Chapter 592: Imperial Examination Promotion System (1)

It was unbearably hot as soon as the sixth lunar month began; the scorching sun was like fire, baking the ground until it cracked into patterns.

By the roadside willow trees, the cicadas chirped so noisily that even the big yellow dog in the village felt annoyed enough to droop its ears and press them against its ear holes.

Xie Yang ran as fast as she could from the town to this small village nestled against the mountains called "Qinghe Village," so exhausted she was gasping for air; she hurriedly fed herself a few mouthfuls of diluted Spirit Spring Water to replenish her lost fluids and stamina.

This is truly killing me!

This body is definitely more than 160 jin!

That's right, this time she transmigrated into a chubby little girl who is 158 centimeters tall and weighs 160 jin, the youngest daughter of the town butcher, Xie Rong.

The day the original owner was born, it happened to coincide with the family's old sow giving birth, producing a litter of sixteen piglets, breaking the highest record for a sow giving birth in Guixiang Town... no! In all of Qingfeng City!

And every single one was healthy!

The burly man known as "Zhurong" was so overjoyed that he treated this youngest daughter as a lucky star, spoiling her to the point where if she wanted the stars, he wouldn't give her the moon, and even if it were cloudy and raining, he would set up a ladder to pluck them for her.

Spoiled for sixteen years, the once soft and sweet little cutie at birth was pampered into a headstrong, chubby girl who had clothes brought to her and food served to her, and who was number one at eating but incapable of doing anything else, thus possessing a layer of delightful fat.

The fatter she got, the less she liked to go out, and when she did, it was either by carriage or sedan chair.

Xie Yang would bet that the total distance the original owner had walked in the past sixteen years probably didn't even add up to the distance she had run from the town to the countryside today.

Why come to Qinghe Village?

This brings us to the Main System's bizarre way of thinking.

Oh, this thing only has circuits, no brain paths.

Xie Yang thought to herself with an expressionless face.

The Sub-system to be retrieved in this plane—the Imperial Examination Promotion System—was sensed by the Main System to be in Qinghe Village, below Guixiang Town.

There wasn't much time, so she hired a carriage to Qinghe Village while absorbing the original owner's memories along the way.

Not wanting to continue when the carriage broke down halfway, she estimated that going back to town to hire another might not be faster than walking to Qinghe Village on her own two legs, so she simply set off on foot.

But she underestimated this body and overestimated the Main System's calculations—before she even reached her destination, the Sub-system had already bound itself to an unlucky scholar in Qinghe Village who was preparing to take the exam for the title of Cultivated Talent. A few days before the binding, the other party had an accident, not only breaking his leg but also falling into a coma from which he had yet to wake.

The Main System gave her a terrible idea—to take advantage of the fact that he hadn't woken up yet and go directly to propose marriage to marry him... no, to set the engagement, so that they would become family, making it much more convenient to retrieve the Sub-system later.

After all, the body she had transmigrated into lived in town, and there was absolutely no connection between her and the host bound to the Sub-system.

After the other party woke up, he would inevitably embark on the path of a "rising scholar from a humble background"—walking out of Qinghe Village, flying out of Guixiang Town, and relying on his own talent and the promotion rewards given by the Imperial Examination Promotion System, he would rise step by step, eventually reaching the Highest Official Rank.

How could two completely unrelated people get close without it seeming abrupt?

【Host, since Plan A has miscarried, we can only start Plan B. Drag him into your arms... no, establish a status that links you to him. If you don't want to be husband and wife, then becoming sworn siblings will also do...】

【Hey, Host, you seem to be older than him! You are sixteen. So the System thinks it's best if the Host just takes him down and makes him a child-husband.】

"..."

【Host, you don't have much time left. The System senses the Sub-system's magnetic field is about to finish repairing the energy lost during the transition, and its host will wake up soon.】

【Why don't you take a look at his appearance first? He looks quite good; he will definitely catch your eye.】

The Main System copied a scene of the Sub-system's host in his coma and projected it into Xie Yang's sea of consciousness.

"..."

Xie Yang was so angry she almost laughed!

Was she the type of person to be swayed by looks?

She... huh? He really does look quite good!

Even in a coma, and even with his long robe covered in patches and surrounded by dusty mud walls and simple furniture, it still couldn't hide his refined and ethereal appearance.

No wonder he could become the protagonist of this plane's destiny even when born in the wilderness; it seems the Heavenly Dao of this world is also a face-judging entity!

Of course, she herself would never admit it!

At most, it's just... well, he's pleasing to the eye!

【Host, you have no objections now, right? Then what are you waiting for! Hurry up and charge! If you wait for him to wake up, with your current physique, it will be too difficult to drag him into your arms!】

"..."

Are you being polite?

What's wrong with being fat?

Being fat is a symbol of good fortune!

Besides, it's not hard to lose weight!

In the last plane, she worked with Jiu Ye and helped the uncle and nephew earn a fortune with the slimming pills; she still has plenty of stock left!

If she takes them for three to five months, she doesn't believe she can't slim this body down healthily!

It's just that there's no time to think about weight loss right now, so she'll put it aside for the moment.

The Main System's way of thinking is indeed bizarre, but come to think of it, it really is the best plan she can think of right now.

But would doing this be a bit like taking advantage of someone's misfortune?

【What do you mean "a bit"? That is exactly what it is!】

"..."

【But Host, you aren't taking advantage for nothing. You marry him... no, you wed him, and you will definitely treat his leg, and you will also treat your father-in-law's back. From their family's perspective, they are the ones getting the big bargain, okay?】

【Although, after he wakes up, he could use the Sub-system's task rewards to heal his own leg, but that takes time, and his father's back injury can't wait much longer; if it isn't treated soon, he will be completely paralyzed. So, the two of you are just getting what you need.】

Song Yanqing, the person bound to the Imperial Examination Promotion System, is currently in a situation that can be described as destitute and down-and-out to the extreme.

He is the eldest son of the Song family third branch in Qinghe Village.

Song is a major surname in Qinghe Village; the entire village only has about a hundred households, and thirty or forty of them have the surname Song.

But the Song family where Song Yanqing lives has absolutely nothing to do with the major Song clan in Qinghe Village, because Song Yanqing's great-grandfather, Song Yaozong, had brought his family to flee here during a famine back then.

Because they shared the same surname and he had once been a private tutor for a wealthy family, Song Yaozong's family received preferential treatment from the village chief of Qinghe Village and was able to settle down here.

Unfortunately, Song Yaozong did not live long; he passed away from illness not long after settling in Qinghe Village, leaving only one seedling for the old Song family, which was Song Yanqing's grandfather, Song Minghua.

Song Minghua married Wang Huaihua, the niece of the then-village chief's wife, and after marriage, they had eight children, though only three sons and two daughters survived.

The eldest daughter Song Xiuying and the youngest daughter Song Xiuyu were married, one to the neighboring town and the other to a nearby village.

The eldest son Song Zhikang married Xiao Wangshi, and they successively had one son and two daughters, who were Song Shuyuan, Song Jinfang, and Song Jinyun respectively.

The second son Song Zhiqiang married Liu Shi, and only after having three daughters, Song Jinmei, Song Jinlan, and Song Jinzhu, did he welcome a son; thus, he treated his youngest son like a treasure, disregarding the naming preferences of Song Minghua, who was already bedridden at the time, and insisted on naming his son Song Jiabao, doting on him to the extreme.

The third son Song Zhisheng married Lin Shi and had one son and one daughter; the son was Song Yanqing, and the daughter was named Song Jinzhi.

Yanqing had been intelligent since childhood and was the best at studying among all the grandchildren; Minghua had set his heart on grooming him to become a man of talent and bring honor to his ancestors, but unfortunately, before Yanqing could sit for the imperial examinations, he passed away.

From then on, the Song family became a place where Wang Shi had the final say.