In the restaurant, there was a bustling atmosphere of talking and laughing, and the sound of stringed instruments disturbed the ears.

Behind the shadowy grille door, two people sat opposite each other. One of them wore a dark cloak with his face hidden, and the other one looked majestic with a gleam in his eyes.

The conversation was blurry and only a few words could be heard.

"Marquis Dingbei is returning to the capital. His Majesty has told us to keep everything simple. There are only three guards around him. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."

"No matter how skilled Xiao Fu's men are, they can't resist hundreds of assassins even if they can climb walls and fly over rooftops! Marquis Dingbei will surely die! We must kill him on the spot before he enters Jinling..."

In late October, flowers turn cold and leaves fall.

Outside the city of Jinling, the wheels of a carriage creaked past. In front of the carriage, the man in black who was driving the horse rolled up his sleeves and slowly grasped the reins, saying to the carriage: "My Lord, we are about to enter Jinling. We have had a smooth journey. The ambush you mentioned... we didn't even see its shadow. After all, we didn't bring any troops with us, and we strictly blocked the news. Maybe no one will know that you have returned from the interior."

The carriage was hung with a bamboo curtain, which was half lifted and exuded a faint smell of alcohol.

All that could be seen was a pale bare foot peeking out from under the ostentatious corner of the red dress woven with gold satin.

The voice also swayed lazily with the carriage: "No hurry, there are still sixty miles to go before entering the city gate."

"But..." The guard was about to say something when he heard leaves falling not far away. He pricked up his ears and grabbed the reins: "Whoa--"

“Isn’t this coming?”

Xiao Fu walked neither hurriedly nor slowly, with a part of his wrist exposed from his wide sleeves, a white jade wine cup grasped between his slender fingers. He leaned lazily on the gorgeous silk brocade cushion.

In the woods, a dense crowd of people in black surrounded the carriage.

"My Lord, they are assassins!" The guard's face also became serious. He drew out his scimitar and scanned the area. "There are at least a hundred of them."

Another tall guard holding a crossbow said disdainfully: "A mere hundred dead warriors are less than one thousandth of the enemy troops that died at the hands of my two brothers!"

There was another child standing nearby, who looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, with slightly dark skin, rosy cheeks, and innocent and clear eyes, but he carried two maces on his back that were taller than the others.

The child crossed his hands and held the two black maces without saying a word.

The sound of breaking wind rang out sharply, and dark clouds of arrows came rushing towards them! The three men swung their weapons with grim expressions, cutting the reins first to prevent the horses from being startled and running away.

Sword lights danced up and down, and the three men protected their master perfectly, keeping the carriage intact.

The tip of the arrow hit the weapon with a "clang" sound. The crisp and melodious sound of the golden sword was exactly what Xiao Fu had heard day and night in the past five years.

Suddenly, there was a sharp "swish" sound, and a poisoned arrow pierced through the bamboo curtain!

Xiao Fu quickly turned his face to the side, and his seemingly casual posture suddenly tensed up. Unexpected explosive power burst out from him, and the arrow just grazed his cheek and nailed into the wall of the carriage.

Xiao Fu's face, which was originally smiling naturally, suddenly turned cold.

There were corpses everywhere outside.

Guard: "My Lord, are you still chasing?"

"Kill them all." The tone was sinister, completely different from before.

The two guards nodded, knowing what he meant, that even the person who went back to report the news would not be spared, and they flew off to chase after him.

The black-clad assassins had no time to escape, their pupils constricted, as if they had not expected that there were only three people around Marquis Dingbei, but they were masters among masters! The two Chen brothers are fine, but that kid is even more terrifying! With his brute force, he could move mountains and lift tripods. His black mace swept across, causing countless casualties!

These assassins were extremely professional and committed suicide by taking poison before the guards could interrogate them.

The guard checked and shook his head, saying, "My Lord, there are no obvious marks on the weapons of these assassins. These weapons are well made, not inferior to those of the Weiwei Temple."

Xiao Fu mocked in a low voice: "How many people in the world can afford to support so many assassins? You can count them on your hands."

The bamboo curtain, which had become riddled with holes, had already fallen to the ground. A wind carrying a strong smell of blood blew over, and the flamboyant red clothes covered the pale bare feet.

Xiao Fu stood up and got off the rickety carriage. He glanced at the fallen warriors and ordered, "Yuan Qing, you must return to the capital to see the emperor immediately and tell him..."

Xiao Fu paused and looked towards the top of a mountain not far away, where a green rooftop was flying out from among the golden mangrove trees.

The guard looked over and said, "My Lord, that is the Xingzhiguan."

Xiao Fu nodded and said slowly, "Yuanqing, if the emperor asks, tell him that his uncle was assassinated in the suburbs of Beijing and was seriously injured. It is inconvenient to move, so he is recuperating in the Taoist temple in the suburbs of Beijing. He will return to the palace to report after his injuries are fully recovered. I hope he won't blame me."

Yuan Qing nodded in agreement, then with a light kick, he disappeared. Yuan Wu blew the whistle to lure the frightened horses back, stretched out his hand to calm them for a long time, and then led the horses to take Xiao Fu and the child up the mountain.

At the same time, on the streets of Jinling City, in front of the residence of Xiao, the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

A visiting card and three framed paintings and calligraphy flew out from the door and hit Lin Zikui on the head.

He groaned and covered his head in pain.

"Young Master!" The young servant at the side was anxious. He glared at the gatekeeper of the Xiao Mansion and shouted, "My young master is the future son-in-law of Mr. Xiao! How dare you, a guard, do this to my young master?!"

"Mo Liu! This is Jinling, don't talk nonsense." Lin Zikui stopped him, rubbed his head, squatted down and groped to pick up the scattered calligraphy and paintings on the ground.

The book boy sniffed and turned his head away angrily: "Sir, let Mo Liu come, you can't see clearly."

The guard still had an arrogant look on his face, pointing at Lin Zikui and saying, "You are just a jerk! Do you think you can marry into the Xiao family?"

Mo Liu: "What's wrong with peeking eyes? Do you look down on peeking eyes?"

"You look down on me! Get out!" The guard threw the box down together, and this time it hit the servant boy right on the body, making a muffled sound.

Seeing this, Lin Zikui straightened his hunched back and asked anxiously, "Mo Liu! Are you okay?"

The book boy whispered: "Master, I'm fine."

Lin Zikui pulled him behind him and pointed at the guard, saying, "You are so old, yet you bully a child! How rude! Is this the behavior of the gatekeeper of Lord Xiao's house? If my teacher, the censor, finds out, he will definitely report you!"

As soon as the word "censor" came out, the guard was dumbfounded: "You, this, this, has nothing to do with our master! Don't make up stories without any basis!"

"That is to say, Master Xiao didn't know that Lin was visiting? But you insisted on stopping him?"

The guard couldn't say it, and the master didn't say it explicitly, but he rejected Lin Zikui's visiting cards several times. Everyone in the mansion understood what it meant.

How could their second daughter marry such a half-blind and poor scholar?

Lin Zikui heard him silent, cupped his hands and continued, "Lin is a humble person, but my father and Mr. Xiao of your family have arranged a marriage for me and the second Miss Xiao. As the saying goes, parents' orders and matchmaker's words, now my father has passed away, the Xiao family really does not recognize this marriage, but we must treat it with courtesy and talk to each other face to face." His voice was not loud, nor high, but every word was precious: "May I ask this young man, has Mr. Xiao said in person that he does not want to see me? Does he not recognize me?"

——He is indeed a scholar, and he is very eloquent.

The guard was silent for a moment, not daring to scold him, and said, "The master is really not at home, Master Lin, please leave quickly!"

Lin Zikui asked: "Is the second young lady here?"

The guard evaded the question by saying, "Our second daughter and the old lady went to the Xingzhi Temple to burn incense. They won't be back for at least a few months!"

Lin Zikui clenched the calligraphy and painting in his hand, arched his hands, turned around, tilted his head and whispered: "Mo Liu, let's go back."

"Yes... Sir."

The little book boy was estimated to be twelve or thirteen years old, with a childish face. He muttered in a low voice: "Isn't he just a director of the Ministry of Revenue? He was just promoted to the sixth rank, but he is so far above the top! You have been in Nanjing for two months, and you have sent visiting cards several times, but no one from his house has replied. Today you came in person, and it turns out to be like this..."

"Mo Liu." Lin Zikui interrupted him, "I've told you so many times, be careful with your words and actions."

Mo Liu lowered his head even lower and held Lin Zikui's hand: "Sir, your eyesight is not good, please go slowly."

"I can see the road clearly. You don't have to treat me as a blind man."

"That's what the doctor said. If you don't take good care of it, you may become blind in the future. What should you do then?"

Lin Zikui smiled, with a hazy light in his eyes: "In the past six months, I have followed the doctor's advice and applied some herbal medicine, and rarely seen the light. Today, I took off the blindfold and can see your face clearly. I think you are much better." As he said, he grabbed Mo Liu's sleeve and walked to the side, "Look, is there a carriage over there?"

"…Sir, that's a donkey."

"Oh, horses and donkeys, they are all the same."

Walking slowly along the street, Lin Zikui and his servant entered an antique calligraphy and painting shop.

"Sir, are you here to see calligraphy and paintings?" The shopkeeper greeted Lin Zikui, looking him up and down.

The young man was dressed neatly in a white cotton shirt, looking very scholarly, with a gentle and elegant face, but he did not look like someone from a wealthy family.

As expected, Lin Zikui brought the calligraphy and painting over and said, "Are you willing to accept any calligraphy or painting?"

The shopkeeper behind the table raised his hand: "What kind of calligraphy and painting is it? What dynasty is it from?"

"This..." Lin Zikui was slightly embarrassed, "It's from last month."

"Oh? Whose?"

Lin Zikui spread out the painting.

The shopkeeper glanced at the elegant calligraphy and exquisite paintings, then squinted at the red seal: "Lin Huaifu? Who is he?"

Lin Zikui bowed implicitly: "It is me, Huaifu is my courtesy name."

"Your calligraphy is good, and your painting is also good," the shopkeeper said indifferently, "I'll give you this amount." He stretched out his palm.

Mo Liu: "Five taels?"

The shopkeeper stroked his beard and said, "Five hundred coins for three pieces."

Mo Liu hurriedly took back the calligraphy and painting: "Five hundred coins! Bah! It's not even enough to buy my son's ink and brush! This is painted with the finest She inkstone!"

"Poor scholar, huh? Sheyan? You're just talking nonsense without thinking."

"It's the She Inkstone! This was given to our son by Master Tang, the Grand Secretary of Jianji Palace! You don't know its value!"

Lin Zikui shook his head gently: "Mo Liu..."

Mo Liu turned his head and opened his eyes wide: "No way, sir, why are you selling it at such a low price of 500 Wen?"

Lin Zikui hesitated and shook his head: "Let's go. Sorry to bother the shopkeeper."

He politely said goodbye, and the master and servant went to several calligraphy and painting shops, but were repeatedly turned down. These paintings are indeed masterpieces in terms of craftsmanship and artistic conception. The paper and ink used are also of the best quality. If Lin Zikui had not planned to pay a visit to Lord Xiao, he would not have been willing to use such rare and expensive paper and ink.

But this is Jinling, what haven’t the dignitaries seen here?

The calligraphy and paintings of an unknown person like Lin Zikui will definitely not be sold here.

Unable to sell the paintings, he returned to Yingtianfu Academy dejected. The next day, there was another knock on the door.

Mo Liu got up early and answered the door. The room was filled with morning mist and the scent of ink. Lin Zikui was sitting on the bed holding a book. His eyelids were covered with a layer of black cloth. The light from the window shone on his side face. The transparent down on his cheek was like a layer of white frost.

His thumb gently rubbed across the rough surface of the paper, as if he could touch the words.

The sound of conversation outside came into my ears.

"Mo Liu, your young master has not yet paid the food allowance for last month. I dare not extend it for you any longer..."

"Give me a few more days, maybe? My son will definitely pass the imperial examination next year! I won't forget you then."

"Hey... this, why don't you look for another place? There are a few good temples outside Jinling City, with cheap food and accommodation. You should know that the current Minister of Personnel studied hard in Xingzhi Temple and won the first place! The temple is dedicated to Wenchang, and many candidates went there to prepare for the exam in the past few years."

"Practice, stop and observe?"

When Lin Zikui heard these three words, his heart moved.

"Sir, are we really going to leave Yingtianfu Academy?"

Lin Zikui nodded: "Yes, the doctor once told me that climbing high and looking far would help my eyes recover. Besides, we don't have much money left. We have to take care of the Yingtianfu Academy... and the funding for the imperial examinations from the prefectural academy is not much left. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to the spring exam next year."

Mo Liu said, "You still have your ancestral property. You can sell it for a few hundred taels of silver. It should be enough to hold on until the spring exam."

Lin Zikui refused outright: "You must not sell the ancestral property. It was left to me by my parents. Don't mention it again in the future."

Two days later, Lin Zikui packed his bag, put on his registration box, and led his servant out of the north gate.

A line of imperial soldiers rode past them arrogantly, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

The journey of fifty or sixty miles took Lin Zikui, a frail scholar, three days with his young servant.

When he arrived at the Xingzhiguan, Lin Zikui was covered in dust, and his shoes and robe were extremely dirty. He couldn't see the way up the mountain clearly, and Mo Liu was too weak to hold him up, so Lin Zikui always fell.

There was a pair of couplets on both sides of the temple's outer gate. Lin Zikui couldn't see clearly, so he asked Mo Liu: "What's written on the couplets?"

"Sir, it says above, kneeling for a long time to ask for the Tao, the universe is a mirror, then I realized that the Tao cannot be talked about, and I should do it when I should do it; sitting at the gate of the mountain temple, the sun and the moon are twin balls, then I know that there is a world beyond the sky, and I should stop when I should stop."

Mo Liu is young and knows quite a few words. He is Lin Zikui's eyes.

Lin Zikui nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "Good! Good, when you should act, act; when you should stop, stop at the material world, and use the objects to cleanse your mind. This is a good way to act, stop, and observe."

As he was sighing with emotion, he suddenly noticed a low-key and elegant carriage parked nearby, with several fine horses. He wondered who was visiting.

Mo Liu climbed the stairs and knocked on the door of the Taoist temple. After a while, a young Taoist priest opened the door. Lin Zikui explained his purpose: "Master, I am Lin Zikui from Huainan. I am going to Beijing for the imperial examination. I would like to stay in Xingzhi Temple for a while to concentrate on reviewing. I wonder if your temple is convenient for you?"

The Taoist looked at him in surprise, then carefully read his pass certificate and the provincial examination documents issued by the Huainan County Magistrate. Seeing that this person looked a little embarrassed, but had a gentle and mellow temperament, gentle and refined, and extraordinary appearance, he politely introduced him, "Mr. Lin, please follow me."

"Thank you, Taoist priest," Lin Zikui lifted up his skirt and stepped over the threshold with his left foot. "Excuse me, Taoist priest, those carriages and horses are..."

The Taoist priest whispered, "There are distinguished people in the temple. They are from the capital looking for someone. They should be high-ranking officials. It seems that their surname is Xiao."

Lin Zikui was slightly dazed.

——It turned out to be Miss Xiao Er, his wife-to-be.