95 Good News
◎Master, you must protect me from now on◎
Only after they were far away did she dare to cover her mouth and exclaim in surprise.
Ji Shijing was actually ranked first.
First place.
So awesome.
It took her a long time to recover from her shock, and then she was overwhelmed with ecstasy. She decided to celebrate this great event well, so she walked towards the city. There was a famous restaurant there, but it was expensive, so she had never been willing to eat there. But today it would be no exaggeration to make an exception.
When she arrived at the restaurant, it wasn't as crowded as other taverns, but the people present were all distinguished people in splendid attire. Despite her ordinary attire, the waiter didn't look down on her. Instead, he enthusiastically cleaned the table for her and bent down to ask her, "Sir, would you like something to eat?"
"What's your chef's specialty?" Shu Yao asked.
This question hit the nail on the head, and the waiter quickly introduced himself, "Our chef is one of the best in Beijing. Our dishes, like the braised goose, duck soup, and soy sauce pork trotters... we guarantee you'll want to come back for more."
Shu Yao picked a few of the dishes he introduced: "How much are these?"
The waiter picked up the abacus and calculated, then said with a smile, "Five taels of silver."
Shu Yao's face was calm, but her heart was bleeding. She stood up and went to the counter to pay.
While waiting for the food, I heard two people at the next table chatting, from the announcement of the college entrance examination results to the assassination of the emperor.
The more Shu Yao listened, the more nervous she became.
One of them said, "I heard that a year ago, during the Battle of Zhizhou, the Northern Barbarians were defeated, and their third prince was seriously injured and stranded within our borders. His whereabouts are still unknown."
"The mastermind behind the assassination a few days ago might be the Third Prince of Beiyi and his colleagues."
"Now that the Emperor is conducting a massive search, even down to the smallest villages, the Third Prince probably has nowhere to hide."
The third prince of Beiyi?
She was inexplicably frightened, so she asked, "What does the Third Prince look like?"
"The wanted notice is posted at the government office. Go and take a look."
The waiter handed her the packed dishes. Shu Yao had a vague guess in her mind. She immediately rushed to the gate of the government office, walked up to the notice board and took a look. She found that the eyes of the person in the picture were specially outlined with blue ink, and the facial contours were extremely similar to Twelve, even exactly the same.
She almost dropped the food in her hand onto the ground. Shu Yao bit her lips tightly, and only let go when she tasted a hint of blood. She stared at the portrait in disbelief for a long time.
The people above are twelve.
Twelve is really the third prince of Beiyi!
He was also the man in black who assassinated the emperor that night.
If they really found him hiding in her house, then she and Ji Shijing would be finished.
No, she has to go back immediately.
The old man at the city gate was sleeping on the ox cart. Shu Yao patted him gently and said, "Uncle, let's go."
The old man put his straw hat on his head and said, "Little girl, what took you so long? The sun is almost setting."
Shu Yao gave him half of the braised beef in her hand. The old man took the beef without saying anything else. He waved the whip and the ox pulled the cart slowly away.
Along the way, Shu Yao was torn between her conscience and her desires.
If we drive Twelve away, where can he go now that they are searching everywhere?
If she continued to hide him at home, she would be finished if they found out about his whereabouts in their village.
When she returned home, she found a large group of villagers gathered at the gate of her yard. Shu Yao's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, could they have found out? She hurried into the yard and just as she squeezed in, she saw a group of officers and soldiers sitting in the yard, drinking and eating meat.
Shu Yao's legs went weak and she fell to the ground. She didn't care that the food in her hands fell to the ground. She looked straight ahead and couldn't speak.
Seeing her like this, Yang Xiuhe thought she was just too happy to be in a trance, so she quickly pulled her up and said jokingly, "Sister Yao, today's big event doesn't allow you to be weak in the knees."
Shu Yao stared at her blankly, weakly: "What...what good news?"
Yang Xiuhe smiled and said, "Your brother-in-law is now a juren. These officials are here to announce the good news."
Shu Yao then came to her senses and realized that they were not here to catch Twelve.
At this time, Qin E came out of the kitchen with a bowl of braised pork in her hand. She placed the braised pork on the official's table and said, "Gentlemen, please enjoy your meal."
Shu Yao was not at home today. When they heard the official coming to report the good news, Jiang Fu and Qin E hurried over to help.
The good news was posted on Ji Shijing's room. When she went in, she saw the words "Jieyuan...Ji Shijing" written on it.
Only then did she completely believe that this group of people came to announce good news.
As if she remembered something, she ran to Twelve's room again and knocked on the door. No one responded, so she reached out and pushed it open. The room was empty and the quilt on the bed was neatly folded.
She thought Twelve had gone out and was about to leave, but when she turned around, she accidentally saw something on the bedside table out of the corner of her eye. She walked closer and found that it was the wolf tooth hanging around his neck.
There was a piece of paper under the wolf's teeth.
Shu Yao unfolded the paper and saw two words written on it.
"wait for me."
She held the wolf tooth in one hand and the rice paper in the other, and seemed to understand something.
Twelve left.
It was still bustling outside. Even the village chief came. People from several nearby villages heard that Dongping Village had produced a scholar, so they all came to visit. There were more and more people in the yard, and even the outside was filled with people standing in three layers.
When Shu Yao came out of Twelve's house, the village chief immediately came to greet her, lowering his posture a bit: "Yao girl, congratulations, Shi Jing really makes us, the village chief, proud."
Shu Yao was trying to cope with it. More and more people came up to congratulate her, and she felt a little overwhelmed.
At this time, Ji Shijing and Ji Liang also rushed back.
When Ji Liang heard the news that Ji Shijing had passed the imperial examination, he was very happy. He thought that the fact that his student passed the exam showed that he was a good teacher, so he immediately took Ji Shijing home.
Ji Shijing's expression was indifferent, and his face showed no fluctuations, as if this matter was within his expectations.
As soon as Ji Shijing arrived, the object of everyone's compliments changed from Shu Yao to him.
Everyone had a flattering smile on their face. They had to treat the newly appointed scholar well, in case they needed his help in the future.
Ji Shijing was surrounded by everyone, his eyebrows slightly wrinkled, a little unhappy. He looked at Shu Yao, only to see her smile at him and say "Congratulations."
His brows finally relaxed a little, and he pushed these people aside and walked towards her.
Shu Yao smiled and said, "Master Juren, you must protect me from now on."
Ji Shijing's smile reached his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a very shallow arc.
It was not until evening that the villagers gradually dispersed.
Shu Yao and Ji Shijing were lying in the yard, looking at the stars in the sky. She stretched out her fingers and counted them: "Ah Jing, what are your plans for the future?"
Ji Shijing looked at her and said, "The government has allocated me a house in the capital. Let's move there."
Shu Yao said, "Okay."
"The palace examination will be held in March next year, and I plan to continue taking the exam," he said.
The higher he went, the more he could trap her by his side.
Shu Yao of course agreed and strongly supported his decision.
The stars in the sky twinkled, and she unconsciously looked towards Twelve's house. After all, they had lived together for four months, so she still had some concerns about him.
Noticing that she was distracted, Ji Shijing moved closer to her: "Are you thinking about Twelve?" Although it was a question, he said it with certainty, and there was a hint of jealousy in his tone.
Shu Yao was unaware: "A little bit, but it's okay." Although she was reluctant to see Twelve leave, she was more glad that Twelve left on his own instead of being driven away by her.
Ji Shijing uttered a soft "huh" and his eyes suddenly turned cold: "Sister-in-law, could it be that you have fallen in love with him?"
If that were the case, he would definitely kill Twelve.
Shu Yao was startled by his change of expression and quickly moved to the side: "No, why do you ask that?" She was really confused.
Ji Shijing's expression softened a bit. He stood up, his tall and graceful figure bathed in the moonlight, like a jade-faced god or Buddha. He said calmly, "Pack up in the next few days and move to the new house in five days."
Shu Yao sat alone in the yard for a while until a cold wind blew, then she went back to the house to sleep.
In the past few days, there has been a constant hustle and bustle here. Villagers come to chat with her all the time, saying some irrelevant things, and trying to get close to her.
Originally, these villagers came for Ji Shijing, but he ignored them, so they could only chat with Shu Yao about family matters.
Everyone's last words before leaving were: "In the future, please help us more, sir."
On the fifth day, Shu Yao put the packed things on the carriage, which was hired by the village chief. Knowing that they were leaving today, the village chief came specially to give them a basket of eggs: "Yao girl, these are the best local eggs. Your aunt picked them up from every chicken coop one by one. They can't compare to those sold in the market." The village chief's wife stood aside, also with a flattering look on her face.
Shu Yao accepted it with a smile. Jiang Fu limped over and brought two jars of the best daughter's red wine: "Yao'er, come back to see your uncle more often in the future."
Shu Yao: "Uncle, when I settle down in the capital, I will bring you and my aunt over."
Jiang Fu was very pleased: "Good boy, be well over there, come back to your uncle if anything happens."
Shu Yao nodded.
After a short delay, many villagers came to see him off carrying gifts. They all brought their best things, just hoping that Ji Shijing would look at them more.
Shu Yao only accepted the eggs from the village chief and Jiang Fu's daughter's red wine, and refused to accept anything else. When asked, she simply said that the carriage couldn't fit everything.
The carriage slowly drove away from Dongping Village, with villagers behind it seeing it off all the way.
The carriage was shaking and Shu Yao was staggering, but Ji Shijing was not affected at all. He was still sitting upright, flipping through a book in his hand.
Shu Yao fell into his arms without paying attention. She wanted to leave, but the carriage bumped and she fell down again. This time, by chance, her face was in an awkward position.
She looked up at him.
The book in his hand blocked her view.
She stood up and sat aside, when suddenly a shadow fell and Ji Shijing came closer, forcing her to half-lie on the seat.
Ji Shijing was almost pressing on her. If it weren't for the clothes between them, their skin would have been touching.
The carriage was so quiet that only the sound of each other's breathing could be heard. His eyes were filled with darkness, and something was about to come out. He slowly lowered his head, and was about to kiss her lips.
Shu Yao turned her head and her heart beat faster.
Ji Shijing paused for a long time before he slowly stood up. His expression returned to normal and he picked up the book in his hand and continued reading as if nothing had happened.
Shu Yao pretended to be calm and lifted the curtain, looking at the scenery outside, feeling very confused.
Ji Shijing looked up at her from the book, a gleam of determination flashed in his eyes: Sister-in-law, we have a long way to go.
【Author’s words】
(The imperial examinations in this article are different from those in ancient times, so please do not make any distinctions.)
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