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There’s also a belief that the souls of ancestors are welcomed back home for a reunion, hence it’s inappropriate to visit friends or marry during this month.

Therefore, Yingbao and her mother remained at home for the entire month, except for one time when they went with Old Madam Luo to pay their respects at Ling Mountain Temple. The rest of the time was spent at home, tending to newly purchased flower pots and plants.

Her mother, Chunniang, helped plant many flowers for her daughter; some seedlings were purchased from florists, while others were grafted and transplanted herself.

Yingbao cultivated a significant number of mandarins and peaches in pots; they were budding now and would soon bear fruit.

One day, her younger brother, Jiang Jie, suddenly brought Li Xu home.

It turned out that Li Xu was also taking the imperial examination this year and had just arrived in Beijing.

However, Wen Shu and Lady Wen didn’t accompany him. They simply had two servants escort Li Xu to Beijing.

Chunniang promptly arranged a room for Li Xu.

Li Xu didn’t hold back. He spent his days with Jiang Jie, sometimes even attending lectures with Mr. Wu.

Soon it was August, time for Jiang Jie and Li Xu to take the Imperial examination.

Yingbao prepared examination baskets for both of them, stocked with medicinal pills and various foods.

Since it was autumn, and the nights could be quite cold, Yingbao also prepared quilt and cloak for them. She provided a candle and charcoal brazier for each and two wind-blocking oilcloths, along with a hammer, nails, and so forth.

Thinking back to her brother’s embarrassing situation during the provincial examination, she also prepared a pee pot and a chamber pot for him.

If he has indigestion, he can use the chamber pot as a temporary toilet. Afterwards, he can just dispose of it. This was certainly preferable to having the examiner leave a “shit stamp” on his exam paper.

The imperial examination was similar to the provincial examination, nine days long with examinations held across three rounds each lasting three days, and with breaks in between each round.

During these nine days, the examinees were crammed into tiny compartments, barely able to sleep at night.

If it rained, an examinee could fall sick from the cold or dampen his examination papers, all his years of hard work and studying can be ruined.

In the early morning, when it was still dark outside, Yingbao and her stepbrothers sent Jiang Jie and Li Xu to the Examination Yard. They watched as the two boys carried their heavy examination baskets into the gates before they returned home in the coach.

It was still dark, Jiang Quan went back to sleep, while Yingbao lay and chatted with her mother.

“Baobao, do you think Xiaojie will pass?” Chunniang asked.

Yingbao replied, “He will.” And even if he doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. He’s still young and can try again in three years.

Chunniang: “Once Xiaojie becomes an official, your mother can ask Madam Wu to find a good match for you.”

Yingbao let out a sigh.

Chunniang sighed: “Baobao, we can’t delay this any longer. Look at everybody else. They get engaged at the age of thirteen or fourteen and get married at fifteen or sixteen. When your mother married your father, she was only …”

Yingbao turned her head. “Only what?”

Chunniang coughed softly. “Just in her teens.”

Yingbao laughed quietly, “I heard from dad that you married him when you were nineteen.”

“Nonsense! Your mother was only eighteen.” Chunniang scolded, “Your father only talks nonsense!”

Yingbao laughed for a while and then said seriously, “Mom, I won’t marry until I’m twenty-one.”

“What? Twenty-one?” Chunniang pinched her daughter: “By then, are there any suitable choices left?”

Most men marry or get engaged by the time they have their coming-of-age ceremony around twenty years old.

“Then I just won’t marry.” She didn’t care about getting married; she just wanted to stay with her parents.

“No way!” Chunniang thought for a while and suggested, “Why don’t you get engaged first, then… wait until you’re twenty-one to have the wedding.”

Yingbao kept silent.

Her mother was being too naïve. What man would wait that long?

Moreover, if she were to die at the age of twenty-one, wouldn’t that harm others?

Chunniang continued to mutter to herself. “Wei Zhan is a good boy, and so is Wen Hengyin. You know their mothers well, so you two will definitely get along.”

“Xiao Xiaoyao is now a Colonel, and he might get promoted soon.”

“If you are not interested in any of them, I could ask Madam Wu to…”

When Chunniang turned her head, she noticed that her daughter had closed her eyes and fallen asleep, lightly snoring.

“You mischievous girl.” She pinched her daughter’s nose before closing her eyes too.

…

On the third day, Yingbao and her second brother went to fetch them.

Outside the entrance of the Examination Yard, examinees were exiting continuously with their exam baskets in hand.

Their robes were completely crinkled, their hair was messy, and they were staggering as they came out of the barrier range.

Some guys’ faces were as pale as snow, their beards scruffy, seeming as if they would faint any moment.

Their servants or family members hurriedly helped them, and carried them onto the donkey or ox carts.

Yingbao furrowed her brows, standing in front of her carriage and looking towards the Examination Yard.

The number of people exiting was increasing, some were cheerful, others seemed as if they were attending a funeral.

There was even someone who had actually fainted, being carried out of the Examination Yard by the government official.

Finally, she saw her younger brother Jiang Jie, Yingbao waved at him.

Jiang Quan rushed forward, he took Jiang Jie’s exam basket, and placed it on the carriage.

Jiang Jie’s condition was quite good. He blushed and asked his sister to move aside, and he threw the pee-pot from his exam basket into the trash heap.

Quickly, Li Xu also came out, Jiang Quan ran over to help him with his exam basket and helped him onto the carriage.

When they returned home, Chunniang asked Magnolia and Xinghua to heat water for Jiang Jie and Li Xu to bathe and change clothes.

Both of them washed their hair with soap-nut powder, put on clean clothes, and then sat down to eat.

Yingbao made shredded chicken porridge for the two of them, and added five dingzhi mushrooms to it.

After eating, both hurried to sleep. Chunniang and Yingbao arranged the things in their exam baskets again.

The food earlier kept in their exam baskets was all eaten, even several of the medicine pills were missing which showed that they had consumed them.

Yingbao placed two packets of pastries containing five dingzhi mushrooms in the exam baskets again, and replenished the medicine pills.

Early the next morning, she sent them off to the exam yard again…

After three days of exams, Jiang Jie and Li Xu had become significantly haggard.

This was not surprising, they hadn’t been able to rest well every night, and this had been going on for several days, even a machine wouldn’t be able to handle it.

After resting at home for a day, Mr. Wu arrived.

He looked at the two people’s answered exam sheets, stroked his beard and smiled, “Not bad, if there are no surprises, both of you will surely be on the list of successful candidates.”

On hearing this, Jiang Jie and Li Xu sighed slightly with relief and bowed to thank Mr. Wu.

Next up was just waiting for the announcement of results.

Meanwhile, the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.

Yingbao prepared three gifts: one for Mr. Wu and Wu Daozi, and one to send to the Luo Family.

Each gift included two baskets of fruits, two boxes of golden ears and snow fungus, and two jars of grape wine.

Soon they also received gifts in return which included moon cakes in elegant wooden boxes, the most famous four-colored pastries in the area, and some silk cloth.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the renovation of the Jiang Family’s house was finally completed, and the furniture was also ready.

Only the pond in the backyard was not yet ready, which would probably take another two to three months.

Yingbao placed several potted plants in the courtyard such as begonia, magnolia, peony, peach blossom, plum blossom, chrysanthemum, etc., which were all in full bloom, creating a colorful vista.

Then she wrote an invitation letter and had the servants send it to the Luo family and Mr. Wu along with Wu Daozi, inviting them to be a guest at her home the day after.

To prepare the ingredients for the banquet, Yingbao took Xinghua to the market to purchase items.

Since the market was a little far from their home, she asked the coachman to take them there by carriage.

In front of a cake shop, she asked the coachman to stop, and Yingbao and Xinghua got off the carriage.

“These cakes look wonderful.” Xinghua was stunned by the variety of cakes in the shop.

But what astonished her even more were the prices: “My God! A small pack actually costs two coins!”

Yingbao ignored Xinghua’s surprise, and asked the shopkeeper to pack six bags of pastries.

Xinghua carefully held the pastries, but just as she was turning around, she bumped into someone, almost dropping the pastries on the ground.

“Oh! What the heck are you doing?” Xinghua exclaimed, and quickly stabilized the pastries.

Yingbao looked up and saw several people standing at the door of the shop, among them, two women were particularly eye-catching.

At one glance, she recognized the two women to be Han Yueniang and her daughter Chen Tiantian.

The person next to them turned out to be Xiao Chengjun.

It was truly said, enemies always cross each other’s path. Even in Beijing, she ran into these hapless individuals.