Chapter 2791

"Ni Zi, look what Brother brought you." Yun Xi took out some soft cakes he had bought from the street and offered them to Yun Ni.

Yun Ni’s nickname was Ni Zi.

Her eyes lit up when she saw them. "Brother, hold me." Three-year-old Yun Ni was plump, fair-skinned, and exceptionally cute.

"You two just spoil her rotten. Be careful she doesn’t grow up to be a tyrannical girl," Mrs. Yu said, looking helpless but secretly very pleased.

"She’s our little sister. If we don’t love her, who will?" Yun Xi smiled.

"Yes, Mother," Yun Xu added from the side. "We only have this one sister right now, of course. But if you have more later, we’ll love them all the same."

"Go away, go away." Mrs. Yu glared at the two brothers. "Is this how you tease your own mother?"

"Mother, this isn’t teasing," Yun Xi said seriously. "We are having a very serious discussion with you. Besides, I heard Second Aunt is pregnant again, so you could have more too."

It was unknown why the second branch of the Yun family had five daughters in a row. However, the family head, Yun Zhongzheng, did not favor sons over daughters. After all, girls with scholarly aura could also attend school. The academies for girls were different, aiming to help them marry into wealthy families.

Although the second branch had five daughters, two possessed scholarly aura and were already enrolled. So, there was no worry about the branch declining. However, Lian Shi, the wife of the second branch, felt she couldn’t rest until she had a son. Thus, she was now pregnant with her sixth child.

"Keep such talk within the house. Don’t let it out, or people will say you disrespect your elders and speak without filter," Mrs. Yu warned.

"Of course," Yun Xi said earnestly. "I only say it at home. Actually, I think Second Aunt doesn’t need to worry. With Lan Jie and Xing Jie, there’s no fear of the second branch declining. If she’s still worried, she can just have Lan Jie and Xing Jie take husbands into the family later. I read a medical book recently that said frequent pregnancies are bad for a woman’s health."

"Exactly," Mrs. Yu sighed. "But let’s keep this private. Don’t let anyone with ill intentions hear."

Fortunately, the third branch had already split from the main family. So, the second branch’s affairs were just background noise to them.

"By the way, Mother, Father should be back soon, right?" Their tea shop was famous for its good tea. Many passing merchants asked to buy their leaves, making the Yun family’s tea well-known. Yun Jian had even leased two mountains to plant tea trees and process tea. He had gone back to harvest the tea this time.

"Judging by the time, he’ll be back in the next couple of days," Mrs. Yu replied. "Even if not, he will return before your Child Examination. Your father said he wants to send you off personally."

"It’s not a big deal. Just the Child Examination. I can go and come back on my own." The Child Examination lasted three days. Candidates entered in the morning and left in the evening, without staying overnight. If it were the Prefecture Examination, they would have to stay in the exam hall for two nights.

"Even for the Child Examination, we must take it seriously. Besides, you are still young." In their parents' eyes, no matter how capable their child was, they were still small.

Yun Xi felt warm inside. He felt very lucky to have such parents and such a family.

"Actually, it doesn’t matter if Father doesn’t come back. I can send Brother there then," Yun Xu said.

"Who says I can’t make it back?" Yun Jian suddenly appeared. However, he was holding something in his arms. Looking closely, it was a baby.

"What’s going on?" Mrs. Yu came over, curious.

"This is from Cousin Yun she’s family. Cousin Yun she had an accident recently and is bedridden. her family has no money left. Half a month ago, her wife gave birth prematurely to this girl. The village doctor said the child wouldn’t survive. Yun she’s family wanted to abandon her, but Mother saw it. Although the child wasn’t abandoned, Yun she’s family didn’t want her. Yun she asked someone to find me, hoping I would adopt her. I thought, we only have one daughter, so having one more is fine. So, I had the clan leader handle the adoption procedures. From now on, this child is ours. I named her Yun Xia. Her nickname is Mao Er (Kitten). When she was born, she was as fragile as a kitten," Yun Jian explained. There was a hint of guilt in her eyes, as she hadn’t discussed this with her wife beforehand.

Mrs. Yu didn’t mind. She took the child from Yun Jian’s arms. "Mao Er, you are my daughter from now on. That’s good. You can be with Ni Zi."

"Father, will Uncle Yun He come back to claim this child later?" Yun Xi asked.

Having another child in the family was fine. They had money now, so raising one more was manageable. But Yun Xi didn’t want any messy complications later, even though they wouldn’t bother him much.

"He won’t. The clan leader has recorded this child under your mother and my name. I’m sorry to your mother, though. It was so sudden that I didn’t have time to discuss it with her," Yun Jian said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"It’s fine. Ni Zi is three now. In two years, if she passes the scholarly aura test, she’ll go to the academy. If not, she can help take care of the house. So, I don’t have much to do anyway. I was thinking it would be nice to have another child. Now it’s good. It saves me ten months of pregnancy," Mrs. Yu said. She was always open-minded and gentle, which earned her Yun Jian’s respect.

"Sister, I want to see Sister," Yun Ni said curiously.

"Okay, look at Sister." Mrs. Yu bent down carefully so Yun Ni could see the baby in her arms.

"Father, I’ll go buy a sheep. Little Sister is too young to eat other things. If she’s hungry now, Mother can give her some rice water. But drinking only rice water has no nutrition. I’ll go out for a trip," Yun Xi said.

"Alright, go," Yun Jian nodded.

"I think you two should go together. Buy some cloth too. Mao Er can wear Ni Zi’s clothes for now, but we can’t be careless with diapers. Also, go to the pharmacy and buy some mugwort. If she gets a minor illness, smoking mugwort will help," Mrs. Yu instructed.

"Alright, we’ll go. Xing Ge Er, stay here and help Mother take care of Ni Zi," Yun Jian said.

Xing Ge Er was Yun Xu’s nickname.

"Understood, Father." Yun Xu held Yun Ni’s hand and followed Mrs. Yu into the house.

Yun Jian and Yun Xi went to the market to buy what they needed.

The county town where the Yun family lived wasn’t very large, but because animal husbandry was developed there, there were many sheep. Yun Xi specifically bought a ewe and led it back. Passing by a cloth shop, Yun Jian went in and bought two bolts of cotton cloth and two bolts of floral cloth. Then, father and son went home together.

Although Yun Xia was premature, she was a very quiet baby. With the Yun family’s sheep milk, after a month, Yun Xia still looked a bit weak, but she was completely different from the near-death state when she arrived.

At this time, Yun Xi’s Child Examination was about to begin.

"Liang Chen, do you think the Child Examination will be hard?" Yun Xi stood in line, waiting to be checked before entering.

"With your ability, if the Child Examination were hard, I’m afraid no one could pass it," Liang Chen said. He knew Yun Xi’s abilities very well.

Yun Xi wasn’t arrogant, but Liang Chen’s words made him happy.

Soon, it was his turn. Because Yun Xi was a Confucian Son, he entered a separate room for a slight search. Unlike other scholars, who had to strip completely for a search, Yun Xi only needed a minimal check.

Yun Xi only brought two Bo Bing (a type of food). Everything else was provided by the exam hall, so he didn’t need to bring anything.

After the check, Yun Xi took his number plate to the assigned booth. It was a very simple place. Yun Xi casually took out a rag to wipe and tidy it up. He arranged the ink, brush, and paper he got from the number distribution area, then waited for the questions.

Actually, the Child Examination was generally not difficult. As long as one memorized the books seriously and was familiar with the knowledge, they could basically pass. Relatively speaking, it was a state of absolute rote learning.

So, for Yun Xi, the three-day Child Examination had no difficulty at all.

During these three days, Yun Jian sent Yun Xi into the exam hall every morning and picked him up in the evening.

"You’ve finished. You can relax now," Yun Jian said, seeing Yun Xi’s relaxed demeanor.

Yun Xi nodded slightly. "Actually, I’ve been relaxed all along."

"No matter what, go home and rest well. Then come back in five days to see the results," Yun Jian said seriously to Yun Xi.

Yun Xi hummed in agreement, then said, "Father, you’ve worked hard these days."

"How am I tired? I just sent you and picked you up," Yun Jian said happily. How could he not be happy with such a filial son?

In the following days, Yun Xi lived very lightly. He either taught Yun Xu some related knowledge, started enlightening Yun Ni, or played with Yun Xia.

Five days passed in a flash. Yun Xi wasn’t anxious at all, but Yun Jian was very anxious. He pulled Yun Xi out to go see the results.

"Father, you don’t need to rush. Basically, there won’t be any problem with the Child Examination," Yun Xi said, seeing Yun Jian’s anxious look.

"You don’t understand a parent’s psychology. This is a feeling as your father," Yun Jian said.

Well, Yun Xi indeed didn’t understand this so-called parental psychology. Seeing his father seemed to enjoy it, he had no objections.

When father and son arrived at the place where the list was posted, the red list hadn’t been put up yet.

"Father, we came early. Why don’t we go sit at Uncle Zhang’s wonton shop nearby? I saw you didn’t eat breakfast just now," Yun Xi said calmly.

Yun Jian checked the time. It was still early, and the wonton shop was not far away. So, he had no objections and agreed to go eat breakfast first, while waiting for the red list.