Chapter 197 The Real and Fake Heiress (Two Chapters Combined)
Gu Jiao had no interest in the hairpin or the gossip about Gu Jinyu, so she turned and left.
Gu Jinyu, who was in Qingfeng Tower, was in a terrible mood. Because of Zhuang Mengdie's words, the young ladies in the room all changed their expressions when they looked at her.
Today is the girls' school's ten-day break, and since everyone has nothing to do, we invited each other to Qingfeng Tower, firstly to place bets on the spring imperial examinations, and secondly to place bets on the list of the three most beautiful girls.
Gu Jinyu is a strong contender for the Three Beauties List. Born into a marquis's family, she is the apple of the eye of Marquis Gu and is also deeply favored by Consort Shu. On the day she turned fifteen, she was conferred the title of Princess Hui by His Majesty.
Her talent was renowned in the capital, if not a household name. After entering the girls' school, she thrived, winning many first places and sharing the spotlight with Zhuang Yuexi.
Who is Zhuang Yuexi? She is the granddaughter of Grand Tutor Zhuang, the niece of the great Confucian scholar Zhuang Xianzhi, and the younger sister of Prince An. It is not surprising that she is outstanding.
It's quite surprising that Gu Jinyu could achieve the same level of fame as her.
However, the capital city is a place that places great importance on social status, both for men and women.
"Jinyu, is what she said true?" asked Ms. Xu, who was on good terms with Gu Jinyu.
A Miss Yang standing nearby asked, "Yes, yes, Jinyu, Miss Zhuang is talking nonsense, isn't she? How could you not be the Marquis of Ding'an's biological daughter? The Marquis of Ding'an clearly dotes on you so much!"
Despite this, the young ladies in the room clearly looked at each other with a hint of doubt.
Gu Jinyu clenched the handkerchief in her hand.
She felt her cheeks burning, as if she had been slapped or stripped naked; all the shame welled up in that instant.
If anyone else had said that, she would have denied it long ago. After all, no one would go to the Marquis's mansion to verify it, and even if they did, the Marquis would have defended her by saying that she was his biological daughter.
But it just so happens to be Zhuang Mengdie!
Zhuang Mengdie has already confirmed her background, so there's no point in her denying it; it will only make things worse.
Even if Lord Gu intervenes, it will be useless. Someone like Zhuang Mengdie will definitely take it to His Majesty or the Empress Dowager and force Lord Gu to swear to the heavens that Gu Jinyu is his biological daughter, otherwise it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor!
This sounds ridiculous, but it is indeed something Zhuang Mengdie would do.
Zhuang Mengdie, arm in arm with her sister, smiled smugly at the opposite room: "Hehehe, speechless now? A fake heiress flaunts her status as a real heiress all day long. If I were her, I would have gone back to my hometown long ago! Please, those sycophants in there, open your eyes wide. Not every pheasant can rise to the top and become a phoenix!"
"Say no more, I'm leaving." Zhuang Yuexi said coldly as she led her good-for-nothing sister away.
"I just remembered I have some things to take care of at home, Miss Gu. Let's get together again next time." Miss Xu stood up to say goodbye.
“Me too. I promised to accompany my mother to offer incense. Miss Gu, I’ll be going now.” Miss Yang exchanged a glance with her companions and stood up to leave the room.
The remaining young ladies also left one after another. Some were too embarrassed to leave and didn't continue betting on Gu Jinyu.
Gu Jinyu felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, experiencing such embarrassment for the first time.
What made it even more embarrassing for her was that the rich girls who had already placed bets on her actually went downstairs and placed their bets on Zhuang Yuexi.
The two-way tie on the Three Beauties Ranking has been reversed, with Zhuang Yuexi surpassing Gu Jinyu to become the most popular heiress.
Gu Jinyu left Qingfeng Tower in humiliation.
"Miss, shall we return to the manor?" the coachman asked.
“Go to the Ministry of Works,” she said.
"yes!"
The coachman drove the carriage to the Ministry of Works.
Lord Gu had just returned from studying bellows technology at the Ministry of War. When he arrived at the yamen gate, he saw a familiar carriage. He walked over, lifted the curtain, and looked out: "Jinyu?"
Gu Jinyu's eyes were red, and tears were welling up in them.
Lord Gu was immediately distressed and sat in the carriage to ask her, "What's wrong? What happened? Did someone bully you?"
Gu Jinyu burst into tears, and a maidservant spoke up for her: "My lord, you must stand up for Miss! Miss has been humiliated today!"
Lord Gu's face darkened: "Who dares to humiliate the daughter of the Marquis of Ding'an's family?"
The maidservant said, "It's Miss Zhuang. She said our young lady is a wild pheasant from the countryside!"
This little maid is quite something. Zhuang Mengdie said so much, but she summarized it all in one sentence, and even made it ten times more impactful.
Lord Gu's face turned extremely ugly: "How could she do this?"
Gu Jinyu choked up and said, "Actually, it's not Miss Zhuang's fault. What she said is the truth. I am indeed not my father's biological child. My biological parents are from the countryside. That's my background..."
Lord Gu said with heartache, "Your father will not allow you to talk about yourself like that! In my heart, you are my own daughter!"
The maid glanced at Lord Gu and muttered, "Miss is in a terrible situation. After what Miss Zhuang said, no one will bet on her anymore! It's only the first day. Who knows how she'll be bullied when she goes to girls' school?"
Bullying his daughter? This is outrageous!
Lord Gu didn't know much about betting, and only learned from the master and servant that Qingfeng Tower had opened a gambling game for the imperial examinations, including a "Three Flowers Ranking," where bets were placed on who could win the hairpin flower from the top three scholars in the first rank.
There are three flowers in the hairpin. The one that Prince An is most likely going to be given to Zhuang Yuexi, so there are still two left, aren't there?
Lord Gu felt that with Jin Yu's talent, she should be able to win one of the two.
He couldn't let Jinyu suffer this injustice.
That afternoon, he withdrew five thousand taels of silver from the treasury and took it all to Qingfeng Tower to place bets.
"Which Miss Gu would you like to bet on?" the shopkeeper asked.
"Are there many more Miss Gus?" Lord Gu asked.
The shopkeeper, not recognizing Lord Gu, smiled and explained the two Miss Gus: "The Marquis of Ding'an's residence has two Miss Gus, one is the Second Miss Gu, and the other is the Eldest Miss Gu."
"That girl can be on the list too?" Lord Gu rolled his eyes. Soon, he remembered what the little maid had said: Zhuang Mengdie had deliberately bet a copper coin on Gu Jiao in order to humiliate Gu Jinyu. He figured that Qingfeng Tower must have put that girl on the list at that time.
Does she really think she can compete with Jin Yu?
Forget it!
Without saying a word, Lord Gu bet everything on Gu Jinyu.
Gu Jinyu's bet amount quickly caught up with Zhuang Yuexi's.
Gu Jiao remained alone at the very end.
Consort Shu also learned about the gambling in the imperial examination and secretly sent a eunuch with silver to place a bet at Qingfeng Tower.
Prince An is a sure winner; too many people are betting on him, and the odds are too low. But Consort Shu still placed her bet; it's better to earn less than nothing.
Consort Shu also bet on Gu Jinyu and Zhuang Yuexi, as well as the Daoist nun Miaoyin.
This Taoist nun had quite a background; she was the granddaughter of the Grand Secretary Yuan, and was sent to a Taoist temple because she was difficult to raise at birth. Strangely enough, the infant, who was clearly on the verge of death, became incredibly lively and energetic after entering the temple.
Consort Shu had inquired and found out that the Daoist nun Miaoyin could return to the capital after turning sixteen. Calculating the time, it would be around the time the results were announced.
Consort Shu felt that even if it was just because of Grand Secretary Yuan's reputation, Daoist nun Miaoyin should still be able to get a hairpin.
Yuan, the chief minister's grandson, also participated in the imperial examination. Although he was not as famous as Prince An, Consort Shu bet on him to be the runner-up.
Next, Consort Shu placed her bet on a talented young man from Jiangnan. This young man was quite famous in the Jiangnan region. He should have passed the imperial examination three years ago, but unfortunately he fell seriously ill and missed the opportunity.
He was on good terms with the Fifth Prince, who had strongly recommended him to her. Consort Shu trusted her son's judgment and thus bet on him to become the third-ranked scholar.
After doing all this, Consort Shu worried that she might have forgotten something, so she called her personal maid: "Who did the Crown Princess send?"
The palace maid said, "I inquired and found that the Crown Princess did not place any bets."
Consort Shu couldn't understand what the Crown Princess was thinking. Such a great opportunity to make money, why not take it?
The palace maid speculated, "Among these talented men and beautiful women, only Prince An's talent can catch the Crown Princess's eye, but the Crown Princess can't bring herself to bet on Prince An."
That makes sense. Prince An is from the Zhuang family, and Empress Xiao and the Zhuang family are mortal enemies. If the Crown Princess bets on the Zhuang family, isn't she just provoking Empress Xiao?
Consort Shu didn't take sides in the harem; she could bet on anyone.
After leaving Qingfeng Tower, Gu Jiao went directly to the clinic.
Dr. Song had just come out of Gu Chenglin's ward, his expression indescribable.
Gu Jiao walked over and asked, "What? He still won't leave?"
Doctor Song shook his head: "His wound has healed long ago, the stitches have been removed, and his pulse and other signs are all normal. There's no point in him staying any longer."
Although it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, Gu Chenglin is young and vigorous. He can simply go back to his residence and recuperate properly. Why does he always have to stay at their clinic?
Gu Chenglin was unwilling to leave, largely because he could not accept Aunt Ling's betrayal. He refused to return to the place where Aunt Ling had once been, and he also refused to hear any news about her.
As long as he is in the mansion, these problems cannot be solved.
But he couldn't move to a house outside; Old Madam Gu wouldn't agree.
Gu Jiao and Doctor Song went to his ward.
When they entered the room, Gu Chenglin was lying on his side with his back to the door.
The room was dimly lit, but you could still tell he had lost a lot of weight.
Gu Jiao approached the bedside: "If you don't leave now—"
Gu Chenglin didn't turn around, but silently held up a silver note.
"The wards in the clinic are for patients—"
He then held up another silver note.
Business has been very good lately—
Eight silver notes.
One sheet has a face value of one hundred taels.
Gu Jiao carefully put away the thousand taels: "Take good care of your injuries."
Doctor Song: "..."
After receiving the silver notes, Gu Jiao happily went out!
Meanwhile, Gu Chengfeng also finished his day's studies and came to the clinic to take care of his younger brother.
He used to do his homework during the day and tasks at night. After Gu Chenglin was injured, he did his homework during the day and took care of Gu Chenglin, and did tasks at night and took care of Gu Chenglin.
Gu Chenglin's physical condition is fine now, but he has become apathetic and refuses to communicate with others.
Gu Chengfeng's secret was actually starting to leak out to Gu Chenglin, but fortunately, Gu Chenglin's demeanor prevented him from revealing it.
Gu Chengfeng worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, and after being repeatedly drained of his resources, he finally saved up a thousand taels of silver.
This is the last debt.
Once this is paid off, he won't have to work so hard anymore!
"Third brother, once your second brother has paid off his debts, I'll take you to a better clinic!" Gu Chengfeng said, reaching under Gu Chenglin's pillow to feel for his silver notes.
He touched it, and... wait, nothing.
He touched it a second time, but still nothing.
He pulled out the pillow and was devastated to find that the thousand taels of silver he had painstakingly saved were gone!
He felt as if the sky had fallen: "Third brother! Where are my silver notes?"
On the ninth day, the first exam officially began.
The Imperial Guards had already surrounded the examination hall yesterday, making it completely impassable; not even a fly could get in.
The invigilators took the exam papers out of the sealed boxes and distributed them to each examination booth.
The Imperial Examination Hall in the capital had four examination halls in the east, west, south, and north, with as many as 500 people in each hall, totaling 2,000 examination papers.
After the exam papers were placed down, candidates were not allowed to start writing immediately. Instead, they had to wait for the bells of the Gongyuan Drum Tower to ring three times before they could pick up their pens to answer the questions.
The same applies when collecting papers; after the bell rings three times, you must start writing, otherwise it will be considered cheating in the exam.
With so many candidates at the Imperial Examination Hall in the capital, there were also many invigilators, and people patrolled all day long. Under such high pressure, it was extremely difficult to cheat.
The weather seems to be getting colder; it even snowed a little early this morning.
The cold wind howled, and the examinees shivered from the cold, their hands trembling as they struggled to hold their calligraphy brushes.
Xiao Liulang ate a piece of braised pork jerky and a steamed bun with chili sauce for breakfast. He was sweating profusely and his hands were warm.
This exam covered the Four Books and Five Classics, including questions on the classics, as well as interpretations and discussions; the number of questions was quite large.
Those who made it to this round were all top performers from various regions. Their mental fortitude and actual skills were far superior to those of the provincial examination. The difficulty of the first round was not enough to stump them, but the weather was too cold.
Achoo!
Inside an examination hall, Du Ruohan sneezed loudly.
He kicked off the covers last night and woke up freezing in the middle of the night. He hasn't been feeling well since then, feeling dizzy and unable to concentrate on his studies.
Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!
He sneezed several times in a row, and his head felt even dizzier.
If this continues, he will definitely fail the exam.
Du Ruohan suddenly became sad.
He couldn't fail the exam; it would embarrass his aunt.
His aunt already has it tough enough in the mansion. If he doesn't become more successful, his aunt will have even less reason to hold her head high in front of those people.
Du Ruohan tried hard to force himself to read the question, but his mind was too muddled and he just couldn't finish it.
He wanted to eat something to perk himself up, and when he opened his bundle, a small medicine packet fell out.
He paused for a moment before remembering that Gu Jiao had given it to him, saying it was medicine for colds and ointment for frostbite. The medicine for colds was to be taken internally three times a day, two pills each time; the ointment for frostbite was to be used externally, as desired.
But... will it really work?
Taking medicine indiscriminately could lead to an upset stomach, which would be worse.
Du Ruohan persisted for another half hour, and as the morning was about to pass, he still hadn't finished even a quarter of the questions.
If this continues, it's no different from giving up on the exam.
Du Ruohan gritted her teeth, took two cold medicine pills, and swallowed them with water!
Feng Lin and Lin Chengye did well in the exam. It wasn't because they were particularly outstanding, but because this was their first imperial examination. They were young and already held the title of Juren (a degree in the imperial examination system), so it wouldn't be shameful for them to fail.
Of course, Xiao Liulang still hoped that the two of them could pass the high school entrance exam, especially Lin Chengye. After all, Xiao Liulang had promised Lin Chengye a 50% refund if his tutoring was ineffective.
That's over two thousand taels of silver!
As evening approached, the minute rang, and all the candidates stopped writing, waiting for the invigilators to come and annotate their names and collect their papers.
Their exam papers would first be sent to Qinghui Hall, where six examiners from the Hanlin Academy would transcribe them in red ink, creating what was called "red scrolls." These red scrolls would then be sealed with the examiners' names concealed before being sent to the Inner Hall.
This is to prevent examiners from recognizing the candidates' handwriting and thus engaging in favoritism or cheating.
The candidates entered the examination hall on the 10th and re-entered on the 11th.
The second exam was on the eight-legged essay.
The title comes from the Analects of Confucius: “A gentleman is inclusive but not partisan; how small is the capacity of Guan Zhong!” These are two completely unrelated sentences.
It is worth mentioning that the phrase "a gentleman is inclusive but not partisan" appeared in a special imperial examination eleven years ago, meaning that this is not a new question.
That year also produced many excellent essays in the traditional eight-legged essay style. To amaze the examiners again on that basis would be extremely difficult. Candidates had to not only write something new in one sentence, but also consider the next sentence.
The atmosphere in the examination room was noticeably more somber than in the first exam.
The only sounds in the entire examination hall, besides the whistling wind, were the rustling of the candidates' pens.
Not long after, someone fell ill.
He was a scholar who had passed the provincial examination in his fifties. He had only passed the county-level examination in his thirties and the provincial-level examination in his forties. This was his sixth attempt at the spring examination. If he didn't pass, he would be sixty when he took the next one.
You can imagine the pressure he was under.
But fate did not favor him because of his pressure. He was already physically weak, and he was sitting in the outermost examination shed where the cold wind was blowing straight in. In fact, he already showed some bad signs in the first round, but he gritted his teeth and persevered.
By the second session, I couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed before finishing writing.
If it were just a cold, that would be one thing, but he actually had a stroke.
He had to be carried out by the Imperial Guards.
This spring imperial examination has been a complete disaster.
This was the time he was best prepared and performed the best. He should have passed the high school entrance exam without any surprises, but unfortunately, something unexpected happened.
The old scholar's collapse added considerable psychological pressure to the candidates, making the examination hall even quieter.
While the candidates were engrossed in answering the questions, the six examiners from the Hanlin Academy in Qinghui Hall had finished copying all the exam papers for the first round.
The candidates' ink-written papers were sealed and placed in a special cabinet, and would not be taken out and archived together with the red-written papers until all three rounds of grading were completed.
The first batch of examination papers were escorted by the Imperial Guards to the Inner Main Hall, and the six examiners all breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing that there was no one else in Qinghui Hall, one of them whispered jokingly, "I think I copied Prince An's exam paper."
Not only was it correct in every question, but the handwriting was also exceptionally elegant. Of all the exam papers I've seen in the imperial examinations, this one had the best handwriting, almost comparable to the calligraphy of a master calligrapher.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, one of the examiners opposite him said, "I think Prince An's exam paper should be on my side."
He also copied a perfect answer sheet, one that was absolutely impeccable. Apart from Prince An, no one in the entire Zhao Kingdom could do it.
The exam papers were covered up so that it was impossible to tell whose paper it was. When they copied the papers, they only put the serial numbers on the ink-written and vermilion-written ones. After copying, they would put the two papers side by side and stamp them at the joint.
If the serial number is incorrect, you can look for it by the seal.
The scribes were very careful, and so far there has been no mistake in the exam papers.
The two started arguing quietly, neither able to convince the other.
The examiners were completely unaware of their argument; the exam time was about to end, and they were writing furiously.
Prince An had already put pen to paper quite early.
He goes blind at night, so he tries to finish his exams during the day.
The bell rang, and the second exam was over.
The examiners came to seal the papers. There were quite a few people groaning in despair. It was clear that the first round had gone too smoothly, causing them to underestimate the difficulty of the second round.
However, the real nightmare came in the third game.
This is the chief examiner's questioning session.
The questions were so tricky that some test takers almost fainted at first glance.
The test actually focused on the eldest son of the legitimate wife being the most virtuous.
The Spring and Autumn Annals says: "Establish the heir based on the eldest son, not on the merit of the son; establish the son based on the status of the son, not on the eldest son."
It is said that only the legitimate son is entitled to inherit the family property. Even if the illegitimate son is born earlier than the legitimate son, the legitimate son should be given priority. Only when the legitimate son dies can the illegitimate son take over.
For example, the former young marquis of Zhaodu was the youngest son in his family. He had two older brothers born out of wedlock, but his brothers had no right to inherit the family business. Only he could be called the young marquis.
Now that he is dead, the estate of Marquis Xuanping should rightfully be inherited by his eldest son, unless Princess Xinyang gives birth to another legitimate son.
If a family has several legitimate sons, then the eldest legitimate son is considered the most important, and he inherits the family property, such as Gu Changqing of the Marquis of Ding'an's family.
Both of these individuals were of virtuous character and rank among the eldest sons of the legitimate wife, but there were also those whose virtue did not match their rank, such as the former deposed crown prince.
Empress Dowager Zhuang had no children of her own. Consort Liu's son was the eldest prince, who was appointed crown prince by the late emperor.
After he conspired with the Liu family to rebel, he was demoted to a commoner. According to the rules, the second prince should have been established, but instead, the fifth prince was established, who is now His Majesty.
After His Majesty ascended the throne, he appointed Empress Xiao's son as Crown Prince.
If one agrees with the idea of establishing the eldest son as heir rather than the most virtuous, then His Majesty's throne is illegitimate; but if one disagrees, then one is criticizing His Majesty for choosing the wrong crown prince, since everyone knows that although the crown prince is born of the legitimate wife, he is not the most outstanding among the princes.
This is a life-or-death question!
The candidates from Youzhou have all gone mad.
Who did the candidates from Youzhou offend this year? The provincial examination's policy questions tested the reduction of the power of the feudal lords, and the metropolitan examination's policy questions were even more tricky, even testing the emperor's domestic affairs!
Although it wasn't explicitly stated that it was about establishing an heir, no one is a fool.
Moreover, strictly speaking, the selection of an heir is not a matter of the emperor's family affairs, but a matter of state.
Since it's a matter of state, there's nothing that can't be used to test these scholars.
In short, just make them stumped.
Thankfully, the weather was cold and no one suffered from heatstroke. However, two elderly scholars suffered strokes, all because they were frightened by the topic.
Prince An frowned slightly when he received the question.
He didn't understand who set this question. Was it the Hanlin Academy or His Majesty? If it was His Majesty, then what was His Majesty's intention?
Is it a sign of dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince? Or is it a warning to the bookmakers who want to bring down the Crown Prince?
After all, if the heir apparent is chosen, then the current crown prince should be chosen; but if the eldest son is chosen, then the eldest son of Consort Zhuang should be chosen.
Prince An quickly smiled.
interesting.
This is a really interesting question!
Feng Lin and Lin Chengye were basically defeated in this round. They didn't have much political sense and couldn't understand the deeper meaning behind the question, only taking it as the literal meaning.
Feng Lin only has one son. What's the point of erecting anything? It's all his!
Although Lin Chengye was an illegitimate son in the family, his father said that inheriting the family business was a dead end, while becoming an official was a dead end. Therefore, none of his brothers wanted to inherit the family business; they all wanted to become officials.
If he fails the imperial examination, he will have to go back and inherit the family fortune like his brothers, becoming a wealthy man in the region.
Sigh, he doesn't want to, so sad.
When Xiao Liulang received the exam questions, his expression didn't change much, but he could clearly feel that the difficulty was greater than in the previous exams.
He closed his eyes and mentally prepared a draft for a while. After he finished, he didn't rush to write it down. Instead, he sat for another half an hour and overturned his previous idea.
...
Inside the examination hall, the candidates were all exhausted and frustrated, wishing they could throw their pens down. Outside the examination hall, on the quiet and deserted cobblestone path, a thin and frail figure stared blankly at the walls of the examination hall.
The exam questions were circulated within half an hour of the exam starting, and now they have spread throughout teahouses and taverns, but no one has been able to slip the answers inside.
The man stood beneath the towering wall, holding a piece of paper in his hand with the examination questions written on it.
His eyes shone with excitement.
He can do it.
He knows the answer to this question!
He knew how to write it; at least ten answers had already flashed through his mind!
He clenched the crumpled paper in his hand, his body trembling slightly uncontrollably.
Who is it?
A patrolling Imperial Guard spotted him.
He took off running!
To avoid disrupting the candidates' exams, horseback riding was prohibited in the vicinity, and the Imperial Guards patrolled entirely on foot, but that was enough to catch this defenseless man.
"It's you?" The Imperial Guards recognized the man after pinning him to the ground.
Liu Yisheng.
The Imperial Guards were used to it; every year, the Imperial Examination Hall in the capital held numerous exams, big and small, and they always managed to catch this madman outside.
The Imperial Guard said coldly, "You can't get in anyway, so what are you doing here?"
"Just passing by," Liu Yisheng said, his hands were tied behind his back and he was pressed to the ground, which made him feel uncomfortable.
"What happened?" Another guard came over.
“It’s Liu Yisheng,” the first Imperial Guard said. He had actually planned to drive Liu Yisheng away, but his companions clearly didn’t want to let her go so easily.
His companion crouched down and pulled a note from Liu Yisheng's clenched fist. The note contained today's policy question.
He immediately laughed disdainfully: "You actually stole the imperial examination questions? What are you trying to do? Are you colluding with the people inside to cheat?"
The test questions had already been leaked, and the Imperial Guards were all aware of this, but he just couldn't stand the kid and had to find a crime to humiliate him.
Liu Yisheng was dragged into a nearby alley.
A flurry of punches rained down on him, leaving him covered in blood and convulsing.
"Alright, alright! This is the imperial examination, don't let anyone die!" The first imperial guard couldn't stand it anymore, persuaded his companion, and pulled him back to the patrol path.
Snowflakes fell in a flurry.
Liu Yisheng lay sprawled on the cold, deserted street, gazing at the gloomy sky.
He saw no hope.
He wanted to die.
But he also knew that those people wouldn't let him die.
They wanted him to live and bear the sins of the deposed crown prince and the Liu family.
Cold snowflakes fell on his wound.
How wonderful it would be to freeze to death like this!
He closed his eyes and sneered.
Suddenly, the light above his head dimmed, the snowflakes falling on him disappeared, and he calmly opened his eyes.
Someone held up an oil-paper umbrella for him, with flowers and chicks painted on it in a very clumsy way, but the handle was exquisitely engraved with words.
The girl under the umbrella possessed a refined and elegant demeanor.
A large red patch on her left cheek, which at that moment appeared as vibrant as a peach blossom against the snow.
Gu Jiao squatted down and put the umbrella aside.
He raised his hand to stop Gu Jiao.
"Don't move," Gu Jiao said.
Liu Yisheng... didn't move.
Gu Jiao put the small basket on the ground, took out a small medicine box from it, and placed a few tongue depressors horizontally in his mouth: "Bite down, it might hurt a little."
Liu Yisheng bit down on the tongue depressor.
Gu Jiao grabbed his right arm and snapped it back into place.
And thighs.
This is quite painful.
Gu Jiao gently placed her hand on his left leg and lifted it up: "I'll count to three, then I'll put it back down. If you're okay, just nod."
Liu Yisheng nodded, sweating profusely.
This action made him very shy.
Gu Jiao: "One..."
Click!
They've been taken back.
Liu Yisheng didn't even have time to face the pain.
Of course, the pain was intense, and tears welled up in his eyes.
However, he held back.
Gu Jiao listened to his breathing with a stethoscope, and when she touched one of his ribs, he groaned in pain.
Gu Jiao took back the stethoscope, unbuttoned his coat, and put her hand inside.
He panicked immediately: "What are you doing?"
"Shh, don't move." Gu Jiao carefully touched his ribs, her movements were very careful. "The ribs are fractured, the dislocation is not very obvious, and it can heal on its own."
Gu Jiao withdrew her hand.
The hand had just wandered over his chest, and Liu Yisheng was a little embarrassed: "Are all you female healers like this..."
“It’s a doctor,” Gu Jiao corrected him.
Liu Yisheng fell silent.
Gu Jiao stood up: "Wait here for me, I'll go call a carriage for you."
"No need," Liu Yisheng called out to her.
"Hmm?" Gu Jiao looked at him strangely.
Liu Yisheng suddenly couldn't look her in the eye, so he lowered his gaze and said, "I said, no need."
He paused, clenched his fingers, and looked at her coldly. "I'll say it again: if you saved me so that I could repay you someday, then you're wrong. You should bet on those examinees, not on me, this rat that everyone hates!"
Gu Jiao sighed deeply: "You still don't believe in yourself."
Liu Yisheng gave a self-deprecating laugh: "You've misjudged me. I'm just a good-for-nothing who doesn't even qualify for the imperial examinations!"
Gu Jiao hummed in response: "You want to take the imperial examination?"
Liu Yisheng turned her face away: "I don't want to, and it's impossible."
Gu Jiao said earnestly, "Nothing is impossible in this world."
"Is that so?" Liu Yisheng sneered. A gust of cold wind blew by, and Gu Jiao's oil-paper umbrella rolled over. A little chick with a flower on its head suddenly appeared in his eyes without warning.
He suddenly laughed, a laugh full of sarcasm: "Have you ever heard of the Jinshi wearing flowers? Every year His Majesty selects three Jinshi who are ranked first in the imperial examinations and bestows upon them the first-ranked Jinshi a flower. If you can get their flowers, then I will believe what you say, that nothing is impossible in this world. Remember, not one, but three."
"Don't blame me for not reminding you, even the Crown Princess only got two flowers."
(End of this chapter)
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