In the past six months, Xu Zifan has thoroughly studied everything required to pass the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai. In his opinion, it is much simpler than the college entrance examination. After all, he has been studying for many years and has never slacked off in his studies. He also has the ability to remember everything he reads, so his preparation for the exam went very smoothly.
Everyone at the clinic knew he was going to take the exam and gave him a lot of encouragement. Dr. Tong even gave him an extra half-month of leave so he could take the exam in the best possible mindset. On the day of his exam, Xu's parents were extremely nervous, but afraid of showing their anxiety and affecting his mood, they tried their best to control their words and actions. Xiao Lian stopped handling the medicinal herbs and kept checking Xu Zifan's basket, asking him if he needed anything else. Even Fang Mingda was running around, unable to concentrate on anything else.
Of the whole family, besides Xu Zifan, Zheng Chuan was probably the most composed. She made a living by hunting and had limited contact with people, so she didn't really understand why others had such high expectations for passing the imperial examinations, some even going bankrupt to take the exams, only to find themselves old and unable to find work to support their families, earning the title of "poor scholar." In Zheng Chuan's view, those scholars weren't even as comfortable as she, a simple country hunter.
Moreover, she often spent time with Xu Zifan. Sometimes, when Xu Zifan read, she would read storybooks beside him, and Xu Zifan taught her to read. She could sense that Xu Zifan was confident and had a lot of faith in passing the imperial examination, so what did she have to worry about? This was something she could only rely on herself for, just like she could only rely on herself to hunt.
Xu Zifan had already passed the preliminary examination and ranked first, qualifying him to participate in the prefectural examination. This time, he would have to go to the prefectural city to take the exam. This was Xu Zifan's first time leaving his hometown, and his parents were worried about him. They were old and not suited for the long journey, so they wanted either Xu Erlang or Xu Dalang to go with him.
Xu Erlang was quite willing. In the past six months, he and his wife had sold two vegetable recipes to a restaurant, earning over a hundred taels of silver. They used that money to open a small restaurant and moved to town. However, because small restaurants require high investment and have a slow return on investment, they were short of money and worked very hard every day. If they could find some business opportunities in the prefectural city, they might be able to make another fortune. And if Xu Zifan passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, perhaps he could even benefit from it and meet some officials!
However, Xu Zifan flatly refused when his mother suggested it, asking Zheng Chuan to accompany him instead. Upon seeing Zheng Chuan, Xu's mother immediately thought of how skilled he was at hunting; with Zheng Chuan around, Xu Zifan's safety would be no concern at all! So, she completely forgot about Xu Erlang (Xu Zifan's second son), and gave Zheng Chuan a thorough dressing-down. By the time Xu Erlang came to inquire, Xu Zifan and Zheng Chuan had already left.
And so, while several family members worried, Xu Zifan and Zheng Chuan, the most composed of them, set off in the carriage. Both sat in the driver's seat, taking turns driving. They encountered a group of people on the road, and Zheng Chuan instantly went into a state of alert, her body tense, her eyes darting to the side. Once the group had passed, Zheng Chuan relaxed, her expression natural; if Xu Zifan hadn't been sitting next to her, he wouldn't have noticed her wariness.
Xu Zifan said, "Don't be so nervous. I made some sleeping pills. If you encounter bad guys, you don't need to fight them. Just use the pills." He turned around and took an apple from the carriage and gave it to Zheng Chuan. "Take a rest and have an apple. I'll drive the carriage."
Zheng Chuan nodded, leaning against the car door and eating an apple. "Did you put the money away safely?"
"It's absolutely safe, don't worry."
Zheng Chuan thought that perhaps it was sewn into the clothes, and relaxed a bit. Xu Zifan was relaxed from beginning to end. He wasn't afraid of being robbed, and he put all his valuables and important things into his spatial storage. After the virtual space merged with the system, he could put things in it, but he hadn't used it before and had almost forgotten about it. He only used it this time when he went on a long trip and found it quite convenient.
With Shao Hua scanning the area within a 500-meter radius for him, their safety was assured, which explained his good mindset. This also made him realize another benefit of having a system: he could often trust it and didn't have to be constantly on edge. Thinking of two people he had met who didn't appreciate the system, he felt sorry for them. How convenient it was! Why didn't they understand?
After traveling for another half day, a convoy caught up with them. It turned out to be several classmates from his former academy. Xu Zifan had set off early to avoid entanglement with the second branch of the family, but he hadn't expected to run into them. He had no choice but to travel with them. Everyone then learned that Xu Zifan had a taciturn brother with whom he shared a bond stronger than that of blood brothers.
Zheng Chuan was a little nervous seeing so many people, worried that their plan might not go smoothly. Xu Zifan told her privately, "Actually, this is even better. They are all from the same town, fellow villagers, and can be witnesses for us. When we get to the prefectural city, you can entrust your sister to me in front of them, and there won't be any trouble."
Zheng Chuan touched his face. "Won't they find out?"
"No, you only look about 60-70% the same in men's and women's clothing. Besides, the worst that can happen is that everyone knows you're a woman disguised as a man, but that's fine too, I can handle that." Xu Zifan looked into her eyes and gently reassured her.
Zheng Chuan's heart calmed down strangely, and he smiled. "Yes, I believe you."
The group arrived in the prefectural city and settled into a nice inn. The exams began a few days later. Xu Zifan entered the examination hall with a calm mind and clear head. His pen moved swiftly and skillfully, writing quickly and well.
Shaohua couldn't help but ask: "[Do you need any help? All the books you've read are archived; the 4D projection can recreate them like real books. I can also scan other people's exam papers.]"
Xu Zifan's lips curled slightly. [No need. If I needed to cheat to learn this little thing, what would I be doing? If I had to rely on the system for even this, I'd be a useless person by now. But the cheating function is pretty good. Maybe in the future, when there's something completely unrelated to my field that I absolutely have to do, I can use your cheating function.]
[For example, what?]
[For example... jade gambling? Aren't there those people with X-ray vision who can see through stones and feel their spiritual energy just by touching them? Your stone scanning can project a 4D image directly, which is even more advanced than theirs. If we were transported to a jade gambling world, we might consider challenging the protagonist.] Xu Zifan joked, continuing to answer questions quickly, appearing calm and composed, as if he were completely at ease.
The proctor slowly walked around the examination room. When he saw Xu Zifan's attitude, he paused for a moment, glanced at his paper, nodded, and continued proctoring.
The exam was tedious, and writing with a brush was not as convenient as in modern times, but Xu Zifan had been in this world for seven or eight months and had consciously gotten used to many things. He adapted very well and completed the entire exam smoothly. When he came out of the exam room, he felt much lighter, as if he had completed a task. He walked up to Zheng Chuan and smiled, "No problem, let's go and have a good meal."
Zheng Chuan thought it was fine when he said it was no problem, and immediately began to seriously consider which restaurant was better. Before she could make up her mind, she heard someone behind her call out to Xu Zifan, "Brother Yi, take care."
The two turned around and saw that it was Xu Zifan's classmate Liu Yang calling him, along with several other classmates who were also walking over. Liu Yang caught up and said, "Brother Yi, how did you do on the exam? You must have done well!"
Xu Zifan nodded. "Not bad. How about Brother Bowen?"
Liu Yang's smile deepened noticeably as he said happily, "I did very well on the exam. I guess that's an exceptional performance for my level. Now that the exam is finally over, how about we go celebrate? It's quite a coincidence that we all took the exam together."
Zheng Chuan, on a sudden impulse, nudged Xu Zifan with her arm. Xu Zifan glanced at her and immediately agreed. The other classmates also came over. Since Xu Zifan often sold bamboo ornaments at the academy, they all knew him, including Liang Shijie, who looked down on Xu Zifan. However, Xu Zifan had come first in the preliminary examination and was now the resident doctor at Jishetang. He was no longer the poor country boy who sold goods and copied books. Even though Liang Shijie was unhappy, he didn't openly mock him anymore; at most, he just didn't talk to him much.
Xu Zifan didn't bother with him, treating the gathering as an opportunity to expand his network. Zheng Chuan, who was always with Xu Zifan, naturally joined the party as well. Scholars are often aloof and dislike rough people, but Zheng Chuan was quiet and reserved, unlike the typical boorish man, so they didn't find him offensive. On the contrary, they admired the friendship between the two, even comparing them to Bo Ya and Zi Qi during the gathering.
Xu Zifan continued, "Brother Zheng and I may not have the same deep mutual respect as Bo Ya and Zi Qi, but we have shared life and death in the mountains and can entrust our lives to each other, which is enough."
Liu Yang praised, "Such friendship is rare to find in a lifetime; to have it is a blessing."
Xu Zifan looked at Zheng Chuan, raised his wine glass and said, "It's a pity that Brother Zheng is about to leave his hometown. I don't know when we will meet again."
The group looked on in surprise, and Liu Yang asked in confusion, "Brother Zheng, where are you going?"
Xu Zifan answered on his behalf: "He went to join the army."
Zheng Chuan raised his glass and clinked it with his, then downed it in one gulp. He then poured himself another glass, looking a little dizzy and his eyes were no longer clear.
Liu Yang approached Xu Zifan and said, "Brother Zheng, are you drunk? He seems a bit troubled. Is something bothering you?"
"He can't hold his liquor and is already drunk, but he shouldn't be having any trouble." Xu Zifan looked at Zheng Chuan and frowned in confusion. "Brother Zheng, you seem to have something on your mind today. Is there something troubling you about joining the army? If you have any difficulties, tell me, and I will do my best to help you."
Liu Yang and Xu Zifan had a good relationship, so he nodded and said, "Yi Zhi is right. If I can help you, I will definitely do so. Given your relationship with Yi Zhi, you must let me know if you encounter any difficulties."
Zheng Chuan hesitated for a moment, holding his wine glass, then downed it in one gulp and said in a deep voice, "When my master found me, my parents were already gone, and my twin sister had disappeared. I always thought she had met with some misfortune, but I never expected to meet her in the prefectural city this time."
Everyone was instantly shocked. Xu Zifan hurriedly asked, "Your sister is here? Have you reunited with her? You seem so distressed. Could it be that your sister was adopted by a wealthy family and refuses to acknowledge you?"
Zheng Chuan shook his head and immediately said, "How could my sister be that kind of person? She was adopted by an old woman, who has passed away, and now she lives alone. But I have already made an appointment to join the army tomorrow, and I don't know if I should still go."
Liu Yang said, "You can't take her with you when you join the army, and it would be too cruel to leave her alone after you recognize her. But if you don't acknowledge her, you won't be able to rest easy. Giving up your ambitions for her is not the way of a real man. Is there any way to have the best of both worlds?"