Chapter 3

In his mind, some of the books were very clear, but others were quite blurry. However, Fang Yun felt that the blurry parts could be gradually recalled.

Fang Yun couldn't help but show a pleased expression.

"Hope for the child examination!" Fang Yun shouted in his heart, clenching his fist even tighter.

Before long, Fang Yun arrived at his own doorstep. The earthen wall was taller than a person, and more than thirty neighbors were gathered at the gate of the courtyard, where someone was speaking inside.

"Fang Yun that brat hasn't returned all night. He must have been struck dead by the lightning yesterday. Miss, you should just accept our young master. Several young masters from the Liu family are going to take the county examination, and the Liu family can't leave, so the young master can't come to pick you up himself. Don't be angry. If you don't leave today, the young master will definitely come to pick you up tomorrow after the results are announced."

"I am a Fang family person in life and a Fang family ghost in death! If Little Yun dies, I will accompany him in death! Get out, get out right now!"

"Alright, alright! Don't be impulsive, quickly put away the scissors. If you die, the second young master will definitely skin us alive!"

Fang Yun vaguely realized what had happened and shouted loudly, "Move aside, let me in!"

The neighbors watching turned to make way. Some quietly moved aside, some looked on with interest, but most showed sympathetic expressions, and a few even scolded the Liu family's servants.

"Little Fang, how come you...?"

"Fang Yun, you're finally back. They are too bullying. You must go to the yamen and report them!"

"Trying to snatch people in broad daylight, what kind of world is this?"

"Can people from Dachuan Prefecture just bully us in Jixian County?"

"Little Fang, your injuries seem very serious. Go back inside and rest."

Fang Yun didn't respond, quickly walking to the courtyard gate. He saw four burly men staring at him in disbelief. Although they tried to hide it, they still showed subtle signs of panic.

In the center of the courtyard stood a young girl. She was slender and delicate, wearing a simple blue coarse cloth dress. Her appearance was exceptionally beautiful, like a white orchid in a secluded valley standing in the courtyard. Fang Yun had a sense of illusion, as if she were the moon in the courtyard, and even the sun could not overshadow her radiance.

She looked somewhat tired, as if she hadn't slept well, but she was neatly dressed. Her eyes, though bloodshot, were clear and determined.

Only when he saw Yang Yuhuan did Fang Yun realize she was a hundred times more beautiful than in his memory. No wonder she was called the Xi Shi of Jiangzhou.

At this moment, Yang Yuhuan was holding a pair of scissors in reverse, the tip already piercing her white neck, with a small amount of blood flowing out.

"Yuhuan Sister!" Fang Yun hurried forward.

"Little Yun!" Yang Yuhuan was both surprised and delighted, throwing down the scissors and running over to Fang Yun.

Yang Yuhuan, seeing Fang Yun's injuries, tears streamed down her face. She cried and asked, "How did you get so badly hurt? Who did this to you? Was it that brute Liu Zicheng? Come, I'll help you back inside and sit down. Aunt Sun, can you go and invite a doctor from Cisheng Hall?"

"Yuhuan, don't worry, I'll go!" A woman in her forties turned and ran towards Cisheng Hall.

Fang Yun quickly said, "No! I have to go to the county examination. If I don't go now, it will be too late. Yuhuan Sister, quickly bring out the things I prepared a few days ago and take me to the county academy. I have to take the exam!"

Yang Yuhuan wiped her tears and said, "You're so badly hurt, why are you still talking about the county examination? Don't go!"

"No, as long as I have a breath left, I must take the county examination! Yuhuan Sister, I usually listen to you, but not today! I've grown up!"

Fang Yun imitated the tone of the original Fang Yun, looking at Yang Yuhuan calmly.

Yang Yuhuan stopped crying, looking at the somewhat unfamiliar Fang Yun in surprise. The person was still the same, but both his demeanor and eyes had undergone a tremendous change.

This Fang Yun had a heart as vast as the world!

"I was beaten awake," Fang Yun said, as if explaining or talking to himself, looking at the four men.

The four men who beat him last night also had a Dachuan Prefecture accent.

The four men were very guilty. One of them pretended to be impatient and said, "What are you looking at? Move aside!" Then the four men quickly left.

Yang Yuhuan looked at Fang Yun, wiped her tears, and calmed down. "Alright! Today I'll listen to you! But you have to wait for the doctor to come and apply medicine, or you won't make it through the county examination!"

Fang Yun knew that the county examination lasted a whole day and was physically demanding. If he went directly now, he might not make it.

"Alright!" Fang Yun said, looking at Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Yuhuan noticed that Fang Yun's gaze was somewhat different, not like a younger brother looking at an older sister, but like a man looking at a woman.

"Little Yun has really grown up," Yang Yuhuan's eyes flickered, supporting Fang Yun and walking towards the house.

The doctor from Cisheng Hall came and frowned at Fang Yun's wounds. Upon learning that Fang Yun insisted on taking the child examination, he waived the consultation fee and only charged for the medicine.

While the doctor was treating him, Yang Yuhuan left the room, going somewhere unknown.

After the doctor finished treating the wounds, Yang Yuhuan came in, picked up the book box for Fang Yun's exam, and helped him walk to the door.

Outside the door was a cow cart that Yang Yuhuan had borrowed.

Fang Yun felt a warm feeling in his heart and said softly, "Thank you, Yuhuan Sister."

Yang Yuhuan was slightly taken aback, her eyes shimmering, and she smiled gently, "What are you being so polite for?"

Fang Yun thought to himself that she was truly a beauty, even the slightest movement had a natural charm.

Yang Yuhuan helped Fang Yun into the cart, sat behind the cart shaft, and picked up the whip, gently striking the yellow ox.

"Moo..." The yellow ox let out a long call, lifting its hooves and moving forward.

Fang Yun quietly looked at Yang Yuhuan, who was nineteen and at her most beautiful.

Her blue coarse cloth dress was somewhat faded and had a few patches. She wore shoes she had made herself, and her black, shiny hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin she had carved herself. Apart from the wooden hairpin, which looked like a simple stick, she had no other jewelry.

Fang Yun felt a pang in his heart as fragments of memories of Yang Yuhuan surfaced in his mind.

The year Fang Yun's parents died, Yang Yuhuan was twelve, and Fang Yun was nine.

At that time, Yang Yuhuan was already exceptionally beautiful. After Fang Yun's relatives helped with the funeral, several families wanted to adopt Yang Yuhuan, but she had a condition: they had to adopt Fang Yun as well and provide for his education. The relatives had to give up.

Most of the relatives were ordinary families, and raising two children wasn't difficult, but providing for Fang Yun's education was. The wealthy families feared that adopting a son would mean dividing the family property, while a daughter wouldn't.

Education required attending a private school, buying writing materials, and purchasing a large number of books. Even borrowing books cost money. To pass the child examination, one needed to read many books. At that time, books had no punctuation, and without a teacher, even if one could read, they couldn't understand. Scholars had to mark the equivalent of periods themselves.

Although the relatives didn't raise the two of them, they helped out from time to time, ensuring that the two didn't starve in the early years.

When Fang Yun turned twelve and had the strength to work, he could earn a living, but life was still hard due to the high cost of education.

Yang Yuhuan, like a mother and a sister, had taken care of Fang Yun for seven years without a single complaint. The neighbors all liked Yang Yuhuan and wanted her to be their daughter-in-law.

Now, at nineteen, Yang Yuhuan was considered an old maid in Jingguo, where most girls married at sixteen, and only a small percentage remained unmarried at nineteen.

Fang Yun wasn't indifferent to this celestial-like sister, but he felt that marrying her like this would be unfair to her. He vowed to achieve success before marrying her with honor, so the two had not consummated their relationship and slept separately in the east and west rooms.

Yang Yuhuan treated Fang Yun like a younger brother.

In the hardest year, she drank only a bowl of thin porridge each day, telling Fang Yun she had already eaten so he could have the porridge.

The eggs from the family's chickens were either sold to fund Fang Yun's education or used to nourish him. In five years of raising chickens, Yang Yuhuan only ate eggs on New Year's Day when Fang Yun forced her to.

Once, Fang Yun didn't peel an egg properly, and Yang Yuhuan, thinking he wasn't around, secretly ate the remaining white. Fang Yun saw this and silently returned to the bed, crying under the covers. From then on, he became more understanding and respectful of his sister.

Last year, both of them caught a severe cold, but Yang Yuhuan only bought medicine for Fang Yun. After he recovered, she used the leftover medicine, telling him she was afraid of the bitter taste and that the multiple brews were not bitter and suited her.

These memories gradually merged, and Fang Yun felt a lump in his throat. He turned his head to look elsewhere, waiting for his emotions to stabilize before turning back to look at Yang Yuhuan again.

Despite her worn clothes, her natural beauty was evident. Her neck was delicate, her skin white and flawless.

Fang Yun's gaze fell on her hands, and he couldn't help but sigh. Her hands were rougher than his, slightly swollen, and showed many scars.

If one only saw her hands, no one would believe they belonged to a beauty comparable to Xi Shi and Diaochan.

But in Fang Yun's eyes, Yang Yuhuan's hands were the most beautiful, for they had supported the family!

Yang Yuhuan looked at Fang Yun and smiled, her eyes like water, her pupils black and reflective.

"Little Yun, you said you would buy me a silver hairpin when you pass the child examination. Is that still true?"

"Of course, but passing the child examination is very difficult," Fang Yun said helplessly.

"I believe our Little Yun can do it! Not only can you pass the child examination, but you can also become a scholar, and maybe even a juren!"

Fang Yun was slightly taken aback, realizing that Yang Yuhuan wasn't just making small talk but was trying to comfort him after hearing his sigh.

Fang Yun didn't want her to worry and smiled, "If I pass the child examination, it will be because of Yuhuan Sister. When that happens, I will treat you like a queen, giving you the best food and drink every day, and telling you that I can become a scholar. When I become a scholar, I will tell you that I can become a juren!"

Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh softly, showing her white teeth.

"Little Yun, you seem like a different person," Yang Yuhuan looked at Fang Yun, with a hint of worry.