In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Zhou Ping sat with Zhou Minghu, resting in a teahouse. In the distance stood the county office.

At this moment, the county office was heavily guarded, tightly surrounded by yamen runners. Outside, countless commoners crowded together, packed so densely that not a single drop of water could slip through. Each person craned their neck with hopeful anticipation.

The County Examination was the first threshold for scholars to attain official rank. Only by passing the County Examination and obtaining the status of a Tongsheng would one be qualified to participate in subsequent examinations.

For many poor families supporting their children's studies, even becoming a Tongsheng was already an exceptional achievement.

After all, a Tongsheng was a scholarly status recognized by the imperial court. In some remote villages, even the tutors teaching at private schools were merely aging Tongsheng.

Following the County Examination were the Prefectural Examination and the College Examination. Only by passing all three could one obtain the title of Xiucai, be exempted from certain taxes, and gain specific privileges.

After the College Examination came the Provincial Examination. Passing it meant becoming a Juren. In many county offices, aside from the county magistrate who had to be a Jinshi, all other officials could be appointed from local Juren.

Take Registrar Lin, for example-he was merely an old Juren.

Yet these very thresholds blocked the vast majority of scholars across the land. Those who managed to become Xiucai were one in a thousand, let alone Juren or Jinshi.

Take this minor County Examination right now. Ultimately, only a little over ten people would be nominated, and that was out of the more than two thousand scholars in Qingshui County.

However, Zhou Ping was not worried about Zhou Changhe failing. Naturally, this wasn't out of confidence in Zhou Changhe's academic prowess, but because of Lin Ruohe's promise.

A mere Tongsheng held neither true power nor profit-it was just a title. Lin Ruohe could secure it effortlessly.

This was an unspoken secret among officials. They protected one another, ensuring that the children of officials almost universally became Tongsheng, with the outstanding ones even becoming Xiucai or Juren. Even if their children were useless sacks of wine and rice, they still had to acquire an official title. Only then could they inherit their fathers' positions.

And Zhou Changhe was now a beneficiary of this system, naturally going along with the current.

Zhou Ping looked at the surging crowd outside, at the countless excited and hopeful faces, and could only shake his head slightly. In the end, how many of these people would have their hopes dashed, doomed to toil in the dirt for the rest of their lives?

With an annual nomination rate of just one percent, spots were first given to the children of officials, then to various landlords and wealthy households. Only whatever remained would go to the children of commoners.

In other words, for a commoner's child to obtain the status of Tongsheng, they had to be exceptionally brilliant. Otherwise, success was nearly impossible.

Of course, such blatant manipulation only occurred during the County and Prefectural Examinations, since a Tongsheng was merely a title and a qualification. By the time of the College Examination, these officials dared not act so recklessly. Because a Xiucai possessed actual privileges: exemption from taxes, the right to remain standing before an official, and exemption from corvée labor for themselves and two relatives.

If they dared to commit fraud in the Xiucai examinations, the imperial court would naturally purge them all.

"Father, how much longer do we have to wait?" Zhou Minghu asked.

Zhou Ping stroked Zhou Minghu's head and said softly, "Soon, soon."

As soon as Zhou Changhe finished the County Examination, Zhou Ping would take them back to Baixi Village.

Even if Zhou Changhe qualified for the Prefectural Examination, he would most likely fail it. After all, Liu Ming had studied for so many years and still hadn't passed his Prefectural Examination.

Furthermore, Zhou Changhe was still young. Zhou Ping did not feel at ease letting him study in the distant prefectural city. It would be better to first hire a private tutor to teach him at home, which would also allow Zhou Minghu and Zhou Changxi to learn alongside him.

Zhou Ping had never truly cared about Zhou Changhe attaining official rank; he only hoped his descendants could read and write. After all, he could elevate his descendants' aptitudes. As long as they developed steadily, sooner or later, their family would become an immortal clan. What need did they have for mortal official titles to establish their legacy?

"They're out! They're out!"

Suddenly, a clamorous uproar erupted from below as countless people surged toward the county office.

"Why hasn't my grandson come out?" an old man muttered blankly, stumbling as the crowd shoved him back and forth.

A farmer stood on higher ground and shouted, "Yu'er! Father is here!"

In the distance, a simple-looking youth heard the call and happily rushed toward the farmer.

"Son, how did the exam go?"

An old woman carefully fanned a young scholar with a palm-leaf fan, but the scholar irritably shoved her away.

"Stop fanning! I failed!"

The old woman froze as if struck by lightning. Those around her cast sympathetic glances.

Years of bitter sacrifice and support, only to end in failure-how much blood and tears were hidden within?

After a long while, the old woman finally suppressed her grief. She looked at her son, her lips trembling, but in the end, she couldn't utter a single word.

"Son, if you failed this year, we can just try again next year. I've stewed your favorite mushroom soup. Come home with me quickly."

The young scholar had already begun to regret shoving his mother. He reached back, grabbed the old woman's hand, and slowly walked toward home.

Amidst the crowd, some rejoiced while others grieved.

Some were full of smug confidence, while others hung their heads low, lacking the courage to meet their families' eyes...

Zhou Changhe also emerged alongside Lin Zhaohe. The two were vastly different-one was a carefree, unrestrained young master, while the other seemed as silent and reserved as an old man.

"Changhe, now that the exams are over, do you want to come play for a bit?" Lin Zhaohe asked. "Anyway, your Tongsheng status is guaranteed. Let's go have some fun."

"Zhaohe, I won't go. My elders are still waiting for me," Zhou Changhe said slowly.

He had accompanied Lin Zhaohe once before, only to find a group of officials' children eating, drinking, and indulging in hedonism. He had felt extremely out of place and never went again.

Rumor had it that those pampered scions had nicknamed him "country bumpkin" behind his back to mock and tease him.

Because of all these reasons, Zhou Changhe never went out with Lin Zhaohe again.

"Alright then." Lin Zhaohe's expression showed regret. He then turned and left with the Lin family servants, his face suddenly shifting.

"Truly a country bumpkin with mud on his legs. I don't know why Father told me to befriend him. Aren't there plenty of families like the Zhou family in the county?"

As the saying goes, like father, like son. Lin Zhaohe was naturally not as kind as he appeared on the surface.

Although dissatisfied with Lin Ruohe's instructions to befriend Zhou Changhe, Lin Zhaohe still carried them out to the letter.

In Zhou Changhe's mind, Lin Zhaohe was a kind and friendly older brother. Little did he know how sinister the boy's inner thoughts truly were.

"Changhe."

Zhou Changhe turned his head and saw Zhou Ping walking over with Minghu. He bowed respectfully.

"Uncle."

Zhou Ping nodded slightly, gazing at Lin Zhaohe's retreating figure. Although he hadn't gotten a clear look from the teahouse earlier, he knew that young man was far less benevolent than he seemed.

Truly, a tiger father begets no dog son.

"Uncle, is something wrong with Brother Zhaohe?" Zhou Changhe asked in confusion.

"Nothing. Just be cautious when dealing with him in the future-it never hurts to be on guard," Zhou Ping said. "How long until the County Examination results are posted?"

"Three days. But Brother Zhaohe has already given me the Tongsheng token," Zhou Changhe said, carefully revealing the corner of an object from his sleeve before quickly tucking it back in.

Even though it was an open secret that officials' children were guaranteed Tongsheng status, it was still best not to flaunt it in public, lest it provoke the anger of the masses.

"Do you have confidence in passing the Prefectural Examination?"

Zhou Changhe shook his head. He knew his own academic level was still far from sufficient.

Zhou Ping nodded and said, "Then let's go home. We'll hire a tutor for you to study properly at home."

He had been away from Baixi Village for several days now. Although the Wang and Sun families most likely wouldn't dare try anything, he still felt somewhat uneasy.

He thought of his newborn child, whom he had yet to see even once.

"Let's go. We're going home."

"Great! We're going home!" Zhou Minghu immediately jumped for joy. Over these past few days, he had muttered about wanting to see his mother more times than he could count.

"Minghu, Father has something else to tell you."

"You're a big brother now. From now on, you must protect your little brother well."

"Great! I'm a big brother! I'll definitely protect my little brother well!"

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