As soon as Lin Zikui left, Mo Liu said in a hoarse voice, "Sir, it seems like the second young lady likes you very much! That's great. Even if Master Xiao is not happy, he has no choice but to marry his daughter to you."
Lin Zikui buried his head in the fragrance of plum blossoms, and said with a slight curl of his lips: "When I pass the spring exam, I will go to the Xiao Mansion to ask for marriage."
He drew a fortune stick that day, and the Taoist nun who interpreted the stick said that the girl was in love with him and took the initiative to approach him and pursue him.
He had made a vow in front of the Guanyin Temple that he would never let the second girl down as long as she was willing.
So Lin Zikui slowly figured it out these few days. Although the second girl was a little frivolous and frivolous, she was cheerful and careful. She was considerate of him and sent him medicine without saying a word. Although she looked very different from what he had imagined, for a woman... she was a little too strong, but every time Lin Zikui thought of her late at night, he still felt a strange sense of anticipation in his heart.
That was his future wife who had not yet married.
In the future...I want to have children with me, spend the rest of my life with me, and grow old together.
Even though the second girl doesn't look like she can take care of her husband and children, it doesn't matter. She can just do things like raising children herself.
After the spring examination and the palace examination, and with the title of Jinshi, he could legitimately ask Mr. Xiao to marry his second daughter.
Lin Zikui was filled with enthusiasm. He returned to Xixin Hall and carefully placed the plum blossoms in a clean clay pot. Then he walked to Taoist Lingyuan's residence in two or three steps.
The person who spoke the most in this huge temple was this Taoist priest.
Lin Zikui brought some hemp candy to the other party, and after sitting down, he asked: "To be honest with you, Taoist Lingyuan, I have an eye disease, so it is difficult for me to read books. Unfortunately, my little book boy has a hoarse voice these days and can't speak, so I want to ask you, Taoist, are there any young Taoist priests in this temple who are more literate? Can you... read books for me for a few days? Just read books, I won't treat you unfairly."
Lingyuan thought for a moment and said, "All the Taoists in this temple have to go to the bell and do their homework from the morning hour every day, so they don't have much free time."
Lin Zikui: "Then..."
Lingyuan: "But there is a library in the temple, named Qingxin Pavilion. There is a Taoist priest who manages the books in the building. He is my uncle Lingbo. He is well-educated and was also a scholar before he entered Taoism. So, I will go to him tomorrow and tell him. You can go to Qingxin Pavilion to find him. He likes to eat chicken legs. You just need to give him a chicken leg every day. No matter what you ask for, Uncle Lingbo will agree to it."
"That's great. Thank you so much, Taoist Priest!"
Lingyuan: "Mr. Lin, you are welcome. By the way, I see that your steps are fine, but has the injury on your foot healed?"
"Eh?" Lin Zikui looked surprised. "Master, do you know that I'm injured? It's nothing, it's fine. I'm healed now!"
Lingyuan smiled and said, "That day I saw that Mr. Lin was having difficulty walking, so I thought of this matter at night and sent him a bottle of medicine. Unfortunately, I saw that you were studying hard, so I didn't want to disturb you, so I left it at the door. Today I see that Mr. Lin is well again, so I feel relieved."
Lin Zikui was stunned for a moment, and opened his mouth: "That medicine...was sent by the Taoist priest?"
Lingyuan nodded: "Yes, it rains a lot in the Sixteen Caves Mountain. If it snows in winter, it will be even more slippery. Mr. Lin has eye problems, so he needs to pay more attention to his feet."
Lin Zikui was stunned for a moment, then he reacted. It turns out... the second girl never sent me medicine.
He was just being too sentimental.
After bidding farewell to Lingyuan, Lin Zikui returned to Xixin Hall and read until very late. He stopped only when his eyes began to hurt. Under the candlelight, he picked up a pen and wrote down several key points about the spring examination that had been pointed out by the teacher of Yingtianfu Academy.
The first test of the spring examination consisted of three questions on the interpretation of the Four Books and four questions on the interpretation of the Five Classics. He had already read the Four Books and Five Classics thoroughly, and although Lin Zikui hated eight-legged essays, this first test was not a problem for him.
The second test is an essay question with five judgments, edicts, and imperial edicts...
What Lin Zikui is best at is countermeasures.
He wrote on the paper stroke by stroke: "Floods in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, locust plagues in the capital, tribute from the northern barbarians, Tatars in Liaodong, conquering the Turks, opposing cliques, and repairing the Huai River."
Most of the questions in the imperial examinations fell within the framework of these tests. This was a summary of all the examination questions from the past years of the Ye Dynasty that Lin Zikui had summarized by reading the library of Yingtianfu Academy day and night. He had been working hard these days, and after writing for a while, his eyelids could no longer hold back and he fell on the desk.
The candlelight flickered, the night was deep and the dew was heavy, and there was a knock on the door.
"Mr. Lin?"
Mo Liu was about to move Lin Zikui to the bed, but he was too weak to do it. When he heard a knock on the door, he went to open it.
“Squeak—”
Mo Liu looked outside the door and had to look up. It was the second young lady, who was wearing a black fox cloak and looked quite different from her temperament during the day and looked fierce, and her personal bodyguard.
Mo Liu stared at the second girl for a while and saw a sense of heroic handsomeness in her, like a major general disguised as a man on the battlefield.
He quickly withdrew his gaze, then looked at the guard again, muttering in his heart, how could a woman bring a man with her instead of a maid?
Is this also a woman dressed as a man?
Not really...
He looked at her twice more and was glared at by Yuan Wu. Mo Liu had no choice but to look at Xiao Fu, who had a kind smile on his face.
"Second Miss, what's the matter with you coming here so late at night?" Mo Liu lowered his voice in order not to disturb Lin Zikui.
Xiao Fu glanced inside and asked softly, "Is Lin Lang asleep?"
A cold scent of ink mixed with the aroma of plum blossoms floated out of the room. Under the candlelight, Xiao Fu saw Lin Zikui wearing an old cloak with a grey rabbit fur collar, his face resting on his arms, with layers of rice paper underneath.
Mo Liu said, "Second Miss, my son fell asleep while reading a book."
"Why are you sleeping on the table?" Xiao Fu took a step up the stairs, and Mo Liu was surprised: "Second Miss!"
Xiao Fu said, "I gave Lin Lang a rabbit fur coat and I'm moving in."
Mo Liu noticed the box held by the guard beside him, scratched his head, and made way without hesitation: "Second Miss, my son is a light sleeper and wakes up easily."
"I won't bother him." Xiao Fu walked in and saw this Xixin Hall, which was more than half the size of his Hanmei Hall. It had two rooms, the outer room had a desk, a tea table, and bookshelves, and the inner room had two beds separated by a tattered screen.
The desk where Lin Zikui was lying was not very big. Next to it were white plum blossoms picked in the daytime for him. There was a tall pile of books on the desk, as well as pens, ink, paper and inkstone. There were several purple-hair brushes hanging on the pen holder. The candle flame was swaying in the wind. He was sleeping with his eyes closed. His eyelashes were drooping quietly. A few strands of jet-black hair were hanging down. Some bald grey rabbit hair supported the lower half of his gaunt face.
Moreover, Lin Zikui was not as light a sleeper as Mo Liu said. He was unaware even when Xiao Fu bent down and moved closer to him.
When Xiao Fu got very close, he closed his eyes and sniffed carefully. He only had the scent of a scholar's paper and ink on him. If you listened carefully, you could also smell his skin, which had a warm aroma.
"Second Miss..." Mo Liu's heart was in his throat.
Xiao Fu: "Shh, your master is sleeping soundly."
Mo Liu: “…”
Xiao Fu casually glanced at his desk and saw that his handwriting was very beautiful and delicate, just like him.
He picked up one at random and noticed the handwriting on it. Slowly, his eyes changed.
Xiao Fu lowered his head and looked at Lin Zikui, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"No wonder he is so bold as to scold Emperor Wentai."
Lin Zikui's essay was extremely well written, completely different from those written by pedantic scholars, and also different from what Xiao Fu had originally thought.
Such high talent and unique knowledge makes him a man who can govern the country! It’s just that he is too immature, has never been immersed in officialdom, and does not know how to conceal his edge.
"If this document is sent to the emperor, you will probably be punished..."
Neither of the two people beside him could hear clearly what Xiao Fu said. His expression remained unchanged and he put the paper back as it was. Immediately, Xiao Fu bent down and grabbed Lin Zikui's waist with one hand, and Mo Liu rushed over: "Second Miss, let Mo Liu handle this!"
Seeing that he was determined, Xiao Fu let go.
Mo Liu shakily helped the young master up from the chair, but he was young after all, and too weak to stand. As soon as he stood up, his face turned red and he was about to fall.
Xiao Fu decisively reached out and grabbed Lin Zikui by the waist, pulling him steadily into his arms. With this movement, no matter how sleepy Lin Zikui was, he should have woken up.
Seeing the scholar's eyes slowly opening, Xiao Fu pretended that his legs went limp as if he couldn't hold him anymore, and he fell to the ground while holding onto his waist.
"thump!"
Lin Zikui leaned in his arms and they both fell to the ground, waking him up immediately.
Lin Zikui opened his eyes drowsily, and saw a handsome face very close to him.
He was stunned for at least a few moments, thinking... he was dreaming, and his heart was pounding.
But then he heard the man in front of him say, "Lin Lang, why are you like this?"
Lin Lang's face was dazed; he had just woken up and was subconsciously using his hands to support himself.
Xiao Fu felt his weight on him, a very strange weight that made him unable to help but reach out and hold him.
The warm and fluffy grey rabbit fur collar pressed between their faces, tickling their necks.
Seeing Lin Zikui's ignorance, Xiao Fu grabbed his hand that was accidentally pressed on his ribs with one hand and said, "We haven't even gotten married yet, and you've taken advantage of me. If this gets out, how can I live my life as a human being?"
If it weren't for his overly domineering tone, with a strong hint of mischief in his voice, it would have sounded like he had really suffered a great injustice!
The author has something to say:
Lin Lang: It doesn't matter, I will marry you
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