Chapter 78

For him, the fact that this gentleman himself is embarrassed and unsure is exactly right.

It would be even worse to let this gentleman take it back to make any changes; it has to be in its original, unpolished form, even if it’s a bit shoddy.

Mr. Ming was speechless. Given his current physical and mental exhaustion, he didn’t even want to say much, let alone have the energy to argue. He propped himself up with his hands on the armrests, slumped his shoulders, and walked out step by step, his voice weak and dejected: “There’s no absolute good in writing. If someone insists on nitpicking, even the best work will have flaws. Let it be.”

Clearly, he was too lazy to argue further.

Even now, he still suspected that this exam question was concocted by some servant of the Zhong family to test him.

Yu Qing folded the exam question and tucked it into his clothes, then accompanied Mr. Ming out of the study.

Standing under the eaves, he looked at the already dim sky. Mr. Ming slowly descended the steps and walked out slowly.

After leaving the courtyard, the waiting butler Li immediately came over to respectfully invite Mr. Ming, saying that Mr. Zhong wanted to set up a banquet to entertain him.

Mr. Ming didn’t want to say anything more, waved his hand to indicate it wasn’t necessary, and walked forward with a gloomy expression, leaving others to wonder what he was thinking.

After personally seeing him off, Butler Li hurried back to the East Courtyard. Seeing Yu Qing feasting, he immediately asked, “What’s wrong with Mr. Ming? He didn’t even take the carriage to be picked up, insisting on walking alone. I’m afraid something might happen, so I had the carriage follow behind. Is something wrong?”

Yu Qing, who was alone at the table, shrugged, “Nothing, just tired from teaching too late.”

Butler Li was skeptical, “Is that so?”

Yu Qing changed the subject, pointing to the dishes on the table and sighing, “Uncle Li, these things... sigh, actually, spirit rice is more suitable for me.”

Butler Li rolled his eyes slightly, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to give you spirit rice. I told you, Du Fei specifically instructed that you can’t eat spirit rice before the imperial examination, or you’ll go meditating.”

Fine! Yu Qing raised his hand to stop, not saying anything more. It was the same as being under house arrest.

After eating, waiting for the table to be cleared, the East Courtyard returned to its tranquility.

The light in the study was still on. Yu Qing held the answers Mr. Ming had written and looked at them one by one. He still couldn’t tell if they were good or bad.

But he was quite satisfied.

If this exam question was real, the problem of how to answer it was already solved.

This exam question could only be answered by Mr. Ming, ensuring that the matter of getting the questions in advance wouldn’t leak out.

Failing nine times already sounds bad; does he want to be known as ‘perfectly flawless’? Plus, reporting the misconduct of a student’s family, who would dare to use him in the future?

When the time comes, he would naturally have a way to make Mr. Ming weigh the pros and cons.

Of course, the premise is that Mr. Ming’s answers won’t pass the exam.

In Yu Qing’s view, it’s impossible for him to pass. Someone who failed nine times, and after being depressed for years, with his body drained by alcohol and women, if he could pass the imperial examination in just one afternoon without any revisions, that would be against all reason.

If that were to happen, Yu Qing would eat his own words, no matter what!

The days passed quickly, and soon the imperial examination was approaching. The list of officials in charge of the examination was also finalized.

Mr. Ming, who usually acted lazily, took leave from his original employer and devoted himself entirely to the Zhong family, defining the possible scope of the exam questions for Yu Qing, which made Yu Qing’s head spin.

Only seven days, and Mr. Ming even moved into the East Courtyard of the Zhong family, no longer sleeping in the study, and watched over Yu Qing while he studied.

Even pretending to study was tiring, with so much content to cover in just seven days.

When Yu Qing tried to slack off, Mr. Ming actually came with a stick to hit him.

What a joke? Daring to attack the master? Yu Qing almost wanted to draw his sword and cut him down.

But he had to restrain himself, fearing that assaulting a teacher might shock the Zhong family.

The key was that even if he knew martial arts, it wouldn’t scare Mr. Ming, who still dared to come with a stick, showing a spirit of fighting against heaven and earth.

In short, these seven days made Yu Qing very uncomfortable...

But what must come will come. When the day finally arrived, even Yu Qing, who thought it was just a formality, couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.

On the day the imperial examination officially began, the male head of the Zhong family personally sent Yu Qing off with a carriage and a guard.

In the carriage, besides the candidate Yu Qing, there were also Mr. Zhong and Mr. Ming, who came to see him off.

Mr. Ming talked incessantly, repeatedly reminding him of the precautions to take after entering the examination hall.

Mr. Zhong nodded along, thinking that as someone who had taken the imperial examination nine times, the Zhong family’s investment was not in vain.

The convoy had not yet reached the examination hall when it was forced to stop. Soldiers blocked the road, not allowing carriages or horses to pass, and all accompanying personnel had to stop, only allowing candidates to enter with their number plates.

No one dared to force their way through at this time.

It was understandable, with over ten thousand candidates from all over the Jin Kingdom converging in one place, and if the accompanying personnel and various carriages were also allowed to enter, it would not only cause traffic congestion but also lead to chaos.

Yu Qing had to get out of the carriage. Du Fei handed him a fully packed basket and helped him put it on his shoulder, while also reminding him where to meet after the exam and that someone would come to pick him up.

Everyone encouraged him and reminded him to take care of his health, as the exam lasted five days and four nights, meaning he would be staying in the examination hall for four to five days.

After bowing to everyone, Yu Qing turned to leave. Mr. Ming suddenly came over, grabbed his sleeve, and asked, “Is there anything else, sir?”

Mr. Ming’s gaze was intense, his lips moved for a moment, but he only managed to say three words, “Do well.”

“Yes,” Yu Qing replied, confirming that there was nothing else, and turned to leave again.

Mr. Ming watched Yu Qing pass through the checkpoint set up by the imperial guards, and even after Yu Qing’s figure disappeared, he stood there for a long time, his expression complex.

It was unclear what he was thinking, clearly lost in thought. Mr. Zhong called out to him several times before he snapped back to reality.

Mr. Zhong invited him to get in the carriage, saying he wanted to treat him to a meal.

Mr. Ming waved to decline, not wanting to be driven by the carriage, and said he wanted to walk alone, his back hunched as he left...

The examination hall was vast, with nearly twenty thousand examination rooms for candidates. At the entrance, there were over forty temporary inspection booths, one for each state.

A group of candidates, each carrying a large amount of items, searched for their respective state entrances. Yu Qing, looking around, was among them.

After finding the entrance, Yu Qing discovered that the relevant personnel from Lizhou who had escorted him to the capital were also there, mainly responsible for verifying the candidates’ identities with the imperial officials. If they found someone unfamiliar, they would conduct a detailed investigation.

These were simple procedures, but the most troublesome part of the entire process was the inspection of the items carried. The inspection was very thorough, to prevent any cheating, and it was quite time-consuming. With over ten thousand candidates, each staying in an examination room, the invigilators couldn’t monitor everyone, so they had to conduct strict checks upon entry.

Finally, after a lot of effort, Yu Qing entered. Looking around, he couldn’t find Xu Fei, unsure if he had already entered or hadn’t arrived yet.

His fire cricket had already been sent to Chong by someone in advance, not because he was worried about the Zhong family’s care, but because the Zhong family was curious about why the water in the small pond in the East Courtyard had turned black. He hadn’t thought much about it and had lied, saying he didn’t know. If the Zhong family were to take care of it, the truth would be revealed immediately.

Of course, he wasn’t looking for Xu Fei out of concern for his fire cricket, but to ask about the 4,000 taels of silver debt.

Once inside the examination hall, finding Xu Fei would be difficult.

The candidates from each state were scattered, and the number plates were assigned by lottery, not allowing familiar candidates to stay together.

There were guards everywhere, and he couldn’t wander around freely. Yu Qing could only temporarily give up and obediently followed the number plate to find his designated area, and then his examination room, a small, damp, and narrow single room...

At the Zhong family residence, Mr. Zhong returned home after lunch.

However, the family was waiting for him. As soon as he arrived, Wen Jianhui immediately greeted him, asking, “Why did you come back so late?”

Mr. Zhong shook his head, “Today was a sight to see. There were too many people sending off candidates in the area around the examination hall, and the return trip was very congested. It was faster to walk than to take a carriage.”

Wen Jianhui: “Did you successfully send the candidate to the examination hall?”

Zhong Ruochen and Wen Ruowei, who were nearby, perked up their ears in concern.

Mr. Zhong only nodded.

Shortly after, the servants brought the heated food, and the family of four sat down to eat slowly.

Halfway through the meal, Wen Jianhui suddenly sighed and put down her chopsticks, looking troubled and having difficulty eating, “106th place in the provincial examination, multiplied by about forty states, means he’s ranked around 4,000th. I’ve heard that the imperial examination usually only selects the top 200 to 300 candidates. It’s hard to say when he will pass, if ever.”

She was saying this both to her husband and to her daughter, who was about to be married. Some things she said wouldn’t help, but if her daughter refused to marry, she believed her husband would seriously consider it.

In the end, she didn’t look favorably upon ‘Asheng,’ who had no family background and couldn’t pass the imperial examination.

A provincial candidate? In the provinces, it might be something, but in the capital, it was nothing. Just look at the scene of ten thousand people taking the exam. The Zhong family regularly interacted with the wealthy and powerful, and knew many officials of the fifth rank and above. What was a provincial candidate?

It wasn’t that the Zhong family couldn’t support ‘Asheng,’ but she also cared about her reputation. Finding such an unsuitable son-in-law would make her lose face when interacting with other noblewomen. If the less fortunate people found out, they would mock her.

She couldn’t think about this, the more she thought, the more she couldn’t accept it.

Mr. Zhong’s expression was serious. To be honest, he didn’t have high hopes for Yu Qing’s performance this time, considering it a waste of effort, just trying his luck.

Zhong Ruochen, holding her bowl, lowered her head, picking at the rice grains one by one, also having difficulty eating.

Recently, her mother often said negative things about her fiancé in her ear.

She didn’t understand why her mother suddenly told her about her fiancé and then constantly belittled him, making her unsure of which side to take.

Wen Ruowei’s bright eyes twinkled. Seeing her sister’s expression, she immediately joked, “Not necessarily. There are examples of candidates who didn’t do well in the provincial examination but excelled in the imperial examination. Mother, if your future son-in-law comes back as the top candidate, wouldn’t you be envied by others?”

Wen Jianhui laughed at her words, then realized it was a dream, her face falling, and she huffed, “It’s impossible, not even in a dream. Unless the sun rises in the west.”