After returning home, the two of them went to the bedroom to catch up on their sleep. Qin Zhao was led back by Cao Xi, his eyes a little straight, but fortunately his mind was clear.
Cao Xi didn't ask him how he did in the exam, but only asked if he had been feeling unwell in the past two days.
Qin Zhao liked the way she cared about him and looked at her aggrievedly, saying, "I'm a little tired and want to sleep."
Qin Zhaoke had never said anything about hardship and tiredness, but this statement made Cao Xi feel heartbroken. Coupled with his knowledge of the scientific examination, he suddenly felt that Qin Zhao had been greatly wronged.
She pushed Qin Zhao onto the bed and wiped his face with a washcloth herself. Qin Zhao enjoyed her care the whole time and was so happy that he could hardly sing a tune.
When everything was tidied up, Cao Xi wanted to go to the kitchen to make some food for him, but Qin Zhao refused to let go, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the bed.
"Don't go. I can't sleep well without you by my side."
Seeing his blue eyes, Cao Xi felt heartbroken, so she followed his wish and lay beside him in undressed clothes. Qin Zhao was satisfied, hugged Cao Xi and fell asleep while breathing.
Cao Xi caressed his cheek with her hand, which seemed to have lost weight. She followed the outline of his face and moved it up to his eyes. She sighed slightly and hugged his waist with her arms.
When Qin Zhao woke up, it was pitch dark and the room was quiet. Cao Xi was sleeping next to him with her face slightly red, and he could clearly hear her breathing.
Qin Zhao poked her reddish face with his hand. It felt soft and comfortable, and he still wanted to poke it.
Cao Xi felt uncomfortable being poked in the face, so she stretched out her hand to pat Qin Zhao's hand, and with a snap, it hit Qin Zhao's hand. It took her a long while to realize where it was.
He stood up and asked Qin Zhao, "Are you hungry? I'll ask the kitchen to make some food and bring it over."
"You go to sleep first, I'll go to the kitchen to take a look."
Qin Zhao pressed Cao Xi to get up, got out of bed, put on his shoes and walked out. Not long after, Qin Zhao walked in with a tray.
Qin Zhao laid out the food and returned to the bed.
"The food in the kitchen is always hot. Come over and let's eat together."
Cao Xi was pulled up by Qin Zhao and wiped his face with a washcloth before sitting down at the table with Qin Zhao to have dinner.
"Finally the exam is over." The pressure on Cao Xi's heart was relieved.
Qin Zhao: "Well, if it passes, there will be another trial in a year."
"Poor baby"
Cao Xi picked up a piece of braised pork and put it into Qin Zhao's bowl. How many brain cells did this cost?
Qin Zhao thought it was funny, but Cao Xi thought the exam was hard. Many students wanted to take the exam every day to realize their lofty ambitions.
As for Qi Qige, she was sleeping in a dark place. If she hadn't been breathing heavily, the old housekeeper would have hired a doctor.
Since Qi Qige moved out of Qi Mansion, everything including business dealings and accounting must be supervised. Naturally, studying was postponed to the evening. It was not easy for him to persevere.
At breakfast the next day, Qi Qige came back to life with full health and dragged Qin Zhao out vigorously. It was called to understand the local customs, but in fact, it was just to accompany him to inspect the shops.
Qi Qige has more than thirty shops in Fucheng, large and small, covering all aspects of clothing, food, housing and transportation.
After running for three days in a row, I could only get a rough look. Qin Zhao helped check all the accounts. In Qi Qige's words, everything should be put to its best use.
When Cao Xi found out about this, half a month had passed. He couldn't blame Qin Zhao for going to bed these days as if he had been in a battle when he came back.
Time passed little by little and it was the day when the results were released. The old housekeeper sent the boy early to guard the results.
There is no need for Qin Zhao and the others to go there in person this year, which saves effort and keeps their hearts high at the same time.
Qi Qige walked countless times in the yard, ignoring the three pots of tea Qin Zhao drank. He would appear calmer.
Cao Xi's emotions were exposed. He had been waiting in front of the door early, stretching his neck and looking out constantly.
At noon, the boy guarding the list ran back with sweat on his head. As soon as he entered the door, before Cao Xi asked, he shouted: "I hit, I hit. The young master hit."
When Qi Qige heard that she had been hit, she jumped up instantly, grabbed the boy's hand, and said with excitement, "Did you really win?"
The boy's face turned red and he said dumbly, "Really, second place Yayuan, I saw it for real, I can't be wrong."
Cao Xi pushed Qi Qige away and asked the boy, "Have you seen Qin Zhao's name?"
The boy was confused. It took him a long time to realize who Qin Zhao was, and his face instantly became as bright as a flower.
"I won, the first place is Jieyuan" The voice was as loud as if he had been hit, and it resounded throughout the courtyard.
When Cao Xi heard that it was Jieyuan, he hugged Qin Zhao beside him and jumped up and down with joy. Qin Zhao's clenched hand loosened at this moment, and he protected Cao Xi to prevent her from falling.
"No, I have to go and see for myself"
After Cao Xi got over his excitement, he let go of Qin Zhao and ran out, but was pulled back by Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao: "You don't have to look. If you really win, someone will come to tell you the good news."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of gongs and drums outside came from far and near, and the messengers cheered loudly.
"Excuse me, who is the great talent of Qin Zhao?"
Qin Zhao took a step forward and said, "Qin Zhao, you are right below."
"Congratulations to Jieyuan, congratulations to Jieyuan, you won the first place in the provincial examination."
After receiving further confirmation, Cao Xi's heart finally settled.
Cao Xi did not hesitate to take out a tael of silver as a reward.
But the person who brought the good news took the silver and did not leave. He continued: "May I ask who is the great talent of Qi Qige?"
Qi Qige walked forward excitedly and looked at him with bright eyes, "I am"
"Congratulations to the great talent of Qi, congratulations to the great talent of Qi, you won the second place in Asia"
Although he knew the results of the exam in advance, Qi Qige wanted to listen to other people's good news again. He happily motioned to the butler to reward him, and the housekeeper was not stingy and gave the person who brought the good news a tael of silver.
The messenger happily took two taels of silver and ran to the next house.
As soon as one left, another one came outside, saying the same words and expressing the same joy. Qin Zhao and Qi Qige enjoyed another highlight moment.
More and more people came to report the good news, and they were able to form groups.
It was a joy to be admitted to the examination, but Qi Qige was not taken advantage of, and Qin Zhao was notoriously picky, so they both decided to close the door and asked the housekeeper to put a note on the outside saying that the master was out, and then they stopped. down.
In the evening, to celebrate the success of the two men, the old housekeeper specially ordered the kitchen to prepare more dishes and brought out the osmanthus wine that had been collected for many years.
The master's dining table is placed in the front hall, and the servant's dining table is placed in the courtyard. There are only a few people in the family, and both master and servant have dinner together today.
When dinner was served, the servants finished cleaning up early and went to rest. Only the master of the front room was left to continue. Qiqige seemed particularly happy today.
He was drunk and didn't realize it. He raised his glass and said to Qin Zhao, "Why are you number one again? I've worked so hard, why haven't I surpassed you yet?"
Qin Zhao took off Qi Qige's hand on his shoulder and said, "You're drunk."
"I'm not drunk." Qiqige frowned, raised his head and drank all the wine in his hand.
Qin Zhao sincerely comforted, "You are already very good. If I were in your environment, I might not be as good as you."
Seeing that Qi Qige's eyes were blurry, Cao Xi asked the old housekeeper to prepare sobering soup before sending him to the room to sleep. Don't let him talk nonsense here at night. Being frozen is a small shame but a big one.
The old housekeeper agreed wholeheartedly. He had long wanted to help the young master go back to sleep.
Qi Qige saw Qin Zhao giggle and his eyes turned red when he smiled. He stood up and hugged Qin Zhao.
Cao Xi was dumbfounded. He was so shameless. He dared to hug her man in front of her and dance in front of the King of Hell. You don't want to live anymore.
Cao Xi stood up and wanted to drag him down, but as soon as he reached Qin Zhao's side, he heard Qi Qige sobbing.
Cao Xi froze in place. Qin Zhao stood up and helped Qi Qige. Qi Qige's body was limp and she almost fell to the ground.
Cao Xi was shocked, "I fell asleep too quickly."
"Yes, I fell asleep too quickly"
The crying just now seemed like an illusion, fragile and helpless, and as if it didn't appear.
No one mentioned this brief moment, as if it never happened.
Many years later, when they met again, they only said that Chiqige was extremely drunk that night, nothing more.
