CMWKSD -Chapter 34 I Want to Be an Official’s Wife

Jiu Yue was no longer angry. She suddenly straightened up and looked at Ji Yiqing’s desk.

She wanted to become an official’s wife!

She wanted to wield influence through someone else! Ugh—no, she wanted to exert power through prestige.

With that thought, Jiu Yue dashed out, stomping as she ran. Ji Yiqing was carrying a sack of rice, about to enter the house.

They collided. Jiu Yue had rushed too fast and couldn’t stop in time. Ji Yiqing only heard a bang.

Then Ji Yiqing staggered back several steps, almost falling.

Jiu Yue quickly rushed forward and caught Ji Yiqing around the waist and back.

Ji Yiqing: …

Jiu Yue: tsk tsk tsk, so fragile.

Once Ji Yiqing stabilized, Jiu Yue’s hand casually brushed over his back.

The muscles on his back were hard and firm—impossible to resist touching, even through clothes.

Ji Yiqing’s face immediately turned red. He realized that Jiu Yue seemed a bit interested in the firmness of his body.

But… in broad daylight…

Couldn’t she wait until nighttime?

He felt his face burning and was about to ask Jiu Yue what she was doing when she suddenly said:

“After studying for so long, can you become an official?”

Ji Yiqing was instantly distracted by her question and didn’t even have time to be embarrassed. “Huh?”

Jiu Yue took the sack of rice off Ji Yiqing’s back. “I see you’re studying. Didn’t you want to be an official?”

Ji Yiqing’s gaze darkened. He and Ji Chaomian had studied diligently for years, all for the imperial exams and to change their fortunes.

He had ambitions.

But… thinking about it, Ji Yiqing touched his face. How could he still indulge in such hopes now?

He couldn’t even enter the exam hall anymore.

“Once, yes,” Ji Yiqing said. He didn’t let Jiu Yue carry the rice sack; in his eyes, no matter how strong she was, she was still his wife.

Protecting his wife was his duty as her husband.

Jiu Yue trailed behind excitedly. “Once? What do you mean, once?”

Ji Yiqing didn’t understand why she was digging so deeply.

“Why are you asking?”

Jiu Yue held her head high, proud. “So, were you good at studying? Could you pass the exams and become an official?”

Ji Yiqing thought back to his days of studying.

It couldn’t be called hard, but it wasn’t easy either.

“Not bad, but I can’t become an official now, nor can I take the exams.” Ji Yiqing didn’t want to hide the truth and spoke honestly.

Jiu Yue didn’t understand. If he was good at studying, that meant he could become an official, which meant she could become an official’s wife. Why couldn’t he take the exams now?

“Why can’t you take the exams?” Jiu Yue wasn’t very familiar with some of the ancient laws. In her eyes, despite Ji Yiqing’s scar, he was still handsome.

Wasn’t that enough? Good features!

Ji Yiqing touched his face. “According to the laws of Great Qi, officials must have proper facial features…”

Jiu Yue paused. “Just one scar? And you can’t become an official?”

Ji Yiqing lowered his head, feeling a genuine pang of sadness. Since he was eleven, when he first began his studies, he had dreamed of taking the exams in the capital.

But now all of that was just an illusion.

Jiu Yue understood. “Forget the scar. Just tell me—if you went to take the imperial exams now, could you pass?”

Ji Yiqing was stunned, then looked up at Jiu Yue and nodded blankly. “My brother and I were planning to take the exams next year. We are already tongsheng now.”

A tongsheng seemed to be the first level of the imperial exams. After that came xiucai, juren, gongsheng, and then the final degree…

Each stage was like leveling up in a game.

No, it was even harder than leveling up in a game. The exams were held every three years, and in special circumstances there could be an “emergency” exam.

Every three years, fewer than 200 people were accepted nationwide.

Jiu Yue felt that in this dynasty, studying was even harder than killing people.

“Then get ready. I want to be an official’s wife!”

“Huh?” Ji Yiqing felt she hadn’t listened to him. He had already told her about the scar on his face that prevented him from taking the imperial exams.

“Jiu Yue, my face—”

Hearing this, Jiu Yue grabbed Ji Yiqing’s chin and tilted it left and right, completely confusing him.

They were so close that Ji Yiqing could feel her breath on his face, making the scar on his face tingle.

The scent of her soap and perfume was clear, clean, and pleasant.

He wanted to move, but his body was stiff, trembling slightly.

Luckily, Jiu Yue didn’t hold him for long and straightened up. Ji Yiqing felt like he had just endured torture, gasping for air.

He had even forgotten to breathe.

“No problem. One month, and your face will be as good as new.”

Ji Yiqing, still reeling from the moment, suddenly remembered her medical skills.

No—not just skilled—she could even bring people back from the brink of death. Wang Jinnian was proof. Wang Jinnian had almost died.

“R-really?”

Jiu Yue glanced at Ji Yiqing. Damn! How dare he doubt her skills!

Seeing her expression, Ji Yiqing quickly shut his mouth. “I believe you.”

Jiu Yue hummed twice. She wasn’t foolish—she never did things she wasn’t confident about.

But you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. What if Ji Yiqing failed the exams?

She thought about how many children the Ji family had, all sent to school: “You have several cousins, right? What about the others?”

Ji Yiqing pursed his lips and didn’t answer. He thought about why Jiu Yue suddenly wanted him to take the exam—what was her motive for wanting to be an official’s wife?

Suddenly he realized—Jiu Yue spoke directly. She didn’t say “wife of a xiucai” or “wife of a juren.” She said “official’s wife.”

She was obsessed with the fact that he must become an official.

Considering the events of the past few days, maybe she thought an official’s wife had special privileges, enough to… wield influence through prestige?

“Everyone else…” Thinking of his cousins, Ji Yiqing couldn’t say they could pass as well.

After all, no one knew them better than he did.

Those cousins indulged in eating, drinking, and play; their studying was mediocre—they only had smooth tongues to charm Hu Chunhua.

Ji Dahai, worried about family harmony, worked tirelessly every year to earn money, giving much of it for their schooling.

Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian, since their schooling began at eleven or twelve, had always found ways to earn money themselves—gathering wild vegetables, picking common herbs, catching snakes, hunting rabbits and pheasants, later even copying books.

The money they earned for their studies came from themselves.

This was the tragedy of ancient wealthy families: no matter who you were in the family, the money you earned had to be turned over to the household.

Ji Chaomian and Ji Yiqing could secretly keep what they earned, buying ink, brushes, paper, and inkstones. Ji Dahai would also give them a little. That was how they managed to continue their studies all these years.