Two or three days ago, Mei Ruochu set off immediately after receiving the news. As his luck value was stable at 80, he arrived at Qingzhu Academy before dusk without any effort according to Lao Buyu's instructions.
When Ling Qingming heard from Zhai Fu that he was coming, he did not expect that he would come so soon and was quite surprised.
But coming early is naturally a good thing. When Ling Qingming asked Zhaifu to bring the person to him, he even wondered, could it be that Mei Ruochu was not having a good time in a makeshift academy like Cuiwei, and was reluctant to leave due to emotional reasons, so when he heard that his own academy had sent him an invitation, he couldn't wait to come?
Not long after, Mei Ruochu arrived in front of Ling Qingming and bowed to him and greeted him.
Apart from the fact that he wore a lot of belts around his waist, which made his waist look like a bucket, which made him look a little weird, Mei Ruochu had a scholarly air, a handsome face, and a generous attitude. Just as Lao Buyu said, you could tell at first glance that he was a rare talent.
Ling Qingming exchanged a few pleasantries with him and casually asked him what book he was reading recently.
Mei Ruochu has been writing teaching plans for the "Book of Changes" for the past six months, and he said he was rereading this.
The Book of Changes is profound and extensive. Many scholars have studied it for a lifetime and still dare not say that they have fully mastered it.
Ling Qingming was not surprised and seemed to randomly pick up some of the questions to ask Mei Ruochu.
Mei Ruochu naturally answered all the questions fluently.
As the saying goes, the layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the details.
After the two of them asked each other a few questions, Ling Qingming knew that the person in front of him had a very solid academic foundation. But the time is still short, and it is difficult to tell who is more knowledgeable between him and Mu Yunchuan. But there is no need to rush at this moment. After he stays in Qingzhu for a long time, you will naturally know his specific ability.
Seeing that it was time for dinner, Ling Qingming asked his waiter to take him to the kitchen to eat first, and then politely said: "I didn't know that Ruochu arrived so soon and the guest room has not been cleaned yet. I'll trouble you to stay with the other students tonight."
Mei Ruochu said no, "Mr. Ling, you are too polite. I am not greedy for any enjoyment. I will just be like other students."
He was modest and not overbearing, which made Ling Qingming admire him even more. He told the monk who was in charge of guiding the group to pay more attention.
The waiter behind him accompanied Mei Ruochu to the kitchen.
The canteen in Qingzhu has a separate dining system. The cook prepares meals in a big pot and students buy them with meal tickets.
As for meal tickets, they are not included in the tuition package and students need to spend extra money to purchase or exchange them.
Mei Ruochu came as a representative of the students of Hongle Academy, so there was no need for him to spend the money. He greeted the waiter and the cook and let him use it as he pleased.
Mei Ruochu, like any other student, ordered two light side dishes and a few steamed buns and asked the vegetarian man to share them with him.
Not long after he sat down, the school was dismissed and hungry students swarmed in.
Although he was a stranger, he was sitting in a corner and no one noticed him for a while.
Later, when Mei Ruochu had almost finished eating, he heard two groups of people arguing in the kitchen.
A burly student stopped another and asked, "Song Yao, did you spread the rumors about Wei Shu?"
When he heard Song Yao's name, Mei Ruochu turned to look.
Song Yao, who was stopped, did not panic at all. He just sneered and asked, "What rumor? Cousin, tell me and see if I know it."
The one who questioned him was of course Song Li.
The rumor he was talking about naturally refers to the fact that Wei Shu secretly passed Qingzhu's things to Cuiwei, which led to the Wei Xi case in the county. But if I repeat it in front of others, even people who don't know the inside story might hear it, amplifying the influence of the rumor.
Song Li's face turned pale, and his good friends came over to persuade him, saying forget it, "Rumors are something that only wise people can stop at, and those people will forget about it after a while."
"Yes, Brother Song. Although Brother Wei is kind to others and the only person he is hostile to is Song Yao, we have no evidence. Did you forget the consequences of your quarrel with him earlier?"
Soon, Song Li was persuaded to leave.
"The emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is." Song Yao snorted as he watched their backs leaving.
Last year he passed the imperial examination and was the talk of the town. However, because of his poor performance in the provincial examination, those who flattered him immediately changed their attitude and put on a different face.
Just like at this moment, when he had an argument with Song Li, no one came to protect him.
Song Yao, on the other hand, didn't think that his poor popularity was his own problem. He just blamed Wei Shu. There was clearly a fire in the examination room. If Wei Shu had also done poorly on the exam, then nothing would have happened, right?
Wei Shu was not affected at all, but it seemed that he was talking nonsense and had no purpose.
"Wait until tomorrow's college entrance examination... Humph!" Song Yao was holding the food, and his mind was already filled with thoughts of showing off his skills in the college entrance examination. After he beat Wei Shu badly, those people in front of him would come to flatter him like they used to.
When he passed by Mei Ruochu, Mei Ruochu asked, "Brother, are you Song Yao, the first place in the case last year?"
Few people in Qingzhu mentioned this glorious event. Song Yao stopped walking, turned around and saw Mei Ruochu's unfamiliar face, and asked, "Who are you..."
Zhaifu then helped to give a simple explanation, saying that Mei Ruochu was a representative of students from Hongle Academy. He had been studying in Cuiwei a few days ago and had just come to Qingzhu today.
Hearing him say that he had stayed in Cuiwei for a while, Song Yao secretly cursed it as bad luck, thinking that Mei Ruochu was going to help Wei Shu just like Song Li.
But the other party was a representative of students from Hongle Academy, and Ling Qingming regarded him as a distinguished guest, so he could not deal with him casually.
However, to Song Yao's surprise, Mei Ruochu did not embarrass him, but said: "Brother Song's talent and reputation, I have admired it for a long time. The test poem that Brother Song wrote in the county exam last year was very brilliant."
When Hongle Academy sorted out the test papers from various prefectures and counties, it naturally found ways to get some excellent answers from each exam. Song Yao's poem is not a masterpiece that will be remembered throughout the ages; it can only be said to be fairly good.
Mei Ruochu had a photographic memory and recited aloud the poem that Song Yao had written last year word for word on the spot.
Song Yao didn't know that Mei Ruochu had this ability, and he thought that he really admired his talent, so he was able to recite the poems he wrote on the spot a year later.
This immediately brought the two of them closer together, so he simply sat down and started chatting with Mei Ruochu.
After dinner, it was time for the monk to arrange a study room for him.
Song Yao took the initiative to suggest that Mei Ruochu live with him.
The dormitories in Qingzhu usually have large bunk beds. If you want to live in a better place, you need to pay extra for accommodation.
The Song family is well-off. Song Yao and Song Li lived in a double room together.
But since the two cousins fell out, Song Li moved to another place.
Most of the others also found Song Yao's despicable face, which became arrogant after he gained power, disgusting, and no one wanted to live with him. He was the only one in his dormitory.
Everything went smoothly and Mei Ruochu and Song Yao lived together.
The two of them talked about poetry, the Four Books and the Five Classics at night. No matter what Song Yao said, Mei Ruochu could always join in the conversation.
In fact, anyone with a discerning eye knows that if another person can follow up on what one person says without any difficulty, it actually means that the other person is much better than him in all aspects.
Song Yao didn't expect this, he just felt that he and Mei Ruochu had hit it off. The next day, they went to class together, went home from school, and had meals together.
Ling Qingming knew that Mei Ruochu and Song Yao were close, so he felt that his previous guess was correct. Mei Ruochu and Cuiwei really didn't get along well. Otherwise, if she had thought about their friendship, she wouldn't have been on good terms with Song Yao. Or maybe Cuiwei didn't treat him as one of their own and never told him that Wei Shu and Song Yao were not getting along.
Although Song Yao did not perform well in the provincial examination, in terms of real talent and knowledge, he is indeed the most outstanding student in the academy, except for Mu Yunchuan who has already gone to the provincial school.
When outstanding people interact with each other, nothing can be more natural.
So Ling Qingming did not stop it, but only asked someone to pass a message to Song Yao, asking him to make friends with Mei Ruochu and test his talents.
It was too easy for a smart person like Mei Ruochu to win someone's favor. After a day of getting along, Song Yao even took out the wine he had secretly hidden and drank with him - Qingzhu naturally did not allow students to drink in the academy, but Song Yao was depressed because of his failure in the previous provincial examination. Since he lived alone, he secretly brought in some drinks.
After taking it out, Song Yao suddenly felt a little regretful. After all, they had only known each other for a short time. If Mei Ruochu told Ling Qingming about it, he would be in trouble. But he changed his mind again. The headmaster asked him to test Mei Ruchu. As the saying goes, truth comes out when drunk. Is there a better way than drinking? Even if the headmaster really knew about this, he wouldn't blame me, right?
Mei Ruochu's behavior quickly dispelled Song Yao's worries. He took a sip without caring and showed his attitude.
Song Yao felt more and more that he got along well with him, so he stopped thinking about those things. He talked about his bad luck at one moment, and then talked about his grand plans at another. They kept drinking and after a few drinks, he got drunk first.
"Damn Wei Shu, if it weren't for him, I would have been laughed at... Damn Wei Xi, he even got the top score." Song Yao, who was drunk, had forgotten his original intention of testing Mei Ruochu. He started to talk a lot like Lao Buyu before him, repeating his old enemy, "Damn Cuiwei, I... I will not let you have an easy life!"
Mei Ruochu's usual calm voice rang in his ears, asking him, "Earlier, I heard someone question Brother Song about some rumor..."
"How can it be a rumor?" Song Yao, who was not in his right mind, said, "How can a place like Cuiwei produce a county champion in just two years? The words I spread must be true!"
As he spoke, Song Yao fell on the table. Before he fell into a deep sleep, he vaguely heard Mei Ruochu sigh softly, "You admitted it. It was you."
This nonsensical sentence made Song Yao's mind even more confused. He opened his eyelids with great effort and vaguely saw Mei Ruochu standing up and unbuckling his belt.
"I've wanted to ask Brother Mei for a long time, why don't you take off your belt when you sleep, and why do you wear so many belts? You must be drinking too much and feel hot, right? You should loosen up."
Song Yao started snoring after he finished speaking. Mei Ruochu smiled but said nothing. She said in a voice that only she could hear: "It's not that I feel relaxed, I just want to try it."
As for what to try? Only he himself knows.
Then he untied the belt and held it in his hand, touching everything in Song Yao's room.
After finishing his work, Mei Ruochu returned to the table and almost tripped, but he had been alert, so he reached out to support the table when he fell and avoided the accident.
Then he immediately tied the belt back around his waist and said softly, "Let's do this for now. I'll try something else in class tomorrow."
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