Wang Xiaohu was utterly impressed by him. No wonder Shopkeeper Yang had suggested the previous day that he rest at Zuixiao Restaurant. Given Fang Zichen's habit of sleeping in, if he had not come to wake him, he would likely have slept straight until noon.
Fang Zichen knew that today was for a major undertaking, so even though he wanted to lie in, he didn't dare overdo it.
In such matters, it was better to arrive early than to be late.
However, just as he stepped out of Zuixiao Restaurant, in the cold, misty haze, Zhao Ger stood holding Guaizai at the entrance.
"Why are you here?" Fang Zichen touched Zhao Ger's face, it was icy cold, and he feared they had been waiting for a long time.
The sky wasn't even fully light yet, Zhao Ger must have come in the dark.
"I came to see my husband off," Zhao Ger said.
"See me off, my foot! I'm going for the imperial exams, not to a funeral, what's with the seeing off?" After scolding, Fang Zichen saw Zhao Ger hanging his head, his eyes dim, his expression somewhat dejected.
He let out a deep sigh, went to hold Zhao Ger's hands, and asked gently, "Are you cold?"
Zhao Ger's lips were purple from the cold.
He hadn't had time to prepare winter clothes yet and was still wearing his summer garments.
Guaizai was wrapped in a thin quilt.
The weather in late autumn was like this, cold in the morning and evening, but hot at noon.
While walking, he had not felt the chill, but standing still and waiting for nearly an hour, it was indeed a bit cold.
Originally, he hadn't wanted to come, but Fang Zichen hadn't been home last night.
Having grown accustomed to sleeping while being held, accustomed to his scent, with him gone, Zhao Ger hadn't slept a wink all night.
He missed Fang Zichen terribly, and every sound outside the courtyard made him anxious and unable to sleep.
It wasn't just him, even Guaizai was the same.
Without Fang Zichen, he couldn't even eat his dinner.
After his bath, he wouldn't lie down but sat holding his pillow, shedding tears, repeatedly saying he wanted his father.
Zhao Ger coaxed him, saying his Father had gone for the imperial exams and would be back in a couple of days.
Guaizai had known about this beforehand and thought Fang Zichen going for the exams was like going to work, he would go during the day and come back at night.
Upon hearing now that he wouldn't see him for several days, he immediately began to sob.
"Want Father... Guaizai wants Father, don't want Father to take exams, Guaizai wants Father, Daddy, Guaizai wants Father, wants Father to hold and sleep."
He didn't throw a tantrum, just cried silently, repeating the same phrase over and over.
He didn't fall asleep until midnight and was still sleeping now.
Zhao Ger shook his head and said, "I'm not cold!"
"I'll believe that when pigs fly." Fang Zichen pulled him into the shop, instructed Wang Xiaohu to bring him some hot soup, went back upstairs to find a coat, and came down to drape it over him.
"I have to go now. Be good, drink some soup first to warm your stomach."
"Mm!" Zhao Ger's gaze followed him until Fang Zichen's figure disappeared.
The imperial examinations served to select talented individuals for the court.
Whoever could fight their way through the intense competition would achieve a dramatic change in fortune, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, and rapidly rise to success.
The inspection process was extremely strict.
If candidates brought their own dry rations, such as buns or steamed bread, the soldiers would break them into pieces to examine them.
Candidates had to remove all their clothes, and inspections were conducted under the arms, in the mouth, and even in the anus.
Not only that, but those with irregular or unappealing facial features were also disqualified from taking the examination.
The entire process took quite a bit of time.
Being stripped naked was an uncomfortable experience not only for conservative people of this era but even for a modern person like Fang Zichen; it felt very awkward.
Especially when the young soldier's eyes lit up looking at his abdominal muscles, Fang Zichen's buttocks clenched involuntarily.
After receiving his number and entering the examination hall, finding his seat, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His seat was at the very front of the hall.
The latrine was in the middle of the examination ground.
In this hot weather, anyone sitting next to the latrine would be terribly unlucky, cursed for eight lifetimes.
However, the front row seats were also widely considered undesirable.
With the chief examiner seated prominently at the front, candidates with weaker nerves would find the pressure unbearable.
But Fang Zichen felt that as long as his seat wasn't next to the latrine, any location was perfectly acceptable.
Back when he was studying, exam seats were assigned by grades, and he sat right under the teacher's nose without feeling anything wrong.
His mindset was remarkably steady.
There were no individual examination cubicles.
To prevent cheating, desks were separated by boards about thirty centimeters high in front and on both sides.
The desks were also spaced far apart.
Unless one were a giraffe, even stretching one's neck until it broke, they wouldn't be able to see a thing.
Moreover, with examiners patrolling back and forth, any candidate who moved too much would be warned.
Under such strict conditions, who would dare not behave?
The examiner distributed the test papers.
Fang Zichen habitually scanned both sides.
The back of the exam paper was blank.
There were just two sheets, with four questions in total.
The weather wasn't hot now, just right, and he was at his most alert.
Fang Zichen picked up his brush and wrote swiftly in one go.
The methods of examiners grading papers were largely the same across eras, with their primary requirement being a neat examination paper featuring tidy and clear handwriting.
To be safe, most candidates would cautiously draft and refine their answers on scratch paper first, only copying the final version onto the official examination paper after confirmation.
He wrote quickly, as if inspired.
The chief examiner had never seen him pause to think.
Coupled with his particularly striking appearance, the chief examiner paid him more attention.
He kept watching and watching, as if he had never seen a handsome man before.
Fang Zichen looked up, smiled at him, and then buried his head in writing again.
The chief examiner, encountering such a candidate for the first time in his life, couldn't help but find it amusing.
This candidate certainly has gall (bold).
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