C20

Lu Que and Zhuge Yan walked along the main road for another hour before they saw the city gates from afar. It was almost dusk, but there was still an endless stream of people entering the city through the city gates. Most of them were students between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. Because it was a two-year exam, in addition to the county officials who accompanied the students to the capital, the Jing Zhao Yin Estate also sent out many yamen runners to help maintain order for the guards of the city gate. The Feng Xiang Army had long since settled down in the capital and was pressing down on the streets in order to prevent any loafers from the streets from disturbing the capital's students to prepare for the exam.

"Under the setting sun, the boat leaks, and the hot wind blows through the brim of the straw hat. His chest was like a hollow bulge, and his mind was like a year. Sitting for a long time, he felt that he had no money, so he put away his green pole without any joy. "Wait for me to throw down my heartless net and fish, turtles, shrimp, crabs, and so on."

Just when Lu Que and Zhuge Yan were walking towards the back of the queue to enter the city … Not far away came a melody that seemed to be a poem or a song. The two of them looked in the direction of the voice. Not far away, in the middle of the river, an old punt was docked. On the punt was a bare-chested young man who was wearing only a pair of coarse pants and shoes. He was spreading a net in the river.

"Interesting, interesting. This person is very interesting. Lu Que is not in a hurry to enter the city anyway, why don't we get to know each other?" Zhuge Yan closed the fan and twirled a few flowers in his hands. His eyes shone as he looked at the fishing youth, as if he had seen something interesting.

"Didn't you say you were hungry?" Lu Que glanced at Zhuge Yan and said.

"With such an incredible person, it's enough to satisfy my hunger." Then, without waiting for Lu Que's reply, she pulled him along and headed in the direction of the punt.

When the two of them got closer, they discovered that the boy on the boat was almost half a head taller than them, wearing a tattered straw hat, with a straw stem hanging off his mouth, revealing a sturdy upper body, bronze colored skin, and a body muscles bulging. It was obvious that he was trying his best to pull the fishing net, and from the looks of the boy's face, he was still young and immature, probably about the same age as the two of them, but whether it was Lu Que or Zhuge Yan, both felt a natural wildness coming from the boy's bones.

The youth shouted twice and struggled to pull up the front of the fishing net. He saw that there was only a single tree root within the net that had been broken by the water, so the youth reluctantly threw the tree root to the side and rummaged through the net. Not long later, he found an embroidered shoe that had mud on it. He took the embroidered shoe and looked at it, blushing. He even washed his shoes in the river before putting them aside and looking at the net that had nothing but mud and water. The youth let out a sigh of disappointment, then clutched his stomach and sat on the boat with a miserable face.

Seeing that the youngster had actually washed the embroidered shoes clean, Lu Que could not help but have a strange expression. In the blink of an eye, he turned to look at Zhuge Yan, only to realize that his smile was extremely wide. Under Lu Que's gaze, he saw Zhuge Yan take two steps forward and leap onto the boat. With a bitter smile, he followed up …

"My dear friend, please come in. I just heard that you were making songs and thought that dinner would be served. I didn't expect that you would be so unlucky …" Zhuge Yan smiled as he cupped his fists towards the youth.

"Don't even mention it. I've been fishing in this river for an entire afternoon, but I haven't caught a single fish. Furthermore, my fishing nets were filled with dried up trees and mud." The youth simply cupped his hands together, not paying any attention to Zhuge Yan, who suddenly appeared on the boat. He said, "I know that there are high standards for being a distinguished official in the capital, but I didn't expect that these fish and prawns would bully people like this. Could it be that these fish only bit the hook of the people in the capital, and specifically bullied us outsiders?"

"Brother, the two of us are from the capital. We were originally going to the west mountain to hunt, but as you can see, we got nothing. It's not that the beasts are bullying us, it's just that we lack the ability." As he spoke, Zhuge Yan spread out his hands.

"That's true." The youth sighed, "If I were to go hunting, I would definitely be able to reap some rewards and not starve. Let me tell you, on Snowfall Mountain, let alone a wild chicken or hare, even a wild boar I have hunted before."

"Floating Snow Mountain? Brother, are you from Drifting Snow County? " Lu Que asked.

"I'm not from Floating Snow County, I'm from Hanshan County." The youth looked at Lu Que and felt that this youth's aura was very intimate. It was as natural and tranquil as a spring in the mountains.

"That far?" You entered the capital alone? " Zhuge Yan asked.

"I'm here to take the exam. Originally, my family was waiting for the official ship to transport the students. But I was really impatient, so I drove the boat and left."

"So Brother Ren is also a student here to take the exam." Zhuge Yan looked at this tall youngster with some surprise. He thought this youngster was either a fisherman or a hunter, but who knew that he was also a student entering the capital? " I would like to ask for your honorable name. "

"What noble name? My name is Duanmu Ye?"

"Duanmu?" "But the Duanmu Family of the Giant Commerce Clan?" Zhuge Yan asked curiously.

"It's true that my surname is Duanmu, but I have no relationship with the Hanhai Duanmu Clan." "Besides, look at my boat, look at my net, and look at my clothes, how can they be related to the Duanmu family called the Great Jia of Hanhai?" Duanmu Ye pursed his lips, as if he had thought of something. "Oh right, who are you all? Why are you looking for me?"

"My name is Zhuge Yan, this is Lu Que. "The two of us ran around the mountain for an entire day, hungry in our stomachs. After hearing your brother make songs, we wanted to get some food to eat, but who would have thought …"

When Duanmu Ye heard Zhuge Yan's words, he also had a wry smile on his face. He himself didn't know what he was going to eat tonight.

"Brother Duanmu, since you are a student of the exam, Brother Zhuge and I will be participating in this year's exam. We can be considered the same age, so we might even be classmates in the future. Right now, the sky is getting dark, and there will be a downpour soon. I don't want to be the host, so let's go to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in the city to eat some food. " When Lu Que saw Duanmu Ye, he thought back to the time he spent in the Creek Ring Valley. The wild nature of the mountains definitely did not belong to the children in the city. Furthermore, looking at his appearance, it was clear that he was short on money, thus he wanted to fish for food.

"This... this isn't good, right?" Having grown up in the forest, he had an intuition like a wild beast, so he could naturally sense Lu Que's kindness. As for Zhuge Yan, whether it was the accessories she wore, or that expensive carved longbow behind her, she was obviously a noble family's young master.

"What's so bad about that? Brother Duanmu, let me tell you, I've known this kid for some time. It's rare for him to treat someone to a meal. If I don't take advantage of this opportunity, the heavens won't be able to tolerate this." Zhuge Yan also had a favorable impression of this tall youth.

Only after Lu Que tried to persuade him a few more times did Duanmu Ye reluctantly agree. After returning to the cabin and changing his clothes, he followed Lu Que and Zhuge Yan into the city.

After entering the city, he saw that all sorts of businesses had made an unusual entrance, in order to attract the examinees. Only the inns were almost all decorated with signs that said "full". All the famous restaurants and restaurants were packed. If not for the fact that Hundred Treasures Hall was owned by Lu Que, the three of them might have to wait a long time for a seat.

When the shopkeeper of the Hundred Treasures Store learned of his young master's arrival, he personally opened Fire Phoenix Hall, which could only be used by the Duke of Wei, Lu Chun, Grand Princess Yu Chuqing and Lu Que. He knew that Lu Que wanted to invite his good friend to a feast, and even went to the kitchen to arrange a feast for Lu Que.

"Thanks to you, Lu Que, not many people have come to this Fire Phoenix Hall." As he spoke, Zhuge Yan rose to his feet and sized up the decorations of the hall. He saw that the decorations of the hall were arranged in a very orderly manner and that the calligraphy and paintings on the walls were all genuine masterpieces, and even the porcelain teacups and bowls could be passed down through the generations.

"This is my first time here, not to mention you." All the decorations in this room were extremely expensive, and any one of them were worth quite a bit. Lu Que had seen quite a lot of things in the past few months, even the Imperial Palace had been visited many times. However, he had seen not many places that did not lose their value in the decorations, he did not expect that there would be such a place in this Hundred Treasures Building.

"When I was in the Northern Frontier, I also heard of the Hundred Treasures Store's name. Other than the lobby on the first floor, there are also 36 Flower Hall and 72 private rooms. However, this Hundred Treasures Store owner is quite mysterious." Duanmu Ye was also praising the decorations in the room. After changing into a scholar's robe, Duanmu Ye had a bit of a scholarly air about him. However, his temperament was wild and untamed. He was like a peerless horse.

"Brother Duanmu, you flatter me." Lu Que smiled and said, "This Fire Phoenix Hall has probably not been used for over a dozen years. Today, there are too many guests and that's why the shopkeeper opened the Fire Phoenix Hall. It can be considered an accident."

"Brother Lu, what are you talking about? If it wasn't for the two brothers inviting me, I really don't know where to eat tonight. To tell you the truth, I haven't eaten for two days." "It's a strange thing, ever since the boat entered the capital, I haven't been able to catch a single fish." Duanmu Ye said depressingly.

"That's not surprising." He looked at the color of the tea cup, placed it at the end of his nose, and smelled it. Only then did he take three gulps, nodded his head in satisfaction, and then said with a face full of satisfaction, "The four great canals are the most open, and this section of the city is the busiest. As for the boats that pass by every day, I don't know how many of them have already learned to live in the river. As he spoke, Zhuge Yan recounted the details of the bait selection.

After Zhuge Yan had finished speaking, Lu Que and Duanmu Ye nodded their heads in understanding. They didn't expect that there would be so much knowledge involved in fishing.

While the three of them were chatting, a dozen maids knocked on the door and came in. Dishes of delicious dishes were placed on the table, but because the three of them were still young, the shopkeeper only gave them a jug of fruit wine. Duanmu Ye, who had been starving for several days, and Zhuge Yan, who was rumbling with hunger, no longer cared about chatting after Lu Que signalled for them to do as they pleased. They started to eat heartily from the dishes on the table, not caring about the demeanor of a scholar or the etiquette of a noble family anymore.

Lu Que didn't eat much at night. After eating a little, he stopped his chopsticks, picked up a fresh cup of tea and started sipping on it.

After a while, Zhuge Yan also burped and stopped eating the chopsticks. If not for the Hundred Treasures Store's dishes being too delicious, he would not have eaten so much even if he was extremely hungry. After drinking a few mouthfuls of tea, Zhuge Yan felt a little uncomfortable and stood up to walk around the hall to eat.

But slowly, the wooden light that Lu Que and Zhuge Yan saw in Duanmu Ye's eyes changed. When Duanmu Ye saw that the two of them had finished eating, he felt that it was really not satisfying to eat with such a small porcelain bowl. He picked up a bamboo bowl filled with rice and poured the remaining dishes on the table along with the soup into the rice. After stirring for a bit, he picked up the bowl and started eating.

While Lu Que and Zhuge Yan were still gaping in shock, Duanmu Ye had already eaten the bowl of rice. Looking at the plates on the table, which contained not a single drop of water left, and Duanmu Ye, who seemed to not want to finish yet, both of them had the corner of their mouths twitching. They looked at each other in dismay.

Duanmu Ye seemed to sense the strange atmosphere in the room. He also felt that it was not so good to have known each other for the first time. His face was red as he apologized to the two of them while thanking them.

Lu Que and Zhuge Yan were just a little surprised that Duanmu Ye was able to eat so much, but they didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, the two of them liked Duanmu Ye's unassuming character.

After dinner, under Lu Que's invitation, Duanmu Ye, who really had no money on him, followed Lu Que back to the Duke of Wei's estate. Only now did Duanmu Ye realize that Lu Que was the son of the Duke of Wei, whose name shook the world.

After Lu Que returned to the manor and arranged a place for Duanmu Ye to stay, he returned to the inner courtyard to report to his parents. Yu Chuqing and Lu Chun were also very curious about this student whom their son had brought into the mansion. They understood their son Lu Que's temperament very well.

The next day, Lu Chun and Yu Chu Qing went to Lu Que's study room after breakfast. They saw this youth called Duanmu Ye. Although he was tall and big, and had a rough appearance, his manners and speech were decent. After a detailed inquiry, he realized that this was the son of an old friend and was very happy.

So it turned out that even though Duanmu Ye's father was just a minor official of the Grand Priests, he was still a strange person. This person loved his horse as if it were his life. He was also known as an idiot. The several promotions to the imperial government had been declined by him, all for the sake of not leaving his beloved stable.

When Lu Chun had founded the Star Division, Duanmu Ye's father had been a member of the Skyfire Army. Duanmu Ye's father had made all of the Skyfire Army's war horses.

With such a deep connection between the two families, Duanmu Ye was at ease to stay at the Duke of Wei's estate. Everyday, Lu Chun would come to the study room to read a book with Lu Que and answer some academic questions for the two of them. However, Zhuge Yan had been grounded by the old prime minister, probably to let him feel at ease and ready for the test.

Time slowly passed. These few days, Duanmu Ye and Lu Que, although they had different personalities, they could still be considered to have similar interests. Moreover, Lu Que discovered that Duanmu Ye was actually a thick inner disciple.

The ninth day of the ninth month, the Double Sun. Because there were too many examinees in this exam, it took the Ministry of Industry a few months to fix up the examination hall. The examination hall was expanded on the basis of the original Academic Institution. The academy, which had originally occupied quite a large area, had now expanded by more than a fold.

This time, 120 questions were given by both the inner and outer pavilions. After being selected by the Emperor, they were either used or revised and then sealed in a file and kept by the secret guard. Even the people from the inner and outer pavilions didn't know what the questions were before the exam began. As there were too many students in this year's Grand Examination, the emperor had personally ordered that the examination be conducted by Gu Jianyun, the vice commander-in-chief of the Phoenix Soaring Army, and lead ten battalions of Phoenix Soaring Army soldiers. The possibility of cheating was basically eliminated.

The exam lasted a total of thirty-two hours, from noon until the end of the day. In other words, all the students had to stay in the Academic Institution for a full three days.

Lu Chun and Yu Chuqing did not give any further instructions. In their eyes, whether it was their son Lu Que or their former friend's son Duanmu Ye, both of them were able to enter the top 100 after learning. Maintaining their mentality at this time was not a good idea, and having too much pressure would only make them feel better.

"Brother Zhuge, I really have to stay for three days. What if I finish answering early?" As the two of them exited the residence, they saw the Imperial Assistant Prince's Mansion carriage pass by. Upon seeing the two of them, Zhuge Yan immediately jumped off the carriage and sat in the carriage of the Duke of Wei's Mansion. During this period of time, Duanmu Ye understood that Lu Que wasn't very familiar with many things in the capital. Thus, he could only suppress his emotions for a few days and ask Zhuge Yan.

"After answering, you have to stay there. You have to wander around and sleep, but you can't leave." He had also been thinking about this problem. In his eyes, entering the Nine University Palace was not a difficult problem, but the problem was that he had to stay in a small room for three days. To him, this was torture.

"Sigh, there are so many rules in this exam. Even if you can't do this, you still have to go out and have someone to accompany you." Duanmu Ye had a bitter expression on his face. After Lu Chun's evaluation of him for his recent studies, he now had a lot of confidence in himself. He knew that although he couldn't be placed in the top ten, he would have no problems entering the Phoenix's Cry Palace. One had to know that the person who had admitted that he had just studied was the renowned and renowned Duke of Wei, Lu Chun.

"My mother has mentioned this to me. In the past, there were many people who had a good start, but those who wanted to submit their papers early didn't pass the exam. Mother said that if a person does not even have this much mental fortitude, the more he learns, the greater the harm. " Lu Que looked at the two of them and reminded them in a friendly manner.

"The Grand Princess isn't wrong." Hearing Lu Que's words, Zhuge Yan's heart tightened, "This time, it's the Grand Princess's Feng Xiang Army who is going to be invigilating. I'm afraid we're going to suffer miserably."

The three of them chatted in the car for a while and relaxed their nerves. As the carriage stopped, the three of them knew that they had arrived at the Academic Institution.

Although the three of them arrived early, a long line had already formed in front of the Academic Institution. The eight gates of the Academic Institution were wide open, and each entrance had a team of soldiers from the Feng Xiang Army at it. At each entrance, there was a newly built small house. The possibility of cheating was very close.

"That is the Phoenix Cry School's student attire." Zhuge Yan looked at the students walking out from the small room and sighed, "This year, less than one twentieth of us will be able to enter the Nine University Palace. This might be our first and last time wearing this set of clothes."

"But not us." Duanmu Ye clenched his fists and said.

The three of them looked at each other, smiled, and walked towards the Academic Institution.