The Prefectural Examination Begins

Perhaps because misfortune had been averted by parting with money,

Yang An distributed the black eagle he had hunted among all the villagers of Wanshou Ward.

Over the next two days,

the Yang household finally had no more trouble come knocking. They enjoyed two rare days of peace and quiet.

Though it was not as though there was nothing to do.

In addition to gold, silver, bolts of cloth, and other rewards, the imperial court had granted them ten qing of fertile land. The land was not within Yunzhou City, but outside its walls.

There were still two or three months before winter ended.

When spring came, it would be time to sow.

One qing was fifty mu; ten qing amounted to a full five hundred mu of land.

Yang Ning was the best at managing a household.

She did not want such a vast tract of good land to lie fallow. Yet Yang An had to attend school, Li Yan had official duties, and there was no extra labor at home to farm it. Selling it outright would be far too wasteful.

If they were to build an estate and hire people to plant the fields, they would need someone reliable to manage it—preferably someone skilled in martial arts.

With the world in such turmoil, it was best if that person were a martial artist.

But where could they find someone like that so easily?

For the moment, Yang Ning had no idea what to do. Fortunately, there were still more than two months before the end of the twelfth lunar month, leaving them ample time to make plans.

As for Yang An, these past two days had finally given him a chance to catch his breath.

No flashing blades or deadly peril. No teasing from that Dog Woman, either. He could stay safely at home, read, and prepare for the provincial examination.

He snacked while teasing Manman, savoring the quiet beauty of peaceful days.

To pass the child examination at ten years old—

Yang An had worked hard enough in the previous years and had built a solid foundation. He had long since memorized the contents of his books. After two days of wholehearted review, he could practically recite them backward.

Elementary arithmetic was even less of a challenge.

As for poetry and essays, once his mind held the learning of five thousand years, what was there for Yang An to fear?

This provincial examination would surely see his name on the list.

But merely passing was not enough.

Yang An’s ambition was to take first place in this year’s examination—the top-ranked candidate!

Thinking that, once he took first place, he would be allowed to use Princess Anle’s soft, pale little feet...

Pah!

It was so his sister could see his name on the list!

So he could bring glory to the family!

Yang An studied as though he had been injected with chicken blood. Even when his head swam from exhaustion, he merely paused for a breath before rousing himself again and plunging back into the ocean of knowledge.

Yang An had never shown such fervor for studying in all the previous ten-odd years.

Even Yang Ning and Li Yan were stunned. That evening at dinner, when they saw Yang An still clutching a book and muttering as he recited from it, Yang Ning could not help saying with concern, “Second Brother, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

But Yang An did not hear her at all.

His eyes remained fixed on the book,

while he mechanically shoveled food into his mouth.

His almost obsessive focus worried Yang Ning. Tugging lightly at Li Yan’s sleeve, she whispered, “Husband, could Second Brother have fallen under some kind of nightmare spell? Did I put too much pressure on him?”

Li Yan did not know why Yang An was pushing himself so desperately either.

After dinner,

when Yang An was walking toward his room with a book in one hand and Manman’s leash in the other, Li Yan stopped him and tried to persuade him.

“Second Brother, your brother-in-law has been promoted now. Our family isn’t struggling as badly as before. You don’t need to force yourself this hard. If you can get into the Imperial Academy, then get in; if not, let it go. Your brother-in-law can try to find you another divine aspect to cultivate.”

Yang An, briefly pulled out of the sea of books—

With a straight face, Yang An said to Li Yan, “What are you talking about, Brother-in-law? Setting aside the matter of the divine physiognomist, even for Yu… for my sister’s sake, I have to pass this time—and I have to take first place!”

With that said,

afraid of wasting even a moment, Yang An said no more to Li Yan. He slung his book bag over his shoulder, had Manman carry an armful of books, and returned to his room.

And so he spent two days drowning in the ocean of knowledge.

The night before the prefectural examination.

In order to be in good spirits for the exam the next day,

Yang An washed up early, blew out the dim yellow candle, and lay on his bed, emptying his mind. As he drifted in that blankness, it suddenly occurred to him that he had not seen Qin Guo'er for three days.

For some reason, he missed her a little…

He missed Dog Woman’s luscious red lips, her full breasts—though not as impressive as Lan’s—and those little feet that always seemed to sway back and forth in front of him…

He nearly gave in to the urge to take matters into his own hands.

“Could I have fallen for Dog Woman?”

Yang An broke out in a cold sweat. “Impossible! Absolutely impossible! At most, I just lust after her body!”

Afraid that he would continue letting his thoughts run wild,

he called Manman over to give him a chop to the back of the neck. In an instant, he fell into a baby-like sleep and entered dreamland.

…

At the first hint of dawn the next day,

Yang An was awakened by Yang Ning.

Yang An was the one taking the prefectural examination, yet Yang Ning was even more excited than he was. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought she was the one sitting for the test.

She had been so excited that she had not slept all night.

Not only did she refuse to sleep herself, she would not let Li Yan sleep either.

For half the night, she pestered him about whether Yang An would pass this time. She even dragged Li Yan into indulging her foot fetish, praying to Buddha at the last minute for divine protection.

Li Yan secretly suspected that, if circumstances allowed,

Yang Ning would probably set up an altar and perform rituals, begging the heavens to let Yang An place first.

Once Yang An had washed up and gotten dressed,

Yang Ning handed him the bundle she had packed long ago.

Once the prefectural examination began, candidates were not allowed to leave their seats. They had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves right where they were. Since Yang An had already taken the exam three times, Yang Ning was familiar with the procedure; the bundle was stocked with enough dried provisions and examination supplies.

After Yang An took the bundle,

Yang Ning had originally wanted to escort him to the examination hall. Unfortunately, the imperial examination grounds were guarded with great strictness. Apart from candidates and examiners, no one else was permitted to enter the inner city that day.

Standing at the door, she straightened her younger brother’s collar.

She had meant to offer him words of encouragement, but recalling how obsessively he had studied over the past two days, the words that reached her lips changed. Taking Yang An’s hand, she said softly, “Don’t take it too seriously. No matter how you do, it’s all right.”

Li Yan, dark circles beneath his eyes, echoed her from the side. “Second Brother, your sister is right. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Yang An had not been under much pressure to begin with.

Seeing his sister and brother-in-law so anxious that they were telling him not to be nervous, he could not help but find it amusing. Teasing them, he said, “Sister, Brother-in-law, you’re saying one thing while meaning another! Don’t worry. This time, I’ll bring home the top ranking!”

With that, Yang An bid his sister and brother-in-law farewell.

He mounted the chestnut-red horse Li Yan had bought the previous day for good luck and galloped toward the examination grounds.

The little red horse raced swiftly,

its hooves kicking up slush, snow, and dust.

As he passed the neighborhood headman’s home at the entrance to the ward, Old Lady Li and the headman happened to be seeing their own Da Bao off as well.

They saw Yang An with a bundle on his back and a book chest in hand.

Old Lady Li sneered. “So the Yang boy is really planning to take the county examination again? He’s already failed three times, yet he still wants to go make a fool of himself!”

The village head shot her a sidelong glance. “Even if that second boy fails ten times, a hundred times, he can still take it if he wants. What’s so shameful about that?”

Old Lady Li gave a cold snort and ignored him.

She stroked her grandson’s head. “If he can’t pass, my Da Bao certainly can! When that happens, let’s see how Yang Ning can keep putting on airs in front of everyone!”

Village head: …

Aren’t you thinking a little too highly of our grandson?

Old Lady Li slung the stuffed-to-bursting book chest onto Da Bao’s back.

The weight made Li Dabao’s shoulders sink.

Da Bao frowned and whined, “Grandma, it’s so heavy. Grandma, carry it for me.”

Old Lady Li smiled and coaxed him, “Da Bao can carry it himself this time. Grandma will carry it for you next time. I packed lots of meat pies in your book chest. Remember to eat plenty during the examination. Only when you’re full can you get good results and make Grandma proud.”

At the mention of delicious meat pies, Li Dabao’s mouth immediately began to water. He wiped it away, then, as the cold wind blew, sniffled and said, “Okay, Grandma!”

The village head looked at his dull-witted grandson.

Then he looked at his wife, who had clearly lost her mind.

As though he could already foresee the outcome, he let out a weary sigh.