The next day, Fang Xin returned to Congjiang Prefecture from the provincial capital by horse-drawn carriage, pulled by two horses, and ran very quickly.

  Lan Ji brought along her entourage, including her eldest son Li Ningwen. Although Li Ningwen was only two years old, he was already very well-behaved and sensible. Fang Xin took a look at him, patted his head, and didn't say much.

  Lan Qi was going to pay her respects to the old lady, so she had naturally bought a carved wooden cane. Of course, gifts for Zheng Qie and Ping Qie were also indispensable. However, they now seemed to be slightly lower than herself, the reason being simple - she had a son, while they didn't even have a daughter.

  Thinking of this, Lan Qi felt a bit more complacent. However, in this society, social status is extremely important. As long as one day, the husband does not abandon his legitimate wife (in fact, according to the moral principles of that society, it is unlikely to be abandoned), she must show some respect.

  On May 17th, the weather was fine and clear. After a day's journey, the team arrived at their own residence in Congjiang Prefecture at dusk. This is where the Li family's ancestral garden is located, and the ancestral temple is built here.

  Just returned, and saw someone was actually visiting the garden. Of course, this garden is the outer garden, it's impossible to enter the inner courtyard. And those who come to visit the garden must be familiar with Li Rui and be a scholar.

  "Anyone with a bit of means and taste builds gardens, so gardening has become quite the fashion. Even among the wealthy Jiang family's estates, there are gardens larger, more exquisite, and more luxurious than this one, but upon closer inspection, I find that this garden has a unique charm, with subtle craftsmanship and true interest in its simplicity. Li Xian-di truly has an eye for it! I visited last year and must come again this year!" As the carriage drew near, three men dressed in green robes came into view, engaged in conversation.

  "It's a pity that Li Xian's younger brother is not at home. If he were, we could have gone inside to take a look. The interior is even more exquisite."

  "No. Speaking of which, has Li Xian returned?"

  The three of them looked over. Indeed. Then they saw Fang Xin getting out of the car and saying, "Ah, it's the three brothers, sorry for not welcoming you from afar, sorry for not welcoming you from afar!"

  In these two years, Li Rui got acquainted with three juren from Congjiang Prefecture: Zheng Chengyi, Zhu Mingyi and Zou Lixing.

  Of course, there were more than three jinshi from Jiangfu, but those under 30 years old and got along with Li Rui were just these three.

  "Really, speak of the devil. Quick, let's go in and enjoy the garden while drinking!" The speaker was Zheng Chengyi, who was twenty-six years old this year, from a middle-class family, warm and generous, open-minded, good at talking, and got along well with Li Rui.

  Zhu Ming Yi. Wearing a brocade shirt, twenty-four years old, from a good family background, exactly the second son of the current prefectural governor. Although this person is somewhat arrogant, he is confident, straightforward, and has a good demeanor, with decent relationships too.

  Zou Lixing, 23 years old. Like Li Rui, he is also a scholar who rose from poverty, but of course not as wealthy as Li Rui, who unknowingly accumulated a large fortune. He can only make a living by guarding his 30 mu of land, which makes him relatively poor. Perhaps due to the influence of his birthplace, he always wears a serious and solemn face, and is obsessed with books. He stubbornly adheres to certain principles, a typical trait of an aspiring honest official.

  These three people had a good impression of each other, and the four often studied and exchanged books together. When they saw him return, they went to greet him and chatted.

  "This being the case, let me first pay my respects to Mother in the inner chamber, and then I will come out to greet all of you elder brothers." Fang Xin said with a smile, bowing his hands.

  "You go ahead, we'll wait for you in the inner courtyard!" Zhu Ming said with a smile.

  At the moment, a group of people entered, and the inner garden was more exquisite than the outer garden. The small area of only ten mu, inside there is only one mu large artificial pond, everyone enters the gate and steps on the small path.

  Weeping willows line the pond, reflected in the water, artificial hills divide the space, lush greenery and clear water complement each other, with various trees and flowers planted around, layered and arranged harmoniously.

  The leaves are tender and green, lotus leaves are large, floating on the water surface.

  The harmonious atmosphere, the elegant and refined air is filled with, as soon as one enters, they feel this ambiance, even Zou Li Xing can't help but say: "Good! Every time I come here, I feel refreshed, it's clear that my younger brother has great talent."

  "It's actually nothing much, just a little idea, which is to shrink the universe into a tiny space and condense human life into spring and autumn." Fang said calmly, but in fact, there was nothing big deal about it.

  These methods are nothing but borrowing from mature garden art to express, with fake mountains, ponds, bamboo forests, and corridors to create a small world, sparse buildings, and a square inch of land showing the universe!

  Three people went to sit in the pavilion first, and Fang Xin went to send Lan Ji and his eldest son to see their mother He Shi.

  "Daughter, are you alright?" Fang Xing had just finished his simple greeting and was asking after her well-being. In fact, he could tell by the look on her face that He Shi was not doing well at all.

  For the past two and a half years, I have been trying my best to accumulate merits. Part of these merits has increased the merits of my physical body, but 70% of them have turned into the family's evil karma, greatly changing our destiny. Now, naturally, my body is healthy and I will live a long life with good fortune.

  But Lan Qi knelt down and paid her respects, performing the traditional rituals. Her nearly two-year-old eldest son also came forward to pay his respects to his grandmother. When He Shi saw her grandson, she couldn't help but smile so widely that her eyes were almost closed: "Good good, mama is very good, quick quick, well-behaved grandson, let grandma hold you!"

  For some reason, she particularly liked this grandson - of course, Fang Xin knew the reason.

  "Husband!" The two wives bowed.

  "Have seen elder sister, have seen second sister!" Ping's wife didn't need to kneel down and make a courtesy call, just bowing was enough. Lan Ji made a curtsy.

  Fang Xin looked back, his first wife He Yao and second wife He Rong were both born with a beautiful appearance, actually only 17 or 18 years old, all adorned in hairpins, rings and ceremonial clothes, but their expressions carried some sorrow and resentment.

  Especially the legitimate wife He Yao, at the age of 18, already had a hint of worry. She had been married for two and a half years without having children, and was under the greatest pressure. In fact, if she were living in modern times, she would still be considered a child herself, yet she had to take charge of a household and suffer from it day and night.

  However, these two wives were always respectful and gentle to He Shi, managing the household with virtue and having sincere feelings. They weren't stingy people, so He Shi also liked them very much. The only regret was that they didn't have any children, which for the family was an unforgivable sin. Although He Shi had a soft spot for them, she couldn't treat them better than Lan's mother - after all, a mother is noble because of her son!

  Having some tea and fruit, chatting about family matters, Mrs. He asked: "How long will you be staying at home this time?"

  It's obviously for the two daughters-in-law. After all, after having a son, the son spent two-thirds of his time living in Lanji Garden, and no one could say anything about it.

  "Fang Xin replied, 'Mother, I will stay here for half a month and then head to the capital to take the exam. This time, I must bring honor to our family by becoming a successful candidate. As for Lan Ji and Li Qingwen, they can stay here.'"

  Although the tone is humble and gentle, it is filled with a kind of confidence, which is not only self-confidence in one's own abilities but also self-confidence in the accumulated virtues of the past two and a half years - to be honest, a modern knowledge-possessing robot that only knows how to accumulate merits according to orders is very frightening. The accumulated merits over these two and a half years are really terrifying!

  He nodded his head in satisfaction with He's reply and said: "Alright, you attend to your matters then. As for dinner tonight, He Yao will prepare it well, won't she?"

  The last sentence was of course directed at He Yao, who replied respectfully: "Of course, please don't worry, Mother and Father."

  Seeing this situation, Fang Xin actually felt a bit sympathetic. He now naturally knew that in this society, a woman without children bore how much pressure. However, this problem was actually easy to solve. At the moment, he made a decision and said a few words before excusing himself and leaving. He arrived at the garden.

  In the garden pavilion, three people were laughing and chatting happily.

  Red clay stove, charcoal boiling water. Select the best water and put it in the pot, boil with charcoal fire. But can't fully boil, add tea leaves. Tea and water blend together. When the second boil appears, a foam forms. The foam is like small tea flowers, and the big flower is called "tea cream". Both are the essence of tea. At this time, scoop out the foam and put it in a serving bowl, ready to use. Continue boiling, the tea and water blend further, waves surging, called three boils.

  The tea soup is cooked, poured into a bowl, and the steam on the surface of the soup carries the fragrance of tea up to the air, like clouds steaming and misty. In order to fully infuse the color, fragrance, and flavor of the tea leaves, and to allow the nutritional components of the tea leaves to be utilized by the drinker as much as possible, attention should be paid to the ratio of tea to water. This firing time is not easy to control, and it completely relies on experience.

  Just then Zheng Chengyi smiled and said, "Still, younger brother's luck is good, arriving just in time to drink up. This won't do, must be punished, how about punishing with a poem?"

  These words suddenly brought a burst of laughter from the two, and they repeatedly agreed.

  Fang Xin smiled wryly, actually his heart was full of poetry, but stealing also requires occasion, and now he didn't want to casually reveal it (fortunately, Hua Shen hadn't revealed many poem lines either). So he said: "Ah, just now Mother mentioned going to the capital for the imperial examination, so there's no poetry today. I originally wanted to set off on the first day of next month, what about my three older brothers?"

  As soon as this was mentioned, an awkward silence fell over the three of them, each forcing a bitter smile before taking a sip of tea and dropping the subject.

  It is now May, and I will set out in June. By the end of June, I can arrive in Beijing, and by early August, I will participate in the imperial examination at the Ministry of Rites and obtain the qualification for the imperial examination. However, in fact, passing the imperial examination is equivalent to becoming a jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination).

  Because below is the imperial examination, the emperor personally serves as the examiner, and the subjects are not fixed. From major national policies to minor events in the court and the countryside, all can be asked, and the examinees answer with a strategy document, for the emperor's "personal review", and then the emperor decides the advanced scholars.

  In fact, unless there is a problem with the imperial examination, no one will fail, only the ranking will be different.

  One list of three people, divided into Zhuangyuan, Bangyan and Tanhua. According to the imperial court's rules, they were awarded Jinshi plus Di (which means granting titles to their parents, wives and children), and Zhuangyuan was directly awarded a sixth-rank official position, while Bangyan and Tanhua were awarded seventh-rank official positions. Generally, they would first study at Hanlin Academy to learn the rules of officialdom before being sent to local areas.

  Two Jia, usually twenty people, granted Jinshi origin, generally the initial official rank is from the seventh product

  Sanjia, generally fifty people, granted the same Jinshi origin, generally the initial official rank is Zheng Baipin.

  Although juren can also enter officialdom as a ninth-rank official, jinshi are promoted very quickly and it is not something that juren can keep up with.

  It's not just one person's problem, but also a family matter. The three of them could only smile wryly and say: "At this point, what else is there to say? We can only take the exam now! Next month, let's set off together!"