February thirteenth, the continuous wind and snow finally stopped, but the snow in the shaded areas had not melted, and it was bone-chilling in the mornings and evenings.
The village head, wrapped tightly in his padded jacket, rubbed his frozen hands after entering the house. "The county examination is in three days. Why hasn't the weather cleared up yet?"
"Village head, have some hot water to warm yourself," Madam Li handed him a cup of hot tea. Ever since it started snowing, her heart had been in a knot. The snow had finally stopped, but it was still so cold.
"Mother, you don't need to worry. I'm not afraid of the cold, and my clothes are thick," Zhan Feiyu said with a smile, trying to comfort them. Compared to the true children of farmers, she was much better off.
This year seemed to have a hint of a late spring chill. The children participating in the county examination were all quite young. Sitting in the examination hall for a whole day was indeed arduous.
This was especially true for the poor farming children, who could only wear multiple layers of thin clothes for warmth, as clothes with linings were not allowed in the examination hall.
Whether it was the village head, Madam Li, or Zhan Da Lang, who sat silently beside them, no matter how much they cared, they couldn't stop Zhan Feiyu from taking the exam.
"But Xiao Yu studies well. She will definitely pass this time!" The village head's deep voice finally carried a hint of ease and a smile.
Setting aside her talent, Xiao Yu's dedication to her studies was truly remarkable, as if she were hanging her hair and pricking her thigh. Coupled with Magistrate Chen's regard for Xiao Yu, passing the county examination was a certainty.
Zhan Feiyu pursed her lips and smiled. "Mother, I've packed my things. I'll return to the manor after eating. I'll go directly to the examination hall on the sixteenth. It's too cold, so you don't need to come."
Magistrate Chen had decided to hold five sessions for this county examination. Coupled with identity verification and body searches before entering the examination hall, it would take a considerable amount of time. Therefore, they had to set off before dawn. Staying at a farm manor was definitely more convenient than staying at an inn.
Zhan Da Lang wanted to speak, but Madam Li cast him a look, and Zhan Da Lang lowered his head. However, he had made up his mind that he would go to the county town on the sixteenth. Zhan Da Lang couldn't rest assured letting Xiao Yu go to the examination alone.
By noon, He Sheng arrived in the village driving a carriage to pick up Zhan Feiyu. At this moment, a dense crowd of villagers stood on both sides of the carriage.
"Xiao Yu, study hard and don't be afraid. You're still young; if you don't pass this year, you can try again next year."
"What kind of talk is that, woman? Xiao Yu will definitely pass."
"Haha, exactly! Xiao Yu is the little prodigy of our Shangsi County. If she can't pass, who can?"
The villagers laughed heartily, no longer caring about the cold weather. They spoke one after another, their words filled with the most sincere blessings.
"No need to get down; don't catch a cold," the old clan elder said, raising his hand to stop Zhan Feiyu, who was about to get out of the carriage. A gratified smile appeared on his wrinkled, kind face. "It's your first exam, don't panic. You study diligently every day; you'll surely pass."
"Great-grandfather, I know. You should go back quickly; it's too cold." Zhan Feiyu quickly said. The wind had picked up in the afternoon, and it felt like knives scraping against her face. At her great-grandfather's age, he couldn't withstand the cold.
"Alright, Great-grandfather will take good care of himself and wait for your good news," the old clan elder nodded with a smile.
"Xiao Yu, the wind is too strong. Get in the carriage and sit properly," the village head said.
Looking at the villagers who had come to see her off, the village head shouted, "Everyone, clear the way! After Xiao Yu passes, the village will hold a feast, and we'll all have a good time."
After a while, the carriage slowly disappeared from everyone's sight. Who would have thought that the little girl from two years ago would reach this point? At that time, many people in the village had opinions when the village and clan decided to support Xiao Yu's studies.
But now, every household could sell vegetables, and the workshop had also been built at the foot of the back mountain. Working in the workshop could earn one tael of silver each month. As the silver increased, the people of Jinlin Village were incredibly grateful to Zhan Feiyu.
"When Xiao Yu achieves official status, our Jinlin Village will prosper even more," the old clan elder said emotionally, his voice choked with emotion.
"Old clan elder, I'll support you," the village head said, holding the old clan elder's arm and smiling as he continued, "When the weather warms up, we'll build the private school, and then more scholars will emerge from the village!"
The prosperity of the Zhan clan couldn't rely solely on Xiao Yu, but Xiao Yu had set a good example, and things would only get better!
"Haha, they say the children in the county start studying at three or four years old. My twin boys will also be sent to the private school at three. Studying a few more years will be better than others."
"Third brother, are you showing off your twin sons!"
"Fifth brother, your little girl is also very clever. Once the private school is built, don't be stingy with your money!"
"Am I a stingy person? The village head said earlier that there's no tuition for village children, and there are rewards for good performance. My second daughter will definitely study!"
The gathered villagers slowly walked home. With education, they would understand reason! Even if they couldn't take the imperial examinations like Xiao Yu, they could work in the workshop, perhaps even become a manager. Their lives would have hope.
...
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Before dawn, He Nuan entered the bedroom carrying hot water, not surprised that Zhan Feiyu was already dressed.
"A Nuan, comb my hair for me first." Zhan Feiyu quickly tied her clothes. To adapt to the weather, the room had not been heated with charcoal for the past two days, and the cold in the early morning made one shiver.
Looking at Zhan Feiyu sitting obediently at the dressing table, a smile flashed in He Nuan's eyes. Miss's hands could write beautiful calligraphy, but she couldn't comb her hair.
As He Nuan combed her hair, she said, "It's still early. I'll ask the kitchen to make wontons and boil eggs. Miss, eat a little more in the morning; it's fine. Just drink less water."
"Okay." Zhan Feiyu touched her secured hair bun, feeling immensely impressed. It was not only beautiful but also stable, unlike her own hair, which would surely come undone with any significant movement.
Once everything was ready, lanterns were hung on both sides of the carriage to illuminate the way, and He Sheng drove the carriage towards the county town.
Two quarters of an hour later.
"Whoa!" He Sheng reined in the horse, and the carriage stopped.
Suddenly, a group of ragged beggars surged onto the official road, numbering thirty to forty people, blocking the entire road.
"Kind sir, please give us some food," the old beggar with dishevelled hair shouted loudly. However, judging by his robust voice, he was definitely well-fed, otherwise, he wouldn't have the energy to shout.
"We've been hungry for three days! We really can't walk anymore!" The beggars sat on the ground, appearing to have collapsed from exhaustion.
"There's food in the carriage!"
From within the crowd of beggars, voices occasionally emerged. Suddenly, someone threw a handful of copper coins towards the carriage, and the scene immediately descended into chaos.
"That's mine, get lost!"
"No snatching! Who dares to snatch my money!"
"There's also broken silver! There's silver in the carriage!" A few copper coins were enough to drive a group of ragged beggars into a frenzy, let alone broken silver.
He Sheng's eyes turned cold. He used his whip to push back the beggars who were crowding in and then whipped the horse's hindquarters. The fine horse neighed in pain, reared up, and galloped forward.
"Ah!" The beggars who were picking up money cried out in fear. No one expected He Sheng to dare to use the carriage to hit people. They all scrambled to the sides of the road in terror.
"The carriage hit someone! Don't let him escape!" someone shouted.
The old beggar, who was picking up copper coins, was suddenly pushed forward and fell in the middle of the road with a thud, completely dazed.
At this moment, if the carriage didn't stop, the old beggar would surely be trampled to death by the horses. However, if it stopped, these twenty to thirty beggars would swarm forward, and the carriage would not be able to leave.
On horseback not far away, Zhan Feiyu was tightly wrapped in a thick cloak, with only her small head exposed. "Big brother, could it be that the Tong family or the Qin family instigated this?"
Shangsi County had been under strict control these past few days. Constables patrolled the streets frequently, and hooligans were warned not to cause trouble. Beggars were uniformly arranged to live in dilapidated temples.
Several merchants with children taking the examination had been providing porridge at the dilapidated temple for half a month, accumulating good deeds for their children in hopes of passing the county examination. Therefore, so many beggars were definitely not from Shangsi County.
"It's related to the Qin family. Sit tight," Yin Wuyan said in a deep voice, putting an arm around Zhan Feiyu's waist and holding the reins with his other hand. The fine horse immediately galloped forward.
The beggars surrounded the carriage, not noticing the fine horse galloping past. Even if they had noticed, they wouldn't have been able to stop it.
"Empty?" As the carriage curtain was lifted, a person mixed among the beggars frowned and quickly looked back at the departing fine horse. The expression on his dirty face instantly turned grim.
"Ah!" Suddenly, a beggar who was picking up copper coins from the ground exclaimed, "The soldiers are coming..."
The group of beggars suddenly looked up. At some unknown time, they had been surrounded by soldiers from the Nanxuan Guard. In the light of the dawn, the gleaming sabers made all the beggars tremble.
"Take them all away!" With a command from the leading squad leader, the soldiers swarmed forward and, in a moment, tied up all these beggars who were deliberately causing trouble.
At the same time, on East Street leading to the examination hall, carriages were queued one after another. The lanterns hanging on the carriages illuminated the darkness.
"I knew there would be many people, but I didn't expect so many," Zhan Feiyu stretched her neck forward to look, unable to see the end. It seemed as if all the carriages in Shangsi County had gathered here.
"Shangsi County is a medium-sized county, and there are at least three to four hundred candidates in each county examination," Yin Wuyan replied, slowing down the horse and passing slowly along the leftmost side of the street.
Three to four hundred candidates, but fewer than fifty would pass the county examination. Moreover, this was only the first session. There would be the prefectural examination and the departmental examination, and only about a hundred people would eventually obtain the title of Xiucai. Zhan Feiyu couldn't help but sigh at the difficulty of the imperial examinations.
The examination hall was crowded with people. There were as many as three hundred candidates, plus the adults accompanying them. The cacophony of sounds blended together, making it look lively.
"Big brother, I can go and queue up by myself." Zhan Feiyu looked up at Yin Wuyan beside her.
Someone had just come to take the horse away, leaving behind the examination basket and the brazier.
Zhan Feiyu was wrapped in a thick cloak and holding a brazier, so she wasn't very cold. However, she was worried that Yin Wuyan, carrying the examination basket, would feel too noisy, and with so many people, if someone didn't brush past him, he would surely be uncomfortable.
"It's nothing." With two low, indifferent words, Yin Wuyan took the examination basket in his left hand and placed his right hand on Zhan Feiyu's shoulder, guarding her as they went to queue up.
The examination hall faced south. At the southern end were the east and west gate towers, enclosed by a wooden fence, with a large courtyard. North of the courtyard was the main gate, called the Dragon Gate. Behind the Dragon Gate was a large courtyard where candidates waited to be called.
At the moment, fifty people were lined up in each queue. Zhan Feiyu had arrived early, so she wasn't in a hurry to stand at the front; instead, she was at the very end of the line, with Yin Wuyan still standing to her right.
"Little brother, is this your daughter? Is she also taking the exam?" The middle-aged man wrapped in a wolf-skin coat couldn't help but ask. It was the first time he had seen a young girl taking the exam. He stared at Zhan Feiyu for several glances and then looked at Yin Wuyan as if he were a rare sight. This must be a wealthy person!
Zhan Feiyu suppressed her smile, her shoulders shaking.
Yin Wuyan was wearing a black robe today, and his face was disguised, making his skin appear a little darker. He looked about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and with his cold demeanor, it wasn't strange for him to have a daughter of eight or nine years old.
"Little brother, the tall one in front is my youngest son. I hunted a tiger a few years ago, and that's why I have the money to send my youngest son to study." The middle-aged man was a mountain dweller with limited information and didn't know Zhan Feiyu's reputation.
But looking at her chubby little face, the man spoke enthusiastically, "As the saying goes, meeting is fate. How about we arrange a marriage between our children? My youngest son is very smart."
Uh... Zhan Feiyu's smile froze. The topic had jumped too quickly.
Still ignoring the person beside her, Yin Wuyan took the copper brazier and handed the examination basket to Zhan Feiyu, then unfastened her cloak. "Go ahead."
"Mm." Nodding obediently, Zhan Feiyu took the examination basket and walked quickly forward.
Constable Fei smiled and motioned for Zhan Feiyu to place the examination basket on the table. The plump aunt responsible for searching Zhan Feiyu had previously been in charge of guarding female prisoners at the county yamen.
Constable Fei checked the examination basket, which contained food, water, and writing materials for the exam.
The plump aunt who searched her was very polite to Zhan Feiyu. After checking that there were no hidden items, she noted that her inner clothes were single-layered, and her outermost layer was a warm silver fox fur without a lining. "Alright, Miss Zhan, please proceed."
Zhan Feiyu walked towards the main gate of the examination hall, the Dragon Gate. It truly lived up to the auspicious meaning of "a fish leaping through the dragon gate." She paused and looked back.
Amidst the flickering lights, Yin Wuyan stood tall in the light. Even from a distance, Zhan Feiyu still flashed a brilliant smile before striding through the Dragon Gate.
Standing in the courtyard, Zhan Feiyu looked around and received many kind glances. Although she studied at the county school, her reputation had already spread throughout Shangsi County after the case of Wan Yunhao's poisoning.
Seeing Zhan Da Lang not far away, Zhan Feiyu was slightly startled, then understood. Old Master Xie intended to marry his youngest daughter to Da Lang. Regardless of the current situation of the second branch, Old Master Xie would definitely support Da Lang's studies.
Suddenly turning her head, Zhan Da Lang clenched his fist, his face filled with resentment and hatred, but it eventually turned into unwilling indifference. In the past, he was the eldest grandson in the Zhan family, a scholar who could take the imperial examinations, but everything changed after Zhan Feiyu entered school.
Before, Zhan Da Lang had also hated her and even wanted revenge. However, as Zhan Feiyu's reputation grew, Zhan Da Lang became timid and only dared to curse her silently in his heart.
Qian Pingchao withdrew his gaze, not surprised that Zhan Feiyu could enter the examination hall on time. However, Old Man Huang did not want her to take the county examination, so he probably had other plans.
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