As soon as Fu Yin arrived at the northeastern border as a soldier, the Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Barbarians began to clash. In just one month, they had fought two battles. For Fu Yin, this situation was a gift of military merit.
According to Shen Huaixu's understanding, after winter in previous years, it was indeed the most active period for the Eastern Barbarians. Their fighting style was very special. Every time they invaded the border, they moved as fast as the wind. Their biggest goal was to steal things and then run away.
Often, before the soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty launched an attack, they had already looted and ran away. In the process, the people of the Great Jin Dynasty were inevitably killed or wounded. Their attack routes were irregular and they were always shameless.
This happened repeatedly, and the soldiers guarding the border were almost used to it. For Fuyin, the clarion call to war had already been sounded, but for them, it was the norm and nothing.
Fu Yin was very depressed about this. He was just a small soldier and had no say.
Shen Huaixu only lets him "sleep on firewood and taste gall" and slowly accumulate military merits. One day, the right to speak will fall into his hands.
Time flies, and it is already midsummer before we know it.
A big event happened in Jiuxi Village - Erlang from Aliang's family was going to take another exam, this time it was the provincial exam.
Even though they didn't dare to say much, the news still spread like wildfire.
Many people are eagerly waiting to see whether Jiang Erlang can pass the imperial examination.
Jiang Erlang, who never left the house and devoted himself to reading books of sages, came to Ganzhou again. Unlike the last time when he was in a relatively relaxed mood, this time he felt much more pressure than before and the burden on his shoulders was also much heavier.
There are tens of thousands of students in the world, and who wouldn't want to leap over the dragon gate and become a noble or a prime minister? But how many people in the world can actually do it?
He tried his best to take it easy, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
The examination hall for the provincial examination was located in the southeast of the provincial capital, called Gongyuan. There were three sessions of the provincial examination, each lasting three days, and candidates had to enter the examination hall one day in advance before each examination.
After entering the venue, the candidates will find that the examination places are small cubicles. Inside, two bare boards can be put together to form a bed, and when taken apart, they can become tables and chairs.
This was something Jiang Erlang had inquired about in advance.
The day before entering the venue, Qian Xiuzhu, who came to take care of him, spent a lot of time thinking about his diet. She even asked the doctor at the clinic which foods were incompatible with each other, for fear that something would go wrong.
August is the height of summer. Ganzhou is located in the north, where the temperature is much more suitable than in the south. You won't get heatstroke even if you stay in a lattice house for three days.
Qian Xiuzhu couldn't help but prepare some things for Jiang Erlang. After hearing that the entrance inspection was very strict, she gave up and sighed, "This exam is really a torture!"
The next morning, after breakfast, Jiang Erlang checked the things he had with him several times to make sure nothing was left behind, and then went to the Imperial Examination Hall.
There was a long queue at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, with many carriages parked there. When the carriages could not squeeze in, Jiang Dalang stayed behind to watch the carriages while Jiang Erlang went to queue up. Qian Xiuzhu watched from afar, wanting to see him walk into the Imperial Examination Hall with her own eyes.
The inspection is indeed strict. The belongings carried by the candidates are checked, and the candidates themselves are checked as well. Everything is done to prevent cheating. Even the facial features of each candidate are recorded in great detail, one by one, to prevent impersonation.
After waiting for more than half an hour, Jiang Erlang finally passed the inspection and entered the Imperial Examination Hall as he wished.
Qian Xiuzhu left, looking back every few steps, only after she could no longer see her second son.
It was three days later when Qian Xiuzhu arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall again. After waiting anxiously for a long time, she finally saw Erlang. He looked a little haggard, but compared to other candidates who fainted as soon as they left the house, he still looked decent.
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, Qian Xiuzhu saw her second son bending over as if he wanted to vomit, but nothing came out. She felt so distressed that she hurried forward to help him up.
After a good rest, she still had to take the next two exams. It was not until the last one was over that Qian Xiuzhu's anxious heart finally relaxed.
Among the last candidates who walked out of the Imperial Examination Hall, some had pale faces, some burst into tears, some muttered to themselves nervously, and some showed joy on their faces, but they were very few.
Jiang Erlang's face was calm, neither good nor bad, but when compared with most people, it made people feel a little relieved.
Qian Xiuzhu didn't ask anything, but just said: "The exam is finally over, go back and have a good sleep, and your mother will prepare something delicious for you."
Jiang Erlang nodded slightly. He couldn't get a good rest in the lattice room at all. The air was filled with a mixture of smells and the sound insulation was not good. But in order to have enough energy for the next day, he would force himself to close his eyes even if he couldn't sleep.
He looked up at the blue sky—it was over.
The mother and her two children stayed in the state capital for some time, waiting for the results to come out.
On the day the results came out, Qian Xiuzhu was talking to a woman at home. She was someone she met when she came to Ganzhou last time. She happened to be free today, so she came to talk to Qian Xiuzhu.
More people mean more ways. Qian Xiuzhu knew that the woman might be so close to Erlang because she saw his potential, but she did not resist.
Jiang Dalang and Jiang Erlang went to see the results.
But not long after the two of them left, someone came to the door and announced, "Congratulations, congratulations to the Juren for passing the Asian Yuan exam! I'm here to pay my respects to the Juren!"
The woman patted Qian Xiuzhu and asked, "Did your Erlang pass the exam?"
Qian Xiuzhu finally realized what was happening. She took out her reward money and asked the messenger to buy some wine. After sending the messenger away, she asked in a daze, "My Erlang passed the exam... Yayuan?"
"The second place winner!" The woman looked at Qian Xiuzhu with envy, thinking that this person was so lucky and she had not misjudged him.
"I passed the exam, I really passed! I..." Qian Xiuzhu said incoherently, looking a little dazed, as if she was in a dream, "I'll call Dalang and Erlang back right away..."
"Hey, hey, hey, look at you, you're so happy you're silly, aren't you? There are so many people under the list, it's so crowded, where are you going to find it? Anyway, it's good news, all you have to do is wait patiently at home."
Qian Xiuzhu then laughed, "Yes, yes, look at me, I'm really naive..."
After setting off firecrackers and receiving many messengers with music and drums, and giving them the prepared wedding money, Jiang Dalang and Jiang Erlang hurried back to help.
The rented courtyard was almost quiet for the whole day, and Qian Xiuzhu's face was almost frozen with laughter. It was not until she spent money to book a table nearby and Jiang Dalang and Jiang Erlang led the male guests who came to congratulate her away that the noise finally stopped.
Most of these people are candidates. Those who pass the examination will become colleagues of Jiang Erlang in the future. There are only benefits and no harm in making friends with them.
After thanking the woman for her help repeatedly and giving her some gifts to take back, Qian Xiuzhu finally relaxed.
She sat under the pear tree in the yard, her mind a tangle of thoughts so complex she couldn't make sense of them. After sitting quietly for a while, she suddenly covered her face and cried softly.
It was not until this moment that she was absolutely certain that they would not experience what happened in the dream.
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