Chapter 55: The County Examination

Although Lin Mo was the magistrate’s son, he still had to take the exam in person. At that moment, he was assigned to the seat directly behind and to the left of Gu Tingzhi. Looking up, he saw Gu Tingzhi sitting with a straight back, writing furiously.

Done already?

Just as he was drifting into a daze, Gu Tingzhi had already switched to another answer sheet. Seeing this, Lin Mo dared not lose focus any longer and hurriedly began writing on his own paper.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ziheng, who had been assigned to the very front row for the first session, couldn't help wanting to turn around and catch a glimpse of Gu Tingzhi, but catching sight of the chief examiner on the dais, he ultimately didn't dare turn his head.

When he visited the Gu residence a few days prior, Gu Tingzhi hadn't fully recovered yet, and he wondered whether he would be able to finish the exam smoothly now.

However, he had no idea that his worry was completely unnecessary. At this moment, Gu Tingzhi was practically unstoppable. Once he glanced over the exam questions, the answers automatically surfaced in his mind, and his hands obeyed his brain, writing down the answers one by one.

By the time he finished writing all the answer sheets, his entire body was drenched in sweat, and his head throbbed with wave after wave of dizziness. Yet, thinking of his family and Manman outside the examination hall, he gritted his teeth and held on.

When another candidate finished and handed in his paper, Gu Tingzhi stood up as well and submitted his examination papers.

Zhang Ziheng glanced down at his own still-blank three pages of paper and grew extremely worried, terrified that Gu Tingzhi might have handed in a blank sheet. He decided that once this session was over, he would look for him and have a proper talk about all the various rules of the examination hall.

Gu Tingzhi and the other candidate who had already submitted their papers were not allowed to leave the tribute examination hall just yet. They were directed to sit inside the examination hall and had to wait until a total of ten candidates had handed in their papers before the Dragon Gate would be opened to release this batch.

If Gu Tingzhi still remembered past events, he would surely have known that the person sitting opposite him right now was Li Liangjie, the very person who had opposed him at every turn back at the Changyun Town academy.

Li Liangjie came from a poor family, much like the Gu family previously, where even getting enough to eat was a struggle. He studied with extreme diligence at the academy, sleeping later than a dog and getting up earlier than a rooster. His efforts bore some fruit, as he managed to maintain a spot in the top ten of Yun'an County in every major and minor examination, earning the high regard of the academy's instructors.

However, perhaps influenced by his background and upbringing, Li Liangjie harbored too much hostility and cynicism. He intensely detested people who were more talented than him without putting in as much effort—people like Gu Tingzhi, and people like Lin Mo.

At this moment, as he looked at Gu Tingzhi sitting across from him, his face betrayed no particular emotion, but inside, his thoughts were churning violently.

Wasn't it rumored that Gu Tingzhi had lost his mind? Then why was he able to hand in his paper so early? Just now, when he had turned back after submitting his papers at the proctoring desk, he had deliberately cast a glance at Gu Tingzhi's answer sheets, and every single page was filled to the brim!

Could it be that he had already recovered? Li Liangjie stared at his face, observing closely, but could discern nothing.

Gu Tingzhi couldn't care less about what was going on in his mind. At the moment, he was trying to recall what he had just written on his answer sheets, but his head kept throbbing, aching so fiercely that he couldn't remember a single character.

A short while later, another group of people filed out one after another. Lin Mo was among them. He glanced at the two individuals still inside the hall, walked over to sit next to Gu Tingzhi, and took the initiative to greet him. The last time he had visited the Gu residence, Gu Tingzhi had been unconscious and thus didn't know him at all, but Gu Tingzhi still politely nodded in response.

Li Liangjie curled his lips in disdain and took the initiative to discuss today's exam questions in low tones with a few other people. After going back and forth over the discussion, some felt they had done well and relaxed, while others regretted being careless when writing down their answers.

Neither Gu Tingzhi nor Lin Mo joined their discussion.

After another quarter of an hour, three more people came out, making a total of ten.

Zhang Ziheng was among them. He eagerly approached Gu Tingzhi and asked how he had done.

Because of Erbai, Gu Tingzhi was somewhat familiar with him, so he shook his head and said, "I've forgotten."

Zhang Ziheng wore a worried expression. Among the others, some looked sympathetic while others gloated, and even Lin Mo looked at him in utter astonishment.

"How could you forget? Did you at least write all the answers on the sheets just now? Do you remember that much?"

Gu Tingzhi nodded. That much he remembered—they were all filled completely!

Before he could say anything more, the bailiffs opened the Dragon Gate, instructing them to check the announcement boards outside the magistrate's office by the *shen* hour tomorrow. If their names were not on the board tomorrow, there would be no need to take part in the second session.

Stepping out of the examination hall, Gu Tingzhi spotted Manman and his younger sister waving at him from amidst the crowd at a single glance, and he strode toward them. Gu Lizong and his two sons were all still there; Zhou Shi had left with the two daughters-in-law not long ago to head home and prepare dinner.

Tacitly, none of them asked Gu Tingzhi how he had fared on the exam.

"Husband, are you hungry? Hurry and eat a pastry to tide you over." Zhen Mier handed him a still-warm beef pastry while using her other hand to take his examination basket.

Gu Tingzhi was indeed hungry. He took the pastry and first held it to Zhen Mier's lips, letting her take a bite before he began eating himself.

The members of the Gu family were already accustomed to this gesture of his and thought nothing of it. However, Zhang Ziheng and Lin Mo, who had followed along, were thoroughly surprised, not expecting Gu Tingzhi to be so unconcerned with formalities.

After exchanging greetings, Gu Lizong took the initiative to invite the two of them to have a meal at the Gu residence.

Zhang Ziheng had already dined at the Gu residence before, so knowing the ropes from his previous visit, he readily agreed. Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, but seeing Zhang Ziheng accept, he agreed as well. He instructed his personal attendant, Quan Feng, to return to the Lin residence first and inform the magistrate's wife.

The group of eight returned to the Gu residence. Zhou Shi and the others had not expected Gu Tingzhi to exit the examination hall so early; dinner had only just begun preparation, and seeing that they had brought guests along, the women hurriedly sped up their work.

Gu Lizong hoisted a hoe over his shoulder and headed to the vegetable patch behind the courtyard, planning to plant the newly purchased cucumber and chili seeds before dinner, and Gu Qingsong went along to help.

Zhen Mier carried Gu Tingzhi's examination basket into the side room, changed into a fresh and brisk outfit, and went to the kitchen to help out as well.

Because she had left the door open, Yibai, who had been staying inside the room and hearing Erbai's sounds from outside, crawled out over the threshold and slowly shuffled toward the main hall.

In the main hall, the sound of laughter and chatter drifted out. Although Zhang Ziheng might appear somewhat reserved, he was actually a typical social butterfly. He had now transformed into an endless chatterbox, making even ordinary events sound thoroughly engaging as he rambled on.

Gu Qingbai had been smooth and tactful since childhood; no matter what topic Zhang Ziheng brought up, he could seamlessly pick up the thread. Lin Mo would occasionally chime in to offer his own insights, and the group quickly struck up a lively conversation. Meanwhile, Gu Tingzhi sat quietly to the side, his mind wandering goodness knows where.

It wasn't until Yibai crawled to his feet and kept nudging his calf with its head that he finally snapped back to reality and scooped the creature up from the floor.

When Zhang Ziheng and Lin Mo caught sight of the pitch-black giant turtle, they froze in astonishment for a good long while. Learning that it had been painted with Huimo ink by Gu Tingzhi, the two of them were left not knowing whether to laugh or cry.