After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Landlord Jiang was the first to notice Jiang Xiaoqi's unusual behavior. He followed his grandson's gaze but didn't find anything.

Jiang Xiaoqi's expression quickly returned to normal. Her appearance had changed a lot in the past four years, and that person might not recognize her.

But his father and he were classmates, and his appearance has hardly changed in the past few years. If they met in the examination room, he would likely recognize his father.

We can't tell Grandpa and Dad about this now, it will affect their exam performance.

As for why that person is here, we'll have to ask Master Lin Feng to come to the capital, since it was Master Lin who handled the matter back then.

It just so happens that Master Lin will be transporting a batch of cement to Beijing after the spring. We can let Master Lin stay in Beijing for a while and take the opportunity to investigate this person.

The most important thing right now is for the family members to successfully enter the imperial examination. This matter can be investigated privately before taking any action.

Another thing is to protect your family members, so that if this person actually passes the imperial examination, they won't seek revenge on your family.

Outside the examination hall, crowds thronged as candidates lined up to enter, each carrying enough food, clothing, and other necessities for three days.

After all, the exam was held every three days, and just like the provincial examination, candidates were not allowed to leave the examination room midway through. If they left the examination room midway, their examination qualification would be invalidated.

When entering the examination hall, candidates were required to bring enough food for three days.

Students were required to bring their own bedding to the examination hall, along with simple necessities such as a stove for starting a fire, bowls, chopsticks, and charcoal, as spring nights in Beijing can be quite chilly.

The examination venues for the provincial examinations varied from province to province; some were quite nice, while others were very simple.

As the Kyoto Examination Hall, it was slightly better in this respect, as there were no leaky examination rooms.

However, Jiang Xiaoqi still prepared uniform bamboo tubes and oilcloth bags for everyone, which was a custom passed down from the academy examination.

Although the examination hall was not leaky, each examination room was still very small. Candidates had to eat, drink, relieve themselves, and take the exam in such an environment for a total of nine days.

After entering the examination room, candidates will receive a paper collection slip after roll call. They can use this slip to find their examination number and collect their examination paper.

At that time, the Imperial Examination Hall of the Great Zhou Dynasty did not have latrines, and the candidates' excrement was collected by a designated person on the third day after they left the examination hall.

Therefore, test takers have to endure the smell of their own excrement for three days, which is no different from taking the exam in a "stinky cell".

Once the exam begins, candidates must complete the exam within the allotted time. Even if they finish early, they must wait until the designated time for collecting the papers and leaving the exam room.

After finding his examination room, Landlord Jiang successfully received his examination paper. Since it was still early, he lit a fire in the earthenware stove he had brought with him and boiled some water.

The grandson specifically instructed that no raw water should be used. If there was no time to boil water, even if one was thirsty, one should not use raw water.

After hearing the explanation, Landlord Jiang decided to adhere to Sun Tzu's guiding principles for the imperial examinations and strictly follow the specific steps.

The same scene also appeared in the examination room of Jiang Wenqing, Dong Jin, Li Haisheng and Xue Xu.

Sigh~ It's a bit of a hassle, but what my son/brother-in-law said was really scary: drinking tap water will cause worms to crawl out from... well, you know...

Ugh~ Just thinking about it gives me the creeps!

Besides, this is a crucial period for the imperial examinations; better safe than sorry. We can't let a few scoundrels ruin everything at this critical moment!

While the examinations were in full swing at the examination hall, Jiang Xiaoqi sat in her own courtyard, rocking back and forth in a rocking chair, thoroughly enjoying herself.

There was no fruit available at the moment, but Jiang Xiaoqi had no shortage of fruit to eat, since she had stored a lot of melons, pears, and peaches in the external space last summer and autumn.

Thinking about the safety amulet placed in her exquisite space, Jiang Xiaoqi felt that she had been too stupid before.

I never even thought of trying this simple nesting method before. It's true, those who dare to try new things are the ones who enjoy life first!

Even the system would have to say "666" if it knew. So what if the space is small? So what?

Add an expansion memory module to the space!

Just as Jiang Xiaoqi was happily enjoying summer fruits and vegetables, Lin Feng was also escorting a batch of cement into Beijing.

Following the address in the message sent by carrier pigeon, Lin Feng successfully located the Jiang family's new residence in Beijing.

The gatekeeper didn't recognize Lin Feng. After Lin Feng explained his purpose, the gatekeeper immediately went inside to report.

Jiang Xiaoqi came out to greet him personally, showing great respect for his mentor who had been his first teacher in martial arts.

Lin Feng's dark face was covered in dust, indicating that he had traveled day and night. Otherwise, he wouldn't have arrived in Beijing in less than a month after Jiang Xiaoqi sent a message by carrier pigeon.

The two were both incredibly excited to see each other again after three years.

"Seventh Young Master! Your subordinate has successfully completed his mission and brought a hundred bushels of cement!"

"Master Lin, you must be tired from your journey. Please come in quickly to wash up and rest. Also, the brothers who escorted the carriage, please wash up and rest first. I will have the steward arrange dinner."

"More Seventh Young Master."

"More Seventh Young Master!"

"Alright, don't unload the car yet. Put the frame in the side yard and let everyone fix it up first!"

The group quickly pulled the cart into the side courtyard, put the horses into the stable, and added water and fodder.

Lin Feng quickly tidied himself up, changed into clean clothes, and even shaved.

Jiang Xiaoqi was preoccupied with the scene in front of the examination hall, so she didn't delay and waited directly in the courtyard where Lin Feng was resting.

"Seventh Young Master, is there something important?" Lin Feng knew his young master's temperament; if it weren't for something important, he would never wait in his courtyard.

I guess he didn't say it when we first met, but he was already controlling himself.

"Hmm, Master Lin, do you remember the person we crippled back in Xinghe Prefecture?"

Xinghe Prefecture?

Lin Feng frowned. Over the years, he had only helped the young master take in retired veterans, organize them, and prepare them to work for the young master in the future.

But over the years, nothing concrete has been done; instead, the number of people has grown, and everyone has their own strengths.

Cement workshops gradually developed, and their owners could not be found on the surface.

Supported by the profits from the cement workshops, the veterans also opened teahouses, taverns, and small inns of all sizes.

The business may not be huge, but it involves various industries and is mostly the place with the best information.

Now that Jiang Xiaoqi had mentioned the person's name, Lin Feng remembered everything.

"Young Master means that he saw Lu Zihan, who doesn't even have the qualifications for the provincial examination, in front of the examination hall!"

"Although we didn't cripple his hand ourselves, we did design it. How could this person, who clearly has no more qualifications for the imperial examinations, have passed the provincial and prefectural examinations so smoothly, and now he has entered the metropolitan examination hall?"

Lin Feng frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Young Master, don't be anxious. I'll send someone back to Xinghe Prefecture first to secretly investigate how this person was able to pass the academy examination. We'll find the source first!"

However, young master, you should also be prepared in the capital. In case the matter from back then is leaked, we need to have a plan to deal with it.” Jiang Xiaoqi nodded in agreement.

He wasn't afraid of what the other party found out; he was afraid that they would point the finger at other members of the Jiang family.

There are currently five candidates in the examination hall who are related to the Jiang family!

"Is Master Lin going in person?"

"I do have a few men who are good at investigation, but it's my first mission, so I'd rather keep an eye on things from the sidelines for peace of mind."

"Okay, so they don't know who their real boss is, do they?"

"Don't worry, young master. We haven't had much time to get together these past few years, and now we're scattered all over the place. We have special channels to keep in touch."

They only knew that the leader was also from the military, and they didn't even know that I was in charge. Only a few of the earliest brothers who joined knew.

"Of course, you can absolutely trust these guys. They've been with me since I was a corporal, and they're the ones who handle the main liaison work now."

"Okay, don't be stingy with money. All the profits from the cement plant can be used as funding. If it's not enough, just tell me and I'll allocate more funds."

"Yes, young master, but the profits from the cement workshop are more than enough to cover all expenses. Besides, my brothers are also running small businesses, so making a living is not a problem."

“Speaking of making a living, Master Lin, you are over thirty years old this year. Why haven’t you thought about getting married yet?”

Are you going to stay single for the rest of your life? That won't do! I'm just holding you back!

"Uh! No, no rush, I, I'm not, I'm not considering it yet..."

Lin Feng's face turned bright red, as if he had thought of something. His face and neck were both red, like a boiled shrimp.

In a little while, his head might be steaming!

Oh dear, something's really going on here!