After another three days had passed, the date for the palace exam was set; it was to be on the tenth day of the fourth month.
In the days that followed, Ye Ziāan likewise didnāt venture out, nor did he accept any invitations from other examination candidates. Instead, he stayed home to calmly prepare for the palace exam.
At first, some people might have thought him somewhat aloof, unwilling to socialize, which could limit his connections in the future.
But when they learned that he was diligently preparing for the palace exam, they understood a bit more.
Ye Ziāan had ranked first in the exam, the outcome of the palace exam was still uncertain, but the top three rankings were definitely secured, though it was not known which one he would place in.
~~~~
At the same time, Yang Qingrui and Yang Qingtong also emerged from the exam hall in the prefecture and hurried back to Yangshu Village.
"Sister, we havenāt seen each other for just a month, how come your belly has grown so much?" Yang Qingtong asked as soon as he stepped off the horse carriage.
He was lightly slapped on the back of his head by Yang Qingrui, "Have you lost your wits from studying too much? With two little nephews coming, of course itās big.
"Oh, right, right, I almost forgot," Yang Qingtong quickly nodded in agreement.
Yang Chuxia shook her head; her brother was still so naive, childish even, yet he had gone to take the Imperial Exam. The Imperial Exam of the ancient times was indeed demanding.
"Alright, alright, letās all hurry inside. Why stand outside and talk?" Ms. Wang, seeing her two sons return, was very pleased and hurriedly urged them.
Once inside, Yang Chuxia asked, "How was it? How did you do on the exam?"
When asked this, Yang Qingrui remained calm and confident, replying, "I think I did quite well, I should have passed, but weāll see about the final results.
Hearing this, Yang Qingtong felt ashamed and lowered his head, his cheeks turning bright red for anyone watching closely.
"What about Qingtong?" Seeing him lower his head, Yang Chuxia guessed it hadnāt gone well, but to be fair, she asked anyway.
Yang Qingtong heard her ask about him and hesitated for a long time before saying with a look of shame, "Sister, I... Iām afraid I didnāt pass."
"Oh, itās alright if you didnāt pass. Youāre still young; you can always take it again next year." Yang Chuxia wasnāt too disappointed as she had already anticipated this possibility.
However, Yang Qingrui snorted coldly and said, "Itās your own fault that you didnāt pass. Iāve never seen anyone like you. Others donāt finish their papers because they canāt write, which is understandable. But you? You managed to fall deeply asleep during the exam. If you canāt finish, who can you blame? If you donāt pass, who can you blame?"
"What?"
Hearing that this was the reason, Yang Chuxia couldnāt help but feel amused. Yang Dachuan and Ms. Wang exchanged glances, at a loss for words.
What could they say? Remember not to sleep next year? Or keep studying hard? Neither seemed quite right.
She had heard of students falling asleep in their exams due to nervousness from not having slept well the night before. Could it be her younger brother had the same issue?
"Were you nervous about the exam?" she asked.
Yang Qingtongās cheeks were red, and the baby fat on his face had not completely disappeared, adding to his naĆÆve demeanor. He waved his hands quickly and said, "Sister, I... It wasnāt about being nervous, I was just too excited, and I couldnāt sleep. I was alright during the first part, but in the second part, I... I just couldnāt stay awake, and then I didnāt finish half of the paper."
By the end of his confession, his voice had grown softer and his head had lowered even more, as if he was afraid of being scolded.
"If you didnāt finish, then you didnāt finish. You can always take the exam next year; itās not a big deal."
Seeing that Yang Chuxia didnāt scold him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he turned his head to look at Ms. Wang and Yang Dachuan.