Chapter 91: The Battle Robe

After picking up Zhou Huaishan, the three of them headed straight to Qingfeng Inn.

Qingfeng Inn had already prepared dinner for the students.

The name was also quite auspicious, symbolizing success: "Every Exam Brings Victory," "No Failure," "Everyone Passes," "Name on the Golden List," "Victory From the Start."

The students, either in groups of three or five or sitting with their families, ordered food and excitedly discussed the day’s exam.

Of course, the exam content was just a small part of the conversation.

With the huge gossip about Sun Jin, who still had the focus to discuss whether they did well on the exam or not?

Zhou Huaishan, however, wasn’t very interested in the gossip about Sun Jin or Zhou Huaihai. After listening to Zhou Qing, he just grunted, "Serves them right."

"Daughter, after this exam, can I take a few days off? It's almost the New Year."

Zhou Huaishan served Zhou Qing a piece of lamb chop, looking at her hopefully, like a schoolboy eagerly waiting for winter break with no tutoring.

It was already the 12th day of the 11th month, and New Year's Eve was just around the corner.

As they were talking, before Zhou Qing could respond, Uncle Zhong suddenly came in from outside.

Wrapped in a chill, he hurried straight to Shen Li.

Zhou Qing and Zhou Huaishan were both stunned, exchanging glances before turning to look at Uncle Zhong.

Uncle Zhong nodded politely at Zhou Qing and Zhou Huaishan, then turned to Shen Li, "There’s been an incident."

At those words, Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat as she anxiously looked at Shen Li.

Shen Li smiled gently at Zhou Qing, his eyes full of warmth. "It seems I’ll have to head to the capital earlier than planned."

He then turned to Zhou Huaishan.

"Master, my family in the capital has encountered some trouble, and they’ve asked me to go back immediately. But don’t worry, I’ll try to return a month before the next exam after the New Year."

Zhou Huaishan stared at Shen Li, momentarily unable to react.

After a long pause, a flash of light appeared in his eyes, and he couldn’t contain his smile.

"Go and take care of your business, handle it properly, don’t worry about me! No need to rush back! Ah, what I mean is, prioritize your own matters! If you don't take care of it yourself, heaven will punish you. Now, off you go."

Zhou Huaihai had been arrested, but Zhou Huaishan hadn’t been this excited. Now that Shen Li was leaving, Zhou Huaishan was truly overjoyed.

He could barely keep his words straight.

Even though Shen Li was reluctant, he had no choice but to leave immediately.

Once Shen Li left, Zhou Qing and Zhou Huaishan continued their meal, chatting for a while before each retired to rest.

Tossing and turning in bed, Zhou Qing’s mind wandered between worrying about Zhou Huaishan’s exam and wondering about Shen Li. Was he cold on his journey? What had happened to his family?

He had left in such a rush that there hadn’t even been time to ask.

She had originally planned to prepare some gifts for Shen Li’s family, considering how hard he had worked to tutor her father.

The provincial exam lasted three days.

On the third day, the front of the provincial office was packed with people.

Just as everyone was growing anxious, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "They’re out!"

Everyone immediately turned to look at the main gate.

Two officers pulled open the provincial office’s large doors from either side.

As soon as the doors opened, the waiting students, like caged beasts, rushed out, shouting excitedly.

Leading the charge was the young man who had somehow passed the exam by chance, despite barely studying.

Overcome with excitement, the young man took a few steps down the stairs and then leaped into the air, performing a perfect split mid-air.

"I, Su Heng, am finished with the exam!"

He shouted, head thrown back, just as he landed smoothly on the ground.

Immediately, his family surrounded him.

Su Heng’s mid-air split had caught the attention of many, but then, three or five other young men dashed out from behind him.

They sprinted toward the prepared red notice board as fast as they could.

Once they reached the board, they leaped up and, with a slap, kissed the board.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the scene before them.

What was going on?!

Zhou Qing’s eye twitched!

These young men looked familiar. Weren’t they from Qinghe County? They had taken the county exam with her father last time.

Uh...

After "passing with ease," the young men stood in front of the board, excitedly discussing the exam.

Zhou Huaishan, older by years, couldn’t compete with these young men’s energy.

Fortunately, though, the playful mountain had come prepared.

Seeing he couldn’t outrun them, he reached into his bag and pulled out a robe, putting it on.

Zhou Qing stood in shock as she watched her father.

The robe was as wide as a Taoist priest’s robe.

The left side was gray, the right side yellow.

In the middle was a large piece of paper with words written vertically: "Walking Toward Glory (gray-yellow)."

Zhou Qing rubbed her forehead hard, she hurried forward to greet him at a loss of whether to laugh or cry.

"Father, what are you doing?"

Zhou Huaishan strutted proudly, casting a smug glance at the young men he had raced with, then turned to Zhou Qing and smiled, "Daughter, this is called walking toward glory! It means I’ll pass with flying colors."

Zhou Huaishan’s "glorious robe" attracted quite a few stares.

Especially from those young men from Qinghe County, who now looked at Zhou Huaishan with complex expressions, feeling as though they had somehow been duped.

Fortunately, none of them were as obnoxious as Sun Jin and his classmates.

In fact, because of Sun Jin’s scandal, the students from his academy seemed to have lost their dignity and avoided the crowds altogether.

Zhou Qing tugged at Zhou Huaishan’s glorious robe, "When did you prepare this?"

Zhou Huaishan’s face was full of pride, "I prepared it at home. Everything needs a sense of ceremony! You can’t just participate casually!"

The people around them...

For the student exam, the results were usually posted the same day.

As everyone chatted, waiting for the provincial office to open again, time passed quickly. 

Suddenly, a young officer rushed out, "Which one of you is Su Heng?"

At these words, the lucky young man jumped up and popped his head out from the crowd, "Me."

The officer spotted him and ran over with a grin, "Congratulations to Master Su on being the top scorer in this provincial exam."

As soon as the words were spoken, thunderous applause erupted from all around.

Especially from those staying at Qingfeng Inn.

As the top scorer was announced, two other officers approached the red notice board.

Once again, the circular board was prepared, with the word "success" written prominently at the top.

At the very top of the list was Su Heng’s name, followed by the names of the other successful candidates.

Last time, Zhou Huaishan had been the top scorer, so Zhou Qing hadn’t even looked at the board before leaving.

This time, she squeezed into the crowd, anxiously watching as the officer wrote each name one by one. Zhou Qing’s heart pounded in her throat, almost to the point of suffocation.

Finally, after the officer finished writing twenty names, the twenty-first was Zhou Huaishan.

Watching as the officer carefully wrote down her father’s name, Zhou Qing, cold and trembling, finally let out a sigh of relief.

Pushing her way out of the crowd, Zhou Huaishan, with his chin raised in pride and his "glorious robe" fluttering dramatically, walked like a mafia boss from an old Shanghai movie.

It was as if he had his own background music.

"Daughter, I told you I would pass, and I did!" Zhou Huaishan bragged, patting his chest.

Zhou Qing smiled warmly.

Her father was finally a successful scholar.

From here on, the road to the imperial exams had officially begun.

Of course, she wouldn’t tell Zhou Huaishan that now.

After all, the hard work was still ahead of him.