Chapter 254: The Person Under the Tree

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: The Person Under the Tree

Ji Huan planned to check when the last batch of spices could be harvested, but when she reached Nanshan, she froze.

The setting sun cast a lingering, orange-yellow glow on the ancient tree that stood on the low slope opposite her.

Beneath the tree, a man in a green robe stood tall, a faint smile on his face as he watched her.

"You’re here."

It was a simple greeting, as if they had just seen each other yesterday.

"Yes, but how...?" Ji Huan gestured at their surroundings.

Few people came this way, aside from the families who had cleared the land. And even those who had land here had already finished their harvesting and planting for the season, so no one would come by without a reason.

After all, a little farther west was the burial mound, a place the villagers were quite superstitious about.

Song Jing raised a hand, showing her the book scroll he was holding. "It’s quiet here. A good place to read for a while."

Ji Huan breathed a sigh of relief.

’I thought for a second he was here waiting specifically for me,’ she thought.

’That would have made me feel so guilty. He had no idea when I’d be coming, so wouldn’t that mean he’d been waiting for a long time?’

The two of them sat on the ground under the tree, leaving some distance between them.

They hadn’t had a chance to meet since that one time in town during the peace negotiations.

Song Jing had been busy preparing for his exams and had barely returned to Dafeng Village. According to Widow Xie, he had visited the hot and spicy soup stall a few times with his classmates, but due to the trouble with Cao Yunyun, Ji Huan herself had rarely gone to the stall during that period.

Not seeing each other for so long felt a little strange.

"You..."

"You..."

They both spoke at the same time, then froze in unison.

They looked at each other and smiled, and that familiar feeling slowly returned.

"You’ve lost a lot of weight."

From a distance at the bottom of the slope, she had already noticed that Song Jing’s figure had thinned, but now that she was closer, she could see that the contours of his face were much more defined.

But while he was thinner, he didn’t look gaunt. In fact, his gentle eyes seemed even more vibrant, and he appeared more handsome and refined than ever before.

’He seems to be in good spirits, as if he’s quite confident about this county school exam.’

Ji Huan guessed as much but didn’t voice her thoughts, not wanting to add any pressure on him before the exam.

"You, on the other hand, have gotten much taller," Song Jing said, raising a hand to gesture.

In truth, it was more than just her height; Ji Huan’s transformation was immense.

So much so that when he first saw her just now, he had almost not recognized her.

She was like a new willow shoot that had suddenly sprouted, slender yet resilient. Her thin summer clothes did little to hide the change in her figure.

Not only had she shot up in height, but her once coarse and dry hair had become black and smooth.

Her once sallow face, nourished by the spring breeze and bathed in the summer dew, had become as soft and white as tender tofu.

Now, veiled in a soft halo of light, she looked almost unreal.

In just half a year, time had sculpted an ordinary young girl into a graceful and slender beauty, making one marvel at the wonders of creation.

Fortunately, her brows and eyes were still the ones he knew, and her clear, limpid gaze remained as bright as ever.

Song Jing forced himself to look away from her captivating face, his gaze shifting to the distance. He suddenly felt a bit hesitant about what he had wanted to say.

Ji Huan noticed him repeatedly tightening and loosening his grip on his book, creasing it badly, and found it strange.

’This isn’t like the Song Jing who cherishes books as if they were his own life. Has he run into some kind of trouble?’

Just a moment ago, she had decided not to ask about the exam to avoid pressuring him, but in the end, she couldn’t help herself.

"What day has been set for your county school exam?"

Her question seemed to bring Song Jing back to his senses.

"It’s set for the sixteenth of the eighth month, right after the Mid-Autumn Festival."

’The sixteenth of the eighth month... isn’t that just nine days from now?’

Ji Huan wasn’t very familiar with the ancient imperial examination system, only knowing the rough details.

For example, the county school exam had to be taken in the Prefecture City and was normally held in the sixth or seventh month. The chief examiner was the Academic Administrator, an official from the Hanlin Academy or one of the Six Ministries appointed by the Emperor to serve in a province for a three-year term, during which they had to preside over at least two exams.

The child students who passed the county school exam would be enrolled in the prefectural, state, or county schools, becoming official students, also known as Scholars.

And becoming a Scholar meant leaving the commoner class and taking the first step on the path to an official career.

"Then don’t you have to go all the way to Youyang?"

Song Jing shook his head. "It’s in Yeyang this year."

Since Pan Jiadao became the County Magistrate of Yeyang, the city has started to overshadow the Prefecture City, Youyang, in recent years. Furthermore, the peace negotiations with Beiliang were held in Youyang, which created resentment among students from various regions. As a result, the examination was simply moved to Yeyang.

"That’s good. At least you’re more familiar with Yeyang. Still, I suggest you go a couple of days early. You’ll need to arrange your meals, transportation, and lodging in advance."

A slight smile broke through Song Jing’s somewhat solemn expression.

"Don’t worry, our teacher has already made arrangements. He’ll be going with us."

Ji Huan cleared her throat.

"Er, so, how are your preparations coming along?"

She had made a point to ask around. For the county school exams here in the Northern Pass region, the number of successful candidates each year averaged around forty for large counties, twenty to thirty for mid-sized ones, and only about a dozen for small counties.

The competition was beyond fierce.

She wondered how many spots Yeyang would be allotted this year.

"Not bad."

Song Jing’s words weren’t overly modest, but he wasn’t boasting either.

But to Ji Huan, it seemed he was approaching this exam with an effortless confidence.

"Then why do I get the feeling that... you have something on your mind?"

"I was just thinking..."

Song Jing paused, avoiding Ji Huan’s probing gaze.

"I was just wondering, if the county school exam goes well, whether I can participate directly in the provincial exam this year."

Ji Huan was completely baffled.

"Aren’t the provincial exams held only once every three years? There shouldn’t be one this year or next, right?"

Song Jing sighed, a wry smile on his face.

"For that, we have our ’wise’ Emperor to thank. The Astronomical Bureau performed a divination and came up with an auspicious omen, proclaiming that next year, a peerless talent capable of saving the age and aiding the world will emerge from nowhere. They will gather in the Imperial City to assist their enlightened lord, establish a holy, peerless legacy, and forge an invincible foundation. The inner court hastily issued a decree, and so, we have this provincial exam."

Ji Huan was truly at a loss for words.

According to incomplete accounts, more than a dozen ministers had been successively exiled to the Northern Pass region since the new year, all on charges of offending the Emperor with their frank admonishments.

’So you’re telling me there isn’t a single great talent among all the civil and military officials in the court? Or at least, not one that suits his fancy?’

’He has to go and believe in some ethereal divination and astrological signs?’

The late Emperor had indeed set a precedent for holding "examinations of grace," but those were always for imperial celebrations or other major joyous occasions. One as absurd as this was simply beyond comment.

For scholars, however, it was undoubtedly a good thing.

"So has a date been set for the provincial exam?"

The provincial exam was always held in the autumn, during the eighth month, usually on the ninth, twelfth, and fifteenth. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be known as the "Autumn Examination."

Now, with an extra exam suddenly squeezed in and the county school exam being slightly later than usual, there was a time conflict... Unless the provincial exam was also postponed, Song Jing wouldn’t even be here considering whether to participate.

"You guessed right. It’s been postponed until the end of the tenth month."

’The end of the tenth month... that’s really pushing it...’

Then, Ji Huan remembered another problem.