While this vigorous and energetic movement was underway, Xu Huaiqian and Chen Liejiu were nestled intimately in their residence in Changnan Prefecture.
Xu Huaiqian's provincial exam lasted nine days. Chen Liejiu hadn't held his little husband to sleep for nine whole days and missed him terribly.
So, after returning from the meal at Huicui Restaurant, Chen Liejiu pulled his little husband into the large room of their residence for some intimate time.
The residence in Changnan was different from the house in Xinghua Village. The Xinghua house was small, filled with Xu Huaiqian and Chen Liejiu's belongings. Even when Xu Huaiqian was absent, it felt warm.
But Changnan was different. The house here was too big, and Xu Huaiqian hadn't lived there long. It felt empty and vast. Sleeping alone in such a room was too lonely.
It was only reassuring when his little husband slept beside him.
"You missed me that much?!" After several days in a row where Chen Liejiu would pull Xu Huaiqian into the room for intimacy after meals, Xu Huaiqian was almost overwhelmed by his enthusiasm.
"Mm." Chen Liejiu lay in the crook of Xu Huaiqian's arm, playing with his hair. "When you're not by my side, it feels like something's missing."
It was strange. He had been away from Xu Huaiqian before when handling business, and it never felt wrong. But this time, during Xu Huaiqian's exams, even though the exam compound wasn't far, he couldn't help but think about him constantly.
"There's still the Metropolitan and Palace exams!" Xu Huaiqian held his wife, equally content. Although the exam compound was well-prepared by his wife, not being able to hold her at night left him feeling empty. "After these two exams, I'll never leave you again!"
"The Metropolitan and Palace exams are in the capital, right?!" Chen Liejiu remembered. "Then I need to make a trip to the capital in advance!"
Xu Huaiqian was puzzled: "What are you going to the capital for?"
Chen Liejiu blinked at his little husband and uttered three words: "Buy a house?"
"Buy a house?!" Xu Huaiqian's hand trembled. "Why are you buying a house in the capital?"
It wasn't that Xu Huaiqian didn't support his wife's desire to buy a house in the capital. The main issue was... they currently didn't have that much money on hand.
The year before last, their imitation silver charcoal brought in over six thousand taels, and last year it was over seven thousand taels. All of it had been spent by his wife on building the road.
Plus, over the past two years, they had bought various other things. Their daily expenses on food and medicine were also quite high, and Chen Liejiu always seemed to enjoy spending money on projects for him—like renovating the examination compound.
Now, the money they had left was only a little over two thousand taels.
With that amount, buying a house in the capital probably wasn't possible, right?!
"You'll be taking the exams in the capital; you really should have a property there," Chen Liejiu explained his plan to Xu Huaiqian. "The capital is very cold. I'm afraid you won't be comfortable staying in an inn."
Chen Liejiu had never told Xu Huaiqian what Doctor Miao had said about him having only ten years to live. Three years had already passed since that prediction was made.
Over the years, Xu Huaiqian's complexion had looked better each year, nothing like someone with only a decade left. But Chen Liejiu didn't dare gamble with Xu Huaiqian's life.
Better to believe it exists than to risk ignoring it.
He had inquired; the capital's winters were harsh with heavy snow, unlike Changnan, which was cold but saw no snow. He was afraid Xu Huaiqian wouldn't cope well in such an environment, but he didn't want to discourage him from going to the capital for the exams either.
Xu Huaiqian had come this far. If Chen Liejiu advised him to give up now, all the effort of these past years would be wasted.
So, what he could do was create a relatively comfortable environment for Xu Huaiqian, to help him go to the capital and take the exams in better conditions.
Xu Huaiqian also understood his own health always caused trouble for Chen Liejiu and frowned, "But our funds don't seem sufficient."
If they had been more frugal with their daily expenses, it might have been enough. But their spending was high—from tens of taels per month initially to possibly around a hundred taels now, with his medical expenses taking up a large portion.
"Can the Sichuan peppercorns at home be harvested soon?" Chen Liejiu suddenly remembered they had five mu of peppercorn trees. Unlike ginger, peppercorns bear fruit every two years, and this year was the second year—time for harvest.
"Oh, right!" If Chen Liejiu hadn't mentioned it, Xu Huaiqian would have almost forgotten about his peppercorns.
In ancient times, after black pepper, Sichuan peppercorns were among the most expensive—they were treasures!
"My five mu of peppercorn trees should yield at least five hundred jin of peppercorns, right?" Peppercorns were different; only the husks were used, and the seeds inside were discarded. Dried, each tree might only yield a few jin, but that didn't stop them from being highly profitable.
Medical clinics bought peppercorns for one hundred wen per qian. Ten qian made one liang, and sixteen liang made one jin. One jin would cost ten taels of silver.
Five hundred jin of peppercorns would earn him five thousand taels of silver!
"A-Jiu, is your husband amazing or what?!" Calculating this, Xu Huaiqian suddenly felt very wealthy. Before, it was always Chen Liejiu supporting him; now he could finally support himself for once.
"Amazing!" Chen Liejiu hadn't expected that just growing some peppercorns would bring such a windfall. He happily kissed Xu Huaiqian's face several times.
With this money, he could buy a house in a relatively good location in the capital and furnish it to Xu Huaiqian's liking.
Thinking this, he couldn't help but kiss Xu Huaiqian a few more times. His little husband was exceptional in every way!
"But with all the unrest outside, can we even get to the capital?" As much as he dreamed, Xu Huaiqian couldn't help but worry. He was also concerned that the Emperor might revert the exams back to the old format.
If it went back to testing poetry and prose, he would really struggle. He initially thought he could handle policy discussions and people's livelihoods, but at the academy, he realized that wasn't how they were tested. Those essays were still judged on literary merit—whose composition was better. How could his plain writing style compare to those who had been learning classical prose since birth?
After four years of studying for the exams, his current affairs essays were still a mix of modern and classical styles. Would the provincial examiners still favor the pedantic, overly ornate writing of before?!
Xu Huaiqian thought about it and grew anxious about his exam results.
"Who cares?" Chen Liejiu wasn't as worried as Xu Huaiqian. "The exam is over. The decisions are up to the authorities. Worrying yourself sick won't change anything. It's better to relax and prepare what needs to be prepared." Just in case he passed and was caught off guard.
Like buying a house!
"Alright." His wife was so free-spirited and unworried; Xu Huaiqian was infected by her attitude and decided to leave it to fate. He had written what he could. He just hoped the examiners wouldn't be too pedantic and might let him scrape through as a Juren, even if just barely.
While Xu Huaiqian was praying, a group of Grand Secretaries in the throne room were reviewing the exam papers.
"This is the poetry and prose they were clamoring to bring back?" The Emperor laughed when he saw the Juren candidates' papers. "This literary quality isn't even as good as the Crown Prince's poetry when he was ten."
"His Highness the Crown Prince is naturally different from these Xiucai," a eunuch beside the Emperor immediately flattered.
"The teachers are different, so the results are different," the Emperor shook his head, not buying the flattery. "The Crown Prince was taught by the Grand Tutors; it's reasonable for his literary talent to surpass theirs. But these people aren't even particularly skilled in poetry and prose, yet they demand the exams be reverted. It's utterly foolish!"
So stupid.
Which is harder: learning poetry or learning current affairs?
The Emperor believed poetry was harder. Poetry required artistic conception and talent. Without that innate sense and talent, even racking one's brains would only produce mediocre verses.
But current affairs were different. As long as one could settle their heart, carefully observe the common people around them, understand their livelihoods, and empathize with ordinary folks, they could write a decent, even above-average, current affairs essay. Wasn't that easier than composing poetry?
"Boring." The Emperor read many exam papers but didn't find any poetry or prose that satisfied him. He turned to the officials below: "Have any of you found something you like?"
The Grand Secretaries below all shook their heads.
Those who could become Grand Secretaries were no ordinary scholars. How could commonplace writings catch their eye?
"Then let's look at the current affairs papers," the Emperor expected this outcome. "See if there are one or two with innate wisdom."
"Ah, yes," the Emperor remembered something, "set aside the exam papers from Changnan's candidates. I will review them personally."
This year's tax revenue from Yong'an Prefecture was so outstanding; surely there must be many well-answered current affairs essays on taxation, right?
However, there's a saying: the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
After reading several papers from Changnan candidates, they were all filled with nonsensical, incoherent answers that missed the point entirely.
The Emperor shook his head while reading them.
These candidates were stumped by a simple question about increasing tax revenue. If they became officials in the future, how would they handle the various local problems they'd face?
Would they also gather and protest, demanding the questions be changed to something they knew? How absurd!
Just as the Emperor was growing impatient and considering calling it quits, a paper with clear, elegant handwriting caught his eye.
Its current affairs section wasn't mostly blank like the others but was densely filled across several pages.
The Emperor's spirits lifted. He slowly picked up the paper and began reading carefully.
The more he read, the brighter his eyes became; the more he read, the better his mood; the more he read, the more amazed he felt.
"Excellent! Truly excellent answers!" The Emperor read the paper several times over. "Not a single wasted word in the entire text. Compared to those half-classical, half-archaic essays that nitpick over phrasing, this is infinitely better."
"And the handwriting is also excellent!" The Emperor examined the characters more closely—the more he looked, the more pleased he felt. He handed the paper to the academicians below: "You should take a look too."
It was rare to find a paper the Emperor liked so much. The Hanlin Academy academicians stood up, took the paper from the Emperor, and gathered to read it together.
"Indeed, it's very good. Although the literary style is somewhat plain, every point hits the mark. It vividly captures Yong'an Prefecture's tax revenue situation as if we had witnessed it ourselves."
Everyone in the court knew about Yong'an's major tax increase, but some still had only a partial understanding of the process. This paper cleared away those uncertainties, giving them a deeper impression of how this tax achievement came about.
"Very good, very good."
"Rare to find such a clear-thinking paper among a pile of overly ornate exam papers."
"Current affairs essays should be written exactly like this."
When testing poetry before, they evaluated based on literary phrasing and emotional expression. But with current affairs, reading flowery yet hollow rhetoric amidst agricultural and policy topics felt irritating.
This paper's language was simple and concise, explaining the matter clearly in just a few words—truly refreshing.
After reviewing it, not a single Hanlin academician was dissatisfied. They all nodded in agreement and, following the Emperor's apparent inclination, suggested: "Shall we rank it as Jieyuan top candidate?"