I am the prince in the heavens

Chapter 13 Journey

On the road from Shangyin Academy to Tai'an City, a young man with the appearance of a down-and-out scholar was riding a donkey leisurely. Although the young man was wearing coarse linen clothes and a pair of tattered straw sandals on his feet, he was still leisurely and happy. Humming a ditty, he didn't look like a shabby scholar at all, he was completely a spirited guy.

This person is Zhao Kai, Zhao Kai took Tai'an City as the first stop of his trip, after all, he also came out of Tai'an City, so it can be regarded as a beginning and an end.

"The birds on the tree are in pairs~~~green water and green mountains~~return home~~"

Even if the environment in ancient times was good, wherever you go, there are green waters and green mountains, and the air is fresh, which always makes people feel happy.

"I said Xiaobei, you can't walk faster, when will you be able to reach Tai'an City if you continue like this?"

Xiaobei is Zhao Kai's name for the donkey. The meaning is obvious. It means spare food. When you go out, you must always bring some reserve food. If you can't hold on someday, you can use it to save your life. Even if you don't know Xu Weixiong knew whether Zhao Kai would fight for his life after the little donkey he gave was eaten by Zhao Kai,

"Forget it, that girl can't beat me anyway, don't you think so, Xiao Bei?"

Xiao Bei: "Are you polite?"

The world in the snow is no different from modern society. Although it is close to the capital city, the population is relatively sparse. After walking for a few days, I haven’t seen any larger towns. It seems that the wars in the Spring and Autumn Period have caused the world’s population to recover. Of course, this is because Zhao Kai walked too slowly, it was no different from ordinary people's walking.

Shangyin Academy is not too close to Tai'an City, and it would take several days to get there by riding a fast horse, let alone riding a donkey. Zhao Kai also slept in the open, drinking mountain spring water when he was thirsty, and picking some wild fruits when he was hungry. Or fishing or something, although Zhang Fuyao sealed his martial arts, but his skills are still there, hunting and so on is no longer a problem, no matter what, he won't starve to death.

After dawdling all the way for more than ten days, I finally came to Dantong Pass, the gateway of the legendary Tai’an City. When I came here, the population became denser, and the pedestrians on the road began to increase. From time to time, I could see teahouses and noodle shops on the road. What.

There were also various kinds of pedestrians on the road. There were officials and businessmen in brocade clothes, people from Jianghu who wore swords, officials who came to Beijing to rush for exams, and most of them were ordinary people in coarse clothes. Most of these people looked in a hurry. Only Zhao Kai was unhurried and unhurried, riding a donkey, walking slowly, not forgetting to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Nothing happened along the way, nothing happened, it seems that he is not a physique of recruiting gangsters, the law and order along the way is relatively good, anyway, he didn't meet any bandits to snatch his donkey.

"Drive~~~Drive~~~ Quickly move away,"

Before Zhao Kai could react, he saw a fast horse flying past behind him, and it ran to the front in a blink of an eye, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Riding on the horse was a young and beautiful woman with a thong tied around her waist. Judging by the clothes she wears, Baojian is most likely the daughter of a wealthy family. These ladies usually live in secluded pavilions, and rarely come out to show their faces. It seems that they are also special people.

As we approach the capital city, there are more and more high-class people like this. Generally, high-class people are accompanied by horses and horses, and there are many guards to guard the house. It is relatively rare to see such a heroic heroine just now.

"It's a pity that I ran too fast, I couldn't see the beauty, it's a pity, it's a pity," Zhao Kai said to himself, it's a pity that it's a rare encounter with a beautiful woman, but he couldn't see her face clearly.

"This brother must have come to Beijing to take the exam, right? I don't know where he is from?"

The speaker was also a young man dressed as a scholar, and he was also going to Tai'an City, but he was obviously worse than Zhao Kai. He had no means of transportation, and there was no book boy around him. He had to carry all the salutes by himself.

Zhao Kai laughed and said:

"Oh, that's right. As the saying goes, I am a Tian Shelang in the morning, and I go to the Tianzitang in the evening. The scholars of my generation have studied hard for many years. Naturally, it is for the sake of fame and glory."

Zhao Kai has already started to take on the role. Anyway, there are tens of thousands of such people, and the credibility of speaking out is relatively high.

The young man said with a smile: "Yes, I am a scholar, who would not want to be in high school, and to be glorious in the lintel. I see that Xiongtai's conversation is extraordinary, and he must be quite talented. In Xiabeigu City, Liang Dayou, I don't know what to call Xiongtai?"

"I'm Chen Xiaokai, from Shangyin Academy, it's a pleasure to meet you,"

"It turned out to be from Shangyin Academy! No wonder Xiongtai is so eloquent,"

Liang Dayou said enviously, after all, the Shangyin Academy is a sacred place in the literary world, and everyone who comes out of it is a top-notch talent, not inferior to that of the Imperial College, and most of the poor students who can enter it are scholars. Extraordinary.

"I heard that students from Shangyin Academy and Imperial College, as long as they are recommended by a famous teacher, they don't have to take the provincial examination, and can directly participate in the general examination, which is very enviable."

"Oh? Is there such a good thing?"

Zhao Kai has never been to a class, so naturally he doesn't know about this kind of thing, even if he knows, so what, can he still take the imperial examination?
Huh?That's not impossible, is it?

Liang Dayou: "Isn't it?"

Zhao Kai scratched his head in embarrassment, and said:

"Oh, it should be~~~hahaha,"

At this time, Liang Dayou had already begun to doubt Zhao Kai's identity, thinking that this guy was obviously bragging, he didn't even know about it, and most of the students from Shangyin Academy were lying.

The two chatted while walking, could it be that Zhao Kai couldn't help chattering with someone when they met someone who was talking, and there was a feeling of resentment when they met again and again, anyway, Liang Dayou thought so.

Soon they came to a noodle restaurant, the two were obviously very hungry, they ordered noodles at the same time as soon as they came in, and they stopped after eating several bowls of noodles. He breathed a sigh of relief and sighed that this meal could last another day.

However, after eating the noodles, the two sat face to face like this, and the atmosphere suddenly fell into embarrassment again. Neither of them wanted to move,

It was Liang Dayou who spoke first, and said:
"Well, Brother Chen, you also know that I am penniless right now, why don't you invite me this time? After I have more money, I will definitely be the host and have a good time with Brother Chen!"

"Hey~~Brother Liang's words are wrong. We are all of the same age. How can I have money even if you don't have money? This time I will trouble Brother Liang to donate generously. After Chen is in high school, he will never forget Brother Liang's meal. OK,"

Zhao Kai didn't lie, he really didn't have any money, he usually hunted to satisfy his hunger, and he thought that if he met a kind person today, he would have a meal, but he didn't expect that the other party had the same plan as himself.

"How can this be? After Liang's high school, he should invite Brother Chen,"

The two shied away from each other like this, but the boss at the side couldn't stand it anymore, and when he brought a buddy to stand fiercely in front of the two of them, the two stopped, and those green forest heroes with swords and swords on weekdays eat the overlord Forget about the meal, I can't afford to offend him, I didn't expect these two poor scholars to come to eat Bawang's meal!Nothing can make them leave like this today.

Liang Dayou: "Brother Chen, don't you still have a donkey? If it doesn't work, use it to pay off the debt. There are still a few taels of silver left."

Zhao Kai: "That can't be done. I bought this donkey with paintings worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. I treat him like a family member."

Liang Dayou only thought he was joking, but he didn't want to pay the debt with a donkey, but he didn't know that the paintings that Zhao Kai gave to Xu Weixiong were not as simple as tens of thousands of taels of silver, Zhao Kai could only helplessly say to the shop owner:

"Shopkeeper, we are all students from poor families who came to Beijing to rush for the exam. There is really no need to worry about it. How about this? I am quite confident in dancing and writing. This time, I will send a pair of ink treasures to the store. I will decide if I will be successful in the future. Forget the kindness of the shop owner for today’s meal”

The store owner looked helplessly at these two shabby scholars. He couldn't even afford to eat and wanted to be the number one scholar?It was like a dream, but the boss had no choice but to see that these two guys were not suitable for work, so he could only agree in the end. After all, a word might be worth some money, and it was better than nothing.

"Brother Liang, I will trouble you to bring out some pens and paper."

"No problem, as long as you don't pay for it,"

Zhao Kai picked up a pen and wrote on the paper eloquently:

The human face doesn't know where to go, but the peach blossoms are still smiling at the spring breeze!
The brushwork is like a dragon, flowing clouds and flowing water, the writing is beautiful and natural, with only a dozen words in it, but the artistic conception is extraordinary. After the writing is completed, the onlookers are amazed.

"Good words, good words! I don't know where the human face is going, and the peach blossoms are still smiling at the spring breeze. What a beautiful mood!"

I thought it was just an ordinary calligraphy, but I didn't expect Zhao Kai to be a masterpiece as soon as he made a move, which made everyone admire.As soon as this word came out, it attracted people around to bid

"Brother, how about selling this painting to me? I'm willing to pay you a tael of silver, and I ask you to part with me."

"I am willing to pay two or two,"

"I'm out five taels"

"..."

It didn't take long for Zhao Kai's words to attract many people to watch, and the prices were getting higher and higher, even the shopkeepers on the side were dumbfounded. He never thought that a few words could be worth so much money.

Liang Dayou on the side was about to collect the money, but Zhao Kai stopped him and said:
"Brother Liang, I have already said that this painting is for the shopkeeper to repay the debt. If a poor scholar is poor, he will take care of himself alone, and if he is good, he will benefit the world. How can he be dishonest?"

Liang Dayou wanted to say something else, but seeing Zhao Kai's firm eyes, he remained silent, and handed the words to the shop owner, who was also full of joy. Just now, someone offered ten taels of silver, which is worth as much as selling noodles for him. It's been half a year, and a lot of dry food was given to the two of them immediately.

The owner of the shop is also a ghost, so naturally someone bid ten taels, which means that someone bid more, so he put up this word list, hung it in the shop, and finally was bought for 100 taels of silver not long after. This is an afterthought and will not be mentioned for the time being.

"Brother Chen, you have such a pen and a word of gold, why are you still so downcast?"

Liang Dayou also couldn't figure it out at this time, if he had such abilities, he would have been rich and prosperous, with wives and concubines in groups.

Zhao Kai also just smiled and said nothing, Liang Dayou's thinking represented the thinking of many students who took part in the imperial examination, nothing more than wanting a carp to jump the dragon gate, soar to the sky and have endless glory and wealth.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with this kind of thinking. After all, who doesn’t want to live a better life after a long hard life? This is the truest thinking of most poor students. First help themselves, and then help the world without danger .It's just that prosperity and wealth will corrode people's hearts and make them forget their original aspirations. This is also the reason why it is difficult for scholars above the temple to reach the celestial realm.

After leaving the noodle shop, the two continued to head towards Tai'an City, but because Zhao Kai rode a donkey and Liang Dayou walked, the two separated after a short while.

Maybe Liang Dayou felt ashamed. In fact, he was rich to pay the bill just now, but his inner pettiness made him choose to keep silent. How could such a thing be hidden from Zhao Kai, but Zhao Kai didn't want to say it out. After all, there are still too few people in this world who can treat people with sincerity.

(End of this chapter)