Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

The day of the provincial examination was approaching, and the whole family gathered at the door to see Qin Si and Qin Yunhe off.

Qin's mother, who sent her two sons to take the exam, was more nervous than her sons. She repeatedly told them to be careful on the road, fearing that her sons, who had never traveled so far, would not have good food and accommodation.

"Have you brought everything? Don't forget anything."

"Mom, I've brought everything. The exam basket was prepared earlier, so I won't forget anything."

"Then check it again. It's so far away, where are we going to find the things if we left them behind?"

Qin Si and Qin Yunhe had no choice but to check the examination basket again in front of their mother, and only then did their mother feel relieved.

"Okay, just take them all. Don't be reluctant to spend the money I brought you. You're so far away, and your family won't be able to take care of you if anything happens. Take care of yourselves."

"I know, mother, don't worry."

After comforting their mother, Qin Si and Qin Yunhe turned around and said goodbye to their wives.

Yu Ru held her daughter in her arms and said goodbye to Qin Yunhe. She was very worried about him. He had never done such work before and she didn't know if he could cook the porridge.

"If the stove won't light up, use a piece of paper to light it. Loosen the charcoal to make it easier to light. Stir the water a few times before it boils to prevent it from sticking to the bottom."

Qin Yunhe just nodded and agreed: "Yes, I know everything. Don't worry, I have tried to light it before. It's okay. Take care of yourself and wait for me to come back."

Now only Qin's mother, Lianhua and Yuru are left at home, and Qin Si is very worried.

This is the autumn harvest season, and because I’m preparing for an exam, the sweet potatoes in the field have not yet been harvested.

"Mom, if you are really too busy, just hire two temporary workers."

Qin Chong was driving beside them because he had to take them to the county to meet up with Feng Zhuo and the others. After hearing what Qin Si said, he said, "Just study hard for the exam. Your second brother and I will take care of the family affairs. What are you worried about?"

Chen Er also came to see them off, and said, "That's right, don't worry, I'll come over to help you when the time comes, and I guarantee that I'll get back everything you need."

"You have a lot of work to do in the fields. I'm afraid you're too busy to handle it."

"Then don't worry about it. If you are too busy, I will hire a temporary worker. Let's go now."

After saying goodbye to Qin's mother and others, Qin Chong drove to the county town with his two younger brothers.

After arriving at the county town, Qin Yunhe first went to see his teacher and said goodbye to him before going to Feng Zhuo's house to prepare to leave.

Feng Zhuo's family has a carriage, and they had agreed before that Lin Zhaotang, Qin Yunhe, and Qin Si would go together in his carriage. Everything is ready now.

The carriage started off swaying. Feng Zhuo leaned against the wall and swayed with it, sighing, "Alas, you all are going to seek fame and fortune, but I have to go even though I don't want fame and fortune. It's really a bit boring."

Lin Zhaotang comforted him, "You don't seek fame, and there's no pressure anyway. Why not just think of it as a trip to Zhending Prefecture for fun? Isn't that better?"

"What's so fun about Zhending Prefecture? It's not like I haven't been there before. Jiangnan is fun, with half the city covered in spring water and the other half covered in flowers, and mist and rain darkening thousands of houses... Alas... My cousin has been there many times, but I have never been there once."

Qin Yunhe asked curiously, "Does your cousin always go to Jiangnan?"

"He always goes there to sell goods, and every time he comes back he always brings some new and interesting things. If you're lucky you can make some money, and even if you don't, at least you can have some fun. What's the point of seeking fame? If you really become an official you'll be confined to one place, and you won't be able to travel around."

Qin Yunhe was amused by him: "Haha, you make a good career path sound like going to jail."

"Tsk tsk, there is no difference. You don't know, my biggest wish in life is to not worry about food and clothing, not be burdened by official career, and travel freely."

Qin Yunhe suddenly felt that people do need to have dreams. After all, the dream that Feng Zhuo casually mentioned was finally realized by him.

"Brother Lin, I heard that candidates who take part in the provincial examinations often get sick from eating too much or catching a cold. Is that true?" This was not the first time that Lin Zhaotang took part in the provincial examinations, so Qin Si asked him.

"This situation does happen, but it's not common. When I took the exam, no one in the same exam room encountered this situation. However, there was a candidate who didn't bring enough dry food in the first exam. It is said that he almost fainted from hunger when he left the exam."

Feng Zhuo wailed again when he heard this: "There are still people who are almost fainting from hunger? Don't you think this is just suffering? Then I have to bring more dry food in."

This sentence reminded Qin Yunhe and others, and they all said that they should buy more dry food when they got there.

Unexpectedly, Lin Zhaotang said, "If you need to go to the bathroom, you must raise the toilet sign. If you do this too many times, you will be reprimanded by the invigilator, so..."

"So you can't eat too much?"

"I mean, try to be patient..."

Feng Zhuo and others were speechless again.

Several people sat in a horse-drawn carriage and chatted all the way, shaking all the way for nearly two days before finally arriving at Zhending Prefecture.

Feng Zhuo and Lin Zhaotang had both been to Zhending Prefecture, and they were relatively familiar with the place, so they quickly found an inn close to the examination venue and stayed there.

Most of the people staying in the inn were scholars who came to take part in the provincial examination.

Everyone was obviously not as relaxed about the provincial examination as they were in the last year. While waiting for the opening day, several people stayed in their rooms to study and had no mood to go out and play.

The whole inn was filled with the sound of intense study.

Because they were afraid that the sesame seed cakes they brought from home would go bad, they bought the sesame seed cakes at the inn the day before arriving, cut them into small pieces and put them into rice bags.

The next day was the day to enter the examination room, and everyone got up early and waited outside the examination room.

One reason was that there were too many candidates, and the other was that the entrance inspection was very strict, so the process was very slow, and it took a long time before it was Qin Yunhe's turn to enter.

The clerk at the entrance opened Qin Yunhe's examination basket and took out the writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone, curtain, stove, lamp, candle, rice bag, etc. one by one, and opened everything that could be opened.

Even though the pancake had been cut into small pieces and a few pieces had been crushed, Qin Yunhe was still speechless.

When Qin Yunhe entered the venue, he had been waiting in line for an hour. When he found his own room and walked in, Qin Yunhe couldn't believe that he had come in.

The room was about three feet square, with a fixed board inside serving as a seat and a higher board outside serving as a desk.

It must have been a while since the room was cleaned, as the seats and desks were covered with dust.

Fortunately, Qin Yunhe was well prepared. He brought a rag and wiped the seat and desk for a long time. Finally, he made it look a little tidy. Then he sat down and waited for the show to start.