"Then get to the point," He Youyou urged.
Butler Qian shook his head: "I can't say."
He Youyou: Huh?
"This matter involves a secret, which I cannot disclose."
He Youyou was helpless.
If the housekeeper didn't want to talk, she couldn't force her to.
Moreover, Steward Qian followed voluntarily, without any contract of servitude, and could come and go as he pleased.
She was completely outmaneuvered; threats were useless.
“Old Qian, I don’t care about any past grudges. As long as you’re here, you’re helping me. If you ever want to go home and retire, just say so, and I won’t stop you.”
"Thank you, Madam."
The two talked for a while, and before they knew it, quite a long time had passed.
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the carriage; it turned out there was some commotion at the examination hall.
He Youyou lifted the carriage curtain and quickly got off the carriage, looking towards the exit of the examination hall.
Candidates who have handed in their exam papers are now leaving the exam room one after another.
Her gaze swept over the candidates one by one until she saw the handsome young man.
"Ah Li!"
She waved her hand and shouted...
The Northern Camp.
The messenger hurried through the vast darkness of the night, bringing with him a chill in the air.
The guards outside the tent saw it from afar and their eyes lit up.
"Brother Guard, this was just received..."
Before the messenger could finish speaking, he was immediately interrupted by the guards.
"Go in quickly, go in quickly. The Left Guard ordered that any messenger who comes to deliver a message or letter must not be delayed for a moment. Send it in immediately for him to review."
"...Oh, then I'll go in."
The messenger was puzzled.
He'd never been treated like this before...
The guard waved to him, signaling him to hurry up and stop dawdling.
The messenger entered the camp.
There wasn't just one camp, but a whole area of them.
The central tent is the main military tent, where Zhao Changqing lived and worked.
The outermost ring consisted of the tents where his guards or lieutenants lived.
The messenger moved through the crowd until he reached the outside of the central command tent. He met Zuo Ming, the Left Guard, and reported, "Left Guard, a letter has arrived from Ji Province!"
As he spoke, he handed a bamboo tube to Zuo Ming.
This bamboo tube is much larger than the one that was previously delivered by carrier pigeon.
The left guard took the bamboo tube and asked, "Was this a message delivered by a falcon?"
The messenger replied, "Yes, sir!"
"Alright, I will hand it over to the Governor. You may go back now."
"Yes!" The messenger turned and returned to camp.
Zuo Ming held the bamboo tube and examined it carefully; there was nothing unusual about its appearance.
As a guard, he had a duty to inspect the items he handled to ensure his master's safety.
Upon opening it, apart from the letter inside, there was nothing else found in the bamboo tube.
I checked it carefully three times and found nothing wrong, so it's ready to be submitted.
So he took the bamboo tube and went into Zhao Changqing's tent.
When he came in, Zhao Changqing was writing at his desk.
A drop of ink slowly dripped from the pen, landing on the paper and splashing into a dark flower.
"Sir, a letter has arrived from Jizhou."
As Zuo Ming spoke, he handed over the bamboo tube.
Zhao Changqing put the pen back on the pen holder.
He adjusted the cloak again before reaching out to take it.
As he opened the bamboo tube, he casually asked, "Didn't the messenger arrive a while ago? Why did it take you so long to deliver the message?"
It turned out that Zhao Changqing had been listening intently and had already heard his conversation with the messenger outside.
Zuo Ming: Good morning? It's only been a short while, how is it early?
But he didn't dare say it so directly.
“Sir, this thing has to be inspected before it passes through my hands, don’t you remember? It’s the rule, we can’t break it. If there’s poison or an arrow hidden in the bamboo tube and it hurts you, I’ll be guilty of a thousand deaths.”
"Um."
Zhao Changqing gave a light "hmm" and said nothing more.
The letter paper had already been poured out of the bamboo tube.
Holding it in my hand, just about to open it, I suddenly remembered something.
Looking up at Zuo Ming, he said, "What are you still doing standing here? Get out."
Zuo Ming was completely confused.
Why can't people stand to the side just because the master is reading a letter?
This problem didn't exist before.
What's wrong?
But he could not disobey orders, so he could only bow and take his leave, turning to leave the tent.
Zhao Changqing was left alone in the tent to slowly read the letter.
Zhao Changqing didn't know what was wrong with him either.
He wanted to read Jizhou's letter quietly by himself, not wanting anyone else to watch over him.
It's like having a little secret that you can't tell anyone.
Seeing Zuo Ming leave, he didn't delay any longer and immediately opened the letter.
It was a letter from Butler Qian.
The message was delivered by a falcon, and the bamboo tube was relatively large. It could hold more paper, and contained a few more sentences than the previous small notes.
The gist of the letter is:
Young Master Han Wenzheng passed the county examination and was selected as the top scholar by the county magistrate.
The top candidate in the county examination can be exempted from the prefectural and provincial examinations and directly obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level examination).
Young master is truly outstanding.
...
After reading the letter, Zhao Changqing turned it over to look at the back.
There are no words on the back.
That's it?
That's all?
The entire text only mentions Han Wenzheng.
It always feels like something's missing.
The letter arrived, yet it felt as if it hadn't.
Han Wenzheng passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Okay, he knows.
What about the others?
For the first time, Zhao Changqing felt that Steward Qian was not very thoughtful in his work.
He put the letter aside, picked up his pen again, and wrote on the blank sheet of paper: "Is everyone at home well?"
After finishing writing, he put down his pen and stared at the sentence, his gaze unwavering.
After staring at it for a while, I felt it wasn't right.
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