The more skills Gu Qingyan learned, the more he realized that even though they were all system courses, his learning speed varied greatly.

For example, skills like Painter and Musician—since he already had some foundation—he managed to fill the progress bar in one night, reaching 100% straight away.

What surprised him even more was that every time he completed 100% of the beginner level and advanced to intermediate, the system rewarded him with 100 points.

However, skills like Embroiderer, Tailor, and Executioner took him much longer to learn.

Especially the Executioner skill. Don’t be fooled by how simple it sounds to behead someone—it conflicted with Gu Qingyan’s inner feelings, and he didn’t progress at all after a whole night.

Despite summoning his courage, even knowing it was fake, he just couldn’t bring himself to chop off a stranger’s head in the system lessons, so he decisively gave up on it.

Gu Qingyan realized a pattern: the skills he was good at, he learned quickly.

Skills he wasn’t good at or even resisted, he learned slowly.

This was related to his own talent. For instance, with the Embroiderer skill, even after focusing all night, he only gained 5% progress—worse than learning to slaughter pigs with the butcher.

So Gu Qingyan made a firm decision and prioritized the skills where the progress bar moved fast, then based on the points situation, picked and chose from the remaining skills to continue learning.

Torn between intense studying and exhaustion, Gu Qingyan watched his points soar, feeling both pain and joy at once.

---

At Lingchuan County Examination Hall, the grading of the county exam had reached a critical point.

The county exam was the first step in the imperial examination system. Only by passing the county exam could one qualify to participate in the prefecture and academy exams.

Because passing the county exam only earned a chance to take further exams, not an official title, the rules for the county exam were relatively relaxed compared to later exams.

The county magistrate was responsible for the county exam, holding great discretion, which explained why Magistrate Hong had earlier hinted that more candidates would be admitted.

This session had many candidates—five hundred in total—the largest number since Magistrate Hong took office.

Over five hundred exam papers were laid out before them, and Magistrate Hong and the two other graders worked overtime to mark them.

Ma Jiaoyu, a court-appointed instructor, was one of the graders.

The county exam didn’t have transcriptions; content, writing style, and calligraphy were all part of the evaluation, with calligraphy holding significant weight.

Nowadays, scholars believed handwriting reflected the person. If someone wrote with messy, illegible characters, they’d be eliminated at the first stage.

Especially for students from the county school, Ma Jiaoyu was very familiar with their handwriting and could recognize many papers at a glance.

For favored students, Ma Jiaoyu tended to go easy on them; for disliked ones, he was more critical, showing his preferences to the fullest.

Putting aside a paper stamped with an excrement mark, Ma Jiaoyu’s gaze sharpened.

The calligraphy flowed like dragons and phoenixes, like clouds and flowing water—free and unrestrained.

Ma Jiaoyu immediately recognized it was Gu Qingyan’s paper.

In the county school, only this kid had strong, vigorous calligraphy, though it also made Ma Jiaoyu dislike him at first glance.

But when he looked down, Ma Jiaoyu was greatly surprised.

He had expected Gu Qingyan to be carried out, barely passing the exam, and just going through the motions. But this guy had a solid foundation and answered every question just right.

Damn it, how did Gu Qingyan get so lucky?

Born into a farming family, then raised by a wealthy household until fifteen, kicked out, and yet still managed to gain Magistrate Hong’s favor and protection everywhere just because of his looks!

He was just a little better looking!

Thinking about how smoothly Gu Qingyan’s life was going while his own income was sharply falling and times were tough, Ma Jiaoyu seethed with jealousy.

“Let that brat get cocky! Now he’s in my hands, and I’ll make sure he fails with one stroke of my pen.”

Once Magistrate Hong left, he’d make sure Gu Qingyan failed every year, wasting time, turning green youth into old ginger, and a handsome face into an ugly one.

Ma Jiaoyu sneered, lifting his red pen, ready to put a big cross on the paper.

“Good!”

A voice close by stopped Ma Jiaoyu’s pen.

Magistrate Hong was right behind him, stroking his beard with a long laugh.

“This candidate answered well, wrote beautifully, and the answers are flawless. It’s the best paper I’ve seen so far.”

Ma Jiaoyu’s face darkened—he hadn’t noticed Magistrate Hong had approached behind him.

He hurriedly said, “Sir, although the answers are good, the handwriting is too flamboyant. Look, everyone else writes in standard script, but his—someone with poor eyesight might not be able to read it.”

Magistrate Hong glanced at him. “Instructor Ma, that’s a biased opinion. The sages loved cursive script the most and never restricted calligraphy style in the county exam.”

“But…” Ma Jiaoyu tried to argue.

Another examiner came over, looked at the paper, and nodded approvingly.

“The strokes flow like dragons and snakes, iron paintings and silver hooks. Not bad at all.”

“Instructor Ma, if you can’t read it clearly, give the paper to me—I can read it just fine,” Magistrate Hong said calmly.

He had obviously already seen through Ma Jiaoyu’s little scheme.

Ma Jiaoyu scowled but didn’t dare confront Magistrate Hong outright. Instead, he sneered, “Magistrate Hong, acting like this, aren’t you afraid others will accuse you of favoritism?”

Magistrate Hong replied coolly, “This paper deserves to be first place. If anyone thinks I’m showing favoritism, they can confront me on the spot.”

Ma Jiaoyu gripped his pen tightly. Suddenly it snapped with a crack, and red ink splattered all over his face.

Seething inside, Ma Jiaoyu was utterly humiliated and quietly started plotting something evil.

Magistrate Hong was clearly going to put Gu Qingyan at the top. He had to come up with a way to drag both of them down and make sure they wouldn’t have it easy!

Gu Qingyan had already forgotten about the county exam, completely absorbed in grinding points like a maniac.

Twelve hours a day, he wished he could fill all twelve hours nonstop. If it weren’t for the system tutorial allowing his body to enter a deep sleep state, he would’ve surely died from overexertion by now.

To others, it looked like Gu Qingyan was so worried about the county exam that he just slept all day, too lethargic to do anything else.

Mama Liu pulled aside the three girls and warned, “Brother Yan got sick right after the exam. He probably didn’t do well. Let’s not mention the county exam to him anymore, so it won’t upset him.”

The three nodded in agreement.

Gu Shuyan said, “He’s only sixteen. It’s normal if he doesn’t pass.”

Gu Wangqing added, “If he doesn’t pass this year, he can try again next year. I believe he will definitely succeed.”

But Zhang Nian scratched her head and said, “But I don’t think Brother Gu is actually worried.”

“You’re still young, you don’t understand. Brother Yan is so worried that he can’t even say it out loud,” Mama Liu sighed. “Otherwise, someone who loves going out so much wouldn’t sleep for ten hours a day.”

Gu Shuyan agreed, “He must be afraid of meeting people outside who’ll ask about the exam, and he wouldn’t know how to answer.”

Gu Wangqing couldn’t sit still, “I have to tell Big Uncle to tell the village gossips not to ask too much, so Brother won’t get hurt.”

Hearing them say that, Zhang Nian scratched her head again, feeling she was still too young and naive.

The day before the county exam results were announced, Mama Liu was restless but didn’t dare to urge Gu Qingyan to check the list.

She quietly pulled Zhang Nian aside, “Nian, you know Brother Yan’s name, right? Why don’t you quietly check early? If he passed, everyone will be happy. If not, let’s pretend nothing happened, so Brother won’t be sad.”

Zhang Nian immediately promised, “I know it, Brother Gu taught me. I’ll go before dawn tomorrow and won’t let Brother Gu find out.”

Sure enough, early the next morning before dawn, Zhang Nian set out to check the list.

Mama Liu and the other two girls couldn’t sleep either; they got up early to wait.

Gu Qingyan had already accumulated 900 points, just 100 short of the goal. Unfortunately, all the easy skills were maxed out, so he had to choose the slow-progress skills to keep learning.

After pricking his ten fingers to a sieve from embroidery in the system tutorial, Gu Qingyan decided to get up for a meal and a break.

“What are you all doing?” Gu Qingyan asked curiously, seeing Mama Liu and the two girls sitting in the courtyard, occasionally peeking outside.

“Brother Yan is up. I’m bringing you food,” Mama Liu said, her heart sinking a bit. She realized the kid was indeed worried about his results. After all, it was the day the results were out, and he got up so early, unlike the past days when he slept till noon.

Mama Liu sighed quietly. If he failed, how would they comfort the disappointed Brother Yan?

The two girls thought the same.

Gu Shuyan awkwardly smiled, “I…I’m doing embroidery.”

“Embroidery? Let me see.”

Gu Qingyan got interested. In the system tutorial, his embroidery skill had reached 14% but couldn’t improve further.

“Ah?” Gu Shuyan was stunned.

Gu Qingyan took the handkerchief from her hands, picked up an embroidery needle, and quickly sewed a few stitches, turning the patchy weeds into a cluster of orchids.

“Looks like I have a talent for embroidery too,” Gu Qingyan smiled.

But when he looked up, he met the sisters’ concerned and worried gazes.

Gu Qingyan gave an embarrassed smile and calmly got up to eat.

“Oh no, oh no, has Brother gone silly from studying? Why is he starting to do embroidery now?” Gu Shuyan was so scared she almost cried.

Gu Wangqing was calmer, “Maybe he’s just playing around.”

“But he didn’t even let us do embroidery before,” Gu Shuyan was worried.

Just as Gu Qingyan entered the house, he saw a big bowl of pork trotters noodles and a full bowl of meat on the table.

“Ugh!”

He lost his composure for a moment, remembered his coroner skills and tried to calm his nausea, but still gagged out loud.

This scared Mother Liu badly. “Yan’er, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Quickly, sit down and rest.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just felt a bit queasy seeing the meat. Mom, I want to eat something vegetarian,” Gu Qingyan explained.

When he learned the coroner skills, it was okay, but now that all the memories came back, it was tough.

Mother Liu grew even more worried. Yan’er used to love eating meat—why the sudden change?

She was sure it was the stress about the county exam results. Too nervous, no doubt. She didn’t dare say a word, just went back inside and made a bowl of vegetarian noodles.

After eating the noodles, Gu Qingyan felt a bit better.

But when he looked up, the three people sitting by the table all had worry in their eyes.

“Why are you all staring at me like I have some incurable disease and my time is almost up?” Gu Qingyan complained.

Mother Liu hurriedly said, “Pooh, pooh, pooh, bad things never work and good things always do. Yan’er, well… you’re still young. Whether you pass or not, your health is the most important thing.”

The two sisters nodded vigorously beside her.

Gu Qingyan blinked a few times and finally realized something was wrong.

Why were his mom and two sisters so cautious with him, acting like they were afraid to upset him?

Suddenly, he remembered: “Is today the day the county exam results are posted? Where’s Anian?”

Seeing their hesitant expressions, Gu Qingyan immediately understood.

“Mom, second sister, third sister, you don’t think I failed, do you? You’re afraid I’ll be upset?”

Gu Qingyan felt helpless. Thinking about his behavior these past few days, he knew he had caused them to misunderstand.

He stood up and patted his chest, “I’m confident about the county exam. Maybe Anian secretly went to check the results. Just wait, good news is coming soon.”

But hearing that, Mother Liu and the two sisters worried even more.

Yan’er was so hopeful; if he didn’t pass in the end, he would be doubly disappointed.

Seeing that they didn’t believe him, Gu Qingyan could only say, “Wait until Anian comes back, then you’ll know.”

Explaining now wouldn’t help. When he passed, Mother Liu and the others would naturally be relieved.

He said that, then brought over a recliner, lay down in the sunlight, and started farming points again.

Since Zhang Nian had already gone to check the results, he didn’t need to make the trip himself.

Gu Qingyan looked at his interface:

[Host: Gu Qingyan] +

[Age: 16]

[Points: 936]

[Profession: Child Servant]

[Skill: Medical Intermediate 15%]

[Skill: Musician Intermediate 1%]

[Skill: Painter Intermediate 1%]

[Skill: Brewing Intermediate 10%]

[Skill: Paper-crafting Beginner 31%]

[Skill: Cooking Beginner 35%]

[Skill: Butcher Beginner 36%]

[Skill: Blacksmith Beginner 3%]

[Skill: Carpenter Beginner 4%]

[Skill: Tailor Beginner 3%]

[Skill: Embroiderer Beginner 14%]

[Skill: Barber Beginner 12%]

[Skill: Dyeing Beginner 13%]

[Skill: Executioner Beginner 1%]

[Skill: Dance Beginner 26%]

[Skill: Singing Beginner 26%]

[Skill: Coroner Beginner 98%]

Gu Qingyan looked over the list and knew he was seriously unbalanced—his academic skills were obviously better than his martial ones.

Another reason was some skills were limited by the teacher’s ability, restricting his progress.

For example, brewing and dyeing: for brewing, Gu Qingyan had modern brewing knowledge, so after improvement he quickly reached intermediate.

For dyeing, he didn’t understand it well and was still stuck at beginner level despite much effort.

Gu Qingyan skipped over dance and singing, setting his sights on the coroner skill.

It was the only skill left that was progressing quickly.

Once he reached intermediate level, the 100 bonus points would be enough to unlock the shop.

[Open coroner tutorial.]

The old man appeared again in front of Gu Qingyan.

“Fell asleep,” Gu Shuyan quietly entered the room.

Mother Liu looked outside: “At this time, how could he fall asleep? Maybe he’s just pretending.”

“Let’s not bother our eldest brother, just let him lie there,” Gu Wangqing said.

Gu Shuyan added, “I’ll wait at the village entrance for Anian. If… I’ll have her come in through the back door, so our brother won’t find out.”

After saying that, she dashed off.

Running all the way to the village entrance, Gu Shuyan stretched her neck to look down the road.

Passing villagers found it strange and asked, “Third Miss Gu, why are you standing here so early?”

“Nothing,” Gu Shuyan said nothing more.

Some who knew the situation whispered, “Are you waiting for your big brother to come back? He probably bombed the exam this time, right? Can he pass or not?”

Gu Shuyan pursed her lips and stayed silent.

Gossiping women gathered around: “Your brother is only sixteen but raised in a wealthy family. I heard rich kids start studying at three, so that’s already thirteen years of schooling. He should definitely pass, right?”

“That’s not certain. Some people get lucky and pass on the first try, others never pass their whole lives.”

“Can our village compare with rich families?”

“Yanyan, your brother said what life is like in rich families. Do they really eat fish and meat every meal?”

“Fish and meat? Rich families eat shark fin and bird’s nest.”

These words made Gu Shuyan angry inside, but she couldn’t argue with them.

“Go away, you gossiping women! Our Yan’er gave out meat for the New Year. How can you talk behind his back like that?” Auntie scolded as she came over.

The gossiping women quickly explained, “We’re just asking casually, not saying anything bad about him.”

“What kind of questions are those?”

Eldest Aunt placed her hands on her hips and scolded, “If anyone dares to talk about this again, I swear I’ll tear their mouth apart.”

Then she looked at Gu Shuyan, “You’re so foolish. When they’re babbling nonsense here, if you don’t scold them right back, those gossipy women will never shut up.”

Gu Shuyan nodded repeatedly. “Thank you, Eldest Aunt. I’ll remember that.”

“Has your brother gone to the county seat to check the results yet?” Eldest Aunt asked again.

Gu Shuyan shook her head, then nodded slightly and leaned in to whisper a few words in her ear.

Eldest Aunt smiled, “No wonder your uncle told us not to ask too much—he’s worried about putting pressure on Brother Yan.”

“To be honest, just the fact that he can read and write already puts him ahead of all the men in the whole village. Not to mention he’s filial; who in the nearby villages doesn’t speak well of him?”

Gu Shuyan smiled, “I think so too. My brother is the best.”

Eldest Aunt decided to stay, worried that the young girl wouldn’t be able to withstand all their questions alone, so she stayed to wait with them.

“Eldest Aunt, if my brother studied and knew how to read and write, would life be better if he didn’t have to care about us?” Gu Shuyan suddenly asked.

Eldest Aunt frowned in disagreement, “Why would you think that? Did some gossiping woman whisper something to you?”

Gu Shuyan shook her head and said softly, “I just feel my brother is very good. Me and Second Sister don’t know anything and can’t help. We’re a burden to him.”

This made Eldest Aunt sigh.

She stroked the girl’s hair, “Yan Yan, if your brother didn’t want to come back, he wouldn’t. Even if we begged him in Qingzhou Prefecture and kowtowed, he still wouldn’t come back.”

“But he did come back, and he’s willing to take care of you two younger sisters, truly caring for you. It shows he considers himself a Gu family child, your real brother.”

Eldest Aunt thought to herself that since the Gu family never really raised him, it was rare that he would return to acknowledge his roots.

After a moment, she added, “Yan Yan, don’t say things that sound so distant and cold. Those words will only hurt him. You just need to remember to treat him like your real brother. That’s more important than anything.”

Gu Shuyan nodded firmly, “In my heart, he is my real brother, the only real brother.”

Eldest Aunt smiled, about to say more when she suddenly spotted a familiar ox cart.

Zhang Nian grinned foolishly, “Brother Gu passed! He’s first place!”

“First place? That’s incredible.”

“Passing the county exam means becoming a Tongsheng, right? Brother Yan is only sixteen, already a Tongsheng, just like his father who can read.”

“Where’s Brother Yan? Let us share the good news.”

“Go, go report the news!” Eldest Aunt nudged Gu Shuyan.

Gu Shuyan dashed home, Zhang Nian hurried after her.

Inside the house, Gu Qingyan was still basking in the sun, occasionally getting up to stretch and eat something before lying down again to study his skills.

After going back and forth a few times, his forensic skill finally reached 99%.

Stuck on the last bit, Gu Qingyan sighed helplessly.

Rubbing his temples, he got up to rest.

But as soon as he moved, Liu Mama and Gu Wangqing followed him closely, treating him like a delicate glass figure, afraid to upset him.

“Mom, I’m really not nervous, not worried, and definitely not sad,” Gu Qingyan said.

Liu Mama hesitated to speak.

“Nervous is normal. Mom is nervous too, can’t wait to fly to the county seat to see the results,” she said.

Gu Qingyan sighed and returned to the study.

Suddenly, his eyes landed on a package wrapped in oiled paper on the table.

It was given to him by the old forensic master, said to be a relic of the Tongsheng Gu.

Gu Qingyan opened it again and again; it was still a purple river cart—unfinished, unprocessed.

When the county exam results come out, he would have to find an opportunity to visit the charity burial ground again and ask for clarification.

“Could this be my birth placenta?”

Whether or not it was, the people who stayed behind were quite twisted.

Feeling a bit nauseated, Gu Qingyan took the package to the backyard, picked a spot, dug a hole, and buried the purple river cart.

He patted the small mound of earth, satisfied.

At that moment, Gu Shuyan ran back home like a flash.

“Big brother, you passed! You passed!”

Gu Qingyan was just walking over when the little one burst into his arms like a cannonball.

“Big brother, you’re first place!”

“Brother Yan passed!” Mama Liu was overjoyed as well.

She kept chanting Amitabha Buddha nonstop, watching Gu Qingyan so happily that she didn’t know what to do.

Gu Qingyan’s heart finally settled. He smiled and said, “Mom, Second Sister, Third Sister, now you believe me, right?”

The two sisters’ faces flushed red.

Liu Mama smiled and said, “We believe, we believe. Ah, it was my fault for overthinking. I thought you hadn’t done well on the exam, so you’ve been sleeping all day and barely had any energy.”

“Big brother, we shouldn’t have doubted you,” Gu Wangqing also said.

Gu Shuyan was like a happy little puppy, circling around Gu Qingyan. “Big brother, you’re amazing! You actually got first place. Out of so many people, my big brother is first—he’s the best in all of Lingchuan County!”

Gu Qingyan laughed heartily, amused by her.

“Anian, did you see the names of the others who passed?” he asked again.

Zhang Nian’s smile stiffened, and she awkwardly said, “I saw Brother Gu’s name and hurried home to share the good news, I didn’t look at the rest.”

Liu Mama asked again, “Anian, did you check carefully? It’s definitely my Yan’er, right?”

Then she added, “If you get first place, do you have to claim some certificate? Oh dear, what if someone else takes the first place if it’s delayed? I should have urged you to go in person.”

Seeing how happy she was but unsure what to say next, Gu Qingyan quickly explained, “Mom, first place is first place. Once the results are announced, the ranking won’t change. The certificate for the prefecture exam just needs to be handled within a month.”

Liu Mama finally relaxed.

Before she could say more, the villagers who had heard the news came rushing to congratulate them.

The old village chief had been holding back but now, with the results out, he could no longer resist.

“Well done, you’ve got your father’s spirit from back then.” He patted Gu Qingyan’s shoulder firmly, smiling until tears filled his old eyes.

“If only your father were still alive.”

Eldest Aunt quickly stopped him, “This is a day of celebration, no need for sadness. Yan’er, this is wonderful news. Should we set up a few tables and celebrate?”

The village chief nodded enthusiastically, “I’ll take care of it—we’ll set up several tables.”

He thought to himself that since Gu Qingyan’s parents were gone, it was right for him, as the eldest uncle, to host the feast.

Gu Qingyan hurried to stop them, “Uncle, Auntie, thank you for your kindness, but the county exam isn’t even the prefecture exam yet. Celebrating now might make people laugh. It’s better to wait until after the prefecture exam.”

The old village chief said quickly, “Who would dare laugh at you? Let them try getting first place first.”

After some persuasion, the old village chief gave up on the idea—not because he was afraid of ridicule, but because Gu Qingyan mentioned preparing for the prefecture exam and he didn’t want to disturb him.

He turned to Mama Liu and urged Gu Qingyan to hurry and get the certificate done.

Gu Qingyan smiled wryly. Since he wanted to ask about the others who passed, he got on the cart and headed to the county seat.

Meanwhile, in the county seat, a commotion was unfolding—a good show was about to happen.