GBP Chapter 361 Leaving the Examination Hall, Comforting Old Wang
Chapter 361 Leaving the Examination Hall, Comforting Old Wang
Jiang Wenqing and Huangfu Zhongwen, these two best buddies, not only talked late into the night by candlelight.
They even slept side by side.
The cooks in the back office were also sent from the Jiang family residence in the capital. Their culinary skills were highly trained and they were of a very high standard.
Huangfu Zhongwen ate dishes he had never eaten before and drank several cups of wine.
The two dismissed their surroundings and continued the conversation they hadn't finished during the day, refining their plan.
Jiang Wenqing put down his wine glass and suddenly felt that he was actually quite a competent father.
Without his son's knowledge or his father's knowledge, Jiang Wenqing alone resolved his son's potential crisis in no time.
Haha~ Wow, he's amazing!
I'm not entirely useless, am I? I became an official because I'm not good at it, but I'm very vigilant and saw through the bad guys' evil intentions early on.
Only in this way can we plan ahead and win battles from afar, haha.
He didn't even consider that if it weren't for Huangfu Zhongwen, would he still be able to say those words?
On his own, could he get the Empress Dowager's help or get the Emperor to directly bestow a marriage upon the Fourth Prince?
----The Division of Narcissism----
The third day of the first session of the imperial examination.
The gates of the examination hall opened, and one by one, the candidates, looking rather unwell, left the examination room.
Jiang Xiaoqi didn't rush out; he wanted to find Lao Wang as soon as possible.
Before I even saw Old Wang, I saw my own family members first.
There's no way around it; the Jiang family has a large number of test-takers, so the chances of running into them are definitely high.
Besides Jiang Xiaoqi himself, there was also Lao Wang and ten other members of the Jiang family.
"Mingfei, why don't we move out? There are too many people here, we might get bumped into."
Jiang Xiaoqi replied with a smile, "Grand Uncle, I'm looking for Old Wang."
The one asking the questions was the oldest, Jiang Changfeng. The old man looked to be in good spirits, even better than the young candidates who had just walked past.
Jiang Xiaoqi felt much relieved. Even the oldest uncle was in good spirits, so the others were even better.
From Jiang Wenhai and others in their thirties and forties to Jiang Changfeng and Jiang Changgeng, who are both in their fifties, they have all been properly nourished with tonifying soups.
Although the tonic soup given to Landlord Jiang was not as concentrated, it was perfectly adequate for the imperial examination, at least ensuring that he wouldn't catch a cold during the exam.
A cold is not a serious illness, but in ancient times, especially in examination halls where medicine and treatment were scarce, it could be a life-threatening disease.
Many ordinary people who see a doctor in time still can't save their lives, let alone candidates in the examination hall who are left unattended.
Even a mild cold can become fatal if you miss a few days of exams, and some people even die in the exam hall before they can finish.
The government won't take responsibility; they can only say you were unlucky. Among so many candidates, why did they lie to you about being sick? You couldn't even handle being sick, and they didn't even bring medicine in just in case. Who can you blame?
Therefore, even though Jiang Xiaoqi had already treated the health of everyone in the Jiang family, she still asked them to put some medicine in the examination basket.
Of course, it wasn't Chinese medicine bought from a pharmacy, but rather medicine that he brewed himself and concentrated into small pills.
Although you can buy pills for treating colds through the system, why not save some points?
It's also a good opportunity to practice my pharmaceutical skills, and it won't take much time.
Jiang Xiaoqi told Jiang Changfeng to go first, and then stood against the wall himself.
Before long, Old Wang finally strolled over.
"You've finally come out." Jiang Xiaoqi picked up the other person's exam basket along with the exam basket. There was no other reason than that Old Wang looked even weaker than his great-uncle.
"Sigh~ Let's talk about it after we get on the bus."
Old Wang replied listlessly. It seemed that the dirty exam paper had dealt him a heavy blow, making him look several years older all of a sudden.
The Jiang family still had the same number of carriages to pick people up. They didn't wait for everyone to arrive; those who came early got on the carriages early, and those who got on early got home early.
Everyone's pretty tired, so let's not get caught up in all the formalities.
When Jiang Xiaoqi and Lao Wang got on the bus, three members of the Jiang family had already arrived home.
Whoever arrives home first gets to take a bath first. The servants are all on high alert, ready to serve the examinees their baths, meals, and help them reorganize their exam baskets and replenish their supplies.
Jiang Xiaoqi and Lao Wang got into the carriage. Lao Wang kept his eyes closed and didn't say a word the whole way, as if his body had been hollowed out.
Just as Jiang Xiaoqi was thinking of letting it go and asking when she got home, Lao Wang suddenly spoke up.
"Brother Mingfei, do you know how miserable I am? I listened to you and laid out the rainproof tarpaulin as soon as I entered the examination room, but I still received a dirty exam paper the next day!"
You tell me! Where can I even seek justice?! Those damned bailiffs and soldiers, just to avoid punishment themselves, shoved mud-splattered exam papers into my hands!
I carefully wiped it with a fine cotton cloth, wasting more than an hour, and it still wasn't clean. Those incompetent people! They've caused me so much trouble!
The system had already reported the matter to Jiang Xiaoqi in the examination room. Although it didn't go into such detail, Jiang Xiaoqi had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
Originally intending to comfort her friend after leaving the exam hall, Jiang Xiaoqi poured out all the words of comfort she had prepared.
"Oh, Mingfei, there's no need to comfort me. Although the world has been so unfair to me, I have already solved it with my own abilities."
"Either you rise to the occasion in adversity, or you perish in it!"
Solved? How was it solved?
"Oh? Since the exam paper was already dirty, how did you deal with it, Brother Wang? Did a proctor intervene and give you a clean exam paper?"
"How could that be? Don't you know these officials? They never like to cause trouble."
Even if a fire breaks out in the examination room, they will not open the door to let people put out the fire or rescue people. They will just hide in a safe place and watch the fire burn out on its own.
As for how many people died, they wouldn't care; they're all selfish and self-serving. Who would uphold justice for candidates without official positions?
At this moment, Old Wang acted like an angry young man, not explaining how he solved the problem, but first launching into a tirade of complaints.
From the examination system to the servants, soldiers, and invigilators in the examination hall, nothing escaped criticism and abuse.
Once Old Wang had finally relieved his frustration, Jiang Xiaoqi offered him a cup of tea to soothe his throat.
"Ahem, thank you, I was just thirsty."
Old Wang took the tea and gulped it down in several large mouthfuls, swallowing all the tea leaves.
Old Wang didn't spit it out; he chewed it up and swallowed it, as if he weren't chewing tea leaves but someone's flesh and blood.
"And then? You still haven't told me how you finally used your extraordinary abilities to turn the rotten into the miraculous?"
Jiang Xiaoqi's eyes were clear, bright, and sincere, and Old Wang was stunned for a moment.
"Ahem, well, Mingfei, you know me, Lao Wang. You have no idea how much effort I put in!"