I am cannon fodder, but I can hug thighs

Lin Jin buried her head in writing so quickly that she forgot that Song Shiqiu was still watching her. After all, she couldn't write fast with a brush, and she didn't know how much time she had to write. But since she had started writing, she had to finish a complete article, otherwise how could she be worthy of her perfect score in the college entrance examination essay that year.

She tried hard to make her choice of words not too abrupt in this era, but there were always some places where she would get stuck, stuck in unexpected places. She only knew that there was the imperial examination in this era, but she knew nothing else.

A drop of sweat slid down and dripped onto the test paper, and her pen stopped firmly at the most critical position.

Was there a recommendation system in this era? What were the officials in charge of the recommendation system called?

Song Shiqiu looked at Lin Jin who suddenly stopped writing, and took in all her nervousness and hesitation. He didn't know what Lin Jin was struggling with. It didn't seem like there was a problem with the connection between the article, but rather that she had concerns in her heart.

Lin Jin did have concerns. She was afraid that there was no recommendation system in this era. She was afraid that if she rashly proposed it, it would break the rules of this era. She was also afraid that her article would accidentally contain words that would shake the foundation of this feudal society.

Never mind, since we don’t know whether it exists or not, let’s be safe and write it as if it exists but the relevant system is not yet perfected.

Lin Jin dipped the brush in ink again and continued writing. Seeing Lin Jin writing, Song Shiqiu's slightly frowned brows relaxed.

No matter what, you should have figured out how to answer the question.

After all, Lin Jin did not use classical Chinese, so she needed many more words than others to express the same sentence. As a result, the number of words in her article became astonishing when she was only halfway through. People who didn't know would think that the article was already completed. Lin Jin looked up and saw that someone had stopped writing, but she hadn't finished yet.

She rubbed her swollen temples and felt tired in her shoulders and neck. She saw that the incense stick lit outside was half burned. She had never seen incense outside the academy before, let alone such a long and big one.

Is this the time required for the exam?

You still have time.

Lin Jin pinched her neck and continued writing. Although she had a lot to say, the three-meter-long test paper was enough for her to answer the questions.

Time passed bit by bit, the ashes on the incense fell to the ground, revealing scarlet sparks, white smoke floated upwards and then dissipated in the air. Lin Jin's pen wrote the last word, and the incense was about to burn out.

Lin Jin breathed a sigh of relief. This was even more stressful than when she was taking the college entrance examination. She sincerely admired those scholars who had to take the exam for days and nights. No wonder some people died in the examination room. If they didn't die, they would go crazy. The mental pressure was even greater than theirs.

Fortunately, sometimes you can still live off your savings.

Lin Jin looked at the incense outside the window. When it burned to the end, Song Shiqiu asked them to stop writing and then let them go out one by one.

After Lin Jin left, Xun Mian came over to help her wipe her sweat: "I was so anxious watching from outside, why don't you wipe your sweat for yourself?"

"How can I have the time? This is my first monthly exam." Lin Jin felt like she was finally alive. The exam was so depressing. "I thought I would be in there for several days."

"It's just a monthly exam, it won't be like this." Xi Lilong sat down next to Lin Jin, holding a glass of sour plum juice in his hand, "Do you want to drink it?"

"Drink." Lin Jin was not polite at all. The original sour plum juice was really delicious and refreshing. "Why are the adults still in there?"

Xi Lilong glanced at Lin Jin, wanting to ask if Lin Jin was stupid: "Of course, you have to wait until everyone's handwriting on the test paper is completely dry. The test paper must not be contaminated. In previous years, during the imperial examinations, there were people with bad intentions who deliberately soiled other people's test papers, causing others to fail after ten years of hard study. That person was so upset that he jumped into the river and committed suicide. In order to avoid such bad behavior, we have the current rules."

Even the examination papers had to be collected personally by the supervisor.

Lin Jin nodded, indicating that she understood: "I see."

The test papers were probably all dry, so Song Shiqiu began to collect the answer papers on the desk, and finally left the lecture hall with the prince.

"What did you write?" Xi Lilong suddenly asked Lin Jin.

Lin Jin was still looking at the scenery, not understanding why Xi Lilong asked: "What?"

"I just saw the Prime Minister frowning when he collected your answer sheet." As if he saw something unpalatable, "I remember you wrote a lot."

"Maybe it's because my handwriting is still not very good-looking." Lin Jin knew that Song Shiqiu had been disliking his handwriting for a long time. "You know, my handwriting is really ugly in our academy."

This also caused her to feel really inferior. Although her handwriting was not particularly good-looking in school, it was definitely among the good-looking ones.

As a result, once we were back to the time before liberation, all the hard-pen calligraphy we had practiced for so many years wasted.

Xi Lilong actually agreed with this. When she first saw Lin Jin's handwriting, she really wanted to throw Lin Jin out. Although her handwriting is better now, it is not much better: "You still need to practice more."

"We are practicing, practicing." Lin Jin agreed hurriedly, "Then do we still need to continue the exam this afternoon?"

"In the afternoon? Yes, we will take the archery test in the afternoon."

Lin Jin made a bow-drawing motion: "Archery?"

This is also tested? Are they trying to train a female top scholar in both civil and military affairs?

But luckily it was archery and not swordsmanship, otherwise she would really be doomed. She couldn't even use the sword.

"Of course. Archery and horsemanship are both required for the test." Xi Lilong felt a little tired, so he propped up his head and closed his eyes to take a nap.

Lin Jin also felt that she should take a break at this time. Writing an essay was really too brain-consuming, especially since she had so many more concerns than others. She leaned on Xi Lilong's shoulder tentatively: "Sister, can you lend me your shoulder to lean on? I can also let you lean on my head."

I kind of want to catch up on some sleep.

"No." Xi Lilong refused and even moved to the side.

Lin Jin had no choice but to pull Xunmian: "Okay Xunmian, let me lean on you, I love you."

Xunmian had no choice but to provide Lin Jin with some coolness while serving as a pillow for her.

The prince walked beside Song Shiqiu, looking at the pile of test papers with some curiosity, and then looked at Song Shiqiu's hand. The one belonging to Lin Jin was in Song Shiqiu's hand: "What did Lin Liu write that made you look like that just now, sir?"

He remembered that when Song Shiqiu was teaching them how to write essays, he didn't frown even when he saw nonsense that was deliberately embellished with fancy words. He just threw the essay aside with a cold face. What could have made the Prime Minister, who was so knowledgeable, show such an expression?

"Don't ask." Song Shiqiu held Lin Jin's answer sheet and didn't let anyone touch it.

It is really not a good idea to publish this kind of article to embarrass oneself.

"Then..." Do you want to give a grade directly?

"Void." Knowing what the prince was going to say, Song Shiqiu interrupted directly, "Just say that her answer sheet accidentally fell into the water."

The prince understood that this was a terrible mess, but he had to save face. No wonder the prime minister was better at doing things than the average person. He was neither partial nor too rigid to make people sad.

"If the Prime Minister still can't win the beauty, it's really unforgivable." The prince couldn't help but tease, "If Miss Lin Liu knew that you did so many things for her in secret, she would definitely be very touched."

The title of adopted sister is just a way for their prime minister to show sympathy to women.

Song Shiqiu paused and turned his head to look at the prince: "Your Highness."

"Ah?" The prince had not yet realized that danger was approaching.

"I heard that Your Highness has been practicing swordsmanship for some time. I would like to ask for your advice." Song Shiqiu's peach-like face was wearing a faint smile, like the spring breeze in March, but it made the prince feel as cold as the cold wind in winter.

The prince forced a smile and said, "I was born weak and have only been doing this recently. I am feeling better now, so I am trying to strengthen my body. I really don't want to embarrass myself in front of the Prime Minister."

Even if the Prime Minister stabbed him directly with a sword, his father would always find an excuse for him.

I can’t afford to offend you.