Chapter 631: Imperial Examination Family-Building System (40)

"They're coming out, they're coming out!"

The entrance to the Provincial Examination Hall in the Provincial Capital was packed with family members and pageboys waiting to receive the candidates.

Nine days and nine nights had passed; throughout the process, they had seen no shortage of candidates carried out of the examination grounds due to illness, and the family members waiting outside all felt their hearts in their throats.

It could be said that while the candidates spent nine days and nine nights inside, the family members spent nine days and nine nights in terror outside.

Every time the side door of the Examination Hall was opened and a sick candidate was carried out, the hearts of the family members and pageboys waiting outside would leap to their throats, terrified that the name being called would be that of their own master or young master.

Now that this hurdle had finally been overcome, regardless of whether they would pass the Provincial Examination, at least during these nine days and nights, their own master or young master had not been carried out because they were too ill to persist.

"Ancestors above, please ensure that the master's Autumn Examination goes smoothly this time, and don't let him suffer through this ordeal again!"

"Oh, Bodhisattva, please keep my young master safe and sound. Please, don't let him get sick for three months like last time; tormenting the young master is tormenting me, oh, boo-hoo-hoo..."

"..."

Beside Xie Yang, some were praying to the Bodhisattva for miracles or for the protection of their ancestors, while others hoped that once one person attained the Dao, their chickens and dogs would ascend to heaven; in short, everyone was muttering prayers while their eyes remained fixed, without a single blink, on the direction of the Examination Hall gate.

Every time a candidate emerged, the crowd would erupt with calls of excitement or anxiety—

"Oh, Master, how did you get so sick? Can you hold on? I will carry you to the medical clinic right now!"

"Young Master, Young Master! I'm here! Young Master, can you still walk?"

"Young Master, I will carry you; our carriage is just ahead..."

Seeing that every candidate who emerged had a sallow complexion and unsteady gait, Xiaohu's youthful face was filled with worry: "Madam, why is everyone so weak? Will our young master be alright?"

Xie Yang comforted him: "He has a strong foundation, he should be fine."

The Main System was reporting Song Yanqing's status to her at all times; although the rain in the first few days and the sudden drop in temperature had caused him some throat discomfort, he had immediately taken the appropriate pills, and afterwards, he had eaten, drunk, and slept on schedule. He was a few pounds thinner than before entering the examination hall, but fortunately, he had not fallen ill.

Confined for nine consecutive days in a cramped Cell less than two square meters, having to take high-intensity exams during the day and unable to even stretch his legs while sleeping at night—who could endure that?

Not getting sick was already better than anything else.

Everything else could be set aside for now.

"The young master is out!" Xiaohu suddenly jumped up with joy, "I see the young master! Madam, I'm going to receive him!"

Xie Yang saw him too and immediately followed Xiaohu, pushing through the crowded throng until she reached Song Yanqing.

"Xiaohu, you first take the young master's bedding to the carriage, then wait for us there; no need to come back over."

"Understood!"

Song Yanqing instantly felt his shoulders lighten as the bedding was taken by Xiaohu.

Immediately after, the Examination Basket in his hand was also taken by Xie Yang.

"My lady, I can do it myself..."

"Stop arguing, let's go quickly!" Xie Yang carried the Examination Basket in one hand and held his hand with the other, squeezing past the family members who were standing on tiptoe to look, "I'm afraid of traffic jams, so I had the carriage wait at the entrance of the lane. Can you make it to the lane entrance? If not, I'll carry you..."

"I can," Song Yanqing hurriedly interrupted, terrified that she might actually pick him up and run.

He had witnessed her strength before; she could even lift his father with ease, so he did not doubt for a second that she could carry him.

The two held hands, passing through the dense crowd, and walked all the way out of the lane.

Juzi Lane in front of the Examination Hall was currently packed with carriages, one after another, forming a long dragon that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Xie Yang was incredibly glad she had the carriage driver wait at the entrance of the lane and didn't greedily have him drive in. It was easy to get in, but difficult to get out. If they had waited for all the carriages to leave, it would have taken at least an hour or two.

Unlike now, walking an extra two or three hundred meters to board the carriage meant they could leave immediately and reach the inn before dark.

As the carriage clattered along the flat Gongyuan Street, Xie Yang picked up the sheepskin water skin, which still had decent heat retention, and poured him a cup of astragalus water she had boiled at the inn and brought along:

"Drink some water first. I'll serve you a bowl of soup; have a little something in the carriage to pad your stomach. Once we get back to the inn and you've bathed and changed, we'll have a proper meal."

Song Yanqing was indeed thirsty.

Today was the last day of the final session of the Provincial Examination. At noon, after finishing his rice porridge, he realized the charcoal fire was about to go out, so he didn't add more charcoal and kept a bowl of rice water to drink. He had spent the afternoon buried in writing his Policy Essay and hadn't felt thirsty, but now, sitting in the carriage with his fragrant and soft lady beside him, he felt quite parched.

As he drank the warm astragalus water, he watched his lady gently take out a small clay pot and lift the lid, releasing the fragrant aroma of chicken soup.

"It's chicken soup; I had Xiaohu go to the early market this morning to buy a nourishing young hen." Xie Yang praised his keen nose, "I originally wanted to add some medicinal herbs to make a medicinal stew, but I thought that since you've been making do for the past nine days, it wouldn't be good to suddenly have something too rich, as it might be hard to digest. So I decided to take it slow and didn't add herbs, just some dried bamboo shoots and Wild Mushrooms I brought from home."

As she spoke, Xie Yang skimmed the golden oil off the surface of the chicken soup, took a dish of pre-blanched rice noodles from the food box on the small table, and placed them into the soup, gently stirring them with chopsticks.

The rice noodles, which had become a bit clumped from cooling, immediately loosened and became soft and glutinous once soaked in the steaming chicken soup.

Xie Yang handed him the chopsticks and soup spoon: "Try it! This is a way of eating I just figured out recently; the chicken soup and the rice noodles are kept separate, and you put the noodles into the soup when you're ready to eat. It stays hot and doesn't get clumpy."

"It's too much, will you have some too, my lady?"

"You eat it! I didn't cook that much to begin with! It's just to pad your stomach. Xiaohu and I had some snacks before coming to get you, so I'm not hungry yet."

"That's right, Young Master, Xiaohu is very full!" Xiaohu, sitting next to the driver, called out from behind the carriage curtain.

Xie Yang smiled at Song Yanqing, signaling him to eat quickly; did he really think she would let herself go hungry?

Only then did Song Yanqing begin to eat in a refined manner.

Xie Yang didn't disturb him; she picked up the crochet hook nearby and continued working on the scarf she hadn't finished to pass the time.

Back in Qingfeng City, she had seen a northern merchant selling a wool fabric called "He," which was exorbitantly priced. Remembering that she had hoarded cashmere and wool products in her previous two worlds—and the ones from the last world were even more authentic—she had picked out a few balls of yarn in less flashy colors to crochet a shawl for Song Yanqing to use in the examination hall. With the remaining yarn, she planned to crochet a few scarves to give to her family for the New Year.

Speaking of the New Year, Xie Yang looked up to discuss with him: "I saw a notice posted at the gate of the Examination Hall saying that the results won't be released for another ten days. It wasn't easy for us to come all this way, so we'll definitely wait for the results before heading back. You should get some good rest first; once you're rested, we'll go out for a stroll. It's rare to be in the Provincial Capital, so why don't we buy some New Year's gifts for Father, Mother, and the others?"

Song Yanqing immediately expressed his agreement and reminded her not to forget her father-in-law, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law.

Xie Yang smiled and said: "I won't forget; everyone will get something."