The carriage shook all the way, and on the third day of September, the two finally arrived in Jinling City.
The sky was hazy and it was drizzling. The weather suddenly turned cold. Li Yaonan couldn't help but feel relieved. Fortunately, they left early, otherwise it would have been difficult to travel in such weather.
It was the time of the imperial examination again, and Jinling City was very lively. In teahouses, restaurants, and restaurants, scholars and poets could be seen talking loudly everywhere. The drizzling rain not only did not disturb their interest, but added a bit of poetic atmosphere.
Candidates gathered from all directions. Jinling City was almost overcrowded, and all the inns were almost full of guests.
The two searched for several places and finally found a relatively remote inn to stay in. After packing up, they prepared for the exam peacefully.
Perhaps he was inspired by his third cousin's diligence, or perhaps it was because it was raining outside, but Li Yaonan did not go out for three consecutive days. It was not until the seventh day of September that he took his cousin outside for a walk to get some fresh air and relax, so as to avoid being under too much pressure and having his performance substandard.
Early in the morning on September 8th, the two packed up their things and headed to the examination room.
The rain was pouring down. The weather seemed to be particularly bad this year. The summer was too hot and the autumn had too much rain. However, despite this, it still could not stop the scholars from coming to take the exam.
The process of entering the examination hall for the provincial examination was no different from that for the child examination. The officials still called out the names and checked the bags, and only those who passed the examination would be allowed in.
Zhang Qixian went in one step ahead of him. Before leaving, the two exchanged glances, creating sparks that only they themselves understood. Zhang Qixian strode with his head held high, determined in his heart that he would defeat his little cousin in the test this time, so that his father would not always use his little cousin to teach him a lesson.
Li Yaonan naturally did not want to fall behind. His poetry might not be as good as his third cousin's, but in terms of policy essays, he thought he was no worse than others.
Soon, it was Li Yaonan's name.
After entering the examination room smoothly, Li Yaonan still felt uncomfortable when he saw the small cell again. He thought the environment in the Imperial Examination Hall would be better, but it turned out to be just two wooden boards, which squeaked when he put things on them.
It's just a wooden board, Li Yaonan sighed and started to pack up his things. He liked the place where he lived to be clean and tidy, even if it was only for a few days, which helped his brain to think.
By the time he had finished organizing, all the candidates had arrived.
Next, the invigilator handed out the test questions. This time the test was on "The Analects of Confucius", "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "The Great Learning".
Li Yaonan was not surprised by this, as he had heard from his uncle a long time ago that the first round of the provincial examination usually tested the Four Books and Five Classics, while the last two rounds tested policy essays.
Grinding, thinking, and listening to the sound of rain outside, Li Yaonan's heart seemed to calm down.
For the first question, he planned to do the Analects of Confucius. After some careful thinking, Li Yaonan quickly prepared a draft in his mind. He slowly stood up and sat at the table. He picked up his pen and wrote a long passage in one go. He forgot the time and the place until it got dark and he was hungry. After finishing the last stroke, he realized that it was already evening. He clearly remembered that it had not been long.
After eating something casually and washing up briefly, Li Yaonan fell asleep.
The next day, he started writing The Doctrine of the Mean, and then University Studies. At night, he mainly slept. He did not like to read late at night, as it was not only inefficient, but also confused his thinking and affected his grades.
On the third day, Li Yaonan carefully checked the test paper he had written. After confirming that it was correct, he copied it again and felt completely relieved.
Soon, the bell of the Imperial Examination Hall rang, and the examiners collected the test papers one by one.
That night, the students had a rest, and early the next morning, the examiner issued new test questions.
Li Yaonan finally realized the difficulty of the ancient imperial examination. If it continued like this, even the strongest person would not be able to bear it. No wonder it was heard that every year during the imperial examination, many people would faint in the examination room.
Sure enough, just on the fifth day, a candidate in the west room could not hold on any longer, and the hearts of the other students began to get nervous as well.
As time passed, another person was carried out.
By the ninth day, countless candidates had been carried out.
Li Yaonan couldn't bear it any longer. His neat hair became messy, his clothes became wrinkled, and his face showed deep fatigue. He just wanted to find a place to sleep for three days and three nights.
After leaving the examination room, it was still drizzling outside. There was crying at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall. It was much more miserable than the Tongshi examination. Those who felt that they did not perform well cried and held their heads in their hands. Standing in the rain, they didn't know whether it was rain or tears flowing from their eyes.
Li Yaonan was not in the mood to feel sentimental. He was so tired that he didn't even feel the rain hitting his body.
"Master, here." The secretary was holding an umbrella and saw him at a glance. He called out from a distance. Zhang Qixian's servant was standing beside him. There was a row of carriages parked not far away. Li Yaonan recognized that one of them belonged to his family.
Li Yaonan quickened his pace and seemed to have gathered some strength when he saw the carriage. The secretary hurried forward to support him. Zhang Qixian followed closely behind him. His legs were shaking as he walked. Half of his face was covered with stubble and his eyes were deeply sunken. He looked even worse than him.
Li Yaonan fell on the carriage, sleeping soundly. When they arrived at the inn, they couldn't wake him up. The waiter had to help carry him up. The inn's waiters were used to this kind of situation and were not surprised. They were only surprised to get two more rewards, the other one was naturally from Zhang Qixian.
Li Yaonan slept very deeply. He had never been so tired even during the Tongshi exam. The foundation of his body was not good enough after all. Even after a year of recuperation, it was still a little lacking.
It was not until the afternoon of the next day that Li Yaonan climbed out of bed. He was awakened by a feeling of hunger. The secretary had been waiting beside him and hurriedly had someone serve him some warm and nourishing food.
Li Yaonan was satisfied, he finally understood why Lin Yixuan gave this person to him. He was indeed smart and could read people's expressions. If it was Wang Xiaohu, he could tell him what to do, but it would be impossible for him to serve him so attentively.
After eating and drinking, Li Yaonan regained some energy. He pushed open the door of the next room and saw that his third cousin was still sleeping.
Li Yaonan shook his head speechlessly and did not wake him up. He only asked Zhang Bao to prepare some food so that his third cousin would not feel uncomfortable in his stomach when he woke up.
While waiting for the results to be announced, Lai Yiu Nam didn't know what others thought, but he felt bored. If he had this time, he would rather stay at home with his wife and young children.
After taking the provincial examination, Zhang Qixian was full of energy, as if he had been reborn. After going over the test papers with Li Yaonan, he felt that he had done well, so he immediately ran out to play. He was also a well-known talent in Yangzhou, and he quickly became friends with the other scholars taking the exam. If it hadn't been raining, they might have even made an appointment to go on an outing together.
"Hey! There's a poetry gathering going on at Chunfang Tower today. Do you want to go with me to have a look?" Zhang Qixian walked into the house with a swagger, without any embarrassment of not knocking on the door. He looked handsome and elegant, and his royal blue clothes made him look even more majestic.
Li Yaonan was speechless. He glanced at his third cousin sideways and couldn't help wondering in his heart, how long can he maintain this sanctimonious and elegant appearance
"Hey! Stop looking down on me like that, okay?" Zhang Qixian was unhappy and raised his eyebrows: "Brother and you are family, so there are no so many rules."
Li Yaonan suddenly realized that he had spoken out what was in his heart.
"Are you going or not?" Zhang Qixian asked urgently. He heard that the courtesan would be performing at Chunfang Tower today, and if he went too late he wouldn't even be able to find a seat.
Li Yaonan shook his head. Just by hearing the name Chunfanglou, one could tell that it was a brothel. As for the poetry gathering, neither he nor the original owner of this body was good at poetry, so they would definitely not go.
Zhang Qixian frowned: "Don't be alone. It will take another half a month for the results to be announced. Go out with me and relax."
"No, you go by yourself." Li Yaonan said lightly. He was not good at poetry, so it was better for him to avoid places like Chunfanglou that were ostentatious. He also did not think that a brothel was a good place. As a smart man, he did not want to make his young husband sad.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, Zhang Qixian was too lazy to waste any more words. He pouted and ran off to meet his so-called friend.
After he left, Li Yaonan thought for a while and wrote a letter to her husband. She still remembered Lin Yixuan's red eyes when she got on the carriage and left. It made her feel distressed and uncomfortable. She inexplicably felt a sour and bitter feeling in her heart and she missed home.
If it were in his previous life, and someone told him that he would remain a virgin for a man, he would have probably slapped him away long ago. But now that the facts were before him, Li Yaonan could only smile bitterly, a smile that revealed a bit of helplessness, a bit of indulgence, and a bit of relish.
He didn't want his son to have a bad father. His biological fathers in both of his lives had never left a good impression on him. He only hoped that his child would grow up healthily, preferably without worries under the care of his parents, which would make up for his regrets in past and present lives.
Moreover, the more he spent time with his young husband, the more he was moved. How could he let down such a person? Unconsciously, his young husband had already been imprinted in his heart.
Time passed day by day, and Li Yaonan did not stay in the house all these days. When he had nothing to do, he would go to the teahouse to drink tea, listen to people telling stories, or go to the bookstore to pick out a few books he liked and buy them back. He only regretted not having enough books when he needed them. He still had a long way to go in the future, so it was always good to read more books.
During this period, he also made a few friends. Although most of them were casual acquaintances, it felt good to get together with a few people and talk about love instead of personal matters.
Soon, the day of the announcement of the results arrived, and the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall was crowded with people. With the experience of the Tongshi, Li Yaonan learned his lesson this time. He reserved a seat in the teahouse opposite the Imperial Examination Hall early, sent his secretary to see the list, and sat down to wait for news.
Zhang Qixian was so nervous that his palms were sweating. Although he pretended to be calm and didn't take the imperial examination seriously, how could he really not care about his own results
With the voices of congratulations, there were people feeling both happy and disappointed in the teahouse.
"Congratulations, Third Young Master. Congratulations, Third Young Master. You won. You won." Zhang Bao ran while panting. His voice arrived before he even arrived.
Zhang Qixian's eyes lit up: "How much did you win?"
Zhang Bao took a breath and said quickly, "I got the sixteenth place. Congratulations, Mr. Juren."
"Where is he?" Zhang Qixian was delighted and pointed at Li Yaonan.
"My cousin has also won..." Before Zhang Bao could finish his words, the secretary came back sweating and shouted excitedly, "Congratulations, Master. You won the thirteenth place this time."
"Haha!" Li Yaonan slapped the table and laughed heartily.
Zhang Qixian felt uncomfortable and angry. Why did he have three more than him? His father would nag him to death when he got home. After a long silence, he said, "I'll treat you to dinner another day."
Li Yaonan readily agreed and added, "No, I won't go to brothels."
"Hmph!" Zhang Qixian's eyes were full of contempt. He looked down on his cousin, wondering how he could be controlled by Shuang'er. However, it was his cousin's and a family matter after all. Even though they were relatives, it was not easy for him to intervene. Even though Lin Yixuan was the son of a marquis, his cousin would still suffer if he had to come to see it.