Chapter 28: The Imperial Examination

Shen Xiuyan, who was experiencing his first love, finally sighed in relief. He coughed lightly, trying to ease the awkwardness.

Then, pretending to be calm, he said, “I said before that I would buy you better ones, and now I’ve done it. Please accept it, I’ll continue buying them for you in the future.”

“This isn’t right. After all, I’ve never worn such expensive jewelry before.” Su Mingyue was still trying to maintain her persona of thrift and frugality.

Shen Xiuyan: “…”

Why is she still holding on to that persona…

There was really no need for her to suffer for his sake.

So, Shen Xiuyan continued, “I’ve received the profits from the sugar factory. I’m not lacking money now. Besides, the money I earn is for my wife—no, my future wife. Please accept it, and after we get married, all the money I earn will be yours. You can spend it however you like.”

“Shen Lang, you’re so kind.” Su Mingyue said with teary eyes.

She knew about the profits; Shen Lang had received a thousand taels and was willing to spend two hundred taels on jewelry for her. That was a fifth of his entire fortune! He really loved her so much, no one could argue otherwise!

Such a small amount of money, what use was it? She had already spent it, and what would he do in the future?

Miss Su didn’t know the cost of daily necessities; to her, a thousand taels was just money for a few pieces of jewelry, it wasn’t worth mentioning.

But what she cherished was Shen Xiuyan’s attitude toward her!

He truly loved her.

Such a good man was hard to find.

So, impulsively, she said, “Shen Lang, if you pass the Imperial Examination and become a Xiucai, come to my house and propose!”

Shen Xiuyan: “!!!”

Happiness came too suddenly!!!

Pass the Xiucai exam, and he could propose??!!

He thought it would only be possible if he became the top scholar!

His beloved was so good to him!

He excitedly nodded, “I will work hard. This time, I will definitely pass the Xiucai exam! When I go home, I will start preparing the wedding gifts!”

Su Mingyue: “Then I’ll go ask my father too, and see what dowry I have. I’ll give it all to you for the exams!”

Shen Xiuyan: “…”

What kind of exam needs the future wife’s dowry? Although it was indeed tempting…

He forced a smile, “That’s not necessary. You can keep it for yourself.”

Now he understood why Miss Su had been deceived by the original owner of the house. She was so innocent!

She gave her all to the person she liked.

Luckily, it was him. Otherwise, after escaping the original owner’s painful situation, she might have been deceived again by another scoundrel.

He had to protect the best Mingyue in the world!

Su Mansion.

“Cui Cui, did you bring the dowry list from my father?”

Cui Cui silently handed it over, “Here it is.”

Su Mingyue looked at it and nodded in satisfaction, “He is indeed very generous, this is more like it.”

After all, she knew how expensive it was to study. Shen Lang’s few hundred taels definitely wasn’t enough!

Now that she had her dowry, it should be enough!

Should she ask her father to add more?

The thought made her a little eager.

Cui Cui had grown up with Miss Su, and although she was a maid, they were like sisters. She could easily see through her thoughts.

In order to ensure the master lived a few more years, she quickly stopped Su Mingyue.

“Miss, this dowry is really a lot. Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to use it up in ten lifetimes.”

The master has already given half of the family’s fortune as the dowry, Miss, you should leave some for his retirement…

Besides, what kind of exam requires this much money? With that much, you could buy an official post.

“Fine.” Su Mingyue reluctantly stopped.

Cui Cui’s face twitched. How could Miss Su’s tone still sound somewhat regretful?

No wonder people say once a daughter is married, she is like water poured out. She hadn’t even married yet, and she was already willing to give all her family’s wealth to Shen Xiuyan. If she were married, who knows what would happen.

But for now, it seemed Shen Xiuyan was a good man.

Otherwise, Miss Su would probably end up being swindled out of her money and ruined.

She was really worried.

She was just a small maid, but she had to worry about the master’s family.

She didn’t have the right to do so!

Miss, please be more careful!

Time passed quickly, and the day before the Imperial Examination arrived.

The atmosphere at Qingcheng Academy was extremely tense. Even the students who usually loved to fool around appeared serious.

Liu Fuzi looked at the heavy atmosphere and thought of his little disciple, whom he hadn’t seen for a few days.

Although passing the Xiucai exam was easy for Shen Xiuyan with his current abilities, he was worried about his disciple’s mental state.

Every year, there were always a few who failed due to personal reasons, and he didn’t want his disciple to be one of them.

With the intention of showing care for his disciple’s physical and mental well-being, and to alleviate his pre-exam pressure, he approached Shen Xiuyan from behind.

At that moment, Shen Xiuyan was resting his chin on his hands, smiling foolishly.

Hehehe~

Whether he could marry his wife depended on tomorrow’s results!

Liu Fuzi saw that Shen Xiuyan hadn’t noticed him approach, so he walked in front of him.

When he saw Shen Xiuyan’s expression, Liu Fuzi was speechless.

Well…

There was no sign of him needing any comfort on this handsome face.

He realized it was his own unnecessary concern.

Of course, that made sense. His disciple had already been through three Imperial Exams, and even if he wanted to be nervous, he couldn’t.

“Master?” Shen Xiuyan snapped back to his senses. Why was his master here?

Liu Fuzi sighed, “I came to see how your preparations are going.”

Shen Xiuyan confidently replied, “This time, I will definitely work hard to pass the Xiucai exam!”

Liu Fuzi: “…”

Well, with that attitude, he couldn’t bring himself to offer words of encouragement.

After all, it looked like his disciple didn’t need encouragement. There seemed to be a blazing fire in his eyes, almost enough to burn someone.

The time had come for the exam day.

Outside the exam hall, the candidates lined up to enter one by one.

The inspection at the entrance was very strict; most of the candidates had to remove most of their clothing, leaving only their inner garments, which was quite a sight.

Even the buns they brought with them were torn into small pieces, just in case someone was carrying cheating notes.

After going through the rigorous inspection, Shen Xiuyan walked in holding his number tag.

He finally found his designated booth, which was very small, only about a meter wide, equipped with a movable wooden board. All future activities such as answering questions, eating, and sleeping would take place there. Just thinking about it made him feel miserable.

Fortunately, his mindset was good, and he even tried to make light of the situation, thinking that at least his spot was not too bad.

As long as it was far enough from the latrine, that was good enough.

After settling in, he fell into a state of idle waiting.

After a moment, Shen Xiuyan heard the officers loudly announce, “The Imperial Examination has officially begun!”

At that point, Shen Xiuyan started to feel a little nervous, his palms slightly sweating.

When the exam papers were distributed, Shen Xiuyan immediately grabbed his paper and quickly skimmed the questions. He then let out a long sigh of relief.

Why did the questions seem not that difficult?

He thought of the answers in his mind and began writing them down cautiously.

After a long period of time, the gong sounded, and everyone stoped answering.