"Wha-what?"

Qi Xian doubted his ears.

But Liu Ji continued to recite, in a reminiscent tone, the contents of the essay he once wrote. The young man’s expression completely collapsed, his eyes wide like copper bells, his mouth gaping enough to swallow two eggs, and his shoulders slumped, portraying a thoroughly stunned demeanor.

Ah Wang, who was focused on his meal, was interrupted by this pair of senior and junior brothers.

He looked up at the three people across from him: Liu Ji, who was earnestly recalling the exam essay content without blushing or skipping a beat, Gongliang Liao, who was obliviously focused on picking out fish bones, and Qi Xian, who could no longer maintain his dignified air and was reduced to a disheartened youth. He thought, so that’s how you play the imperial exams game.

If he wrote "My Life-and-Death Bond with Prince Feng and the Holy Empress," could he also become a scholar?

After Liu Ji finished recounting his exam essay, seeing his elder brother still dazed, he internally sighed, "Poor child," and manually helped him close his wide-open mouth.

"It’s all thanks to Teacher’s foresight, teaching me such a useful method that I was able to pass the exam this time."

Liu Ji stood up, gratefully looked at Gongliang Liao, raised his wine cup, "A toast to Teacher! Thank you for your guidance."

Having said that, he downed the cup in one gulp, feeling very refreshed.

Gongliang Liao curled his lips slightly and responded with a simple "Hmm," then continued to focus on his meal.

Qi Xian looked at the teacher and then at his own junior brother, deeply shocked inside, not expecting the teacher to be this nonchalant. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Liu Ji winked at his elder brother, patted the young man’s head, and half-heartedly comforted the youth’s shaken spirit.

After the meal, Liu Ji asked, "The results are out, when do you plan to return, Teacher?"

"Return?" Gongliang Liao held a tea cup filled with wine, raising an eyebrow to look over, eyes filled with expectation, "Back to the village?"

Liu Ji nodded as if it were a matter of course, "Yes, I’ve been away for a long time. My wife must miss me a lot; I can’t bear to make her wait any longer."

Upon hearing this, the wine Gongliang Liao had just sipped almost spurted out.

But as someone who’s weathered many storms, he forced the wine down his throat, placed the cup down, and gave Liu Ji a sideways glance that spoke of disdain for his trivial concerns, "It seems to me you’re already lovesick."

Liu Ji’s handsome face turned red, his long and curled lashes dropping, "N-no~"

Qi Xian finally found his footing as an elder brother, stood up righteously, and patted Liu Ji on the shoulder, "Junior brother, prioritize your studies, set aside romantic affairs for the pursuit of a greater cause."

Liu Ji removed the small hand on his shoulder, not intending to discuss adult relationships with a little fellow who wasn’t fully grown.

He and his wife were genuinely in love; he had never seen her treat another man the way she treated him!

He was still covered in marks from her gentle punches!

Liu Ji clicked his tongue, turned toward Gongliang Liao, continuing the topic of returning home.

Gongliang Liao was indeed quite willing to return to Liu Family Village, but Qi Xian had his own issues.

So, the two, teacher and student, exchanged a glance and both eagerly turned to look at the little Qi Xian.

Qi Xian was very tempted, who doesn’t enjoy an outing, and he hadn’t returned to his little world—the Lotus Courtyard—this year. However, "I must visit the ancestral home first..."

Gongliang Liao’s eyes deepened.

Liu Ji’s eyes flashed dangerously, like a hungry wolf; anyone obstructing his return to see his wife would face no mercy!

Qi Xian changed his tone, "But after the ancestral visit, we can go to the Lotus Courtyard until the end of the year."

Liu Ji nodded satisfyingly, dramatically waving his hand, "Then we’ll set off the day after tomorrow."

Gongliang Liao had no objection, Ah Wang had no objection, and neither did Qi Xian and Shi Tou.

With the date set, everyone suddenly felt time pressing and hurried back to pack their luggage.

Liu Ji didn’t have much luggage, and Ah Wang was even simpler, just two sets of change clothes.

But Qi Xian and his group, with so many people, had a lot of belongings, so there was some turmoil with only one day to pack.

But with their hearts set on returning home, no one complained.

After Liu Ji finished packing his luggage, he remembered something, laid out his paper and ink, and wrote a letter home explaining the return date and his success in passing the exam.

If his wife knew how accomplished he was, she surely wouldn’t call him a useless fool anymore.

Who knows, she might even nestle against him with admiration, calling him her legendary hero, reminding him to do good for the people as a just Lord.

Thinking of this, Liu Ji’s heart raced twice, and he quickly put down the pen, covering his face with his hands, descending into darkness, taking a while to constrain his excitement.

Ah Wang, sharing the room with him, leaned against the door, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, his face twitching slightly, thinking the Lord was a bit too sentimental.

Ah Wang shifted his gaze to the sky, looking at the crescent moon; the sky over Yingtian Prefecture always seemed veiled in a thin mist, even the moon appeared dimmer.

Ah Wang suddenly thought of the village moon, where even a crescent was always bright and shiny.

Who knows if the kids back at home had made mooncakes this Mid-Autumn Festival?

"Finished writing!"

Liu Ji put down the pen, blew on the letter, and pressed it under the inkstone to dry by tomorrow, planning to send it home through someone.

He undressed and got into bed, pulled up the thin blanket, and closed his eyes with a smile, drifting off to sleep.

Ah Wang sighed, extinguished the candle, and also went to sleep on his mat.

At dawn the next day, the two left the house early, leaving everyone behind.

First, they entrusted someone to send the letter, then went to find a small restaurant for breakfast, planning to spend the remaining time exploring Yingtian Prefecture.

Liu Ji jangled his money bag, listening to the delightful clash of copper coins and broken silver.

As such a genius, passing the exam on the first try, who knows when the next time he’d be in Yingtian Prefecture would be.

The opportunity was too good to miss; he planned to pick up some local specialties to bring back, and let his family enjoy them too.

Having decided, Liu Ji beckoned to Ah Wang, preparing to have him act as their porter.

However, after waving for a while, he noticed no movement behind him.

Liu Ji impatiently turned back to see Ah Wang standing dazedly in front of a stall selling jade carvings, staring earnestly at a group of jade rabbits on display.

The group consisted of six rabbits, two large and four small, the large ones the size of goose eggs, the small ones the size of bird eggs, all in light blue, clear and glistening, obviously not cheap.

Seeing Liu Ji approach, Ah Wang pointed at the six jade rabbits, a faint smile on his lips, introduced one by one, "Me, Madam, Da Lang, Second Lang, Sanlang, Si Niang."

Liu Ji glared at him, pointing at the six jade rabbits, fiercely saying, "Me! My wife! Da Lang, Second Lang, Sanlang, Si Niang."

Ah Wang made no contention, earnestly stating, "Buy for the family."

Liu Ji, appreciating his sensible attitude, raised his nose at the stall owner, and inquired about the price.

The owner glanced at the two, thinking these two grown men must have some odd hobby, identifying people from stones.

But business is business, so he stated, "Ten taels of Silver."

Liu Ji secretly took a breath of cold air, "Then forget it." Hesitating a second more would be a disrespect to his money bag!

Unexpectedly, Ah Wang patted around his waist, took out a ten-tael silver ingot, and placed it on the stall, taking away the entire group of six jade rabbits.

Liu Ji was shocked; he knew how empty Ah Wang’s pockets were. How could he nonchalantly take out ten taels of Silver, where did he get the money from?

Liu Ji hurriedly caught up with Ah Wang, exclaiming, "How do you have so much money?"

Please don’t let it be the answer I dread the most.