I become a sage by eating books

Chapter 64 Xiao Family
A carriage, followed by eight sweaty bandits running along the official road, if ordinary people see it, they will be frightened, and they will have to explain it.Maybe it was God who was helping them, or maybe it was because the bandits had such a bad reputation, the four of them went all the way, but they didn't meet anyone.

At the hour of Haishi, the four finally arrived in Yunyang County. Although it took an hour longer than expected, they arrived safely.

"Boom, boom, boom!" Zhou Changying slammed on the gate of the county government.

A yamen servant opened the door and asked: "What's the matter with you! My lord is not here today, if there is any grievance, come back another day."

With a bang, the yamen servant closed the door,
"Master, that man said the county magistrate is not here." Zhou Changying said.

Ning An frowned and pondered, it's not true if she doesn't, but it's true if she doesn't want to care about it.

Chu Qi and Qin Fei also expressed anxiety. Could it be that the county magistrate is really not there?Qin Fei said, "Brother Ning, what should we do now? Are we going to take them to a hotel?"

"I'll try it. Changying, take out this young master's badge."

Qin Fei's face showed joy, how could he have forgotten that brother Ning is the eighth-rank wife appointed by the emperor himself, those yamen servants will at least give him some face.

"dong dong dong"

"Who, let people not sleep in the middle of the night, I have already said, I have to report to the police, come back another day, my adults are not here." The yamen servant opened the door annoyed.

Just when he was about to say something, a shining golden waist badge appeared in front of him.The yamen servant stared wide-eyed, carefully looked at the words on it, and then said: "It turns out that you are an adult, but the little one has eyes and doesn't know Mount Tai, please come in quickly, please come in quickly."

"Is your adult there?" Ning An asked coldly.

"Hehe, yes, yes. The little one will go to report now, please wait a moment, sir." The yamen servant nodded and bowed and said, completely without the arrogance just now.

"He..." Seeing the yamen servant's face changed, Qin Fei wanted to say something, but was stopped by Chu Qi.Qin Fei muttered in a low voice, didn't he say he wasn't here, why is he here again now.

Chu Qi looked at him and shook his head, this brother Qin, after so many things, why is he still so... simple!
The four of Ning An waited in the lobby for a while, and a man in his 60s came out.He said to Ning An and the other four: "The honored guest has arrived, and I am sorry to welcome you from a distance. I am sorry. I am sorry. This must be Mrs. Ning. Sorry, sorry!"

"I've seen you, sir." The four saluted the man at the same time.

"Hehe, you four don't need to be too polite. My surname is Tao, and I am the county magistrate of Yunyang County. Mr. Ning can call me Tao County magistrate. I wonder why Mr. Ning is looking for this old man so late?"

Tao Yong, formerly known as Tao Yong, is 59 years old this year. Since he took office in Yunyang County, he has been the county magistrate in Yunyang for more than [-] years and has not been promoted.In a blink of an eye, I have reached my sixtieth year, and I have long since lost my original ambition, and I just want to lie flat.

"Master Tao, it's like this. We were going to Fucheng, but we met a group of bandits on the way. Fortunately, my guards were skilled in martial arts and subdued the group of bandits. Now we bring the group of bandits, Hand it over to the adults." Ning An said calmly.

When County Magistrate Tao heard this, his eyes rolled quickly, feeling a little guilty!The bandits, wouldn't they be the bandits from Mount Qingcheng?
"Oh, there is such a thing. Where are those bandits, I will definitely punish them severely." County magistrate Tao said indignantly, as if he had just found out that there were bandits under his jurisdiction.

Ning An said, "It's just outside, there are eight people in total, please Master Tao to check and accept."

Tao Yong chuckled: "It's easy to say, easy to say. Come and join this guard brother to put those bandits in prison."

"Yes, my lord." A yamen servant said.

"Hehe, Mr. Ning caught eight bandits at once, which is a great achievement. I would like to thank Mr. Ning on behalf of the people of Yunyang County." Tao Yong said with a smile.

Ning An said coldly: "It's our duty as officials to eliminate harm for the sake of name, so why should we thank you, my lord. Even though the matter has been finished, we should go now, Master Tao, I take my leave."

Tao Yong said: "Master Ning is leaving now?"

"Well, I have something important to do, so I won't disturb your lord's rest, and I will visit you another day." Ning An said.

"Since Master Ning has something to do, I will stay soon. Master Ning, please!" Tao Yong said.

"My lord, stay here, I'll take my leave!" Ning An said.

After sending Ning An and the others away, Tao Yong sat down on a chair and touched the sweat on his forehead with his cuff.

A yamen servant said: "My lord, this Ning is just an eighth-rank master who is not even an official official. You are a seventh-rank county magistrate, so why be afraid of him."

Tao Yong picked up the book on the table and threw it on the yamen servant's head. "What do you know! At this young age, Ning An has been appreciated by the emperor like this, and he will definitely have a bright future in the future. You, you, almost killed my master, so let me be smarter in doing things in the future."

Tao Yong was afraid for a while, but fortunately Ning An did not die in the hands of the bandits, otherwise he might not be able to keep his black yarn.

Those guys are really getting more and more rampant, even dare to intercept the imperial court order, it is really desperate.

It's just that the bandit matter can't be hidden now, so how should he deal with it so as not to let the court blame him.Tao Yong frowned, feeling depressed in his heart, it seemed that his comfortable days were coming to an end.

After Ning An and the others left the county government office, they found a restaurant to stay and planned to set off early tomorrow morning.

Qin Fei tidied the bed angrily. The county magistrate Tao today was really hateful. He was clearly in the county government office, but he let the government servant say that he was not there.If the people in the city are really in a hurry, can they still count on him?

He is a parent official, how can he be so perfunctory to ordinary people.If Brother Ning wasn't here today, they might not even be able to enter the gate of the county government office, which is hateful.

"Okay, brother Qin, don't be angry anymore. This is the way of the world, you have to be careful." Ning An said.

"Brother Ning, as an official, shouldn't he plead for the people? Then Mr. Tao is obviously trying to fool us." Qin Fei said.

Ning An glanced at Qin Fei who was still annoyed, and the corners of his mouth curled into a nice curve. "Don't worry, I won't let him fool you." That Mr. Tao believed in inaction and governance, no wonder he was still a county magistrate for so many years.

Qin Fei looked at Ning An and felt that Ning An's smile was a bit malicious. "Brother Ning, have you noticed anything?"

Ning An glanced at the three of them, saw that they were all looking at him, and said, "No! Go to sleep, you have to hurry tomorrow."

"Oh."

Qin Fei was a little disappointed, thinking that Ning An had some good idea.

Chu Qi was thoughtful, based on what he knew about Ning An, he didn't think Ning An would just let it go.

The next day, the four of Ning An set off early.On this day, nothing dangerous happened on the road.Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to Fucheng, Ning An also felt a little more apprehensive.

The government examination is different from the county examination. Passing the government examination is a real scholar. It can be regarded as having achieved fame, entering the scholar-official class, and enjoying the privileges granted by the imperial court.Moreover, it is extremely difficult to pass the government test. If a large state capital only admits 50 people each time, it can be said to be a real pass.

Lekang is the headquarters of the Xiao family of the first family, and its prosperity is second only to the capital city.Its prosperity did not die down with the coming of night, only row upon row of shops were hung with fiery red lanterns.There are also the mansions of the big officials and wealthy guests, and the lights are bright and bright all night long.The bursts of green smoke emitted by these candles when they burned, lingering, shrouded the sky above the imperial capital, drawing a rare picture of fireworks in the world.

The four parked the carriage outside a brightly lit restaurant, and strode in.

The shopkeeper came up to greet him, and said with a smile on his face: "I'm sorry, my shop is full today, so I'd better go and have a look elsewhere."

"Hey!"

Qin Fei sighed, the third family was already full, if they couldn't find a place to live, they might have to sleep on the street today.

"Don't be discouraged, there is always a way." Chu Qi comforted him.If it doesn't work, just go to sleep in a ruined temple. Anyway, they were all born in poor families. As long as there is a place to sleep, it's not a place to live.

"Let's go to other places to see." Ning An said to Chu and Qi, he didn't believe it, the restaurants and inns in the whole city were full!

The four of them walked out of the restaurant and were about to get into the carriage when a slightly excited voice came.

"Ning'an!"

Ning An turned his head, and a young man in a purple brocade suit walked towards them.Isn't this Xiao Yu and Xiao Renhuai from Tianjia class?

"Young Master Xiao!"

The three of Ning An greeted Xiao Renhuai.Xiao Renhuai nodded to Chu Qi and Qin Fei, and then said to Ning An:
"Brother Ning, why are you here?" Xiao Renhuai held a folding fan in his hand, with a smile on his face.Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that he was very happy.

Xiao Renhuai's joy was also felt by Qin Fei.After all, it was a classmate I hadn't seen for a long time. Qin Fei was also a little happy. He said to Xiao Renhuai: "Young Master Xiao, we are here to take part in the government examination. Originally, this was for lodging, but the room is full, and we are planning to go to another inn have a look."

After hearing Qin Fei's words, Xiao Renhuai pondered for a while, "Brother Ning, since you haven't found a place to stay for the time being, why don't you come to my house, so that Xiao can do his best as a landlord."

After hearing Xiao Renhuai's words, Ning An was taken aback, and lived in Xiao's house?When did Xiao Renhuai become so hospitable? He clearly remembered that Xiao Renhuai used to be self-respecting. Why did he change after leaving the academy?

"Brother Xiao, this is not good!" Ning An declined.

Xiao Renhuai glanced at Ning An and knew that he was rejecting him.It's just that he doesn't understand why Ning An can become friends with a bastard like Xiao Li, why can't he?Could it be that in his heart, he is really not as good as Xiao Li.Today, he insisted that Ning An live in Xiao's house, he wanted him to understand who is qualified to be his friend.

"What's wrong with this, we are classmates in the same academy. Since you have come to Lekang, as the host, why not entertain my classmates! Don't you think the three of you look down on me, Xiao Renhuai?"

Xiao Renhuai was obviously angry when he said the last sentence.He kept staring at Ning An, as if he would be even more furious if Ning An said a word of refusal.

Qin Fei noticed that the atmosphere between the two was not right, so he turned Chu Qi's body with his arm, and quickly said: "What did Mr. Xiao say? It is our honor to be a guest at Xiao's house. Brother Chu, what do you think?" ?”

"Hmm." Chu Qi snorted, he lived wherever he lived, Xiao's house was no different from an inn, but the place was bigger.Moreover, Chu Qi knew very well that Xiao Renhuai wanted to invite Ning An, and they were just a bonus, and the final decision was still in Ning An's hands.

Seeing that none of his companions had any objections, Ning An couldn't refuse any more, so he said, "Then bother."

After listening to Ning An's words, the corner of Xiao Renhuai's mouth curled up in joy.He doesn't care what reason Ning An agreed to, as long as the goal is achieved, the process is not important.

The Xiao family is located in the most prosperous street in Lekang. There is a pair of huge unicorns in front of the mansion, so the people call this street Qilin Street.

Ning An got off the carriage slowly, looked at this extremely prosperous and noble mansion, his eyes darkened slightly.Is this the foundation of the First Family?

Xiao Renhuai was always paying attention to the expressions of the three of them, seeing Chu Qi and Qin Fei's shocked eyes, he felt a little proud. "Brother Ning, please come inside."

"Brother Xiao, please!" Ning An said.

Xiao Renhuai led the four of Ning An all the way to Xingyun Pavilion, the courtyard where he lived.

Because Xiao Renhuai is the eldest son of the family, the Xingyun Pavilion where he lives is very luxuriously decorated.Ning An looked at the layout and decoration of Xingyun Pavilion, which was especially in line with Xiao Renhuai's flamboyant character.

"Brother Ning, this is your room. The rooms of Brother Chu and Brother Qin are next door. You have been exhausted all the way, so you should rest early, and if you have something to do, you can tell the servants, don't worry too much."

Ning An cupped his hands, "Thank you Brother Xiao!"

Xiao Renhuai disliked Ning An's politeness and alienation.He knew that Ning An and Xie Yu Xiaoli were not like this when they were together.

However, the future is long, and he will be able to replace them sooner or later.Xiao Renhuai pulled out a smile, and said heartily: "You don't need to be polite between friends. Well, I won't disturb your rest, see you tomorrow."

Looking at Xiao Renhuai's leaving back, Ning An wondered whether he really wanted to befriend him, or was he trying to compete with Xiao Li and Xie Yu.If it is to compete with Xiao Li and Xie Yu, it would be too childish.

Chu Qi glanced at Ning An who was still in deep thought, and said, "Brother Ning, rest early, we will go in first."

"Okay, you guys also go to bed earlier."

Ning An returned to his room, Zhou Changying followed behind him.

"Big ice cube, you should go to bed earlier."

Zhou Changying is used to his master calling himself a big ice cube when there are no outsiders, and there is nothing he can do about it. "Master, there is something that my subordinates have never been able to find a suitable opportunity to tell you."

Ning An turned around and asked, "What's the matter?"

Zhou Changying said coldly: "Master, my subordinates like to suspect that those bandits are not real bandits, or Zeng Jin is not."

"What do you mean?" Ning An didn't quite understand Zhou Changying's meaning. What does it mean that a bandit Zeng Jin is not a bandit? Could there be someone who was born a bandit?
"Master, when my subordinates fought those bandits, they found that their fighting style was very similar to those who came out of the barracks. This subordinate suspected that they might be deserters!" Zhou Changying told Ning An of his guess.

"Deserters?" Ning An wondered if he had heard wrongly, that group of people were deserters. "How sure are you?"

Zhou Changying replied: "Ninety percent."

Ning An thought about Zhou Changying's words, ninety percent, only one floor short.Ning An frowned, if what the big ice cube said was true, then the situation would be serious.If they were not deserters, then how could they know how to fight in the barracks? Are they really deserters?

(End of this chapter)