Three years later…
At night, the village chief came to Chu Yurong's room and sat down. He said earnestly,
"Rong 'er, although you're not my biological son, I've treated you like my son all these years! I know you have great ambitions. There are still ten days before the Wenchang Academy in Yunzhou recruits students. You have reached the age standard of the academy. This is also your chance…I have saved the money you earned from hunting with me all these years. It will be enough for your travel expenses. It is good that you can get into this academy. If you don't get in, Uncle Dong in the West Village has an only daughter who wants to marry into the academy. I will arrange it for you when you come back.”
"Thank you, foster father. I'll definitely do my best on this trip!”
Chu Yurong understood that it was extremely difficult to get into Qi Chang Academy. After all, there were only 30 candidates from the thousands of students. Of course, the outstanding students who passed the examination were treated very well. Their food and accommodation were all taken care of by the government, and they even had the help of rich people. This was most likely the intention of Godmother, but it could also be considered as being very kind to him.
The next day, Chu Yurong brought Little Treasure to the stream at the foot of the mountain. Little Treasure asked in confusion,
"Brother Yurong, do you have to go?"
" It's not like I'm not coming back. If I'm as high as the sky and do my duty, so that millions of people can have a place to live, food to eat, and avoid the misfortune of my parents, I'll feel at ease…"
"You talk big at such a young age. Unfortunately, the world is big!”An old man's voice came from the mountainside.
Chu Yurong looked at the mountain in confusion and looked for the voice. She did not know when, but an old man with silver hair had appeared there.
"This brat is lacking in talent and knowledge. I've made a fool of myself in front of this old grandpa. However, what I said just now is in line with the Great Dao. I don't think there's anything wrong with it! I've never seen the old man before…The forest is dense, and it's easy to get lost. Moreover, it's very dangerous for wild beasts to run amok. Don't go further in.”Chu Yurong stood up and shouted.
The old man smiled slightly and looked at Chu Yurong. Suddenly, he reached out his hand and Chu Yurong flew towards the old man. Chu Yurong cried out in surprise. Her heart stopped. When she landed in front of the old man, her face was already pale. The old man placed his hand on Chu Yurong's wrist. Chu Yurong only felt a warm current spread from her arm to her shoulder, until her entire body and chest heated up. Only then did the warm current disappear.
"That's right, a sixth grade spirit root. Since we are fated, I will give this jade pendant to you. If you go to Cloud Prefecture City and take this jade pendant to Qiyun Temple, you will naturally have your own good fortune.”With that, the old man turned around and disappeared into the forest path.
Chu Yurong was stunned on the spot. She looked at the jade pendant given by the old man in her hand and was speechless for a while.
Looking at the forest where the old man disappeared, Chu Yurong paused and shouted,
"It's indeed very dangerous in the mountains!"
The voice echoed in the mountains. The old man was no longer there. Chu Yurong had no choice but to go down the mountain. After nearly fifteen minutes, she came to Little Treasure again.
"Brother Yurong, what happened? That old man waved his hand and you flew over. Is he a god?”Little Treasure rushed up and asked.
"Immortal?"
At night, Chu Yurong caressed the jade pendant in her hand. There were minute cloud embossed, warm as water, and a faint green light flashing. She thought for a moment and muttered,
"Qiyun Temple…"
He carefully put away the jade pendant and counted the money his foster father had given him. Tomorrow morning, he would set off for the Cloud Prefecture City to take the exam.
The next day, Chu Yurong bade farewell to her neighbors and returned.
"Are you done packing?" Village Chief asked.
"Alright, Godfather."
Chu Yurong carried the villagers 'rations, went into the house, carried her luggage, and followed the village chief to town.
When they arrived in town, Chu Yurong walked into the government office that she had been thinking about.
"This must be your adopted son." In the government office, Arrester Li said expressionlessly.
"That's right. I hope Big Brother Li will take care of me along the way!”After the village chief finished speaking, he secretly stuffed the silver into the constable's hand. He glanced at Chu Yurong again and turned to leave the crowd outside.
Chu Yurong glanced at the courtyard. There were about twenty people. These were all disciples of the same age as him. They lined up and waited to set off. He did not dare to be negligent and stood in the line.
Within a quarter of an hour, more than a dozen students arrived one after another. The constable and several officers nodded and walked to the front of the team and said loudly,
"Listen up, this trip to the Cloud Prefecture City will take four to five days, and we brothers will be escorting you. You must listen to the instructions on the way. If you fall behind or leave without permission, it will be difficult for us brothers to explain.”
With that, the officers ordered the scholars to get into eight carriages. The scholars waved goodbye to their loved ones. Chu Yurong also glanced at his foster father before getting into the carriage. The convoy slowly moved towards the Cloud State City.
Along the way, the scholars whispered to each other and sometimes even talked loudly. There was no disturbance. Chu Yurong also gradually became familiar with them. Beside him, a poor disciple named Li Yan discussed with him and looked after each other when they arrived at Cloud Prefecture City.
The journey was travel-worn. It took five days to reach the city gates of Yunzhou. Chu Yurong uncomfortably lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside. The carriage was bumpy along the way, but it was quite tiring. Chu Yurong couldn't take it anymore, so she leaned against the corner and fell asleep. At this time, when she saw the tall city wall, she couldn't help but be shocked. On the ancient city gate, there was a team of soldiers standing. After the inspection, the wide streets in the city were several times more prosperous than the town.
"For the next few days, you will stay in this inn. After your exams are over, you will return with me. Naturally, there were people from the academy who came to pick them up.”
After that, Arrester Li snorted disdainfully, shook his head and left, saying,"
"Passed the exam?"
"Chu Yurong, which room do you want to stay in? I'll stay next door.”Li Yan said and pulled Chu Yurong to the counter.
There were still a few days before the exams. Other than revising the scriptures, they didn't have much money on hand. Chu Yurong and Li Yanduo wandered around the city. They did not dare to enter any of the more luxurious buildings. They took many detours and returned to the entrance of Qi Chang Academy, not daring to miss the announcement outside the academy.
On this day, even though the street in front of the courtyard was much wider than other streets, it was still crowded. At this moment, a man in a gray robe with a small mustache on his chin read out a name list in a clear voice,
"Chen Xiang of Dongyan Village in Huanglian Town, Chu Yurong of Jingkou Village in Qingshi Town, Lu Yansheng of Xiaxi Village in Fengkou Town…"
Hearing his name, Chu Yurong did not dare to be negligent. She responded and walked quickly towards the courtyard door. She passed by a courtyard decorated with a rockery pool and followed the instructions of the vertical sign to enter the door of the third recruitment hall. Many students were sitting in front of their desks, waiting for the exam to begin. A middle-aged man sat by the exam room and waved at Chu Yurong.
"Do you have a brush and ink? "I have it here. Two taels of silver is enough. Of course, there are other loose conditions..." The man did not wait for Chu Yurong to answer and began to introduce in a low voice.
Chu Yurong had a look of surprise on her face. Naturally, she had brought the necessary items for the exam. After some thought, she understood that the other loose conditions were probably cheating. As long as he bought his brush and ink, he would turn a blind eye. However, even if he wanted to, he was short of money. He could only answer,
"All the required students have been prepared."
"Then you can sit at table eleven!”The man's face was filled with displeasure.
Four hours later, Chu Yurong was already on the way back to the inn. She was still trying to recall if she had answered the questions properly. The bamboo slip that was given to him was in tatters. The handwriting was extremely blurry and could only be barely seen. The answer paper was also rough and crude.
"Chu Yurong, you just came back. How did you do?”It was obvious that Li Yanxian had returned from his examination and was very anxious in the inn.
"I feel fine. Can you see your questions clearly?”Chu Yurong asked tentatively.
"You didn't pay?" Li Yan asked in embarrassment.
"I don't have much money left on me, and I also brought a pen and ink. How do you have the money to buy such an expensive pen and ink?”
"To tell you the truth, my family gave me an extra silver.”Li Yan looked a little ashamed.
"We still need to wait for three more days before we know the results. Finally, the exam is over. I feel as if a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders. Why don't we go to the north of the city tomorrow to take a look?”In order to ease the awkwardness, Chu Yurong changed the topic.
"Alright, but you don't know yet, right? After noon tomorrow, as long as you go to the information desk at the courtyard gate and hand over one tael of silver, you will be able to know your ranking before the results are released.”
Chu Yurong had a look of surprise. She suddenly felt that it didn't seem like someone in the academy was amassing money.
"Forget it. The outcome is the same whether I knew earlier or later. I don't have any money to waste. Are you going to check the results tomorrow?”
"I'm not going. Let's just take a look at the Cloud Prefecture City tomorrow.”Even so, looking at Li Yan's expression, he seemed to be quite satisfied with his answer.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Although Chu Yurong and Li Yan spent more time together, their relationship seemed to be a lot more distant than before the exam. At this moment, there was a large group of people at the entrance of the academy. There were even more people than on the day of the examination. They were all surrounding the public announcement board. Among these people, other than those who were watching the show, there were also many servants of the high-ranking officials and nobles who were also inquiring about the news.
"How can I not be here? My answer is so fitting, it's impossible!”Li Yan exclaimed like most people around him.
Some people even threw the items in their hands at the rankings angrily. Some sighed, shook their heads, turned around, and walked away, not looking at the rankings anymore.
There were only a few people with a look of joy on their faces. Only one person, Chu Yurong, had a puzzled expression.
At the end of the list, it was written:
"Chu Yurong of Bluestone Town is undecided, Yan Hong of Willow Lane of Cloud Prefecture is undecided.”
Suddenly, someone asked in a clear voice,"How can there be thirty-one people? There's an extra person?"”
Chu Yurong was confused in the crowd. The man from the courtyard appeared again and said in a clear voice,
"Chu Yurong of Qingshi Town and Yan Hong of the Yan Clan of Yunzhou will come to the Academy before 12:00. The main examiner will personally answer your questions.”
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