I go to the ancient imperial examinations

Chapter 169 Ruthless Rejection
As soon as the carriage stopped outside the door of Donghu Inn, the shopkeeper who was waiting anxiously greeted him immediately, and said in a low voice, "Miss Zhan, Master Xiao is here, and I have been waiting for you for almost half an hour."

One is the master of the private school in Huai County, the other is the head of the prefect of Zhang Zhifu, and also the disciple of Gu Xueshi. The shopkeeper naturally supports Zhan Feiyu.

"Thank you for the shopkeeper's notice." Zhan Feiyu, who got off the carriage, thanked him with a smile, knowing that Mrs. Xiao must have come here for the matter of Kou Yuanxing.

Seeing Zhan Feiyu's attitude, the shopkeeper knew that she had no intention of avoiding her, so he smiled and said, "Miss Zhan, you are welcome. Master Xiao is here in the backyard. I will lead Miss Zhan over."

Xiao Fuzi was not asked to wait in the inn in front, to prevent people from talking too much, and to prevent something from happening. The row of rooms in the backyard is where the inn guys live, just to avoid people, even if Xiao Fuzi said Nothing gets out.

In the room, Master Xiao was pacing back and forth. After the top ten articles of the government examination were pasted in front of the government office, Kou Yuanxing's so-called fraud in the imperial examination was self-defeating.

Zhan Feiyu's talent and learning are obvious to all, even if someone is jealous, he can't speak nonsense against his conscience.

Not to mention that there were several scholars who had already prepared for the provincial examination. After seeing it, they felt ashamed. After returning home, they all calmed down and studied hard, which caused a wave of hard work in Nanxuan Mansion.

Hearing footsteps in the yard, Master Xiao hurried out, seeing Zhan Feiyu, he couldn't help but think of Kou Yuanxing who was still imprisoned in the government prison.

Zhan Feiyu looked at the apologetic Mrs. Xiao, beckoned him to sit down and said, "Master Xiao has been waiting for a long time."

"I came here uninvited." Master Xiao smiled wryly, and for the sake of the student Kou Yuanxing, he could only let go of his face and said earnestly: "Yuan Xing got into a dead end because of Miss Wang's death. Among the students I have taught over the years, Yuan Xing is the most talented." Talent is also the hardest, he lost his father when he was young, and his widowed mother worked so hard to raise him..."

Kou Yuanxing's family can be regarded as a little rich, with dozens of acres of fertile land, and Kou's mother can be considered to have no worries about food and clothing, but there are many disputes in front of the widow's house, especially in the early years, when the Kou clan coveted those fertile land, it was even more difficult. The act of robbery and plunder was carried out, but fortunately Kou's mother had a fierce temper, so she used a knife to force the Kou clan back.

But it didn't take long for Ansheng, and the Kou family planned to marry Kou's mother, so the fertile land fell to Kou Yuanxing, who was only two years old. He wanted to stain Kou's mother's innocence and marry her off.

It wasn't until Kou Yuanxing's enlightenment, because of his talent in reading, that the members of the Kou clan restrained their despicable methods that had been going on for years.

Kou's mother realized that Kou Yuanxing's good study could not only deter these ghosts and snakes, but also make those in the village flatter her and support her, and the useless anger she had suffered in the past suddenly came out.

From then on, Kou's mother stared at Kou Yuanxing's reading all day long, repeating it over and over again, only hoping that Kou Yuanxing would become famous, and no one would dare to bully their orphans and widows.

Although Kou Yuanxing is precocious, his temperament is a bit extreme. He hates the members of the Kou clan, and he studies desperately, while Kou's mother's expectations are more like a shackle, which makes him breathless. What he did was Kou's mother scolded and scolded fiercely, and then cried out in pain, recounting the things that had been bullied by the Kou clan in the past.

Mrs. Xiao is Kou Yuanxing's enlightenment master. Kou Yuanxing also thought about learning from Mrs. Xiao, but was stopped by Kou's mother.

After all, Mrs. Xiao is just the master of a private school, and his reputation as a scholar is nothing more than that. Kou's mother hopes that after Kou Yuanxing is admitted as a scholar, he will worship a better teacher. With the support of the teacher in the future, he will not worry about his future.

Kou Yuanxing couldn't resist Kou's mother, who was forcing her to die, so she could only agree. Fortunately, Master Xiao didn't care about these things, and in turn comforted Kou Yuanxing.

In Kou Yuanxing's unchanging study career, the appearance of Wang Linlang is like a ray of light. She is different from Kou's mother who is strong and aggressive, and she will not force him to study and improve all day and night. Wang Linlang is as gentle as water, she is tolerant Everything about him gave Kou Yuanxing room to breathe.

Wang Linlang was entangled by the county magistrate's nephew. During that time Kou Yuanxing went on a study tour with Master Xiao. After he came back, Wang Linlang had already been imprisoned. We finally met each other, but it was the last farewell. Only the suicide note accusing Zhan Feiyu.

After listening to Kou Yuanxing's past, Zhan Feiyu nodded understandingly, but what he said seemed unreasonable, "The state owns the state law, and the family has family rules. Kou Yuanxing thinks that I killed Wang Linlang, so he can file a lawsuit against me, but But he falsely accused Zhang Zhifu of cheating in the imperial examination under the eyes of everyone, Mr. Xiao, do you know that this crime is enough to make Zhang Zhifu beheaded?"

Master Xiao with a gray face opened his mouth, but he couldn't say any rebuttal words.

Kou Yuanxing was young, his past was pitiful, and Wang Linlang's death misled him, but these were not the reasons for him to falsely accuse Zhang Zhifu.

After a long silence, Master Xiao stood up, as if all the strength in his body had been exhausted, but the moment he went out, Master Xiao couldn't help pleading again, "Yuan Xing is still young, Miss Zhan, you are also from a farming family, you know It is difficult for the poor family to study, Miss Zhan, can you give Yuan Xing a chance? If something happens to Yuan Xing, his mother may not be able to survive."

After finishing speaking, Master Xiao bowed to Zhan Feiyu who was in the room.

It's a pity that after waiting for a long time but did not get any response, Master Xiao left the inn with disappointment.

In the room, Zhan Feiyu was soft-hearted for a moment. Kou Yuanxing's past really touched her deeply. In order not to be bullied, she could only study desperately, but he shouldn't falsely accuse Zhang Zhifu just for revenge. , A gentleman does something and doesn't.

"Miss, you don't have to feel guilty, Kou Yuanxing just did it to himself!" As a Lianjiazi, He Nuan could still hear the conversation in the room clearly even though she was guarding in the yard, her seemingly soft face was indifferent at the moment, Kou Yuanxing was He is young, but he is not innocent.

Zhan Feiyu nodded, "Master Zhang may be lenient."

But Zhan Feiyu didn't say a word, Zhang Zhifu would be merciful, but Chen Xuezheng would not let this matter go.

……

At night, Zhang's mansion was peaceful. Mrs. Zhang probably received Huang Li's 5000 taels of silver, so she was in a good mood all day, and she didn't make a fuss at night because the food didn't suit her taste.

Zhang Zhifu, who was driven to the study because his wife, daughter and Zhan Feiyu were delayed, suddenly changed his eyes, put down the book in his hand, and looked out the door warily.

"Master Zhang." He Sheng, dressed in night clothes, showed his identity.

Zhang Zhifu coughed twice, signaling the guards outside the study not to come in, then looked at He Sheng and asked, "What happened?"

If something hadn't happened, He Sheng wouldn't have sneaked into Zhang's mansion in the middle of the night.

He Sheng handed the concubine documents stolen from Huang Li to Zhang Zhifu, and told the things he found during the day.

Zhang Zhifu, who had been relaxed for two days because he didn't have to go to the government office, was so dark that ink dripped down his face, and the thin document made Zhang Zhifu's hands tremble slightly.

He Sheng, who stood silently by the side, glanced sympathetically at the prefect Zhang who was trying to suppress his anger. It would be bad luck for prefect Zhang to have such a mother.

After a long while, Zhang Zhifu calmed down and sat down. There was no anger in his dark eyes, but his indifferent and cold face showed that Zhang Zhifu had made a decision, "I will handle this matter, thank you for me Little fish."

"I'll tell Miss to leave." He Sheng agreed and left.

The study was quiet, Zhang Zhifu looked at the dark night outside the window.

In the past, when his mother made troubles, it was his wife who tolerated them. Fortunately, they were just trivial matters, either because of food or clothes. In the final analysis, his mother had shallow eyesight and wanted to get some money.

Seeing that Kong had suffered a lot of grievances, she really didn't pay attention to it. Mrs. Zhang is essentially an old woman in the countryside, aggressive and domineering, but she really doesn't have any tricks, just give up some money every now and then.

Zhang Zhifu naturally knew about Kong's methods, and he didn't care, but the only thing that made him regret was that his only daughter was too cowardly because she was caught in the middle.

But at the Peach Blossom Festival, Mrs. Zhang joined hands with Huang Li to frame Kong, which was beyond Kong's bottom line, so she made Huang Li suffer by herself, and used this as an excuse to put Mrs. Zhang under house arrest in the backyard among.

Zhang Zhifu originally thought that this matter would be over. Kong has a sense of proportion and will not do too much, but he will not let his mother dominate the house anymore, but Zhang Zhifu really didn't expect his mother to put him this way for money. The son was sold.

Under the bright light of the candle, Zhang Zhifu looked at the date on the concubine-taking document, his eyes were terribly cold. On this day, the third son Ming had not yet reconciled with Huang Li, but he wanted to take Huang Li as his concubine. There is no escape from guilt.

After a while, Zhang Zhifu let the two confidantes into the study, and after explaining something, they went back to the inner room behind the study to rest.

……

The torrential rain was pouring down, and Zhan Feiyu stood under the eaves and watched the majestic rain, "The weather is not good, so I can only return to Shangsi County in a few days."

"Miss, I'm worried about catching a cold." He Nuan who was sewing had no choice but to speak.

Zhan Feiyu stood at the door, and within a moment, the splashing raindrops had already wetted her skirt.

Looking back at He Nuan in the room, Zhan Feiyu was so childish that he deliberately sang the opposite tune, "I also plan to sit in the octagonal pavilion and enjoy the rain. Maybe I can sing "East Lake Watching the Rain" with poetry."

When Zhan Feiyu was in Jinlin Village before, he hated the rain the most. Every step he stepped on was muddy. Even the ground in the house was just compacted yellow mud, and it was sticky after being wet with rain.

During the rainy season, it rained continuously in the south of the Yangtze River. There were bursts of mildew in the house, and the clothes and quilts felt wet. Zhan Feiyu felt itchy all over his body, and there were a few red marks when he scratched.

Not to mention going to Lin's private school to study later, let alone rain, she would go to school even if she was hit with a knife, and if she kicked it down... Zhan Feiyu really didn't have a cleanliness habit, but now thinking about it, she still hates it.

But the courtyard of Linhu Xiaoxuan is a path paved with bluestone slabs. After the rain washes away, it is completely clear and clean, and the rainwater collected on the ground is not dirty at all.

He Nuan cleaned every day, even the pillars of the octagonal pavilion were wiped clean.

Zhan Feiyu glanced outside, "Ah Nuan, I'm going to sit in the pavilion, you find the tea set, and bring some fruit cakes."

Before He Nuan could stop him, Zhan Feiyu had already held up his umbrella and walked into the rain curtain, and he was not afraid of getting his shoes and socks wet with wooden clogs on his feet.

He Nuan shook his head helplessly, put down the clothes in his hands, and then got up to prepare things.

Yin Wuyan took Chong Guang to bathe in the guest room of the inn and then changed into clean clothes before coming to the Linhu Xiaoxuan behind. As soon as the two stepped into the courtyard, they saw the figure in the pavilion, which looked hazy through the rain curtain.

"Fat girl, do you actually like this kind of romance?" Quickly stepped into the pavilion, Chong Guang twisted a piece of pastry and threw it into his mouth, and looked at Zhan Feiyu in the pavilion jokingly, thinking that the fat girl could only read bookworm.

The sudden voice startled Zhan Feiyu, and when he looked up, a bright smile appeared on Baozi's fair face, "Big brother."

Outside the pavilion, amidst the rain, Yin Wuyan was holding an umbrella, dressed in a black brocade robe, with a face like a crown of jade, and the seemingly indifferent phoenix eyes also showed a little warmth.

"Big brother, why are you here?" The excited Zhan Feiyu got up and ran over, but forgot that the pavilion was covered with rain, and under the slippery ground, his body staggered and fell forward.

For a moment, Yin Wuyan was still holding the umbrella with his left hand, but with his right hand, he precisely hugged Zhan Feiyu who almost fell out of the pavilion with one hand.

Chongguang burst out laughing, and swallowed the pastry in twos and twos, "Fat girl, are you throwing yourself into your arms?"

Ignoring Chong Guang who was talking behind him, Zhan Feiyu raised his head and smiled brighter, "Big brother, I have lost weight and grown taller!"

Yin Wuyan looked down at the little girl who was smiling like a flower. When I saw her in the woods back then, the little girl was not as tall as his own legs, but now it was higher than her waist. The smiling eyes are larger and rounder.

"Don't be reckless." Putting the person down, Yin Wuyan held an umbrella and the two entered the pavilion.

Opposite the pavilion is the East Lake, under the rain curtain, the beauty of misty rain.

The stone table in the pavilion is covered with a tablecloth, with tea and pastries on it, and a copper stove in the corner. The original strong incense has been diluted by the wind and rain. Looking at it this way, Zhan Feiyu will enjoy it.

Zhan Feiyu poured tea for Yin Wuyan and sat down beside him, "Big brother, why are you here?"

As for Zhongguang being ignored, even without Zhan Feiyu's greeting, he would be self-sufficient, and he ate half of the cakes on the plate that were suitable for the occasion.

"Qiye is worried that you will be hacked by the Chen family, so come and take a look if you have nothing to do." Chongguang answered first, and then picked up a piece of peach and ate it, "Don't say it, the peaches in Nanxuan Mansion are better than those in the capital. Those tributes are much more delicious!"

Nanxuan Mansion is located in the south of the Yangtze River. Since it is a land of fish and rice, there are many melons and fruits. However, even if the tributes sent to the capital are kept fresh with ice cubes, they are not as fresh as those picked locally.

Yin Wuyan remained silent, his cold eyes just staring at Chong Guang who was eating.

Uh... Feeling the pressure, Chong Guang's back straightened up, well, I delayed Qi Ye and the fat girl to reminisce about the old days!
The disgusted Chong Guang glanced at the table, quickly piled up a plate full of pastries and fruits, and disappeared into the rain, "Qi Ye, I'll go back to the house to eat."

(End of this chapter)