They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Did you get Chapter 93?
Zhang glared at Xu Zhichun, muttering under her breath, "If any bad luck affects my Mingxiang, I'll never forgive you."

Xu Zhichun: "Aunt, what did you say?"

Xu Zhichun was speechless, thinking to herself, "If your son doesn't do well on the exam, is it because of what I said? Are you possessed? If my words were that effective, I'd say right now, 'Auntie will immediately become mute.' And that would restore peace to the world."

Zhang dared not disobey her husband, glared at Xu Zhichun again, and angrily turned her head away, refusing to look at her.

Liang Mingxiang remained quiet, upright, and ramrod straight, his face expressionless. Whether his mother was gossiping or his father was scolding her, he seemed not to hear or see it at all, showing no reaction whatsoever.

He also disliked his cousin-in-law Xu Zhichun. She was sharp-tongued, mercenary, and vulgar. With a sister-in-law like her around, how could Liang Mingxuan possibly amount to anything?
Upon arriving in the county town, Uncle Liang and his family of three were in a great hurry and got off the oxcart and left.

Xu Zhichun and the others waited until Liang Mingliang had settled the oxcart before they went over together.

"Anyway, the results are already out, so it doesn't matter whether we see them a little earlier or later."

"Yes, sister-in-law."

Xu Zhichun's heart started pounding uncontrollably again, and she wanted to say something but held back. She couldn't keep nagging, or the child would get impatient.

Zeng Xiaoyan patted her chest and let out a big breath: "I'm so nervous!"

Liang Mingliang comforted him, "Learn from me. I'm not nervous at all. This little prodigy will definitely pass the exam."

Zeng Xiaoyan glared at him: Is that how you comfort someone? Of course, the little prodigy will definitely pass the exam.

Xu Zhichun: "."

Hearing what the couple said, Xu Zhichun felt a little more relaxed and said with a smile, "Let's go, let's go too."

"Okay!"

The results were posted at the entrance of the county government office.

Even though Magistrate Lu has a good reputation now, places like the yamen (government office) are still forbidden areas for ordinary people to enter easily.

Normally, people would stay far away from this place, preferring to take a detour rather than take a shortcut through the government office.

At this moment, the entrance to the yamen was as noisy as a vegetable market, with a huge crowd completely ignoring the two rows of yamen runners standing guard with weapons in hand.

Two large red notices were posted on the bulletin board at the very front, and everyone was clamoring and crowding towards them, making it impossible to move.

Upon seeing this, Liang Mingliang said, "You all wait outside, I'll go in and take a look!"

Xu Zhichun was about to nod and thank him subconsciously when Zeng Xiaoyan grabbed Liang Mingliang's arm: "Hey, wait a minute, can you read?"

Xu Zhichun: "."

She forgot that there is no nine-year compulsory education here.

Liang Mingliang was indeed speechless, scratching his head and chuckling sheepishly.

How could he possibly know how to read?
Xu Zhichun then said, "You all wait outside, I'll go take a look."

"Sister-in-law——"

"Don't go. There are too many people. What if you get pushed over and hurt? Don't worry, this is the government office. No one will dare to cause trouble here."

The people of this era held the government in such awe that they would likely not dare to do anything petty or illicit under the watchful eyes of so many yamen runners.

"He passed! He passed the exam! My son passed! Hahaha! My son passed!"

A middle-aged woman's shrill voice drew everyone's attention, and they were filled with envy.

The voice was so penetrating that Xu Zhichun and the others all looked over—who else could it be but Zhang Shi? Smiling like a flower, Uncle Liang also looked around with an arrogant and delighted expression, as if he had instantly become much taller and more imposing than everyone around him. Xu Zhichun felt a strange, indescribable feeling, but his competitive spirit immediately soared: "Wait a moment, I'll go check right away!"

I don't believe it. If Liang Mingxiang could pass the exam, my own child can too.

Of course, no matter the outcome, her child is great, and she will praise him anyway.
If anyone dares to show off in front of her, she won't back down or admit defeat.

And here it is, just like that.

Zhang, with her sharp eyes, had already spotted them and waved enthusiastically, calling out, "Xu! Xu! Mingxuan!"

Zhang and Uncle Liang squeezed through the crowd and rushed over, beaming with joy: "Our Mingxiang passed! He passed! Hahaha! I knew it! Our Mingxiang is so smart, he was sure he would pass! That kid is really something! Hahaha! Our Liuwan Village now has a student who has passed the imperial examination!"

Uncle Liang's lips were also turned up so high that he couldn't pull them down.

Regardless, this is a good thing, and Xu Zhichun and the others politely smiled and said "Congratulations".

Zeng Xiaoyan couldn't help but ask, "Where's Mingxiang? Why can't I see him?"

Zhang was even more smug, beaming with joy: "Him? That child went to talk to his teacher and classmates at school. His teacher was overjoyed and had to call him over to praise him properly, hahaha. Oh right, you haven't squeezed in to see yet, have you? That's perfect, you don't need to go. Mingxuan's name isn't on there. Mingxuan didn't pass the exam, ha—cough cough! Cough cough cough cough!"

Zhang wanted to burst into laughter, but at least she knew it was inappropriate and held back.

Uncle Liang, adopting the airs of an elder, said condescendingly, "Mingxuan, work hard, and maybe one day you'll pass the exam. Don't worry."

"That's right, some things can't be rushed. And as my Mingxiang said, some things also depend on... talent, haha."

Liang Mingxuan nodded: "Uncle and Aunt are right."

So he was very confident that he wouldn't fail.

Xu Zhichun gently patted Liang Mingxuan's shoulder, "Wait here for your sister-in-law, she can go and take a look."

Zhang pouted: "I already said Mingxuan didn't—"

“That’s not necessarily true,” Xu Zhichun smiled. “Seeing is believing, I have to go and see for myself. Aunt, we can talk about it later.”

Zeng Xiaoyan blurted out, "That's right, Mingxuan will definitely win!"

Liang Mingliang replied without hesitation, "I also think you must not have seen it clearly. If Mingxiang can be named a child prodigy, how could he not be?"

Xu Zhichun smiled, feeling a bit relieved.

Zhang's face darkened: "How dare you speak to me like that?"

Liang Mingliang exclaimed "Huh?" and then realized what he meant. He scratched his head and chuckled, "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm not very good at talking, but that's the gist of it. You should understand. Don't mind me, hehe."

Zhang: "."

They're even more bothered by it now!

Uncle Liang chuckled coldly, his tone indifferent yet arrogant: "Since you don't believe me, go and see for yourselves."

Xu Zhichun had already squeezed into the crowd.

She finally managed to squeeze in, and looked up to see the row of names from the first one down.

In reality, not many people passed the preliminary examination. Their names were written in large letters, four in a row, three in three rows with three extra.

(End of this chapter)