Chapter 37 First Meeting with Fang Jingruo (Bonus Chapter with Nutrient Solution...)

Zhou She and the Imperial Guards got along fairly well.

Among a group of belligerent people, you must be even more belligerent than them; weakness and concession will not get you anywhere.

Unfortunately, Zhou She was a man who wouldn't listen to either soft or hard tactics.

With the imperial examinations drawing ever closer, and only two or three days left, his heart was pounding.

That day, he sat down at Xie Chaoxian's place to drink tea. As soon as he sat down, he asked, sweating profusely, "Does the Imperial Guard need more men?"

The exam questions were drafted yesterday, sealed in a box, and kept by both the Shuntian Prefecture and the Imperial Guards before being submitted to the Ministry of Rites for record-keeping.

At this point, their mission is half complete.

Xie Chaoxian smiled and said, "There's no need for that for now. Lord Ren is still asleep. He caught a slight cold yesterday and isn't feeling well, so we had to call the imperial physician."

Everyone knows about this incident; all three parties were present before someone was allowed to enter and receive treatment.

After he finished speaking, he noticed the dark circles under Zhou She's eyes and asked with concern, "Lord Zhou, you've been working hard these days. Thinking too much isn't a good thing. You should relax a bit."

Zhou She thought to himself, "How can I be at ease?"

You, Xie Chaoxian, are clearly hiding something from me. And the Emperor, with his ever-watchful, amused expression, will be in a bad mood whenever he sees you.

However, there was some truth to what he said, so he finished his tea in one gulp, and like a cow chewing on a peony, he stood up and said, "Very well, I'll go out for a stroll again. Thank you, sir, I won't bother you any longer."

Xie Chaoxian got up to see him off. After taking a few steps, Zhou She suddenly remembered something and turned back to say, "I have already discussed it with Lord Shen Mingzhe. There are some vacant school buildings in the Imperial Academy that can be temporarily borrowed."

"Lord Zhou has gone to great lengths." Xie Chaoxian was surprised, and his expression became somewhat solemn. He bowed slightly and said, "Thank you."

Zhou She returned the greeting with a bow.

He left the government office and wandered around with the flow of people, looking for any loopholes. He came to a bookstore under a sign with an oilcloth hanging up.

The imperial examination system has evolved into a well-established and comprehensive pathway to success.

Just like the college entrance examination in my previous life, all kinds of tutoring books have emerged one after another. As for "Three Hundred Questions from That Year" and "The Latest Exam Prediction of Hong'an in Twenty-Four Years", they are naturally indispensable.

Zhou She casually flipped through a book, which was filled with prediction question banks. Unfortunately, although he could read, he couldn't understand the meaning of the words when they were written together, and for the first time, he felt a pang of regret for the time he had wasted.

As he was flipping through the books, someone approached him, rubbing their hands together and saying, "Sir, if you're not going to buy these books, don't bother flipping through them."

Zhou She closed the book, about to put it back, but then touched the pages and caught a glimpse of familiar lines. He suddenly smiled: "This is the latest predicted topic? Was it accurate?"

"What are you saying, sir?" The waiter, seeing that he was dressed in fine clothes, was willing to say a few more words, and quickly clarified, "We are a century-old establishment. Every year before the imperial examinations, we predict the questions. Who dares to guarantee anything? But we are at least this confident. Just wait and see!"

The waiter held up three fingers, and Zhou She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Thirty percent certainty?"

"There's only a 30% chance it won't work!"

Zhou She was so amused by him that he almost burst out laughing, and readily agreed, "Then I'll buy it."

The queue was quite long.

A young man in his early twenties, dressed in a scholar's robe, stood in front of him. He handed him the book and then took out money from his bag.

Zhou She watched him rummage through the package, his hands searching inside. He looked up in shock, even his panic slowing: "Who stole my money?!"

Zhou She: "..." This guy seems really stupid. Can he really pass the exam?

Out of sympathy, seeing the other person's panicked appearance, he finally said, "I'll pay for you."

The young man thanked him repeatedly, and finally said, "...Actually, I'm not planning to take it anymore."

After all, he was penniless and couldn't even afford a place to stay. The temples outside the city were cheap, but they weren't free.

Zhou She gave him a clear direction: "Go that way, find the Imperial Academy, and stay there."

After saying that, he shook his money pouch, very stingily took out half a gold bar, and solemnly handed it to him: "You can borrow it for now."

The young man held the small piece of gold, moved yet puzzled: "How can I return it to you?"

Although he actually couldn't afford to pay it back.

Zhou She said quietly, "Go back and put the money back next to the statue of Confucius outside the Imperial College. There's an iron frame there. Put it in there and someone will take it."

Let's just donate it to the Imperial Academy, so that Shen Mingzhe won't keep cursing at us when he sees it.

After Zhou She finished speaking, he rolled up his book "Secrets to Predicting the Imperial Examination Questions" and was about to leave when two Imperial Guards soldiers approached from a distance. Seeing him there, they hurriedly said, "Lord Zhou, there's a commotion at the city gate. Lord Cheng says someone is causing trouble."

Before Zhou She could speak, he turned to leave, but the young man behind him suddenly stepped forward, his eyes sparkling, and asked softly, "Lord Zhou? May I ask your esteemed name, sir? I am here to meet you."

Zhou She: "..."

He pulled back the leg he had taken, turned his head and asked, "What is Cheng Rong doing? Tell him to keep an eye on things!"

After thinking for a moment and realizing it was inappropriate, he changed his tone and said gently, "You all go back first. Please ask Lord Cheng to keep a close eye on things. I will thank him when I get back."

The two soldiers exchanged a glance, grinned, agreed, and turned to leave.

Zhou She turned his head, looked Fang Jingruo up and down, and slowly asked, "Fang Jingruo from Datong?"

Fang Jingruo, in this atmosphere, also confirmed his identity and cupped her hands, saying, "It is indeed me."

Zhou She's first thought was to take Fang Jingruo to a place to sit for a while, but he quickly stopped himself from doing so.

At this point, Zhou She was no longer stingy and didn't even need to return the money, but in the end, he still said, "Since you are a candidate this year, and I have some connection with the imperial examination, I won't invite you to stay at my home."

Hmm, why does he feel inexplicably guilty?

Fang Jingruo didn't need to say more; he naturally understood: "Lord Zhou... Lord Zhou's timely help is beyond repayment."

The two exchanged only a few words before parting ways due to their own commitments, promising to congratulate each other again on the day of their academic success.

When Zhou She arrived at the city gate, the troublemakers had already been stopped, and everything was peaceful.

Cheng Rong waited for a long time before he finally came over. He crossed his arms and pretended to be angry, asking, "Where have you been gallivanting off to?"

Zhou She stood beside him and said slowly, "I ran into an acquaintance."

Cheng Rong chuckled twice: "I know, you are..."

He pondered for a moment, then came up with a phrase that perfectly described Zhou She: "a social butterfly of the capital."

Zhou She looked at him silently, then couldn't help but say, "Don't try to imitate Tianmu anymore..."

It doesn't sound like something nice, but it doesn't seem like he's insulting himself either.

Zhou She felt the same way his parents felt in later generations: that the heavens had corrupted him.

Cheng Rong calmly said, "The boss told me before he went to his post that the imperial examination is of great importance and cannot be neglected. You can't let your guard down either."

Zhou She took a step back and looked around: "Thank you for looking after me. I'll go to the palace first and report something to His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Rong was speechless and could only say, "Go and come back soon."

The practice question bank I just bought is still slightly warm, and there are two seemingly plausible sentences inside.

Others couldn't understand it, and in fact, Zhou She couldn't understand it either.

Because it was a fake question he had stuffed in to muddy the waters, he casually deleted a word from the original sentence and then randomly put together a messy collection of fragments.

Who knew that by such a coincidence, the information was leaked and he happened to buy it.

He knew that someone was causing trouble in the shadows.

Zhou She rushed back to the Qianqing Palace. The emperor had just finished reviewing the memorials and was holding the sixth prince, his face full of joy. However, the sixth prince himself was clearly not happy, his hands pressed tightly against the emperor's chest.

Huai Leju stood behind him, his face still silent.

Zhou She met his gaze.

Is His Majesty in a good mood?

"It's acceptable."

Is His Highness doing well?

"It's acceptable."

'No other questions... Never mind, asking you is pointless.'

Zhou She turned his face away speechlessly and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I have something important to report."

Upon seeing him, the emperor, in a cheerful mood, first shoved the sixth prince into Zhou She's arms and asked with a smile, "What is it?"

"I have met Fang Jingruo."

Regardless of Zhou She and the Emperor's mood, the Sixth Prince's mood instantly brightened, and even his smile became more powerful.

The emperor walked back to the soft chair and sat down, slowly saying, "He came to see you?"

"It was a chance encounter," Zhou She explained. "I happened to run into him, and I am worried, as this person has some connection with me. I beg Your Majesty's instruction, should he be removed from his post to prevent..."

Before he could finish speaking, the emperor calmly rejected him, saying, "What kind of relationship is this? If that's the case, then everyone in the world should avoid suspicion."

As he spoke, seemingly making a point, his gaze swept over the solemnly standing figure beside him, Wylie.

"It was my fault for speaking out of turn." Zhou She quickly lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and then asked, "I heard that the chief examiner, Lord Ren, fell seriously ill as soon as he entered the examination hall. I am afraid that he will miss the spring examination. I wonder if it is necessary to send more imperial physicians?"

"Are you concerned about Ren Huayang?"

Zhou She replied, "I have heard that Lord Ren has been ill, and I fear that this may cause some delay."

The emperor stared at him, saw a respectful face, and said sternly, "He's perfectly healthy, why do you need to worry about him? I heard that you and Cheng Rong got into a fight, aren't you worried about breaking your leg?"

Although his tone sounded cold and hard, Zhou She took it as concern for him: "We became friends after our fight, and I am in good health."

The emperor chuckled and ignored him.

Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood, Zhou She finally revealed his true intentions: "Your Majesty, I just strolled around the various bookstores and, by sheer coincidence, I managed to buy some of the newly released exam questions."

The emperor frowned, sensing something was wrong with his words: "Speak plainly. All this beating around the bush, I think you've learned the opposite of what your father did!"

Zhou She knelt down: "Your Majesty, I have seen the question bank, and two of the sentences in it are exactly the same as the wrong sentences I used to mislead you. I am extremely alarmed. Please, Your Majesty, decide whether the questions for this year's imperial examination need to be revised?"

As the voice spoke, Zhou She took out the thin book from his bosom and presented it with both hands.

The emperor snatched the book and flipped through a few pages. The ink was still glossy black, clearly indicating that it had been printed recently.

Are you sure?

"I believe that caution should be the priority."

After chatting for a while, Zhou She left the palace gate, his face immediately darkening.

What's this newly released question bank?

Printing takes time; if it just came out today, it certainly wasn't received yesterday. Ren Huayang only decided on the topic yesterday, he hasn't even had a chance to catch his breath yet.

A casual attempt yielded unexpected results.

Whether it's true or not, since someone is causing trouble, it's not unreasonable for him to get involved, is it?

The imperial examinations officially began on the ninth day of the second lunar month.

Zhou She had already arrived at the examination hall. The official road was densely packed with soldiers on patrol, including members of the Imperial Guard and Xie Chaoxian's men.

It was still late at night, the stars were numerous, and torches stood on both sides of the pipe, illuminating the area brightly. Only after everything was prepared did he finally see the true faces of the two examiners for the first time.

One of the examiners, Lord Ren, was a frail old man. Although he was wearing a bright red official robe, he still looked shaky. However, his complexion was ruddy, even better than that of many young people.

The other examiner was named Qi Heyong, who appeared to be a frail scholar. His resume was inferior to Ren Huayang's, so he prioritized Ren in everything and was a man without any sharp edges.

After the chief and deputy examiners offered sacrifices to heaven, earth, and spirits, and paid homage to Confucius, the candidates outside the gate had already gathered.

With a loud boom, the gate opened, and the candidates filed in. Zhou She stood to the side, watching vigilantly and attentively as the soldiers checked each candidate.

Ren Huayang seemed to recognize Zhou She and slowly walked to his side: "More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Ruochuan, you've grown up so much."

Zhou She was stunned.

He thought his memory was quite good, but staring at Lord Ren's wrinkled face, he couldn't remember when he had seen him before, so he could only say, "Lord Ren is also... in good health."

Ren Huayang knew he didn't remember him, so he shook his head and wasn't angry: "When you were born, I came with Prime Minister Xiao to congratulate you, so it's normal that you don't remember. After all these years, you've indeed grown into a handsome young man."

Zhou She thought to himself, "I should remember you, after all, he's a fake baby."

While keeping an eye on the progress of the body search, he chatted idly with Ren Huayang, which made him even more vigilant.

Seeing that there were too many people behind him, Cheng Rong simply took matters into his own hands, calling out to the candidates and feeling their bodies all over. Finding nothing wrong, he casually said, "Pass."

The candidate felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately ran away.

Zhou She stared intently at the man's face, sensing something was amiss. He stepped forward and stopped him, saying, "Come here."

To everyone's surprise, with a soft shout, the examinee pulled his leg back and started walking, almost jogging!

Now everyone knew something was wrong.

Several soldiers rushed forward, dragged the man back, and quickly searched his entire body again.

This time, a thin, narrow piece was found in the middle of the fabric. It was originally sewn into the very center of the fabric and covered with small characters written with mouse whiskers, yet each character was still clearly visible.

The strip of cloth was presented to Ren Huayang.

Ren Huayang's hands trembled as he put on his glasses and squinted to take a look.

Before anyone present could react, Lord Ren stood there for a moment, his previously rosy face turning deathly pale, as if he had been struck on the head with a blunt object. His body swayed uncontrollably, and he fell backward on the spot.