Chapter 201 2/3

According to the villagers, her mother and Fang Zijian came here together. When they ran out of money, Fang Zijian took her mother around asking if anyone wanted her.

Eventually, a man named Tian took her in exchange for five taels of silver, and then Fang Zijian left with the money.

Fang Zijian is already dead, but her mother is still waiting for him to come back and take her away.

Fang Xiuniang chatted with the villagers, telling them about the incident where someone who attempted to assassinate Gou Tongzhi was beheaded.

“The person who tried to assassinate Gou Tongzhi was named Fang Zijian. He was not a good person. He relied on my sister’s labor to study and even wanted to sell her…” Fang Xiuniang vividly recounted Fang Zijian’s story to the villagers before leaving.

In such a small village, once people learn about a fresh story from the outside, they spread it quickly.

She believed it wouldn’t be long before her mother heard the news.

Provincial Capital.

Li Qingzhi and his group had already settled in the Zhu family’s house.

There were several Zhu family servants guarding the place. After Li Qingzhi arrived, he stayed in the guest room he had used before and began engaging in pre-exam social activities as usual.

This year, he was very busy but continuously worked on expanding his reputation. One way he did this was by publishing his articles in the “Anjiang Collection of Essay.”

Every month, there was an article of his in the “Anjiang Collection of Essay,” making him almost a household name among the scholars in the provincial capital. Everyone believed he would surely pass the provincial examination and become a Juren.

However, Li Qingzhi did not dare to be complacent. During this time, he not only studied hard but also inquired about the examiners’ preferences from Governor Zhang.

In modern times, writing a good essay could earn higher scores in college entrance exams, let alone in ancient times.

In this era, writing articles that aligned with the examiners’ preferences was crucial.

After arriving in the provincial capital, Li Qingzhi began to interact with the scholars who had come to participate in the provincial examination to gather more information.

While he was busy, Jin Xiaoye was also very busy.

In the mornings, she would take Li Damao and Li Ermao out to explore various parts of the provincial capital. In the afternoons, she would follow a teacher who spoke the official language to learn it herself.

Jin Xiaoye could understand the official language but was not good at speaking it.

Since they were planning to travel north to the capital city next, learning the official language was essential.

During this period, when Li Qingzhi came home, he would only speak the official language with them, no longer using their dialect.

With Li Qingzhi’s special ability to enhance their brain functions, Jin Xiaoye, Li Damao, and Li Ermao had excellent memories and learned the official language quickly.

Li Laogen, Zhao Xiaodou, and Zhang Zao were slower learners.

Zhao Xiaodou was shy and afraid of making mistakes, which slowed her progress. Zhang Zao had a poor foundation and found learning difficult.

The worst was Li Laogen, who struggled with learning due to his mental limitations.

“Ah Qing, I don’t want to learn anymore,” Li Laogen said to Li Qingzhi.

“Father, if you don’t learn, and you get lost in the capital, I won’t be able to find you,” Li Qingzhi said. “Don’t you want to go to the capital?”

Of course, he wanted to go to the capital!

Li Laogen disliked learning the official language and found it painful every afternoon, but he looked forward to the mornings.

In the mornings, Jin Xiaoye took them out, and he saw many new things and ate foods he had never tried before!

He had run out of things to brag about, but now he had accumulated a lot of new experiences to share and boast about.

Li Laogen wanted to go to the capital and feared getting lost without being able to find Li Qingzhi and the others, so he continued learning.

But after a while, he said to Li Qingzhi again, “Ah Qing, how about you tie a rope to me when we go? That way, I won’t get lost.”

Li Qingzhi didn’t want to walk around with Li Laogen on a leash and was unmoved, continuing to speak to him only in the official language.

Over time, although Li Laogen’s official language skills were still poor, he could understand some of it, which was a positive development.

On July 16th, Li Qingzhi got up very early.

Today was the release day of the last part of “A Solitary Journey,” and he wanted to buy the book!

This wasn’t the first time Li Qingzhi went to buy his own book.

He had arranged to go with several scholars from Hexing Prefecture, including Peng Jingliang, to queue up at the Shen family bookstore to buy the book.

“I heard this is the last volume of ‘A Solitary Journey.'”

“I wonder how the Solitary Traveler wrote such a book.”

“I heard some people got so obsessed with the book that they insisted such a country really existed and wanted to set sail to find it.”

“Actually, I also think the book sounds real. If such a place really existed, it would be wonderful!”

…

Peng Jingliang and the others discussed “A Solitary Journey,” expressing their admiration for the Solitary Traveler.

There were many scholars who didn’t like the Solitary Traveler, but even they read “A Solitary Journey.”

The various policies and laws mentioned in the book’s fictional world were studied by countless people.

Because the characters in the book used simplified characters, making it easier for common people to learn… recently, people had even started researching simplified characters.

Moreover, the weaving machine described in the book had already been built by someone.

Some thought the Solitary Traveler was foolish for not keeping the invention secret to make money but instead writing it in the book for everyone to see…

He was too foolish!

While others were debating, Li Qingzhi merely nodded in agreement, not saying much.

He wasn’t the type to argue heatedly with others, but he found those who passionately debated a book rather endearing.

Most of these young people had noble ideals, hoping for a better world… and that was wonderful.

“Brother Li, your ‘Collection of Fun Stories for Children’ is also very good,” Peng Jingliang remembered. “It’s meant for children, but I enjoyed it very much.”

“You’re still quite young yourself,” Peng Jingliang’s senior brother laughed. “But the book is indeed good. My child loves it, and it has made him study more diligently to understand it.”

While they talked about “Collection of Fun Stories for Children,” the chief examiner for this year’s provincial examination in Jiang’an Province was reading the book.

The chief examiner this time was Mr. Ping from the Hanlin Academy.

Mr. Ping came from a humble background and led a modest life, earning little from his position at the Hanlin Academy.

He was delighted to be assigned to oversee the provincial examination in Jiang’an Province.

Before coming, the Ministry of Revenue gave him two thousand taels of silver. Upon arrival, his expenses were covered by the local officials, so he didn’t need to spend his own money.

Moreover, he brought some of his own poetry and essay collections to sell in Jiang’an Province, which sold at high prices—candidates often studied the examiners’ works to understand their preferences, so many examiners sold their collections before exams.

Overall, Mr. Ping expected to make a good amount of money.

Though not greedy, he wouldn’t miss any opportunity to make money, but he wasn’t planning to engage in exam corruption.

Mr. Ping loved money but took his responsibilities seriously, having familiarized himself with the candidates before the exam.

Among the many candidates, Li Qingzhi’s reputation was one of the highest.

He had not only won the minor top three but also had his articles published monthly in the “Anjiang Collection of Essay,” and even his calligraphy was admired.

Mr. Ping had already decided that as long as Li Qingzhi performed normally, he would make him the top candidate.

Choosing such a well-known scholar as the top candidate would satisfy everyone. If he picked someone unknown, even without corruption, people might still suspect him of foul play.