After the family fell, I wanted to lie down

Chapter 113 What a pity

At this time, Yingge lowered her head to read a book, and was very surprised at the temptation they offered. Yes, it was temptation. In order to control me, they offered me the opportunity to pass the county exam directly. But you, sir, promised me that I could become the top scorer in the exam. It seems that you have the upper hand.

Zhixing said with some pride, "Of course I am better than them. Bah, I didn't promise you anything, don't lie to me."

Yingge turned a page and said, "You knew you were being cheated but still agreed. That shows that you are capable and fearless."

Zhixing was about to laugh proudly again, but then he frowned again and said, "Are you praising yourself or me?"

Yingge asked him to be her husband, but that was also a lie.

"Sir, you and I are both gods, it doesn't matter who you praise."

Zhixing laughed first, then said, "Come on, I know you didn't intend to take the top exam, you just acted as you felt comfortable."

"What you said is absolutely true."

"You are absolutely right. Hurry up and study. Look at how little you have read so far."

"Sir, I've been reading very quickly. Look, I've almost finished the book."

"You still have to practice martial arts in the second half of the night. Don't forget it. Don't go to bed until you finish reading tonight."

"Sir, you are abusing a minor."

"You are saying something incomprehensible again. Hurry up and study, then go practice martial arts."

"Okay, stop arguing, I'll go right away."

"Tell me, how do you become the son-in-law of the Chen family? What if you have to go to be the son-in-law in the end?"

"What can I do? What else can I do? Just let it sit."

"I think I am a person who is loved by everyone and flowers bloom wherever I go. I have a great market."

"It is said that Miss Chen Wu is well-educated and well-mannered. You are so lucky."

"Sir, you are slandering me again. Others don't know me, but don't you know me?"

"Students are not blessed enough to enjoy this."

A gust of cold wind blew, and a leaf of snow fell from the big tree outside the thatched cottage and landed on Ye Muyang's head. The young man tightened his neck and walked into the thatched cottage with his hands in his pockets. As soon as he entered the cottage, he heard a plop and fell on the thick mat, crossing his legs comfortably.

"Are you here to find a place to sleep?" the boy next to him reminded.

Ye Muyang said in a naughty way, "Don't think that I am sleeping on the surface. In fact, I am reading in my mind. It's just that you can't see it, but it doesn't mean that I am not reading."

After saying this, he rolled over like a carp and sniffed the food boxes placed in front of him, a flower basket with a blue cloth bottom, and a plum blossom flower basket. There were people sitting on both sides of the baskets, Liu Ziheng on one side and Chen Junhe on the other.

Liu Ziheng still wanted to smile as usual, but Chen Junhe seemed to be shy like a little wife for the first time.

Ye Muyang raised his voice and said, "Oh, the two brothers-in-law are here to bring warmth."

Chen Junhe looked up shyly and said, "I'll give you your mother's eggs." You have to know that this man is the one who dares to break someone's leg on the polo field, and he is not shy towards everyone.

Ye Muyang was furious when he heard this, "Chen Jun and you, you bastard, how dare you scold me."

The two young men suddenly bumped into each other, and there were noises of booing all around.

Yingge said, "If you want to curse, please go out. If you want to play Cuju, please go out. This is Xiaolin Hall, which is only a place for you to study."

The boys who bumped into each other spit at each other and then separated, then sat down again.

Liu Ziheng smiled and said, "Ye Muyang, are you envious of Brother Yingzi for being loved by someone?" he joked.

Another young man followed suit and said, "Yes, Ye Muyang, has anyone asked you to kiss?"

Ye Muyang sat back in his chair and snorted, "Of course, who am I?"

"It's just a little annoying. I just heard about that girl and wanted to go to her house to meet her first, but she found out and said I was a pervert. She chased me all the way. Tell me, isn't that unfair?"

"Which girl is so tough? Aren't they all gentle and kind?"

The young men burst into laughter. Some asked which girl it was, and some said that their families were also helping to look for her. Now that the topic had been changed, everyone started to discuss which girl in the city was pretty and which had a bad temper.

Winter is coming soon. Young boys aged thirteen or fourteen are one year older. In addition to facing heavy academic workload, they also have to consider their lifelong affairs. At this age when love begins, it is inevitable to worry about being sought after by beautiful ladies and gentlemen.

When Zhilin walked in, Xiao Taohong was humming a song and happily opening the lunch box, her brows tightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about whether to eat the vegetables or the meat first. This was really a difficult problem.

"Why don't we eat first?" He smiled and gave a pertinent suggestion, and then handed over the food box in his hand. The food box was wrapped in colorful and beautiful colors. "Miss Yutang asked me to deliver this. There were too many people just now, so it was not convenient to go in. I will hand it over to you now, so as not to embarrass you."

Yingge laughed and invited him to sit down, but Zhilin declined, saying, "I have missed a lot of lessons, so I need to catch up as soon as possible."

Yingge saw him off, turned around to look at the plaque on the door of Xiaolin Hall and said, "This is the first time I sincerely envy others for being able to study."

At this time, he was opening the food box sent by Yutang and taking out the eight-treasure rice pudding inside. Xiao Taohong was a little puzzled. Zhi Lin came from a poor family and could not even afford food and clothing, let alone much time and energy for study, so he sold himself into a slave. Such a person would indeed envy others for studying, which was something Xiao Taohong had not expected.

But why did he say it was the first time?

Zhilin said, "I saw you and your friends studying together at the gate of Yi Garden earlier. I was very envious."

"Because you can't go?"

When students petitioned previously, there were obviously many children from wealthy families but also children from poor families who participated. Zhili did not go at that time. Life was already very difficult for them. If something else happened, they would not be able to bear it.

Zhi Lin said: In the past, I knew my status and was happy to accept my fate. I didn’t feel that sad. I just did my best in everything. However, I didn’t care about other people’s opinions. After all, being able to continue my studies is a rare thing.

Yingge nodded to show that she understood. This could be seen from the fact that he had not cared about the outside world's opinions for more than ten years and had sold himself into slavery.

Zhilin looked at the bare branches in the distance and sighed, "But at that time, I saw a group of you classmates studying in high spirits at the gate of Yiyuan. I was standing aside and watching, and I was very envious."

Yingge smiled, "That doesn't count as studying, that counts as doing things. Everyone is an independent individual. People are different, and the environments they live in are also different. They also have different opinions about the things they know. So, we can't use any one thing to judge him, right?"

"It's strange. I feel like you're much younger than me, but some of your opinions are more insightful than mine."

When Yingge heard him say this, she said seriously, "I look younger, but in fact, I am already many years old."

Zhilin obviously didn't believe it. He bowed to Yingge, turned around and strode away.

A carriage passed by Yingge. Su Qingyu sat in the carriage and asked, "Yingge, are you going home today?"

"I'm not going back. I need to make up for the missed lessons."

Su Qingyu laughed and said, "What are you rushing to finish? Are you afraid to go back because you are worried that Miss Liu will urge you to study hard every day to pass the imperial examination?"

Obviously, he knew about the bet between Miss Chen and Miss Liu.

This remark made everyone around laugh. Although Yingge never expressed her opinion from beginning to end, the Chen family had already announced to the public that if Yingge failed to pass the imperial examination, he would have to marry a young lady from the Chen family.

Such rumors were even more surprising than the Liu family's original intention to make Yingge their son-in-law. Mo City was once again in an uproar, but compared to the previous ridicule, this time there was obviously more envy.

"That Yingge is really extraordinary."

"It is said that because of the poems she wrote, officials who went to the capital could be convicted. Do you think that is serious?"

"By the way, if I had a daughter, I would also want her to be my son-in-law."

"You are dreaming, aren't you? If you want someone to be your son-in-law, they have to like you."

A lot of laughter spread throughout the market, and Xiao Taohong asked, holding a food box, "Master Yingzi, which one do you want to choose?"

Yingge smiled, threw the crutch in her hand aside with a clang, stuck it in the corner and said, "I have to go study first." Then she walked into the hall.

Su Qingyu laughed loudly. Su Qinghe couldn't help but pat him on the head and said, "Is this kind of thing funny?"

Su Qingyu said that there are three great joys in life: "The ancients said that the three great joys in life are: meeting an old friend in a foreign land; the wedding night; and passing the imperial examination."

"Now you see her love star is moving, of course it is a happy event, Yingge can be said to have no regrets."

Su Qinghe shook his head and said, "There's nothing to be happy about romantic matters."

"That's true. Being entangled with these three women does cause troubles sometimes, but let Yingge solve this trouble by herself. Brother, aren't you jealous? I heard from my aunt that she wants to find a matchmaker for you. She said that she is the daughter of the Cao family in Taiyuan, but I don't know what kind of person she is."

"I have no interest in this matter. My studies should be the most important thing."

Su Qingyu laughed and said, "When your aunt heard what you said, she was so happy, but the daughter of Cao will not wait for you for too long."

Su Qingyu's academic performance was not very good, and the Su family had no plans to help them with the imperial examinations.

Su Qinghe said, "Reading is a good task." After saying that, he shook the book in his hand.

Su Qingyu stretched out her hand and asked, "What are you looking at now?"

"It turned out to be a collection of unofficial history books."

"It's mainly because these stories are interesting. If you don't believe me, go read them yourself."

Su Qinghe read for a while, and indeed he gradually got into the mood as he said. His eyes were shining and focused, and the carriage swayed through the school street and headed towards the distant Mo City.

The shock caused by Lu Gongqing's incident had long passed. But on the bustling streets of Shangjing, there were crowds of people in armored uniforms. It was said that the prisoners escorted from Mocheng had arrived, and behind the prison car followed tired-looking officials.

The people of Shangjing gathered around out of curiosity, just to see the person in the prison car. The person in the prison car looked as miserable as a dead tree, and it seemed that he was still breathing.

Perhaps the prisoners were awakened by the people's talking, and they seemed to have come back to the human world. One prisoner began to grab the railings of the car and kept making sharp screams.

"We have arrived in Shangjing, we have arrived in Shangjing. I want to see the Empress Dowager."

But all he got in response was a long whip, which hit him accurately on the body. The prisoner wailed and fell backwards, several bloody teeth flying out, and the onlookers cheered.

After a long while, the man seemed to have fainted, and the people had to move their attention to the next prison cart. Perhaps the behavior of the previous big prisoner made the prisoners in other carriages restrained, and the next few just sat obediently in the prison cart without shouting.

He only heard the people in the prison car say, "We have arrived in Shangjing." But he didn't say anything else. He was not very happy. He was just like a country boy going to the city. He was timid towards the people around him. People on the street were looking at him, and he was also looking at others.

On the second floor of a street-facing shop, there were several windows and doors wide open, and several men were sitting together. Compared with ordinary people, they understood more clearly, "Liao Chengyi is also a pitiful man. He finally waited until Lu Gongqing died, but he was thrown into prison just as he got ahead."

"This eunuch has strong connections in the palace, so how come Lord Ji allowed it... He will be dead if he gets the chance now."

"Hu Gongye suffered heavy losses this time. The two most important confidants in the palace were removed at once..."

As they were talking, there was a slight knock on the door of the room, and a woman in her thirties came out with a pipa in her hands. Obviously, everyone present recognized her identity, but compared with other prostitutes, she had an ordinary appearance and was dressed simply.

However, no one in the room disliked her. They just smiled and greeted her, "Qin Niang."

The woman who called Qin Niang replied casually, and walked to the window to look at the scene on the street below. "Prisoner car, I'm afraid the people in this prisoner car will not survive."

"Yes, that's Liao Chengyi."

"The one in prison is Nian Shilan, who is said to have killed Lu Gongqing."

The news that Shi Lan had killed Lu Gongqing had already spread throughout the capital, and when they met again at this time, the most they could say was a regret.

Qin Niang looked down from the upstairs and only saw ragged men. The convoy left quickly.

"This man can't survive." She sighed softly.

"For now, he should be alive. It is said that Lord Xie is interrogating him personally." Someone else replied. He also closed the window, which immediately blocked the cold air outside and kept the room temperature as normal.

There was a chaotic flow of footsteps inside and outside the palace. Xie Ping was supported by a group of people and walked quickly. "Sir, Lord Liao has arrived in Shangjing. What should we do with him?"

"And Lord Liao wants to see the Empress Dowager, look at this..."

Hearing the question, Xie Ping became impatient and waved his hand, "What are you talking about? The Queen Mother doesn't have the time to do that. Just put him in the death row. It's already good enough that he can come back alive."

The servant withdrew as ordered, and another person came up and said, "Master Zhang asked, Nian Shilan, do you want to meet him, sir?"

Xie Ping paused, pinching his mustache, and asked hesitantly, "Nian Shilan, the one who was weak but could withstand the interrogation of Lord Zhang?" He waved his hand and said, "Then meet him."