Chapter 610: Imperial Examination Promotion System (19)

He had wanted to take it out and give it to her as soon as he saw her in the carriage, but his brother-in-law kept talking the whole way, leaving him no chance to speak.

By the time he finally waited for his brother-in-law to get off the carriage, she started talking to him about entrusting her maternal grandfather's family to raise tea saplings; it seemed they had barely spoken a few words before they arrived home.

"See if you like it."

Xie Yang opened it, and just like last time, it was a hairpin, only this time it was a White Jade Hairpin.

【Another product from the Sub-system, a White Jade Hairpin that can nourish the skin and ward off disasters if worn for a long time; the points are likely between 4000-5000. It seems that by placing first, the Sub-system rewarded him with quite a few points.】

Xie Yang: "..."

Even if he has points, he doesn't need to spend them all on her.

Since it is called the Imperial Examination Promotion System, shouldn't he use the points to exchange for Props that are helpful for the Imperial Examination and a smooth official career?

Besides, he just took it out and gave it to her like this; isn't he afraid she would be suspicious? She could calculate exactly how many Copper coins he had on him, so where would he get the extra money to buy such jewelry?

Song Yanqing seemed to understand the inner monologue she was having, and before getting off the carriage, he specifically explained: "The top ten in the Imperial Examination receive rewards from the imperial court, and the reward for the top scholar is the most generous: ten taels of silver, ten dou of rice, and one bolt of cloth."

Xie Yang understood: this was just like the College Entrance Examination top scorers in later generations, where every province gives scholarships to their respective top scorers.

However, ten taels of silver could not buy a White Jade Hairpin of such superior quality.

But since he gave it to her, Xie Yang did not brush off his good intentions.

She would look for a high-quality piece of raw jade from her stockpile later and carve a jade pendant for him to weigh down his robe.

As soon as Song Yanqing got off the carriage, he was surrounded by people who had come to offer their congratulations, three layers deep inside and out.

This was the reason why Xie Yang didn't show her face or get off the carriage; she was truly afraid of this scene and quickly told the coachman to drive back to town, slipping away.

Song Yanqing looked back only to see the rear of the departing carriage and couldn't help but laugh in frustration.

If he didn't know that this carriage was bought by the Xie Family and not hired, and that she was inside, he would have thought the coachman was rushing to make his next delivery.

At this moment, he actually felt a bit of annoyance—why did the wedding date have to be set for early September? Couldn't it be late August? He had already finished the Imperial Examination and returned with the status of a scholar and the honor of being the top candidate!

"Er Lang! Grandma knew you could pass the Imperial Examination!"

Wang Shi squeezed through the crowd of well-wishers and stepped forward shamelessly, her two hands even trying to grab the crate on Song Yanqing's shoulders and the bundle in his hands:

"Is it heavy? Let... your eldest aunt help you carry it."

She glared at Xiao Wangshi again: "You have no sense at all; don't you see your nephew is tired from the journey? Why aren't you stepping up to help!"

"Coming, coming!" Xiao Wangshi squeezed over while smiling obsequiously, "Er Lang, you are a scholar now; you should find a page boy. How about my nephew? He is two or three years younger than you, just right to be a page boy. Ouch! Who's pushing me?"

"Sister-in-law, we have already separated the family."

Lin Shi and the head of the household stepped forward at the same time, getting ahead of Xiao Wangshi; one took the crate off their son's shoulders, and the other took the bundle from his hands.

"There is no need for you to worry about our family's affairs! His father and I are both here. Son, hurry and go inside with your father. Mother has already boiled a pot of hot water, and your sister has prepared your bathwater. Have a good soak and go back to your room to rest. We can go visit the village head and the village chief later."

"Alright."

Song Yanqing bowed unhurriedly to the elders present before entering the gate of his new home.

He would not forget those who still held kindness toward him and his family after he broke his leg, but he would also not forget the ugly faces of his grandmother and the others who trampled his family into the mud the moment they saw there was no benefit to be gained.

He was going to pursue an official career in the future, so he would not drive these people to extinction, but they should not think of getting any benefits from his hands either.

Repaying injury with kindness—how then would one repay kindness?

Song Yanqing was not only the first person in Qinghe Village to pass the Imperial Examination in decades, but also the first student in Qingfeng City to take the top spot in the Imperial Examination; the people coming to congratulate him arrived in wave after wave.

Fortunately, Song Zhisheng and his wife were not the type to be blinded by greed. Except for the rewards from the county magistrate, everything else, including the vegetables and eggs sent by the villagers, was either returned as-is or reciprocated with gifts of equal value. In short, they would never let their son bear the reputation of being greedy for money.

Although they hadn't expected their son to pass the provincial examination next year—after all, it was remarkable for Qingfeng City to produce one provincial graduate every three years, and even in the entire Fucheng, the number of people who passed the provincial examination each session could be counted on one hand—scholars were also divided into different ranks. If he could pass into the prefectural or county school as a salaried student, the family would get better and better; it wasn't worth being so short-sighted as to only look at immediate gains.

Moreover, Song Zhisheng's back injury had completely healed. He had gone into the mountains the day before yesterday; he hadn't hunted in over two years, but he tried his hand and caught a nest of wild rabbits and a few pheasants.

Lin Shi picked out the fattest ones for her son to take to his in-laws to have a taste.

The Xie Family lived in town and raised pigs, so they didn't lack meat, but game had the fragrance of game. Especially the mixed mushroom soup made with pheasant; that umami was enough to make one's eyebrows fall off.

The rest were taken by the head of the household to the town restaurant and sold for over a hundred Copper coins.

The family still owed their in-laws money for buying land and building the house, but at this rate, paying off the debt was only a matter of time.

Therefore, there was really no need to accept those congratulatory gifts.

Unexpectedly, when their son returned from town that day, he brought back a side of Pork, two loads of grain, and three baskets of charcoal, saying they were gifts from his in-laws.

Lin Shi was torn between laughter and tears: "They are being polite, but you shouldn't have actually accepted them."

Song Yanqing coughed lightly: "Father-in-law insisted I bring them back, saying that not accepting them would be not giving him face."

"..."

But after a moment's thought, Lin Shi understood the in-laws' intention: "Your in-laws are ostensibly sending gifts for you passing the Imperial Examination, but they are actually worried that your wedding banquet won't be grand enough and are finding ways to subsidize you... Regardless of whether you advance further in the future, you must be good to your wife. Our family being where we are today is all thanks to her."

"Mm."

Song Yanqing thought to himself, of course he would be good to her.

She was the one who saved him from his predicament.

Even if he had bound the System and could eventually heal his leg and embark on an official career through his own ability, he would have ultimately missed this year's Imperial Examination.

Once missed, he would have had to wait another year or two.

Dr. Cui once said that his father's back injury was at the end of its rope; if it dragged on for a few more days, he would be completely paralyzed. How could he afford to wait a year or two?

Therefore, she was not only the one who saved him from his predicament, but also the savior of his entire family.

Thinking of the words she said when she first visited, "I like that you are good-looking," Song Yanqing couldn't help but touch his own face. Should he take good care of his face?

【Host, you can exchange for this cedarwood scented bath and skincare set; it provides comprehensive care for face washing, bathing, and skincare, ensuring your face always stays in its best condition.】

【However, Host, your point reward for placing first in the Imperial Examination has already been spent. If you want to take care of your face sooner, hurry up and study to earn points! Otherwise, System's little whip is going to start swinging!】

"..."