Chapter 9: The Big Gamble

  Five whole hours have passed, and Yaya Lianxiang has come twice to urge him to go to bed. Both times were rejected by him.

  Later, his mother Zhang was afraid that he would exhaust himself from studying and personally came to urge him. He reluctantly put away "The Secret History of the Sun" and went back to bed.

  Xiang Qiushui tossed and turned on her bed until the roosters crowed but still couldn't fall asleep.

  "Whoosh!"

  He sprang up from the bed, his eyes flashing with determination. It was as if he had made some earth-shattering decision, and said: "Ji Yicheng can be granted a noble title of a different surname, and has the good fortune to see the 'Stairway to Heaven' - I'm guessing. Am I, a double Ph.D. in modern China, not even comparable to him?

  Cultivate your skills!

  In my previous life, I broke through to the 'Pre-Heavenly' realm at the age of 20. Although this life's body is a bit 'worn out', even if it takes 'grinding an iron rod into a needle', I will still break through to the 'Martial Pre-Heavenly' realm. Even if I can't return to China, in this life, on the historical stage of the 'Xuan Huang Continent', I must leave behind a 'vibrant and colorful stroke'.

  Passing the imperial examination and becoming an official!

  Strive to pass the imperial examination and become a jinshi, best to strive for top three honors, enter officialdom, step by step climb towards high-ranking officials of the Taeyang Dynasty, strive to become the second non-royal prince of the Taeyang Dynasty.

  Civil and military advance together!

  Marching towards the 'Stairway to Heaven', everything is for the sake of getting closer to the 'Stairway to Heaven'...

  This is the most brilliant decision made by Xiang Qiushui in this life, and 'Xuan Huang Continent' will undergo a tremendous change because of him. Can he do it?

  Let's wait and see!

  Having made up her mind, Xiang Qiushui also put down her heart and fell asleep with a snore.

  What a sweet dream!

  Yu Yan Yu's stunning beauty was nestled in Xiang Qiushui's arms, using her delicate white hands to gently knead, pinch, rub and massage Xiang Qiushui's chest.

  He was so furious that his heart was burning with fire, and Long Gen's legs were also trembling. He wanted to lift the dragon's head quickly. If 'Yan Yu' accidentally touched him, he would be in trouble. 'Yan Yu' was a traditional lady with a strong sense of propriety, and she would definitely glare at him with her phoenix eyes and scold him for being indecent.

  Xiang Qiushui's heart suddenly tightened, and she immediately came back to her senses.

  Opening her blurry eyes after sleep, she realized that it was just a dream. What 'smoke and rain'? The one calling out to him in front of the bed is actually the lovely maid Lian Xiang.

  It was already lunchtime, and Xiang Qiushui finished washing up under the service of Lian Xiang. After more than three months of training, Xiang Qiushui had become accustomed to the luxurious life with maids serving her. She thought it wasn't bad!

  At the dinner table, Xiang Qiushui had just finished a bowl of rice when he saw his mother, Zhang Shi, glance at him with a worried expression and a very dejected look, wanting to speak but hesitating.

  "Mother... are you... uncomfortable? Tell Ah-Dan..."

  "Ah-Dai, your mother is very well. Alas! If you had half of 'Huài Yì's learning, it would be enough." Zhang sighed.

  "Mother! What's... going on?"

  The wet nurse, Li, who was standing by, couldn't help but interrupt, saying: "That's right, Master Qiushui. In four months' time, around mid-October, the 'county examination' will be held in Haigang County, and candidates from five neighboring counties will all come to take it."

  Personally presided over by the provincial education minister.

  Originally, the candidates who participated in the "county test" were first the "Tongsheng" who had been admitted to the "prefectural test". More than 100 years ago, Xiang's ancestors had served as the provincial academician, so this time the "county test" gave Xiang's family a special "grace quota", that is, even without the identity of "Tongsheng", this young man from Xiang's family could also directly participate in the "county test".

  This single quota has caused trouble.

  Among your five paternal uncles, there are also 5 cousins who have not obtained the "Tongsheng" qualification, but there is only one quota.

  Finally, the great uncle decided to use 'grabbing gold turtles' (also known as 'grabbing lots') to resolve this matter. Your mother then expressed that our branch would give up, but unexpectedly your fourth and fifth uncles strongly opposed it.

  As the most central branch of the Xiang family and occupying the entire row of large houses on the east side of the Xiang family's big house, they should bring glory to the Xiang family.

  Because this time's 'Cheng En Quota' was personally approved by the provincial academic administration, if you don't get in, it will bring shame to the Xiang family.

  Because your fourth and fifth uncles' two children are completely ignorant, every day they only know how to drink flower wine. They're afraid that if they get drafted, they won't be able to pass the imperial examination for xiucai, and their faces will lose all dignity!

  The Xie family may not be a top-notch wealthy family in this county of The Hague, but they are also at the peak of the second-rate families, and this face can't be lost...

  So it was proposed that all six families should be arrested... but our branch just happened to have you, who had just turned 15 years old, meeting the 'county exam' requirements, this... alas!

  The house suddenly fell silent.

  "Hmph! Clearly knowing I'm a 'fool', yet still forcing me to 'catch the golden turtle', isn't this just waiting for a joke? Item Autumn Water silently hummed in anger, "However! Last night had already made up my mind to 'enter officialdom and become an official', from another perspective, it's indeed 'sleepy came to send pillows', which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Hmph! I'll take the wrong path, this 'fool' will take the imperial examination and show off to the Item family. Heh heh! I reckon it'll become a great legend in Haigang County, who knows if it'll even be recorded in the county annals..."

  "Alas! Ah-Dai, come and eat! Eat your fill and take good care of yourself, don't think about anything else." Mother Zhang said with a heart full of pity.

  Xiang Qiushui looked at her mother a few times, as if she had made up her mind, and said: "Mother! 'Grab the Golden Turtle'... just grab it! Dair will also... go... try."

  "Master, how can this be?" Nurse Li cried out in distress, for Xiang Qiushui was someone she had raised herself, and she loved him more than her own son.

  "Alas! If we must be caught, then so be it! We've lost face enough over the years, what's one more time?" Mother Zhang sighed sorrowfully, her eyes already welling up with tears.

  "A woman shouldering such a huge burden... Mother! You've suffered, I'll make you happy..." Xiang Qiushui vowed silently.

  Around 3 pm.

  Xiang Qiushui followed her mother Zhang Shi to the Xiang family's council hall.

  Several uncles and cousins also arrived.

  "Hey! Isn't this our silly young master? You're also here to 'catch the golden turtle'! Hehe..." A stout, big-eared, and pumpkin-bodied young man, with a eunuch-like voice, was teasing.

  Haha! Haha! Haha!

  Suddenly, it made everyone in the hall burst out laughing.

  Xiang Qiushui's face twisted in disgust as he searched for Ah Duan's memories, "It was actually Fourth Uncle's son Xiang Man, a gluttonous and lazy good-for-nothing who spent all his days 'hanging out at the brothel'."

  "Xiang Man, how can you talk like that." Fourth Uncle was also trying to hold back his smile while scolding his own son.

  "It's true! Fourth Uncle. Ah-Dai is also a member of our Xiang family, who knows, maybe this year will really 'iron tree blooms', and a 'Xiucai' will fall from the sky and hit Ah-Dai's head. Hehe..." said Tie, the son of Fifth Uncle, a sturdy and rough-looking young man with a serious expression.

  "Hah! Hah! Hah!"

  The laughter in the hall was like thunder, shaking the tung oil lamps hanging on the side, making a 'rustling' sound.

  Even a clay man has three points of anger, let alone now Ah-Dai's soul is inhabited by the double Ph.D. Xiang Qiushui, a genius. At this moment, his silly face had gradually turned green with rage, in the prelude to an outburst. His fingernails were deeply dug into his flesh, and his joints crackled softly.

  "He! Xiucai! The people of the 'Sun Dynasty' aren't all dead yet, are they?" Xiang Man felt that the fire was not burning fiercely enough, and he vigorously added another barrel of oil.

  "Hmph! Have you had enough?!" Mother Zhang finally couldn't help but speak up, her words directly targeting Ah-Dai's older cousins Xiang Man and Xiang Tie. "Ah-Dai may be foolish, but can you two guarantee that you'll pass the exam?"

  "Haha! Brother-in-law, my family's 'Item Iron' may not be learned or skilled, but he's not stupid either. Whether 'Xiucai' can pass the exam or not, I dare not say, but he'll definitely pass the grading match... Ah-dai, heh heh! Guaranteed to reach the top 10."

  The man known as 'Laughing Tiger' - Fifth Uncle Xiang Huashun, smoothed out his whiskers with a casual hand and said with a dismissive glint in his triangular eyes.

  "You!...... Cough cough......"

  Mother Zhang was so angry that her slender body was trembling, and she was coughing, with tears in her eyes, unable to speak, her face even paler.

  Lao Liu and Lao Wu lived together in the southern wing of the Xiang family compound. Over the years, they had taken on several concubines and had a large number of children, causing their population to surge. As a result, their living space was no longer spacious.

  The two of them had long been staring at the row of large houses on the east side of Xiang Qiushui's branch with hungry wolf-like eyes, looking for the clan leader, Great Uncle Xiang Huairén, to propose that they vacate half of the eastern house.

  The clan leader is also in a difficult situation!

  However!

  He also didn't want to gain a reputation for bullying 'widows and orphans', so in the end he suggested that the six families discuss and decide by show of hands.

  If six families vote, it's usually not possible to pass. First of all, Aunt Zhang will definitely not agree. The second and third uncles don't have many people in their households and are temporarily not short of houses. They shouldn't be the ones to play the villain. The clan leader, Big Uncle, is still relatively fair...

  The main reason is that Zhang Yueying's maternal family is a first-class wealthy family in the provincial capital of 'Fuzhou', and her elder brother Zhang Xinling, who is only about 40 years old, has already held the position of 'Quanzhou Prefecture Governor' at the rank of 'Fourth Grade'.

  Uncle Zhang Zhihao holds the position of Bingbu Dailang, while his elder brother Zhang Chengzong is a second-grade imperial guard with a rank of 'from four products', who dares to provoke them?

  Although Zhang Yueying was 'not welcomed' in her family, if she was really bullied by the Xiang family, for the sake of face, Zhang Xinling and other members of the Zhang family would have to intervene.

  So, Fourth Master and Fifth Master often secretly plotted against each other, occasionally creating some trouble for Xiang Qiushui's branch.

  Xiang Qiushui felt a pang of heartache, through this period of contact with Zhang's family, he had already deeply acknowledged this simple, kind and loving mother.

  "Daughter! What's... wrong?" Xiang Qiushui walked over with a dark face, supporting Zhang Shi and calling out. He immediately turned around, staring at his cousins Xiang Man and Xiang Tie in a daze, choking back for half a day before furiously shouting: "You two dare to gamble with Ah Dan?" The word 'gamble' was spat out after being held back for half a day.

  "Bet? Bet on what?" Xiang Man was slightly stunned, probably couldn't have guessed in his dreams that Ah Dai would bring up the idea of betting.

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