Chapter 8 (This appears to be a fragment of a larger text, possibly a title or heading. The phrase "碰猪" is unclear and likely refers to a pig accident.)

Lu Jinlan took out the notification from her sleeve, and the shop owner stood up in shock. She extended her aged hands and said very respectfully, "May I take a look?"

The name of the Royal Academy is known to everyone in Hua Kingdom. The academy has extremely strict requirements, and with a population of hundreds of millions, it admits fewer than one hundred new students each year.

Of these hundred people, twenty or thirty were daughters of royalty and nobility, fifty or sixty were elite students from the capital, and the remaining dozen or so spots were reserved for top students from various prefectures and cities. Therefore, everyone knew the value of the selection qualification for students from other places.

The shopkeeper murmured, "In terms of status and wealth, there are countless imperial relatives in the capital. In terms of talent, you must be one of the dozen or so outstanding individuals who come from the sixteen prefectures outside the capital every year to participate in the selection for the Royal Academy. As far as I know, you need to be at least in the top three in the local exams, right?"

Lu Jinlan smiled slightly, "I was lucky enough to win first place."

The shopkeeper chuckled, “That’s too modest. The top three papers from each region must be sent to the Emperor for his personal selection. Of the nearly fifty papers submitted, fewer than twenty are selected each year. Young lady, you’ve been chosen; you must be a great talent. Fame will soon be yours.”

The shopkeeper handed over the book, saying, "It is an honor to have your patronage. You don't need to register, and I won't take your deposit. Just take the book and read it. You can return it after the selection is over."

Upon hearing this, the young man turned and left dejectedly. Lu Jinlan exchanged a few polite words with the shopkeeper, quickly packed up her things, and strode after him.

"Please wait a moment!" Lu Jinlan handed the book to the young man in white. "Take a look and return it in half a month. Just say it's for me."

The man paused for a moment, "You borrowed it for me? You think... I can understand military strategy books?"

Lu Jinlan chuckled lightly, "You were able to find this bookstore accurately, and even know the book titles and dates, and you were willing to spend a lot of money to borrow books. I guess you're literate and love reading, so how could you not understand it?"

The man's eyes darkened, and he said with a wry smile, "Most women believe that men can't understand military strategy."

Lu Jinlan shook her head. "Sexism is a kind of ignorant prejudice. I am not that kind of stupid."

"You really want to lend it to me?"

"yes."

The man took the book, but a hint of difficulty appeared on his face. "Then what do you want me to do?"

"Hmm?" Lu Jinlan was surprised for a moment, and suddenly realized that this young master regarded her as someone like Yan Shao Niang.

She curled the corners of her lips into a smile. "Although you are indeed exceptionally handsome and have an extraordinary temperament, I helped you only out of a sense of chivalry, and I have absolutely no other purpose."

"Is that so?" The man smiled, his deep features relaxing slightly as he gazed into her eyes, his voice tinged with amusement. "In my experience, that's impossible."

How can one describe the allure of a top-tier appearance? Lu Jinlan wasn't a superficial person, but seeing him smile still made her heart flutter. The word "charming" wasn't just a description at this moment; it was a literal assessment.

For some reason, Lu Jinlan wanted to maintain a refined image in front of him, so she clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Then I will take my leave immediately to show my sincerity."

But she regretted it the moment she turned around. Putting aside his appearance, this young master's personality was definitely different from most of the men here.

The men here are all too well-trained. Men like Lu Xian and Lu Hui, despite their young age, already possess the qualities of virtuous husbands and good fathers, just like the devoted wives in early modern melodramas who endlessly sacrifice themselves.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why Lu Jinlan resists marriage.

She didn't want to marry that kind of man; their spiritual worlds didn't intersect, and she couldn't imagine living together. Even if he were virtuous and gentle, she would feel awkward, like marrying her great-grandmother—it would be unbearable to share a bed with someone from the Qing Dynasty.

Compared to those men, this young man in white seemed quite modern. He was literate and enjoyed studying military strategy; Lu Jinlan really wanted to talk to him more.

But having already made that promise, I've put myself in that predicament, so I have no choice but to keep moving forward. How can I possibly run into him again?

In this vast sea of ​​people, where can I even find him, whose name I don't even know?

Or, find an excuse to go back and chat for a bit more?

Lu Jinlan gritted her teeth and turned around abruptly, almost bumping into the white-robed young man who was striding after her. Both of them were stunned, creating a rather awkward scene.

"I……"

"I……"

The man smiled and said, "I'm also heading this way. Would you mind walking with me for a while?"

Lu Jinlan was overjoyed. "Of course, there's a question I forgot to ask. I was just about to go back and find you."

"What's the problem?"

The two walked forward together, and Lu Jinlan started talking in a lighthearted tone.

Why were you teasing Yan Shaoniang on the street?

Is she your friend?

"Not really, we met by chance today."

The man nodded in satisfaction. "I don't think she and you, young lady, are kindred spirits. That woman is frivolous and annoys me. Let's play a trick on her and teach her a lesson, see if she dares to stop people in the street again."

Lu Jinlan then asked, "Then why didn't you reject her advances from the start?"

The man replied sincerely, "Although I have some martial arts skills, she is a woman, and I don't know the extent of her skills. I don't want to cause trouble for myself. If I refuse her, things will get complicated if she gets angry. Besides, I'm from out of town, and even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. It's best to be cautious."

Lu Jinlan smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to know martial arts. You're both scholarly and martial."

"I only know a little bit. My mother is very modern and raised me like a daughter since I was little. She made me read, write, and learn martial arts. But..." He paused for a moment, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes.

"But what?"

"But she still thinks I should get married soon. I'm seventeen this year, and my family is arranging marriages for me."

Lu Jinlan immediately empathized, "Are you satisfied with the person you're considering marrying?"

The man shook his head repeatedly. Lu Jinlan said, "Then you shouldn't have gotten married. To be honest, my family is the same way, so I ran away in a fit of anger."

The man was shocked. "Women can run away from marriage? I thought most women would accept their family's arrangements, marry a man first and keep him at home. Anyway, whether they like him or not, they can marry as many as they want."

Lu Jinlan smiled meaningfully, "I don't belong to the majority, I'm a very small minority."

The man's lips curled into a slight smile. "I'm really lucky today."

After saying that, he probably felt that his words were too ambiguous and was afraid that she would misunderstand, so he awkwardly added, "I met a good person."

Why did they give me a "friend zone" card? Lu Jinlan couldn't laugh.

But when she looked up, something even more awkward happened. She had just randomly chosen a direction to walk in, and the two of them had ended up in a dead end.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, then Lu Jinlan immediately retorted, "The roads in the capital are complicated. We're all from out of town, so it seems we've all gotten the directions wrong. But we can hear sounds from the street from here, so we should be on the street after passing a few houses."

As she spoke, she leaped onto the top of the wall. The man looked up at her, a hint of eager excitement in his eyes, but still asked, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What are you afraid of? Come up here and come with me." Lu Jinlan reached out her hand to him, and the man grabbed her wrist, using the momentum to leap onto the wall as well.

The two men made their way forward, stepping over the stone walls and rubble, intending to pass quietly, but were spotted by the dogs. Every household in this area kept a dog; if one dog barked, a dozen or so would instantly respond. The people inside slammed the door in frustration, shouting, "What are you doing? Get down here!"

"Run!" Lu Jinlan grabbed the white-robed young man and ran quickly, the two of them crushing countless rubble as they fled in panic.

The system, caught up in the chaos, was still adding to her health points with a series of notifications.

Just as they reached the street, they suddenly heard a ripping sound. The man's outer robe had caught on a protruding tree branch, tearing a large piece of it.

The two jumped down from the wall, looked at each other and smiled, their hearts still pounding.

The street was bustling with people, and the man, whose clothes were torn, had to stand against the wall. Although he was wearing trousers underneath, the torn clothes were considered indecent.

Lu Jinlan looked around and said, "There's a secondhand clothing shop over there. I'll go buy you an outer robe. You just wait for me here."

"Okay," the man readily agreed.

Lu Jinlan took two steps, turned back, and asked with a smile, "You won't run away like you did with Young Madam Yan, will you?"

The man smiled wryly, "Where can I run to in this state?"

Yes, Lu Jinlan went without worry.

The secondhand clothing shops mostly sold used clothes, and the ready-made new clothes were all of very rough style and material. She managed to choose a piece that fit the young man's measurements. When she came out, she was dumbfounded; the place she had just been in was completely empty.

"Hey? Where is he?" Lu Jinlan hurriedly grabbed a passerby and asked, "Have you seen a handsome, tall young man in white?"

She asked three or five people, but none of them said they had seen it. Then, as she turned around, everything went dark. A mountain-like figure blocked out the sunlight, which startled her.

The man was about the same age as her, dressed in rough linen hunter's clothes. He wasn't particularly tall, only about 1.78 meters. But she carried half a wild boar on her left shoulder and a string of pheasants and two plump rabbits on her right shoulder, making it look like she was carrying a small mountain – quite a sight indeed.

These things must weigh at least 200 pounds, but she carried them on her back with incredible ease and composure, moving with remarkable stability.

Lu Jinlan almost bumped into her face to face, and for a moment forgot to ask what was wrong, only sighing softly, "Young mistress, you have such strength!"

The man ignored her, coldly walked past her, and continued walking forward.

"Huh?" Lu Jinlan was once again left out, and stood with her hands on her hips staring at the street.

A voice drifted into my ear: "Have you seen a particularly handsome young man in white?"

She looked in the direction of the sound, but before she could see anyone, she heard a loud bang—a man-made disaster had occurred.

Frustrated by her search for someone, Yan Shaoniang collided violently with the pig-carrying hunter. Half a fresh piece of pork fell to the ground, and Yan Shaoniang was covered in pig's blood.

"What's wrong with you?" they both asked at the same time, and they immediately started arguing.

Lu Jinlan rushed over and saw the hunter frowning as he painstakingly wiped the dust off the pork. "You've dirtied my pork, you have to pay for it!"

"Hey? That's interesting. You dirtied my clothes, and I haven't even made you pay for it yet! Do you know how expensive this fabric is? It's woven with gold thread. You couldn't pay for it even if you sold ten pigs."

"If you hadn't bumped into me, how would your clothes have gotten dirty?"

"If you hadn't bumped into me, would your pork have fallen off?"

"I was walking along peacefully, and you suddenly bumped into me."

"If you weren't carrying such a huge pig, would I have been unable to avoid it?"

Seeing the two arguing more and more intensely, Lu Jinlan quickly tried to mediate: "That's enough, that's enough. Nobody did it on purpose. Calm down. Young Madam Yan, you don't need this one more dress. Let it go."

Young Lady Yan snorted coldly, "I'll give Young Lady Lu face and forget it. I'll just consider myself unlucky and don't need you to compensate me."

“No,” the hunter insisted. “There’s no rule against carrying pigs on the street. I did nothing wrong by carrying the pig, but it’s your fault for bumping into me. This side of the pork is covered in dirt; it needs to be cut off before it can be sold. You’ve made me lose at least ten pounds of pork. At forty coins a pound, you have to compensate me four hundred coins.”

Yan Shao Niang was so angry she laughed. She started rolling up her sleeves. "Four hundred coins, is that it? I'll give you four taels, but I have to beat you up today."

A note from the author:

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