Chapter 211 Mothers Picking Up Their Babies

When the private tutors of the key classes asked them to do mock exams, they mostly summarized the questions from previous years. These included reciting and understanding the Nine Classics, the Book of Filial Piety, and the Analects. Occasionally, there would be some questions beyond the syllabus, but these questions had no pattern and were difficult to figure out or predict.

Therefore, when they were preparing for the exam, they tried their best to ensure that they answered all the content they were supposed to know correctly, so that they would not be too far behind when encountering questions beyond the syllabus. However, Zong Jincheng did not expect that this question beyond the syllabus would be about the names of the people that Qin Ye had just told them at the door.

"So annoying." The little devil wanted to grab Qin Ye and beat him up.

He should not have known the answer to this question, so he just left it blank. But because Qin Ye told him before the test, he knew the answer.

If he wrote down this answer, it would mean that he admitted that Qin Ye was better than him. This would make himself, who was howling at Qin Ye just now, look like a joke. The little devil clenched his fists in anger.

"Never mind, let's write something else first."

He lowered his head and began to answer the questions seriously.

Outside the Gongyuan.

The elders who sent the children left one after another. Xu Wan heard the whole conversation between the kids and Qin Ye from Cui Liu. She couldn't help laughing: "This Qin Ye is also a strange man. His show of kindness is much more natural than Jin Cheng's. No wonder Jin Cheng couldn't see it."

Bailiweihong smiled and said, "Jincheng is awkward, but her awkwardness is cute and easy to be discovered by others. Qin Ye is a dull child and doesn't like to explain himself, so his words are easily misunderstood."

Xu Wan nodded and said, "You are too straightforward. You will suffer a great loss in the future."

Baili Weihong followed her into the carriage back home and said with some emotion: "I always heard Wen Xiu and the others talk about Qin Ye before, and I had a good impression of him. But when I met him today... I don't know why, I think he looks a lot like my father."

"Serious?" Xu Wan raised her eyebrows.

Bailiweihong nodded and smiled bitterly: "My father is also such a person, he is dedicated to his work, not caring about other people's evaluation of him, and not caring about how many people he offends, but the result is..."

She shook her head and stopped talking.

Xu Wan was a little touched, she understood.

Some officials, like the stubborn mathematician, are ignorant of the ways of the world and only want to do their own thing, but the world is not very friendly to such people.

She gently advised: "The children are still young, maybe we can help him."

Bailiweihong looked at her in confusion.

Xu Wan smiled and said, "Wen Xiu, our little Wen Xiu is the most considerate. Let him understand what kind of person Qin Ye is. He is the key to resolving the relationship between Qin Ye and Jin Cheng."

Bailiweihong nodded and smiled, "That's good. I'll find an opportunity to talk to Wenxiu about it when I have time."

The two mothers talked about their children's education for a long time and then returned to the Marquis' Mansion slowly.

After five days and three nights of examination, the students came out covered in dust and dirt, as if they had been drained of all their energy.

Elders waiting to pick up their children gathered in groups at the entrance of the temple, and a lot of noises could be heard.

"My dear son, how come it's so dirty? Why are your clothes all torn? Are there still bugs in the temple?"

"Mom, it was a mouse. The mouse bit me!"

"Ah? There are rats? Oh my god, what a lousy place this is..."

The three boys were not in much better condition. They had been taking the exam in the small dark room for five days. Now they came out listlessly with their bags on their backs. When they saw their mother, they perked up.

"Mom!" He Zheng rushed over first.

"Mom, I've finished the exam." Zong Wenxiu also ran back.

When the little devil saw Xu Wan standing there with a smile on her face, holding his favorite cake in her hands and waiting for him, he immediately ran back and shouted, "Mom, I did really well on the test!"

Xu Wan took the backpack from him and handed it to the servant. Then she pinched his round face and said, "Okay, just finish the exam smoothly. Let's go and get in the carriage. Wipe your face. You're so dirty."

The little devil held her arm and kept boasting to her all the way: "The boy's exam is just like this, I thought it was so difficult, hehe, I can do all those test questions, and my writing is very skillful, just wait and see, I have got this boy!"

Xu Wan smiled as she led him to the carriage, stuffed the warm freshly made cakes into his arms, and reminded him, "You should eat more first, as we still have a long way to go before we get to the Marquis' Mansion."

As she spoke, she took out a wet towel that she had prepared in advance and gently wiped his hands. She then went on to wipe his gray little face. After several wipes, her fair and tender face was revealed.

The little devil squinted his eyes and enjoyed it. He grabbed the pastry with his white chubby hands and stuffed it into his mouth. His dark eyes stared at her motionlessly, watching Xu Wan use a comb to tidy up his messy hair.

"Your clothes are so dirty. Do you want to change? I've brought you some new clothes in the car," she asked.

The little devil quickly shook his head and refused: "No, I'll go home and take a shower and change. It's useless to just change my outer clothes."

Xu Wan smiled and said, "That's true. How about it? Are you tired of taking five days of exams?"

The little devil munched on some pastries while saying lightly, "I'm not tired. This is nothing. I can endure any hardship!"

He originally thought that after he got out, he would complain to his mother, but who knew that all the students were complaining after they got out, so he thought of blowing the whim in the opposite direction, maybe his mother would even praise him!

Xu Wan rubbed his head and asked, "Good boy, did you see the mouse?"

The Marquis Yuanyang's mansion was cleaned up from top to bottom. This kid probably had never seen such a creature since he was a child, and I don't know if he was scared or not.

The little devil choked up and replied, "Yes, I saw it. It's so annoying. It keeps running around me."

On the first day he was nearly frightened to death by the sudden appearance of rats, but luckily he was prepared in advance and immediately took out all the sachets in his bag and hung them on his body, so those scary rats didn't run onto him. However, he still slept in fear at night, fearing that he would have to sleep in this unknown temple until the end of the exam.

Xu Wan asked with amusement: "And then, did you crush them to death?"

"No." The little devil shook his head. "I was afraid of delaying the exam, so I didn't bother with them. I wrote it with my legs hanging in the air."

He added, "I remember the story you told me about a student who was rushing to take an exam and was cheated out of 90 cents by a dishonest storekeeper. We can't let ourselves be distracted by a momentary rage."

Xu Wan was stunned.

I didn't expect he remembered it so clearly.

The little devil kicked his legs and said, "It's a pity that when I finished writing the test paper, the rats knew what to do and ran away. Humph, if I can become an official in the Ministry of Rites, which is in charge of the imperial examinations, I will first have everyone kill all the rats in the Gongyuan!"

Xu Wan: “…”

Good, good, I can feel how much resentment the young master has towards the rats in the tribute courtyard.