inspire-indiana Chapter 186 He never expected that he would be on the list!
Chapter 186 He never expected that he would be on the list!
That night—
Everyone is resting.
Xia Mo sat cross-legged on the bed, spreading her divine sense to cover the entire city. She first went to gather intelligence within the city, then collected useful information from a bunch of useless nonsense. Finally, she withdrew her divine sense, turning it into a thin thread, and gathered it in the guest room where Miao'er and Miss Lu lived in the house.
The so-called Miss Lu was helping Miao'er wash up and rest.
Miao'er, who claimed to be a maid, looked worried and sighed, murmuring to her maid Lu'er, "Lu'er, what should I do? Even now, Young Master Xia is still... unwilling to let me get close."
Lu'er frowned, leaned close to Miao'er's ear, and whispered, "Miss, how about this? I'll pretend to be the wicked young lady and sell you off. Maybe then, Young Master Xia will make a move?"
Taking advantage of the angle, Miao'er couldn't see the change in Lu'er's expression, but her face revealed intense malice.
Miao'er, who was resting in bed, obviously did not notice the maid's malice. After hearing the maid Lu'er's words, she fell into deep thought for a long time and murmured, "Let me think about it some more."
“Okay,” Lu’er was clearly very patient, and after stepping back, the expression on her face returned to normal.
Lu'er thought she had hidden her emotions very well, but in reality, Xia Mo saw through her changes in expression and the malice in her eyes with her divine sense.
In the room at the end of summer—
Xia Mo, who was meditating on the bed, raised an eyebrow and a mischievous, amused smile appeared on her lips.
She won't tell her older brother about this, nor will she kindly tell Miao'er that she wants to watch a play. It'll definitely be very interesting, right?
Xia Mo walked to the window, opened it, and used her divine sense to simulate a silent whistle, blowing it into the air.
A silent whistle is a sound that cannot be heard by human ears, but can be heard by dogs, eagles, and other birds.
About fifteen minutes later, an eagle circled in the sky, flew down, and landed in front of Xia Mo.
Only the silent whistle that Xia Mo imitated with his divine sense could summon an eagle from such a distance.
When the eagle saw that it was late summer, its eyes brightened even more. It intelligently stopped, afraid of hurting Xia Mo, and used its sharp talons to grip the window frame.
If an eagle can make a smiling face with its beak, then the eagle is smiling.
Xia Mo took out a creamy white pill and handed it to Xiong Ying.
The male eagle opened its beak and took the pill. It didn't want to swallow it; it wanted to save it for the female eagle. But the pill dissolved in its mouth and was absorbed by the male eagle.
The eagle lowered its head in frustration.
“You get a reward for helping me, and your wife gets a reward for helping me,” Xia Mo reminded him with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the eagle happily flapped its wings a few times.
The eagle flapped its wings a few times, creating a strong wind that shook the calligraphy, paintings, and vases in Xia Mo's room.
The eagle excitedly folded its wings and looked towards the end of summer.
At the end of summer, he took out the note he had written while waiting for the eagle, rolled it up, put it in a small bamboo tube, plugged it with a wooden stopper, and handed it to the eagle.
The eagle immediately grabbed with its talons, looking at Xia Mo, waiting for Xia Mo's next instruction.
"Send it to Yongji Clothing Shop," Xia Mo instructed.
The eagle raised its head to indicate that it had received the message, took a few steps back, and landed on the ground. The small bamboo tube in its claws had not fallen out. It spread its wings and took off suddenly, creating a gust of wind. The eagle also flew away like a gust of wind.
Yongji Clothing is one of Huangfu Qian's intelligence organizations, and it is also an intelligence organization that Huangfu Qian allowed Xia Mo to use.
Xia Mo sent a note with an eagle, wanting to know the identity of Miao'er and her servant.
* * *
Five days later—
Xia Erge, carrying a basket and dressed in simple clothes, walked towards the examination hall.
Like Xia Erge, there were many other students carrying baskets.
Xia's father and the others stayed close to Xia's second brother, watching him enter the examination hall.
"This examination will consist of three parts, right?" Xia's father asked Xia's eldest brother nervously, afraid that he might have forgotten something important.
"Yes." Brother Xia nodded.
"I wonder what kind of cell your second brother will be assigned," Xia's mother said, also expressing her concern.
Xia Mo used her divine sense to follow behind Xia Erge and watched him walk into the room numbered 3504.
Tens of thousands of people took the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai, which required a large venue and many examination rooms.
Therefore, those cells were cramped little cubicles that were partitioned off, making it impossible to even lie down upright.
Fortunately, in this dynasty, the provincial examinations do not require three days and three nights of grueling study. All three examinations are completed in one day, followed by a day of rest before the next examination.
"Don't worry, with Second Brother's health, there will definitely be no problem," Xia Mo said with a smile.
Xia's father nodded in agreement: "Yes, Sheng You can lift a hundred pounds with one hand. He's not some weak scholar."
Xia's mother couldn't help but laugh, giving Xia's father a reproachful glare.
* * *
Early the next morning—
Xia Erge came out of the examination hall.
Despite his stubble, his complexion remained good, and his eyes were bright, forming a stark contrast with the other candidates who were staggering as they walked.
The next day—
The second round of the imperial examinations began.
Two more days have passed—
The third round of the college entrance examination has also concluded.
Now, all we have to do is wait for the results.
The examiners for the provincial examinations were the local academy principals and officials, and the results were to be announced within three days.
Of the tens of thousands of candidates, one thousand were selected as scholars. In this dynasty, after passing the examination, scholars were tested on their literary skills once every three years. However, this test was much easier than the examination for the title of scholar.
Another three days have passed—
The results of the college entrance examination are in.
When Xia Erge took the exam, he didn't hold a quiz. He wrote down all the passages from the book, but when it came time to see the results, he didn't dare to look at them.
"Let's go, let's go," Xia Mo tugged at Xia Erge's sleeve and led him toward the notice board in the direction of the yamen.
Brother Xia looked at his little sister with a mixture of helplessness and doting, pretending that he couldn't move her anymore, and moved towards the yamen notice board.
At this moment, the notice board in front of the government office was crowded with people.
Some people shouted with joy upon seeing the name, while others wept bitterly upon not seeing it; the myriad aspects of life were on full display.
Brother Xia was on tenterhooks, wondering whether he was laughing or crying.
Xia Mo pulled Xia Erge towards the bulletin board.
She deliberately didn't use her divine sense to see, but instead used her eyes to look at each name one by one.
Tens of thousands of people apply, but only one thousand are accepted. This shows how high the chances of failing the exam are!
Xia Erge had already stood in front of the notice board, but he was no longer nervous and looked at it carefully.
He looked from the front to the back, and when he reached the nine hundredth position, he saw his own name.
Brother Xia stood there, stunned.
He came with the mindset that this year's opportunity was rare and he wanted to experience what it was like to take the imperial examination. Therefore, failing the exam was something he had expected. What he never expected was that he would pass!
That's why he looked so surprised when he saw himself at the bottom of the list.
"Second brother, this...this!"
Xia Mo pointed to Xia Shengyou's name and excitedly called out.