Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Character Just Wants to Die a Natural Death

Song Yuwei was busy with household chores and embroidery to earn money, so she didn't have much time to keep an eye on Yao Shuyan. Her youngest daughter, on the other hand, was more sensible and didn't need to be worried about at all. She could even help keep an eye on Yao Shuyan.

Yao Shuyan said with dissatisfaction, "Little sister, you keep dragging me back, it makes me lose face. And can you please stop complaining?"

"No, Mother wants me to keep an eye on you and buy me candy at the market."

"......."

After the two went inside, they found a middle-aged couple inside.

The middle-aged man said, "Yao Feng and Yan Feng have been studying for a year or two. They only need to know a few characters. If we make them take the imperial examination, wouldn't that be a waste of money?"

Yao Feng shook his head: "Brother, whether it works out or not, I want to give it a try."

The middle-aged man was Yao Feng's older brother, Yao Cheng. After their parents passed away, the family divided their property. Yao Feng's leg was broken by a stranger, and their house was robbed. They had no money. Song Yuwei went to borrow money, but Yao Cheng learned that Yao Feng was not qualified to take the entrance exam and turned her away.

Now, because of his son's marriage, he shamelessly comes to borrow money.

"Since ancient times, it has been extremely difficult for a farmer's son to pursue an official career. Your eldest son is far less capable than you were back then, and you have also wasted your time and effort without achieving anything. Now he is even causing you to work day and night, and in the end, it will all be for nothing."

Yao Feng's gaze was firm: "Even if it's a waste of time, it doesn't matter."

"Hmph! Ungrateful wretch, with ambitions higher than his fate!"

Yao Cheng stormed off.

At this moment, Yao Feng also saw the two of them and said with displeasure, "Shuyan, why aren't you reading? Where have you been again?"

Yao Shuyan slunk off to the study, and Yao Feiran followed him in.

Yao Shuyan seemed to have been provoked by the conversation just now, and suddenly said, "They all say that studying is too expensive, I don't want to study anymore, my parents are working too hard."

Yao Feiran said calmly, "When you were little, your father took you to dig for wild vegetables. Everyone else had dug up a whole basketful, but you only dug up a little bit and fell down covered in dirt. Your father thought you weren't suited for farming, so he chose another path for you. Later, seeing that you were quite intelligent, he thought you had the potential to pass the imperial examinations. They didn't feel it was hard work; they just felt that life had something to look forward to."

Yao Shuyan remained silent for a long while: "Little sister, you seem to know more than I do."

Yao Shuyan was just a bit mischievous, but he was quite intelligent. Another reason was that his father, who was unable to take the imperial examinations, placed his regret on this son. Moreover, among the social classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, even if Yao Shuyan became a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, those who secretly targeted him would probably be wary of him.

.....

Since that incident, Yao Shuyan has changed a lot. Without Yao Feiran saying anything, he has started studying on his own initiative, getting up before dawn every day to study classical Chinese texts. Yao Feiran naturally doesn't follow him; she is at a stage where she needs to grow and sleep is more important.

After Yao Shuyan turned eleven, the family's financial situation paled in comparison, but they were still able to barely afford Yao Shuyan's tuition.

However, something happened later: an old scholar suddenly returned to Qingping Village and opened a private school, charging even less than Yao Feng. Suddenly, Yao Feng had no students left.

Yao Feiran knew she needed to spend money to get through this difficult time, but she hadn't yet found the person who had harmed her.

Just then, Yao Shuyan, unaware of the trouble at home, asked, "Mother, my calligraphy brush is broken. Can I get a new one? I need some paper to copy books."

Books are very expensive nowadays, and I simply can't afford them, especially those with annotations. I can only go to bookstores to copy them. Of course, the Four Treasures of the Study are also not cheap. Yao Shuyan used the cheapest kind.

Song Yu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, Mother will get it for you."

Only then did Yao Shuyan realize that her father was still there: "Dad, didn't you go to teach?"

The family fell silent. Losing Yao Shuyan's livelihood had significantly increased the family's financial burden.

"Father came back early today because he had some things to do. You should go back and read your books."

Yao Shuyan sensed a somewhat heavy atmosphere at home, so he asked Yao Feiran a question while he was in the study.

"Little sister, what's wrong with Dad?"

"Recently, a new teacher came to the village to teach everyone to read, and all of Dad's students have left."

Yao Shuyan wore a solemn expression, and looked extremely guilty.

"Brother, is there something you haven't said?" Yao Feiran could tell that he had something he wasn't saying.

"Today, the Master said that I can go down and give it a try."

"Really? That's great!"

Yao Shuyan's teacher is a scholar from the county town who has lost the will to take the exam due to his advanced age. Since he says that Yao Shuyan can take the exam, he probably has the ability to do so.

"I think I'd better not go. I heard that I need a local scholar to vouch for me, which will cost five taels of silver."

To qualify for the county examination, five people needed to jointly guarantee each other's eligibility, and a "Linsheng" (a student receiving government stipends) was also required to provide this guarantee. A Linsheng was a scholar who excelled in the annual examinations and received subsidies of silver and grain from the government, making them a higher-status scholar than ordinary scholars.

"The imperial examinations are not easy. Try a few more times. As for the money, don't worry about it. If your parents can't afford it, they will tell you. But it's wrong of you to keep this a secret."

Yao Feiran also knew that she should contribute something to improve her family's living conditions.

Without thinking twice, she took out the bag directly, startling Yao Feng: "What's this? Did you pick up some junk somewhere?"

"There's no junk, this is loose silver."

Yao Feiran dumped the broken silver pieces out like garbage. She originally intended to take out the gold, but the gold ingots were too eye-catching and broke the silver she had collected in ancient times.

Yao Feng frowned, picked it up, and took a bite.

"Where did you find it?"

I found it two years ago while wandering in the mountains. I didn't dare to take it out until I saw that my family was too poor, so I had to take it out.

Yao Feng: "........"

Song Yuwei gently patted her: "This was lost by someone else, it should be returned to them."

"There's no one here. If there really was an owner, someone would have come looking for them long ago. It's been two years, and all they've found are small pieces of silver. Even if they came, they wouldn't know anything about it." Yao Feiran continued, "My brother's tutor said that he can try taking the county exam this time."

Upon hearing this, Yao Feng immediately handed the silver to Song Yuwei without hesitation.

These loose silver coins were estimated to be worth several hundred taels. Having experienced theft, Song Yuwei kept them very discreetly.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Yao Feng borrowed money everywhere, even keeping it a secret from Yao Shuyan. After Yao Feng returned from the county, he took Yao Shuyan to the school.

The county examination begins every February. Yao Shuyan was young, so Yao Feng personally took him there. Yao Feiran, wanting to go to the county town to see the excitement, also went along.

After traveling along the official road for a while, Yao Feiran suddenly clutched her stomach and said it hurt. Upon hearing the sound, Yao Feng immediately stopped the carriage.

"Dad, I'm going to relieve myself over there in the bushes. Just wait here, don't come over."

Yao Feng's face darkened: "Don't say that in front of others in the future. It's an insult to civility."

"....."