The Farm Girl's Charismatic Fortune-Chapter 286 - 282: Worn Thin

Madam Liu saw her husband enter and then said, "Has Xuanbao left?"

"Wait a moment, I’ll finish these pastries." Ruo Xuan wanted to see whose hands the two enchanted wooden tokens on the examiner’s tray would end up in.

This time, the tokens Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang received were also enchanted.

Apart from Ruo Jiang and Ruo Hai, two other individuals’ tokens were enchanted as well.

One of these three was a scholar from a humble background. Observing his features, Ruo Xuan could tell he was a nobleman from a humble background, honest and upright, having faced hardships in his youth, but a man of good fortune who would rise to prominence and not lack high official status and wealth after middle age.

The other two, whose families were already wealthy, with ancestors who had deep blessings, were also talented individuals, blessed with good fate and strong abilities, sure to hold ranks of at least third grade in the future.

They truly knew how to pick people to share in good fortune!

"Mother, Second Aunt, let’s go! I’m full. Mommy, hug Xuanbao." Ruo Xuan cast a Fairy Technique, creating a barrier of light around the examination rooms of Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang. Safe to leave now, though casting these two grand spells was a bit tiring.

She needed to go home to cultivate. Maintaining these two barriers would require quite a bit of Spiritual Power, and she had to cultivate continuously over the next three days and couldn’t rely solely on herself.

Madam Liu picked up Ruo Xuan, who then leaned on her shoulder and closed her eyes to enter a state of cultivation.

Inside the Imperial Examination Court, Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang suddenly could no longer smell the foul odor and instead detected a faint fragrance of flowers, reminiscent of Xuanbao’s scent.

Both of them sniffed their clothes and felt it was the scent left from holding Xuanbao.

The exam room isolated by the light barrier not only lacked the foul odor and had the scent of flowers but also spared them from the howling autumn winds, as comforting as being warmed by the winter sun.

~

Elsewhere, when Madam Liu returned to the Duke Yan’s Mansion by carriage, Xuanbao was still asleep.

Madam Jiang said with a smile, "Xuanbao has been tired these last few days, sleeping so soundly. Come, you’ve been holding her all the way, let me take Xuanbao out of the carriage."

Madam Liu was not polite; Xuanbao was heavy, and her limbs had gone numb from holding her during the traffic jam on the road.

Madam Jiang took over Ruo Xuan and was about to step out of the carriage when Xuanyuan Que was waiting by the carriage.

Xuanyuan Que extended his hand to Madam Jiang and said, "Second Aunt, please give Xuanbao to me!"

At that moment, Ruo Xuan, still half asleep, murmured, "I want Brother Xuanyuan to hold me."

It took too much Spiritual Power to maintain the light barrier, and her cultivation speed was simply not enough.

Divine Lord Xuanyuan would have to help!

Madam Jiang asked with a smile, "Can Little Lord Xuanyuan handle it?"

Although she said so, they often saw Xuanyuan Que carrying or piggybacking Ruo Xuan around, knowing that even though he was small, he truly could hold Ruo Xuan.

"I can handle it; Xuanbao isn’t heavy."

Madam Liu said with a laugh, "None of us have held Xuanbao as much as Little Lord Xuanyuan. Xuanbao, the lazy sleeper, often falls asleep during class and is always carried home by Little Lord Xuanyuan."

Madam Jiang confidently handed Ruo Xuan over to Xuanyuan Que.

Xuanyuan Que carefully took Ruo Xuan and said, "Aunts, I’ll take Xuanbao to my courtyard. In a while, once she wakes up, I’ll teach her what the Master taught today."

"Alright," Madam Liu agreed with a smile.

Although Little Lord Xuanyuan was young, he was very good at taking care of others. When his own daughter sat with him during meals, he would even help her with her food.

Therefore, she felt very assured having the two children together, not worried that Xuanyuan Que would bully her daughter.

Xuanyuan Que carried Ruo Xuan back to his own courtyard and laid her in her room.

Because this flower was too clingy, Xuanyuan Que’s place always had a room reserved for her, right next door to his own room.

He placed Ruo Xuan, who had fallen into a semi-comatose state from the strenuous effort of cultivating to maintain the light barrier, onto the bed, took her shoes off for her, and to avoid too much contact, he pinched a Fairy Technique so that she sat cross-legged properly.

Then he too took off his shoes, sat on the bed, and sat down cross-legged with his back to her.

Their current posture was back-to-back.

Xuanyuan Que pinched a Fairy Technique for transferring, taking over the maintenance of the light barrier.

Ruo Xuan felt drowsy as the warm sun’s breath touched her, and her flower soul stretched out, scattering little stars in the sunlight.

It was an hour later that Ruo Xuan woke up.

As soon as she opened her eyes and saw Xuanyuan Que meditating beside her, she peacefully closed her eyes and continued to sleep while cultivating.

She didn’t wake up until dinner time, and after eating, she returned to her room to take over the light screen, letting Xuanyuan Que go to have his meal.

Although they could meditate without eating or drinking, if they constantly abstained from food and drink, the adults might think they were sick.

Thus, the two of them took turns infusing the light screen with Spiritual Power, persisting for three days.

Meanwhile, Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang, within the comfortable environment created by the light screen, found their thoughts flowing freely while answering the examination papers during the day, and at night, when others were still in deep thought about how to respond, they had already gone to bed early and slept soundly without a single dream.

The examiner who came to inspect was amazed to see them writing as if divinely inspired, eating deliciously during mealtime, and sleeping more soundly than pigs at night!

He even suspected that instead of spending nights in a dingy and leaky examination hall next to the latrines, they were actually in the luxurious rooms of the Auspicious Inn that cost ten Tael of Silver per night.

The three days passed in the blink of an eye, and while some felt the time torturously slow, others thought it flew by all too quickly and wasn’t enough. Regardless of their feelings, everyone walking out of the Imperial Examination Court looked depleted and listless.

It was rare to see anyone as energetic as Ruo Jiang and Ruo Shui.

Yang Qixiang was practically carried out, in extremely poor condition.

Jia Shijie, on the other hand, walked out on his own, but he also appeared dispirited.

However, the thought that he’d be an Advanced Scholar soon instantly revived his spirits!

Ha ha... Once he became an Imperial Scholar and secured an official position, the Zhang Family would be nothing!

Who then would dare say he was just a son-in-law who moved into his wife’s family home?

If Zhang Xiaoli dared to show him disdain again, he would divorce her.

~

As soon as Ruo Shui left the Imperial Examination Court, Ruo Xuan threw herself at him: "Daddy!"

Finally out, she was exhausted!

Ruo Shui lifted his daughter high in the air, only to realize she had become much lighter, and his heart ached: "Xuanbao, why have you lost so much weight? Even your little face has become pointed."

Ruo Jiang took a careful look at his niece: "Yes, she’s lost weight, at least three pounds."

Ruo Xuan: Could she not have lost weight when she was nearly squeezed dry?

Madam Liu was also puzzled: "These past few days, Xuanbao has been eating and sleeping well; I don’t understand how she got thinner."

Ruo Xuan: "I was thinking about dad and Second Uncle, worrying so much that I lost weight."

Upon hearing this, both Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang felt tremendously heartbroken.

Moved and heartbroken!

Indeed, daughters are the closest to their father’s heart!

The two of them competed to hold Ruo Xuan, unwilling to let go all day long.

Ruo Xuan: "..."

Blame herself for being too sweet-mouthed!

~

The results of the county examination were announced before the end of the year, and Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang once again took the first and second places.

One became Jieyuan, and the other became Second Top Scholar.

Jia Shijie also passed the examination this time, with a mid-to-high ranking.

He was so overjoyed that he immediately took Zhang Xiaoli back to the Zhang Family.