All the members are good people, only the host is a pervert

When Chi Wenning was beating eggs, Lin Ruan walked in. When Chi Wenning saw Lin Ruan, he quickly put down the eggs in his hand, tested the temperature of the hot water next to him, poured some cold water into it, and then walked over with the basin.

He smiled and said, "Are you awake? I wish you a prosperous new year. Breakfast is almost ready. Go back to your room and wash up. I'll bring you some water."

Lin Ruan nodded and followed Chi Wen Ning back into the house.

Chi Wenning placed the basin on the washstand and rolled up Lin Ruan's sleeves. When Lin Ruan finished washing her face, he quickly handed her a bristle brush dipped in tooth powder and a deep cup of warm water. When Lin Ruan finished brushing her teeth, Chi Wenning handed her a white cotton cloth so that she could wipe her face.

After helping Lin Ruan wash her face, Chi Wenning stood behind her and helped her tie her hair into a bun while she sat in front of the bronze mirror. Since Lin Ruan had already chosen the headgear she would wear today, Chi Wenning didn't need to ask any more questions. After Lin Ruan finished applying her own makeup, she also tied her hair into a bun.

Lin Ruan looked at herself in the mirror and said with a smile: "Your skills are getting better and better. Okay, let's change your clothes and jewelry after dinner. They are very heavy." Then she stood up and walked out with Chi Wen Ning.

Father Lin had already placed the food on the table, waiting for them to come over. Lin Ruan smiled and said, "Daughter wishes you good luck and good health."

After Lin Ruan and Chi Wenning were seated, they began to eat. During the meal, Lin's father asked Lin Ruan about his plans for the new year. Lin Ruan replied, "After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, I'll go to the county to continue my studies at the Liu Family Academy. After all, the prefectural examination requires a scholar as a guarantor. Instead of asking someone I don't know to recommend me, I'd rather spend two months on tuition."

Father Lin nodded and agreed: "You are right."

After breakfast, Lin Ruan went back to her room, changed into new clothes and put on some jewelry, making her look even more radiant and charming.

She wore a rouge-colored silk-cotton gown with a tortoiseshell ruyi pattern, jacquard brocade inlaid with rabbit fur and gold accents. A five-colored phoenix-shaped auspicious skirt with gold pendant bells and a phoenix tail skirt, topped with a pine-green horse-faced skirt with auspicious ruyi round flower brocade. Underneath, she wore a cross-collared blouse in lotus-colored soft silk with a dark pattern of Tianhua brocade, and cotton trousers of the same soft silk. This outfit, paired with the 26-piece red gold and agate plum blossom headpiece that Lin Ruan had just chosen for her, made her look even more regal and elegant.

She really liked this outfit and even urged the system to take pictures of her from various angles, admiring it contentedly in her mind.

System: Who in my family understands? A good system has turned into a camera.

?[┐'_'┌]?

After finishing the tidying, Chi Wen Ning also entered the bedroom. Seeing Lin Ruan's outfit, he smiled and said, "My wife's clothes are really beautiful. But my wife is already a beautiful lady, so she won't be overshadowed by these clothes and jewelry."

Lin Ruan smiled and said, "You're the only one who can talk smoothly. Now, change your clothes quickly and let me see them."

Lin Ruan had all three of them have their New Year's clothes custom-made by the cloth shop owner. Chi Wenning's inner garments were a bright red twill silk cross-collared shirt and cotton trousers. Outside, he wore a snow-blue jacquard brocade robe with a round collar and a beaded pattern, also interlaced with silk cotton. He also wore an agate headpiece, including a crown, hairpins, and a headband, as well as an agate pendant at his waist.

Lin Ruan's eyes lit up and he nodded approvingly. Chi Wenning smiled and said, "My wife has always had good taste."

The two of them arrived at the main hall, and soon after, Lin's father emerged. He was wearing a round-necked silk cotton robe with a realgar bat-patterned jacquard pattern, paired with a pale blue twill soft silk lining. He wore no crown on his head, his hair held up with a white jade hairpin, and a pale blue headband inlaid with white jade.

After the family had packed up, Lin's father and Chi Wenning loaded a basket with several dishes and wine and headed for the ancestral hall in the side room. The Lin family were newcomers, with no relatives in Qingshan Village. After Lin Ruan's great-grandfather moved in, he built these five rooms and used the side room as the ancestral hall to house the tablets. Arriving at the entrance, Lin's father and Chi Wenning stopped and handed the food and wine to Lin Ruan, who took them and placed them on the large table in the center of the hall. Once the food was laid out, Lin Ruan knelt on a mat, kowtowed, and burned incense, thus offering ancestral worship.

After coming out, Lin Ruan said with a smile: "Since we don't need to visit relatives and friends today, how about I take you two to the county town for a day?"

"Okay." Chi Wen Ning's eyes were sparkling and full of anticipation.

The three of them packed up briefly and set off for the county town. Along the way, Lin's father and Chi Wenning were in the car, while Lin Ruan, dressed the most gorgeously, was driving the donkey outside.

System: Hahahahaha

(*σ′?`)σ

Lin Ruan said helplessly: "Gou Shiqi, your laughter is disturbing my head, shut up now."

Arriving in the county town, the streets were bustling with vendors hawking their wares. "It seems quite lively up ahead, let's go check it out," Lin Ruan said, pointing to where the crowd was gathering.

As they got closer, they saw a lion dance. Lin Ruan, along with his father and Chi Wenning, squeezed into the crowd. Just as they saw the highlight, a majestic lioness leaped high and plucked a young bird from a high place. Cheers erupted from the surroundings, and Lin Ruan joined in the applause.

After a leisurely fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Lin Ruan took the article he had written and drove to the gate of a house in the county town with the words "Liu Mansion" written on it. This was the private school where the original owner had once studied.

Lin Ruan stopped the carriage and took out a backpack containing ten pounds of bacon, a jar of rice wine, twenty eggs, and some cakes. She knocked on the door with the backpack on her back. The door opened a crack, and a woman poked her head out and asked, "Who are you looking for, young lady?"

Lin Ruan said softly, "I'm here to see Mr. Liu Heliu and wish her a happy new year and a gift."

The old woman said, "Please wait a moment, young lady. I will go and inform you."

A short while later, the maid opened the door and ushered Lin Ruan in. When she met Liu He, she wasn't unkind to her. This was because, while the original owner had completely squandered her fortune, she'd only been addicted to gambling for a little over two months. Furthermore, when Lin Ruan arrived, she hadn't yet lost all her property, nor had the entire family been forced into debt. She was also adept at concealing her true intentions. When she sold the land, she'd found a plausible excuse. Even the villagers of Qingshan Village had only vague suspicions, and her former classmates and teachers were completely unaware of the situation.

"Student greets you, Master." Lin Ruan placed the backpack on the ground and bowed to Liu He. She smiled and said, "I'm here to give you a holiday gift, to express my gratitude for your guidance. Secondly, I still want to take the provincial exam this year, so please don't feel the pressure and teach me for another two or three months. This is the essay I've written at home over the past six months. Please take a look."

After saying this, she presented a stack of tall bamboo paper with both hands. Liu He took it, looked at it, then looked at Lin Ruan, nodded and said, "Not bad, not bad. Your handwriting reflects your personality. It shows that not only have you made progress in your studies, but your heart has also calmed down. Alas, you are too impetuous."

Lin Ruan said respectfully: "Yes, thank you for your guidance, sir."

"It'll be the same as before. Classes will start at chenshi every day and end at shenshi." Liu He said with a smile, "You can go back and rest for a day, and come back to class the next morning."

"Thank you, sir." Lin Ruan bowed again, then took out a red envelope from her bag and said, "This is this month's tuition. Please accept it, sir."

After Liu He accepted it, Lin Ruan said goodbye to Liu He. The backpack and the things inside were naturally left in the Liu Mansion. Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents and Teachers are the three most important things in the world. It is natural for students to be filial to their teachers, and Liu He did not refuse.

After returning home, Lin Ruan told her father and Chi Wenning about this. Early the next morning, she drove to the Liu Residence and began her study life, going to school early and returning home late. The lunch break was short, so Lin Ruan would just grab a bite to eat in the county town, only eating at home in the morning and evening.

Although the scholar is the starting point of the imperial examination, the test is not easy. Not only do you have to test the eight-legged essay, but you also have to test poems and policy essays. You may think that the imperial examination only tests the Four Books and Five Classics, but the Four Books and Five Classics are just the introduction. Lin Ruan has been here for less than a year, and she has read more than a hundred books for the palace examination. Even though she has a strong mental strength, she was exhausted from reading, but she finally memorized them.

Liu He now primarily set topics for Lin Ruan to write about, then offered comments and revisions. In Liu He's eyes, Lin Ruan's writing was already quite good, with the exception of her sometimes rather novel ideas. While this might have given her a slight advantage in the metropolitan or palace examinations, these were, after all, only provincial exams, where examiners primarily focused on basic knowledge. He demanded a solid writing style, not something unconventional.

Under Liu He's guidance, Lin Ruan's writing became more mature, and her choice of words and sentences became more appropriate. Finally, at the end of March, Liu He sent the students home to pack their bags and took them to Weizhou Prefecture on the first day of April.

The prefectural examination was held in early April, twice every three years, and was divided into two parts: the annual examination and the imperial examination. Passing the annual examination earned the title of scholar, but only those who passed the imperial examination were eligible to take the provincial examination and obtain the title of juren.

The place where Liu He and his friends were going to live was the Songyang Academy in Weizhou Prefecture. This was an inn built in the prefectural city by every county for students taking exams. It was close to the examination venue and charged low fees.

On the first day of April, at dawn, Lin Ruan boarded a horse-drawn carriage with other students. They swayed all the way until they arrived at Songyang Academy in the afternoon.

The academy was even more shabby than Lin Ruan had imagined, with only four hard beds and a table in the room. But fortunately, everyone was there to take the exam, so there wasn't much to worry about.

After a brief rest, everyone pulled out their books and continued to study. The scene made Lin Ruan dream of the final exams at Yuanshi University. How did the saying go? A pen, a pack of cigarettes, one night, a miracle.