The ninth day of the third month-the Spring Examination Ceremony, the day of the Provincial Examination.
Those who succeeded would climb ever higher, enter the imperial halls as officials, and become disciples of the Son of Heaven!
Before dawn broke, lamplight already shone in the Small Courtyard of the Wei Residence.
Cui Fu had barely slept the night before.
He had tossed and turned like a pancake on a griddle, his head filled with thoughts of his young master's examination.
One moment, he worried the carriage would break down on the way.
The next, he worried the queue outside the Examination Hall would be too long for them to get in.
So he had climbed out of bed before daybreak and gone to the stable to check on the horse first.
The horse was perfectly fine, dozing on its feet, its tail swishing back and forth.
Then he had gone to the kitchen, only to find that Qu Niang had risen even earlier.
She had gotten up during the hour of the tiger and had already spent more than half an hour bustling about the kitchen.
Seeing this, Cui Fu stood in the courtyard, rubbing his hands, unsure what to do.
Just then, someone knocked at the courtyard gate.
The knocks were light but urgent, several rapid bangs in succession.
"Coming, coming!"
Cui Fu ran to open the gate. He had barely opened it a crack when someone squeezed inside.
She wore a begonia-red jacket and a pale crimson cloak, her hair in twin coiled buns, and carried a food box.
"Miss Feng?" Cui Fu froze.
"It's not even light yet. What are you..."
"Move, move." Fu Niang turned sideways and squeezed past him.
She hurried across the courtyard toward the kitchen.
Halfway there, she suddenly stopped.
Turning back