Baili Yan cast a skeptical glance at him, raised his eyebrows slightly as he took the object from Ye Ziāan hand, and began to look it over nonchalantly. However, as he saw the details, his expression grew more solemn.
He was very clear about the object, though it had its differences, the effect it could achieve was extraordinary.
Could it be that the shrewd girl would so easily hand over such a thing to himself?
"Is this really from her for me?" Baili Yan asked for confirmation once more.
"Of course!"
Ye Ziāan saw that he seemed to hesitate again and still appeared doubtful, and couldnāt help but scoff internally, If you donāt want it, just give it back to me, I didnāt even want to give it to you in the first place. This was an item painstakingly crafted by my wife; I had originally planned to keep it as my ace card. Now, itās just given away to you for nothing.
Ha, Baili Yan, of course, would not refuse it; as soon as he received a confirmatory nod from Ye Ziāan, he immediately pocketed the item, and the usual slight smile on his lips widened a bit more.
"Thank her for me. This thing is extremely useful."
"Oh," Ye Ziāan responded indifferently, then after thinking for a bit, added, "I think as long as you donāt plan on getting me a concubine or something, she wonāt mind if you donāt thank her."
Upon hearing this, a small change flickered across Baili Yanās face.
"That sounds more like something you would say." Baili Yan glanced at him indifferently, thinking to himself that he really had entertained the idea of finding a couple of high-born ladies to be his cousinās concubines. However, now that he had accepted such a valuable gift from the man, it would indeed be inappropriate to mention that matter again.
He then changed the subject to ask Ye Ziāan how his exam preparations were going and whether he felt confident about them, among other things.
It wasnāt until evening time that Baili Yan, accompanied by a palace eunuch, returned to his residence.
~~~~
After arriving in the Capital City, aside from catching up with Old Mu, Baili Yan, and others in the first two days, and visiting Mr. Luoās residence, Ye Ziāan would either study quietly in the pavilion or accompany Old Mu to meet with some renowned scholars in the Capital City.
His days were fulfilling, yet he could not help but miss his wife back in Funan during the nights.
But all he could do was think of herānow that he was in the Capital City, there was no way he could return, at least not until after the exam.
In the days leading up to the exam, Baili Yan found him two teachers who specialized in essay writing. So, during the last few days, Ye Ziāan did not go out anymore. Instead, he worked on an essay every day and submitted it for review to the two teachers and to Mr. Luo.
Though the three had different opinions, they unanimously agreed that his essays were quite good and would surely pass.
Of course, Ye Ziāanās arrival in the Capital City had not gone unnoticed, and some had been watching him even before. The aristocratic families had planned to send over some scholars with impressive knowledge to meet him.
Unfortunately, on the day of his entrance to the Capital City, the carriage of Old Mu took so many detours that those following were thrown off, and the prominent scholars he and Mr. Luo visited were not ones that just anyone could meet. By the time the news had gotten out, he had already met everyone and left. Thus, it wasnāt until a few days before the exam that some people finally found out where Ye Ziāan was staying.
By then, however, Ye Ziāan had already closed his doors and declined all visitors.
So some people had to shift their focus back to the upcoming spring Imperial Exam.
On the twelfth day of the third month, the triennial Imperial Exam of the Great Zhou dynasty officially began. Lasting for three days, early that morning, Ye Ziāan entered the examination hall, accompanied by Brother Li and others. Old Mu and the rest did not show up, as that would have been too conspicuous.
Meanwhile, his two brothers-in-law back in Funan had also successfully made it through the previous rounds and had entered the second stage. The exams for Cultivated Talent and Advanced Scholar were indeed different.