Though Wang Qingchen and the others had attained the rank of Tongsheng, just one step shy of becoming Xiucai, they still insisted on attending the academy daily after their return. It wasn't a requirement of the school; rather, attending allowed them to listen to the Master’s lectures, where he would discuss matters concerning previous regional examinations. Listening to these accounts provided Wang Qingchen and his peers with significant inspiration.

The Master was genuinely pleased to learn that Zhao Cheng and Wang Qingchen had placed quite high in the prefectural examination. After all, he had placed high hopes on both of them, and they had certainly not disappointed his expectations. Based on their performance in the prefectural exam, passing the subsequent academy examination should present no problem, barring unforeseen circumstances.

Consequently, the Master gave considerable special attention to these two promising candidates whom he considered future Xiucai. He often provided them with targeted, personal guidance.

Not two days after returning to the academy, Liu Hao gathered several students who had passed the prefectural exam, suggesting they celebrate together at Xiangmanlou. Wang Qingchen and Li Yuntai happily agreed; making more friends was always a worthwhile endeavor. It was only a pity that Zhao Cheng showed no inclination to join them.

After classes ended, this group of students who had passed the prefectural exam headed directly to a private room at Xiangmanlou to celebrate. Since everyone present had successfully passed the exam, inhibitions were dropped. People spoke their minds freely and even began drinking wine. Of course, since these few knew Wang Qingchen was capable of holding his liquor, they wisely refrained from trying to challenge him to a drinking contest. Wang Qingchen made no demands either, contentedly drinking on his own.

Li Yuntai, much like during their time in the county town, abstained from alcohol. Perhaps he was prepared for the task of having to carry people home later.

As expected, these men were overcome with joy and drank excessively. However, lacking Wang Qingchen's stamina, the outcome was predictable.

Having prior experience, Wang Qingchen and Li Yuntai remained much calmer this time. They simply called over the servers from Xiangmanlou to assist in carrying the drunken men to a nearby inn before Wang Qingchen and Li Yuntai strolled home with composure.

Upon returning, Wang Youfu and Madam Yang grew quite worried when they learned Wang Qingchen had been drinking. In their view, Wang Qingchen was still young; what business did he have drinking alcohol? However, seeing that Wang Qingchen was perfectly fine, much of their anxiety dissipated. Instead, they gently admonished him, essentially saying that he was still young and drinking was harmful to the body; it would be better to wait until he was older.

Wang Qingchen had consumed a significant amount of wine, but he hadn't reached a state of drunkenness. Curiously, instead of feeling sleepy as one normally would after drinking, Wang Qingchen felt increasingly alert. Lying on the kang, his mind remained sharp as he reviewed the recent events. Then, he began to wonder if he had forgotten something important.

As Wang Qingchen pondered, his gaze fell upon the flowerpots in his room. It struck him then—he had completely forgotten about Boss Xue's flowers! He had been so consumed by the Tongzi Examination that he had neglected the matter.

Wang Qingchen climbed off the kang and inspected the seedlings sprouting from the pots. The sprouts had emerged and were already quite substantial, indicating his family had tended them diligently during his absence. He wondered when they might bloom. In his personal space, he had planted a seed of every type of flower; he realized it had been quite some time since he had checked on them.

With this thought, Wang Qingchen entered his space. In the realm, the original overseas flowers had likely dropped seeds, resulting in numerous new sprouts. As for the flower seeds Manager Xu had given him later, although he had only planted one of each type, they were all thriving, and two had even begun to bloom. Gazing at the flowers brought an improvement to his mood. He reflected that he possessed few genuine skills in this world; without this space and these flowers, he would never have earned so much money. Without money, he couldn't have afforded schooling and might still be enduring the harsh life he led upon first arriving. He was fortunate to have this space, fortunate to have Boss Xue, and fortunate to have these flowers...

The next morning, under Madam Yang’s persistent calls, Wang Qingchen painfully dragged himself off the kang. He rubbed his temples. Last night, nothing unusual had happened; he had only become clearer-headed. Unexpectedly, he awoke with a pounding headache this morning. Wang Qingchen felt puzzled. The time in the county town hadn't resulted in this; why was this instance different? Furthermore, he couldn't recall when exactly he had exited the space or how he had fallen asleep. It seemed his perceived clarity last night had merely been an illusion!

Enduring the throbbing pain, Wang Qingchen forced himself up. The thought of having to attend the academy intensified his headache.

Wang Qinghua watched Wang Qingchen's pained grimace with amusement. "Who told you to drink so much yesterday? Now you know that liquor shouldn't be trifled with!"

Wang Qingchen nodded helplessly. "Alas, I never anticipated this. Nothing felt wrong last night, so who knew my head would ache this morning?"

"Let's see if you dare drink like that again!" Wang Qinghua teased.

Seeing Wang Qingchen suffer, Madam Yang went to the kitchen, mixed some vinegar with a bit of white sugar and a splash of hot water, and brought the concoction over for him to drink—a traditional remedy for hangovers. She doubted if it would work after a whole night had passed. Madam Yang felt a pang of regret; she should have made him drink it last night! But Wang Qingchen had seemed perfectly sober then, showing no sign of intoxication.

She watched him swallow the mixture before finally relaxing. However, remembering he had to attend the academy, she urged him, "Qingchen, perhaps you should skip the academy today and rest well at home!"

Wang Qingchen shook his head. "It's fine, Mother. I feel much better; attending classes won't be an issue. Besides, if I skip, I lose a full day's lesson, which is never good."

Seeing Wang Qingchen’s resolve, Madam Yang conceded, "Alright then, but if the pain returns, don't force yourself. Come back immediately, understood?"

Wang Qingchen nodded, and together with Wang Qinghua, they headed toward the town.

Upon reaching the academy, Wang Qingchen noticed that several of the students who had drunk with them yesterday were absent. Those who were present were clearly not in good shape, looking even worse off than he felt. It seemed everyone was experiencing the same thing; those who hadn't shown up were probably in an even worse state.

Wang Qingchen fought through the headache, focusing his attention on the Master’s instruction. Although discomfort lingered, it wasn't entirely unbearable.

The Master observed the students seated before him and certainly noticed the few suffering from severe hangovers. However, assuming it was merely celebratory drinking after passing the prefectural exam, he refrained from comment, intentionally slowing his speaking pace, hoping it would be easier for those affected to follow.

He finally endured the morning session, allowing himself to relax afterward. He had little appetite for lunch, and after a short rest, the afternoon arrived. Fortunately, the afternoon schedule wasn't entirely devoted to lectures; there was time set aside for reading or calligraphy practice, which provided Wang Qingchen some relief. The others afflicted by the severe hangovers had already requested leave from the Master after the morning classes, unable to endure any longer.

Wang Qingchen persevered until dismissal, only beginning to feel significantly better as classes concluded.

Li Yuntai waited with him for Wang Qingyi to arrive. While they waited, Li Yuntai remarked, "I told you not to drink so much, and now you see the consequences!"

Wang Qingchen nodded weakly. He truly understood the cost this time and vowed never to drink that much again.

Moments later, Wang Qingyi rushed over, and the three headed home together.

On the road, Wang Qingyi looked at the listless Wang Qingchen and asked curiously, "Brother Qingchen, what's wrong with you? You look completely drained of energy."

Li Yuntai laughed heartily, showing no mercy.

Wang Qingchen rolled his eyes at Li Yuntai before explaining, "This is the consequence of drinking. Not only do I feel weak, but my head aches too. My head has hurt all day today!"

Wang Qingyi looked confused. "No way! I see Father drink often, and I've never seen him like this?"

Wang Qingchen lectured him with a touch of irritation, "Your father is a grown man; of course, he's fine after drinking! But we are still young, still children, so drinking naturally leads to trouble!"

Wang Qingyi suddenly understood. "Oh... so that's why Father never lets me touch his wine. It’s because of this! Good thing I was obedient and never tried to sneak any, or I'd be like you now!"

Hearing this, Li Yuntai could no longer contain himself and burst into loud laughter, unconcerned whether Wang Qingchen would be enraged.

As for Wang Qingchen, he couldn't even muster the energy to glare, choosing instead to ignore Li Yuntai completely.

Meanwhile, inside Xiangmanlou, the proprietor was angrily pointing at a wine jar in the storeroom, demanding of the servers, "How did this jar of fifty-year aged wine lose so much? Who touched this jar?"

The servers exchanged glances and then shook their heads. "We never touched that jar of wine."

The proprietor naturally didn't believe them. "Nonsense! If you didn't touch it, then how did this jar lose so much wine?"

The servers continued to shake their heads, infuriating the proprietor. It was his own negligence; he hadn't checked the storeroom for days, allowing this lapse to occur. Now, there was no way to investigate properly.

Finally, the proprietor had no choice but to accept the loss, waving his hand to send the staff back to work.

One server, after exiting the storeroom, secretly let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the proprietor hadn't found out; he had been the one who had tampered with the jar. However, it hadn't been intentional—he had simply grabbed the wrong jar yesterday when fetching wine, accidentally taking from the fifty-year aged stock. He realized then why those scholars had gotten so drunk yesterday—they had mistakenly been served this fine vintage! The server silently lamented the pity of it: they had consumed so much, yet the bill was settled based on the price of ordinary liquor. But the money could never be recovered; otherwise, he would be the first to suffer the consequences. With this thought, the server resolved to keep the matter buried deep within his conscience.