Chapter 21

After Tao Sheng arrived in Beijing, she felt that time flew by quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the autumn of the 40th year of Youde, exactly one year after she went to Beijing to live with her aunt.

In the six months after Ji Yanming returned to Beijing, Tao Sheng gradually became more familiar with him, and the number of music reviews he wrote personally reached double digits.

Recently, Su Jia often wasn’t at home, so the two of them frequently went out to eat together. Maybe because his studies were going well, Su Jia spent less time at home, but Ji Yanming came to the main courtyard to eat with Tao Sheng more often.

Tao Sheng had read Ji Yanming’s personal extra story and almost never made mistakes when preparing meals. The two of them spent their days peacefully before Ji Yanming’s autumn examination.

Time soon came to August, the month when the autumn examination of the Great Zhou Dynasty began.

Although students who passed the two lists of Jinshi^[1]refers to the highest degree in the imperial examination. would have a better future, those who passed the imperial examination could be appointed as officials. In other words, passing the autumn examination and becoming a Juren ^[2]refers to the second highest degree. was a gateway to the officialdom.

This was Ji Yanming’s chance to make a breakthrough and start a career that could earn money and support his family.

As the exam approached, Su Jia and Tao Sheng grew increasingly nervous, as if preparing their own children for the college entrance examination. In contrast, Ji Yanming seemed more relaxed, spending less time in the study room, making the two women overly anxious.

Tao Sheng and Tang Yizizi had been getting along well. Tang’s sister-in-law’s birthday was coming up, and although Tao Sheng didn’t want to get involved with that family, she felt it was okay to attend at Tang Yizi’s invitation, considering the heroine of the family had already entered the palace and the three brothers of the Shen family wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Tao Sheng’s instinct was correct. Although Tang Yizi’s birthday party wasn’t large, the atmosphere was unexpectedly harmonious.

After returning home, Tao Sheng learned from Su Jia that Ji Yanming wouldn’t travel back and forth for the exam because their home was far from the examination venue. Mr. Shi Zongnian, who had once been his tutor, suggested that he had a house not far from the exam venue and planned to let several of his students and relatives stay there. This way, the candidates could rest better before the exam and avoid missing it due to unexpected events.

This was similar to how hotels are booked around examination sites to help students rest and avoid traffic issues that could cause them to miss exams.

Tao Sheng understood this.

Mr. Shi’s family was also well-known scholars. He had been an official in the court for years and had sponsored many students, providing educational resources free of charge.

Shi Zongnan’s son had just entered officialdom, and his daughter was unmarried. Everyone understood Mr. Shi’s intention: to give his son more helpers in the future and consider his daughter’s marriage. If there was a particularly outstanding young man among the candidates, he could be a good match for her.

If Mr. Fanchang had suggested letting Ji Yanming stay at his home to prepare for the autumn examination, Tao Sheng would have seen it as a good intention.

However, after reading the original text, she knew that Mr. Shi was quite unusual. He was the one who had tricked Ji Yanming the most, almost sending him to jail and ruining his reputation.

Tao Sheng didn’t know when Mr. Shi turned evil. She recalled that Ji Yanming’s performance in the exam was poor; he barely passed and was at the bottom of the list.

According to Ji Yanming’s personal extra story, Tao Sheng felt he might have been depressed because of the incident involving Mr. He and Senior Brother Su, which affected his studies.

During that time, she played several Qingyin ^[3]refers to a type of traditional Chinese music. pieces for him, and he seemed to feel more stable. But now, it seemed that this wasn’t the only reason for Ji Yanming’s exam failure.

This exam was crucial for Ji Yanming. Knowing the original book’s content, she didn’t want him to take that risk again.

Thinking this, Tao Sheng immediately got up and went out: “Aunt, I’m going out for a while.”

Su Jia said, “Hey, kid, it’s almost time for dinner. Where are you going now?”

“No need to prepare dinner for me,” Tao Sheng replied. “It’s too late today. I’ll tell you in detail tomorrow.”

With that, she left and took a carriage to Wenyuan Hou Mansion.

At the Marquis’s Mansion, Luo Xin was surprised to hear her daughter had returned. She quickly welcomed Tao Sheng in and asked, “What happened? Why are you back now?”

Tao Sheng said frankly, “To be honest, I need your help.”

“There’s no point in discussing whether it’s troublesome between us mother and daughter,” Luo Xin said. “You can talk about it.”

Tao Sheng explained that her cousin was going to take the Imperial Examination and mentioned that they had an empty house near the examination hall. She wanted to borrow the room for her cousin until the exam was over.

Although Tao Sheng didn’t say it directly, Luo Xin sensed she wanted to draw a line between herself and the entire Wenyuan Marquis Mansion. This was the first time she had asked her for something.

Luo Xin was overjoyed, thinking she was one step closer to Tao Sheng.

Judging by the current situation, it seemed likely that Tao Sheng would marry into the Luo family in the future.

If she insisted on doing so, her cousin, being the only man in the family, would be her greatest support.

“The house you mentioned was originally my dowry. It was bought for me by your grandmother. I asked Mother Li to arrange for a housekeeper and servants for you. You can just use it.”

After a pause, Luo Xin continued, “Since it was given to you by your maternal grandparents, just take the cards and keys from me, and don’t mention it to your father or the others.”

Shen Yu had mentioned Ji Yanming’s upcoming imperial examination several times at home, hoping his son would pass and that his cousin would not.

But these people didn’t consider that if Su Jia and Ji Yanming had a hard life in the future, their biological daughter would still be living in the Su family.  

Tao Sheng needed to go to Mr. Shi’s house to find Ji Yanming, so she didn’t stay in the Shen family for long.  

Long after Tao Sheng left, Luo Xin was still happy that “my daughter asked me for help with something.” Mother Zheng looked at Luo Xin’s joyful expression and shook her head.