Chapter 21021 Unkind Visitors
After Du Qingtang, the boy registered Fu Wen and took out two keys: "The dormitory is on the far left. You two can go there by yourselves."
"Thank you." Du Qingtang took the key and gave one to Fu Wen. "Let's go and settle in the dormitory first. We have classes in the afternoon."
Du Qingtang and Fu Wen followed the crowd into the academy and headed towards the dormitory according to the direction pointed by the little boy.
Before long, rows of green brick and tile houses came into view.
In front of the brick house, a half-person-high stone slab was inserted diagonally into the soil, with the word "dormitory" written in a flamboyant style on the stone slab.
"We're here." Fu Wenxu pointed to the stone slab. "I just counted. There are twenty dormitories in a row. Ours is number seventy-eight, the eighteenth room in the fourth row."
The two quickly found the corresponding dormitory. Du Qingtang unlocked it with his key. Looking out, he saw a window facing the door. Two desks were placed side by side in front of the window. On each side of the desk was a wooden bed, with bedding and pillows neatly placed on them.
When I walked into the dormitory, there was a cupboard next to the door. It had double doors and was wide open. The inside was divided by wooden boards, with five compartments on each side and a drawer at the bottom.
The dormitory is quite clean. I think the previous resident left not long ago. There is only a light layer of dust. I just need to wipe it with a damp rag later.
"Classmate Fu, do you prefer sleeping on your left side or your right side?" Du Qingtang took off the heavy bookcase from his shoulder and asked Fu Wen, who was also observing the environment and seemed a little absent-minded.
Fu Wen came back to his senses: "I'll just take... the left one."
Du Qingtang opened the bookcase, went outside to get a basin of clean water, wiped the dust off the bed and table with a rag, took out the bed curtain and placed it on the wooden bed on the right, then brought a stool, took off his shoes and stood on it: "Classmate Fu, please pass me the bed curtain."
Bed curtain?
Fu Wen was stunned for a moment before he reacted and handed the bed curtain to Du Qingtang.
Du Qingtang thanked him, hung up the bed curtains quickly, jumped off the stool and took two steps back to check if everything was done properly.
When she came back from Qingyuan Academy that day, she dug out scraps of cloth from home that night and borrowed needle and thread from Du Wuya. She spent two days sewing this bed curtain stitch by stitch.
Because the bed curtain is made of scraps of cloth, both dark and light colors, the overall color is quite strange and looks a bit out of place.
But for Du Qingtang, something is better than nothing.
She had even lived in stables and sheep pens, and was already very satisfied to have a dormitory that could shelter her from the wind and rain.
The bed curtains were a little crooked, so Du Qingtang climbed onto the stool again.
Fu Wen watched the whole thing, completely confused: "Classmate Du, what are you doing..."
Du Qingtang adjusted the bed curtains: "Although you and I live in the same dormitory, I think we can leave each other some private space."
She turned around and said, "Classmate Fu, what do you think?"
Fu Wen was stunned at first, but then a glint of joy flashed in his eyes. "Classmate Du, what you said makes sense. I'll do that later... well, I mean, let my mother make a bed curtain like yours."
"That's not necessary." Du Qingtang chuckled, "I have another pair in my bookcase. You can use that first."
Fu Wen waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, how can I use your things, classmate Du?"
Du Qingtang thought to himself that it was prepared for you: "It's okay, I just habitually prepare two copies in case of emergency. If you really feel bad, just treat me to lunch in the cafeteria."
Having said this, Fu Wen no longer refused: "Thank you very much, classmate Du."
After hanging the bed curtains, Du Qingtang put the clothes into the cupboard and the books on the table.
In this way, we are completely settled.
On the other side, Fu Wen hung up the bed curtains under Du Qingtang's instructions. She looked at the bed curtains that tightly surrounded the wooden bed, and raised the corners of her mouth with her back to Du Qingtang.
With this bed curtain, she can keep her greatest secret until...
Not knowing what he was thinking about, Fu Wen pursed his lips tightly, without a trace of joy on his face.
"According to past practice, the instructor of the introductory class will test the students' recitation and dictation during their first class. It's still early, so why don't we read for a while?"
Du Qingtang's calm voice interrupted Fu Wen's turbulent thoughts. She nodded: "Okay, that's what I meant."
So, the two of them sat side by side at the table, opened their books, or recited, or wrote down, seriously and attentively, without disturbing each other.
......
An hour passed in a flash.
Du Qingtang closed the Book of Rites and said, "It's noon now. Let's go to the cafeteria to eat first. We have classes at noon."
Fu Wengang had just finished copying "The Great Learning" and put down his brush after hearing the words. He tidied up the mess on the table and followed Du Qingtang to the cafeteria.
Since it is the dining hall of Qingyuan Academy, the food inside is naturally very rich, with both meat and vegetarian dishes, and is colorful, fragrant and delicious.
Du Qingtang knew that Fu Wen's family was not well off and he was short of money, so he only chose one meat dish and one vegetable dish, stir-fried rapeseed and stir-fried cabbage with pork slices.
How could Fu Wen not see that Du Qingtang was being considerate of her? His face flushed slightly, and he felt a little embarrassed: "Why don't you buy two more dishes?"
Du Qingtang shook his head: "That's enough."
The aunt in charge of serving the food took the money, scooped up a spoonful of stir-fried cabbage and pork slices, and her hands shook a few times out of habit, and half of the pork slices were gone in an instant.
Du Qingtang: “…”
Fu Wen: “…”
Meals cost money, but soup is free.
Today's soup is radish meatball soup. Each person can get a meatball and some radishes.
After eating and drinking, Du Qingtang asked the old man who was guarding the cafeteria about the location of the enlightenment class. The two of them walked over slowly, familiarizing themselves with the environment while digesting their food.
Qingyuan Academy is very large. To the west are the dining hall and dormitories, to the north are the duty rooms and dormitories of professors and instructors, and to the east and south are the classrooms for students.
The enlightenment class is on the east side, and next to it is the children's class.
There was a wooden sign hanging on the door of each class. Along the corridor all the way north, the signs clearly read "Tongsheng Class A" and "Tongsheng Class B".
After the Tongsheng class is the Qimeng class, and the Qimeng Ding class is at the innermost.
There are already quite a few students in Class D, gathered in groups of three or five, discussing academic matters or chatting and laughing.
Du Qingtang pushed open the half-open door with a creak, causing the students in the class to turn their heads and look at him.
Seeing that the newcomers were strangers and young, they turned their heads away without interest. Only a few students showed goodwill to Du Qingtang and Fu Wen, smiling and nodding.
"Except for the seats with books on the table, you can sit in other seats."
"Thank you very much."
Fu Wen chose the third row in the middle and asked Du Qingtang for his opinion: "Classmate Du, what do you think?"
Du Qingtang didn't care: "Okay."
The two sat down, and Fu Wen whispered, "I used to study in a village school and sat in the first row. The teacher always lectured in front of me, and my face was never dry after the class. I learned my lesson this time and decided to stay away from him."
Du Qingtang: “…”
Although she had never experienced the verbal abuse from her private school teacher, she could feel her pain and helplessness from Fu Wen's tone.
Du Qingtang took out pen, ink, paper, inkstone and books from her school bag. Because she didn't know what to learn after the test of recitation and dictation, she brought all the Four Books and Five Classics.
It is better to have some heavy books than to have no books at all.
Before the instructor arrives, she plans to read the book for a while to review and consolidate her knowledge. It is always a good idea to think deeply.
About half an hour later, a noise came from far away.
Du Qingtang looked up when he heard the voice, and keenly caught the words such as "Prime Minister Cao", "extraordinary bearing", and "direct lineage" coming from outside the classroom.
You can tell without looking that it is the noble and arrogant Second Master Cao, Cao Xingcan.
With a "bang", the door was pushed open with force, and a group of people rushed in noisily.
Du Qingtang had met Cao Xingcan once in his previous life, but it was on the execution ground.
The Empress of Emperor Qingyuan was from the Cao family and had two legitimate sons, the fourth prince and the fifth prince.
That year, after the locust plague, Linjiang Prefecture was hit by a severe drought. The Fourth Prince and the eldest grandson of the Cao family withheld the disaster relief funds, resulting in Linjiang Prefecture being full of starving people and people having to eat their own children.
The people were left with nowhere to go, so they killed the prefect of Linjiang Prefecture, looted all the food in the government warehouse, and then occupied the mountains and became kings.
When the news reached Xiajing, Emperor Qingyuan was furious.
Cao Xingcan was pushed out by the Cao family and became a scapegoat for the fourth prince and his brother, and was brutally executed by slow slicing.
Everyone in the court knew that Cao Xingcan was innocent, but so what?
Who made Prime Minister Cao so powerful while the royal family was in decline? If he wanted to save his life, he could only live in a blind and confused state.
Du Qingtang thought of the fifth prince Xia Qixuan again.
It was precisely because of the support of her grandfather, Prime Minister Cao, that she was dismissed from her official position and trapped in the palace by the beast Xia Qixuan for several years, suffering untold hardships.
It was obvious that she was only one step away. Just one step away from convincing Emperor Qingyuan to allow the imperial examination for women, and she could enter the court with dignity as a woman.
But the reality was that she was forced to become a madman, the lowest-ranking servant in the Qi camp, and finally died quietly.
Thinking of this, Du Qingtang's breathing became rapid, and the fingers pinching the corner of the book trembled uncontrollably. His heart seemed to be crumpled into a ball and almost stopped beating.
At the same time, Cao Xingcan locked onto Du Qingtang the moment he entered the classroom and walked towards her.
He comes with bad intentions!
Fu Wen realized this and saw that Du Qingtang was distracted, so he quickly pushed her: "Classmate Du! Classmate Du!"
Du Qingtang suddenly came back to her senses. Cao Xingcan had already come to her and was looking down at her with an arrogant expression, as if he was looking at an insignificant ant.
"You are the one who ranked first in the test?"
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