Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1174 The Pink Fatty

Xin Ji wasn't easily intimidated.

At least he wouldn't be intimidated by Hao Jun's few words. The fiercer Hao Jun was, the more curious he became: "Sir, who is sick?"

He wanted to see who was so bold as to try to extort money from the government.

The officer glanced at him and casually wiped the rainwater off the door of his quarters, saying, "Why do you care so much? The Examination Yuan and the government will handle it properly."

"I'm worried about the government office!" Xin Ji gestured with his hands in the shape of a bowl. "Didn't that man say there was something wrong with the ginger soup, and that he felt unwell after drinking it? Let me tell you, he's definitely trying to scam you. I drank ginger soup last night too, and I'm perfectly fine, no problem at all. Here's what we'll do, sir, go find Liu Yu now... you know, the proctor, Lord Liu. I can help you with..."

"What nonsense are you talking about."

Before he could finish the word "testimony" in "testimony," Hao Jun interrupted him impatiently: "Last night it suddenly got cold, some candidates caught a cold, what does that have to do with ginger soup?"

Upon hearing this, Xin Ji belatedly shuddered.

It's definitely much cooler now than yesterday.

A chill ran down his neck. He sat back down on the saddleboard, pulled the quilt over himself and wrapped himself up tightly, then smiled and said, "I was just guessing. Sir, you go ahead and do your work."

The sound of the bugle call gradually faded into the distance.

There was still a quarter of an hour before the hour of Yin, so Xin Ji decided not to sleep and started to wrap himself in a quilt and imagine the future.

As soon as the event ended today, he rushed to the government office to make Shen Zheng fulfill her promise.

Thinking about the microscope he was about to get his hands on, he couldn't suppress his smile.

A small test, easily mastered.

"Ah che-"

My nose is itchy, and it feels a little cool.

"When-when-when-"

A moment passed quickly, and the sound of the opening bell echoed throughout every corner of the examination hall.

The examiners began to verify the seals of each cell. Once all cells had been verified, the examinees could tear off the seals themselves and continue answering the questions.

Xin Ji, wrapped in a quilt, watched as the bugler checked his seal with a lantern before moving on to the next cell.

"Hey—examinees, wake up," came the bugle call.

Xin Ji scoffed at the sound, "A fat man is a fat man, he eats a lot and sleeps a lot."

"Hey—" Hao Jun must have entered the cell.

The next moment, Hao Jun's voice was no longer calm: "Quick, call a doctor, there's another one here with a cold, he's a bit feverish!"

Xin Ji was stunned.

Is the fat man sick?

But the fat man clearly drank ginger soup, so how could he have caught a cold?

Thinking of the fat man's silly words last night, he subconsciously stood up, pushed open the partition, and went out.

Two buglers were standing in front of the next cell. They were both startled when they saw him: "Go back!"

"I'll just take a look." Xin Ji ignored him completely and walked to the partition of the next cell in two steps.

The chubby, fair-skinned boy I remembered has turned into a pinkish-fat boy; he clearly has a fever.

Xin Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he took a step towards his cell, but was stopped by the guards with a stern voice: "Observer, go back to your cell!"

"You still have the nerve to worry about me!" Xin Ji pointed at the chubby pink man huddled on the registration board and said in a low voice, "Didn't you see his face is burning red? If this continues, something bad will happen. Who will be responsible if he becomes an idiot? Get him to the hospital right now!"

He wasn't really a busybody, but he just found the fat guy quite interesting. He'd talked to him for a bit last night and helped him pass the time.

Based on their mere friendship, he couldn't just stand by and watch the fat man get into trouble.

"What are you standing there for!" Seeing that Hao Jun didn't move, Xin Ji directly pulled open the barrier and stepped onto the threshold: "I'll take him to the door with you, hurry up!"

Hao Jun subconsciously followed his steps, but immediately grabbed him after realizing what was happening.

"Guan Changsheng! This is not your business. Whether he needs to be sent out for treatment is a decision the doctor will make. You should go back now."

"What's the point of making a decision?" Xin Ji abruptly shook off Hao Jun's hand, his voice rising abruptly: "We've been arguing back and forth here, but he hasn't even opened his eyes. He's already like this, what's the point of keeping him here if we don't send him out? Are we just waiting to die!"

Perhaps his voice was too loud, because the person on the board seemed to be contradicting him and slowly opened their eyes.

"No, I won't go to the clinic..."

The chubby boy's eyelids drooped slightly. He shook his head laboriously, his voice hoarse, devoid of the lightness of the previous night: "I can't fail the exam, I absolutely can't fail... Let me sleep a little longer, I'll feel better after a while..."

Xin Ji was taken aback, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the piece of clothing sticking out from under the quilt.

The material is top-quality Yun brocade, with exquisite weave, and it is obviously very valuable.

Clearly, this fat man comes from a wealthy family.

But... people with such a wealthy family background always value their health highly, and would never risk their safety to take this retest.

With a puzzled look in his eyes, Xin Ji squatted down on the threshold of the cell and asked, "Fatty, can't you take the exam again next year?"

next year?

Fang Ziyan's eyelids, which had just closed, opened again, and even his muddled mind cleared up a little.

He felt the soreness in his bones, forced himself to get up, and shook his head: "No."

In this re-examination, anyone can drop out halfway through, except for the candidates from Tong'an County.

Their decision to skip the exam is a disgrace to Sister Shen. If word gets out, who knows what people outside will say about her.

Looking at the determination in Fang Ziyan's eyes, Xin Ji was even more puzzled: "This is just a prefectural examination. Even if you can finish it, even if you pass, you'll only get the title of Xiucai (a lower-level scholar) and go home with it. Xiucai... shouldn't be that important to your family, right?"

Isn't the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations) important?

Upon hearing this, both Fang Ziyan on the board and Hao Jun at the door were stunned.

"A scholar is very important." Fang Ziyan blew his stuffy nose, struggled to sit up, and leaned against the wall.

Despite being delirious with fever, he remained cautious and didn't reveal that he was from Tong'an County. He only said, "I am the only scholar in my family, and I cannot fail the exam."

Xin Ji stared at him for a long while after hearing this, then nodded sullenly.

The only scholar in the family... that makes sense.

Despite this, Xin Ji still believed that a mere scholar's degree was not worth risking one's health for.

Before long, the doctor arrived, and Xin Ji was also driven back to his cell by the guards.

He leaned against the wall, listening to the doctor's diagnosis.

The doctor said, "If your fever reaches 30%, take this fever-reducing pill. It was prepared by Dr. Li from Tongan County. If you take this pill, your fever should subside by more than half within an hour."

"GuluGulu——"

That sound must be the fat man taking a pill and then drinking water.