Chapter 224

"Stop! Stop right there!"

Zhu Qi ran forward desperately, chasing after the muscular scholar who stole his purse.

But the man ran too fast, and in a blink of an eye he had surpassed Zhu Qi by seven or eight feet.

"Give my purse back to me, you thief!" Zhu Qi was already out of breath.

With a "bang", Zhu Qi fell to the ground.

At this moment, two scholars in cloth rushed out from the front.

One of the scholars in gray rushed towards the thief who stole the purse, and knocked him to the ground.

Zhu Qi was lying on the ground, and when he heard the collision, he struggled to raise his head and looked forward.

Seeing a scholar in gray helping him, he immediately felt relieved.

"Did you fall hard? Can you get up?"

Zhu Qi heard a hearty voice in his ears, and a deep blue robe swayed in front of his eyes.

Then, the owner of the deep blue robe helped him up.

"Thank you, brother." Zhu Qi had just fallen hard, and he stood up with difficulty, thanking the scholar in the deep blue robe. The

scholar in blue robe said gently, "It's just a small effort, don't worry! Brother, please rest assured, my cousin has already caught up with the thief and got your purse back."

Zhu Qi heard this, regardless of the pain in his legs, and looked up and saw the gray-clothed scholar who had knocked down the thief before, holding the purse, walking towards him.

"The purse should be intact, check it!"

As he spoke, the gray-robed scholar had already walked up to Zhu Qi and handed him the purse.

Zhu Qi took the purse in his hand as if it were a treasure, opened it and checked, "It's all there, all there! Nothing is missing!"

Zhu Qi's voice was a little trembling.

"It's good that nothing is missing!" the gray-robed scholar said loudly.

"Humph! What a pity that we didn't catch the thief and let him run away!"

Zhu Qi looked at the gray-clothed scholar gratefully, his eyes a little moist, "It's good enough that the purse can be found! It doesn't matter if the thief is not caught!"

"I am really very grateful to you two brothers! My family is poor, and I only brought five taels of silver with me this time. If I lose it, I am afraid I can't even take the exam!"

"I can't express my gratitude for your help, please accept my greetings!"

Zhu Qi said this, bowed his hands, and bent his waist deeply.

"Stop it!" The gray-clothed and blue-clothed said in unison, and quickly reached out to help Zhu Qi up.

The scholar in blue said, "We are both here to take part in the imperial examination, so we have a destiny. You don't have to be so polite."

The scholar in gray echoed, "That's right. As fellow scholars, we should help each other."

Zhu Qi's face turned red with excitement, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes: "I, Zhu Qi, am lucky enough to meet you two brothers. I, Zhu Qi, will make friends with you two."

"My name is Zhu Qi. May I ask your names?"

The man in blue smiled and said, "Okay! Let's be friends! My name is Xiao Yong, his name is Baili Xin, and he is my younger cousin."

Xiao Yong and Baili Xin supported Zhu Qi, and the three of them talked and laughed all the way.

Xiao Yong and the other man first took Zhu Qi to a nearby pharmacy, bought some bruise ointment, and applied it to Zhu Qi's injured knee. Then the three of them went to a barbecue restaurant for a good meal. Xiao

Yong and Bai Lixin introduced themselves to Zhu Qi, saying that they were locals of Beijing and had also signed up for the special examination. If Zhu Qi encountered any difficulties in Beijing, he could ask them for help. After

all, his family was in Beijing, which provided him with many more conveniences than Zhu Qi and other out-of-town students.

After lunch, the three of them returned to the inn where Zhu Qi lived and chatted warmly for a long time.

In just a few hours, the three of them had become good friends.

...

At the same time, at Tianxiang Restaurant,

Liang Chaozong and Yao Jinse were drinking tea in a private room on the top floor.

"My dear, I see that students are gathering in the capital recently. There are so many scholars, there must be some outstanding ones among them." Yao Jinse said softly.

"Why don't we take this opportunity to find a few suitable ones and recruit them into our team?"

Liang Chaozong's eyes turned: "Well, this is a good idea!"

"Just pick those who are from poor families and are knowledgeable."

Yao Jinse's face showed a proud look that could not be hidden.

Liang Chaozong looked at Yao Jinse with admiration: "Then, Madam, what should we do specifically?"

Yao Jinse wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief in her delicate hands, and smiled flatteringly: "In my opinion, the Royal Barbecue Restaurant's method is good!"

"We can follow suit and provide free meals to students. In the days before the exam, we can use this trick to leave a good impression of charity on students."

"After the results are announced, how can we pick on those candidates who are quite knowledgeable but unfortunately failed the exam?"

"Okay!" Liang Chaozong responded loudly, his eyes shining with excitement.

At noon the next day, Tianxiang Restaurant imitated the Royal Barbecue Restaurant and posted a large notice.

It said that all candidates who came to Beijing to take the exam this time could enter the restaurant for a free meal every day.

Not only that, they also built several simple teahouses in the open space around Yongping Lane to provide free tea for students from morning to night.

Students can sit in the teahouse to drink tea and rest.

However, the notice of Tianxiang Restaurant was posted, but few students entered the store to receive the charity meals.

On the one hand, the Royal Barbecue Restaurant took the lead in the charity meals. Students have recognized the barbecue restaurant in recent days.

The barbecue restaurant's charity meals, mainly meat, are exactly what students who overuse their brains need to supplement.

On the other hand, Tianxiang Restaurant is the top and high-end restaurant in the capital. Usually, it is a place where dignitaries go, and ordinary people dare not enter at all.

This time, even if they advertised free meals, those students from ordinary families were still cautious and did not dare to enter.

Of the dozen or so restaurants under Liang Chaozong's name, only Tianxiang Restaurant remained. They had no choice but to conduct free meal delivery activities at Tianxiang Restaurant.

As for the free tea stalls, the situation was not much better.

Although it is spring now, the weather in Beijing is mostly windy and not very warm.

When they have nothing to do, students prefer to stay in the inn to review or rest, and most of them don't like to go out shopping.

Therefore, on the street, only at noon and evening, when it is mealtime, students will go out in groups to find a place to eat.

At non-mealtime, there are even few students on the street.

Liang Chaozong and his wife frowned.

It's strange, why are people not active for free things?

...

Kunning Palace.

The queen prepared two large boxes of things.

"Chengwan!" The queen called while wiping the sweat with a handkerchief.

"I prepared these two boxes specially for Han Qingbo. You run an errand for your mother and deliver them to him."

The prince walked to the two large boxes and looked at them. "My mother is really thoughtful. She has prepared everything, including clothes, daily necessities, and study supplies!"

The queen sat down, drank a sip of tea and said, "Han Qingbo, your father said that he seems to be a talented person. He hopes that he can pass the exam and serve the court. I am just doing what I can to help this child."