All things are inferior except reading, this is a deeply rooted perception even among peddlers and hawkers in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Are the Jinlin Guards scary? Yes! If a family has someone working for the Jinlin Guards, the neighbors will be afraid of them. But behind the fear, people will spit on them.

Is Jinwuwei glorious? Of course it is glorious, but those who can enter Jinwuwei are all young masters, so they are not envious.

Only studying is the real way out, the real fish leaping into the dragon gate. Even if the children of noble families can pass the imperial examination, it is a matter of family celebration. The reason is very simple: those who can climb to the pinnacle of power in the officialdom are always officials who come from the imperial examination.

As for the rest, they are all trash.

Xiao is now comforting herself by saying that Jiang Zhan is just a small fry.

But this scumbag was once a pile of mud, and anyone would think that he would never be able to climb up in his lifetime. Xiao felt a little sad when he thought about it.

Just wait a little longer, until the autumn examination is over and the winners are announced, and then no one will be able to steal the glory from the eldest son.

"Second brother, your clothes are so beautiful, are you really a Jinwu Guard?" The fourth young master Jiang Ze asked, looking up.

Mr. Jiang San has a son and a daughter. The daughter is Jiang Qiao and the son is Jiang Ze. They are just ten years old this year, which is the age when they are sensible but still innocent.

Jiang Zhan took off the sword from his waist and handed it to Jiang Ze to show off: "Of course it is. Fourth brother, look at the flying eagle on the scabbard, it is the unique symbol of the Jinwu Guard."

The third son Jiang Yuan, who was standing by, saw Jiang Ze stroking the domineering sword and was envious: "Second brother, let me touch it."

Xiao looked at Jiang Yuan, secretly angry at her second son's lack of ambition, and said calmly: "What are you touching? Don't let your second brother damage it. Look, your second brother has a proper job now, you should study hard in the future."

Jiang Yuan's face fell when he heard this: "Mother, I don't want to study anymore--"

"Shut up!" Xiao raised her voice, "What can you do if you don't study? Do you have the good fortune of your second brother to enter the Jinwu Guard?"

Jiang Zhan rolled his eyes silently.

He made friends with Yu Qige by his own ability. How can it be said that having a capable friend is just luck? This obviously depends on character and strength.

"My second brother can join the Jinwu Guard, so why can't I? At worst I can ask my father to help me with his connections." Jiang Yuan said with his neck stiff.

Jiang Yuan is now fourteen years old, and he is very similar to Jiang Zhan in one respect: they both hate studying and seem to have no knack for it.

It's just that Jiang Yuan is a little younger, and with the powerful Jiang Zhan pressing on him for a long time, he can't show it for a while.

"Nonsense!" Because the eldest son has been gifted since childhood, in Xiao's mind, nothing is more important than studying.

Old Master Jiang Er was somewhat tempted when he saw Jiang Zhan, who was as tall as a poplar tree.

The second son is completely different from the eldest son. After studying for so many years, it is good enough for him to recognize a few words and write two eccentric poems. Of course, one should study to temper his temper when he is young, but there is no need to go down the path of imperial examinations when he grows up.

Jinwuwei is indeed a good choice.

Jiang Yuan was too young to join the Jinwu Guards, so Second Elder Jiang was naturally not in a hurry and said calmly, "Study hard first, and I'll hire a martial arts master for you to learn from for three years later."

"Great!" Jiang Yuan waved his fist and looked at Jiang Zhan with an increasingly intimate look.

A few years later, when he joined the Jinwu Guard, he was protected by his second brother.

Xiao was unhappy with Mr. Jiang's decision, but she said nothing in front of everyone.

Forget it, the second son was not good at studying in the first place, so it would be good for him to be a Jinwu guard in the future. Having brothers from the same mother, one civil and one military, would be the real help.

Thinking of her eldest son, Xiao became particularly concerned about him. When she returned to Yaxin Garden, she couldn't help but complain to the second old master Jiang: "It's so hot, I don't know if Cang'er can stand it. I heard that the room where they took the exam didn't even have a place to stretch their feet."

The so-called "haoshe" is a small, single house where candidates take the exam. The provincial examination is divided into three sessions, each lasting three days, and candidates eat, drink and sleep in the small "haoshe" during these three days.

Elder Jiang Er had experienced both the Autumn Examination and the Spring Examination, so he was well aware of the poor conditions of the examination rooms. He said calmly, "That's how I got through it."

"It is said that some of those rooms leak. If you are assigned to a room like that—"

"Shut up!" Old Master Jiang glared at Xiao unhappily.

If you are assigned to a dormitory that leaks, your test paper will get wet when it rains, and your score will be invalidated.

Xiao knew she had said something wrong, and hurriedly said, "Our Cang'er has always had the best luck, and he will definitely be assigned to the best room. I was just worrying about nothing."

Mr. Jiang Er pulled his face in annoyance.

Ignorant woman, a leaky cell is nothing. If you are assigned a stinky cell next to a toilet, you won't even need to take the exam.

In such hot weather, just imagine the smell——

Old Master Jiang Er recalled that in the year of his college entrance examination, there was an unlucky classmate who was assigned to the bad number. He could not hold on for a whole day and fainted and was carried out. He felt particularly sad.

However, such bad numbers are extremely rare, and those who can get one are very unlucky.

Mr. Jiang certainly didn't think his son would be so unlucky, and his turbulent thoughts quickly calmed down.

In the blink of an eye, it was August 11th, the last day of the first session of the provincial examination. At dusk, the candidates who took the first examination would come out. Those like Jiang Cang who lived close to home would of course not need to stay in the inn, but return home.

As it was almost afternoon, everyone in the Bo's house was nervous and expectant, and Mr. Jiang and his wife were even more nervous.

Master Jiang Er had participated in imperial examinations before, so he knew better than anyone the importance of the first exam.

The eight-legged essay only focuses on the first part, which is about classics. If one does well in the first part, one can pass the remaining two parts. It can be said that the first part is what truly determines the future of the candidates.

Winning this one would mean qualifying for the imperial examination next year.

The sound of hurried footsteps suddenly rang out, like thunder striking one's heart, and Mr. Jiang Er inexplicably had a bad premonition.

Soon the owner of the footsteps rushed in. It was the steward of the outer courtyard. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted loudly: "Sir, the eldest master is back!"

Old Master Jiang Er choked and his heart sank.

It's not time to hand in the paper yet, why is Cang'er coming back?

"What's going on?" Elder Jiang asked anxiously.

The steward said with a pale face: "The eldest master was carried out unconscious!"

Xiao couldn't help but stand up when she heard Jiang Cang came back, but after hearing these words, her legs went weak and she fell back into the chair.

"Where's the book boy?"

A thin figure knelt down, wiping away tears, and said, "Young Master was assigned to the stinky cell. When he was carried out, I realized that he had been holding out for two days, but today he was vomiting and couldn't hold on any longer. He fainted and was carried out..."

Even though Mr. Jiang Er had been in officialdom for many years, he still felt dizzy when he heard this.

He considered the foundation, experience, vision, and talent over and over again, and was certain that his eldest son would succeed, but he had overlooked his eldest son's luck.

"Where is the eldest master?" Xiao rushed out in a hurry.