Gu Jue: "..."

Chen Qianchen: "..."

The night breeze was blowing, and the laughter of some passers-by in the distance were mixed with the wind, and the wild cat hidden deep in the alley screamed twice.

These slight sounds make the surroundings more silent and empty.

The middle-aged man walked closer to Gu Jue. The two sides were only four steps apart, and Gu Jue was still standing there motionless, with an unclear expression.

The middle-aged man's eyes were always alert to scan the surroundings and continued: "Young Master, I have studied hard for ten years in order to one day be the Golden List. As long as I can know the test questions in advance, I believe that with the 'skills', it would be easy to pass the Jinshi."

"Young Master, this is the first imperial examination since the new emperor ascended the throne. The Jinshi was a disciple of the emperor. The new emperor would definitely look at these first batch of Jinshi, especially the young master was still young and of the same age as the new emperor. After entering the court, he would be important to the new emperor and have an unlimited future."

The middle-aged man spoke in a lotus flower and spoke in a big way, and began to paint a bright future for Gu Jue.

Gu Jue finally moved. This time, it was his turn to take a step towards the middle-aged man, and asked calmly, "How come you have a test paper?"

For a middle-aged man, the other person's approach is like a heart-warming move.

It's done! The middle-aged man said proudly in his heart, and looked mysterious on his face, and smiled and said, "Don't worry, young master, there must be no problem with the paper, we have our own way."

Gu Jue stared at the middle-aged man steadily, as if considering whether the other party said true or false. After a moment of quietness, he said again: "Three tests, these three test papers..."

"We have all three test questions," the middle-aged man said confidently without Gu Jue finishing his words, "Please guarantee the young master's wishes come true."

"This price..." Gu Jue's eyes flashed, as if he was hesitant, and as if he was noble and self-controlled.

The middle-aged man was not surprised by the false aloofness of these scholars. He compared three fingers with his right hand and said, "Three thousand taels."

Gu Jue stared at the face, and his expression did not change much. He pondered for a moment and said slowly: "This is not a small amount. How do I believe that the test questions you gave are fine?"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, looked around carefully again, then waved to Gu Jue, leaned over a little, and whispered: "This test question was obtained through the queen's parents' home, so there must be no problem."

Gu Jue: "..."

Chen Qianchen: "..."

Chen Qianchen also heard this. She was looking at the two lotus lanterns in the basket. At this moment, she couldn't help but look at the middle-aged man and raised her eyebrows slightly. She tried hard to tighten her face and began to regret that she hadn't put on a mask just now.

Gu Jue chuckled, nodded and agreed: "Okay."

After pausing, he asked again: "What about the test questions?"

When the middle-aged man saw Gu Jue want to buy it, his smile became more attentive. He looked like a good brother and said readily: "Young Master will pay me a deposit of 100 taels today. Ten days later, at 3 o'clock in the first hour, it's still here. I'll take the test questions and then I will pay the remaining amount."

Gu Jue took out a silver note of 100 taels from his purse and handed it to the other party.

After checking the silver notes, the middle-aged man gave Gu Jue a bamboo plaque engraved with orchids as a certificate for the joint ten days later, and then asked: "Young Master's surname? I think your master should not be a local, right?"

"My surname is Yin, and I am from the Shang Dynasty." Gu Jue replied, "I am from the North and from Bingzhou."

"Young Master's Beijing dialect is very good, but I am still different from our Beijingers." The middle-aged man greeted casually and explained carefully, "Ten days later, Mr. Yin remember to lead Lu Zhi."

Gu Jue responded as if nothing had happened.

He knew in his heart that if the other party was really selling test questions, then these people would definitely not sell all the test questions to candidates in the same place. Otherwise, once the results of the test come out, the first few of them will be concentrated on the candidates in the same place. At that time, even a fool can see what the problem is, which will inevitably attract students all over the world to question this test.

The person who sells the questions is cautious.

Gu Jue quietly watched the middle-aged man leave, lowered his eyes and looked at the bamboo card in his hand again. The bamboo card was only half the size of a palm, and it flipped flexibly between his slender fingers.

His fingers were quick and powerful, fast and agile, as if the bamboo card was part of his finger, and finally he held it in the palm of his hand.

Seeing the middle-aged man walking away, Chen Qianchen stepped forward two steps, walked to Gu Jue's side, and asked, "Will this test paper be true?"

Gu Jueyun smiled lightly: "You will know after ten days."

He did not let the secret guards follow, for fear of alarming the enemy. After all, being cheated of 100 taels is nothing to him. If someone really leaked the question, it would be a major case that shocked the court and shocked the world.

Chen Qianchen tilted his face and smiled: "It seems that this time I will try it out is interesting."

Gu Jue put away the bamboo card, then took Chen Qianchen's free hand and said with a smile: "Let's go."

The two went to Shishahai to set off river lanterns according to their original plan.

When they arrived, the river was already full of people, and they were crowded with people, and they were all lanterns on river lanterns.

Under the moonlight, the river surface was sparkling, and small lotus lanterns were floating. As the swaying and undulating river water drifted towards the distance, clusters of flames lit up, illuminating the surrounding river surface...

These thousands of lotus lanterns reflect the sparkling water light below. At first glance, they are even more dazzling than the stars in the night sky, adding a gorgeous view to this Qixi Festival night.

People on the river bank either enjoy the river lanterns or put their hands together to make wishes and prayers. Some are lovers, some are relatives and friends, and some are family members. Everyone has a smile on their faces.

Chen Qianchen picked up an open space nearby and squatted by the river with Gu Jue. The first thing he did was to light the two lotus lanterns with a fire snatch.

She and Gu Jue are one.

The two carefully put the lotus lantern on the river...

The river surface was rippling, and small lotus lanterns were swaying back and forth on the undulating water surface, drifting further and further as the water flowed, like shining gems...

Chen Qianchen also clasped his hands and made a wish, then hooked Gu Jue's tail finger with one, and stood shoulder to shoulder on the shore to enjoy the river lanterns.

Occasionally, she gently hooked his tail fingers, and her two tail fingers wrapped around the hook, as if she was making some silent promise, and as if she wanted to hook the other person's heart in her heart forever.

So is he.

There is no curfew tonight, and there is a lantern festival in the capital. Many people are planning to have fun all night, but Chen Qianchen and Gu Jue did not plan to do this. Chen Qianchen never allowed Gu Jue to stay up late. Seeing that the time was almost over, she pulled Gu Jue on the return journey.

The two of them walked back all the way, talking, appreciating the lanterns, and occasionally smiling... They felt that they had arrived at Chang'an Street before they walked for a while.

Chang'an Street tonight is also very lively, with bright lights and crowds of people. Because there is also a Chinese Valentine's Lantern Festival in the Meridian Square in front of the palace, there are also many people who go there to enjoy the lanterns.

"Dong!Dong!Dong!"

Suddenly, there were sounds of drumbeats in front of me, and then they rang out, like thunder, endlessly, from one end of Chang'an Street to the other, and passers-by on the street also heard it.

I don’t know who shouted at the top of my voice: “Someone beats the drum!”

As we all know, there is a Dengwen Drum outside the right gate of Chang'an. It has been passed down from the previous dynasty to the present. According to the laws and regulations of the Daqi, any relevant officials must immediately accept the attack of the Dengwen Drum and report it to the emperor.

The purpose of establishing the drum of the sound of the drum was to allow officials and the people to beat the drum and make grievances, and to reach the heavens' hearing. However, in order to prevent unreasonable unfair petitions, the Daqi Law stipulates that if the drum of the sound of the drum has no merits or honors, the court will be poked thirty to serve as a warning to others.

Because the conditions for beating the drum and hearing the drum are harsh, few people dare to take risks. Most of the people who beating the drum and hearing the drum are indeed wronged and will make a desperate bet.

"Dong!Dong!Dong!"

The sound of drumming was endless, and the streets of Chang'an were rioting. Passers-by on the street rushed to leave, gathered together with excitement and discussed:

"Hey, do you know who is going to beat the Dengyin drum?"

"This man is too brave, and he is not afraid of beating the person to death with thirty sticks!"

"Hey, if this hadn't been forced to do so, who would have beaten the drum?"

"Yes! Let's just take a look at the fun."

“…”

The more these passersby said, the more they felt that there must be grievances on the drumbeater, and today there is fun to watch.

The crowds on the street were in agitation, hundreds of people flocked to the right gate of Chang'an like waves, rushing towards the direction of Chang'an's right gate, and the whole street became more and more crowded and noisy.

Gu Jue and Shen Qianchen looked at each other, and a hint of interest appeared on both of them.

This person beats the drums on the Chinese Valentine's Day, and it seems that it was an unjust case of "Flying Snow in June"!

Gu Jue first put a magpies mask on Shen Qianchen, then put a mask on himself, and smiled and said, "Let's go, let's take a look."

The two walked along the flow of people, walking slowly and strolling in the garden.

After a while, there were already crowds of people in the square outside the right gate of Chang'an, and everyone stretched their necks and looked at the direction of Dengwengu.

Finally, the drum beat stopped.

"I'm wronged!"

A middle-aged woman in a sky-blue cloth dress stood beside the Dengwen drum with a wooden hammer, shouting excitedly, without any jewelry on her body, and had a few patches on her dress, looking like a poor family.

The verdict guarding next to the Dengwen Drum was as big as a fight. He cleared his throat and advised kindly: "Concubine Yang, if you have such a thing, you can pass the sign to the palace to the Empress Dowager and the Empress." Why did she beat the Dengwen Drum here? Isn't this just offending the new emperor for nothing?!

The onlookers originally thought that the drumbeater was an ordinary woman, but she didn't expect that she was an imperial concubine, so she couldn't help but feel an uproar. Shouldn't the imperial concubine be a noble lady? Why are she wearing a worse dress than an ordinary citizen!

Concubine Yang ignored the judge, held up the wooden hammer, and then beat the Dengwen drum hard:

"Dong!"

Concubine Yang had a bitter face and continued to shout in disgrace: "I want to sue my step-son Gu Jin for being unfilial and unvirtuous. When the family was separated, she cheated out a large amount of property and money. Please be fair to me!"

Concubine Yang complained pitifully, and her eyes turned red.

During these days, the life of the Prince Jing's Mansion was so hard. After she asked her son Gu Ming for the title of title, she was like a mud cow entering the sea. Gu Ming never succeeded in inheriting the title.

Because when the family was separated, 70% of the property was distributed to Gu Jin, now there is no more industry and money left in the Duke of the County Prince's Mansion, and the family almost lost the money for food. Concubine Yang could only use her dowry to subsidize the mansion continuously. In addition, Gu Ming needed money to find someone to do an errand, so even her dowry was almost over.

At this point, they had no other choice but to take a gamble.

Concubine Yang gritted her teeth secretly and continued to hit the Dengwen drum with drumsticks, exerting force at a time.

Seeing that the crowds gathered more and more, Concubine Yang stopped beating the drum again, and her voice was three points higher than before: "My stepson Gu Jin is close to the queen, and Gu Jin's wife Shen Wan is the queen's aunt. The queen is favored and deliberately sheltered Gu Jin and his wife. Gu Jin is not a heir, but she has divided 70% of the property of the county prince's mansion. Where is the law of nature?"

As he spoke, Concubine Yang's eyes became redder, and a layer of tears appeared in her eyes. She was so angry that she shook, looking pitiful and helpless.

The onlookers nearby listened and looked, and couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic to Concubine Yang.
To be continued...