... and see all the magnificent landscapes of our motherland!
(End of text)
·
Once we get to Beidu, it'll be all about court intrigue and palace power struggles. If I were to include the children's stories in the main text, I could write three million words, haha. So I'll put them in the side stories and update them slowly. The main text ends here.
This book wasn't very well written and didn't win an award in the writing competition. I feel a bit bad for my editor. I'll try to make the next one better.
Thank you for your companionship along the way. Hope we meet again someday!
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