Early in the morning, before dawn, Ji Yu originally wanted to sneak away before everyone else got up, after all, the time he and Lin Yunxiao had agreed to meet was quite early.
But when Ji Yu walked to the gate of Lu's mansion, she found Ji Shuyao was already waiting for her at the door, neatly dressed.
The moment Ji Yu saw Ji Shuyao, he couldn't help but tears welling up in his eyes. After all, the person in front of him was his only relative in this strange place, and the only person who treated him unconditionally well.
"Sister." The boy's voice was choked with sobs.
Ji Shuyao hugged Ji Yu, patted his back gently, and comforted him softly, "Don't cry, Xiao Yu! Don't cry! Xiao Yu has grown up and is a man. Sister is still hoping that Xiao Yu will pass the imperial examination and bring honor to the family!"
The pressure of studying hard day and night these days burst out at this moment. "What if I fail the exam? They all say that no one in Lin'an City has passed the imperial examination for four years."
"It doesn't matter if you fail the exam? With your sister here, Xiaoyu can take the exam with confidence. If you fail this year, you can take it again the year after next. Our Xiaoyu is still young. Your sister will definitely be able to support our Xiaoyu in all his imperial examinations in this life." Ji Shuyao encouraged.
"Well, thank you, sister." Ji Yu knew that he hadn't communicated with others for almost four months. He was alone and depressed, and was prone to emotional breakdown.
Some time ago, apart from answering questions in class, he hardly talked to anyone every day.
He was constantly reviewing his lessons. Even in the dormitory, Lin Yunxiao said that he was obsessed with reading. It seemed that writing a letter to Qingqing every month was his biggest motivation.
"I'm leaving! It's getting darker outside and the dew is heavier. Sister, please go back to your room early." Ji Yu reminded.
When heading from Lu's house to the south gate of Lin'an City, you will definitely pass by Gu's house.
Gu Qingqing didn't know what she was thinking. The maids were all resting in the middle of the night, and she, a young lady, secretly climbed onto the roof.
Just because from this rooftop, you can see people walking on this street. She didn't know what happened. Since she accidentally learned yesterday that Ji Yu would leave at 12:00 a.m. today, she had been waiting here early.
She had never done such a rebellious thing before. But now she not only did it, but also looked forward to seeing him.
Gu Qingqing saw Ji Yu walking on the road in the distance. Although she could only see his departing figure from afar, she felt it was well worth it.
Even when she was climbing down the ladder from the roof, she accidentally sprained her ankle.
Although her ankle was painful, she was happy in her heart.
…………
When Ji Yu walked to the city gate, the other three had already arrived, including a little child whom Ji Yu was unfamiliar with.
"Who is this?" Ji Yu asked. He thought he was also a poor student traveling with them.
"Xiao Yu, this person said he came to see you." Master Lin explained.
Ji Yu looked at the man for a long time but didn't recognize him, so he asked tentatively, "Who are you?"
"Little prodigy Ji, can we talk for a moment?" The young man was quite humble and polite.
Ji Yu nodded, and after the two of them walked aside, the young man spoke.
"Mr. Ji, my name is Wang Shanchuan, and I'm Xiaotao's childhood sweetheart. I have studied for two years, and Miss Gu paid me to be your book boy." Wang Shanchuan explained while avoiding others.
Ji Yu thought that it was Qingqing who sent someone. Although his sister had said a few days ago that she would buy him a book boy, he refused on the grounds that he was afraid that the other party would not know the rules and would offend the nobles when he came to Beijing.
But he didn't expect Qingqing to be so considerate. Ji Yu nodded and then reminded him, "This time when you come to Beijing, you know that there are many nobles in Beijing, so don't offend them!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Ji. I was doing business for the Gu family in the past two years and made two trips to the capital. And I also got some calligraphy." Wang Shanchuan was overjoyed to see that Ji Yu agreed to accept him.
After all, before leaving, Miss Gu promised me that if I could stay with Master Ji for a year, she would return Xiao Tao's indenture contract to me.
Seeing that he was a sensible man who had traveled far before, Ji Yu accepted him. He explained a few words to the other people, and when the escort agency arrived, they all set off together.
Lin'an City is not far from the capital. If you take the shortcut and ride a fast horse, you can get there in five days.
If they were to set out with the escort vehicle like they did, and rest along the way and avoid bandits, it would take a full ten days.
The group set out on the third day of February, walking and listening along the way. Due to the sick horses, they were delayed for one more day.
When they arrived in the capital, it was already the 15th day of the second month. Master Lin took them to stay at the home of a colleague in Lin'an.
"Brother Li, long time no see. I'm afraid I'll have to bother you again this year." Master Lin greeted the bearded man in front of him enthusiastically.
It was through Master Lin's introduction that Ji Yu learned that this person had passed the imperial examination in the same year as Master Lin, and the two had been classmates for many years.
It’s just that Master Lin had failed to pass the imperial examination for many years, while Lord Li was luckier. He passed the examination a few years earlier and later passed the palace examination and became a Jinshi.
The first class is awarded the top scholar, and there are only three places, namely the top scholar, the third scholar and the second scholar.
The second-class Jinshi degree was awarded to the candidates, and the quota was generally around 100. That year, the new emperor changed the dynasty and urgently needed students, so there were 50 more quotas. Lord Li happened to be ranked 150th, so he had the opportunity to get a small official position.
The top three will be granted the same status as Jinshi, and the number of vacancies is probably around 100, but there may be fewer.
I also heard that last year the second and third grades only admitted 75 people, which directly reduced the number of places by nearly one-third.
After Lord Li and the students had finished their meal, he took a few people to the back wing to rest. The conditions in the room for three people were not too shabby.
After all, land is extremely expensive in the capital city right now, and the room rate for staying in an inn outside has risen to ten taels of silver per night as the exam is approaching.
Several people planned to stay here for a few days, and then go to an inn near the test site when the exam is approaching.
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