Chapter 321

"Selling steamed buns, freshly baked steamed buns!"

"Candied haws, sour and sweet candied haws, delicious and not expensive!"

"Alas, female benefactor, please stay. This poor Daoist sees that your forehead is dark and your eyes are dull; you will definitely have a bloody disaster in the next few days. Just one hundred wen of merit money, and this poor Daoist guarantees you will turn bad luck into good..."

On the street, people were coming and going, and it was extremely lively.

Du Ruo was looking around for someone when she was unexpectedly stopped by a fortune-telling Daoist.

And he didn't say anything nice right from the start.

Du Ruo put her hands on her hips. "Your forehead is dark, your whole family's foreheads are dark. Please open your eyes and look clearly: not only is my forehead dark, but my entire face is dark, okay?"

Really, it's just that she applied tanning cream, and he's dragging metaphysics into it.

The Daoist actually opened his eyes wide to look, and suddenly his expression changed. "Oh my, this poor Daoist really misread it. Female benefactor, it's not that your forehead is dark, it's that black clouds are covering your head; a great disaster is imminent!"

Du Ruo, "..."

Well, the more he talks, the more mysterious it gets.

If he keeps talking, she probably won't live past tonight.

Du Ruo couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this charlatan and turned to leave.

The Daoist persistently followed behind, chasing her. "Female benefactor, don't go yet, this poor Daoist hasn't finished speaking; after the great disaster, there will be great joy..."

Du Ruo rolled her eyes.

I believe you, you ghost. To trick people into spending money, you say they have a disaster, and when you see they are unhappy, you quickly say there is joy.

What, you can say it both ways as you please?

Du Ruo walked faster and finally managed to shake off the charlatan. Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, someone suddenly darted in front of her, giving her a fright.

Looking closely, wasn't it Lao Tietou, whom she had been looking for for a long time?

"Uncle Lao Tie, where did you go? You made me worry for a long time."

Lao Tietou wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Madam, the old man guesses I ate too much and had an upset stomach. I was in a hurry to borrow the latrine, so I didn't have time to tell you."

So that was it.

"My fault, my fault, I shouldn't have stuffed everything into your stomach." Du Ruo felt a bit guilty and apologized repeatedly. "How are you? Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine, it doesn't hurt anymore."

That's good, Du Ruo breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked up at the sky; it was almost mid-afternoon. After what just happened, she had no interest in continuing to shop.

So she decided to head back.

The two talked as they walked toward the county hostel.

Lao Tietou looked back in the direction of the Ji Commandery Prince's Mansion, his eyes flickering.

Upset stomach... actually, it wasn't that bad.

He just didn't want to kneel to the son of an enemy.

All the disturbances were blocked outside the examination hall.

After Duan Xiu went crazy and was carried away, everyone quickly regained their composure and focused on the exam.

Two policy essays, two days to write; the time was quite generous.

Jiang Zhan had already finished the first one, and the draft for the second one was also ready; he was just waiting to copy it before submitting the paper.

However, according to the rules, submitting the paper on the first day was not allowed; the earliest was noon on the second day.

So he polished it carefully a few more times.

In the evening, Jiang Zhan bought a bamboo tube of clean water.

He didn't need to eat; he had the "Hungry Yet" given by his sister-in-law, which could keep him from eating for twelve hours, but he definitely had to drink water, otherwise it would be bad for his body.

After drinking water, he naturally had to go to the latrine. Jiang Zhan had a slight cleanliness obsession, so he went in the evening when there were fewer people, led by a bailiff.

For a bowel movement, one had to cover it with a stamp, but for urination, it didn't matter; after all, the time was too long.

It was easy to damage the bladder.

Ever since the strong wind that night, the temperature had dropped sharply, and it was really a bit cold at night.

However, Jiang Zhan was wearing the Gold-Threaded Jade Garment given by Du Ruo, which not only prevented heat but also resisted cold; it looked thin, but he wasn't cold at all.

He slept on the partition board like that for a night, and it was quite comfortable.

He woke up very early the next day and was the first to go to the latrine again; this was cleaner. By the time the other candidates came in a crowd later, the smell would be indescribably pungent.

After tidying up his personal affairs, Jiang Zhan began to copy the second policy essay.

As soon as noon arrived, he immediately rang the bell.

"Excuse me, I want to submit my paper."

Su Qingyao was already calm about this; after reading Jiang Zhan's article, he nodded with satisfaction.

Policy essays are different from classical studies; they require life experience as a foundation. For a sixteen-year-old candidate to be able to write to this level is already very rare.

There was nothing to test him on.

"Go back and rest well, and wait to see the red list." Su Qingyao said with a smile, bearing those bruised eyes.

Don't look at it as just one sentence; the amount of information was not small.

After the third exam is finished, what will be posted is the prefectural examination list; it will no longer be circle seat numbers, but names written directly.

It is divided into two lists.

The top three are the red list.

All other candidates who passed are on the white list.

Su Qingyao's meaning was very clear: Jiang Zhan is definitely among the top three, and it is very likely that he is the Prefectural Top Scholar.

Jiang Zhan said thank you, then walked out of the examination hall and went to the waiting area.

A person was tied to a tree not far from the waiting area.

It was precisely Duan Xiu.

Duan Xiu's mind had cleared up a lot; his face was as pale as a ghost, and his hair, which was usually combed meticulously, was now as messy as a chicken coop.

The clothes on his body were even more wrinkled and in a mess; where was there any trace of the demeanor of a noble young master from the past?

Seeing Jiang Zhan walking toward this side, Duan Xiu's already blood-red eyes instantly turned red enough to drip blood.

He quickly lowered his head, and his fingers couldn't help but tremble.

The two bailiffs guarding him looked at each other, and one of them asked: "Hey, Young Master Duan, you aren't going to go crazy again, are you?"

Duan Xiu suddenly raised his head and stared at him fixedly.

His eyes were full of murderous intent.

The bailiff was startled, and thinking of the Duan family's influence, he didn't dare to say anything more.

Duan Xiu closed his eyes and leaned dejectedly against the tree.

He knew that his life was over, completely over.

A person who cannot take the exam is destined not to be able to enter officialdom and is also destined to become an abandoned child of the family.

What future family head, what great Confucian scholar, all became bubbles!

Why?

Why did it turn out like this!

Why, when everything was fine, did he suddenly lose control? Where exactly did the problem go wrong!

He was so unwilling!!

Duan Xiu bit his lip hard, trying to recall everything before he lost control, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't think of any abnormalities.

Except...

That bird dropping.

Could it be that the bird dropping wasn't ordinary bird dropping, but had something else going on?

Thinking of this, Duan Xiu suddenly looked at his hands; he still remembered that he had hidden the handkerchief he used to wipe the bird dropping in his sleeve, and it should still be there. After he went back, he must have someone check it carefully to see what was going on!

The four people at the scene didn't speak.

It was terribly quiet.

But fortunately, this awkward atmosphere didn't last long. Soon, Master Jiang also submitted his paper early and came out. Like Jiang Zhan, he just glanced lightly at Duan Xiu, who was tied to the tree and in a sorry state, and then turned his face away.

Immediately after, several more candidates came out, and soon there were ten people.

According to the rules, they could be released in batches.

Clang, the main gate of the prefectural school slowly opened, and the people waiting outside became excited, standing on tiptoe and looking forward eagerly.

Second Uncle Duan and the book boy were naturally there too.

However, Second Uncle Duan was different from them; Second Uncle Duan was very calm.

The third exam was a policy essay, which was Duan Xiu's strength. Duan Xiu had been in the capital for several years, and he usually associated with children of noble families and royalty; under such influence, he naturally had broad knowledge.

Plus, his grandfather, Duan Zixun, would often discuss court affairs with him, so Duan Xiu had substance in his belly.

He didn't even require first place; as long as he could get into the top three in this exam, the final result would definitely be second place.

As for the first-place Jiang Zhan...

Hehe, it doesn't matter; he will soon be abolished, making room for A-Xiu.

Second Uncle Duan stood there with a smile on his face, waiting for Duan Xiu to come out.

He didn't see Duan Xiu, but he saw that eyesore, Jiang Zhan.

Hmph, bad luck.

He looked away contemptuously and continued to look back; there were no other candidates behind, but two bailiffs came out.

Carrying a person on a wooden board.