After the Provincial Examination ended, Zheng Yiming rarely went out except to help at the inn. Mainly, the books he had borrowed were so engrossing that whenever he had a moment to spare, he would go to the Firewood Room to read.
The Provincial Examination was over, anyway. All he had to do was quietly wait for the results.
The little beggar, however, had been frantic these past few days, running all over Pingzhou City looking for Zheng Yiming, but he could not find him anywhere.
Perhaps the one piece of good news was that his health seemed to have improved considerably lately. Walking all over the city also meant he received more food. After all, when people saw a child of eleven or twelve, there were always some whose hearts softened enough to give him something.
Ten days later, the results were about to be posted outside the Examination Hall. The candidates who had scattered after the examination all gathered there again, Zheng Yiming among them.
By noon, quite a crowd had packed the area outside the Examination Hall. They were not only Confucian Scholars; many came from wealthy city households, while others were commoners there to watch the excitement, or friends and relatives of the candidates.
Zheng Yiming stood among the crowd, waiting for the results with anticipation and apprehension, just like the many other scholars around him.
At the street corner by the Examination Hall, the little beggar sat in his old spot, constantly searching the crowd for that scholar. But there were too many people today, and he could not spot him.
A gust of wind swept onto a rooftop, and Yu Xinmei appeared once more in her previous position. Looking toward the Examination Hall, she immediately spotted Zheng Yiming squeezed among the many scholars.
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