Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 178: Encounter on the Road and Arrival in the Capital

The two young gentlemen and the young lady were all martial practitioners of around the seventh rank. They were dressed in ordinary attire befitting their noble status and were currently engaged in a lively conversation.

The one reciting poetry was a young gentleman with a long face, who seemed rather pleased with himself at the moment.

Xin Zhuo couldn't discern any "strange" aura from this person that was different from this world, but he still couldn't help but ask with a cupped fist salute, "May I ask if the poem you just recited was your own creation, or..."

The three of them turned their attention towards Xin Zhuo. They noticed that although he had some straw debris on him, his clothes were of top quality silk, and he was staying in a high-class room that cost one hundred taels of silver. They couldn't figure out what he did for a living, so they all returned the gesture.

The young gentleman with the long face smiled proudly, "Of course, it was my own creation!"

Xin Zhuo pondered for a moment and asked, "The first two lines, were they 'An old friend bids farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower, fireworks bloom in March over Yangzhou'?"

The young gentleman with the long face was taken aback and scrutinized Xin Zhuo, "How did you know?"

Could it be that they were in the same line of work?

Xin Zhuo spoke in a deep voice, "If the young gentleman would be so kind as to tell me where you learned it from?"

The young gentleman with the long face turned pale and then green, and laughed awkwardly, "Actually, I heard it from someone. I have a cousin who used to study at the Border Academy and is now a captain in the Shence Army in the capital."

Xin Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't quite explain whether he was disappointed or something else. He casually asked, "May I ask the name of that cousin of yours?"

The young gentleman with the long face didn't want to pay any more attention to Xin Zhuo, but he couldn't help but show off a bit, "To be honest, his surname is Helian, and his given name is Sheng. He is the son of the Northern Latitude Military Governor, and does the gentleman happen to know him?"

Case solved! It should be the extra-curricular question he had given when he was a teacher at Qiugong Pavilion. He smiled and said, "I do know him. We were classmates!"

"Oh! What a talent!"

The young gentleman with the long face looked surprised and immediately grabbed Xin Zhuo's hand like they were old friends. He then turned to a man and a woman next to him and said, "Brother Guangpu, Miss Miao'er, let's go to my room and have a few drinks!"

Xin Zhuo thought for a moment, since he had nothing better to do, he followed the three of them into the room.

Some wine and dishes were already laid out.

They introduced themselves to each other. The young gentleman with the long face was named Fu Qingshan, from the Northern Latitude Prefecture. He was a cousin of Helian Sheng and was going to the capital to seek refuge with him.

The round-faced young gentleman was named Zhang Guangpu, from Jingjiang Prefecture. He was going to the capital to take the imperial examination and participate in this year's provincial examination.

The young lady was named Sun Miao'er, and she came from a prominent family. She was the daughter of the governor of Lian Prefecture and was going to the capital to visit her aunt, preparing to find a suitable gentleman in the capital and settle down there. Her father would also move there with the family a few years later after a promotion.

The three of them chatted about court affairs, the turmoil in the examination hall, and local customs. Xin Zhuo couldn't help but wonder if this was a world of practitioners or just an ordinary feudal society.

After a while, Fu Qingshan and the others finally turned their attention to Xin Zhuo. "Oh! We haven't asked for the young brother's name yet. What brings you to the capital?"

Xin Zhuo, who had been mooching off their food for a while, couldn't go against their face, so he thought for a moment. Xin Zhuo wouldn't work, and the surname Jiang wouldn't work either. He casually said, "I am Murong Xiu, going to the capital to pay respects to my relatives!"

"I see!"

The three of them seemed uninterested in his affairs. Zhang Guangpu smiled bitterly and said, "My literary talent is average, and my martial cultivation is also average. I don't know if I can make it onto the list this time. I'm quite anxious!"

Fu Qingshan laughed, "If you lack confidence, it's best to rely on connections. The first choice is to find an official position in the six ministries or six offices, followed by prestigious families, and finally royal and noble families!"

Zhang Guangpu's eyes lit up as he looked around, "What do you think? Can we rely on the Jiang family's connections?"

Fu Qingshan couldn't help but be stunned, "You dare to think about it? The Jiang family has an extraordinary background. They have princesses as daughters-in-law, and any student or former official they throw out casually is a general with a powerful army or a provincial governor!"

"It's better to think than not to think!"

Sun Miao'er covered her mouth and chuckled, looking like a delicate and beautiful young lady. "When my aunt wrote to me, she mentioned that if I could marry into the Jiang family, I would definitely have a bright future!"

Fu Qingshan and Zhang Guangpu suddenly became interested, "What? Miss Sun has connections to the Jiang family?"

Sun Miaor felt a bit embarrassed and said, "My uncle is the supervisor of the Inspection Department, and he has a good relationship with a young master from the Jiang family's branch."

Fu Qingshan felt disappointed and said, "The Jiang family's branch is almost like servants. All the abilities of the Jiang family are controlled by the main branch."

"The main branch of the Jiang family is exclusively matched with princesses!" Sun Miaor chuckled and pursed her lips. "I don't have that kind of luck, and I wouldn't even dare to think about it!"

Zhang Guangpu suddenly shivered and said, "Let's not talk about it. The Jiang family's Iron Floating Guards are quite terrifying!"

He then looked at Xin Zhuo and asked, "What do you think, Brother Murong?"

"Hmm, yes."

Xin Zhuo nodded. He didn't know how to respond to their conversation.

The rest of the journey was silent, and the boat sailed at an extremely fast speed, covering a hundred miles in a day.

Every day, Xin Zhuo chatted and joked with the three of them, or listened to their nonsense. He didn't have much else to do, but he did learn quite a bit about the Eight Trigrams of the capital.

The capital seemed surprisingly large, with a variety of people, such as experts, officials, interesting stories, and so on. However, Xin Zhuo didn't know if the information from these three people was reliable.

On the fifth day, an accident occurred and the boat broke down!

Xin Zhuo thought about getting off the boat and walking on land, but he had gotten used to the boat and didn't feel like moving. So, he lazily waited.

It took a full five days to repair the boat.

On the sixth day, they continued on their journey. By the time they reached the Bian Tong River near the capital, more than half a month had passed.

After getting off the boat, they were still twenty miles away from the outer city of the capital. The four of them walked together leisurely. At first, they exchanged a few words, but later on, they didn't dare to talk nonsense.

Because the official road became wider and wider, with more and more pedestrians and carriages. Many of them were wearing armor, official robes, or luxurious clothes, exuding an air of nobility.

"We need to be careful with our words!" Fu Qingshan lowered his voice. "We don't know who might be a noble in disguise until we reach the capital!"

"Yes," Zhang Guangpu nodded cautiously.

Twenty miles was not a short distance, but if they focused on traveling, it would still be fast. The closer they got to the capital, the more crowded the wide official road became, with a constant flow of pedestrians and carriages.

When they caught a glimpse of the outline of the capital, including Xin Zhuo, the three of them couldn't remain calm.

It was truly magnificent—

From a distance, it resembled a sleeping dragon and a coiled serpent, with no end in sight. The pavilions, towers, and solemn and majestic tall buildings seemed to extend to the horizon. The left and right sides were also endless, making it impossible to determine its actual size!

Up close, the city walls were tall and unmatched. Every brick and tile was meticulously crafted. The guards on the city walls were tall and strong, wearing silver armor, iron helmets, and holding long spears, instilling fear in people's hearts.

The moat surrounding the outer city was extremely wide, and the riverbanks were crowded with onlookers and tourists.

On the road below the city, the crowded pedestrians and carriages jostled against each other. There were all kinds of people, and even countless vendors and scattered shops.

In short, it made people feel the vastness of the world, the divine craftsmanship, and their own insignificance. It was hard not to feel a sense of inferiority.

Zhang Guangpu even knelt down and kissed the marble ground, saying, "May the gods bless me. I hope I can stand firm in this magnificent city under the heavens, at the feet of the emperor!"

This was not embarrassing. Many people who came to the capital for the first time would kneel and worship.

At this moment, Xin Zhuo's expression became complicated. This city was truly magnificent and boundless, far beyond his expectations. It couldn't even be compared to the historical dramas he had seen in his past life. How many strange characters and forces were hidden here?

After being stunned for a while, he remembered the main purpose of his trip. He had been delayed on the way, so he assumed that Chen Yi and the others had arrived before him. He quickly asked, "Where is the East Gate?"

Fu Qingshan sighed and said, "Right here, the Divine Martial Gate of the East Gate!"

(End of this chapter)