September 22 was the last day of the third examination. After this examination, this year's provincial examination was over. As the door of the examination room opened, candidates who looked haggard and as if their bodies were hollowed out walked out like zombies.
The nine-day exam, although they could rest every three days, was still a big test for their physical and mental state. In particular, most of the candidates had been sitting and studying for years and rarely moved, so their bodies were even weaker. It was better for those like Pei Che who had taken martial arts classes and could exercise their bodies regularly, at least they would not feel weak in the legs after walking a few steps.
As soon as Pei Che walked out of the door, an arm was placed on him to support him, and a voice of concern kept coming to his ear: "Are you okay now? Hurry up and get in the carriage and drink some hot soup to get rid of the cold. It rained the night before yesterday, and that cloak should not be very useful. Don't catch a cold..."
Pei Che curved his lips and said, "Don't worry, it's been cold lately, and the examination room prepared ginger soup for everyone. I drank it too."
Jiang Miao glanced at him and said, "Don't you and I know clearly? You drank it, but not much, right? You should change your picky eating habits. As a scholar, don't you understand the principle that good medicine tastes bitter?"
Pei Che was speechless for a moment, because Jiang Miao's guess was correct. The ginger soup smelled very gingery, and the soup was extremely turbid. It tasted strange, and Pei Che almost vomited after drinking it. He only drank one sip and put the bowl there without touching it again.
As they talked, they came to the front of the car. Jiang Miao suddenly asked, "By the way, where are your friends? Aren't they with you?"
Pei Che said: "They and I are in different positions. This tribute hall has three gates, and they will go back directly from other gates. A Miao, why are you asking about them suddenly?" He was a little surprised, because A Miao had never taken the initiative to ask about his friends before.
Jiang Miao said confidently: "What was our relationship before? It's different now. Your relatives and friends are naturally mine. Isn't it normal to care about them?" Jiang Miao is very realistic. If the treatment of a fake marriage and a real marriage is the same, wouldn't it seem that a real marriage is worthless
Pei Che laughed. Should he be moved by Jiang Miao's love for his wife and his family
The two got on the carriage, and Jiang Miao brought out the Qi-boosting and mind-replenishing soup that he had prepared earlier. There were all kinds of herbs and ingredients in the soup, and it looked like a hodgepodge, but I don't know how Jiang Miao cooked it, the taste of each thing was cleverly blended together. It tasted fresh and mellow at first, and after it went down my stomach, I felt a warm feeling, and the heat quickly rushed to my limbs. The fatigue in my body seemed to be washed away by something, and I was no longer the same as when I just left the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.
"This soup is not only delicious, but also seems to have a significant effect." After Pei Che drank a bowl, he immediately filled a second bowl and drank it slowly.
Jiang Miao raised his head with a very proud look: "Don't you see who made this? However, the taste was created by me, but this medicinal food was taught to me by Sister Tian who lives not far away." Although Sister Tian looked shocked when he gave it to her after it was cooked, she had been cooking medicinal food for so many years, but it was not as delicious as the first time Jiang Miao cooked it!
Pei Che ate another bowl of rice to show his respect. Because the Imperial Examination Hall was relatively close to the Imperial College, the carriage arrived there in a short time. As soon as he returned to the yard, Jiang Miao went to the kitchen and added another fire to the still warm water.
Pei Che was in the examination room, and had no time to wash up these days. As soon as the water was boiled, he immediately went to wash up. After using several buckets of water, he finally dressed contentedly and walked out.
"How come your hair is wet? Dry it quickly." Jiang Miao glanced at him and hurriedly ordered. There was no hair dryer here, so the hair had to be wiped with a dry cloth to dry it. If you let it drip, you will definitely have a headache the next day. Jiang Miao thought about cutting it off many times, but he was afraid of causing taboos, so he could only reluctantly give up the idea and secretly miss his buzz cut.
Pei Che took the cloth Jiang Miao gave him and started to wipe his hair. He didn't know if he used his internal energy, but it took him only half the time it took Jiang Miao to dry his hair. Pei Che used a wooden hairpin to casually tie his hair up, and he looked like a handsome and elegant young man from a noble family.
After taking care of himself, Pei Che began to tell Jiang Miao about his hard work over the past few days. Although he had said it twice before, it did not stop him from continuing to play the victim.
Jiang Miao originally thought that it was not a good idea to ask others how they did right after the test, and it might even put pressure on them. But Pei Che had been actively recalling how he looked when he took the test, so he didn't feel any pressure, so he couldn't help but ask, "A Che, how do you think you did? Are you confident?"
Pei Che was very confident: "I feel that my answers in this provincial examination are acceptable, and I have a great chance of being selected." He paused for a moment, thinking that he should not be too sure, so he added, "But everything has its surprises, and we will have to wait until the day of the announcement to know the result."
Jiang Miao was a little confused. Pei Che meant that he might pass or not? Wasn't that nonsense? Of course there were only these two possibilities for the exam. What else could he do? Seeing that Pei Che had just experienced such a cruel exam, Jiang Miao refrained from saying anything to him.
Because they had been eating dry food and porridge for the past few days, they couldn't have any big fish or meat for the meal after returning home, so as not to hurt their stomach. Jiang Miao cooked a pot of millet porridge, fried a few refreshing and delicious side dishes, and invited Pei Che to come and eat.
Pei Che ate with great relish, and although his movements were a little fast, it was still pleasing to the eye. Jiang Miao sat opposite him, propping up his head and watching him eat, more excited than watching the eating shows, after all, those eating shows were not as good-looking as Pei Che's.
After finishing his meal, Pei Che sat and digested it for a while before being driven back to his room by Jiang Miao to sleep. Room 1 was so small that even if he could put down the baffle to use as a bed, he still had to curl up. After a night, his body had long been stiff, and in that tense state, he couldn't sleep well.
"Brother Miao, is my brother back?" Pei Mu asked. He and Xiao Shitou were walking back, each holding Jiang Miao's hand.
Jiang Miao said, "Don't worry, your brother is back. But he has been working hard these past few days, and he is resting in his room now. Don't wake him up when you go back later."
"Yes!" Pei Mu nodded seriously with a stern face, indicating that he would definitely do it.
Since he went to school with Xiao Shitou, he has learned more and more. Although he still doesn't like to communicate with others, he has become more and more lively in front of his family.
"Brother, I won't disturb Brother Che." Little Stone also promised obediently.
Jiang Miao smiled and patted their heads, thinking that his two children were really well-behaved. The crying of children could be heard from the yards of every household in the back mountain, but only in their yard, there had never been such a scene.
Because the two children still had to go to school, Pei Che did not take the three of them with him when he returned home the next day. The three people, including Jiang Miao, not only did not have the slightest regret, but were very relaxed. The atmosphere in the Duke Zhong's Mansion was so bad that even a meal would cause indigestion, so it was better not to go if possible.
In the evening, Pei Che came back, looking exhausted physically and mentally, as if he had to work harder than taking the exam. Jiang Miao wanted to ask, but swallowed his words. In his opinion, Pei Che couldn't hide anything. He would tell him what he could tell him. It would be useless to ask what he couldn't tell him.
As expected, when he went to bed at night, Pei Che told Jiang Miao what happened today. As soon as he got home, he went to see Grandmother Pei. Grandmother Pei was very happy to see him at first, but as they talked, the topic turned to Pei Che's parents. The originally happy atmosphere turned sad, and Pei Che felt bad, thinking that he would go to the ancestral hall to burn incense for the two of them later.
Just as Pei Che was immersed in the atmosphere of sadness, Grandmother Pei suddenly changed the subject and turned the topic back to the position of Duke. Her words seemed to imply forcing Uncle Pei to abdicate and let Pei Che inherit.
Pei Che was very surprised. He was already the crown prince. When his second uncle got older, he would naturally abdicate. Before, his grandmother only hoped that he could become the crown prince. Why did she have a new idea in just a few months? Could it be that his second uncle and second aunt bullied his grandmother by relying on their status as dukes
After Pei Che asked, Grandmother Pei sneered and said, "How dare they attack me? But Ah Che, you have to know that if your father were still alive, the title of Duke would have been passed to him long ago, and there would be no need to wait until now. Now that you have started a family, you should prepare for this matter early. As long as you are ready, Grandmother will definitely help you."
"Although my grandson has started a family, he has no career. In the eyes of outsiders, he is just a kid who is still wet behind the ears. How can he become a duke? Right now, my grandson has taken part in the provincial examination. When the results come out, he will go to the court to gain experience for a while. Then it will be time to talk about this matter." Pei Che said that establishing a crown prince and becoming a duke are two different things.
Grandmother Pei disagreed with what he said, and then she began to persuade him earnestly. Pei Che had no intention of arguing with her, so he could only accept it all and nodded in response. At the end of the day, it was more tiring than taking an exam.
When Jiang Miao heard Pei Che talk about his family, he listened to it as a story. After all, he was an outsider at the time and it had nothing to do with him.
Now that he was the wife, the Pei family's affairs were naturally his. He thought about it carefully and said, "Why does your grandmother dislike your second uncle so much? Is there any grudge between them?"
Pei Che shook his head: "More than a year ago, grandma still relied a lot on my second uncle. After that panic attack, she began to show her dislike for my second uncle."
"This is strange. Could it be that the panic disorder was contracted by your second uncle and others? Otherwise, why would an illness change your opinion of a person?" Jiang Miao still decided that there were many hidden secrets involved.
Pei Che fell into deep thought. He had always wondered why his grandmother no longer valued his second uncle after she became ill with palpitations, but he had never thought about the cause of his grandmother's palpitations. Speaking of which, his grandmother had always been in good health over the years, so this palpitation was indeed a bit strange. It seemed that he had to investigate.
(End of this chapter)