He recognized De’an, of course. Before the family had moved to the county seat, the boy and his younger brother attended a private academy and came home once a month.

Before heading home, he would always stop by the county government office to ask if Chen Song was returning that day. If he was, De’an would wait for his father, and the three of them would leave together after Chen Song finished work. If Chen Song was occupied with a case, he and his brother would catch a ride on a villager’s ox-cart and head back first.

The old clerk had a very high opinion of Chen De’an. The boy was charming, silver-tongued, and savvy. His scholarship was said to be excellent, and he had a good chance of passing the exam to become a Scholar this year. ’If he really makes something of himself,’ the clerk had mused before, ’I should try to match him with my own granddaughter.’

But as debonair as Chen De’an was, he paled in comparison to the other young man.

That young man stood tall and straight, his features refined and handsome. He carried himself with a dignified poise, as elegant as green bamboo. He truly had a striking presence and appearance.

’This must be Chen Song’s son-in-law.’

He had never met him, but he had long heard of the man. Rumor had it that he was the one who had nearly been murdered yesterday.

A pity. He had used the excuse of not officially being on duty yesterday to stay away from the government office, so he’d missed a great show.

The old clerk’s thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning and were gone in an instant. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

When he came to, a smile graced his lips. He nodded to Chen Song and said, "Are these two young Qilins both yours? Looking at their bearing and appearance, these two lads are sure to pass this year."

Chen Song waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t praise them, sir. They’re just brash youngsters with flighty temperaments. A little praise goes straight to their heads. Mr. Zhong, since it’s not busy yet, could you bring out the personal declaration forms and let these two fill them out?"

"That’s no problem, but they still need an academic guarantor and a mutual guarantee group."

The academic guarantee, also known as "recognition guarantee," required a stipend-earning scholar to vouch for a candidate. They had to confirm the candidate was not falsifying their household registration, concealing a mandatory mourning period, using a substitute, or registering under a false name. This guarantee also certified that the candidate had a clean family background—that they were not the descendant of prostitutes or actors, and had not committed any crimes or engaged in a "lowly" profession themselves.

The mutual guarantee required a group of five candidates to sign a joint-guarantee form. If any one of them was caught cheating, all five would be held collectively responsible.

Zhao Jing had already found his academic guarantor: a stipend-earning scholar who had been a good friend of his father’s years ago. Zhao Jing addressed him as "Uncle," and they had kept in touch over the years. In fact, on the very day Zhao Jing’s family completed their mourning period, the man had personally visited to offer a stick of incense to his father’s memory.

As for De’an, his guarantor was his teacher from the private academy.

Regarding the mutual guarantee, De’an studied at a private academy filled with classmates he’d known for years. Finding four others for a group would have been easy.

His teacher at the academy had the same idea, encouraging his students to form groups among themselves to minimize the risk of being implicated by an outsider.

However, while De’an was familiar with his classmates, he didn’t know them inside and out.

To avoid being dragged down by an unknown, both he and Zhao Jing chose to form a group with the boys from the Zhao Village.

There were currently six boys from the Zhao Village studying at private academies in the county seat. Excluding the youngest, Yao’an, who wasn’t taking the exam this year, that left exactly five of them.

Of the five, Zhao Jing was the oldest, and the youngest was only thirteen.

Although the youngest was still small and his academic level was surely lacking—for him, it was more about the experience—he had decided to register. And just like that, they had their five people.

They knew all of these boys inside and out—not just their personal characters, but their families’ characters as well. This way, they avoided any hidden landmines that could detonate and take them all down.

However, the Zhao Village was six *li* from the county seat, so it would take the others a while to arrive.

But that was fine. Filling out the "Mutual Guarantee, Personal Declaration, and Pledge" forms would take a long time anyway.

With Chen Song present, Zhao Jing and Chen De’an were afforded a small convenience. After getting their forms, they were shown to a side room in the back where they could sit and fill them out.

Filling out these forms was no easy task. In addition to providing their own name, age, place of origin, physical build, and facial features, they also had to document the histories of the three preceding generations of their family—parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents—noting whether they were living or deceased. If a candidate was adopted, they had to provide the same three-generation history for their birth parents as well.

Afterward, the county government’s constables would be dispatched to verify every single one of these details. No deception or ambiguity would be tolerated. The slightest mistake could get their forms stamped "Disqualified," and they would be kicked out of the county examination.

Just as Zhao Jing and Chen De’an were about to finish their forms, a clamor of footsteps and voices arose from outside. As expected, more candidates had arrived.

Neither of them let the noise disturb them. With steady hands, they methodically finished filling out their information, double-checked each other’s forms for errors, and only then did they step out of the side room.