Chapter 122: Personal Confession (Part 1)

Zhulan was sure that she had a reason for saying so. Such luxurious carriages were rare in the county. Besides, Wang Ru lived on this street, so it was obvious that the carriage belonged to the Shi family.

The carriage was faster than Zhulan and the other person. Before Zhulan reached the door of Wang Laosi's house, the carriage had already stopped. When Zhulan was almost there, the gifts in the carriage were moved into the yard, and Wang Ru was enthusiastically seeing the steward out.

The carriage was blocking the road, so Zhulan and Zhou Shuren stopped and waited for the carriage to turn around and leave before continuing to move forward.

Wang Ru did not enter the yard either. She stood quietly at the door. She was ignored and could not help pinching her palms. It was not until her step-sister Wang Xin ran out and called out that Wang Ru turned around and asked, "Is there anything important happening in the village today?"

Wang Xin was not like Wang Ru who was unwilling to get in touch with the girls in the village. Her family was well off and she also had a few friends. "This year, the Zhou clan school entrance ceremony is held."

Wang Ru's eyes darkened. After Zhou Xuehan got engaged, she paid little attention to the Zhou family. Then her stepmother made trouble during the Chinese New Year, and she hadn't thought about the Zhou family for a long time. She almost forgot about Zhou Changzhi.

Seeing that her sister looked unhappy, Wang Xin didn't know how she had made her unhappy, so she quickly shut up and followed step by step.

Even though Wang Ru was relieved about Zhou Xuehan, she still didn't want Zhou Xuehan to leave Zhoujia Village. Only if Zhou Changzhi was not an official would his family not benefit from his success. Not only could she completely eliminate the possibility of Zhou Xuehan and the male protagonist, but she could also completely step on Zhou Xuehan and avenge San Ya.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went home. Zhou Shuren read while Zhulan copied calligraphy. Zhulan didn't like traditional Chinese characters, but in order not to be despised by her grandson and for the dignity of being a former top student, she wrote two big characters every day to be a cultured person in ancient times.

In the following days, the eldest grandson, who was the most noisy, went to school. The second grandson, Mingteng, was no longer so noisy since there was no one to lead him, and the family became much quieter.

Winters in ancient times were colder and longer than they are today. When the children went to school, Zhou Shuren's daily exercise moved from indoors to outdoors. Zhulan, who was afraid of the cold, also accompanied Zhou Shuren in exercising outside every day, mainly to adapt to the outdoor temperature and prepare for the scholar examination.

Every day Zhulan accompanied Zhou Shuren to walk around the village twice a day, morning and evening. The effect was remarkable. After a week, even Zhulan, who was afraid of cold, had become much more resistant to cold, not to mention Zhou Shuren.

In fact, Zhulan was thinking of making some warm covers for Zhou Shuren to prevent him from being too cold during the exam, but Zhou Shuren directly rejected her idea. He suggested that it would be better to make the cotton-padded jacket thicker. Cotton bags for covers were not allowed. There were regulations on what to bring, so it would be better to follow the crowd to avoid trouble.

When Zhou Shuren went to take the examination for the scholar, only a few elders and those who took the examination together knew about it. Considering Zhou Shuren's age, it would be embarrassing in front of the younger generation if he failed, so no one told anyone and no one in the village heard any news.

Whenever Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were seen strolling together, the rumor spread throughout the village that Zhou Shuren was really good to Zhulan and accompanied her in exercising. Yes, Zhulan took the blame, because everyone knew that Zhulan was in poor health last year. Even if she recovered, she was not completely well in the eyes of the villagers.

Whenever Zhulan heard sarcastic remarks, she would keep smiling, thinking in her heart that she would scare you gossipy women to death when Zhou Shuren came back.

In the fictional dynasty, the examination for students was divided into three sessions: county, prefectural, and academy. The county examination was held in February. After passing the county examination, the prefectural examination was held in April, presided over by officials such as the prefect. After passing both examinations, one could then participate in the academy examination, which was presided over by the provincial education officials at the end of April.

The registration procedures for the academy examination are similar to those for the county examination. To register for the county examination, applicants are required to fill out a personal statement and certify it to each other.

The time of the county examination was announced a month before the Lunar New Year. Zhou Shuren signed up. When Zhulan watched him write the confession, she realized that although there were no photographs in ancient times, there was still no ambiguity. Not only the name, age, hometown, physique, and physical features had to be clear and detailed, but also the life and death of three generations of great-parents, grandparents, and parents had to be clearly stated. Even for those who were adopted, three generations of biological parents had to be written. It was extremely strict.

Mutual alliances, five people taking the same exam form a joint guarantee, and five people will be held jointly responsible for cheating. Zhou Shuren's mutual alliances are all for reference within the clan, and people in a clan know each other well and have a higher degree of trust.