After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

The reason why silver jewelry can be traded is because she can earn the price difference. The more silver jewelry she sells, the more silver and virtual currency she will receive, and it will not cause a sharp decrease in virtual currency.

If you're selling gold jewelry, firstly, the cost of purchasing it is high, requiring a large amount of virtual currency; secondly, even if you exchange it for silver and then resell it to an automated trading platform, you might not be able to cover the purchase price, and you could very likely lose money.

The upgrade condition for Golden Time and Space is to spend 500,000 virtual coins at the gold jewelry store.

Without trading, it would take at least ten years for Golden Time and Space to upgrade.

Su Tai sighed inwardly. Fortunately, the Shen family's current social standing occasionally required sending some gold jewelry to maintain appearances, so it wasn't entirely useless.

After comforting herself in this way, Su Tai was in a good mood and bought several sets of exquisite headdresses at a gold jewelry shop. She then had her servants prepare a carriage and caught up with Shen Yuezhang's entourage.

Because of the twins' antics, Murong Jue ordered the caravan to speed up, and Shen Yi followed suit.

The group arrived in the county town, where Constable Li was already waiting at the city gate. Upon seeing Shen Yi, he immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Magistrate, an imperial envoy has arrived from the court. Lord Lu requests your presence as soon as possible."

Shen Yi glanced at Xue Mao's direction subconsciously and asked, "Have the garrison been notified?"

Officer Li shook his head. "The imperial envoy didn't say, so it should be unrelated to the coal matter."

What else could it be if it has nothing to do with coal?

Shen Yi followed Officer Li, filled with questions.

When Shen Yuezhang arrived at Qingfengzhai, he and Murong Jue thanked him and watched with a smile as his younger siblings, who were crying uncontrollably, left.

The group had barely entered the shop when they discovered Su Tai had arrived.

Shen Yuezhang was somewhat surprised.

Su Tai excitedly brought out a bunch of exquisite boxes, "Come on, let's go! Let's go to the backyard to see them. You can take them with you when you go to the Lu residence tomorrow."

Shen Yuezhang looked on with curiosity, and her eyes lit up when Su Tai opened the box and took out the exquisite gold necklaces and bracelets.

"Wow! So beautiful! Mother, this pendant is pink, and this one is purple! What kind of jewelry is this? It's so sparkly!" Shen Yuezhang liked it more and more as she looked at it.

Su Tai was also happy. "Last year, Madam Lu taught you a lot of things, so she can be considered your half-mentor. When you come to give New Year's gifts, they can't be too shabby. You can choose two things, and have Chuncao and Chunxing make some food, and that will be about right."

Shen Yuezhang agreed to all of them.

The mother and daughter stayed in the shop until almost dark before returning to the Shen residence.

As soon as I entered the house, I found that Shen Yi had returned.

Before Su Tai could speak, Shen Yixian excitedly grasped her hand and said, "The imperial court has sent an imperial envoy to Lizhou, saying that they are going to hold the imperial examination to select officials, starting with our Lizhou!"

Su Tai was stunned for a moment, then grabbed Shen Yi tightly with her other hand, "Really? What exactly did you say?"

Shen Yi helped her carefully up the steps and said, "His Majesty piloted the program at Lushan Academy and was quite satisfied with the results, but there was too much resistance in the capital and it could not be implemented. Just then, the Sixth Prince's concubine had another child and was about to give birth, so His Majesty thought of the Sixth Prince's concubine's family home—Lizhou!"
"Lizhou is remote, and there's no powerful clan here, especially in Zhaohua County. We have an excellent relationship with the Sixth Prince's concubine, and with our godfather's connections, the Emperor has decided to start with Zhaohua County. This year, we'll pilot it there, and next year it will be implemented extensively throughout Lizhou. If it's effective, Pingzhou and Luzhou will follow suit, gradually transitioning to the entire Langya Kingdom." Su Tai calmed her wildly pounding heart and continued to press, "Did the Imperial Envoy explain how the exam will be conducted? How will the results be determined?"

"I didn't see the Imperial Envoy, but Lord Lu did. He said that the Imperial Envoy is the chief examiner. The results are divided into elementary, middle and upper grades. If you are judged to be upper grade, you can be granted an official position by the Emperor. If you are judged to be middle grade, you can take the exam again after three years. If you are judged to be elementary grade, the result is retained for two years. After two years, you can take the middle grade exam. If you pass the middle grade exam, you can take the upper grade exam again after three years."

After listening carefully, Su Tai immediately understood that this was a simplified and crude version of the imperial examination system.

It has many shortcomings, but it is already an excellent policy for ordinary people who want to get ahead.

Thinking of this, Su Tai stopped and said happily, "I'll immediately send someone back to the village to inform the village chief, and I also need to go to Dongmen Village to tell them to prepare well and try to pass the exam!"

Shen Yi smiled wryly and said, "Wife, it's unrealistic for all of them to pass the exams, but since we run a village school, all the children in the village will be able to study, so the number of people who pass the exams will definitely be the highest."

"That's right! That's exactly what you said!" Su Tai happily instructed Yu Dong to deliver the message.

The next day, all the prominent families in the county received the news.

Zhu Yixuan, who had already planned to go to the border, was stopped by Master Zhu.

"We can't miss this opportunity. Give it a shot. If we achieve excellent results, we might even be granted an official position by the Emperor. That's a legitimate official title, much better than going to the border and relying on the Cen family for support."

Zhu Yixuan was caught off guard by the news. "Father, I know what you mean, and I want to too, but how old am I? I've been traveling all these years and have neglected my studies. If you ask me to take the exam, the chances of passing are slim. What if I fail? Wouldn't that be embarrassing!"

Shen Yi is still the county magistrate, so he will definitely participate. If he fails the exam and Shen Yi finds out, it would be a great disgrace!
This is something he absolutely cannot accept.

Master Zhu glared angrily, "When did you become so indecisive? Back then, you were able to lower yourself and negotiate with a scoundrel like Bai Feng, but now you're not even willing to give it a try!"

Do you know I even went to Lu Tong and begged him for this! Just to get inside information, Lu Tong said this is the first year, and also the easiest. Next year's exams will be adjusted based on this year's results. If you don't try this year, you'll have even less of a chance later!

Zhu Yixuan's expression shifted inexplicably. "So you're not going to the Ice Plains? You're not even going to look for your grandson?"

Master Zhu choked, clenching his fists angrily. "Wait until after the exam! Just make up an excuse for your father-in-law. If you really fail, do you think he won't consider your future?"

In his view, the Zhu family was extremely wealthy in Zhaohua County, and Zhu Yixuan had no need to suffer like this. It could only be said that the child had seen too much and become too ambitious, which he could no longer control.

Because of Master Zhu's stubbornness, Zhu Yixuan had no choice but to compromise. Since there was an exam to be taken, he couldn't just be unprepared; he had to find a tutor to teach him properly.

The butler went out to find a tutor and returned with a very dark face. "Master, young master, we've asked all the tutors in the county, but no one is willing to take the job. No matter how much money we offer, they won't agree. They all say they're preparing for the exam behind closed doors."

Master Zhu was dumbfounded. "Mr. Gao is over fifty years old, and he also wants to prepare for the exam?"

The butler nodded frantically like a chicken pecking at rice, "Master, fifty years old is nothing! I heard that the oldest person among the applicants is almost seventy! I think if you take the exam, you might even be considered one of the younger ones!"

Master Zhu: "." (End of this chapter)