ebookland Chapter 431 The Flower of Barrenness (6)
Chapter 431 The Flower of Barrenness (6)
However, ignoring the fact that he occasionally tiptoes makes it more convincing.
When the final results came out, Tian Ye ranked 39th and Tian Zhuang ranked 88th, both of them making the list.
After reviewing the list, the group didn't linger in the city and packed their things to head home.
Before them arrived came the good news: Tian Zhuang and Tian Ye had both passed the imperial examination and become scholars. This caused a stir in the whole village once again. The clan chief was so happy that he wanted to open the ancestral hall and hold a banquet for the two children.
Although neither of them ranked highly, they were eleven and seven years old respectively, making them the youngest scholars in the Great Yong Dynasty.
During exams, the top few are usually the most popular, while those who rank in the middle are generally not paid much attention. However, this time, the provincial education commissioner, who was in charge of the prefectural exam, took a look at the information of the candidates who had passed the exam, and then these two were singled out.
Then, the provincial education commissioner wanted to take on a disciple, but when he sent people to look for him, the place was already deserted.
The education official was still not giving up, so he sent someone to inquire. He heard that this Tian Ye had never attended school for a single day. He had relied entirely on Tian Zhuang to carry the books, and the two of them studied on their own. What incredible luck!
The academic official still felt that these two must have a very powerful teacher behind them, and with this thought in mind, his enthusiasm waned.
When the good news arrived, Wangyou suddenly realized that the two of them were very young. She was only thinking about moving their rankings down, but she forgot that their age was also attracting attention. That's why the county magistrate came to visit.
Wangyou didn't go out; she just stayed in her room, quietly listening to the conversation outside, coughing occasionally.
When Wangyou is at home, she doesn't apply any medicine to her face, so she usually won't see anyone who comes to visit. Outsiders generally don't easily enter a girl's boudoir.
Although Song felt a little weak in the knees when facing the county magistrate, she remembered what her daughter had taught her and answered the magistrate's questions calmly and confidently, word by word.
Wangyou suddenly started coughing rapidly. Song's face showed a look of anxiety. The county magistrate had inquired about the family's daughter before he came, and he was not surprised.
"It's getting late, so I'll be taking my leave now." The county magistrate tactfully took his leave, and the village chief and others respectfully saw him off. Song Shi quickly ran to Wangyou's room.
Wangyou suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest. She had choked on her water and hadn't expected it to cause such a strong reaction.
But this time, Wangyou felt that there might be something wrong with her heart, but the doctor just hadn't noticed it.
Song quickly gave Wangyou the medicine. Wangyou's face was deathly pale, and she felt like she was about to die at any moment.
Song was heartbroken and sobbing. Fortunately, the village chief and others helped them hitch up the oxcart and took Wangyou to the town clinic again. However, the town clinic only gave the same few words: take good care of her. Song decided to take Wangyou to the county for treatment.
"Mother, let's go back first and talk about it when Father and A-Ye come back."
"But……"
"Mom, I'm fine. I just choked on some water."
Unable to dissuade her daughter, Madam Song had no choice but to take Wangyou home.
After returning home, Song brought water to wash Wangyou's face and then watched her fall asleep.
Wangyou had considered studying medicine, but the village doctors only knew the basics, and the doctors in the town who had some skills mostly passed down their knowledge through family tradition. Few people would pass on their medical skills to outsiders, let alone medical books, which were not even sold in bookstores.
In the end, it all comes down to having power; 80 percent of the world's resources are concentrated in the hands of the powerful and wealthy.
Two days later, Tian Ye and Tian Laosan returned home. The Tian family patriarch was so happy to see the two scholars return that he opened the ancestral hall the next day and the clan paid for a banquet.
The fact that both of them own 100 mu of land that is exempt from taxation is good news for the people of Xinghua Village.
The clansmen were so eager to get some land registered under their names.
"Sister, this is the hairpin I bought for you. Do you like it?" Tianye mysteriously presented a wooden box to Wangyou.
Upon closer inspection, the hairpin that appears to be "Forget-Worry" is an exquisitely crafted peach blossom hairpin. Although it is made of silver, it must have cost a considerable amount of money.
"Sister likes it very much, thank you, Aye." Wangyou didn't ask Tianye where the money came from, since it was all her younger brother's thoughtful gift.
"Sister, did you raise this wolf cub?"
"Yes, I brought her back from the mountain, her name is Snow White."
"It sounds nice. With it by my side, my sister will have an extra bodyguard."
The siblings teased Bai Xue for a while before Tian Ye began to talk about their plans.
"Sister, Zhuang and I plan to study at Qingshan Academy in the prefectural city. Qingshan Academy has the most books among the major academies, and most importantly, it is full of students from poor families."
"Once it's decided, Father can buy a courtyard house in the prefectural city, and we can move there."
"Once we get to the prefectural city, we'll find Doctor Fang. I've already asked around, and Doctor Fang's medical skills are among the best in the prefectural city. Sister, you can ask Doctor Fang to take a good look at you then."
"Okay, I understand." Wangyou smiled, then took out a sheet of Xuan paper. "Write down the questions you did in the prefectural examination, and I'll give you a rundown."
"Hehe, sister, I've already memorized it." Tianye took out a piece of paper covered with writing from her schoolbag and happily handed it to Wangyou.
"Well done."
Wangyou took it, looked at the test questions, and then prepared to do them herself. "By the way, go to town tomorrow and buy me a law book."
"Okay, sister, I'll go help Dad and Mom then." Seeing that Wangyou was already engrossed in doing her homework, Tianye went out.
Tianye gave Wangyou two answers: one was the answer he wrote in the exam room, and the other was the answer he was supposed to give.
Wangyou wrote another answer, making a total of three answers. Then, Wangyou pointed out the shortcomings in the field test paper and provided a more reasonable answer.
The next day, Tianye went out and bought a copy of the Great Yong Law, which Wangyou began to read. Meanwhile, Tianye and Tianzhuang used Wangyou's answers to make up for their shortcomings in the exam.
To paraphrase Wangyou, one can pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger, but one cannot actually be a pig.
Wangyou quickly finished reading the law book. After reading it, Wangyou breathed a sigh of relief because the law did not mention any punishment for women who did not marry, except that they could not establish female households.
"You have three days to memorize the contents of this law book. I will test you."
"Sister, this law exam isn't even on the test!"
"It's always better to be prepared than to be unprepared. Besides, once we get to the prefectural city, if someone tries to extort you, you can use the law to send them to jail, so that you won't be scared off and end up knowing nothing."
“That makes sense, sister, let’s go memorize it right away.” The two of them took turns copying and memorizing, and it was quite harmonious.