Jing Xingzhi’s Daily Life in Ancient Times - Chapter 95

The main courtyard was very large. After stepping through one door after another and walking through several passages, they finally arrived at the small courtyard at the innermost end.

Through the wall, they could hear familiar voices inside.

A woman’s voice was gentler than before, humming a song that would soothe a child to sleep.

“Be good, be good, fall asleep quickly, fall asleep quickly…”

Ning Yongyuan’s pupils suddenly dilated unconsciously, and fragments of his childhood flashed before his eyes.

—At that time, someone had also sung this song to him. He had fallen asleep, lulled by the gentle melody.

But it wasn’t Wu Shuangxi. Ning Yongyuan could no longer remember the details to prove or distinguish. He only remembered that the singing voice had been very gentle.

Ning Haibo’s eyes darkened as he contemplated something. He listened for a while, then stepped forward and opened the door.

The door creaked as it was pushed open.

The woman, neatly dressed but with her hair slightly dishevelled, took a step back, holding the quilt in her arms as she stared at the visitors.

After staring twice, it seemed she recognized the person.

The woman hugged the little quilt and approached Ning Haibo. “Haibo, you’re back!”

“Look, does the baby look like you? This nose and this mouth. But his eyes are like mine.”

Ning Haibo looked for a long time but couldn’t see any resemblance in the little quilt. He could only nod and say, “It looks like it.”

After receiving Ning Haibo’s response, the woman looked at Ning Yongyuan strangely. “Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”

Ning Yongyuan looked at Wu Shuangxi, who had completely changed, and opened his mouth but didn’t know how to respond, so he simply said nothing.

Should he say that he was brought here by her, or should he say that he was her son?

Seeing that Wu Shuangxi had been ignored, Ning Haibo put his arm around Wu Shuangxi’s shoulders and said to her, “It’s cold outside. Please go in with the baby.”

After chatting with Wu Shuangxi for a while, Ning Haibo found that her memory was somewhat confused, but her basic mental state and feelings still reflected the year when she had given birth to her child. This was probably why she was so fixated on the child.

Because Wu Shuangxi was more important to him, Ning Haibo couldn’t focus on the matter of his two sons, real and fake, for the moment. So, he first called for a doctor.

Old Madam Ning had found many doctors, and several imperial physicians from the palace had also been invited.

However, Ning Haibo was the head of the family, so it was more convenient for him to invite people. He directly invited the imperial doctor from the royal hospital to the house.

The old doctor, who had a goatee, stroked his beard and looked worried. “Marquis, the madam’s condition has been seen by many colleagues, and it is difficult to cure. The situation is the same for me. Cold air has entered her brain, and years of obsessions have stagnated in her heart. Taking medicine is basically useless.”

Ning Haibo asked carefully, “I heard that if you take such a patient to see the people and things from the past, she might remember many memories and then regain consciousness. Is this method feasible?”

“There are such examples, but they are very few. It may be that even after a lot of effort, it could be of no use,” the old doctor replied. He shook his head and added, “What’s more, the madam’s situation is different.”

“She has obsessions. How about… the Marquis starting from her obsessions? That will definitely be more effective than the previous method.”

“However, whether this method is effective or not depends on fate. It may not help her, and I’m afraid it could make her condition worse.”

Other doctors also knew this, but some did not dare to speak up, while others did. Old Madam Ning did not consider forcing her real grandson to come here.

Ning Yongyuan had tried to inquire about it, but Old Madam Ning knew that Jing Xingzhi didn’t want to come and simply let it go.

With the last meeting that had passed, Old Madam Ning had a good impression of her real grandson.

Now that the question was posed to Ning Haibo, it was clear that there was no need to ask whether he felt light or heavy in his heart.

“I understand. Thank you, doctor. I would like you to come and take a look. If the situation improves, please prescribe medicine or give her an injection.”

Ning Haibo lowered his head slightly and said, “If it doesn’t get better, it will be her life.”

“The Marquis has worked hard for the country; I will come naturally.”

.

In the Examination Hall.

The general examination and the provincial examination were the same, divided into three parts. The first session was on the ninth day of the lunar month, the second session on the twelfth day, and the third session on the fifteenth day.

Jing Xingzhi entered the building in the middle of the night on the eighth day of the lunar month.

After receiving all the test papers for the first session, Jing Xingzhi scanned the questions and suddenly had a daring idea.

—Could he submit the paper in advance?

Jing Xingzhi flipped through the ancient version of the exam syllabus and found that this version did not include any requirement against submitting the exam in advance.

However, for this major examination, everyone seemed to have tacitly agreed that they should not hand in the exam too early. They feared that if they submitted the paper early, it would give the examiner the impression of being too frivolous and might affect their grades.

But Jing Xingzhi thought about how his wife was going to have a baby. Wasn’t this situation special enough?

Moreover, this kind of persona, embodying affection and righteousness, was also very popular in the official circles of the Li Dynasty.

It seemed beautiful to be able to go home and be with Xiao Fangfang sooner and gain a good reputation!

Jing Xingzhi’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the test paper. He lit a lamp without sleeping and started working on the questions.

In the room next to Jing Xingzhi’s, there was a veteran who knew how to take an exam.

Listening to the sound of test papers next door, the old veteran cursed in his heart: This man was so anxious; he looked young at first glance!

Now he started doing the questions late at night and, after a while, he would feel very sleepy during the day. His schedule would be reversed, which would naturally affect his exam results.

With this thought in mind, the old veteran tidied up his bedding and prepared to sleep.

Who would have known that Jing Xingzhi next door kept moving, and the quick and fine friction of pen and paper made the old man lay down for a long time before he fell asleep?

Even when he was asleep, the old man also had a dream about answering the questions.

But this dream was quite beautiful. The old man dreamed that he won the first place, but the pretty boy next door didn’t (that was, Jing Xingzhi). The pretty boy who didn’t win the first place cried very sadly.

Note

Lmaoo, why would they enter the examination hall late at night. This is the first time I read in the novel about an exam with weird timeframe.