Seeing that the other party was still trying to persuade him, Yang Qiguang changed the subject and said with some concern, "In the next few days, you should also avoid going to other study rooms. Liu Wenge suffered a loss today and will definitely not let us off the hook."
If he can't find me, he might make things difficult for you, and he might even make these study rooms refuse to accept the books you're copying.
"Or, why don't you hide with me? If we can just hide for a while, once Liu Wenge finds something else to amuse himself, he definitely won't come looking for us again."
In the past, whenever Liu Wenge humiliated him, he knew he could have some peace and quiet for a while. But this time, Liu Wenge had suffered such a great loss today, and he would definitely not let them off easily.
Seeing that he was quite frightened and his face had turned pale, Gao Yang quickly smiled and said, "Don't scare yourself. After Princess Ning'an's lecture, Liu Wenge will definitely not dare to bully us again."
As long as we're careful and don't get too close to him, he won't continue to target us.
Yang Qiguang responded but didn't say anything more. However, he was still a little uneasy and remained vigilant on the way back, which made Gao Yang laugh for a while.
The two walked all the way to Changyue Street, then turned into several narrow alleys before parting ways.
The anxiety that had been on Yang Qiguang's face disappeared, replaced by a look of pain.
He limped toward his home, his calves aching terribly with every step.
His leg had been kicked a few times by those people, but he hadn't said anything to avoid worrying Gao Yang. Now he felt an unusual pain in his calf, but fortunately no bone was broken and it would be fine in a few days.
It had rained in Beijing a few days ago, so the alleys here were all muddy.
His clothes were already covered in dust from the beating, and now, splashed with mud and water from the ground, his faded clothes were stained with mud, making him look awkward and strange.
He just sighed, looking at the low, dilapidated house at the corner of the alley, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness. Suddenly, a doubt arose in his heart: could he really pass the imperial examination this autumn?
The Great Jin Autumn Examination was originally held every two years. In principle, this year's examination would not be held until next year. The reason it was brought forward by a year was because of the war last year. Several prefectures had not recovered for a long time due to the war, which prevented the successful holding of the Autumn Examination.
So they had another chance, but this chance didn't seem to matter much to him.
Looking back, he felt he had a chance of passing the imperial examination last year, but he failed. This time, he didn't have much hope.
With his father's passing and having offended Liu Wenge, he actually has no intention of taking action now.
But Gao Yang said that they would definitely pass the exam this time.
His words made him somewhat hopeful, looking forward to the day when he could become an official.
*
Jiang Yimian has been at Baoxiangfang these past few days, working on the Beijing Times and thinking about some new incense pills.
Since there was still no news from the Bureau of Justice, she wasn't in a hurry. She spent her days playing with the white-tailed eagle and occasionally picking up the two little ones from school, which was quite relaxing and carefree.
Looking at the obedient white-tailed eagle sitting by the carved window, Liu'er found it amusing. "I wonder where Lord Lu got this white-tailed eagle. Not only is it obedient, but it also knows to come back for dinner every day."
As he spoke, he fed a small piece of meat into the eagle's beak.
The white-tailed eagle simply ate its meat quietly, without the slightest discomfort, as if life had always been like this.
If it weren't for the fact that its appearance clearly identified it as a sculptor, she might have thought it was a person; it was just too intelligent.
Jiang Yimian just smiled, staring at the white-tailed eagle, and was reminded of Mimi in the small depression.
It's been so long since I've seen Mimi, she must have grown even bigger. I wonder if Mimi is obedient now that she's not here.
After feeding the white-tailed eagle, Liu'er looked out the window and her gaze fell on the carriages in front of Yan Yue Pavilion. The more she looked, the more surprised she became. She asked curiously, "Miss, do you think the incense pills from Yan Yue Pavilion are really that good?"
The ladies go to buy incense balls almost every day, and especially in recent days, the number of people going has increased significantly.
Although carriages could be seen occasionally parked in front of Yan Yue Pavilion in the past, they were not very common.
In the past few days, she has clearly noticed that there are more carriages at Yan Yue Pavilion. Whenever she looks over, there are seven or eight carriages parked there, and they are all different. It is really hard not to notice them.
She felt that the incense pills from Baoxiangfang were not bad either, and those ladies were really too enamored with Qiu Niang.
Despite being confronted about the "sorrow-cutting" incident, the business has reopened as if nothing happened, with ladies still flocking to it, showing no signs of being affected.
If Baoxiangfang or other cosmetic shops had gone through that incident, they certainly wouldn't have any more customers, let alone be so lively.
Jiang Yimian simply said, "Who said going to Yan Yue Pavilion must be to buy incense pills?"
Liu'er was taken aback, and looked at the person who was writing something at the table with their head down. She asked curiously, "What else can you do at the incense pill shop if not buy incense pills? Does Yan Yue Pavilion sell other things?"
Although she had never been to Yan Yue Pavilion, she had heard that it was full of incense pills and nothing else. The paper-cutting and lipsticks that she had learned to make from Bao Xiang Fang were long gone.
After reopening, Yan Yue Pavilion kept a very low profile and didn't cause any trouble. They simply sold Qiu Niang's specialty, incense balls.
If those people went to Yan Yue Pavilion not to buy incense pills, what else could they be there for?
Thinking it over, she simply said, "Does the young lady suspect that Yan Yuege is making other deals with those ladies?"
Jiang Yimian remained noncommittal.
She didn't believe that Yan Yuege could win over so many noble people, including many famous wealthy people and officials' wives in the capital, simply by relying on incense pills.
Those people always thought too highly of themselves. If they were really interested in the incense pills, they could have had Yan Yuege deliver them to their door. There was no need for them to come in person.
They've come several times already; there must be something fishy going on.
However, she wasn't interested in this. As long as Yan Yuege didn't bother her, she wouldn't bother with him.
Just then, Yunniang walked in from outside, carrying several delicate little red lanterns in her hands.
"Yimian, look, this lantern is quite pretty. Ashu said that Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, so she specially went to buy it."
There are a few more large ones; we'll hang them up on Mid-Autumn Festival."
Many of the workers in Baoxiangfang are orphans, so much so that they always gather together during festivals.
After all these years, they've become a family.
When Liu'er saw the bright red lantern, she just smiled and said, "This lantern is quite pretty. I heard that the Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns in the capital are very lively. I wonder if it's true or not."
She had never seen them before, and was rather curious about what the Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns in the capital looked like.
Yunniang just smiled and said, "Of course it's true. You must come out to see the lanterns then, don't miss it."
The area around Changyue Street is especially lively, with a huge variety of vendors and lots of fun activities. It's even more bustling than our area!
By the way, those days also happened to be the wedding days of the second young master of the Lu family and Miss Xue. I reckon the Mid-Autumn Festival lantern festival will be even more lively this year.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
