I'm taking the imperial examinations in Liaozhai

When Ji Zihe was called up by Ning Caichen the next day, he found that Yang Tingsu had left.After eating some dry food in a hurry, the two also rode on their horses and went on their way.

Ning Caichen didn't ask Ji Zihe what he did last night, as if he didn't know it at all, which made Ji Zihe admire his psychological quality.

After walking for a long time, they arrived at the boundary of Baihe Town.Ning Caichen lived in the town, while Ji Zihe lived in Daohe Village, so Ning Caichen naturally planned to send the little scholar home first.

When he saw the village from a distance, Ji Zihe was excited after two days of exhaustion.

"Hey, the little scholar is back." In the distance, a farmer led a buffalo and waved to them.

Although Ji Zihe didn't come back, when the rankings were announced, someone was watching them specially, and then the families of those who were on the list received the reward money.So everyone in Daohe Village knew that there was a scholar in their village, and everyone in the village felt honored when he said it.

"Old Uncle Li, I'm back!" Ji Zihe was also very excited and waved at Old Li.

"Go back quickly, your grandfather is looking forward to your return home every day!"

"Okay, old Uncle Li, keep busy, I'm going home."

When they walked into the village, whenever they met someone, they would call out to Mr. Xiucai with a beaming smile, and greet Ji Zihe.A person called Ji Zihe didn't think it was a big deal, but when there were too many people calling him, Ji Zihe panicked with embarrassment, his face turned red like a monkey's ass, and the women in the village laughed when they saw it.

A group of people surrounded the horse and walked towards Old Man Ji's house. Old Man Ji had already heard the sound and was eagerly waiting for his eldest grandson.Seeing his grandfather Ji Zihe's eyes were a little sour, he hurriedly got off his horse before reaching the door of the house, and ran all the way, "Grandpa, I'm back."

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back." The old man Ji hugged his eldest grandson, his eyes were almost blind with joy, and he weighed the weight, "It's been a long time since you've been away, it's been hard, look, you've lost weight."

The corners of Gu Gu's eyes twitched, he didn't lose weight, this kid was obviously fatter than when he saw him for the first time.It is said that mortal parents have bad eyesight, it seems to be true!

"It's not hard, grandpa, I got the first place in the exam, and now I'm a scholar. From now on, our family won't have to send you to do corvée anymore, and our family's land won't have to pay taxes either!" Ji Zihe was beaming. .

The reason why he was so eager to take the exam for a scholar was nothing more than for the privileges he could get after passing the exam for a scholar.According to the regulations of this dynasty, families who have won the title of a scholar do not have to serve corvee, and they can also have the privilege of not paying taxes on [-] acres of land.

Tax exemption is second, mainly because his grandfather is getting old and there is only one son like his father.And his father died early, and there was no son around him to share his worries. Every time after serving corvee, he couldn't lift his arms and legs.The so-called corvee is the unpaid labor that the government forces the common people to do.You have to do what the government assigns you to do. Their county is mainly forced labor, that is, coolies.According to the number of men in the family, there is a quota, and they must do one month of unpaid labor in the county every year.Those who are rich can still spend money to get things done, and those who have no money can only bite the bullet and do it themselves.I don't know where the government came from for so many projects to be done. I heard that for a while, the river will be repaired and labor will be required, so Ji Zihe made up his mind to pass the scholar examination this time.

"Good boy, your father must be very happy." Old man Ji touched Ji Zihe's head, then looked at Ning Caichen, "Chenchen, it's been a hard journey, let's go, let's go into the house and rest for a while."

"No, grandpa, I won't sit down. It's getting late, I have to go back to the town to report my mother's safety. Tomorrow I will bring my mother, and Ah Yue will come together to congratulate my cousin." Ning Caichen got on the horse said, having carried his luggage into the house.

"Then I won't keep you. Tomorrow at noon I will kill chicken and stew meat. I will call you father and mother. Your daughter-in-law will come!"

"Oh, I made a note, Grandpa, I'm leaving." Ning Caichen got on his horse.

"Big cousin, be careful on the road!" Ji Zihe waved.

Ning Caichen waved his hand to let him go home, and then rode away.

Ji Zihe suddenly felt that something was wrong, and when he turned around, everyone in the village was looking at him.That appearance, as if looking at something rare, made Ji Zihe's goosebumps rise.

Originally, when the news of Ji Zihe's being a scholar came back, the neighbors had already come to congratulate him.As soon as Ji Zihe came back, the neighbors came to chat one after another. Looking at Ji Zihe was like looking at a baby bump, and he was so praised that he would float to the sky.The children were embarrassed to enter the door, but Ji Zihe passed the examination of a scholar, and immediately became the child of someone else's family in the parents' mouth, and he was different from them.Even if they saw it, they didn't dare to go up to talk to them, they all stood at the door and climbed up the courtyard wall to watch the excitement.

Fortunately, it was time for dinner soon, and the women all went back to cook, and the children were called back to eat after the meal was ready, so it finally died down.

After dinner, it was dark.Old man Ji asked Ji Zihe to put incense sticks on his parents' tablets, and knelt in front of the tablets to tell them the good news.

As the fragrance diffused, Ji Zihe suddenly said, "Grandpa, I've always wanted to ask, is my mother really dead?"

"nature."

"Then why didn't you tell me where is her grave?"

"She was out of town when she died. Because of the long journey, she was buried there. I might not know where it is." Old man Ji looked calm.

"Really." Hearing the same answer, Ji Zihe couldn't tell whether he was disappointed or not.

"Xiaohe, grandpa is sorry for you!" Old man Ji sighed suddenly.

"Where did Grandpa come from to say that?" Ji Zihe asked doubtfully.

Old man Ji stepped forward, took out an exquisite wooden box from under the altar, and handed it to Ji Zihe.

Ji Zihe looked familiar. He took the box and opened it. It was a simple and elegant white jade hairpin. "Isn't this a family heirloom of our family? Why is it here?"

This hairpin was specially passed on to the daughter-in-law by Ji's family. Ji Zihe had only seen it in paintings, but had never seen the real thing.It is said that when Ji Zihe was engaged, it was given to the woman's family as a token.The father of the woman's family and Ji Zihe's father were classmates when they were studying, and the marriage had already been decided before Ji Zihe was born.Afterwards, the woman's father went to the capital to become an official. Not to mention that Ji Zihe had never seen a hairpin, he had never even seen what his future daughter-in-law looked like.

"I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but you were going to take the exam soon, and I was afraid you would be distracted, so I didn't dare to tell you."

"They divorced." Ji Zihe looked at the hairpin in a daze.

"Oh, it's useless to be grandpa, grandpa is sorry for you."

"I can't blame Grandpa. Uncle Zhong is now an official in Taishi, so naturally he doesn't like our small family. I should have this awareness." Ji Zihe said, his eyes turned red, and he sucked Nose, "Why does a man have no wife, grandpa, don't worry, with your grandson's ability, how could he not be able to marry a wife..."

"Xiaohe..."

"Grandpa, I'm tired, so I'll go back to bed first." Ji Zihe smiled uglier than crying, grabbed his hairpin and fled back to his room.

"Xiao Hezi, are you okay?" Bone floated beside Ji Zihe, asking worriedly.

Ji Zihe sat on the bed, holding the hairpin in his hand, in a daze, "Bone, my eyes hurt."

The bones appeared and pulled Ji Zihe into his arms, "Cry."