When Meng Anci returned home after school in the evening, it was already dark.
Qing He was collecting clothes in the courtyard when she saw him come in. After greeting him, she called out to the kitchen, " Nanny Chen, the young master is back."
"Yes..." Nanny Chen responded and began setting the table with bowls and chopsticks.
Ever since Meng Anci preparing for the provincial examination, the family meals never had fewer than Six Paths dishes. Even so, Jin Shanyao would still give the siblings a ginkgo leaf every night.
Meng Anzhi would observe the ginkgo leaves for a long time each time, wondering why she couldn't produce such good ginkgo leaves herself.
At the dinner table, Jin Shanyao placed some mushrooms on Meng Anci's chopsticks. "Try it... Monkey Treasure picked these." Monkey Treasure only stayed at the Anzhi Hall for half a year before moving to Hat Mountain.
Now, like the mountain king, he patrols the mountain every day with a stick to ensure that the herbs are not trampled by other animals.
Meng Anci stared blankly as he picked up a mushroom and stuffed it into his mouth. The mushroom burst with juice, fresh, fragrant, and tender... After eating the mushroom, he felt all the fatigue of the day vanish.
He had just swallowed his food when Jin Shanyao placed another piece of food on his plate. "Auntie... I can do it myself."
Jin Shanyao looked at his dark circles and said with heartache, " Anci, people should be like pigs; even if you're going to die tomorrow, you should at least eat your fill today."
Meng Anci stared blankly at the Jin Shanyao. Was he supposed to act like a pig?
Meng Anzhi couldn't help but chuckle.
Before we knew it, it was August 20th, the day of the provincial examination.
Jin Shanyao removed the ginkgo leaf necklace from Meng Anci's neck and replaced it with a wooden hairpin.
Meng Anci touched the wooden hairpin on his head and laughed, "This hairpin disappeared three years ago after the provincial examination. I searched for it for a long time and thought I had lost it."
Jin Shanyao and said, "I noticed you don't usually wear it, so I put it away."
She then began to inspect his luggage. The bedding was all newly made, and the food consisted mainly of noodles. She coated the food with a layer of Spiritual Power to preserve it, and added ginkgo leaf powder to his water pouch to prevent him from getting an upset stomach or catching a cold.
With everything in order, Jin Shanyao drove the oxcart towards the examination hall.
Meng Anzhi gently comforted her, "Don't be nervous about the exam. It's okay if you don't pass. You're still young, you'll have plenty of opportunities."
Meng Anci took her arm, "You used to urge me to study and improve every day... but now you're telling me to hold back at the last minute."
Meng Anzhi smiled and said, "I was just afraid you'd be nervous."
"It's okay... I'm not nervous," the group said as they arrived at the entrance of the examination hall. By then, there was already a queue at the entrance. Shiyan and Zhao Zhiyuan saw them coming and walked over.
" Aunt Yao, Sister Anzhi..." Shiyan used to call her "sister" when she was little and didn't know any better, but now that she's grown up, she still can't change it.
Meng Anzhi smiled and said, "Study hard... and strive to pass the imperial examination."
"Don't worry, Sister Anzhi... I'm sure I'll pass the imperial examination and become a scholar," Shiyan said with a grin, looking at Meng Anzhi.
His mother said she would come to the Anzhi Hall to propose marriage after the provincial examination. He didn't dare to think further, but just glanced at Meng Anzhi again, then turned his face away, pretending to look elsewhere.
Meng Anzhi's gaze, however, was drawn to Zhao Zhiyuan. "Why are you bringing a Luban ball to the exam?"
Zhao Zhiyuan only then realized he was holding something, and his face flushed red. "Sister Anzhi... I was just relieving stress, I was so nervous I forgot to put it at home," he said, spinning the Luban ball around twice as if looking for someone.
Seeing this, Meng Anci said coldly, "If there's nowhere to put it, just throw it away."
Shiyan snatched the Luban ball and shoved it into Meng Anzhi's hands. "Sister Anzhi, you can keep this ball for now. You can return it to Zhao Zhiyuan after our exams."
Zhao Zhiyuan stared blankly at Meng Anzhi for a long while before finally saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Anzhi. If you find it boring, you can take it apart and put it back together yourself. It's okay if you can't put it back together; I'll teach you how when I get back."
Meng Anzhi smiled and said, "Okay... I'll go back and study it to see how this thing relieves stress."
Zhao Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Okay... I'll go queue up first, and I'll come find you when I get back." As he spoke, he pulled Shiyan up and joined the queue.
Meng Anci glanced at the Luban ball in Meng Anzhi's hand, then glanced at her.
His sister was thirteen this year, graceful and beautiful, with eyes that crinkled when she smiled, remarkably resembling her mother's. He looked away and remained silent.
Meng Anzhi pushed him, "Hurry up and get in line."
Meng Anci took a step forward, glanced back at her, and smiled slightly. "Okay. I'm going. You and your aunt should go back now."
That year, Meng Anci eleven years old, Zhao Zhiyuan was twelve, Shiyan was fourteen. The three of them drew a clear line between themselves in this provincial examination.
After the soldiers at the gate finished their inspection, they let the men in.
Meng Anci was lucky enough to be assigned to the innermost section, where there were no other candidates on the left, making it relatively quiet. As for where Shiyan and Zhao Zhiyuan were assigned, he didn't know.
After they were seated, the proctor began to review the mutual guarantee documents of the five people. When he saw that one of them was Su Wenqian, he couldn't help but look up and glance at Meng Anci.
He then put the documents away and turned to check the others' documents.
After the checks were completed, the test papers were distributed. Meng Anci glanced at the questions, pondered for a moment, and then picked up his pen to begin answering.
Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi returned to the Anzhi Hall, only to find Kong Xiaobao pulling Old Kong away from the rouge shop.
She handed the oxcart to Zhou Xiaosi and walked over to Shopkeeper Wang. "What happened?"
Shopkeeper Wang chuckled, arms crossed, "He took some money from home and came to buy rouge for his wife..."
Jin Shanyao her head and said, "Is his wife very beautiful?"
"When I met his wife, the old lady was over sixty. No matter how beautiful she was, her face was full of wrinkles, but she was an extremely gentle person. The two of them often bickered. I didn't hear him grumbling about her when she passed away. He's gotten so confused that he's been coming out to look for her every day."
Jin Shanyao out onto the street and saw Kong Xiaobao coaxing his grandfather, saying there was something at home, and leading him towards the house.
She looked away. "Has Xiaohua not brought the baby back lately?"
"No, the Lu family only has one grandson, and they don't easily let him go out. I haven't seen him for several months."
As he spoke, Shopkeeper Wang picked up a stick from the corner of the wall and swept the ash from the awning to the ground. He casually flicked the stick and asked, " Anci entered the examination hall?"
"Yes, I'm going in." Jin Shanyao said, then turned and went into the shop.
Shopkeeper Wang walked to the window and knocked on the windowsill. " Xiao Huzi passed the preliminary examination and asked me to tell you. My niece knows Anci is going to take the provincial examination, so she's keeping him at home; otherwise, she would have run out to find him long ago."
Jin Shanyao in surprise, " Xiao Huzi is amazing! You're always out there yelling and snoring, and you actually passed on the first try!"
Shopkeeper Wang laughed heartily, "It's all thanks to Anci's tutoring. Jinhua said she'll bring Xiao Huzi over to thank him after the provincial examination."
Before she could finish speaking, someone entered the rouge shop. Ignoring whether Jin Shanyao reply, she turned and went into the shop.
Jin Shanyao her gaze and saw Meng Anzhi still examining the Luban ball in her hand. She said, "Take it apart... What can you tell by looking at it like this?"
Meng Anzhi gave a soft "Mmm," "No rush, let me check the exterior first."
Jin Shanyao wasn't looking at her; instead, she took out a book and began to read it...
After an unknown amount of time, a cool, clear voice came from the doorway, "Hello, is Anzhi Hall hiring a manager?"