Chapter 620 Sky Dome Academy (Second Update)
After going upstairs, Gu Jiao returned to her guest room.
This little incident didn't affect Gu Jiao much. She waited until 9 PM to take Gu Yan's pulse and blood pressure, and the values didn't deteriorate much.
After that, she rested.
However, an unexpected situation occurred at the post station in the middle of the night—a group of thieves came.
They encountered quite a few thieves along the way, not to mention bandits and mountain bandits. Gu Jiao was used to it; as long as they didn't bother her, she didn't care.
The post station's guards were quite skilled; despite the thief's best efforts to conceal his presence, they still managed to detect him, and a fierce fight ensued.
Although the thieves outnumbered the others, the post station was not only guarded by government officials; some guests also brought their own bodyguards. When they discovered they had been robbed, they quickly took action to catch the thieves.
After a while, the thief was completely enraged and started setting fires and taking hostages.
They rushed into the quiet rooms, because those who had made such a commotion and hadn't come out were either fast asleep or too scared to come out; either way, they were the perfect candidates to be hostages.
A thief wielding a large knife rushed toward Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun's house, but before he could even reach the door, he was kicked away by Gu Jiao, who suddenly appeared!
"ah--"
The thief screamed and crashed into the pillar behind him, passing out on the spot.
Nan Shi Niang also sensed that someone was about to attack Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun, so she opened the door and came out.
Seeing that Gu Jiao had already dealt with the person, he was not surprised.
Gu Jiao said to her, "Teacher Nan, go back to sleep. I'll stay here."
Gu Jiao was indeed capable of dealing with a group of petty thieves, so Nan Shi Niang went back to her room.
The fierce battle raged in the courtyard. It turned out that the thieves had accomplices lying in ambush outside the post station. Apparently, they heard the commotion and dozens of men rushed in aggressively.
The post station was at a disadvantage.
Seeing that they had stolen money, they even started stealing horses!
Gu Jiao couldn't let them succeed, otherwise what would she bring to Shengdu tomorrow?
Gu Jiao braced herself against the railing with one hand and leaped down from the second floor, kicking a horse thief away!
She didn't join the battle in the yard; she just focused on guarding the stable, fighting off one by one, or two at a time.
In the end, the thieves in the yard weren't subdued by the group, but the thieves assigned to the stable were all beaten into submission.
As the group confronted Gu Jiao with knives in hand, a young girl ran out of her room upstairs.
"Fourth Brother!"
She ran towards another room.
Unbeknownst to her, a thief was standing right behind her. The thief was about to leave empty-handed, but then this richly dressed young lady appeared, and it would be a pity to let her go.
This young girl was none other than the Su family's daughter who had previously fought with Gu Jiao over the carriage in the lobby.
She really is a paper tiger; they got right behind her, but she didn't even notice.
The thief's hand reached for the girl's neck.
Gu Jiao swept the ground, flicked her toes, picked up a short knife dropped by a thief, then spun around, kicked the hilt of the knife, and kicked the dagger violently towards the second floor!
The dagger pierced the thief's shoulder with a sudden, powerful thrust that slammed him against the wall. He was then thrown off the second floor and crashed heavily into the lobby on the first floor.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The young lady of the Su family was completely unaware, while the thieves confronting Gu Jiao were all dumbfounded.
What kind of skill is that?!
"Fourth Brother!"
The young lady of the Su family arrived in front of a side room. Gu Jiao looked around and realized that it was the side room next to hers.
The door to the side room opened, and a slender, jade-like hand reached out and caught the young lady of the Su family who had tripped on the threshold and almost fell.
The night was dark, but the hand was as beautiful as a finely carved piece of jade.
It's excessive for a man to have such beautiful hands.
"Tsk." Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow, unable to look away for a moment.
A thief took the opportunity to swing a knife at her.
Gu Jiao kept her eyes fixed on that hand, then swiftly plunged a knife into the thief's chest.
The thief stared in disbelief at his own pierced wound: "..."
This actually works?!
The thieves in the yard were eventually all caught.
"Oh no! We forgot the stables!" said a guard at the post station.
The postmaster hurriedly led his men to the stables, only to find a group of bruised and battered bandits who had tied themselves up, were kneeling on the ground with handkerchiefs in their mouths, looking like they wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Everyone: "..."
The next day, the weather was fine.
Gu Jiao carried Gu Yan onto the carriage.
Gu Xiaoshun drove one carriage, while Master Lu drove another.
Gu Jiao didn't pay much attention to the Su siblings' movements. She lowered the curtain and told Gu Xiaoshun to set off.
The journey was smooth, and about half an hour later they entered the capital of the Yan Kingdom.
Even Gu Jiao, who isn't particularly interested in cultural landscapes, could clearly feel the aura of a powerful capital city emanating from the street. Shops lined both sides of the street, and the middle of the road was bustling with people and traffic.
Gu Xiaoshun's mouth dropped open in astonishment: "Wow, sister, the streets of Shengdu are so wide! How many carriages could walk side by side here!"
Nan Shi Niang's carriage rode alongside them. Upon hearing Gu Xiaoshun's words, Nan Shi Niang lifted the curtain and said with a smile, "This is only the outer city. Once we enter the inner city, the streets will be wider."
"What is the inner city? What is the outer city?" Gu Xiaoshun asked, puzzled.
Nan Shi Niang patiently explained, "The capital of Yan is divided into inner and outer cities. The outer city is mostly inhabited by merchants and ordinary people, while the inner city is mostly inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles."
Gu Xiaoshun then asked, "Is the academy we're going to in the inner city or the outer city?"
"Outer city," said Madam Nan.
Gu Xiaoshun was puzzled again: "But aren't there many young masters from noble families coming to the academy? Why isn't the academy built in the inner city?"
“Land is cheaper in the outer city,” Gu Jiao said.
Nan Shi's wife smiled and said, "That's right."
Gu Xiaoshun was dumbfounded: "Ah. Then I'll have a chance to go inside the city and take a look."
What Nan Shi Niang didn't say was that the inner city wasn't so easy to enter, even with documents from Tianqiong Academy.
The capital of the Yan Kingdom had three impregnable walls: the outer city wall, the inner city wall, and the palace wall.
The State of Yan was definitely a place with a more rigid class system than the State of Zhao. It was easy for people in the inner city to leave, but it was much more difficult for people in the outer city to enter.
Nan Shi Niang lived in the Yan Kingdom for many years but never entered the inner city.
Although Tianqiong Academy is located in the outer city, it is not far from the inner city, making it a prime location in the outer city.
After driving for another half hour, the group finally arrived at the back gate of the Sky Dome Academy.
Mrs. Nan said apologetically, "I haven't been here for so many years, I almost forgot the way."
She meant to lead the way to the front gate, but she led the wrong way.
Gu Jiao jumped off the carriage: "It's alright, we'll go through the back door."
Nan Shi Niang said, "We'll take Yan'er to find a house first, and we'll come back here to pick you up in a bit."
Gu Jiao nodded: "Okay."
Tianqiong Academy had servants specifically assigned to watch over the carriages. Gu Jiao walked over, first showing her and Gu Xiaoshun's enrollment documents, then taking out Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun's Zhao Kingdom household registration. After verifying their identities, the servant handed Gu Jiao a token.
"You'll need this to retrieve the carriage later."
As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Jiao from head to toe.
The main thing was to examine the birthmark on her face.
Gu Jiao didn't care at all and asked where the report was from.
The servant said, "It's in Qingzheng Hall. Go straight in, then turn east at the fork in the road and you'll see it."
Gu Jiao took Gu Xiaoshun to Qingzheng Hall to report for duty.
Surprisingly, quite a few people came to report today, from all over the world, so this Sky Dome Academy is indeed an international institution of learning.
After queuing for a while, it was Gu Jiao's turn. Gu Jiao handed over her and Gu Xiaoshun's documents and household registration.
Those who came to Yan to study needed to understand the Yan script, but the teachers in Yan did not need to understand the Zhao script.
Therefore, there were two sets of household registrations. When the teacher saw that she was from Zhao State, he looked at her with a hint of disdain. When he looked at Gu Jiao's face, he became even more impatient.
He had just finished receiving several students from Jin and Liang, and he was incredibly hospitable. Gu Xiaoshun thought he was a particularly kind person, but seeing his face change so quickly, he instantly pouted in disappointment.
But when the teacher saw the name on the household register, his gaze paused slightly: "Which one is Xiao Liulang?"
“Yes, that’s me,” Gu Jiao said.
"How old are you?"
"nineteen."
"You look only fifteen or sixteen."
Gu Jiao, who was indeed only sixteen, said, "...I look young."
Master: "..."
The teacher gave Gu Jiao a deep look, his lips moved, and he murmured something.
He picked up the seal and stamped it quickly on the household registration and documents. Then he accepted the documents, returned the household registration to Gu Jiao and Gu Xiaoshun, and took out another document for Gu Jiao and Gu Xiaoshun to fill in, sign and affix their fingerprints.
This process inexplicably gave Gu Jiao the illusion of her university registration in her previous life.
After filling out the form, you pay the tuition fee.
"Twenty taels per person per month," the teacher said casually.
Gu Xiaoshun's eyes widened. "Robbery! Twenty taels!"
"Ten taels for lodging," the teacher added, "for one month."
Gu Xiaoshun froze on the spot.
Even studying in Zhaoguo for a year wouldn't cost thirty taels!
In addition, she also brought Gu Yan's documents and household registration, but Gu Yan was sick, so she took sick leave for him.
The master calmly replied, "Thirty taels."
You have to pay money even if you take sick leave!
Gu Jiao asked, "Aren't you staying overnight?"
The Master said, "Then it must be paid."
Gu Jiao checked the academy's rules and regulations, confirmed that the teacher was not extorting them, and then paid the money out of her pocket.
"Two people per room," the teacher said, tossing the two men two wooden plaques with their names on them and a key hanging from each plaque.
Gu Xiaoshun thought it meant that he and Gu Jiao shared a room, but when he looked closely, he realized that he was in room seventeen and Gu Jiao was in room twenty-seven. How many rooms were there between them!
Gu Xiaoshun was bewildered: "Can't we arrange for them to be in the same room?"
The teacher glanced at Gu Xiaoshun indifferently: "No."
Gu Jiao said, "Never mind, we're not staying here anyway."
"It's so expensive, sister! I want to stay here, I want to move back here." Gu Xiaoshun had suffered before. Ten taels of silver a month for lodging was really painful for him. He wished he could wear out the dormitory by living there!
Not only were they not in the same room, but when they arrived, they discovered they weren't even in the same courtyard.
Gu Jiao is in the South Courtyard, and Gu Xiaoshun is in the East Courtyard.
Gu Xiaoshun's heart was bleeding. He clutched his chest and said, "Sister, let's go take a look and see what that ten-tael silver dormitory is like."
Gu Jiao accompanied Gu Xiaoshun to the East Courtyard.
"The environment is quite nice and tranquil," Gu Jiao said.
When Gu Xiaoshun was in the county town of Zhao Kingdom, he stayed at Tianxiang Academy for a period of time. At that time, he felt that it was much better than the houses in the village. The dormitories of Tianqiong Academy were naturally more high-end and classy than those of Tianxiang Academy. It was worth the five taels of silver for lodging, and it was worthy of the reputation of the royal academy of Yan Kingdom.
"Number 17 is over there." Gu Jiao pointed to a room in the corridor.
The two walked toward Gu Xiaoshun's house; the door was open.
“Your roommate is here,” Gu Jiao said.
She reached out to push the door, but it was pulled open from the inside.
A familiar face came into Gu Jiao's view. The person saw Gu Jiao, was startled at first, and then their eyes lit up: "Brother Xiao! It's you!"
"Brother" is a respectful term; in reality, Xiao Liulang is definitely younger than him.
"Brother-in-law, you two know each other?" Gu Xiaoshun almost blurted out.
“I saw you at the post station,” Gu Jiao said.
This person was none other than Zhong Ding, who had spoken earnestly to her in the lobby of the post station.
“I am Zhong Ding,” Zhong Ding said, looking at Gu Xiaoshun.
Gu Xiaoshun looked at Gu Jiao and said, "I am Gu Xiaoshun, and she is my brother-in-law."
"Ah, then you two..." Zhong Ding gestured with his eyes towards the house behind him.
Gu Jiao understood and said, "My wife's younger brother is your roommate."
Zhong Ding exclaimed again, then chuckled awkwardly, "I thought it was Brother Xiao. By the way, the post station was robbed last night. Are you all alright, Brother Xiao?"
Gu Xiaoshun asked in surprise, "Were you robbed last night?"
Zhong Ding was even more surprised than him: "You sleep so soundly?"
The group chatted for a while, mainly because Zhong Ding was an exceptionally talkative person. The conversation had almost died out several times, but he always managed to revive it.
From him, Gu Jiao learned that dormitories were generally allocated between the upper and lower kingdoms, with people from the lower kingdoms living together and people from the upper kingdoms living together.
If that's the case, then her roommate must also be from a lower country.
“The east courtyard is full of people from lower states, with the majority being from Zhao,” Zhong Ding said. “By the way, Brother Xiao, which room are you staying in?”
Gu Jiao said, "I don't live in the East Courtyard."
Zhong Ding replied without hesitation, "Then it must be the West Courtyard."
Both the north and south courtyards were for people from the upper class to live in.
A certain academy.
Master: How old are you?
Xiao Meiren: I'm sixteen.
Master: You look like you're eighteen or nineteen.
Xiao Meiren: I look older than my age.
Master: ...
*
It doesn't matter when you vote for your monthly pass. If you can save it, wait for the double bonus on the 28th. If you can't save it, you can vote for it now.
A new journey has begun, and Jiaojiao needs everyone's care.
(End of this chapter)
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