Four days later, at Qingzhou Academy.
All the girls who came to take the exam received a number and walked into the academy.
Jiang Ling looked at Jiang Suihe, whose face was a little pale and whose forehead was covered in sweat, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, gently wiped the sweat from Jiang Suihe's forehead, and said softly, "Don't be nervous, it doesn't matter how you do on the exam. Just do your best!"
Although Jiang Suihe nodded, she still nervously swallowed. Jiang Ling patted Jiang Suihe's shoulder encouragingly, "Go for it! Good luck! Our Suihe is the best!"
Jiang Suihe recalled the deep breathing method Jiang Ling had told her last night, and tried to ease her tension as she walked.
The man at the door handed Jiang Suihe a number plate with a smile, and then a female student led Jiang Suihe to her assigned examination room.
The writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone have already been prepared in advance.
The preliminary examination for candidates for the imperial examination consisted of three parts: classical texts, miscellaneous essays, and policy essays. The first two parts were held on one day each, while the third part was held over two consecutive days.
The first exam, the "Book of Classics," required candidates to memorize the contents of the book according to the instructions, primarily testing their memory.
The second exam consists of essays, mainly including essays and tables, which primarily test the candidates' calligraphy and writing skills.
The third exam, an essay on policy, primarily assesses candidates' understanding and perspectives on law, current affairs, and governance.
When it's time to hand in the exam, the candidate only needs to pull a small bell next to them, and two people will come over to annotate the paper, put the exam paper into the box, and collect the pens, ink, and other items. After that, the candidate can leave.
Before the exam was over, Jiang Ling looked at the dense crowd at the entrance of Qingzhou Academy and figured that Jiang Suihe wouldn't be out for a while, so she decided to go for a stroll. There was no point in waiting at the entrance anyway.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling turned and walked in another direction.
It has to be said that Qingzhou is much more prosperous than Yecheng. There are countless shops on the streets and alleys. Jiang Ling looked left and right and finally chose a rouge shop and went inside.
Looking left and right, the styles inside were truly dazzling.
"Shopkeeper, do you still have any peppermint balm?"
A voice made Jiang Ling's curiosity soar like a rocket.
She calmly put down the rouge beside her, her brows furrowed slightly, and pretended to be carefully selecting something, but in reality, she took small, quick steps and occasionally walked towards the counter.
"I'm so sorry, miss, the peppermint balm has been out of stock for a long time!" The shopkeeper was a still charming woman, and she was looking very apologetic.
The woman sighed helplessly and said, "Oh, it's such a pity. I didn't expect such a good product to be out of stock for so long."
"Indeed, why don't you try our latest rouge, Miss? This one smells quite good too!" The shopkeeper said, taking out another beautifully packaged rouge from the counter.
The woman glanced at it, casually twisted open the small box, smelled it, frowned, placed it on the counter, and said helplessly, "Never mind, this scent doesn't suit me! I still prefer the smell of peppermint balm. I should have bought more! You might not even find it in this huge Qingzhou now. Thank you for your help, shopkeeper, I'll be going now!"
After saying this, the woman lifted her skirt, lowered her head, and left the rouge shop with a disappointed look on her face.
"Madam, what would you like to buy? Or can I recommend something for you?" After the woman left, only Jiang Ling remained in the rouge shop. The shop owner, holding a fan, walked up to Jiang Ling and asked.
Jiang Ling rolled her eyes and looked at the shop owner with a puzzled expression, saying, "Boss, what is that menthol balm that girl was talking about?"
"Oh dear, don't even mention it!" The boss suddenly looked heartbroken.
She rubbed her temples and said with a wronged expression, "Madam, judging from your accent, you're not from around here, are you?"
Jiang Ling nodded and answered the boss's question.
The shopkeeper immediately became interested and said to Jiang Ling with a regretful look, "Madam, it's normal that you don't know. This peppermint balm was discovered by my husband in Changning Town. It has a unique flavor and can also prevent mosquito bites. At first, my husband only brought back a few small boxes, mainly to prevent mosquito bites."
“At first, I didn’t intend to sell it. A while ago, the girl who had just left came to buy rouge. She had a big mosquito bite on her hand and it was so itchy that she couldn’t stand it. So, I kindly took out some peppermint balm and let her try it. She immediately liked the smell and insisted that I sell her a box. I thought I had some at home anyway, so I sold her a box. That’s how the peppermint balm became popular in Qingzhou.”
"Oh my, madam, I'm not exaggerating, you've never seen anything like it. So many ladies and young women line up before dawn just for a box of mint balm. I've been in the cosmetics business for so many years and this is the first time I've ever seen anything like it..."
The boss immediately stopped talking, looking at Jiang Ling somewhat apologetically, and said, "Sorry, sorry, I talked too much and took up your time!"
Jiang Ling was secretly astonished when she heard the shopkeeper's description. She hadn't expected that the things she used to use to support her family would be so popular now. However, she remained calm, smiled, and said to the shopkeeper, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I was just bored, so I came to browse around!"
"Madam, is there anything you like here? Or can I recommend something?" The shopkeeper became enthusiastic again, trying to sell his wares.
Listening to the shopkeeper's eloquent words, Jiang Ling couldn't resist buying a lot of things. It wasn't until she left the rouge shop that Jiang Ling came to her senses. She turned to look at the rouge shop, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind.
Jiang Ling wandered around Qingzhou again, buying a lot of things. Just as she put the bags and packages into her room and was about to go to the entrance of Qingzhou Academy to check on the situation, an extremely faint voice stopped her in her tracks.
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