Chapter 182: Saving People in Front of Horses
Qingxi Town is not big and everyone in the neighborhood knows each other. Overnight, the news that Zhu Lan was going to debate with students from the Lu family spread throughout the streets and alleys.
The culture of reading is very strong in this town. Almost everyone has a picture of Confucius hanging in their home, and every family has a collection of books.
As the news that someone was going to debate on scriptures and philosophy spread, it immediately became a top priority for the people in Qingxi Town. Many people went out early the next morning just to get a good seat to watch.
There is a high platform near the Confucius Temple in Qingxi Town, which is usually used as a venue for sacrifices or other celebrations. The debate was held there.
When Zhu Lan, A Jiang, followed by Murong Jing and Zhu Qingyan, walked down the second floor of the inn, the waiter's eyes changed when he looked at the four of them, with excitement but also a bit of doubt.
The rule that girls in the town are not as good as girls in the school has been passed down for hundreds of years. Do a few ignorant girls from outside the town want to shake it?
Moreover, he even dared to make such arrogant statements, challenging the most learned person in the Lu family.
Everyone knows that Lu Zhiyi, the eldest son of the Lu family, passed the imperial examination at the age of 25. He is a genius. All the scholars in the town regard him as a role model, and he is a god-like existence in the entire Qingzhu Academy.
I’m afraid these girls will be embarrassed later!
The waiter's thoughts did not affect the attentive smile on his face at all, and he escorted the few people out of the inn.
Zhu Lan and his three companions went out and saw many people walking in the same direction. Zhu Qingyan asked curiously:
"The people of Qingxi Town really love learning. I didn't expect that a debate could arouse such enthusiasm among them."
Murong Jing also nodded in agreement, "It seems that they are also curious about whether Mr. Lu will win today, or whether we, the outsiders, will win."
Zhu Lan didn't say anything. The idea of male superiority and female inferiority was so serious in this place that I was afraid no one thought they could defeat that young Master Lu.
Sure enough, when they passed by a few people, they heard each other's discussion.
"It's been a while since anyone in our town has had a debate, right? I'm really looking forward to it. I wonder if it will be exciting!"
"What's there to look forward to? A woman thinks she's learned just because she read two books? She can't win anyway."
"That's right. Anyway, the result is not in suspense. We are all here to see Young Master Lu!"
The sound of the discussion was clearly heard by several people. Zhu Lan didn't take it seriously, while Zhu Qingyan raised a sneer at the corner of his mouth.
Murong Jing was more straightforward and directly cursed the other person, "You are so contemptuous of others." I don't know if the other person heard it or not.
At this moment, a scream of a crowd suddenly came from not far away, followed by the sound of horses' hooves approaching quickly.
"The horse is frightened, get out of the way, get out of the way!" someone screamed.
The people on the street were suddenly in a panic.
A reddish-brown horse came charging forward, knocking over roadside stalls, scaring passers-by so much that they turned pale and caused children to cry loudly.
Murong Jing reacted the fastest and pulled the three people around her back to a safe place.
"Yan'er——!" Following a scream, a woman rushed to the middle of the street and hugged her son tightly, who was stunned by the scene.
Seeing the horse rushing right in front of her, the woman was so frightened that her face turned pale. She had no time to run away and could only protect her child and close her eyes tightly.
Many passers-by subconsciously covered their eyes, not daring to watch the bloody scene that followed.
However, a horse's neighing pierced the air above the street. A brave man looked through his fingers and saw a woman in red leaping onto the horse's back at some point.
At this moment, the crazy horse raised its two front hooves high, but Murong Jing on the horse's back was as steady as a rock. Her red dress fluttered, and her high horsetail flew up with her movements. Her face showed an imposing manner that looked down on thousands of enemies.
Murong Jing grabbed the reins tightly with both hands and pulled backwards, and the horse actually stopped its forward momentum. After the backward movement stopped for a moment, the horse fell heavily to the ground.
Murong Jing naturally jumped off the horse lightly before it fell.
The woman holding her son was only a few steps away from where the horse fell. If Murong Jing had not intervened in time, she would have been either dead or disabled.
She had a near-death experience and it took her a long time to react, but her legs were already limp from fear.
Murong Jing stepped forward and helped her up.
"Thank you, lady, for saving my life..." the woman hurriedly thanked him.
In order to get over it, the frightened passers-by started to applaud and praised Murong Jing for his chivalrous act.
Everything that just happened happened in a flash. Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan just rushed over with A Jiang, panting.
"Ajing, are you okay?" Zhu Qingyan asked worriedly.
Murong Jing clapped her hands, looking relaxed, "It's okay, it's just that the horse was frightened."
A man pushed through the crowd with a horrified look on his face, panting heavily as he rushed to the horse, kicked it with his foot, and yelled:
"You damned beast, you almost killed me, do you know that? And you almost hurt someone, I'm going to skin you alive right now!"
Anyone who has been in a military camp has an indescribable bond with horses. Murong Jing couldn't stand it and stepped forward to stop the horse owner.
She squatted down and touched the horse's mane, with a hint of pity in her eyes, "This is a good horse."
The horse was not dead, it was just exhausted. It lay on the ground gasping for breath, looking at Murong Jing with its big eyes, as if with an indescribable emotion.
"Go get some Polygala tenuifolia and Bupleurum chinense. These two herbs can calm the horse's mood. Take them back and take good care of them." Murong Jing said to the horse's owner. This is a commonly used prescription in the military camp.
After resolving this matter, it was almost time for the agreed debate, and the four of them quickened their pace and walked forward.
After about an incense stick of time, the four finally saw a high platform built with wood in front of them. On both sides of the platform were hanging curtains with many famous sayings of saints written in large characters. The curtains fluttered in the wind, making people feel as if they were in a sea of books.
Lu Qingfeng was already waiting on the platform, and beside him stood a man of about thirty years old with an extraordinary temperament. This man was dressed as a scholar, and was obviously Zhu Lan's opponent today - Lu Qingfeng's eldest son, Lu Zhiyi.
As Zhu Lan walked slowly onto the stage, discussions immediately arose from the audience.
"Is this the female student from outside? She's too young..."
"Looking at her age, she has only been to school for a few years? How dare she challenge Young Master Lu!"
"Yes, Young Master Lu is the pride of our Qingxi Town. How could he be outshined by a little girl?"
"But I admire her courage. There are not many girls in our town who are willing to study. I wonder if it is the same in her hometown."
"Well, those are all nonsense from the imperial court. There has never been a reason for women to enter schools. We are truly following the ancient system and respecting teachers!"
This place is remote, government policies are not implemented, and people's discussions are relatively bold.
There were also quite a few women who came to watch. Although they were dissatisfied when they heard the men's discussions, they did not dare to argue.
After all, in Qingxi Town, there has never been a woman who is better at studying than men.
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