The provincial examinations of this dynasty were divided into three sessions, held on August 10th, August 13th, and August 16th, each lasting three days, and entry was required one day in advance.
Han Ze and his party set out on the second day of July and arrived in the provincial capital Yangcheng on the eighth day. They did not dare to delay at all. As soon as they arrived in Yangcheng, they temporarily found an inn. After settling down, they went directly to a broker to rent a courtyard.
Han Ze and Wang Ziwen didn't have much money, so they didn't have high requirements for the temporary place they rented, as long as it was quiet and didn't affect their studies. Zhao Zhengxiu had more money, so he didn't want to rent a house privately. They were all in Yangcheng for the first time, and they were unfamiliar with the place. Living together would facilitate communication and mutual care, so they were willing to accommodate Han Ze and Wang Ziwen. So they planned to rent a yard for the three families.
Even so, it was not easy to rent a house during the examination year. I looked at several places and finally chose a house with a small yard. The house in the yard was secluded and small, and it would be a bit crowded for three families to live in. However, it could just accommodate them, but it was quiet and not too far from the examination hall.
The examination room was even more shabby. Now they were just living in a smaller house. They could still endure some minor difficulties. Otherwise, how could they survive the examination environment? If you want to be a superior person, you have to endure hardships that others can't endure. Besides, it's just a little crowded, which is not considered hardship. The three of them had no objection. They had no objection, and the family members who accompanied the exam had no dissatisfaction either.
After discussion, the three candidates decided to rent the yard.
The newly rented house needed to be cleaned up before people could live in it. Naturally, the three candidates didn't have to do these things. Wang Caiwei and Wang Ziwen's mother, Old Lady Wang, had to do housework every day. They were very agile and cleaned up the house they lived in in a short time. Zhao Zhengxiu had several servants at home, so his wife Zhang didn't have to do the mortar and mill herself, so she was a little clumsy when doing housework, but she was able to find a clue after slowly groping around.
After cleaning the house, they checked out of the inn and moved into a rented house. After several days of travel and looking for a house, they were all very tired, but they couldn't rest yet. With a place to stay and a kitchen, they didn't have to eat in a restaurant, so they needed to buy some food. The three candidates didn't have to worry about these things, as Han Erlang, Wang Ziwen and Zhao Zhengxiu's servants would take care of them.
After a day's rest, the group settled down completely. The next day, Han Ze and the other two read books at home. As for Wang Caiwei and the other women, they cooked and washed clothes at home. The three families had different family backgrounds, so of course the meals were different. Han Ze suggested cooking separately, and Wang Ziwen agreed. Zhao Zhengxiu smiled helplessly and agreed. Even though they were classmates and students in the county school, scholars had their own pride. He could understand that they didn't want to take advantage of him.
Han Erlang and his two servants were busy buying groceries and cleaning the yard every day. They were so idle that grass almost grew on their bodies. One day, there was a sudden commotion next door. Han Erlang stood at the gate and looked over there. He seemed to see an acquaintance. He turned around and ran into the house. When he saw Wang Caiwei, he said, "Sister-in-law, I just saw Liu Xiucai."
He knows Liu Xiucai.
Wang Caiwei was doing embroidery. When she heard his words, she looked at him in surprise: "Where is it?"
Han Erlang pointed to the next door and said, "It seems they rented the house next door."
Wang Caiwei opened her almond-shaped eyes slightly, what a coincidence.
It was not a coincidence, but when Liu Xiucai and his group were renting a house, the broker accidentally told them that several students from their county had rented houses nearby. After thinking about it, they decided to rent a house here. After all, students from the same place, although they were not familiar with each other, knew each other. Once something happened, it would be more convenient than strangers.
Han Ze came out of the house and heard what the two said. He raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Wang Caiwei: "Do you want to go and take a look?"
Wang Caiwei shook her head, put the embroidery work in the needlework frame, and said, "Let's go over and take a look after they are settled."
Although she had a bad relationship with her elder sister, she knew that they lived next door, so she should visit them. After all, she was her elder sister, and she couldn't ignore her as a stranger. Before Han Ze and the others went to visit Liu Xiucai, Liu Xiucai and Wang Caixia came to the door.
Wang Caixia looked at the house her sister rented and asked, "Isn't it a little small?"
Although they also rented a house with someone else, the yard they rented was bigger than this one, and it was only shared by two families. The house was very spacious and they could even have a separate study room. She just took a look at the house her sister rented, and not only did it not have a study room, but even the bedroom was extremely small.
Wang Caiwei smiled. Since her husband didn't care about those things, she didn't think it was small, so she changed the subject: "How long did it take you to get here?"
Wang Caixia glanced at her sister, and seeing that she really didn't care, she felt bored and said casually, "A few days later than you." After a pause, she said, "Han Ze and your brother-in-law are brothers-in-law. They should have come together. Your brother-in-law's family has arranged a motorcade. If you come together, you can take our motorcade and save some money. The provincial examination costs a lot of money. Besides, it is more difficult to pass the examination than the scholar. Your brother-in-law took several imperial examinations before he passed the examination. He only entered the county school last year. There is no need for him to take the examination this year. It will only be a waste of money. Besides, your husband's family is a farmer..."
Wang Caiwei didn't think there was anything wrong with being a farmer. Although her family wasn't as wealthy as her elder sister's, they could always live a good life by working together. Besides, her husband had to take the exam several times before he passed, and that was because of her elder sister-in-law. Her husband had real talent and knowledge, so even if he had only entered the county school last year, he might not have failed the exam.
She was not very comfortable with her elder sister's tone, as if her husband would definitely fail the exam. She did not know her husband, so how could she be so sure that he would fail the exam? She interrupted her softly, "Eldest sister, I guess my brother-in-law is very confident about this exam?"
Wang Caixia was not annoyed by her interruption. She smiled when she heard her words. There was pride in her smile. "Your brother-in-law studied in the county school for four years. He failed the provincial examination last time because he had just entered the county school and was not confident. After several years of study, he has a solid knowledge."
She didn't say whether her man had confidence or not, but the meaning of her words made it clear.
Wang Caiwei lowered her eyelids. Compared with her brother-in-law, her husband had indeed entered school three years later. The three-year gap was not just a day or two. Even if she had confidence in her husband, she could not help but feel uneasy.
Wang Caixia picked up the teacup on the table, her smile deepened, and she said, "Don't worry, your brother-in-law is still young, just consider it as accumulating experience."
That was almost like saying that Han Ze would fail the exam this time.
Wang Caiwei's expression faded, and she became more and more reluctant to speak, but she thought to herself, after all these years, she finally understood why she and her sister couldn't get along since they were young. Her sister was strong-willed, which was fine, but she was so strong-willed that she liked to flatter herself and step on others. If she stepped on her younger sister, she could tolerate it because she was her elder sister, but she stepped on her own husband, which made her unhappy.
Wang Caiwei stood up, her body a little stiff, and said, "It's time to prepare lunch. I'll go cook, and you can have lunch at home at noon."
Wang Caixia also stood up and said with a smile: "Your brother-in-law is going to take the imperial examination, and he needs to drink tonic soup every day. The mother-in-law at home should have cooked the tonic soup and is waiting for us to go back and eat."
Wang Caiwei did not try to persuade them to stay. As her elder sister said, their family was a farmer and the food would definitely not be as sumptuous as that of her family, let alone the so-called tonic soup. So she did not want to keep them at home and eat simple meals.
The two came out, and Han Ze and Liu Xiucai finished their conversation. Wang Caiwei and the eldest sister had nothing to say, and Han Ze and Liu Xiucai had nothing to talk about either. They asked each other a few dry questions about the scientific expedition, and then sat there, facing each other in silence.
After seeing off Liu Xiucai and his wife, Wang Caiwei looked at Han Ze and said softly, "From what you said, I think my brother-in-law has a good chance of passing the exam this time."
Han Ze sat down, picked up the book on the table, and said with a smile: "It's a good thing to have confidence."
It is better to have a hope of passing the exam than to have no hope of passing the exam. After all, every scholar who came to take the imperial examination had a great hope of passing the exam.
Wang Caiwei was not convinced. It was not that she had any bad intentions, nor did she not want her elder sister's husband to pass the exam. She felt unfair for her husband being belittled by her elder sister. But seeing that her husband did not seem to care, she felt relieved. She did not care what others said. As long as her husband was confident, it would be fine. She would know the result when the results were announced. She believed in her husband's talent.
Besides, even if he failed the exam, it was nothing. He could just take the provincial exam next time. During the imperial examination, her husband was drugged by her elder sister many times, but he always survived and passed the exam. Now her husband is in good health. If he fails the provincial exam this time, she doesn't need to worry. With her husband's talent, he can always become a juren.
After Wang Caixia came to visit, Wang Caiwei did not mention visiting her elder sister again, but concentrated on doing embroidery at home and taking care of Han Ze. Wang Caixia did not know what she was thinking, but she came to Wang Caiwei to chat from time to time. She did not talk about anything else, but only talked about how she would ask the maid to make nourishing soup for Liu Xiucai every day, and that after drinking the nourishing soup, he would definitely not faint in the examination room, etc. She even asked Wang Caiwei to make nourishing soup for Han Ze, so that he would not pass the examination, but at least he would not have to worry about fainting in the examination room.
Even though Wang Caiwei was gentle in nature, she was annoyed by her and answered that Han Ze was ill the year before last and had been taking medicine for a long time. He could not stand the smell of medicine and would vomit as soon as he smelled it. So she could not cook a tonic soup for him, and the tonic soup could not be drunk casually.
Wang Caixia choked and never came to visit again after that. Wang Caiwei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Ziwen's mother, Old Lady Wang, muttered, "I can smell medicine coming from next door every day. A grown man has nothing wrong with his body, but he takes tonics all day long, and he's not afraid of drinking too much tonic and not being able to sleep at night."
Wang Caiwei didn't understand the meaning of her words at first. Seeing Zhao Zhengxiu's wife's blushing face, she suddenly came to her senses, and then her cheeks turned red with shame. She stared at her old lady blankly, and then exchanged an awkward look with Zhao Zhengxiu's wife Zhang. She quickly turned away and thought to herself that it was not an aphrodisiac tonic, it should be, it shouldn't be that serious.
Old Lady Wang said again: "You have used up all your energy working at night. I don't believe you have the energy to study during the day."
Wang Caiwei Zhang: "..."
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