Chapter 221 Extra 2[Extra]

Seeing that the two didn't speak, Jiang Xuezi was afraid that the two suckers would run away, and wondered if he should try to lower the price.

“Brother, I feel we get along very well, how about…” He wanted to say, “I can give you a discount.”

"I have ten thousand taels."

Gu Zhizhuo took out a silver note from his purse, held it between two fingers, and waved it in front of him. Jiang Xuezi could clearly see the words "Fenglong Money Shop" and the denomination on it...

Ten thousand taels!?

These two suckers actually managed to casually pull out ten thousand taels of silver!

Jiang Xuezi was stunned. He subconsciously reached out to grab it, but Gu Zhizhuo twisted his wrist and put the silver note back in his palm, scoffing, "Ten thousand taels is so easy to take? Who knows if your exam paper is real or fake?"

Jiang Xuezi licked his dry lips: "Of course it's true. This is the Eastern Depot..."

"I don't care where you came from. If you run away with my money today, I won't be able to catch you."

"What does Madam mean?"

"One thousand." Gu Zhizhuo crossed his arms and said, "If your question is true, we'll settle the balance after the exam."

Jiang Xuezi rubbed his hands: "This...this isn't quite right."

“You’re afraid I’ll cheat you out of nine thousand taels, but I’m more afraid you’ll extort ten thousand taels from me. Forget it.” After Gu Zhizhuo finished speaking, he turned to Xie Yingchen and said, “Let’s go. Even if you pass the exam, you’ll just be a poor county magistrate in a remote village. What’s so great about that? At worst, I’ll accompany you to take the exam every time, and we can buy an estate in the capital.”

“That’s right.” Xie Yingchen seemed to have been persuaded.

Gu Zhizhuo grabbed his sleeve and started to leave, but Jiang Xuezi panicked and quickly stopped them, saying, "Alright, alright, just one thousand taels, what about the nine thousand taels..."

"A businessman keeps his word."

Gu Zhizhuo took out another 1,000 tael silver note and handed it to Xie Yingchen.

Jiang Xuezi called him to a corner, secretly slipped him a piece of silk paper, took the silver note, examined it carefully, and then asked, "Where do you live, my worthy brother?"

Xie Yingchen casually gave the name of an inn. —One of Gu Zhizhuo's dowry items.

"I wish you success in the imperial examination."

With that, he grabbed the silver notes and ran off.

Xie Yingchen gestured for the guards to follow.

He casually led Gu Zhizhuo out of the mountain gate.

"Running this fast, you'd probably only sell it for a hundred taels elsewhere." Gu Zhizhuo leaned closer to him, tilted his head, and said cutely, "What a sucker."

"you?"

"you!"

Xie Yingchen pinched her cheek; it felt so good!

Xie Yingchen: "Let's go check if this exam paper is real."

If it's fake, then he's just a fraudster, nothing serious. We can just have the secret guards arrest him and send him to the Jingzhao Prefecture.

If true, it would involve a major case of leaked exam questions or even cheating in the imperial examinations.

The carriage stopped at the mountain gate. As soon as he got on, Gu Zhizhuo urged him to take a look.

Xie Yingchen unfolded the silk paper, and Gu Zhizhuo also leaned over, asking with great interest, "Is the question real?"

The exam questions were finalized at the end of last month and sealed with sealing wax.

Gu Zhizhuo had little interest in the imperial examinations and had never looked at the questions, but Xie Yingchen had reviewed them and had even set one of the questions.

He skimmed through it and nodded to Gu Zhizhuo, "That's true."

Wow!

Gu Zhizhu blinked.

So, it's a cheating scandal?

She clapped her hands and said, "No wonder those students' divination results were so strange. They must have bought the exam questions too."

If you prepare for this exam in advance, passing with flying colors won't be difficult.

However, if cheating is discovered, the consequence is the loss of academic honors.

One step to life, one step to death.

The hexagram formed by the young master's words to them was "Gen for Mountain," which meant failing the imperial examination.

Xie Yingchen handed her the silk paper: "Let's go back to the capital first, then we'll go see the fireworks."

The cheating has already happened, and there's still some time before Enco's election, so half a day won't make a difference.

Gu Zhizhuo leaned back lazily, and after reading it, he casually stuffed the silk paper into his purse and asked, "Why bring up the Eastern Depot?"

Xie Yingchen: "Someone wants to bring down Shen Xu."

Gu Zhizhuo sat up straight, raised an eyebrow at him, and after a slight delay, said with realization, "I understand."

"That guy surnamed Jiang is too stupid and too greedy."

She glanced in the direction of Taiqing Temple.

With the imperial examination approaching, most students who come to the capital to take the exam will go to the Taiqing Temple to draw a fortune stick for good luck. Moreover, the fortune sticks of Taiqing Temple are indeed accurate. Gu Zhizhuo heard his senior brother and the abbot talking about it. Any student who draws the best fortune stick will surely pass the exam with flying colors.

The man surnamed Jiang came here specifically to wait for his prey.

However, the sales were too ostentatious.

Xie Yingchen said gently, "The court is always fond of people trying to guess the emperor's intentions."

“It’s because you have too good a temper. If it were me…” Gu Zhizhuo rolled up his sleeve, revealing his fair forearm, “Hehehe.”

The carriage suddenly lurched, and before she could finish her triumphant declaration, she lost her balance and fell into his arms. Xie Yingchen caught her waist; with her soft, fragrant body in his embrace, who could resist?

Xie Yingchen leaned down and kissed the corner of her lips.

At first, it was just a light touch, but as he felt her response, his kiss deepened, yet remained gentle and tender, their breaths lingering on each other's lips.

The carriage chug along.

We returned to the capital before dusk.

The sky was not yet completely dark, and the twilight was like a thin veil. The red lanterns in the streets and alleys had already been lit, one after another, with light and shadow intertwining.

The capital city was quite lively during the Shangsi Festival. The long streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the crowds were huge, filled with laughter and joy.

When they were still half an hour away from the Meridian Gate, the carriage was already stuck in the crowd and couldn't get through, so the two of them decided to walk and join the fun.

The street vendors on both sides of the street called out their wares, displaying all sorts of trinkets on their stalls. Gu Zhizhuo would stop every now and then to take a look.

"Young Madam, look at the beaded hairpins. My wife made them herself."

"Come, come, come. Sugar cakes, three coins each."

"Guess the riddles and win a lantern! Come and see!"

"..."

Thump—

A gong and drum sounded.

Gu Zhizhuo pointed ahead with delight and exclaimed, "Chenchen, it's a juggling act!"

"Let's go take a look." Xie Yingchen protected her and squeezed into the crowd until they reached the front, where they saw a young girl standing on a high-hanging colorful ribbon.

The colorful ribbon hung as high as a story, swaying gently in the wind. The girl moved with graceful ease, leaping and bounding across the ribbon, sometimes flipping, sometimes soaring through the air, making Gu Zhizhuo hold his breath several times with tension. When she finally descended from the ribbon and landed steadily, Gu Zhizhuo clapped joyfully.

She took out a silver ingot and tossed it over.

She didn't like the next part, breaking large stones on her chest, so she dragged Xie Yingchen to play somewhere else.

The more you walk towards the Meridian Gate, the more people you'll encounter.

"Yaoyao, do you want a mask?"

mask?

Gu Zhizhuo suddenly noticed that the young people around him were all wearing masks with various patterns, colorful and quite beautiful.

"want!"

Xie Yingchen was about to say he would go buy it when she stopped him.

Gu Zhizhuo eagerly replied, "I won't buy it; let me win it back for you."

She pointed to the busiest stall in front of her, where three large nets were set up, with all sorts of trinkets hanging on them: round fans, bronze mirrors, lanterns, large lucky dolls, and a pair of masks.

These are a pair of cat masks, with the golden cat eyes painted exceptionally bright, making them look especially like a cat.

Gu Zhizhuo took a liking to it at first sight.

There was a long line at the stall, and it took them quite a while to get a turn.

The stall owner smiled and handed over the wooden bow and arrows: "One copper coin for one arrow."

Gu Zhizhuo gave him ten copper coins, took the wooden bow, and weighed it in his hand.

The bow was quite rudimentary; Gu Zhizhu could tell it was unstable the moment she held it. She tugged at the bowstring, which felt loose and flimsy, clearly not made of leather.

Judging from the tension of this bowstring, even if it is fully drawn, it would be difficult to hit a target thirty paces away.

Unfortunately, most of the prizes were placed around the 35th step.

No wonder so many people failed to hit the target earlier, and most of them paid several copper coins and left empty-handed. Even the stall owner next to him couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but say, "Hey, Old Liu, you're really dishonest in your business."

“What do you mean by dishonest? Huh? Aunt Wang, don’t talk nonsense.” Old Liu puffed out his chest. “It’s all clearly marked. You get whatever you shoot. It’s all based on your skill. I, Old Liu, mean what I say.”

"Can I adjust the bowstring?"

"No, no, that won't do."

Gu Zhizhuo didn't insist. He picked up a wooden arrow, nocked it on the string, and gestured with it.

Aunt Wang suggested, "Let your man come. Men are stronger. He should aim at the bronze mirror there. That's the best chance."

Hearing the words "your man" made Gu Zhizhuo blush and her breath catch in her throat slightly.

Xie Yingchen leaned down and whispered in her ear, "She's right."

What is that?

Gu Zhizhu glared at him sideways, and Xie Yingchen immediately said innocently, "I mean, Auntie is right... Tongjing recently..."

It's about thirty-two steps.

"I don't believe it!" Gu Zhizhuo snorted, then turned back and thanked her affectionately, "Thank you, Auntie. But I want those masks."

The mask was the furthest away and the smallest, so it was hard to get. Aunt Wang was worried for her.

Gu Zhizhuo drew his bow and fired the first arrow. The arrow lost its force when it reached the middle. When it was still two or three steps away from the mask, the wooden arrow wobbled and fell to the ground.

Aunt Wang slapped her thigh in regret.

Old Liu feigned regret: "You still have nine arrows left, you're sure to hit the target."

Thank you for your kind words.

The second arrow also missed. Gu Zhizhuo drew the bowstring taut, and the distance was a little closer, but the accuracy was even further off, at least a step off, and he almost hit a round fan next to him.

"What a pity."

The onlookers were all filled with regret.

“This one is easy to win,” someone said, pointing to a bamboo basket.

"And that straw hat is nearby too."

They all chimed in, offering their opinions. In their view, anything was acceptable as long as it hit the target.

The third arrow, when it was halfway through its flight, was suddenly blown off course by a gust of wind. The wooden arrow was very light, and the wind caused it to fall to the ground.

Sighs rippled through the crowd, thinking to themselves: Old Liu is going to get those ten copper coins for nothing again.

"Chenchen, watch this!"

Gu Zhizhuo had already figured out how to use the bow. When she got to the fourth wooden arrow, her posture suddenly changed a little. Although she was still bending the bow and drawing the string in the same way, she was now more serious than before.

Whoosh!

An arrow struck the mask squarely, and the fox mask hanging on the net fell down.

Xie Yingchen applauded her enthusiastically.

Old Liu picked up the mask, his smile a little stiff. It was a coincidence, definitely a coincidence.

The fifth arrow.

Another mask fell down, making a pair.

Gu Zhizhuo took the mask from Old Liu's hand. Seeing that he was almost crying, he smiled and said, "Didn't you say that everything depends on ability and that you mean what you say?"

Old Liu's smile was more like a grimace as he watched helplessly as she fired her next five arrows, each one hitting its mark.

He took an ebony comb, a wooden box, and a pair of clay dolls.

However, the most valuable item on his stall was a pair of silver bracelets. Seeing that she didn't take them, Old Liu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and happily gave her several worthless trinkets.

"Old Liu, you've finally met your match," Aunt Wang and several other acquaintances jeered. "Serves you right for cheating people."

"Go away, go away. This old man's word is law..."

Gu Zhizhuo chimed in, "Then let's have ten more arrows."

Old Liu repeatedly cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "No, no, Grandma."

Gu Zhizhuo smiled and took back the copper coins. She then gave the ebony comb and wooden box to Aunt Wang, who had kindly reminded her, and squeezed out of the crowd with the mud doll and mask.

"Lower your head."

Xie Yingchen obediently lowered his head as instructed, letting her put the mask on him and tighten the strings.

Each person wore a mask, and the two smiled at each other.

Young men and women hurried past them, calling out to each other:

"Hurry up, the fireworks are about to start."

"Wait for me."

The two followed the flow of people at a leisurely pace. When they reached the Meridian Gate, the night sky was suddenly lit up. The first firework exploded overhead, bursting into brilliant light that instantly filled the entire sky.

Fireworks bloomed one by one.

Unable to squeeze through the crowd, the two decided not to go up to the city wall and instead stood in the crowd watching the fireworks together.

The air was filled with joyful laughter.

After the fireworks faded and the crowd gradually dispersed, the two of them strolled leisurely toward the palace gate.

I just walked out of the crowd.

Gu Zhizhuo paused, nudged Xie Yingchen with her elbow, and gestured for him to look to the right.

Then they saw a familiar figure dressed in bright red brocade robes standing under the candlelight of the red lanterns, looking at them with a half-smile.

Gu Zhizhuo waved his hand and said, "Here."

Shen Xu: "..."

Their strange, ambiguous demeanor suggests they've been waiting for them for a long time.

Shen Xu walked over and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Supervisor Shen,” Xie Yingchen smiled slightly, his tone as gentle as ever, “you’ve come about the matter of cheating in the imperial examinations?”

Shen Xu raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

Xie Yingchen: "I was just about to call you over to discuss something. The special examination is coming up, but now there's been a cheating scandal, which is really worrying."

Shen Xu: "..."

He silently glanced at the fox spirit masks they wore on their foreheads, the lanterns in their hands, and the pile of "junk" in their arms.

Hurry? That's it?!

A note from the author: