After the boys had finished their meal downstairs, Mu Erpang brought some light meals to the room. After Chen Cui ate them, she took some medicine.
I fell into a good sleep and when I woke up the next day I felt much better and no longer felt so dizzy.
But Dr. Huang changed the prescription to more warming and nourishing herbs, so her physical condition only improved 1 point at this time.
It seems that I really need to take the medicine for a few more days as Doctor Huang said before the disease can be cured.
Although the young men knew that she was in a hurry to choose a site for the academy, they seemed to have made an agreement that they would not let Shen Cui leave the post station until she was completely well. They also said that they were all old enough to take on responsibilities, and if Shen Cui was really anxious, they could go to the city with Lao Buyu to look after her first. First select a few, and then make the final decision after Chen Cui is fully recovered.
Of course Chen Cui was unwilling to do so. Logistical work had always been her responsibility, and the imperial examination would be held in a few months. How could she let them spare some time and energy to deal with such trivial matters?
So the two sides agreed that Chen Cui would rest in her room while they would study.
During this period, Wei Shu and Wei Xi returned home.
Wei's parents hadn't seen them for a long time. They had received a letter from home recently and learned that they would return to the capital before winter to prepare for the exam. They had been counting the days and waiting for them to return home.
When relatives meet again after a long separation, there are naturally endless things to talk about.
However, the upcoming imperial examination was the most important. After a few months, the family would no longer have to be separated. Therefore, Wei's parents let the brothers stay with other people in the academy so that they could return home after the exam.
The reaction of Wei's parents was similar to what Chen Cui had imagined. After expressing their longing for him, Wei's mother sighed, "If you hadn't just said that the headmaster was ill, we would definitely have gone to see her and thank her for taking care of you these days."
He also asked about Cuiwei's future plans.
Wei Shu said, "The headmaster's idea is to rent a house in the city first, so that we can continue to study behind closed doors as before. She took medicine yesterday, and she looked much better this morning. I think we should start choosing a site in the next two days."
"It's not easy to find a place in this area that is quiet and suitable for studying and also affordable." said Wei's father.
This is really the truth. The Wei family's business has expanded from Yongning County to the capital city. They have been in the capital city for some years. The family is well-off. Compared with ordinary people, their lives seem to be prosperous, but now the family lives in a house with only two entrances.
It’s not even as big as Cuiwei in Qingzhou Prefecture.
It is because the capital city is small and densely populated, and every inch of land is valuable. It is not difficult to find a place to live, but it is not easy to find a spacious and quiet place.
The best places were reserved by the emperor for rewards, and the next best places were the residences of high-ranking officials and nobles. The next level is the territory of lower-ranking officials, and the last ones are the places that ordinary people can explore.
As Father Wei and Mother Wei spoke, they looked at each other again and thought about sending people to look around in the next few days. If they were lucky, perhaps they could help Cuiwei.
…………
Not long after Cuiwei's group settled down at the inn, the inn seemed less quiet.
Although they usually rested and studied in their own rooms, they would always come out to eat, drink water and go to the toilet, and naturally they would have the opportunity to meet other scholars in the post station.
At this moment, the fact that the top four places in the provincial examination of Dongning Province were taken by an unknown academy in Qingzhou Prefecture had spread to the capital and became a strange story.
If the chief examiner was not Minister Wang, I'm afraid the public opinion here would be the same as that of the scholar who failed the exam in Qingzhou Prefecture, thinking that there was something fishy going on.
Although they do not doubt the fairness of the provincial examination now, they will still discuss this matter as a topic of conversation after dinner.
After Mu Erpang and the others became familiar with everyone, they naturally introduced their names to each other and discussed the order of their teeth.
They have done nothing wrong, so naturally they will not change their names or surnames, and there is no need to be secretive or sneaky.
Because soon, all the students preparing for the exams in the post station knew that they were the protagonists of the conversation.
As a result, there was an endless stream of visitors who came to ask for advice, to find out the inside story, and to make friends through literature. Just like Mu Yunchuan in the original book, Mu Erpang and his friends were overwhelmed by them. However, they lived in the same inn, so they saw each other every day and had nowhere to hide.
Seeing that the young men could not study peacefully in the post station, Chen Cui, who had recovered her strength, did not listen to Mu Erpang and others' advice to rest for a few more days, and went into the city immediately.
Just like when he first arrived in Qingzhou Prefecture, Chen Cui was completely clueless about the capital city, so he asked Wei Shu and Shen Aoshuang about the old pawnbrokers in the capital city and asked the driver to take him directly to the pawnbroker.
After meeting the agent in charge of reception, Chen Cui made the same request as before: the place did not need to be too big, one or two courtyards would be enough. As for the budget, it was not much, only a hundred taels.
However, she only had to rent the hundred taels until after the palace examination and the ceremony of announcing the names of the successful candidates, which was about half a year.
After half a year, whether to renew the lease will depend on the situation.
After all, there would be several possible situations. If Mu Erpang passed the exam and others failed, she would have to stay in the capital with her son, and the academy would have to continue to be run in the capital.
If Mu Erpang failed the exam but others did, the academy would still continue to operate, but there would be no need to open it in the capital city where every inch of land is valuable. It would be the same whether it returned to Qingzhou Prefecture or Yongning County.
If everyone is happy, then everyone will pass the exam, she will distribute the marrow cleansing pills, and Mu Erpang and the others will be able to graduate from Cuiwei.
At that time, the academy had no students at all, so there was no need to rent a large house for the time being.
When we receive other students in the future, we will choose a new location.
In short, the results will be known in half a year, and we will need to make new plans then.
There is no problem renting a house in the capital, and the lease starts at three to five years. This item alone was enough to stump the broker, so he just said he would go look for one, and when he found one, he would go to the post station outside the city to report to Chen Cui.
In the afternoon, Chen Cui returned to the post station.
As soon as she got off the carriage, the waiter came up to greet her and said, "You are back just in time, sir. Someone is looking for you."
There were too many people visiting these days, not only the scholars who lived in the post station, but also people who came from other places because of its reputation. So Chen Cui informed the waiter as the head of the mountain, and asked him to inform her first if anyone came to visit. She acted as the 'bad guy' and helped the teenagers avoid many unnecessary social engagements.
Shen Cui then asked who he was looking for?
The waiter first said he was looking for someone with the surname Shen, but soon added, "But he's not here to look for Mr. Shen, he's here to look for another person with the surname Shen."
Isn’t Shen Cui the only one with the surname Shen in the academy?
Shen Cui nodded to show that she understood, and walked into the post station.
As soon as I walked into the lobby, I saw a slim young woman wearing a plain velvet embroidered jacket sitting closest to the door, looking at it anxiously.
This person was none other than Zhou, whom he had not seen for three years.
As soon as she saw Chen Cui, Zhou stood up and started crying, "Mother!"
Seeing her, Shen Cui first raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise, then quickly stepped forward and asked, "How did you find me here?"
As they got closer, Shen Cui realized that not only was Zhou's dress completely different from before, but she was also accompanied by two maids.
Zhou wiped her eyes and said, "Mother wrote to me last time saying that she would come to Beijing before winter, but she didn't specify the exact time. I wanted to ask someone to watch you at the city gate, but I thought that mother never liked extravagance, and even if someone watched you, they might not be able to recognize you, so I went to the city gate every day to walk around for a while."
Shen Cui stepped forward and held her hand, "Are you stupid? After we settle down in Beijing, I will naturally let someone notify you."
Zhou was not annoyed by her "scolding", but couldn't help curling her lips, wiped her eyes, and continued: "It was only this morning when my husband told me that I knew mother and Erpang had arrived at the post station, so I came here immediately."
Chen Cui was startled. Mu Yunchuan was still gaining experience in the Hanlin Academy and was not yet a master of all trades.
He knew everything. Doesn't it mean that his academy is very eye-catching and has been noticed by other forces?
After Mu Yunchuan knew about it, he specifically mentioned it to Zhou, expecting that Zhou would come over immediately after knowing about it, and then tell Chen Cui and pass on the news.
If he had done all this and Shen Cui still didn't realize it and was secretly harmed by someone else, she would be really stupid.
It might be related to Chen Cui's change of mind. Although Mu Yunchuan's style of doing things was still circuitous, Chen Cui still remembered his favor in her heart.
She pulled Zhou to sit down and looked her over from head to toe to make sure that she was really living well as the letter said.
This "good" can be seen not only from Zhou's dress, but also from her entire mental outlook - although she was very emotional at this moment, there was no sadness between her eyebrows.
Just as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law started talking, Mu Erpang vaguely heard Chen Cui's voice upstairs. Knowing that she was back, he came out of the house.
As soon as he saw Zhou next to Shen Cui, he hurried downstairs excitedly.
However, he was now a 15-year-old boy after all, and it was not appropriate for him to be as close to Zhou as before. When he approached her, he stopped, saluted Zhou, and called her "sister-in-law".
The robe that Mu Erpang was wearing now was the one that Zhou had made for him before she left Qingzhou Prefecture.
But it had turned white after being washed, and all the places that Zhou had reserved for it had already been used up. In a few months, the robe would be completely unwearable.
If it weren't for the familiar robe, Zhou Shi would have almost failed to recognize him. She had just stopped crying, but now her eyes were red again. She said distressedly, "Er Pang, how come you have lost so much weight? How come you only have one chin now? Wuwuwuwu..."
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