On the wedding night, the villain husband cried and his eyes turned red

According to Wen Yidi, it only takes three days for the Haidongqing to spread the news to Hezhou. But now seven days have passed, and no news has come back from General Guan.

Was it that the letter was not delivered to Guan Yi at all, or was there something going on in Hezhou? Xu Shihuan is unknown.

Because in the past few days, Xu Shihuan has an important thing to do, which is to take the academic exam before spring. Since the founding of the Women's School, there have been such regulations:

All female scholars do not need to take the county examination, government examination, college examination, or rural examination. They only need to pass the academic examination to have the status of a scholar and compete with men in the next year's examination.

This regulation seems to provide a lot of convenience for women, but in fact it is a helpless move. Even in the heyday of women's education, there were only a thousand women enrolled.

Most of them are young ladies from wealthy families who were born in Yong'an City. They are highly valued at home and have some talent in reading, so they have the opportunity to study in a girls' school.

If they were allowed to study year after year and take exams again and again like men, I'm afraid there would be even fewer students in female schools.

The difficulty of the academic examination is much lower than that of the provincial examination. It is precisely because of this that many families are motivated to send their daughters to school.

In the school, Xu Shihuan, Deng Wanyu, and Duan Qinglian were writing furiously. Duan Qinghe knew that there was no hope of passing the exam, so he simply gave up answering the questions and fell asleep directly on the table.

Next spring, her father Duan Ruhai will select the most suitable one for her from among the men who entered the palace examination, so that she can marry him smoothly.

Today is the seventh and last day of the academic exam. Xu Shihuan wrote the last word on the exam paper and checked it carefully before daring to relax.

Before the exam, she specifically told the bell that if her grandfather sent a message, she must put it away in time and not let others read it.

Although she and her grandfather communicated in letters using the code words they had discussed over the years, there was no need to worry even if the letter was intercepted. But after all, this is a major matter related to the Guan family, so it's better to be cautious.

"When the time comes, stop writing and wind up."

After the examiner gave an order, the four people in the examination room stopped writing and sat down, waiting for the examiner to take away the test papers in their hands. It wasn't until the examiner sorted out the test papers and walked out of the girls' school that the four girls started chatting quietly.

"Shihuan, do you think the question is difficult?"

Deng Wanyu looked worried, and it seemed that she was not performing at her best. Seeing her like this, Xu Shihuan comforted her and said:

"All the other questions this time were quite satisfactory. Only the knowledge-based question was a bit difficult, and I didn't answer it very well."

Although Duan Qinglian did not speak, she listened carefully to the conversation between Xu Shihuan and Deng Wanyu. When she heard Xu Shihuan talk about the difficulties of current affairs, her eyes lit up and she seemed very happy.

"Qinglian, what are you doing here? Why don't you go home with me?"

Duan Qinghe's tone was unhappy, not as submissive as before. During these days, she didn't know what kind of medicine she, a concubine, had taken wrongly. Whenever she had the chance, she would pester Gao Taifu with questions, and she would study until late at night when she got home.

Unexpectedly, Duan Qinglian said softly:

"Sister, you should go back home first, I have some things to do later."

"Humph!"

Duan Qinghe snorted coldly and walked out without looking back. When Xu Shihuan and Deng Wanyu heard that the sisters were unhappy, they just pretended not to hear, so as not to cause trouble for themselves.

Unexpectedly, Duan Qinglian took the initiative to strike up a conversation with them:

"Shihuan, Wanyu, you have always been good at studying. I guess there will be no problem in passing the academic exam."

Xu Shihuan glanced at her and said calmly:

"It's okay."

This response was for Li Yunli's sake. As for Deng Wanyu, she remained silent. But Duan Qinglian didn't care about the two people's indifference towards her, and continued to say softly:

"Before, I was ignorant and offended you two. For the sake of my classmates, please don't argue with me."

As she spoke, she showed a weird smile and continued:

"When the examination is over next year, we three sisters may still have the opportunity to work together."

After saying that, she bowed respectfully, then turned and walked out the door.

"Bah! Why are you pretending to be in front of me?"

Deng Wanyu spat hard, obviously very angry just now. Seeing that Xu Shihuan had no reaction, she quickly said:

"Although Duan Qinglian has been studying very hard these days, her knowledge will never pass the academic exam. Now she is saying some incomprehensible words to us, and she seems to be very sure about participating in next year's exam. Could it be that she heard some news ?”

Xu Shihuan understood clearly. It seemed that Li Yunli had arranged everything for her. However, Duan Qinglian's ability to do this really surprised her. A few months ago, she still seemed to be relying on men to survive, but now she actually knows how to work hard.

"Don't worry about her, it's you. After we pass the academic examination, we will have the status of a civil servant. Even if the results in the general examination are not satisfactory, let the family run a little, and we can be regarded as having an official position. What good things can Mr. Deng do? Thoughts?"

Although this was Xu Shihuan's joke, it was also her reminder to Deng Wanyu. Mr. Deng is the Minister of Rites, so it is not difficult to arrange a good position for his only daughter.

With the friendship she accumulated while studying with Deng Wanyu, and the relationship with Wen Yian, the Deng family may be able to be used by her in the future.

"Thank you for reminding me, sir! I won't be polite to you then. I have to go home quickly and let my old father find a suitable position for me."

Deng Wanyu feigned an official salute, then trotted out and quickly rushed to the Deng family's carriage. Seeing her anxious look, Xu Shihuan smiled, shook his head, and walked out slowly.

But as soon as she walked out of the door, she noticed a gaze behind her staring at her. Xu Shihuan turned around suddenly, but there was no one behind him.

Was she too tired from exams these days and had an illusion?

She slowly turned her head, but still remained alert, and walked quickly onto Guan Mansion's carriage. Only when she got to the carriage did she feel truly relaxed.

"Go back to the Prime Minister's Mansion first."

Xu Shihuan gave casual instructions and prepared to find a comfortable position to rest for a while.

"Yes, ma'am."

There was a respectful response from the front, but it sounded a little different from the usual voice. The coachman A Yong is over 40 years old, so why does his voice sound so much younger?

Xu Shihuan's heart suddenly sank and he asked sharply:

"You are not A Yong, who are you?"

The carriage suddenly stopped, and the curtain covering the door was lifted.

What appeared was the face of a young man.