The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 375

Chapter 375: 196 Provincial Exam (Combined Second Revision)

It snowed at night, and by morning, the ground was sheeted with a layer of ice, slippery to the touch.

Gu Jiao was prepared for this and had spread the sand she had saved a few days earlier along the walkway and the courtyard.

When she opened the gate to spread the sand further down the alley, she found that the neighbourhood had already taken care of it. There was sand, coal ashes, and straw mats everywhere.

As Gu Jiao wondered who did it, a neighbour opened their door and said, laughing, “Is Xiao Liulang off to take the exam?”

“Aunt Lu.” Gu Jiao greeted, recognizing her grandmother’s mahjong buddy who had visited their house a few times.

Gu Jiao understood. Each household in the neighbourhood had laid their choice of materials on the alleyway. This was why it was so colourful.

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She had always thought that they were isolated, but apparently her grandmother had integrated them into the neighbourhood without her knowing.

Gu Jiao expressed her gratitude.

Afterwards, a few other neighbours opened their doors and expressed well-wishes for Xiao Liulang’s exam success.

Gu Jiao thanked each of them.

Her gratitude was genuine, these weren’t Xiao Liulang’s family members and they were under no obligation to do this for him.

Their kindness was not out of duty, but out of affection.

Of course, some of the credit goes to her grandmother too.

If her grandmother hasn’t been kind to them and told them about Xiao Liulang’s exams, they would probably not have known that such a character existed in the alley.

There were lanterns hung beneath each household’s awning, brightly illuminating the alley as if it were the New Year.

Gu Jiao curved her lips into a smile.

She loved Capital City.

Xiao Liulang was awake too, and they had a simple breakfast.

Knowing they had to leave early today, they had Xia Jingkong sleep in grandmother’s room last night.

The horse carriage was already waiting, but it was not the old butler’s carriage. It was from the Marquis Residence of Xuanping.

Liao Quan, the manager from the Marquis Residence, greeted Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao with a bow and a smile, saying: “Young master, young madam, please get in.”

Not far away, Liu Quan stood sulking next to another horse carriage. He arrived one step too late, and his carriage was hijacked by his namesake!

Both had the same surname, but they were not relatives.

When it was time, the three of them went to draw lots together.

The Imperial College in Capital City was far larger than other provincial ones. With four exam sites aligned North, South, East, and West, the three guys happened to draw lots for each of the three different exam sites, this was some kind of luck!

Xiao Liulang was allocated room number five in the East Exam Site.

The size of the examination room was the same as in other places, but the walls were cleaner. Inside, there was still just two wooden planks, one acting as a table and the other as a bench. When it was time to sleep, the two pieces of wood were put together to be a bed.

The bedding was provided by the Imperial College.

After all, it was detrimental if the examinees were frozen out in the cold.

The exam was supervised by the Ministry of Rites and the papers were set and marked by the Hanlin Academy.

Yesterday, the examiners from Hanlin Academy had already entered the inner hall of the Imperial College. Just like during the previous exams, they could only leave after all the exam scripts have been checked.

Xiao Liulang and his two friends entered the Imperial College not too long ago, and the rest of the examinees began to arrive one after another. Du Ruohan wasn’t slow either. He was the twentieth to arrive.

Gu Jiao also gave him a small packet of medicine.

Du Ruohan thanked her politely, but didn’t take it seriously. He was in excellent health, how could he fall sick?

After giving Du Ruohan the medicine, Gu Jiao didn’t see the need to stay any longer.