Chapter 19 Genius
After dinner, Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun returned to the academy, only to be told that their dormitory had collapsed.
"When did it collapse?" Xiao Liulang asked.
The student said, "It collapsed not long after you left. Many people saw you heading towards the dormitory and were worried that you would be buried inside."
I was originally going to go, but...
Xiao Liulang paused slightly.
Gu Xiaoshun ran to look at the collapsed dormitory. All he saw were rubble and broken walls, the floorboards cracked from the falling beams. Thinking about what would happen if those things hit someone on the head, he patted his chest in terror: "Thank goodness my sister came to find us for dinner! Otherwise, we'd both be buried alive!"
Including the time at the clinic, this is the second time. Each time, it was because of her that I avoided an unexpected disaster.
Xiao Liulang gazed in the direction Gu Jiao had left, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Tianxiang Academy has always had a shortage of dormitories. This time, they enrolled a total of 101 students, which is the largest enrollment ever. Therefore, the academy simply did not have any extra dormitories and had to let the two continue to commute.
Since the accommodation fee was included in the tuition, it was generally not refundable if the student did not stay. However, considering that this was not a student's problem, the academy took the initiative to cover Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun's daily transportation costs.
Gu Xiaoshun didn't care. He didn't like the Gu family, but he didn't necessarily love the academy that much either. It was all the same to him.
"Brother-in-law, are you quite happy?" Gu Xiaoshun asked Xiao Liulang in a low voice on the way back to the classroom.
"Why am I so happy?" Xiao Liulang asked rhetorically.
"You can go back and sleep with my sister now!" Gu Xiaoshun spoke without thinking. He was thirteen years old this year. It wasn't that he didn't understand, but it wasn't that he understood either. In his opinion, a man should sleep with his wife in his arms. As for what they should do after they fall asleep, he didn't really know.
Therefore, he wasn't ashamed at all when he said this.
Xiao Liulang choked: "Don't talk nonsense."
"Oh." He wasn't just making things up; his brother-in-law could go back and sleep with his sister!
The two entered the classroom; the afternoon's lesson was mathematics. Mathematics was not a subject in the imperial examinations; only the eight-legged essay was tested. Therefore, the court did not value mathematics. The establishment of this subject was entirely the headmaster's idea, who hoped to cultivate talent for the Zhao Kingdom in an unconventional way.
As soon as Xiao Liulang sat down, Master Zhang called him out: "The Dean is looking for you."
Xiao Liulang went to the Dean's Zhongzheng Hall.
Just as he reached the door, he unexpectedly ran into Gu Dashun, who was coming out of the Zhongzheng Hall.
Gu Dashun's face still held a hint of smugness, but as soon as he saw Xiao Liulang, he frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Xiao Liulang ignored him and walked past him, leaning on his cane.
Gu Dashun frowned deeply.
Is Xiao Liulang also here to see the dean?
On Gu Dashun's first day of school, Master Chen told him that the dean greatly admired him. Later, he subtly hinted that the dean planned to select a personal disciple from this batch of students, and urged him to work hard.
Of course he has to try his best.
With his exceptional talent, if he were to receive meticulous guidance from a literary giant like the dean, how could he possibly fail to achieve academic success?
He barely slept last night, writing an article which he showed to Master Chen this morning. At noon, Master Chen showed it to the dean, who called him in and asked him several questions about the article, which he answered very well.
He could tell that the dean was very satisfied.
He thought that his disciple's matter should be a sure thing, but he didn't know why Xiao Liulang had also come.
Is it about the dormitory?
I heard that his and Gu Xiaoshun's dormitory collapsed at noon. It's unlucky that he could encounter such a thing, which shows that he's just not destined for it.
Thinking of this, Gu Dashun sneered and arrogantly returned to the classroom.
Inside the Zhongzheng Hall, the dean pointed to the eight-legged essay on the desk and asked Xiao Liulang, "Did you write this essay yourself?"
“Yes,” Xiao Liulang said.
The dean's sharp gaze fell on Xiao Liulang. The boy looked to be only seventeen years old, his face still showing signs of immaturity, yet his brows revealed a composure and aloofness beyond his years.
Despite his limp, he seemed more refined than any healthy student.
"Why didn't you answer the first two questions?" the dean asked.
Outsiders only know that this student ranked last in the exam, but they don't know that he submitted blank papers for two of the three exams.
I shouldn't have been accepted, but the article was just too amazing.
The student named Gu Dashun's article was also good, but that was good for a freshman. Compared to Xiao Liulang's, it immediately paled in comparison.
Xiao Liulang did not answer the dean's question.
What a stubborn child! The dean sighed inwardly, waved his hand, and said, "Alright, go to class now."
Xiao Liulang gave a student's salute, then turned and left.
An elderly man in plain clothes walked out from behind the curtain.
"Teacher." The dean immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.
The old man in plain clothes picked up Xiao Liulang's article, read it, and shook his head: "Your student has a lot of resentment."
After saying goodbye to Xiao Liulang, Gu Jiao went to the nearby market.
The market in the east of the town is similar to the market in the west, only it's more upscale and the prices are correspondingly higher. However, the market is already closed, so if she wants to buy something, she'll have to go to a shop or market instead.
Gu Jiao bought five catties of white flour, two catties of high-quality three-layered pork belly, and two catties of salt from the shop, spending more than a hundred copper coins in total.
As she passed a cloth shop, she remembered that when she had collected clothes for Xiao Liulang a few days ago, his inner and outer garments were torn.
She went in and bought a new set of clothes for each of them. She also asked the shopkeeper for some scraps of fabric, and mended some of the pieces that could be patched.
Although she has never mended clothes, she has sewn up hearts. If you treat the fabric as a piece of human skin, it should be easy to sew it up!
After Gu Jiao packed all the things she bought into her basket, she prepared to head back to the village. When she stepped out of the shop, she found that there were suddenly many soldiers on the street.
People nearby were whispering among themselves.
What happened?
"I heard that a patient from the leprosy mountain has escaped, and the government is searching the whole city!"
"Oh dear, a leper? This is terrible!"
"That's right! Try to stay home these days, lest you accidentally catch it! This disease is highly contagious, and once you get it, there's no cure!"
In ancient times, leprosy was an incurable disease; once infected, one was simply sent to a leprosy sanctuary to await death.
Gu Jiao suddenly remembered something: Xiao Liulang's elder brother seemed to have died of leprosy.
After searching this street, the team of soldiers moved on to the next street.
Gu Jiao returned to the village.
Gu Jiao didn't take the things on the street to heart. After returning home, she went to make plain noodles.
As she was kneading the dough, a loud thud suddenly came from outside the door, as if something had hit her door.
Gu Jiao wiped her hands with a dry cloth, went over and saw an old woman lying at her doorstep.
As requested by the website, the cover has been temporarily changed. Just remember the title. Hugs!
Today is another day of seeking attention and warming up the crowd.
(End of this chapter)
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