How can someone travel through time and space and become a beggar?

When Xia Chu woke up, it was already dark. Wang Qiuyu's startled voice could be vaguely heard.

"Miss, are you awake?" Cuihua heard the noise and stood up and walked in from the outside. "It's almost time for dinner. I can smell the delicious food."

"Hmm," Xia Chu yawned before she could say anything, "Why didn't you wake me up? I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well tonight."

That's not the case. Miss probably doesn't understand how sleepy she is. Cuihua thought with a smile, but said, "It's okay. I'll get a basin of hot water. Miss, wash your face and wake up."

When she finished packing and went to the front hall, she finally understood why Wang Qiuyu had been so startled. It turned out that he hadn't been able to solve the Luban lock, but Zhang Zhou had solved one in the blink of an eye. His slender, nimble fingers moved continuously, as if he didn't need to think at all.

"Second brother is so awesome!" Wang Qiuyu couldn't untie it, so he took it to Zhang Zhou and said that it was broken and couldn't be untied at all.

"You're too impatient." Zhang Zhou restored the Luban lock. "Be patient, you can do it too."

Wang Qiuyu's eyes rolled, and he looked at Guan Xu while holding the thing. "Third brother, want to try it?"

"Test me?" Guan Xu rubbed his head, "Then let me try."

Everyone else looked at Guan Xu, and Xia Chu also followed over.

"Third brother is wrong. Second brother was not like that just now." Wang Qiuyu acted as a little teacher.

Guan Xu ignored him and slowly fumbled to solve the problem himself.

"Oh, this isn't the one." Wang Qiuyu became anxious as he looked at it.

"Don't bother your third brother." Dong Xiaohuan couldn't stand it anymore and said.

Zhang Zhou watched them making a fuss and slowly drank a sip of tea.

Jia Qingwu looked at Zhang Zhou, "Xiao Zhou, are we about to set off?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the living room fell silent.

"Yes, we have to take into account the return journey. We will be leaving in almost two days." Zhang Zhou didn't say it because he was afraid that his family would feel bad.

As expected, Dong Xiaohuan immediately frowned. "How come it's so fast? Wasn't it three months?"

"It takes time to go there and back." Zhang Zhou explained.

"Brother, are you leaving so soon?" Wang Qiuyu walked over to Zhang Zhou and asked, "When will you be back next time?"

Zhang Zhou remained silent, because he didn't know either. After joining the Imperial Academy, he probably wouldn't have such a long vacation again, and he couldn't easily leave Beijing. He didn't know when we would see each other again.

Dong Xiaohuan bit her lip and swallowed the words "must I go?" She had studied for over a decade, all for this moment; she couldn't let her son down. She remembered Zhang Zhou, when he first started studying, practicing calligraphy until his wrists trembled and he couldn't even hold a bowl. The table was too high, so he stood. The little man would stand at the desk for over half an hour. Not wanting to waste paper, he would dip his pen in water and write on the table. Only when he felt he was done would he grind ink and write on paper.

Whenever he had free time, he would read. When he ran out of books at home, he would go to a bookstore. If the shop assistants kicked him out, he would go to another store.

Every time he finished an exam, he would lose a lot of weight. She felt bad seeing him, but Zhang Zhou always smiled and said he was fine.

She couldn't say it, she couldn't hinder her child's future.

The joyful atmosphere just now disappeared without a trace. Zhang Zhou sighed secretly, because he was worried about this. He also couldn't bear to leave his home and his family.

"That's right, I don't even have time to look at the new house." Wang Yong said inappropriately.

Dong Xiaohuan glared at him immediately, but didn't say anything to him out of consideration for Jia Qingwu's presence. With her son about to leave, she only thought about the house.

"Mom, when we have time in the future, let's go to Beijing to play." Xia Chu walked over and said to Dong Xiaohuan.

"That's right. If mother misses Xiao Er, it won't be difficult for us to go to the capital to see him." Xia Tian joined in.

"Yes, yes, the children have all made great progress. I am getting older, and when I retire from the government office, I will have time. Our family will go to the capital to visit and broaden our horizons," said Wang Yong.

"When the time comes, I might as well go with you shamelessly." Jia Qingwu comforted Dong Xiaohuan.

"I'm going too!" Wang Qiuyu rushed over.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Dong Xiaohuan couldn't help but smile, "Okay, then we'll go together and see the prosperity of the capital."

Zhang Zhou was deeply moved and said solemnly, "By then, I'll have established myself firmly on my feet and will take everyone to visit all the fun places in the capital."

"That's great." Dong Xiaohuan calmed down and said with a smile, "I wonder what people in the capital like to eat."

Zhang Zhou took over the topic and talked about the customs and practices in Beijing. The atmosphere in the room became harmonious again. Dong Xiaohuan cheered up and stopped worrying about him.

The next day, Dong Xiaohuan started packing for Zhang Zhou again. Dong Xiaomao got the news and cleared out all the mountain products in the village and sent them to him. "The journey to the capital is long, so bringing some things from home will help ease the homesickness."

Fu Yang and Jia Kuo went with him as usual. Before leaving, Zhang Zhou went to the village and kowtowed to his grandparents to say goodbye.

This time, they were not going to take the exam, but to stay for a long time. Dong Xiaohuan prepared a lot of things, and Jia Qingwu helped to pack them up. In the end, the odds and ends were so complete that they filled up a carriage.

Zhang Xin was also momentarily shocked when he saw the Wang family's carriage. It was filled mostly with food, including dried goods and pickled vegetables. This was even more surprising than Xu Shiqing's carriage full of clothes. He glanced at his two boxes and suddenly felt a hint of envy.

These things were certainly not more valuable than the banknotes he had on him, but they were filled with the care and concern of his family.

On the day of his departure, Zhang Zhou didn't want his family to see him off, fearing they would feel bad, so he kowtowed to his parents at home and told them they didn't need to see him off. But Dong Xiaohuan didn't listen and insisted on seeing him off.

When Zhang Zhou didn't get on the carriage, Dong Xiaohuan didn't want him to worry, so she smiled and waved to him. Seeing the carriage move, she couldn't help but follow a few steps, and was hugged by Wang Yong. She turned her head and buried her head in her husband's arms and cried. She didn't know when she would come back after leaving this time.

Zhang Zhou seemed to sense something and lifted the curtain to take a look. He immediately stopped the carriage and wanted to come over, but then stopped again. He knelt again from a distance and kowtowed to his parents. After a long while, he stood up and was helped into the carriage by Fu Yang.

This time, Dong Xiaohuan felt worse than the last time and fell ill the next day.

Wang Yong was extremely anxious, but the doctor said it was just excessive worry and only prescribed some tranquilizing herbs. He asked his family to comfort him, saying that medication was ineffective.

Xia Chu didn't care about Yin Geyuan and Zhao Huazhang. He stayed at home by Dong Xiaohuan's side every day, pretending to be stupid and foolish to make her happy.

Dong Xiaohuan had always been in good health and seldom fell ill. Her family was extremely worried, but their attempts to persuade her were of little use.

Wang Yong had no choice but to invite his father-in-law and mother-in-law to come over. Dong's mother was old and rarely left the village. If Dong Xiaohuan hadn't looked so unwell, Wang Yong would not have wanted to disturb the old woman.