Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 761 Feeling down? Really? [Thank you! Again! 27k words owed]

A few days later,
The northern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Near the border between the two countries.

In the main camp of the Imperial Guard's Guangrui Army, the tents were neatly arranged. Near the central command tent, the banners bearing the characters "Zhou" and "Gu" fluttered in the south wind.

Outside the camp gate.

"Shut up!"

The messenger, who had come galloping towards them, reined in his horse.

"Xilulu."

The horse neighed and stopped, panting heavily through its nostrils.

The messenger, covered in dust, immediately dismounted, took out a bamboo tube from his robes, and shouted in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Urgent report from the army!"

After the guards at the camp gate verified the tally, he immediately turned and ran inside, leaped onto his horse, and rode towards the central command tent.

The bamboo tubes were quickly brought into the main tent.

Inside the large tent, several generals of the Great Zhou army stood around a large sand table, talking. Small triangular flags were occasionally planted in various places on the sand table.

A military advisor opened the bamboo tube, translated the military report written in secret code, and delivered it to the commander-in-chief: "My lord! Urgent report."

With a solemn expression, and looking much thinner than when he was in Bianjing, Marquis Gu Yankai of Ningyuan took the paper and began to read it carefully.

After reading it, Gu Yankai frowned slightly.

Looking at the expressions of his officers and soldiers, Gu Yankai picked up a small white flag from beside the sand table and planted it somewhere in the territory of Northern Liao.

"Hiss! General, what is this?"

Gu Yankai nodded: "That's right, we now have another 5,000 tribal soldiers on the other side."

The officers under his command said, "I heard that the Northern Liao are fighting fiercely with the Jin in the east, and they actually dare to send 5,000 tribal troops to the opposite side of us!"

Another officer said, "Perhaps they fear that our army can deliver a fatal blow to them!"

Looking at the triangular flag on the sand table, Gu Yankai frowned and said, "It's understandable that the Northern Liao has mobilized troops to defend against our army, but isn't this force a bit too large? It doesn't look like they're defending; it looks like they're preparing to attack!"

"The general is right!" his officers echoed. "But we haven't defeated the Jin dynasty in the east yet, so how dare the Northern Liao wage war against our dynasty?"

Another person said, "Our spies are quite capable; it would be great if they could send us more information!"

Just as Gu Yankai was about to speak, the curtain of the central command tent was lifted from the outside.

Looking at his smiling attendant Qi Sheng, Gu Yankai frowned and asked, "What is it?"

Qi Sheng bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "Reporting to Your Excellency! A letter has arrived from the capital!"

"A letter?" Gu Yankai thought for a moment, then nodded and reached out his hand.

As Gu Yankai read the letter, the officers and generals around the sand table exchanged glances.

Upon seeing a slight smile on Gu Yan's lips, one of his officers asked, "General, has Erlang passed the imperial examination?"

Gu Yankai smiled and nodded: "Yes! He's not bad, he hasn't let his mother and brother down."

"Congratulations, General! Two members of your family have passed the imperial examinations!" the officer said, bowing with his hands clasped.

"There's nothing to congratulate him on; he has a long road ahead of him!" Gu Yankai waved his hand, placing the letter inside his shirt as he spoke.

"I heard that the two sons of Marquis Yongyi, Lord Xu, also participated in the imperial examination. I wonder what the results were?" someone asked.

"He passed too! The youngest son of the Xu family is still the top scholar in the imperial examination." Gu Yan said with a smile.

"Wow! This guy is really impressive."

Gu Yankai nodded.

The officers under his command added, "We've always heard that the soldiers under Lord Xu's command are extremely elite. We wonder when we'll be able to see them for ourselves!"

“There’s a chance!” Gu Yan said with a smile, “especially the heavy cavalry that you’ve been longing for.”

Among the powerful nobles of the Great Zhou Dynasty, apart from the Duke of Yingguo and the Marquis of Tuoxi who have veteran heavy cavalry under their command, there is only the Marquis of Yongyi, Xu Minghua.

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged smiles and glances.

The army under the command of Marquis Yongyi was stationed a thousand miles to the northwest and could not leave at will.

The only reason they could see the large army in the northwest was within the territory of Northern Liao.

mid March.

That morning, the weather was fine, with a gentle spring breeze.

Willows line the moat east of the palace, and the Chai family residence is not far away.

In the northwest corner of the Chai family residence, there is a two-story wooden building. Through the windows of the wooden building, you can see the East Gate of the palace, also known as Donghua Gate, which is some distance away.

But at this time, there was no one around the Chai family's wooden building.

Outside the Donghua Gate, several rows of tents were surrounded by colorful silk. Near the entrance of the tents, several hundred scholars dressed in new clothes were slowly entering the tents carrying their book boxes.

These people were all tribute students of the current dynasty, and they were about to enter the palace to participate in the palace examination.

Among the hundreds of candidates, some were very excited as they looked at the majestic palace walls before them, while others remained quite indifferent.

Those who lead ordinary lives are like Xu Zaijing, a high-ranking official or nobleman's son who enters the palace several times a year.

Upon entering the depths of the decorated pavilion, the eunuch in charge of inspecting the candidates immediately smiled as he saw Xu Zaijing walking towards him: "Fifth Prince, please open your arms."

Xu Zaijing did as instructed.

Looking at the eunuch checking his appearance and book box, Xu Zaijing said softly, "Don't I need to take off my clothes?"

The palace official laughed and said, "Fifth Prince, what are you saying! You've been to the palace so many times! And you're the top scorer in the imperial examinations. We just need to check."

Xu Zaijing nodded with a smile.

After the inspection, Xu Zaijing stepped out of the decorated pavilion and, guided by other eunuchs, passed through the Donghua Gate.

Upon entering the palace, an official gestured and said, "This scholar, please wait here for a moment."

"Yes."

After bowing respectfully, Xu Zaijing walked towards the other candidates who were standing to the side.

Being in the palace, the scholars naturally could not speak freely; they simply stood there quietly, waiting for the others to enter the palace.

After standing there for a while, Xu Zaijing sensed that someone was looking at him.

Xu Zaijing glanced at him, smiled, and nodded.

Not far away, the poor scholar who had been helped by Xu Zaijing once when he entered the examination hall was also standing here today.

There were many decorated tents outside Donghua Gate, and in less than 45 minutes, more than 400 candidates had entered the palace.

Xu Zaijing looked back from time to time and found that there were not many candidates who were twenty years younger than him, such as himself, Gu Tingye, and Changbai.

Most of the successful candidates were at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and had taken the imperial examinations more than once.

Then, guided by the eunuchs, the group split into two teams and headed into the palace.

There was quite a distance between Donghua Gate and the palace where the examinations were held.

Along the way, the scholars could often hear the laughter of the girls.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a number of noble ladies dressed in spring clothes and wearing jewelry chatting and laughing in the palace corridors some distance away from them, holding round fans to cover their faces.

If one or two noble ladies saw the group of scholars, they might shy away.

But the dozen or so noble ladies gathered together, looking at everyone without the slightest bit of shyness.

Not only was he not shy, but he would also occasionally point at a certain scholar with his fan and make jokes.

Xu Zaijing had excellent eyesight and spotted the noble ladies from the Cao, Chai, Lu, and Rong families among the crowd at a glance.

Beside Cao Jiazhi and Rong Feiyan stood two girls whose temperaments differed considerably from the others; they were the two princesses.

"Auntie, I think Xu Wulang is the bravest. None of the other candidates dared to look this way, but he glanced this way several times before entering the hall," the little princess said in a low voice.

Rong Feiyan nodded with a smile.

At this moment, a female official came nearby, curtsied, and said, "Her Majesty the Empress invites you all to return home. Lunch will be served in the palace."

Everyone quickly agreed and followed the female official toward the Empress.

As Xu Zaijing and others were preparing to enter the palace to take the exam, the noble ladies and princesses also arrived at the Empress's residence.

Unlike usual, Consort Rong is also sitting next to the Empress today.

The main hall of the imperial examination

At this moment, the palace doors were wide open, and inside, desks were neatly arranged, with more than a dozen officials standing solemnly outside holding lists.

"Gu Tingye!"

"Present!" "Enter the hall, to table number twenty-three in the Heaven section."

"Yes!"

As the dozen or so examiners at the entrance called out names, Xu Zaijing and the others quickly entered the hall as arranged.

After everyone had settled in front of their respective tables, the examiner glanced at them and then left the palace.

After a while.

"Your Majesty is here!"

"His Royal Highness is here!"

The high-pitched voice of the chief eunuch rang out, instantly making the atmosphere in the hall much more tense.

Soon, the emperor led Zhao Fang into the hall.

After the emperor and the crown prince were seated, the chief eunuch announced loudly, "Bowing!"

All candidates for the imperial examinations were taught etiquette before entering the palace.

After the chief eunuch finished speaking, Xu Zaijing and the others bowed and clasped their hands in greeting.

"Gentlemen, please rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The emperor, seated high above, looked down at the crowd in the hall and said with a cheerful tone, "You are all the elite of my Great Zhou! Today I have a few essay questions for you to test!"

The people who had risen bowed again and clasped their hands in greeting.

The emperor smiled, nodded, and waved his hand.

The questions for the palace examination had already been transcribed and distributed to the tables of the candidates by the examiners and palace officials.

Seeing that the examiners and eunuchs had reached the very back, the emperor smiled and said, "Alright! Sit down and answer the questions!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After expressing their gratitude, the scholars sat down and began to examine the questions.

Sitting to the side of the emperor, Zhao Fang looked at Xu Zaijing not far away with a smile.

A female official served tea, and the emperor and Zhao Fang drank tea together while looking at the people in the hall.

Inside the hall, some of the scholars were frowning and pondering over the questions, while others had already begun grinding ink.

Most people, like Xu Zaijing, would grind ink while studying the topic.

"cough!"

Whether it was a sore throat or choking on the tea, the emperor, sitting high up, coughed.

Inside the hall, some scholars looked up, while others remained focused on grinding ink and examining the questions.

As time passed, most of the scholars had finished grinding their ink and began to write their answers on draft paper.

"Just answer with confidence! I'm just taking a stroll." Inside the hall, the emperor said with a smile and a gentle voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After hearing just one sentence, Xu Zaijing recognized it as Changbai's voice.

After taking a deep breath, Xu Zaijing continued to answer.

After a while.

Footsteps approached, and the emperor and Zhao Fang walked towards the back not far from Xu Zaijing.

After Xu Zaijing wrote several dozen characters, a unique fragrance of incense from the palace was blown into his nose by the wind.

Without even looking up, Xu Zaijing knew that the emperor and Zhao Fang had already approached him.

Xu Zaijing continued to concentrate on answering the questions.

"Hmm!" came a voice full of approval.

Then, two bright yellow hems passed by Xu Zaijing.

After several dozen breaths.

"Your Majesty, we respectfully see you off," the examiners' voices rang out.

The atmosphere inside the hall instantly relaxed.

At noon.

Palace officials delivered the food to the palace.

Xu Zaijing and the other candidates put away their answer sheets on scrap paper and began to eat at the table.

In the afternoon, everyone began to hand in their papers.

After handing in his exam paper, Xu Zaijing and several of his classmates walked out of the Donghua Gate. Looking back at the majestic palace gate tower and the sky behind it, Xu Zaijing felt a little dazed.

After a moment of stunned silence, Changbai walked over to Xu Zaijing's side.

"Wulang, what are you looking at?" Changbai followed Xu Zaijing's gaze.

"It's nothing! I just felt a bit sentimental after the palace examination," Xu Zaijing said with a smile.

Changbai nodded in agreement.

After Zai Zhang and Gu Tingye left the palace, the group left together.

South Lecture Hall Lane, Rong Family Residence, Huixue Courtyard.

inside the house,

Xi Bu looked worriedly at Rong Feiyan, who was sitting blankly by the window, seemingly lost in thought.

Following Rong Feiyan's gaze, all that came into view was the courtyard scenery she had seen for so many years.

“Sister Xibu, what’s wrong with the young lady? She didn’t say a word on the way home, and she’s been sitting by the window for more than an hour since she got home.”

Hearing Ningxiang's soft question, Xibu shook her head thoughtfully and said, "I don't know either."

Ningxiang took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and whispered, "Sister, do you think the young lady learned something in the palace?"

She glanced at Ningxiang, frowned, and lowered her voice: "News? You mean... news about that person's marriage?"

Ningxiang nodded: "I think there's nothing else that could make you stare blankly for so long, except for this! And judging from your expression, it probably isn't good news!"

Xi Bu nodded slightly, then hesitated and said, "Ningxiang, you're right!"

Ningxiang continued, "Then, should we go ask the young lady? If it's true, we can try to persuade her!"

“If the girl is so upset about this that she wants to become a nun, we can prepare in advance.”

Looking closely at Rong Feiyan, who remained motionless, Xi Bu said softly, "Alright! Go get a plate of candied fruit, and I'll get the tea."

quickly,

Two personal maids carrying things walked up to Rong Feiyan's side.

"Young lady, spring is dry, please have some water!" Xi Bu said with a smile.

“Girl, this is your favorite candied fruit,” Ningxiang said.

Rong Feiyan forced a smile: "Hmm! Just put it there!"

After saying that, Rong Feiyan continued to look out the window.

A moment later, noticing that the two maids hadn't left, Rong Feiyan turned her head and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you two looking at me like that?"

She said softly, "Miss, did you learn something in the palace today? You sat by the window looking gloomy after returning home."

"Feeling down? Are you?" Rong Feiyan asked, somewhat surprised.

Xi Bu and Ning Xiang nodded in unison.

"I was just thinking about something," Rong Feiyan said with a smile.

"Miss, has the marriage of Xu Wulang been arranged?" Ningxiang asked directly without beating around the bush, which earned her a reproachful glare from Xibu.

"I guess so!" Rong Feiyan nodded, pursing her lips.

"Huh? The results of the imperial examination haven't come out yet, how come this young master's marriage has already been arranged?" Xi Bu, who was usually calm, asked in a hurry.

Seeing that Rong Feiyan remained silent, she continued in a low voice, "Her Highness the Imperial Concubine hasn't even summoned Lady Xu to the palace yet. Which powerful family is so capable that they could arrange this matter?!"

Rong Feiyan pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows slightly.

Ningxiang, who was usually a bit impulsive, looked around at Rong Feiyan, whose face showed no sign of sadness. After a moment's thought, she asked uncertainly, "Miss, could it be..."

(End of this chapter)