The restaurant at the county yamen’s entrance had six storefronts, and on this day, the main hall was almost packed, with dozens of people scattered about in groups of three or five. They were all scholars—some drinking, some lost in thought, some reciting poetry, and some, already drunk, suddenly bursting into tears.

The whole place was bustling to the extreme; if you came late, you wouldn’t find a seat. Edward Jr. Sutton wasn’t too late, but as soon as he stepped through the restaurant’s door, he was momentarily stunned by the lively atmosphere that hit him.

Although not all examinees were waiting here, besides them, some onlookers had also found seats in the restaurant, just waiting to witness the myriad reactions when the results were posted.

“After the snow, the sky has cleared, and spring has officially arrived.” Edward Jr. Sutton appeared calm and unhurried, which occasionally drew glances his way, as if people suspected he had done exceptionally well.

“Brother Sutton, you’re here, come over quickly!” George Bolton and Richard Bennett had already secured seats upstairs early on. Now, spotting him, George Bolton hurriedly stood up and called out at the stairway.

Edward Jr. Sutton smiled and ascended the stairs. Sure enough, there were six private booths, and as soon as he entered, he felt the warmth—clearly, there was heating. He secretly thought, “The prices here aren’t too high, and there’s heating. As long as you order some wine, dishes, and tea, you can wait here for half a day on the results day for just a little silver. No wonder it’s packed.”

After all, the weather outside was cold and damp; standing for long was unbearable, and catching a chill in this era could be fatal—no one would take it lightly.

Edward Jr. Sutton had only reached halfway up when he heard a cold snort from below. His gaze shifted, and his heart sank—it was his creditor, Samuel Grant, surrounded by several burly men with unfriendly looks, clearly thugs.

“Eldest Bolton, they’ve come looking for me.”

Edward Jr. Sutton’s home was in the county town, so he didn’t need to stay at an inn; he could have gone home or to the Ye family’s bookshop. The reason he didn’t wasn’t because of Ye Buhui, that little spitfire, but because, although the children’s exam was just a qualification test and didn’t grant official status, it was still a major county event—no one dared cause trouble at this time, especially not near the county yamen where scholars gathered.

Eldest Bolton wouldn’t dare, nor would Tongshan Temple.

Otherwise, the county magistrate would show them what it meant to “ruin a family, county magistrate style”!

So, by gathering together, they had indeed gained a few days of peace and had come up with countermeasures.

Thus, when he saw Samuel Grant, he only changed expression slightly before returning to normal, stepping into the restaurant with a smile before speaking: “Sorry to keep you both waiting.”

Richard Bennett, being in the know, admired his composure and quickly pulled him to a seat. On the table were eight cold dishes, a hotpot, and two kinds of pastries. “Sit, sit, have some wine.”

George Bolton also understood and realized that Edward Jr. Sutton had likely failed because he used a taboo character. But seeing Edward Jr. Sutton’s initial unpleasant expression quickly return to normal, he couldn’t help but admire him.

If it had been him, he would have been terribly upset—how could he be as composed as Brother Sutton? He immediately admired Edward Jr. Sutton’s state of mind and quickly offered comfort: “Brother Sutton, we were out of the loop and didn’t know during the county exam, so it’s understandable. Anyway, the children’s exam isn’t once every three years, it’s every year. You can just take it again next year.”

This made Richard Bennett glance at him, a bit helpless—his emotional intelligence was truly off the charts.

“Brother Bolton is right.” Edward Jr. Sutton didn’t mind, nodding, though he felt heavy-hearted. In a feudal society, taboo characters were taken very seriously.

There were not only national taboos, but also those for the empress dowager and empress.

There were also official taboos—names of officials and their ancestors that had to be avoided.

Avoiding the names of sages and one’s own elders was something every scholar knew.

Edward Jr. Sutton had already studied the list of taboo characters issued by the court before the county exam and memorized them, but due to lack of information, he had missed one—and happened to use it.

Could this be a sign of bad feng shui?

Originally, Edward Jr. Sutton had wondered what kind of omen bad feng shui would bring, but he never imagined it would manifest in this way.

He suddenly felt a wave of irritation.

“Even after two days, I still can’t accept it. Am I really going to fail for such a ridiculous reason?”

“They take taboo characters very seriously now. If the examiner sees it, no matter how good my work is, it’ll be hard to make the list, right?”

He thought again of the girl he met at the temple that day, and mused, “Even with bad luck, if you have enough talent, you can overcome it. I had already reached level 5 before the county exam—maybe I’ll still make the list.”

Edward Jr. Sutton smiled, raised his cup, and with a “gulp,” downed a glass of wine, his face flushing. Seeing Richard Bennett still worried, he smiled, “I’ve done my best; the rest, let nature take its course.”

He then asked, “About auditing at the prefectural academy—can I go?”

“You can. My family has some connections. Besides, I showed your draft to Brother Carter, and he also thought it was a real pity and said you’re very welcome.” Richard Bennett perked up as he spoke.

“Brother Carter? Is that Philip Carter?”

“Yes, from the The Carter Family. He passed the children’s exam last year and will take the prefectural exam this April. Brother Carter’s talent surpasses mine. In my opinion, while I can’t guarantee he’ll be a juren, he’s sure to become a xianggong.”

“I see.” Edward Jr. Sutton mused. He had vaguely heard of the The Carter Family—two jinshi, three juren, the highest official reaching Minister of Revenue, now retired, but still the top family in the county, and even well-known in the prefecture.