Chapter 399: Heavy Rain before the Autumn Examination

Su Xi shook her head and said, "The weather changes too quickly with the seasons. It's normal to have inaccurate predictions."

Although the roof of the carriage was rainproof, if the road was too muddy, the horses would be frightened and unable to move. If the carriage continued to travel until midnight, the city gates would have been closed long ago.

Zong Zhao replied, "Then stay here for one night, and return to Beijing tomorrow when the rain stops. You will still be in time."

Xu Wan went to make arrangements: "Okay, I'll let Cuizhi communicate with the farmers."

There were many farmers nearby, and they couldn't fit in one family, so they split up into several families. Xu Wan was worried, so she lived in one family with the five children.

Not long after, heavy rain really came down.

Because there were adults around, the teenagers played around in the house without any worries. When they got interested, they even went to the kitchen to learn how to cook.

The sky darkened and the rain got heavier.

Xu Wan looked at the night sky with worry and said, "Will the rain really stop tomorrow morning? What if it doesn't stop? I specially left them a day to rest in Beijing, but I didn't expect them to be trapped in the suburbs of Beijing."

Zong Zhao comforted him, "Don't worry. I have sent a message to the nearby post station, asking them to send two fast horses to the carriage. If the rain doesn't stop tomorrow, Buyan and I will take the official road and escort them back to the capital first."

Xu Wan asked, "Aren't the fast horses at the post station afraid of getting wet in the rain?"

Zong Zhao replied, "I am afraid, but there are many post stations on the official road, and we can change horses after walking a distance."

Xu Wan felt a little relieved after hearing this.

Zong Zhao said softly, "Go to sleep. Thinking too much will make you anxious. Maybe when you wake up tomorrow morning, the rain will have stopped."

"You're right." Xu Wan turned and went into the house.

There were two bedrooms in this farmhouse. One was for the adults, which had a simple wooden bed, and the other was for the children, which was a large dormitory. The five teenagers had never seen such a bed before, and they were so excited that they rolled from one end to the other, still screaming at midnight.

In the end, Zong Zhao came over and reminded them to go to bed early, and finally they went to sleep peacefully.

They didn't bring any blankets with them this time, so they used the ones from farmers. They had a bit of smell and were damp. Zong Zhao said to Xu Wan, "Just bear with it."

Xu Wan smiled and said, "You are the one who should be patient, right?" She grew up in poverty.

Zong Zhao laughed: "Life in the army is much harder than this. Sometimes we have to sleep outdoors, and we can't sleep well just from the mosquito bites."

"That seems to be the case..." Xu Wan was convinced at once.

With just one quilt, they didn't have to worry about whether or not to sleep in separate beds. The two of them slept under the same quilt and became more and more accustomed to each other's presence.

But Xu Wan did not sleep well that night. She kept dreaming that the rain had not stopped and the road had been washed away. She could not bring the children back to the capital and could not enter the tribute court. She could only wait another three years.

"Ah..." I woke up from my dream.

Xu Wan broke out in a cold sweat and was frightened. The sky outside was gray and bright, and it seemed that dawn was approaching.

Zong Zhao quickly stood up and asked her, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

"Has the rain stopped?" Xu Wan asked back.

Zong Zhao didn't even need to get out of bed to look. The sound of rain outside was getting more and more intense. "It hasn't stopped yet."

Xu Wan's heart sank to the bottom. She said, "I was too optimistic. I shouldn't have taken them so far away from Beijing two days before the Autumn Examination."

Zong Zhao comforted them, "It's okay. It's not your fault. Their poetry is poor to begin with, and they need to squeeze out some time to practice. Also, you've reserved a day for them. It's just that the celestial phenomena change too quickly and are beyond human prediction."

Xu Wan asked, "Can we leave in the morning? We must hurry back to Beijing today, otherwise we won't be able to enter the Imperial Academy tomorrow and will have to wait another three years. They have been preparing for so long just for this exam."

Zong Zhao glanced outside and replied, "I'll go see if the express horse from the post station has arrived. If not, it must be because of the heavy rain that prevented the pigeon from being delivered. Buyan and I will go to the post station to get horses, and then hurry back to escort them back to the capital. Let Cui Liu come over to protect you."

"good."

Xu Wan knew very well the importance of this exam, which was more important than the annual college entrance examination in modern times, and they could not afford to have any accidents here.

Zong Zhao quickly got out of bed, dressed and put on shoes. He called Buyan and strode out. After a while, Cuiliu and Cuizhi came over. Zong Zhao and Buyan also held umbrellas and walked towards the post station in the gray morning and rain.

Cuizhi advised: "Madam, please sleep a little longer. It is not dawn yet."

Xu Wan asked, "Cuizhi, do you think the rain will stop today?"

Cuizhi didn't understand astronomical phenomena, but seeing Xu Wan was anxious, she also advised: "I don't know if it will stop, but our north is different from the south. There is not such heavy rain. This rain started yesterday evening. It has been a night, and it should be over by now."

Xu Wan murmured, "Yes, yes, there is less rain in the north, it should stop soon."

At noon, five young boys woke up one after another.

Cui Liu had already brought the food back and asked them to wash and eat. Zong Jincheng looked at the heavy rain outside and wondered, "Why hasn't it stopped yet?"

Cuiliu replied, "It will be soon. Cuizhi and Madam both said that there is little rain in the north, so it won't rain for that long."

"Oh, that's right." Zong Jincheng responded, and then shouted to his brothers excitedly, "Come and have dinner soon. After dinner, I can write a poem. Looking at this autumn rain and this thatched cottage can really inspire me to write poetry!"

"It's such a damp weather, how can I write poetry? I just want to imitate Mr. Su and curse the weather."

"Then please be more polite when you swear, and be careful to avoid using profanity."

"Hahaha...that makes sense."

Not long after, Zong Zhao and Buyan came back with their horses. They also brought hats, umbrellas and other things. Xu Wan invited them to come over and have dinner first, while Shunzi and others began to saddle the fast horses.

After everything was done, the five young boys climbed onto the carriage, and Zong Zhao and Buyan drove away, heading straight for the official road.

When Su Xi came over with an umbrella, he only had time to see the back of the carriage. He said to Xu Wan, who had a stern face, "Don't be too serious. Your husband looks reliable and will definitely be able to escort them back to Beijing."

Xu Wan replied, "Thank you for your good wishes, sir. I hope they can have a smooth journey. Taking the official road is a bit of a detour, so it will take a little longer, but they will arrive in the afternoon at least. I hope they don't catch a cold on the way, otherwise it will be very difficult for them to endure the nine days after entering the tribute courtyard."

During the nine days and eight nights of the Autumn Examination, although there were medicines and other things in the bags brought with them, colds are difficult to cure, and will not only affect the test state, but those with severe symptoms may not be able to last for nine days.

Su Xi comforted him, "Don't think too much. Their carriages are rainproof and they have some quilts on board. You won't get cold or wet, so you won't get sick."