Zhao Rong was very troubled. He had a good memory, almost to the point of remembering everything he saw. He could recite many guqin music scores.

As for the fingering, Zhao Rong had also practiced it... After controlling the strength, he was able to press the strings carelessly and was quite skilled.

Therefore, when playing the guqin, it is not difficult to memorize the score and follow the instructions.

The difficulty lies in that he discovered that he was "tone-deaf", and Yu Huaijin also noticed this.

Zhao Rong could not distinguish the strength and pitch of the five tones and twelve musical scales of the guqin.

This resulted in him being unable to control the overall rhythm of the piece when he played.

It's like singing a song, Zhao Rong knows the lyrics, but he is tuneless.

Mr. Si's art class ended with the students of Suixing Hall listening to someone's ear-torturing piano music.

The students dispersed one after another.

In the corridor of the academy, under a lantern, Yu Huaijin stood quietly with his hands folded, watching the backs of Zhao Rong and Fan Yushu as they left together.

"Huaijin, let's go."

Xiao Hongyu shouted, with Li Xueyu beside her, and the two of them were waiting for Yu Huaijin.

The three of them were the only three female students in Ruexing Hall. They lived in the same dormitory and had a good relationship. They usually went to Mochi Academy together. However, because Yu Huaijin was a senior in Ruexing Hall and for some other reasons, she often went alone.

Yu Huaijin responded, retracted his gaze, and turned around with a calm expression to meet Yu Xiao and Hongyu.

As night falls, a new moon is slowly rising.

Yu Huaijin and the other two were on their way to the girls' dormitory.

Although male and female students in Linlu Academy addressed each other as brothers and classmates and were treated equally, the dormitories for male and female students were still separate, but the management was not as strict and they could visit each other.

"Hey, the get out of class is finally over. I... cough, my old student's ears are almost broken by that Zhao Ziyu's playing." Xiao Hongyu was about to blurt out some words, but she caught a glimpse of Yu Huaijin's stern face and turned his head, so she quickly stopped and changed her words.

Xiao Hongyu coughed and pouted at her two companions, "Huai Jin, Xue You, do you think Zhao Ziyu did it on purpose? He could play it like that even if he was following the score?"

Li Xueyu thought about it and shook her head.

Yu Huaijin said softly: "No."

Xiao Hongyu sighed, "That's even worse. I don't know how his other arts are doing. Oh, forget it. Why is our Ruxing Hall so unlucky? It's not enough to have Fan Yushu who is poor in all arts, and here comes another one."

"Hongyu, a gentleman does not speak of others behind their backs." Yu Huaijin turned his head and said seriously.

Li Xueyu also nodded in agreement.

Xiao Hongyu wanted to say that I am not a gentleman, but she still said, "You two are teaming up to criticize me again. Okay, I am wrong."

Yu Huaijin turned her head, her hands hidden in her sleeves, looking at the night scene in front of her with a calm expression, not knowing what she was thinking.

Li Xueyu squinted her eyes like a little animal, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised. The girl, who was a little timid in front of strangers, revealed a tune between her lips, and no one knew what she was humming.

On the road, the combination of these three people attracted quite a lot of attention, not because of their appearance.

Yu Huaijin has an ordinary appearance, while Xiao Hongyu has a pair of red lips and a big mouth, and a flamboyant and eye-catching smile. However, due to her tall stature and slightly plump face, she is not up to the aesthetic taste of most men, especially those Confucian scholars who like graceful ladies and weak beauties. The only one with a relatively eye-catching appearance is Li Xueyu, who is like the jade next door, and can arouse the desire of some men to protect her.

The three of them stood out because their body shapes didn't match.

Yu Huaijin is small, short and thin.

Li Xue is as young as a lotus, standing tall and graceful, with a figure like unsprouted willow catkins, slender and graceful.

Xiao Hongyu standing in the middle was like a small mountain, strong and tall. Even if the strength of her two companions were doubled, they would still not be as strong as her.

The combination of three people is quite strange.

At this time, they were gradually approaching the Jianjia Academy where they lived.

Xiao Hongyu raised her eyes and looked at the brightly lit courtyard pavilion in the distance. She suddenly glanced at Yu Huaijin.

The companion beside him who liked to hide his beautiful hands in his wide sleeves always had a stern face. Apart from a slight frown and a blink of the eyes, Xiao Hongyu had almost never seen any other expression on his face.

And when talking to Yu Huaijin, she would look into the other's eyes very seriously.

But if you observe carefully, you will find that her serious eyes are actually calm and not disturbed by anything.

Just like the vast ocean will fill up any ditch without leaving any stone unturned, but it will not stop at any ditch for even a moment.

In fact, Xiao Hongyu was a little afraid of Yu Huaijin, not because of her serious personality like the most rigid and stubborn old scholar, but because of an inexplicable synaesthesia.

The two had known each other for more than two months since they entered the academy, but Xiao Hongyu felt that when she stood with Yu Huaijin, although they were very close, there seemed to be something between them. She didn't know what it was.

But Xiao Hongyu vaguely felt that this barrier seemed to be impossible to cross forever. Not only her, Xiao Hongyu felt that no one in Linlu Academy could do it...

"Huai Jin, let's go to Duyou East City to have some fun on our day off in a few days. The mountain market in my hometown is not as lively as Duyou City, and I haven't been there yet."

Xiao Hongyu suddenly turned around and smiled at Yu Huaijin, and she continued:

"Xueyou and I have already agreed. She also needs to go back home to see her father. We can also go to her house and have a visit. Besides, with her as a half-local leading the way, we can buy whatever we want and play without having to wander around. I heard that there is the largest Caotang shop in Wangquezhou in Dongcheng. My father just happened to send me half a year's monthly allowance again, hehe."

"Yeah." Li Xue nodded twice like a young deer, looked at Yu Huaijin with bright eyes, and said in a weak voice: "Huaijin, let's go together."

Yu Huaijin shook his head without hesitation, "You guys go ahead, I have something else to do on this day off."

Xiao Hongyu and Li Xueyu looked at each other.

Unlike Li Xueyu, who looked slightly disappointed, Xiao Hongyu was not annoyed either. After all, it was expected. She turned to look at Yu Huaijin with narrow eyes and blinked:

"Is it Han Wenfu from the Monastery Hall who wants to ask you for advice again?"

Yu Huaijin shook his head.

Xiao Hongyu thought about it and nodded absentmindedly, "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot about Fan Yushu. Before he sneaked out with Mr. Yan, you were tutoring him."

She muttered a few words, glanced at Yu Huaijin who did not deny it, opened her mouth, and wanted to persuade him to do something, but when she saw Yu Huaijin's unchanging stern face, she did not speak.

In Mo Chi Academy, most of the students in the six academies, namely, Ruxing, Xiudao, Zhengyi, Chengxin, Chongzhi and Guangye, have always regarded the most important thing in their hearts is the apprenticeship ceremony one year later.

One year later, whether the new students will stay in Linlu Academy depends on whether they can pass the apprenticeship ceremony and be accepted as disciples by the teachers of the academy, become scholars of the academy, and continue to study in the academy.

There are many conditions and reference bases for teachers in academies to select students. In addition to the determination of students' grades at the grand examination, past observations of students are also very important.

If the school a student attends is among the best, then the students in this school will easily attract the attention of teachers.

And according to the academy's past practice, with the same test scores, students from top-ranked schools will receive higher overall evaluations than students from bottom-ranked schools.

This is also a disguised way for Mo Chi Academy to encourage unity among students and competition between schools.

Considering the current environment of Confucianism where a hundred schools of thought contend with each other, it also has the profound meaning of enhancing the awareness of mutual unity and external competition among Confucian scholars.

…

Zhao Rong and Fan Yushu returned to the school together.

The men's school next to Jiquan Pavilion is called Nanxuan.

The courtyards for two people are small and elegant, with quiet and peaceful environments. They are all called Xiaozhu by the students, but with different prefixes and names.

Zhao Rong stopped and waved goodbye to Fan Yushu, who lived in a courtyard called Liuyun Cottage about a dozen steps away.

This time the two of them did not live together. After all, Fan Yushu arrived early and had already been assigned roommates.

As for why Jia Tengying has been living alone...

Zhao Rong turned around and prepared to knock on the door.

"By the way, Ziyu, your courtyard is called... Vegetable Garden Cottage."

From behind, Fan Yushu's jokes drifted in from afar.

Boom boom boom.

Zhao Rong blinked and knocked on the door gently.

"Please come in, the door is not locked." Jia Tengying's voice came out.

Zhao Rong pushed the door open and walked in. He had been in a hurry during the day and did not look carefully. But now, with the help of the light in Jia Tengying's house, he could roughly see two large houses in the courtyard, facing each other from north to south.

At this time, the north room was still dark, while the lights in the south room had been turned on, and Jia Tengying's voice came from there.

Zhao Rong glanced around and saw that the dark space in the yard, which was mostly unlit, was covered with dark objects in regular rows.

Zhao Rong walked closer and looked carefully. He found that they were all vegetables grown by farmers at the foot of the mountain. There seemed to be quite a lot of varieties.

Zhao Rong looked around and it was clearly a vegetable garden. No wonder Fan Yushu and the others called this place "Vegetable Garden Cottage", which was worthy of the name.

Squeak——

At this time, the door of the south room was pushed open, and Jia Tengying walked out, just in time to see Zhao Rong looking down at the vegetable garden under the moonlight.

Jia Tengying lowered his head, walked quickly to Zhao Rong, and handed him a small object with both hands.

The sound was a little muffled.

"Brother Zhao, this is the key to the front door. The key to your house is on the table inside the house."

Zhao Rong looked at Jia Tengying, but Jia Tengying was facing him with his back to the south room. The light from the south room shone in, and Zhao Rong couldn't see Jia Tengying's expression clearly.

He took the key, lowered his head to look at it, and was about to speak when Jia Tengying immediately turned around, walked quickly to the door, locked the courtyard gate, and then returned to the house without stopping.

He seemed to be keeping his head down all the way.

Zhao Rong stood in the vegetable garden, looked around, and then went into the north room.

Inside the house.

Zhao Rong lit a candle in front of the desk.

In the empty and dark room, a lamp is lit.

He looked around the spacious house, thinking about adding some things to it later to make it seem more homely.

This is where Zhao Rong will study, sleep and practice regularly in the coming year.

He tilted his head and looked at the vegetable garden outside the window and the lighted house opposite.

After Zhao Rong tidied up, he came to the desk, bent down to fill the oil lamp with oil, and then sat down. He exhaled lightly, took out a thick book, folded it open, lowered his head and read it carefully, no longer lazy and perfunctory as he was in the music and art class in the afternoon.

This is a Confucian classic called "Er Ya", one of the Thirteen Confucian Classics.

Zhao Rong planned to read the Thirteen Confucian Classics carefully ten times before making any decision.

There is no practice today, because Zhao Rong is currently trying to reach the Fuyao realm. Every time the little red snakes gathered in the meridians in his body impact a blocked meridian and cause it to expand a little, their breath will weaken a lot. He needs to rest for a few days to recover some of his innate vitality before continuing to impact.

Currently, Zhao Rong planned to attack once every three days. When he was not practicing, he would spend all the remaining time reading...

The flame of the lamp on the desk was burning silently.

The night passed quietly, except for the occasional crackling sound of oil lamps and the occasional sound of flipping pages.

The moon outside the window slowly climbed to the top and then gradually fell.

The wick of the oil lamp burned out several times and was replaced by a slender hand turning the pages of a book.

Finally, when the fifth wick burned out, Zhao Rong did not change it, because the sunlight falling on the desk from the window was bright enough to see things vaguely.

Outside the house, the sound of insects was heard everywhere.

Sitting in front of the study, Zhao Rong folded up the corner of the book, closed the Confucian classics, leaned back and stretched hard.

He stood up while breathing heavily.

Considering Zhao Rong's current cultivation level as a martial artist in the Zhenyi stage who can run the small circulation of qi, not sleeping for a day or two would not be a big hindrance.

He washed his face, picked up the unfinished copy of Er Ya, and went out for his morning reading.

It was still early in the morning, the sky was just getting light, and the Nanxuan academy was quiet except for the creaking sound of Zhao Rong pushing the door, which seemed quite noisy.

As he passed the vegetable garden in the yard, he stopped and looked around, and his eyes stopped on a bunch of miscellaneous flowers growing everywhere on the east side of the yard.

Afterwards, Zhao Rong went out and took a walk by a quiet lake, reading a book with his head down.

…

Zhao Rong returned from morning reading.

He pushed open the gate and found that Jia Tengying was squatting in a vegetable patch in the yard, fiddling with something with his head down. At this moment, seeing him coming back, Jia Tengying lowered his head and fiddled with the vegetable patch silently.

The way back to the house passed right by him.

Zhao Rong walked towards the house.

Seeing this, Jia Tengying quickly moved the vegetables he picked on the road, for fear of blocking Zhao Rong's way.

After he clumsily cleaned up the vegetables on Zhao Rong's way back to the house, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, in my peripheral vision, a pair of feet stopped abruptly.

Zhao Rong squatted down beside Jia Tengying.

Next second.

He reached out and picked up a green cucumber from the pile of vegetables.

He wiped the cucumber on his sleeve, took a bite, and said with a smile while chewing, "Brother Teng Ying, what is the name of our yard? It can't really be called Vegetable Garden Cottage, right?"

Jia Tengying stared at Zhao Rong blankly, "No, we didn't give it a name, but they all call this place the Vegetable Garden Cottage."

Zhao Rong nodded slightly, then stood up with the juicy cucumber and walked to the corner in the east where various flowers grew.

He lowered his head to look at the brightly colored flowers among the flowers, which were the only bright spot of color in the yard full of vegetables, fruits and melons.

Zhao Rong raised his hand and took out some bamboo sticks from the Sumeru object. He had picked them up after seeing them on his way back.

He inserted bamboo sticks along the bushes to protect them.

Plant bamboo to make a fence.

After inserting it, Zhao Rong clapped his hands, picked up the cucumber and took another bite, then looked down at the ** under the fence. He suddenly turned to Jia Tengying and smiled:

"How about calling it... Dongli Cottage?"

Jia Tengying, who was squatting on the vegetable field surrounded by a pile of vegetables, stared at Zhao Rong in a daze. At this moment, in his field of vision, a rising sun was rising behind Zhao Rong, stretching his shadow very long.

The new roommate was holding a half-eaten cucumber in his hand, with a bunch of colorful flowers beside him and a bright smile on his face.