Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 742 A Detour to a Relative [Thank you! Thank you again! 33k words owed]

Sun rises and moon sets.

The tenth day of the month has passed.

Even if you have many relatives, you can visit them all in about ten days.

The restaurants and taverns in Bianjing City gradually became busier, even more so than in previous years.

The reason for this is that this year is the year of the imperial examination, and a large number of students from other places arrived in the capital in advance.

These students have considerable spending power; even before the Lantern Festival, they frequently invite friends and family to hold poetry gatherings and elegant poetry parties.

Restaurants and legitimate establishments are happy to see this happen, and most will even inquire about the restaurant's name and offer some discounts.

After all, if any of the students present were to become the top scholar, the third-ranking scholar, or a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, it would be a remarkable story.

On this morning,

Northeast of the palace,

Zhengdian Fanlou

As one of the most famous restaurants in Bianjing, it was naturally bustling with activity at this time.

Students would often dismount from their horses, carriages, or donkeys, walk through the bustling streets filled with vendors, and arrive at the Fanlou Pavilion. They would then be ushered inside by the shopkeepers.

Xu Zaijing stood by the window upstairs, looking down at the street scene below.

At the very top of the field of vision,

It's the distant sky.

There are palace gate towers and main halls in the palace, and the roof tiles on the buildings reflect the sunlight in the sky.

In the middle are rows of family courtyards with rooftops, and most of the chimneys are emitting wisps of smoke.

Nearby was a crowded street with people coming and going. On the trees along the roadside, which had lost all their leaves, tarpaulins were tied to them, and white steam rose from under the tarpaulins from time to time.

The noisy chatter, traffic noise, hawking calls, and laughter of greetings from the street all mingled together and surged upstairs.

A cold wind would occasionally sweep by, chilling Xu Zaijing's cheeks while also carrying the aroma of food from a street stall downstairs.

"Qingyun!"

"Sir?"

"Smell this aroma, go downstairs and see which stall it is, buy some and try it out."

"Yes, son."

Qingyun agreed and left. As soon as he left the private room, he called out, "Greetings, Second Young Master Gu and Second Young Master Yu."

Hearing the noise, Xu Zaijing turned his head to look into the private room and immediately saw Gu Tingye and the second son of the Yu family walking in with their servants.

Seeing Xu Zaijing's gaze, Gu Tingye raised an eyebrow with a hint of helplessness.

"Brother Xu, Happy Chinese New Year!" Yu Erlang said with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting.

Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded.

Without removing his cloak to keep warm, Gu Tingye walked directly to Xu Zaijing's side and peered out the window: "Jing-ge'er, what are you looking at?"

"Let's enjoy the scenery," Xu Zaijing said with a smile.

Looking at Xu Zaijing's eyes, Gu Tingye turned to look at Yu Erlang and said in a low voice, "My father-in-law begged Yanran to let me bring my brother-in-law out to play. After all, Old Master Yu only has this one grandson."

Xu Zaijing turned his head and smiled at Yu Erlang, then looked at Gu Tingye and asked, "Did the Qi family open their gates today?"

Gu Tingye nodded: "It's open. My gatekeeper said it was opened early this morning. Yesterday, there were carriages carrying large and small boxes leaving."

Xu Zaijing asked with a puzzled look: "A carriage?"

"Yes! They said they were going to the Duke's mansion to deliver congratulatory gifts to the Cao and Lu families." Gu Tingye continued, "Fifth Brother, Zong-ge'er and Cao-jie'er got engaged quite quickly."

Xu Zaijing nodded slightly and continued, "Then, will Yuan Ruo still go to the Sheng family after the fifteenth of the first month?"

"I think it's going to be difficult!"

Just as Gu Tingye finished speaking, there was another commotion at the door, and Liang Han, Zheng Xiao, and the third and fourth sons of the Zhang family walked in together.

Qiao Jiulang was following behind them.

After greeting everyone upon entering, Zheng Xiao shook his head and said, "On my way upstairs, I saw several people wearing fur coats and waving folding fans. I don't know if they were cold or hot."

"Ahem!" Liang Han, who was pretending to be nonchalant while holding a folding fan, coughed.

Everyone looked over and burst into laughter.

As they were talking, three maids, including Qingcao, and several servants behind the screen in the private room began to serve tea.

This is the one?

Voices could be heard again outside the private room.
Everyone looked towards the entrance and saw Rong Xian, dressed in a bright red brocade robe, covered with a mink coat, and with silk flowers tucked into his temples, walking in with a flamboyant air, fanning himself with a folding fan.

"Oh! Everyone's here! Jing-ge'er!" Rong Xian said with a smile, cupping his hands and holding a folding fan.

Xu Zaijing and the others either nodded or returned the greeting with clasped hands.

Following behind Rong Xian, Qingyun placed the candied fruit she had purchased on the table.

"Rongxian, your outfit is quite eye-catching," Gu Tingye said with a smile, shaking his head.

Rongxian touched his temple: "Second Brother, you flatter me!"

After everyone was seated,
The maids and servants, including Qingcao, quickly closed the open doors and windows, shutting out the noise and cold wind.

The huge stove in the private room started to burn brightly, and the room began to warm up.

Rong Xian took off his fur coat and said with a smile, "By the way, I ran into that scoundrel Gao Jing on the way here! We exchanged a few insults, and he ran away because he couldn't win."

"Xian-ge'er, how did you run into Gao Jing?" Zheng Xiao asked in confusion.

Rong Xian took a sip of fragrant tea and waved his hand, saying, "I met him while riding a horse. I asked him a couple of questions, and Gao Jing said he was going to Xingguo Fang."

"What was he doing in Xingguo Lane?" Gu Tingye asked, frowning.

Rong Xian was slightly puzzled and said, "That fellow looks drunk and stupid. He said he was going to cause trouble for Young Master Qi and to vent his anger for the Cao family's relatives."

“I scolded him a couple of times for overestimating himself, and that guy tried to get his servants to fight me, but they ended up getting beaten up by my own men.”

"When that fellow saw that things were not going well, he turned tail and ran away."

After saying that, Rong Xian looked at everyone in the private room with a puzzled expression and said, "Brothers, why does Gao Jing keep saying that he wants to stand up for the Cao family's relatives?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zaijing shook his head helplessly.

Zhang Fangling frowned and cursed, "That good-for-nothing, good-for-nothing bird-pecking thing!"

Zhang Fangsong nodded repeatedly.

"Tsk." Zheng Xiao, who knew something, tilted his head in annoyance and clicked his tongue, clearly unhappy.

"What exactly happened?" Rong Xian looked at everyone blankly.

Gu Tingye, Yu Erlang, and Qiao Jiulang, who was standing to the side, all had eyes full of curiosity.

Liang Liulang glanced at Xu Zaijing, Zheng Xiao, and the three and four sons of the Zhang family, and said softly, "Four brothers, it seems that Gao Jing has drunk too much, and he may have revealed that matter."

"What is it? Can you tell me?" Rongxian asked hurriedly.

Xu Zaijing and the others nodded.

Liang Han said softly, "Brother Ye, the Cao family and the Qi family were originally going to arrange a marriage between them."

“It’s Qi Henghe.” Before Liang Han could say the name, Gu Tingye nodded in realization.

aside,
Qiao Jiulang gave Rong Xian a thumbs up and said, "Second Brother Rong, Gao Jing is a member of the imperial family. How dare you lay a hand on him?"

Rong Xian smirked: "As if you're no one else."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Zheng Xiao said, waving his hand.

Everyone nodded.

At this moment, delicacies from Fanlou began to be delivered in like a flowing stream.

The group changed the subject and talked about things in the north, eventually bringing up the Northern Liao and Jin dynasties.

After all the dishes were served,

Zheng Xiao led the way, and everyone drank a cup of warm wine together.

As Gu Tingye poured himself some wine, he looked at Zhang Fangling beside him and said, "Fourth Brother Zhang, I heard from my father and brothers that the Jin Kingdom and the Northern Liao Kingdom fought several battles last winter?"

Zhang Fangling nodded, his expression slightly grave, and said, "Yes, the battles were all small-scale, with fewer than a thousand people involved, so they wouldn't make it into the official gazette of our Great Zhou."

Xu Zaijing asked, "So, will it be the Mongol tribes fighting the Jin Dynasty, or the Northern Liao cavalry fighting the Jin Dynasty?"

“Yes, both.” Zhang Fangling continued, “According to the battle reports, whether it was against the Northern Liao or the various Mongol tribes, the Jin Dynasty won more often than it lost, and often won with fewer troops.”

"Oh?" Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye exchanged a surprised glance.

Zheng Xiao swallowed the food in his mouth, smiled and said, "It should be the Jin Kingdom that wins! These days, the Jin Kingdom has been working hard to get used to the tactics of the Mongol tribes and has even found their weaknesses." "On the other hand, in the Northern Liao, the royal family and nobles are busy guarding against a few powerful families, while the powerful families are guarding against the Mongol tribes causing trouble. The various forces are in a mess and can't unite at all."

"If the scale of the war increases this year, I wonder how the conflict between the Northern Liao and the Jin Dynasty will turn out."

Gu Tingye put down his wine glass with a serious expression, his eyes thoughtful.

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said, "If tens of thousands of people really fight, I'm afraid the Northern Liao and the Mongol tribes will suffer a crushing defeat."

Zheng Xiao raised his glass to Xu Zaijing: "Wulang is right! I've discussed this with my brothers, and we'll probably see how things are in the north this winter."

"The Mongol tribes can either retreat to their original pastures or seek refuge with our Great Zhou, so they probably won't fight to the death."

"Judging from the numerous battles fought since the founding of the Jin Kingdom, it will most likely become the opponent of our Great Zhou in the future."

Everyone at the table nodded in agreement. They were aware that the Jin Kingdom had previously attempted to obtain the map of the Great Zhou Dynasty through the Goryeo envoy.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded solemnly.

Subsequently,

The atmosphere at the table became somewhat oppressive.

Knowing that your future opponent is an undefeated master would make anyone nervous.

Rong Xian licked his lips. Having fought on the battlefield in the south, he knew how rare it was to win with fewer troops or to win repeatedly.

It requires not only skillful command from generals, but also the willingness of soldiers to risk their lives.

Thinking about all this, Rong Xian suddenly noticed that Xu Zaijing was eating his food comfortably.

“Jing-ge’er, you seem quite relaxed,” Rong Xian said.

All eyes at the table turned to Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing and the others exchanged glances and smiled, "You are all pillars of our army! You have not only not looked down on the Jin Kingdom as a barbarian country, but have also attached great importance to it."

"I imagine they'll be training harder from now on, so what do I have to be nervous about?"

"We have also fought against the elite warriors of the Jin Kingdom. We have our own army with such tenacious and brave warriors."

Upon hearing this, everyone watched as Xu Zaijing slowly nodded, and the atmosphere eased considerably.

“Jing-ge’er is right,” Zheng Xiao said with a smile.

"Come on, let's drink!" Gu Tingye said with a smile.

During the banquet,

The toasts went back and forth, and after several rounds, everyone had drunk quite a bit.

During this time, Zheng Xiao, slightly drunk, put his arm around Xu Zaijing's shoulder and said, "Fifth Brother, if you and Second Brother have obtained academic honors, you might even have a higher rank than me if you join the army in the future."

Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "Second Brother Zheng, even though I don't have any academic qualifications from the imperial examinations, my rank after joining the army will still be higher than yours."

Zheng Xiao: "Wu Lang, you!"

Upon hearing this, the others nearby burst into laughter.

Zheng Xiao pursed his lips and shook his head, saying, "I... I was just trying to get you two to study hard for the imperial examinations, but how come your words are so disheartening, Jing-ge'er!"

Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded: "I appreciate Second Brother Zheng's good intentions, and I will certainly study hard during the imperial examination!"

Zheng Xiao: That's more like it!

"I also wish Brother Zheng a speedy birth of a son," Xu Zaijing added.

Zheng Xiao beamed with joy: "Oh my! Thank you for your blessing, Wu Lang! I appreciate it!"

After a round of laughter and merriment, the party ended, and everyone hurried outside.

Qingcao and Huaxiangyunxiang also put the tea set into their carrying case and followed the others out of the private room.

On the way downstairs, it naturally attracted the attention of many people.

Today, there are quite a few candidates for the imperial examinations in Fanlou.

When Xu Zaijing and his entourage approached, the scholars, knowing that the people before them were either rich or noble, looked on with envy.

Fueled by the alcohol, his determination to study hard for the imperial examination next month increased even more.

As everyone went downstairs, the manager of Fanlou hurriedly came over.

suddenly,

Someone bowed respectfully to the crowd and said, "Brother Xu Wu, Brother Gu Er, Happy New Year! What a coincidence!"

Gu Tingye looked over, his drunken eyes filled with a thoughtful expression: "Uh, you are... Jing-ge'er. You know what, I remember now."

Xu Zaijing nodded helplessly in return.

"Your surname is Li, right?"

After saying that, Gu Tingye thought for a moment, then pointed at the man as if he had won the lottery and said, "Li Du!"

Xu Zaijing said softly, "Li Yu."

"Oh! Right, right! Brother Li Yu," Gu Tingye exclaimed with a smile.

Xu Zaijing smiled in return: "Brother Li Yu, what brings you here today?"

Li Yu smiled and said, "Brother Xu, after coming to the capital, I met some friends who took the imperial examination in the same year. Today, we are gathered at Fanlou."

Looking at the people around Li Yu, Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded, "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," the group quickly returned the greeting.

"Wulang, who is this?" Zhang Fangling asked, his breath reeking of alcohol.

“My relatives,” Xu Zaijing said with a smile.

Slightly drunk, Zhang Fangling glanced at Li Yu and the others, then smiled and nodded, saying, "I am Zhang Fangling, the fourth son of the Duke of Yingguo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Li Yu and the others quickly returned the greeting.

After Xu Zaijing and the others left, one of the scholars who had accompanied them looked at Li Yu and said in surprise, "Brother Li Yu, appearances can be deceiving. I didn't expect you to know such a shrewd and extravagant person in the capital."

Li Yu smiled and waved his hand: "My family and the Xu family are related by several intermediaries. So, it's Brother Xu Wu who's being too kind of you."

Another person laughed and said, "I've read several of Wulang's stories! Although his physique isn't as exaggerated as in the stories, his temperament is indeed remarkable!"

"I suppose that once we pass the imperial examinations and become officials in the court, we'll have the opportunity to meet the Duke of Ying?"

Li Yu and the others nodded with smiles.

"The one next to Goro is a young master from the British Duke's family. The others must also be of extraordinary status."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu said, "I know a young master who is a son of the Marquis of Ningyuan."

"Speaking of which, these two were also our rivals in the provincial examination!" someone laughed.

"Then let's see who's the best in the exam!"

Leaving Fanlou,

The group rode horses and carriages towards Xingguofang.

On the way,

Xu Zaijing looked at Gu Tingye beside him and asked, "Second Brother, is Buwei, who is by Yuan Ruo's side, alright?"

Gu Tingye shook his head: "No! Shi Tou saw him a couple of days ago."

After saying that, seeing Xu Zaijing's relieved expression, Gu Tingye continued, "What, Fifth Brother, are you worried about being beaten to death because of Yuan Ruo's matter?"

Xu Zaijing nodded: "You know Princess Pingning's temper. Like Rongxian before..."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing turned around and glanced behind him, then waved his hand.

Behind Xu Zaijing and the others, Rong Xianzheng stopped his horse at the entrance of South Lecture Hall Alley and waved goodbye to him.

“It involves Yuan Ruo’s lifelong happiness and has also ruined Princess Pingning’s plans. After knowing each other for so many years, I am naturally a little worried,” Xu Zaijing said.

Gu Tingye exhaled a puff of white breath: "Don't worry! Yuan Ruo and we are taking the imperial examination next month, and the Duke of Qi is at home. No matter what, no one will die."

The voice just fell,

The sound of horses' hooves came from behind them.

Looking back, it was Rongxian riding up on horseback.

Upon reaching Xu Zaijing's side, Rong Xian stuffed the object hidden in his sleeve into the shirt over Xu Zaijing's chest.

After stuffing the items inside, Rong Xian patted Xu Zaijing's chest, his eyes holding a hidden meaning, and said, "This is a gift of gratitude from my family."

After saying that, Rong Xian turned his horse around and left Xu Zaijing's side.

Gu Tingye smiled at Xu Zaijing and said with some envy, "Oh, this is the reward for my heroic rescue of the damsel in distress at the Feng family last time."

Xu Zaijing nodded.

(End of this chapter)