"Jingxiu, wait! You can't abandon your brothers!" The scholar clutching his belt said, his voice trembling with tears.
"Quickly, push off with your feet."
With the help of the coachman, Zhen Jingxiu boarded the carriage. Everyone respected him, and he felt embarrassed to leave them behind and run away on his own.
He pulled the scholars onto the carriage shaft while urging them loudly.
It's often said that scholars are useless, and there's some truth to that.
The more anxious the scholars were, the weaker their legs became. They pushed and shoved each other, and some of them had only climbed halfway when their classmates pulled them down from behind.
Fortunately, the coachman was strong enough to lift everyone up onto the carriage in one hand, and the carriage was packed with people, leaving no space on the shaft.
"Brother, hurry, run!" As the crowd drew closer, the scholar next to the coachman reached out and grabbed him around the waist.
The coachman: "..." The carriage was almost crushed, and calling for an old man was no use.
The coachman raised his whip, gritted his teeth, and lashed it out.
Normally he would never whip a horse, but seeing the carriage full of scholars looking pale with fright, he had no choice but to take a gamble.
Because there were too many people on the carriage, the horse could only move a distance of about ten feet before stopping, no matter how hard it tried.
Lin Xiangzhi was safe. In order not to arouse suspicion, he leisurely looked at the list.
The top spot on the list was clearly written as Zhen Jingxiu, followed by Su Jin, and so on.
It's all over!
I came in eighth place.
Just as he was about to check if Xie Yunchen was on the list again, he heard a flurry of shouts and screams behind him.
"They're here! Run! To the left!"
Lin Xiangzhi looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the group of people who had been surrounding him were now chasing a scholar dressed in blue robes.
The scholar ran as fast as he could, his headband fluttering in the morning breeze.
A carriage was full of people. Seeing that the scholar running on the ground was about to be caught, some people shouted "Run!" while others laughed gleefully.
The carriage was so crowded that it swayed and wobbled for more than ten steps before it could move any further.
The coachman brandished his whip, and the servants, afraid of being whipped, stared at the scholar in the carriage as if he were prey, but dared not approach.
The leader recognized Zhenfu's carriage. He pointed to the scholar who was exhausted from running, "That's him."
The servants surrounding the carriage retreated, and the scholar inside finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Exhausted from being chased, the scholar, seeing that he had nowhere to retreat, simply plopped down on the marble of the flower bed, panting heavily.
The servants, like cats playing with a mouse, didn't rush to attack him once he sat down.
The leader walked over, cupped his hands in greeting, and announced his home address.
The scholar swallowed hard and said, "I'm at the bottom of the list, I can't become a high-ranking official. You can let me go and arrest the people at the top of the list instead."
"With my master backing you up, so what if you're at the bottom of the list? Young master, please come with me." The leader explained patiently.
“If your young lady is ugly, I swear I will never submit to her,” the scholar said through gritted teeth, glaring at the person in front of him.
He may be poor, but that doesn't diminish his ambition. If he's to marry an ugly woman, he might as well go back to his hometown and farm.
With the crisis averted, the scholars jumped off the carriage shafts to watch, while Zhen Jingxiu, squeezed at the back of the carriage, took two deep breaths.
The carriage, which was meant to seat six people, was crammed with more than ten. Just now, two people were sitting on his lap, and they almost sent him off.
The coachman saw Zhen Jingxiu get off the carriage and squatted down to examine the carriage.
Zhen Jingxiu asked the driver, "Was the carriage damaged?"
"No, I heard a 'crackling' sound, but I couldn't find any signs of breakage. I have to go back and turn the carriage over to check."
"Jingxiu, congratulations! That was close!" Lin Xiangzhi walked over and patted Zhen Jingxiu on the shoulder.
Zhen Jingxiu said with lingering fear, "That's right, Brother Lin, how did you convince them to let you go?"
"Shh! Let's go, this isn't the place to talk." Lin Xiangzhi tugged at Zhen Jingxiu's sleeve and glanced at the group of people who were catching a son-in-law.
The scholars burst into laughter, and some even shouted, "Hurry up and carry him back; he'll behave once he's in the bridal chamber!"
"Young master, just give in! The Li family's young ladies are all so beautiful, I'm so envious of you." Taunts rose and fell.
"You, you're kicking me when I'm down..." The scholar's handsome face flushed red, and his weak voice of protest drew laughter from everyone.
Amidst the cheers and jeers of the crowd, the scholar was 'helped' into a luxurious carriage adorned with red silk ribbons.
"Go find Su Jin and Xie Yunchen; they might be waiting for us outside." After discussing it, Zhen Jingxiu instructed the driver to go back on his own, and he walked along the same route he had taken with Lin Xiangzhi.
The area in front of Juxian Pavilion is bustling with traffic, and people often stop to look up.
"Look everyone, Juxian Pavilion is opening tomorrow! Those who book the Top Scholar Banquet will get a 20% discount."
Passersby looked up and saw a sign advertising discounts posted in front of the restaurant.
A large red lantern hung in front of the restaurant, and a handsome waiter was busy in the lobby.
Just then, a waiter returned from the direction of the examination hall and hurried into the restaurant.
"Well, is Su Jin's name on the list?" Nangong Zeyue asked hurriedly when she saw the waiter return.
The waiter walked in such a hurry that his handsome face was flushed. "You've won! Young Master Su is second on the list."
"No wonder he's the son of a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), truly a case of like father, like son." Nangong Zeyue was so happy that she turned around and went upstairs.
In a private room on the second floor, Jiang Shuyue was talking to a woman wearing a veil.
"Thank you so much for your help. With this job, Hongfu can finally escape her misery." The woman's voice was as melodious as a nightingale's.
"Don't call me your benefactor anymore, just call me Yue Niang. From now on, you will support yourself with your own abilities."
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