Withered flowers on the book pages

Inside the carriage, Master Sun looked at the pile of vegetables and asked, "Can the two of you really eat this much?"

Lin Kuo mumbled, "If not in one day, then three days is possible; if not in three days, then seven days is possible."

Master Sun slapped him and angrily said, "If you can't, then why did you buy so many vegetables?!"

Lin Kuo said guiltily, "They were so enthusiastic, I couldn't resist buying more..."

"You bought too much; I even overpaid!!"

Lin Kuo hurriedly said, "Master! Don't be angry, don't be angry, I'll pay, I'll pay!"

"Do you need to pay for this?!"

Seeing that Master Sun was angry, Lin Kuo did not dare to say anything more until he got out of the carriage.

The Sun residence was very close to the market; we arrived at the residence shortly after getting in the car. Although it was called a residence, it was actually just an ordinary family's courtyard, with a wooden door, a couplet for the Spring Festival, and a plaque against the wall in front of the door that read "Sun Residence".

Stepping inside, there was no lake, no flowers, no bridge, no grass, just a single tree with a pavilion beneath it, containing a square table and four wooden chairs. The Sun residence was much like an ordinary family's courtyard, both in size and furnishings.

Master Sun, carrying the vegetables, said to the two of them, "Come and cook."

Lin Kuo only knew how to make sweet drinks for Song Yinxing. If he were actually asked to chop vegetables and start a fire to cook, he wasn't sure how well he could do it. He glanced at Yi Shen and, seeing that Yi Shen had rolled up his sleeves, sensed something was wrong. He quickly tugged at Yi Shen and whispered, "You can cook?"

Yi Shen truthfully replied, "I know a little."

Before Lin Kuo could ask any more questions, Master Sun came out with a knife and urged, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!"

Lin Kuo hurriedly replied, "Coming right away, coming right away!"

Master Sun handed him the knife and instructed, "Go and cut the tomatoes."

Lin Kuo had never cut tomatoes before, but he had eaten them. He recalled what the tomatoes looked like on the table, gripped the knife, and squinted at the tomatoes.

Unexpectedly, the position was correct, but too much force was used.

With one slash, juice splattered.

Yi Shen dodged quickly and avoided getting splashed with the juice, but Master Sun, who couldn't dodge in time, was in a terrible state, getting juice splattered not only on his body but also on his face.

Master Sun angrily retorted, "Can't you cook?"

Lin Kuo hurriedly put down his knife and said, "I'm not very good at it."

"How can a person live if they can't cook? Don't think that just because you're a young master of the Lin family, you don't have to learn to cook! Whether you're male or female, not being able to cook is never something to be praised for!" For some reason, Master Sun suddenly became angry. He didn't care about the juice on his body, picked up another tomato and handed it to Lin Kuo, saying, "Cut it slowly, learn little by little, you'll eventually learn."

Yi Shen didn't just stand by and watch; he washed his hands, prepared the filling, and started wrapping wontons.

The three of them worked until dark before they finally managed to prepare a meal.

Lin Kuo carefully placed his scrambled eggs with tomatoes on the table, then slumped into a chair, drenched in sweat from exhaustion. But when he saw the less-than-appealing plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes under the moonlight, he smiled.

Today, he wasted at least six tomatoes and six eggs.

Master Sun and Yi Shen brought out the cooked wontons, and only then did the three of them begin to eat dinner.

"Wei Chong's wontons are good, and Lian Shi's scrambled eggs with tomatoes are also good." Master Sun had just swallowed a wonton when he picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and put it in his mouth. He wasn't afraid of the saltiness and chewed it slowly.

He said, "Don't think that you're invincible just because someone praised you a few times. Look, you can't even make scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Similarly, don't distance yourself from your classmates just because someone said a few words."

“My students have always been upright and honest people.”

"Regardless of gender or social status."

When people talk about aristocratic families and the imperial court, they always assume they are adversaries. Regardless of who they favor, as long as Cizi Pavilion is mentioned, everyone thinks it is a place of countless schemes and traps. But how could they know that the students of Cizi Pavilion are all intelligent and polite, and when they are scolded together, they can't help but laugh when they see that the other person is also there.

As long as one's heart is with the people and the country, there is no need to distance oneself.

Master Sun said, "His Majesty estimates that he will assign you positions and personnel within three days. Before that, it is best that you do not see anyone. It is best that you do not see anyone before the Dragon Gate Examination is over. In addition, a third person must be present when assigning tasks."

"You two are capable of handling this matter, but you lack experience. You can ask me anything."

Yi Shen and Lin Kuo put down their bowls and chopsticks, stood up, bowed, and nodded in agreement.

Three days later, Lin Kuo took Yi Shen out to buy groceries. He had been engrossed in cooking these past few days, and his painting skills hadn't improved much, but his cooking skills must have improved a lot.

Master Sun lay back in his chair and waved his hand, saying, "The apples the little girl gave Weichong last time were quite delicious. Remember to buy a few more."

Lin Kuo said, "Okay."

The two did not take a car. After turning the corner and walking a short distance, they arrived at the market. Before they even got there, they saw a woman haggling with the people at the market.

From a distance, the woman's figure resembled Wu Qi's somewhat. Only when they got closer could Yi Shen see the woman's face clearly.

Is it circulating?

An old friend from Pingwu City.

Zhou Liuhu glanced at Yi Shen, recognizing him, but didn't look at him much. Instead, he held up the vegetable in his hand, pointed to a leaf, and argued, "This vegetable, look, this leaf, has a wormhole on it! Since it has a wormhole, who can be sure I won't eat a bug!"

“Girl, the vegetables you picked are the cheapest and driest ones. They’ve been sitting there for days, so they’re not very fresh.”

Zhou Liuhu said, "That's why it should be cheaper!"

The vegetable vendor said helplessly, "If I lower the price any further, it's practically giving it to you for free."

Zhou Liuhu said, "That won't do. You didn't grow vegetables for nothing. However, your vegetables do have wormholes, so it's not unreasonable to lower the price. How about this, I'll keep the price the same, and you give me more."

"Alright, alright, where did this little girl come from? She's so good at bargaining."

Zhou Liuhu smiled, took out some money, and handed it to the vegetable vendor, saying, "I'm from Pingwu City!"

The same few people come to buy vegetables every day, but today a young woman, not very old, suddenly appeared. She even came all the way from Pingwu City. The old woman selling vegetables asked, "So far? What brings you to the capital?"

Zhou Liuhu replied, "I participated in the Dragon Gate Examination!"

Upon hearing this, the old woman grabbed a few potatoes and apples for her and said, "You must study hard for the exam. If you pass the Dragon Gate Exam, you can become an official and bring glory to your family!"

"I will. I'll come buy your groceries again after I pass the exam!"

"Good, good, good." The vegetable seller was delighted and grabbed another handful of scallions for her. "Other people who come to the capital to take the Dragon Gate Examination are accompanied by three or four people, stay in good inns, and have several meals at Langyue Tower. Why are you staying in such a remote place?"

Zhou Liuhu took the bunch of scallions and said frankly, "I don't have any money. Things in the capital are too expensive. Besides, I have an older sister who came to the capital to take the Dragon Gate Examination by herself before. She didn't eat or stay in good conditions, but she passed the exam quietly."

Hearing this from not far away, Lin Kuo asked Yi Shen, "She wouldn't be talking about...?"

Yi Shen replied, "Li Shuying."

The woman who went through countless hardships to reach the capital, did not ask Zhou Lang for any special treatment, and passed the Dragon Gate Examination on her own merits—Li Shuying.

After Zhou Liuhu finished buying groceries and taking care of her own business, she turned around to greet Yi Shen and Lin Kuo, "Third Young Master Yi, Young Master Lin..." She looked around and asked incredulously, "You live here?"

Lin Kuo said, "No, but I have indeed been staying here for the past few days."

"Oh." Zhou Liuhu didn't seem to care much, then turned to Yi Shen and asked, "Are you here all alone? Where's Wu Qi? I miss her!"

Yi Shen said, "She's at home. If you want to see her, you can go to the Witch's Mansion."

Zhou Liuhu said, "Forget it, I'll wait until I finish my exams before I see her. I'm leaving now."

The Dragon Gate Exam was much harder than she had imagined. She didn't know how her sister Shuying had passed the exam. It wasn't until she saw Shuying's densely packed notes that she could glean a fraction of her sister's effort from between the lines.

She dared not be careless, nor did she dare to go to Wu Qi before the Dragon Gate Examination.

She could only memorize, review, and repeat until the moment she stepped into the examination room.

Lin Kuo bought the vegetables he wanted, and also bought some apples that Master Sun wanted, and then took Yi Shen back to the Sun residence.

In the Sun residence, Master Sun was waiting for the two of them. Upon their return, he first had Lin Kuo wash some apples, then picked out the largest one and said while eating, "Just now, someone from the Imperial Palace came. Yi Shen is in charge of the Dragon Gate Examination, with Lin Kuo assisting. The Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Rites will be under your command."

Lin Kuo exclaimed in surprise, "Such a high-ranking official? I can even command the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Rites?"

"Temporary! Temporary, do you understand!?" Master Sun angrily took a bite of his apple and continued, "Ten days later, the Dragon Gate Examination will begin, just like in previous years, and will last for one day."

The Emperor only gave Yi Shen and Lin Kuo ten days. During this period, they not only had to clarify the duties of each official, but also ensure that there would be no problems during lunchtime for the candidates in the morning and afternoon exams. More importantly, they had to ensure that the candidates' scores were genuine and that no one could impersonate them.

If anything goes wrong, Yi Shen and Lin Kuo will not escape punishment.

Master Sun said, “I will be with you, but you can’t rely on me for everything. There will be times when I’m not around. Although you two have a principal and a deputy, don’t harbor any resentment towards each other. You should discuss everything together.”

"More importantly, neither of you should be left alone."

If even one of them is left alone, or lacks a witness, an overwhelming barrage of accusations will swarm towards that person, devouring their flesh and leaving only their unjustly accused bones.

The Emperor only gave the two of them ten days to prepare. The two were from aristocratic families and did not have a deep understanding of the official positions in the court. After dinner, they sat in the pavilion in the courtyard and listened to Master Sun talk about the allocation of official positions in the court. Although he was talking about the important duties of the official positions, Master Sun also talked about the people who held the positions. He could tell the temperament of a person in just a few words.

When asked about Li Xi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he said, "He is credible."

Speaking of the Minister of Rites and the Vice Minister of Rites, he said, "A smiling tiger and a stupid firecracker, the former can't be trusted at all, but the latter can be tricked into revealing everything."

"Wait, wait a minute!!" Lin Kuo raised his hand and said, "Wu Yin, isn't Ying Chang Wu Shilang's daughter!?"

Wu Yin, courtesy name Yingchang.

She was also a student of the school, well-educated, polite, humble, and orderly.

Master Sun glanced at Lin Kuo and said, "Yes, Ying Chang is indeed the daughter of that stupid firecracker. I don't know how that stupid firecracker could have given birth to such a daughter."

Lin Kuo said, "Master, Master, be careful with your words and actions."

"What's it to you?" Master Sun glanced at the distracted Yi Shen and said, "Alright, Yi Shen, what did I just say?"

Yi Shen looked up from the flower tucked in the book and said, "Wu Yin is the daughter of Wu Donggui, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Master Sun said, "Yes, but if you look at Xiao Qi's withered flower again, I will... throw it away!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Shen frowned slightly, turned a page, and firmly tucked the flower he had plucked from Wu Qi's hair between the pages.