My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 37 Ju An's Decision

The weather is sunny.

Zhu Zi got up early to go to school because Steward Tao said that a suitable school had not yet been found for him, and Lin Ziping was still in kindergarten and needed to continue to take care of his page. So Zhu Zi went to Moshan Academy with Lin Ziping in the morning.

Taking the carriage from the Lin family, it took about twenty minutes to reach the foot of Moshan Academy. We left a little late today, and there were many carriages taking children to school. The drivers were trying their best to control the carriages to avoid collisions, and the people from the academy were also working hard to guide the traffic. After all, those who can come to Moshan Academy by carriage usually have a certain background.

Lin Ziping's carriage moved slowly forward. He lifted the curtain and looked out. He had seen and experienced many morning rush hours, but this was the first time he had ever seen a morning rush hour caused by a carriage, and horses were much harder to control than carriages.

Uncle Chang brought him to the academy today. Seeing that he couldn't get out of the crowd anytime soon, Lin Ziping asked Uncle Chang to stop the carriage in a slightly more spacious place so that he and Zhuzi could walk to the academy.

"Zhu Zi, is it always this crowded here at this time of day?" Lin Ziping asked.

Zhu Zi nodded: "In the past, leaving early would have been a good way to avoid it, and I heard that this year, many students from neighboring counties and prefectures have come to study here."

"The prefectural government officials have also come?" Lin Ziping asked in surprise.

"Last year, a quarter of those who passed the imperial examinations were from Moshan Academy!" Zhu Zi didn't reply, but a voice came from the side.

Lin Ziping looked over and saw a student wearing a purple school uniform, thinking that this must be a student of the Preface Academy.

“Not just anyone can come to our academy,” the man said proudly.

It seems that Moshan College has a pretty good teaching quality and college entrance rate, attracting high-achieving students from the surrounding areas.

Lin Ziping looked grateful: "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

Upon seeing Lin Ziping's school uniform, the senior student said, "You're still a primary school student, right? Why didn't you ride in a carriage? You can ride when you can, but once you get to elementary school, you'll have to walk. Tsk tsk, I really envy you guys!"

Lin Ziping gave an awkward but polite smile, unsure how to respond to that question.

Fortunately, I don't need to reply myself.

The senior student hugged his books and said, "I can't talk to you anymore, I'm going to be late."

After saying that, he walked away quickly.

Lin Ziping quickened his pace. Seeing his senior hurrying by, he thought of Tao Ju'an. He wondered if Tao Ju'an had gotten the answer he wanted after not seeing him for so long.

During a break in class, Lin Ziping arrived at the entrance of the Xuxue Academy.

This was Lin Ziping's first visit to the Pre-Class Academy. The Elementary School and the Preschool were connected by a pond and a corridor. The path between the Preschool and the Pre-Class was made of steps and stairs. On both sides, there were not only trimmed trees and shrubs, but also many tall trees and rocks, making it even more quiet and elegant. There were no noisy sounds from the Elementary School, but the sound of reading aloud could be heard from time to time, which added a touch of scholarly atmosphere.

Students reading books can be seen everywhere; teenagers are in the prime of their lives.

Lin Ziping stood on tiptoe at the college gate and peered inside, hoping to ask someone to call Tao Ju'an for help, but seeing this situation, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing?" A sudden voice rang out from behind.

He turned around and saw several boys wearing loose-fitting purple school uniforms looking at him.

Lin Ziping felt as if he had traveled through time and saw his junior high school campus, where he was a boy wearing a school uniform covered in graffiti, with one pant leg rolled up in winter, sleeping in class, and a few like-minded friends gathered together smoking and laughing at the bookworm who was buried in his books. He thought he was very cool. After growing up and going through hardships, the time when he thought he was very impressive was useless except for bragging and self-comfort when he was drunk.

Squinting to make a closer look, wasn't the one who was speaking the same person who bullied Tao Ju'an by the pond last time?

"Jia Daneng, what are you doing?" A somewhat familiar voice came from behind the group of teenagers.

A boy in purple clothes walked out from behind the boy, carrying a stack of books.

“Fang Youzhi…” the boys murmured as they turned to see the boy.

"Don't block the gate here unless it's absolutely necessary," the boy said calmly.

The boys quickly made way, and the boy who had just asked Lin Ziping a question stammered out a threat: "Fang...Fang Youzhi, I, Jia Daneng, am not afraid of you, if you have the guts..."

Before he could finish speaking, someone next to him grabbed his hand. Jia Daneng glared at the person and didn't say anything, but Lin Ziping saw that he visibly relaxed.

"Excuse me..." Lin Ziping wanted to step forward and ask the boy if he knew Tao Ju'an, but the boy glanced at Lin Ziping indifferently and walked into the academy without stopping.

Jia Daneng didn't even look at Lin Ziping. After Fang Youzhi left, he walked into the academy with the boys behind him, laughing and joking.

Lin Ziping hesitated for a moment, and was about to go inside to ask someone when a hand grabbed him: "This is the Xuxue Academy, what are you doing here, kid?"

Lin Ziping stopped and turned to look at the person who had pulled him. It was the senior from that morning, someone he could barely call an acquaintance. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be a kind-hearted person, and Lin Ziping felt inexplicably relieved.

The senior student let go of his hand: "Oh, it's you. This is the School of Preface Studies. People from other schools are not allowed to enter."

Lin Ziping straightened his clothes, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Hello, senior. I'm here to see Tao Ju'an. Do you know him?"

"He's a student in the third level of the Preliminary Studies program, just like me."

Lin Ziping was delighted and said, "Could you please call him for me, senior?"

The senior student looked Lin Ziping up and down and nodded: "Wait for me here."

After saying that, he quickly went inside, and a little while later he hurriedly pulled someone out.

"Ju'an, this is the kid who said he was looking for you. Do you know him? I just saw him talking to Jia Daneng and Fang Youzhi..." The senior student started talking before Lin Ziping and Tao Ju'an could say anything.

"Thank you for conveying this, Brother Feiyan. I know him." During a pause in the boy's speech, Tao Ju'an bowed to him.

Seeing this, the young man stopped the conversation, waved to Tao Ju'an, and left, saying, "You two talk, I'm leaving."

Tao Ju'an led Lin Ziping to a pavilion outside the Xuxue Academy. From the pavilion, one could see the pond between the elementary and preschool schools.

"I wonder what business Young Master Ziping has with me?" Tao Ju'an asked.

Lin Ziping felt he didn't have anything important to discuss with Tao Ju'an, and whether Tao Ju'an found the answer was none of his concern. Would coming to see him today seem presumptuous? Would the encounter with Jia Daneng and Fang Youzhi at the door cause Tao Ju'an any trouble? They were just strangers who had met by chance…

"Young Master Ziping..." Tao Ju'an called out again when Lin Ziping did not speak.

Since we're already here, Lin Ziping said, "I've come today to ask Master Li if he has answered Brother Ju'an's questions."

Tao Ju'an smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master Ziping. Master Li has not yet returned, but I already have an idea in mind."

Lin Ziping breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this: "That's good."

“My father is in poor health, and my younger brother has shown a talent for studying. I, Ju’an, am dull-witted. I originally wanted to finish my studies as soon as possible so that I could find a job in the county town to help support the family.” Tao Ju’an smiled and continued, “Perhaps I am still unwilling to give up. The prefectural examination is just around the corner, and it seems that if I don’t try, I will feel guilty for the hard work of these past few years, for my father’s tireless efforts day and night, and for my sister’s years of embroidery to support my studies. Ju’an tossed and turned, but decided to go to the prefectural examination to see what it’s like.”

The prefectural examination—if you passed it, you could be considered a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). In ancient times, if a family had a Xiucai, their land could be exempted from taxes, and they would also have the opportunity to pursue further studies!

"That's excellent." Thinking of the koi fish he used to pray to before exams, Lin Ziping added, "May you pass every exam."

"May you pass every exam?" Perhaps he had never heard such a straightforward blessing for exams before, Tao Ju'an laughed heartily, as if the gloom on his body had lessened a bit: "I hope it will be as Young Master Ziping says, but I'm afraid I'll have to break my promise to go to the back mountain of my house to catch birds during my vacation."

"It's alright, it's not too late to go after Brother Ju'an's examination," Lin Ziping said.

The two chatted for a while longer before parting ways.