Chapter 072 Chapter 72

Ji Qingyue bought a carriage for a little over 100 taels. He had no idea about money, but the horse dealers were different.

His bonus was directly tied to the orders he sold. Yuan Ming and Ji Qingyue had already left, but he was still standing at the intersection, smiling from ear to ear.

On the other side, Yuan Ming and Ji Qingyue drove the carriage around the town and went straight to the suburbs.

The family had a big new item, and they bought it together. They were both very excited.

Ji Qingyue sat under a tree. The afternoon sun was just right, and it was warm on her body. Yuan Ming led the horse to the grass and came back to sit next to Ji Qingyue.

"The horse is eating grass!" Ji Qingyue's full attention was on the horse not far away. He saw that the horse was not afraid of the unfamiliar place. It lowered its head to sniff, and soon opened its mouth to nibble on the grass that had just emerged from the ground.

Yuan Ming nodded, lay down, covered his eyes with his palms, and enjoyed a moment of peace.

After watching for a long time, Ji Qingyue lost interest in the horse. He leaned over to Yuan Ming's face and said, "You look hungry. I want to eat something too."

Yuan Ming couldn't help laughing.

He stretched out his hand and rubbed Ji Qingyue's belly, and asked, "What do you want to eat?"

Because of the carriage, it was not convenient to eat at the roadside stall, so Yuan Ming took Ji Qingyue to the restaurant.

The waiter came out to greet them, took over the reins of the carriage, and took them to the second floor.

It was just after the Chinese New Year, and there were many gatherings. The restaurant was full of people and very lively.

The waiter took them to a small table at the back and apologized, "There are many people in the restaurant today, and this is the only table left. The location is not very good. If you two guests mind, you can wait for a seat."

Yuan Ming glanced at the place. It was located at the base of the wall, close to the private room inside. He could not see the scenery outside the window, nor could he see the show on the first floor stage. It was indeed not a good location.

So he turned around and asked Ji Qingyue, "Qingqing, do you want to sit here?"

Ji Qingyue was not interested in the scenery or the show, so she nodded.

Yuan Ming turned around and said to the waiter, "Sit here."

Although there were many people in the restaurant, the speed of serving the dishes was still very fast.

The food tasted very good, and both of them enjoyed it very much.

But when they were about to leave, they met an unexpected person.

Yuan Ming and Ji Qingyue were invited to the next room. In addition to Zhao Yucheng who brought them in, there were seven or eight people sitting inside. Yuan Ming didn't know any of them, but they were not completely strangers.

In addition, Xue Qingyang, who was sitting in the middle and wearing a glittering golden dress, attracted his attention.

He hadn't seen him since the last time they met briefly. He had completely forgotten about him and thought that he had returned to the provincial capital.

"Mr. Yuan, long time no see. I was rude to you last time. Please forgive me, Mr. Yuan." Xue Qingyang said in a friendly manner.

While he was talking, the servant behind him came to him with a glass of wine.

Xue Qingyang said, "If Mr. Yuan doesn't mind, why don't you sit down and have a drink with us?"

Yuan Ming glanced at the glass of wine, then moved his eyes upwards and fell on the face of the servant. The

last time he saw Xue Qingyang, he brought two servants with him, one was sarcastic and just like him, and the other was weak and could be bullied and scolded.

Now only the latter was left. Yuan Ming didn't know what happened in the meantime, but he was able to stay alone, so it was obvious that he was not really a softie.

Yuan Ming retracted his gaze and did not take the wine glass from the servant. He smiled at Xue Qingyang: "Mr. Xue, you are too serious. What happened last time was a misunderstanding. I didn't take it to heart. As for drinking, forget it. My husband and I are busy and I am afraid I can't accompany you."

Hearing this, Xue Qingyang's face twitched and he forced a smile: "Since Brother Yuan is busy, I won't force you."

Yuan Ming bowed to him and walked out of the private room with Ji Qingyue.

As soon as he went down the stairs, he heard Zhao Yucheng calling him.

Yuan Ming turned around and waited for Zhao Yucheng to come down.

Zhao Yucheng apologized first: "I'm really sorry. I took the initiative to bring you in, but made you unhappy."

Yuan Ming didn't say anything and looked at him quietly.

When Xue Qingyang went to Liuye Village, he had clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with Xue Qingyang to Zhao Yucheng. At that time, Zhao Yucheng and he shared the same hatred. In just a few days, if something had not happened suddenly, Zhao Yucheng would never have done this.

Sure enough, Zhao Yucheng sighed and went out of the store with him.

"Those upstairs are all candidates who will take the Tongsheng exam in Shifang Town this year." Zhao Yucheng said, "According to the rules, the five candidates for the Tongsheng exam must guarantee each other and register together. Xue Qingyang gathered them together for this purpose."

Yuan Ming's brows relaxed slightly.

Zhao Yucheng continued, "There are exactly ten candidates for the Qingmiao class this year. The dean originally wanted us to guarantee each other, but a few days ago, Cui Xin's family suffered a misfortune and his mother died. He will not be able to take the exam for three years."

Yuan Ming understood what he meant: "Cui Xin's vacancy will be filled by Xue Qingyang?"

Zhao Yucheng nodded, and then said disgustedly: "I have sent people to check these days. Although Xue Qingyang is talented, his moral character is quite low. He doesn't take people seriously. People who guarantee each other are generally people who have been carefully considered and are trustworthy. If possible, I don't want to be tied to him."

"Do you mean the governor

of Shifang Town?" Zhao Yucheng knew he couldn't hide it, so he nodded with difficulty and smiled bitterly: "The Xue family is prosperous. Even the governor of Wenzhou Prefecture has to give them some face, not to mention that he is just the governor of Shifang Town. Many times he has no choice."

Yuan Ming smiled: "Brother Zhao is really doing his job as a future son-in-law."

Zhao Yucheng blushed: "I heard that Zhao Yucheng is very good at playing tricks, and he is not presentable at all. Rather than keeping such a venomous snake in the dark, it is better to pull it to our side. The five of us will guarantee each other, and he will not dare to do anything to us. "

Yuan Ming did not comment, and after a moment of silence, he said: "Cao Xin should have been in our group, so let Xue Qingyang come."

Zhao Yucheng was relieved, bowed to Yuan Ming to thank him, and then turned back to the restaurant.

Because of this little episode, Yuan Ming and Ji Qingyue no longer wanted to continue playing, and drove the carriage back home.

The next day, Fangyuan Academy started classes, and Yuan Ming met Xue Qingyang again in the examination room for the opening exam.

Yuan Ming was not surprised by this. Xue Qingyang had been attending classes in the school from the beginning of this semester until the Tongsheng exam.

After the exam, Yuan Ming was packing his bookcase. Xue Qingyang walked past his desk, bent down and knocked on the table. When Yuan Ming raised his eyes, he smiled brightly: "Brother Yuan, we will be classmates for the next month. Please take care of me."

Yuan Ming returned the greeting and stopped looking at him.

Seeing him like this, Xue Qingyang gritted his teeth.

The voice of the book boy behind him sounded at the right time: "Young Master, the master has found a house for you, and you can move in today."

Xue Qingyang took a deep breath, responded, and strode out of the classroom.

The next day was class, and the results of the opening exam were also posted on the outer wall of the school.

Yuan Ming was first again, Zhao Yucheng was second, and Cui Xin was third.

Cui Xin was a man of few words, with an ordinary appearance. He kept his head down studying all day long. His grades were above average, but he did not have much presence in the class.

This was the first time that so many people paid attention to him, and he subconsciously wanted to escape.

Yuan Ming arrived late, and when he walked to the score wall, he saw Cui Xin leaving quickly with his head down. After taking another look at the score sheet, he understood.

Not being able to take the imperial examinations for three years was a big blow to a very promising student.

Yuan Ming retracted his gaze and found Xue Qingyang's name on the wall, in a middle to lower position.

Not far away, Xue Qingyang's low cursing voice came. Yuan Ming did not want to have too much interaction with him, so he quickly returned to the classroom.

In the next few months, Yuan Ming put all his energy into preparing for the exam. In his spare time, he would drive a carriage and go for a walk in the suburbs with his husband. His days were very fulfilling.

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the eve of the Tongsheng exam.

That night, Ji Qingyue was busy all the time. Sometimes she helped Yuan Ming check his bookcases, and sometimes she gave him detailed instructions about the exam. She seemed to be more nervous than he, who was actually going to take the exam.

Speaking of this, in order to accurately grasp the precautions during the Tongsheng exam, Ji Qingyue even wrote a letter to Ji Fulai.