After the Double Ninth Festival, Li Ling returned to the day before the provincial examination and ignored everything, and only read and wrote novels while changing his mind.

However, compared with that time, his mood was very different. At that time, he thought that everything would go with the flow and that it would be best if he could pass the imperial examination. Even if he failed, it would not matter. After all, he still had business to do and novels to write. At least life security was not a problem at all. But now, Li Ling vowed to pass the imperial examination, not for anything else, just to be bullied by others for the sake of his or her family, and he would no longer have to be passively beaten for the other party's status and identity.

Time keeps moving forward in this repetitive and boring state, autumn goes and winter comes, and then it is the New Year Festival again.

Although the family has a larger population than last year's Chinese New Year, the overall atmosphere this year has been a little more depressed, and even Yue'er doesn't have much laughter. Because the more festive the festival, the more she misses her father and sister. Thinking that her sister is still suffering in the Wei family, she really can't have a happy New Year. She doesn't have much interest in placing her elbows in front of her on weekdays.

"Yue'er is here, eat a piece of meat. This is specially made by Sister Gu for you." At the New Year's Eve dinner, Li Ling put a small piece of crispy, soft and glutinous elbow meat into her sister's bowl and said with a smile, "Didn't you like this the most before? You always pester me to buy it. Why can you eat it open now and not eat it?"

Yue'er sucked her nose, nodded first, then she barely ate the skinned elbow meat, and then glanced at her brother: "Brother, you... are you leaving soon, right?"

This made Li Tong stop chewing and turn to look at Li Ling, who smiled and nodded: "Yes, this year's examination is scheduled for February 12th, and the capital is still a lot away from us, so I thought I would set off after the seventh day of the lunar month."

Yue'er's little face suddenly collapsed, and her eyes turned red: "Then... how long will it take for me to see my brother? The capital city is so far away, even further than the provincial capital. I can't bear to part with my brother..."

"It's the New Year, don't cry." Li Ling saw this and quickly reached out and wiped the tears from his sister's face with his thumb: "Yes, the capital is far away, and if I really pass the Jinshi exam, I might be appointed as an official. I really don't know when I want to come back."

"Then...what should I do?" Yue'er was so panicked that she was about to cry when she curled her mouth, but Li Ling said again: "So I decided to take you to the capital this time!"

"Ah..." Yue'er was stunned, and Li Tong and Li Moyun next to him were also surprised. You must know that Li Ling did not take Yue'er with him before, so why did he suddenly change his mind when he arrived at this more important exam?

Facing their questioning gaze, Li Ling smiled and said, "Why, don't you want to go to the capital with your brother?"

"No, of course I want to go with my brother, but... But why did you suddenly change your mind?" Yue'er was really excited, and a bright light flashed in her red eyes, "Brother, are you talking about it? Are you really going to take me to the capital?"

"Yes, it's not just you, but Mo Yun, and Uncle Tong. Our family will go to the capital together." Li Ling nodded seriously without hesitation.

"Young Master... Is this a bit too hasty decision? After all, you are going to the exam. Wouldn't it be a distraction to bring us?" Li Tong said worriedly.

Li Ling had his own opinion: "I feel that it is difficult for me to take the exam with peace of mind after leaving Yue'er and you here. After this incident with my sister, I understood a truth. In fact, our home is not the safest place. At least until I have strong enough power to protect everyone, it is not safe enough.

"Also, I have indeed offended many people in the past two years, including the Wei family, the Ji family, and the escaped Zhuang Qiang... These guys are all threats. Even if the teacher will help take care of me, I am still worried. When I arrive in the capital, I am afraid I will think more, which will make me even less able to concentrate on preparing for the exam and taking the exam. So instead of doing this, it is better to bring you to Luoyang together so that I can rest assured. And with you by my side, you can help me solve many trivial matters in life, which is also beneficial to my exam."

After he said this, Li Tong could only nodded to express his agreement, and Yue'er was even more happy and nodded excitedly: "Yeah, yes, let's go to the capital together. I accompany my brother, I can wash clothes for my brother and cook for me. I know what my brother likes to eat best. If we bring our brother with us, we will definitely be able to pass the Jinshi exam."

Li Moyun also nodded: "It's better to go there together, so you can take care of multiple people on the road."

"But young master, this will make our expenses too high. I heard that everything in the capital is much more expensive than here, and it is not comparable to Xuzhou and Fucheng." Li Tong still had some concerns, and the questions raised were more practical.

Li Ling smiled: "Don't worry about money. I have more than a thousand taels of silver on hand now, which is enough for us to live in the capital for a while. And I believe that as time goes by, our Zongheng Bookstore will get better and better, and we will naturally not have to worry about money at that time."

What he said was the fact, because just before the New Year, Wan Lang had sent someone to bring back the news that the Zongheng Bookstore branch opened in Xuzhou had already established a firm foothold in the local area.

As Li Ling said before, after receiving the protection and help of Zhang Hefeng, Zongheng Bookstore was not troubled by any means. Relying on its mature business method, Li Ling's two sets of novels and original comic strips, the bookstore quickly opened up in Xuzhou City, and the business was booming.

Although the bookstore in Xuzhou cannot be compared with Fucheng, and after seeing the sudden rise of Zongheng Bookstore, other local bookstores have followed suit and developed a membership system to compete. However, it has gradually become a famous local bookstore, and by the way, it has doubled the business of Baiyunguan Bookstore, making the relationship between the two parties more and more closely...

Li Ling doesn't know how much the bookstore in Xuzhou can make, but with the size of the provincial capital, he believes that the profit will exceed that of the capital. So in fact, the amount of money he can control now reaches as much as two or three thousand taels, which may not be enough to buy a house in the capital, but if he wants to take his family in Luoyang, it is absolutely no problem to live for a while.

After hearing his explanation, Li Tong felt relieved. Then he looked at Li Ling up and down, and said sincerely: "Young Master has indeed grown up and really took on everything in the family. But I am old and can't help with anything."

"Uncle Tong should not say that. You still need to take care of many things at home. Yue'er and I cannot do without you. This is the case here. When we arrive in the capital, we will be even more indispensable." Li Ling hurriedly comforted each other again, then put the wine glass and said, "So this matter is settled. Let's set off to the capital on the seventh or eighth day of the day, and the whole family will go together."

"Yes, go together, I'm going to the capital with my brother!" Yue'er smiled and threw all the depression that had been in the past few days behind her head. Li Tong also smiled and nodded, and Li Moyun even drank the wine in the glass in one sip: "Young master, I'll go wherever you go!"

...

The county government and Wei Liang didn't care about some of the gifts Li Ling came to pay New Year's greetings, but just looked through the articles he had written in the past two days. After a while, he exhaled a breath: "You have been studying at home behind closed doors and have made a lot of progress."

"Thank you for the praise of the teacher."

"But..." Wei Liang hesitated for a moment, "You really plan to stop trying for two more years, and you decided to take the exam this year? You have to know that Juren and scholars are different. You have a salary, and you don't have any conditions to take the exam in the future, so don't rush to take the exam for the exam."

Although he was tactful, Li Ling still understood the meaning: "The teacher still feels that I have shortcomings?"

"You can't be called inadequate, but the time is not enough. After all, you have to face the imperial examination masters from all over the country. That's much more difficult than during the provincial examination. And even if I want to help you, I really can't do anything about it this time."

"The students know that the teacher is for my own good, but I really don't want to delay for another three years, and I don't think that if I study hard for another three years, I will write better articles than I am now."

"You also know that you are eager to become a real court official now. But this seems a bit deliberate, and I am afraid it will have an impact on your performance in the exam." Wei Liang was still worried, but after seeing Li Ling's expression, he still shook his head and smiled bitterly, "But since you have made a decision, I can't stop it. After all, this is your own battlefield. As long as you have confidence, then try it. But you must understand one truth, so the so-called military use will be declining and exhausting again. In fact, the same is true for our imperial examinations, so you must do your best and never neglect it just because you are young!"

"The student understands that I don't want to regret it, and it will take another three years to delay!"

"Well, if you have this intention, you may have three points higher than the Jinshi exam. By the way, my mentor is now an official in the middle school of Beijing. If you go to Luoyang this time, please bring me a letter."

Li Ling nodded a little gratefully. He understood that this was the teacher who helped him find a backer. After all, with this relationship, the boss of the capital always had to take care of him. As for the so-called sending letters, it was just an excuse. After all, with Wei Liang's identity, there was naturally a way to send letters to teachers in the capital. Why bother to let him go?
Chapter completed!