How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

Xie Chengze also didn't expect that the students of the Jian'an Dynasty were so motivated that they would travel through mountains and rivers and brave dangerous famine-stricken areas just to pass the examination.

Bian Yangchun smiled bitterly and shook his head, explaining, "It is not easy for a poor family to pass the imperial examinations, so we can only seize every possible opportunity and try another way."

Xie Chengze could understand this. In the original book, the Spring Examination was just a tool for the dignitaries to abuse their power for personal gain and commit fraud. The excellent papers of poor students would most likely be replaced by students under the names of officials, and the students themselves would fail the exam. If they were a little unlucky, they might be regarded as the wronged in the next few Spring Examinations and become "substitutes" in a sense.

Oh, by the way, who was the examiner in the original book?

He remembered that the other party seemed to have been beaten up by Shen Yuan, and was confined and fined...

Xie Chengze thought with a smile, and then he realized that the person was himself.

Xie Chengze::(

After chatting for a while, it began to drizzle and the air became more humid. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, everyone hurriedly quickened their pace and found a short cave on the road to hide from the rain.

The attendant guards lit the firewood skillfully. Xie Chengze asked the concubines who were soaked to warm themselves up first. Jing Ze came over to help tactfully and laid cushions on the ground for people to sit on.

"No need, give it to them. It's cold when it rains, and women are weak and easily catch cold. If they have a fever, it will delay the journey." Xie Chengze waved his hand, found a stone, then lifted his robe and sat on the ground.

Shen Yuan stood at the entrance of the cave and glanced over here indifferently.

"Brother Cheng really is kind and considerate to women." Bian Yangchun laughed, "Not only is he willing to bring his wives and concubines with him when he goes out to play, but he also takes such good care of them. He speaks tough words but is actually soft-hearted."

Xie Chengze couldn't help but cough lightly. The beautiful concubines not far away heard it and couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle, shaking their heads slightly at Bian Yangchun.

Bian Yangchun didn't see any clues. He just saw so many beautiful concubines shaking their heads and smiling at him. He, a young man who had never had much contact with women, suddenly felt a little embarrassed. After nodding slightly, he quickly withdrew his gaze.

Ji Songhua was a little emotional, "Brother Cheng's life is more comfortable than being an official. If my father was also in business and had property, I would also travel around and have many wives and concubines instead of studying hard to become an official."

Ouyang Jiu disagreed, "Being an official is to benefit the people, not to make money. If you want to live a prosperous life, you can find a way out yourself."

"How can doing business be that simple? Your ancestors must have enough wealth to support you in business." Ji Songhua was speechless at Ouyang Jiu's naivety, and turned to Xie Chengze and said, "Brother Cheng, don't you agree?"

Xie Chengze smiled but said nothing. Ouyang Jiu rolled his eyes slightly. "It's as if the earliest businessmen didn't start from scratch."

Bian Yangchun saw that the atmosphere was not right, and quickly joked, "Brother Cheng said that he gave up the examination because he was not good at studying. If you had the same family background as Brother Cheng, you might not be an examiner who studied hard, but a happy and leisurely examiner."

After all, the status of businessmen is not as high as that of bureaucrats. Once people have one thing, they will want that. How can those who are engaged in business not hope that their descendants can become officials?

Ji Songhua shrugged, "Brother Bian is right."

At this time, the guards had already built a pile of firewood here. Xie Chengze invited several students to sit down together to keep warm and drink hot ginger soup to dispel the cold and dampness in their bodies.

Perhaps it was a concept left over from his world, but in Xie Chengze's eyes, students were always more delicate and fragile, and should be taken care of more to prevent them from catching a cold and thus delaying their studies.

It is not easy to pass the college entrance examination in the first place, and now for a chance, someone with a weak body is traveling through mountains and rivers. Such a belief in studying really makes him admire, and he should take better care of him.

The students sat down without hesitation. Bian Yangchun lifted his rain-soaked robe and said shyly, "Brother Cheng, I'm sorry. Can we change our clothes?"

"Go ahead." Xie Chengze stretched out his hand.

Bian Yangchun and the others quickly took off their wet clothes and changed into the dry clothes they brought from the bookcase. Xie Chengze took a casual glance and was stunned: What a fellow...

These students looked thin on the surface, but they were actually thin when dressed and muscular when undressed. The lines of their solid muscles under their clothes were exceptionally smooth. They broke the scattered branches skillfully, and a few thin blue veins bulged slightly on their slightly white arms when they exerted force. They looked neither strong nor skinny, which was very different from the image of weak students that Xie Chengze had thought.

He couldn't help but touch his arm, and when he felt the soft flesh, he suddenly felt sad.

Noticing Xie Chengze's actions, Bian Yangchun couldn't help but laugh, "Brother Cheng has been living a life of luxury since he was a child, so he probably doesn't need to do any physical work. It's normal for him to be thin. People are different. As long as you have a good character, you don't have to envy others."

"I thought you guys stay at home reading all year round, and it's inevitable that you will..." Xie Chengze hesitated to speak.

"Hahaha, that's not the case. We still have to help when the family's fields are harvested. And if we don't have money to take a carriage when we go to the capital, we will have to carry our book boxes and walk thousands of miles on foot. We are too weak to endure this hardship!"

"If you are on the other side of the mountain, it will be even worse. If you are unlucky, you may even have to fight with wild beasts..." Bian Yangchun raised his arm and patted his firm flesh. "I can't finish reading the sage books and prepare for the exam, but end up dying on the way. That would be a pity!"

Xie Chengze suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. My vision is too narrow."

"Hey~ Everyone has their own perspective. Just like Brother Cheng, who travels around the country, doesn't he understand the culture and customs of different places better? Brother Cheng, don't underestimate yourself!" Bian Yangchun advised.

Shen Yuan, who had been listening to the conversation between the few people, sneered in a low voice.

He, Xie Chengze, is probably the most confident person in the world and the last person to underestimate himself.

Xie Chengze pretended not to hear, and when the ginger soup was almost done, he deliberately shouted loudly, "Daqiang! Come over here and drink the ginger soup!"

A certain strong man didn't react at first. When he came to his senses, his extremely speechless eyes met Xie Chengze's cunning and flickering eyes. Seeing that the other party kept urging him and other students also cast their eyes on him, he grasped the green sword at his waist and walked over stiffly.

"Our Daqiang has worked hard, so drink first~" Xie Chengze smiled and handed the ginger soup to him personally.

A pampered young master from a wealthy family actually personally handed ginger soup to a security guard. It is hard not to imagine that the relationship between the two is unusual. After all, Jing Ze beside him is also very beautiful, and those concubines are also outstanding in appearance. Why is Shen Daqiang so special that he can get this honor?

Shen Yuan endured the ambiguous glances and drank a bowl of hot ginger soup. Maybe he drank it too quickly or what, but he covered his sleeve with his hands and coughed lightly. Jiaobai's cheeks inadvertently turned red, which made him look like a tiger in trouble and turned into a kitten.

Xie Chengze handed over another bowl with malicious intent.

The veins on Shen Yuan's forehead twitched slightly. After holding it in for a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Little, you are strong and healthy, so drinking one bowl is enough! Young Master is weak, so you should drink more!"

"Daqiang still cares about me~" Xie Chengze shook his head, took back the ginger soup, and started drinking it himself.

Shen Yuan hated to see him being so complacent, so he sat down next to Xie Chengze, drew out the green sword from his waist with a "swish", and began to wipe it slowly.

"Cough cough cough." Xie Chengze was choked.

Shen Yuan sneered in his heart, then thrust his green sword into a piece of dry wood on the ground, chopped it off piece by piece like cutting a carrot, and threw it into the fire, making a crackling sound of burning.

Xie Chengze: ...

This is a threat! A naked threat!

How come he is even more petty than me!