Transmigrated as the Treacherous Official's Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 55: Hibiscus Blossom

Ye Zhi, Tan Huanhuan, along with Ji Changzhou, Ah Tao, Yun Xiu, Housekeeper Wang, and others set off in a grand procession towards Huai Building.

Noticing that soone was missing, Ye Zhi looked back and saw Shen Chen standing beside Teacher Xun Yin.

However, he looked so lonely.

"Shen Chen, co quickly."

He stood there, not moving an inch.

Ye Zhi, feeling frustrated, ran back to grab his hand, bid farewell to her parents and the teacher, and dragged him along to catch up with the rest of the group.

Indeed, in that mont, she felt as if he was being abandoned.

Even though they were peers, Ji Changzhou seed much more lively. Ah, the heart of a treacherous minister is hard to fathom, gloomy and inscrutable.

No wonder his na includes the character Chen, which sounds similar to "沉" (沈沉) aning "deep" or "sunken."

Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

Yet, the soft clasp of her hand did not let go of his; she didn’t want him to feel lonely by himself.

At Huai Building, they ordered Yangchun noodles and a few smaller portions of dishes like Furong Cake.

They divided into two tables to eat, and after finishing the al, everyone returned to the inn or the mansion to rest!

*

At the start of the Shen hour that day, they had to take another exam, this ti on painting.

Once again, the test was divided into five batches, but this ti everyone had two incense sticks’ worth of ti to paint, and two classrooms were used simultaneously instead of proceeding one by one.

On the podium, there was a blooming vivid Hibiscus flower, with two more placed on each side of the classroom.

The Hibiscus flower, also known as the Wooden Hibiscus, Frost Resisting Flower, Hua Mu, thrives in warm, humid environnts, is intolerant of cold, and requires well-watered but not dry conditions. It is not picky about soil and can grow in barren land, being propagated by cutting, layering, or division.

It is also a favored motif among nobles and wealthy families.

In the Daqing Dynasty, it symbolized wealth, prosperity, and adornnt, as a poem aptly states: "From clear water erges the hibiscus, naturally free from embellishnt."

Therefore, the the this ti was: Hibiscus.

The teacher prepared nurous pieces of xuan paper and various paints on each desk, allowing everyone to express themselves freely for the duration of two incense sticks!

This ti, the order of students was shuffled, and it wasn’t Teacher Su Jin overseeing but another unfamiliar teacher.

Ye Zhi wasn’t placed with Liu Qingxi this ti, instead, she was with Shen Chen.

He was separated from her by seven or eight people, and as expected of the main character, he was already engrossed in his painting!

On the other hand, for herself...

Ye Zhi swallowed nervously, composed herself, deciding to give it her best shot and hoped to live up to Teacher Feng Liuli’s expectations.

Grinding ink, tracing light lines, outlining shapes, applying color...

Ti flew by like a fleeting glance.

The teacher tapped a small hamr on the podium to signal the end. All the students stopped their work, tidied up, left their paintings on the wooden tables, and awaited the senior students to collect them before leaving in succession.

And just like that, a day passed.

The next day.

As dawn broke, a large crowd gathered around the notice boards posted at the Imperial College, detailing who would advance in the exams and who had been eliminated.

Out of the six hundred participants, based on their performance the previous day, one hundred had already been eliminated, leaving five hundred for now.

There are only two hundred slots available for the year, and this year, nearly one hundred slots were taken by the royal family and nobility, aning four hundred of these five hundred would be weeded out, leaving just one hundred, making the competition incredibly fierce.

On the list, Shen Chen’s na appeared in a prominent position, having done exceptionally well, with Tan Huanhuan and Ji Changzhou’s nas in the middle, which wasn’t too bad.

When it ca to Ye Zhi, as expected, she barely made it, her na almost appearing on the elimination list. Fortunately, she was relieved.

Father Ye and Ye’s mother had modest expectations, and were so thrilled they hugged their daughter, exclaiming her success.

At the sa ti, they instructed Shen Chen: "Xiao Chen, since you did so well, rember to help Ah Zhi if she doesn’t understand anything."

Shen Chen nodded in agreent.