Chapter 10 Beating People
After Xiao Liulang entered the examination hall, Gu Jiao left with her basket on her back.
She was going to the market to sell the wild mushrooms and dried wood ear fungus in her basket, and do something else along the way.
Tianxiang Academy was renowned, attracting many applicants, including locals and those from other places like Xiao Liulang.
Each candidate held a recommendation letter from the village school, county school, or prefectural school, and entered the corresponding examination room.
Because of their different levels, Xiao Liulang and Gu Dashun were assigned to different examination rooms.
Xiao Liulang was in the last row.
The steps to Tianxiang Academy are very high, and those who come to study are usually at least Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations). In those days, it was not easy to pass the Xiucai exam, and it was already quite remarkable that Gu Dashun passed it before he was twenty.
Xiao Liulang was only seventeen, making him the youngest among all the candidates.
He was also the most handsome one.
Unfortunately, he was lame.
The other candidates cast strange glances at them, but it didn't last long before they started filling out their exam papers.
The exam was on poetry and prose in the morning, and on classical texts in the afternoon.
Most of the candidates who come here are well-educated; composing poems on the spot is not difficult for them. The challenge lies in the interpretation of the classics in the afternoon.
The questions on the classics were all taken from the original texts of the Four Books and Five Classics, and candidates were required to strictly use the eight-legged essay style.
The eight-legged essay consists of eight parts: breaking the topic, continuing the topic, beginning the discussion, getting started, the first part, the middle part, the last part, and the conclusion. It does not allow metaphors, must use the tone of sages, and the annotations can only come from the Cheng-Zhu school, which greatly restricts the candidates.
Adding to the difficulty of the questions, by the end of the day, the candidates' faces had almost all turned a pale green.
When Xiao Liulang came out, his classmates had been waiting outside the examination hall for almost half an hour.
"Liu Lang! Over here!" He waved to Xiao Liu Lang.
Xiao Liulang walked over, leaning on his cane.
My classmate said, "I just heard a lot of people complaining about how difficult the questions on the classics were. Sigh, you guys are just unlucky. The dean himself set the questions this time. If you hadn't had that accident and had taken the exam with me, it wouldn't have been so hard... It's all that wicked woman's fault!"
Xiao Liulang glanced at him, his brow furrowing slightly.
The classmate continued, "By the way, has she been bullying you these past few days? I was so worried you wouldn't be able to come today."
Indeed... I almost couldn't make it.
Xiao Liulang paused.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he raised his head and looked ahead.
The exams had just finished, and the street in front of the academy was bustling with people.
A slender figure, carrying a small basket on her back, arms crossed, leaned against the wall, looking somewhat nonchalant.
People walked by her from time to time, casting all sorts of glances at her because of her face, but she didn't care at all, showing no anger, annoyance, shame, or embarrassment.
Soon, her classmate also saw Gu Jiao and frowned: "Ah! What's she doing here? Is she here to cause you trouble? Tell me honestly, did you run away from home today?"
In truth, Xiao Liulang wasn't sure if Gu Jiao had come to see him; he only knew that she was leaning there, clearly waiting for someone...
It was probably because there were so many test takers that Gu Jiao finally noticed them.
Gu Jiao turned her head and looked this way. In the sea of people, she immediately spotted the handsome young man.
She smiled slightly and walked towards Xiao Liulang.
"I've finished the exam," she said.
"Hmm." Xiao Liulang nodded. "Have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all," Gu Jiao said, tugging at her little ear.
"Didn't you go to the market? Why didn't you come home?" Xiao Liulang had seen the wood ear mushrooms and wild mushrooms in her basket and knew she had gone to the market. But the market closed at noon at the latest.
"I happened to have something to take care of nearby," Gu Jiao said.
"What could you possibly have to do with me?" The classmate rolled his eyes.
However, Gu Jiao's words reminded him.
He finished class early today and went to the clinic, only to find that Dr. Zhang was there again and had even saved a person who was on the verge of death.
"Are you sure it's Doctor Zhang?" Xiao Liulang asked, slightly surprised.
During the last medical dispute, Dr. Zhang also suffered some minor injuries. Actually, it wasn't Dr. Zhang who caused the death of the murderer's family member; he was just implicated. But he still managed to provoke him, and the doctor threatened never to come back again.
The classmate said confidently, "Of course! I saw that person being carried in with my own eyes. He was covered in blood, his neck was crooked, and he was no longer breathing. Besides Doctor Zhang from the capital, who else could have saved him?"
Gu Jiao silently watched the little ants on the ground without saying a word.
The classmate continued, "If Dr. Zhang can save even those patients, he can definitely heal your leg too. You don't need to worry about any of this; I'll ask Dr. Zhang about his clinic hours."
"When are you going?" Gu Jiao suddenly asked.
Her classmate gave her a disdainful look: "Why should I tell you?"
Gu Jiao: "..."
We ate dinner in town. My classmate insisted on taking Xiao Liulang to try the Yangchun noodles near the academy, saying they tasted like home.
After the meal, Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao rode back to the village in a mule cart. This time, Xiao Liulang requested one with a carriage.
Night fell completely, and although there were no oil lamps in the carriage, the bright moonlight peeked in through the gaps.
Gu Jiao sat opposite Xiao Liulang, stretched out her long legs, and pointed her toes repeatedly.
She bought new shoes.
These weren't embroidered shoes worn by wealthy heiresses; they were just a pair of inexpensive cloth shoes with a pure black upper and no other colors, yet they looked surprisingly good on her feet.
She played with her shoes so sweetly, her eyes sparkling like shattered starlight.
The mule cart was still parked at the village entrance.
After the two got out of the car, Gu Jiao continued to walk behind him at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
The news that Gu Jiao had fallen out with Gu Dashun for Xiao Liulang had spread throughout the village. Xue Ningxiang waited at the door and saw the two of them walking in from the night.
Was she seeing things last time?
Are these two really dating?
"Gu the Fool!"
A sound broke the silence, and Xue Ningxiang turned and went back into the house.
Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang stopped outside their door and turned to look at the young man walking briskly towards them. It was Gu Ershun from the second branch of the Gu family.
Both Gu Ershun and Gu Xiaoshun were born to Liu, but Gu Ershun was always closer to his cousin Gu Dashun than to his own brother.
Gu Jiao glanced at it briefly before looking away, unlocked the door, and went inside with Xiao Liulang.
Gu Ershun strode over, stood with his hands on his hips at the door, and angrily said, "Gu idiot, I think you've gone too far! How dare you treat your older brother like this! Do you know that you almost delayed my exam? And you made me lose face in front of the whole village!"
I won't listen, I won't listen, you're just spouting nonsense.
Gu Jiao stepped over the threshold and was about to close the door.
Seeing that she ignored him, Gu Ershun was furious. He stepped into the house and braced himself against the door with one hand: "You dare? Grandpa sent me to find you! You'd better get over there and kowtow to your older brother to admit your mistake! Otherwise, I'll beat you to death!"
Gu Jiao impatiently tugged at her little ear.
bother.
"Did you hear me? You're not getting any more ideas until we get this straight today..."
He was only halfway through his sentence.
Gu Jiao raised her foot and kicked him away!
I only have patience for Xiao Meiren ╭(╯^╰)╮
(End of this chapter)
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