Author: Traveling Toad

On the road from Shangyin Academy to Tai'an City, a young man who looked like a down-and-out scholar was walking leisurely on a donkey. Although the young man was wearing coarse linen clothes and a pair of tattered straw sandals on his feet, he was still enjoying himself, and from time to time he would

He was humming a little tune, and he didn't look like a shabby scholar at all. He was just a spirited young man.

This person is none other than Zhao Kai. Zhao Kai made Tai'an City the first stop of his trip. After all, he also came out of Tai'an City, so he must have a beginning and an end.

"The birds on the trees 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, green mountains and fresh air, which always makes people feel happy.

"I said Xiao Bei, you can't walk faster. How long will it take to reach Tai'an City if this continues?"

Xiao Bei is the name Zhao Kai gave to the donkey. The meaning is very obvious. It means spare food. When you go out, you should always bring some reserve food. If you can't hold on any day, you can use it to save your life. Even if you don't know,

If Xu Weixiong knows that the little donkey he gave as a gift was eaten by Zhao Kai, will he fight for Zhao Kai?

"That's all, 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 better than modern society. Although it is close to the capital, the population is still relatively sparse. After walking for several days, I haven't seen any larger towns. It seems that the wars in the Spring and Autumn Period have caused the population of this world to not recover.

Of course, this was because Zhao Kai walked too slowly, just like ordinary people walking.

Shangyin Academy is not close to Tai'an City. 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 air along the way. He drank mountain spring water when he was thirsty and picked wild fruits when he was hungry.

Or fishing or something like that. Although his martial arts was banned by Zhang Fuyao, his skills are still there. Hunting and other things are no longer a problem. No matter what, he won't starve to death.

After more than ten days of hard work, we finally arrived at Dantongguan, the legendary gateway to Tai'an City. Once we got here, the population became denser and more pedestrians came and went on the road. From time to time, we could see teahouses and noodle shops on the road.

What.

The pedestrians on the road were also all kinds of people. There were officials and merchants in rich and colorful clothes, people from the martial arts world wearing swords, officials who came to Beijing to take the exam, and most of them ordinary people in coarse clothes and linen. Most of these people looked in a hurry. Only Zhao

Kai was not in a hurry, riding a donkey and walking slowly, not forgetting to appreciate the scenery along the way.

Nothing happened along the way. It was uneventful. It seemed that he was not in a bad shape. The security along the way was relatively good. Anyway, he didn't encounter any bandits coming to steal his donkey.

"Drive~~~Drive~~~ get out of the way quickly,"

Before Zhao Kai could react, he saw a fast horse flying past behind him. In a blink of an eye, he ran to the front, raising a large cloud of dust. Riding on the horse was a young and beautiful woman with a belt around her waist.

Baojian, judging by her attire, is most likely the daughter of someone from a wealthy family. These ladies usually live in secluded rooms and seldom come out to show their faces. She seems to be a special person.

Approaching the capital, there are gradually more and more upper-class people. Generally, the upper-class people are accompanied by carriages and horses, and there are many guards to look after their homes and homes. Heroines like this are relatively rare.

"It's a pity that I ran too fast and couldn't catch a glimpse of her beauty. It's a pity that it's a pity that it's rare to see a beautiful woman but not be able to see her true face clearly. Zhao Kai secretly thought it's a pity that it's a rare thing to meet a beautiful woman but it's a pity that he couldn't see her face clearly.

"This brother must have come to Beijing to take the exam, right? I wonder where he is from?"

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

Zhao Kai smiled and said:

"Oh, yes, as the saying goes: "Be a farmer in the morning, and ascend to the emperor's hall in the evening. Scholars of our generation have studied hard for many years, naturally in order to gain fame and honor our ancestors,"

Zhao Kai has already begun to assume the role. Anyway, there are thousands of people like this, so the credibility is relatively high.

The young man smiled and said: "Yes, among the scholars among us, who doesn't want to go to high school and shine brightly? I see that my brother's conversation is extraordinary, and he must be quite talented and learned. I wonder what I call my brother Liang Dayou in Xiabeigu City?"

"Your Excellency, Chen Xiaokai, comes from Shangyin Academy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It turns out to be from Shangyin Academy! No wonder my brother is so talkative."

Liang Dayou said with envy on his face, after all, Shangyin Academy is a holy place in the literary world. Everyone who comes out of it is a top-notch talent. It is not inferior to the Imperial College. Most of the children from poor families who can enter it are academics.

Extraordinary.

"I heard that students from Shangyin Academy and Imperial College, as long as they are recommended by famous teachers, can directly take the national examination without taking the provincial examination, which is very enviable."

"Oh? Is there such a good thing?"

Zhao Kai has never been to class, so naturally he doesn't know about this kind of thing. Even if he knows, so what, can he still take part in the imperial examination?

Huh? That’s not impossible, right?

Liang Dayou: "Isn't it?"

Zhao Kai scratched his head in embarrassment and said:

"Oh, that should be it~~~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 this. Anyone who was a student of Shangyin Academy was probably a liar.

The two of them were walking and chatting, and when they met someone to talk to, Zhao Kai couldn't help chatting with him. He felt like he was late for meeting each other. Anyway, that's what Liang Dayou thought.

Soon they came to a noodle shop. The two of them were obviously very hungry. As soon as they entered, they ordered noodles. They ate several bowls of noodles before stopping. It was like evil spirits reincarnated. After a full meal, the two of them grew taller.

He breathed a sigh of relief and sighed that this meal could last another day.

However, after eating the noodles, the two of them sat facing each other like this, and the atmosphere suddenly fell into awkwardness. 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. How about you invite me this time? When I am richer, I will definitely be the host and have a drink with Brother Chen!"

"Eh~~Brother Liang's words are wrong. We are all of the same age. How can I have it if you don't have any money? I'll trouble Brother Liang to donate generously this time. When Chen is in high school, he will never forget Brother Liang's meal.

OK,"

Zhao Kai didn't lie. He really had no money. He usually hunted in the wild to satisfy his hunger. He thought he would be able to have a good meal when he met a kind-hearted person today, but he didn't expect that the other person had the same abacus as him.

"How does this make it right to invite Brother Chen after Liang is in high school?"

The two of them were trying to shirk each other, but the boss on the side couldn't stand it anymore. When he led a waiter and stood in front of them fiercely, the two of them stopped. Usually, those green forest heroes with swords and swords eat Bawang.

Forget about the meal, I can't afford to offend him. I didn't expect these two poor scholars to dare to come to eat the overlord's meal! Nothing can be done today to let them leave like this.

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

Zhao Kai: "That's not possible. I bought this donkey with a painting worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. I treat him like a family member."

Liang Dayou just thought he was joking, but he didn't want to use the donkey to cover the debt. Little did he know that the painting Zhao Kai gave to Xu Weixiong was more than tens of thousands of taels of silver. Zhao Kai could only helplessly say to the shop owner after the stalemate:

"Seller, we are all from a poor family who came to Beijing to take the exam. We really don't have any extra expenses. Let's do this. I am quite confident in my writing and calligraphy. This time I will give the store a pair of calligraphy treasures. I will definitely become famous in the future.

Forget the kindness of the store today for this meal.”

The shop owner was helpless looking at these two shabby scholars. They can't even afford food and still want to take the top exam? It's just a dream. However, the boss has no choice. Seeing that these two guys are not the material for work, he can only agree in the end.

, after all, a word might be worth some money, it’s better than having nothing at all.

"Brother Liang, could you please provide me with some pen and paper?"

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

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

The human face doesn’t know where to go, but the peach blossom still smiles in the spring breeze!

The writing is like a dragon, flowing like clouds and flowing water, the words are beautiful and natural, but only a dozen characters have an extraordinary artistic conception. After the characters are completed, the onlookers are amazed.

"Good words, good words! The human face is nowhere to be seen, the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze, such a beautiful mood!"

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

"Brother, how about selling this calligraphy to me? I'm willing to pay you a tael of silver, and please give me your love."

"I'm willing to pay two taels,"

"I'll pay five taels"

"·····"

It didn't take long for Zhao Kai's calligraphy to attract many people to watch, and the price became higher and higher. Even the shopkeeper next to him was 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 said before that this calligraphy is to pay off the debt of the shop owner. If a scholar is poor, he will be alone, but if he is wealthy, he will help the world. How can he be unfaithful?"

Liang Dayou still wanted to say something, but when he saw Zhao Kai's firm eyes, he remained silent and handed the word to the shop owner. The shop owner was also full of joy. Someone just offered him ten taels of silver, which was worth what he was selling noodles.

After half a year, I immediately gave the two of them a lot of dry food.

The shop owner was also a ghost. Naturally, someone offered ten taels, which meant that someone offered more. So he made a list of the calligraphy and hung it in the shop. Finally, it was bought for a hundred taels of silver not long after.

, this is something for the future, let’s not mention it for now.

"Brother Chen, you have such a writing skills, every word is worth a fortune, why are you still in such a miserable state?"

Liang Dayou also couldn't understand at this time. If he had such ability, he would have been rich and powerful, with many wives and concubines.

Zhao Kai just smiled and said nothing. Liang Dayou's thoughts represented the thoughts of many students who participated in the imperial examination. They just wanted to leap over the dragon's gate, soar into the sky and enjoy endless glory and wealth.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having this kind of thinking. After all, who doesn’t want to live a better life after living hard for too long? This is the truest thought of most poor students, to help themselves first, and then to help the world without danger.

.It’s just that glory and wealth will corrode people’s hearts and make them forget their original intentions. This is also the reason why it is difficult for scholars in temples to reach the realm of celestial phenomena.

After the two left the noodle shop, they continued towards Tai'an City. However, since Zhao Kai was riding a donkey and Liang Dayou was walking, they separated not long after.

Maybe Liang Dayou felt ashamed. In fact, he had money to pay the bill just now, but the little Jiujiu in his heart made him choose to remain silent. How could such a thing be hidden from Zhao Kai? It's just that Zhao Kai didn't want to say it.

After all, there are still too few people in this world who can treat others with sincerity.
Chapter completed!