The day when the little fish cub officially transformed into a human form was the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, which was also the day when Qin Zhao passed the imperial examination. Jing Li and Qin Zhao designated this day as the cub's official birthday, but since the Autumn Examination was just a few days away, the two did not make a big fuss about it.
The family just had a simple dinner to celebrate.
This year's autumn examination is scheduled for August 13th in the Imperial Examination Hall. It is customary to hold three consecutive examinations, each lasting three days, in total nine days.
Fortunately, it was autumn and the nights were not too cold. Otherwise, with Qin Zhao's precious body, he would have to stay in that room in the Imperial Examination Hall for such a long time. Jing Li felt terrified just thinking about it.
However, necessary preparations are essential.
Qin Zhao did not have any fellow townsmen to accompany him to the imperial examination this time, so Jing Li personally sent him to the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall.
Before leaving, he was still carefully checking the things in the small bamboo basket: "clothes, writing brushes, ink, sachets, dried meat..."
"I've checked it several times, there won't be any problems." Qin Zhao snatched the thing away, stopping Jing Li from doing the action he had repeated countless times since morning.
He has taken the exam so many times, why is this guy still acting like it’s the first time he’s taking him to the exam
Qin Zhao thought for a moment and said, "I will go home by myself after the exam, so don't wait here like an idiot. Do you hear me?"
"I am not a fool." Jing Li paused and muttered softly, "Who is willing to wait outside..."
Qin Zhao: "Which little fish stood outside for a whole day during the county exam?"
Jing Li's face turned red with anger, and he pushed him towards the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall: "Come over quickly, your name will be called soon."
Many people were already waiting in front of the Imperial Examination Hall early in the morning. Many people noticed Qin Zhao and Jing Li's arrival and turned to look at them.
Because of Zhao Li's identity, Jing Li's popularity in the literary circle of the capital city is now lower than Qin Zhao's. Such a smart, beautiful and literary young husband has become the dream object of many scholars.
Qin Zhao glanced around, raised his hand to pull Jing Li into his arms, and without making a sound, used his wide sleeves to cover the person.
He lowered his head and kissed Jing Li on the forehead: "Go home quickly, there are so many people watching you, I'm jealous."
"The provincial examination is coming soon, can you think about something serious?" Jing Li almost laughed out of anger.
Who can tell him why his mature and steady Mr. Qin is becoming more and more childish now
Qin Zhao replied with a smile, "Okay". Coincidentally, gongs and drums sounded at the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall, and the officials called out Qin Zhao's name.
Qin Zhao said gently: "Wait for my good news."
Jing Li nodded and watched Qin Zhao turn around and walk away, then step into the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.
The street in front of the Imperial Examination Hall was crowded with people. The roll call continued, and candidates entered the Imperial Examination Hall one after another. The atmosphere was a little solemn. The provincial examination was held only once every three years, and the atmosphere was completely different from the county and prefectural examinations. The candidates who came to take the exam ranged from young and energetic to elderly. They had all prepared for several years and hoped to soar to the top through this exam.
Jing Li didn't know whether he was affected by this atmosphere, but he felt a little heavy in his heart.
With Qin Zhao's talent, he was worried whether he could pass the provincial examination. However, after the provincial examination, Qin Zhao would be a juren and would be eligible to take part in the metropolitan examination in March next year.
It means... they are going to Beijing.
Jing Li lowered his head, and he didn't know what he was thinking of, his eyes dimmed slightly.
He stood there for a long time, and before he knew it, all the examinees had entered the examination hall one by one, leaving Jing Li alone at the entrance of the examination hall. Even the officials guarding outside the examination hall came over to ask with suspicion, and Jing Li finally came to his senses and left in a hurry.
The autumn examination was the same as the college examination. Each candidate had an independent room, but the room was narrow and cramped, with only two wooden boards, one high and one low, as tables and chairs. When resting at night, the boards could be removed and spliced together to form a simple small bed.
There were a few candles and a charcoal basin in the room, nothing else.
Each provincial examination lasted three days, and the number of questions was much larger than the previous examinations. After Qin Zhao sat down in his room, he began to look through the examination papers.
One question is about "The Analects of Confucius", one question is about "The Doctrine of the Mean", one question is about "Mencius", one poem of five-character verse and eight rhymes, and four questions are about the meaning of classics.
He read very carefully, and it took him a whole stick of incense to finish reading all the questions. When Qin Zhao put down the test paper, he could vaguely hear the sounds of flipping through test papers and grinding ink in other rooms.
Although there are three days, the environment in the room is so bad that no one can guarantee that their subsequent condition will not be affected.
Therefore, most candidates will try their best to answer questions on the first day.
The same is true for Qin Zhao.
His health was worse than the others, and he didn't know what would happen after sleeping in such a shabby place for a night, so he was delayed now.
Qin Zhao didn't waste any time and immediately took out his pen and ink. He never drafted his articles, he just started writing, his handwriting was neat and fluent, not a single word was wrong. Qin Zhao took a break after writing a few paragraphs, and on the first day of the provincial examination, he finished answering the Analects, the Doctrine of the Mean, and two classics.
As soon as it got dark, Qin Zhao stopped writing.
He didn't plan to stay up late by candlelight to answer the questions, as that would be detrimental to his mind and body, and wouldn't save him much time.
Qin Zhao took down the wooden boards, put them together to make a small bed, spread a jacket on it, and lay down to rest his eyes.
The space in the cell was narrow, and Qin Zhao had long arms and legs, so he could only curl up. The cell was poorly ventilated, hot at noon, and cold at night, and he also had to be on guard against snakes, insects, rats and ants.
The environment is extremely bad.
In this environment, I wonder how many students and aspiring people have been affected by this and failed to get into the university.
Is this how the Imperial Examination Hall treats the future pillars of the country
Qin Zhao was still sighing before falling asleep.
If there is a chance, we should have people repair the Imperial Examination Hall.
Qin Zhao was lucky this time. He slept all night in such a bad environment and did not have a fever the next day. He finished all the test questions on the second day, but unfortunately the provincial examination required him to hand in his papers early, so he could only wait until the third day at 3 p.m. to leave the Imperial Examination Hall with all the other candidates.
Qin Zhao walked out of the Imperial Examination Hall and breathed in the fresh air outside, and he felt a little dizzy for a moment.
These three days are really hard, and what’s even harder is that there are two exams coming up.
Qin Zhao sighed and walked towards home. Just after taking a few steps, he saw a carriage parked on the side of the road and a familiar figure beside the carriage.
The other party also saw him and came forward: "Sir."
Qin Zhao handed him the things in the box and asked with a smile: "I asked him to come and wait, so he ordered you to come?"
Ah Qi said, "Madam is worried about your health, so she asked me to rent a carriage to wait here."
Qin Zhao naturally knew that the young man was doing this for his own good, but he still felt a little unhappy that someone got upset and refused to pick him up because of something he said.
After the Autumn Examination is over, I will teach him a lesson.
As Qin Zhao was thinking this, he suddenly heard many footsteps coming from behind him.
"The governor has arrived."
A team of guards rode on horseback to clear the way, followed by a luxurious carriage. People on both sides made way for the carriage and looked into it curiously.
The governor was a military and political minister sent from the capital, and was much more senior than the prefect. In this autumn examination, in addition to the chief and deputy examiners transferred from the Imperial Academy, the governor was in charge of all the supervision.
"I heard that this governor was once the top scholar chosen by the emperor." Some people on the roadside whispered.
"Stop talking nonsense. How old was the emperor back then?" someone interrupted, "It was clearly that person who ordered it."
"Hush, don't let anyone hear! Who knows that the governor regrets the most that he once worshipped under that man? Mentioning these things in front of him is really fatal."
These discussions naturally reached the ears of the governor, and were heard by Qin Zhao and Ah Qi.
Ah Qi pretended not to hear and just waited quietly beside Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhaoze turned his head and looked at the carriage team parked at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall. After a while, a young man got off the carriage.
The man was wearing an official uniform, had a slender figure, and looked quite young, about 30 years old. He was surrounded by people and walked to the front of the Imperial Examination Hall. He seemed to notice that someone was looking at him, and turned his head to look in the direction of Qin Zhao and Ah Qi.
But I only saw a carriage slowly leaving.
Inside the carriage, Ah Qi lowered the curtain and whispered, "He went in."
He paused, then added: "I guess he didn't see us."
Qin Zhao leaned back in the car with his eyes closed, and only responded softly when he heard the words.
Distinguish between joy and anger.
This little incident did not affect the subsequent provincial examination. After all, the governor was only responsible for supervision and would not have direct contact with the candidates.
In the next few days, the governor did not show up.
Everything went as normal in the remaining two provincial examinations. Perhaps because he had finally put his mind at ease, Qin Zhao developed a low fever on the night of the last provincial examination, which scared Jing Li so much that he could not sleep all night.
"When will this body be able to fight back?" After Qin Zhao's fever subsided the next day, Jing Li said angrily with purple eyes.
It's strange. Qin Zhao has been taking care of his body according to Mr. Xue's instructions, and he has been detoxifying for almost two years. Why is there still no improvement in his health
I have to find a chance to go to the county town and let Mr. Xue take a look.
Qin Zhao could only shut up and listen to her husband's complaints.
He roughly knew the condition of his body. Medical books said that worrying could cause illness. Mr. Xue also said that he worried too much and it would be beneficial to regulate his body.
But the situation now is special. How can he let it go just because he wants to
Qin Zhao understood it in his heart, but he couldn't tell the truth for the time being. He could only try his best to comfort his husband and tell him not to worry so much.
It happened that there was a short period of free time after the autumn examination, so Qin Zhao simply took a vacation and took the opportunity to accompany her husband and son to relax and play, and visited all parts of the city.
In the past two or three months, Qin Zhao has been busy preparing for the exam, and Jing Li has been busy studying. The two have not had such a relaxing and leisurely life for a long time.
As a result, when the Imperial Examination Hall sent people to congratulate Qin Zhao on winning the first place in the list, the family had just rented a carriage to go to the suburbs to enjoy the maple leaves.
The official who came to deliver the congratulatory invitation looked at the newly crowned champion for a moment and said his best guess: "Are you... in a hurry to go home to worship your ancestors?"
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li: “…”
Actually, this can’t be blamed on Qin Zhao and Jing Li.
The time for the announcement of the results of the Autumn Examination was never certain. If the examination papers were difficult to judge, it was common for the results to be delayed for ten days or half a month. Qin Zhao and Jing Li had been traveling outside recently and had not paid attention to the news from the Imperial Examination Hall, nor did they know the date for the announcement of the results.
Qin Zhao naturally would not admit that it was his negligence. He just calmly thanked the officials who came to congratulate him and treated them with good water and tea.
The official did not stay at his house for too long. Before leaving, he just told him with assurance: "Sir, please do not rush to the provincial examination. According to the rules, the governor will hold a Luming Banquet after the provincial examination results are announced. The news will be delivered in the next two days. You are the champion, so you must attend."
Qin Zhao nodded and sent the person away.
After watching the officials who came to congratulate him leave, Ah Qi said, "Sir, the Luming Banquet..."
Since it was held by the governor, the governor would naturally be present, but that person...
"It is a blessing or a disaster, and disaster cannot be avoided."
Qin Zhao's expression remained calm, and he said calmly, "Let's take it one step at a time."
As he was saying this, he looked up and saw his young husband holding the little fish cub. Both were dressed neatly and looked at him pitifully: "Then are we still going to see the maple leaves?"
Qin Zhao laughed softly.
No matter what happens, the most important thing now is to comfort her husband and son.
Qin Zhao said seriously: "Go, of course."