The county examination in Qingshui County was divided into five sessions. After each session, there was a one-day break before the next one began, with the entire process taking nine consecutive days to complete.

The county examination began on the second day of the second lunar month, chosen for the auspicious meaning of "Longtaitou," or the Dragon Raising its Head.

Well before dawn on this day, every household with a scholar was already up and about.

At the Chen family’s home in the Weaving Workshop, everyone was, of course, also up early.

Because Chen De’an and Zhao Jing were both taking the imperial examination, Chen Song, as their father and father-in-law, had to avoid any suspicion of favoritism.

He had always been scrupulous in this regard and had informed the County Magistrate long in advance that he would not be on duty at the county government during the examination.

He wouldn’t even go to maintain order. He was afraid that people would accuse him of trying to help his son and son-in-law by deliberately intimidating other candidates and messing with their state of mind while on patrol.

Since he didn’t have to go to the government office, Chen Song got up early to make breakfast.

He cooked noodles and boiled extra eggs for De’an and Zhao Jing, who were taking the exam.

The reason he didn’t make congee or steamed buns was that congee makes one need to urinate frequently, and having to repeatedly relieve oneself during the exam was a hassle.

The county examination lasted all day, from entering the examination hall at dawn to leaving at dusk. Although they could eat the dry rations they brought, it was never as satisfying as a proper meal. Therefore, they needed to eat as much as possible before going in.

After all, by the time they arrived at the examination hall, went through all the procedures, and finally sat down to write, most of the food in their stomachs would have been digested anyway.

Zhao Jing and Chen De’an each finished a bowl of noodles with greens and shredded pork. On top of that, they each ate three boiled eggs.

After finishing the meal, their bodies warmed up. Chen Song then called to the two of them, preparing to personally escort them to the examination hall.

Xu Suying and Chen Wanqing were checking the items the two were bringing.

Since the county government provided stoves and clean water, they didn’t need to bring those. However, everything else, such as charcoal, cookware, bowls, chopsticks, and food, had to be prepared by themselves.

Chen Song was experienced and had Xu Suying prepare dried noodles for them in advance, along with some pre-made stewed sauce, green vegetables, and other things.

It was all simple and transparent food, where one could see at a glance that no contraband was hidden inside.

They also prepared plenty of thin pork jerky for the two boys to snack on. This was in case they became ravenous but couldn’t spare a moment from the exam to cook; the pork jerky could temporarily tide them over.

A refreshing cooling balm was also indispensable. In addition, each was given an incense burner and a few sticks of Moonlight Fragrance incense that Chen Wanqing had made.

Chen Wanqing and Xu Suying checked again to see if the two had all their documents, when they suddenly remembered they had forgotten the oilcloth.

Although the past few days had been clear and bright, and it didn’t look like it would rain, what if it did?

The county examination was critically important, so even low-probability events had to be guarded against. Otherwise, if they were unprepared and their cubicle happened to leak during a rainstorm, their test papers would get wet and be invalidated, meaning the entire session would have been for nothing.

Just before they left, Chen Wanqing quickly grabbed their sheepskin coats and told them to put them on.

The second lunar month was a time when the weather swung between cold and heat.

The mornings and evenings were cold enough to make one’s fingers go stiff, while at midday, the heat made people sweat profusely.

However, the examination hall had a rule: candidates were strictly forbidden from wearing padded clothing, which meant no clothes with linings.

Thus, they could only wear several layers of unlined garments, with a sheepskin coat on the very outside. This way, they wouldn’t freeze when it was cold and could take off the coat to cool down when it got hot.

In fact, Mr. Zhao also owned a sheepskin coat like this—simply cut and without a lining. Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing had brought it with them when they came to the county seat.

But that coat was over twenty years old, and even though it was well-preserved, its ability to provide warmth was greatly diminished. A few days ago, Chen Wanqing had specially taken Zhao Jing out shopping and bought him a new one.

The shop also had coats made of bear, fox, and sable fur, which looked more impressive and were certainly warmer. However, the prices were far too high, well beyond what they could currently afford, so they had to reluctantly settle for the sheepskin coat.

At that moment, looking at the two of them, who still looked as elegant as ever even in their thick coats, Chen Wanqing couldn’t help but smile. "You two do your best on the exam. Try to get good results. If you both pass and become Scholars, then next time you take the Provincial Examination, I’ll buy each of you a fox fur coat."

Chen De’an pouted. "Sis, don’t make empty promises. I know my own level. If I manage to pass this time, it’ll be a miracle. Me, taking the Provincial Examination? Let’s wait until I’ve studied for a few more years before we even talk about that."