Reborn: The First Rank "Madam"

C77 – Arrive

Qu Changqing laughed out loud as he watched Zuo Shaoqing dress up in a flurry. He joked, “I thought that Shao Qing was reading every day, but I didn’t expect that you, a slob, would be able to live for half a day.”

After Zuo Shaoqing put on his clothes, the awkwardness passed. Then, he let Luo Xiaoliu take care of his loose long hair, returning to his refined and clean scholarly appearance.

“I’ve let you two down. I’m used to staying in the south. I’m really not used to the cold in the capital, so I woke up a bit late.”

Luo Xiaoliu secretly twitched his mouth. You’re not just getting up late? You don’t get up much, okay?

“That’s true. It’s just that this coldness has the beauty of being able to witness the snow that fell this morning. It makes one feel an endless amount of nostalgia.”

Zuo Shaoqing made Luo Xiaoliu serve tea and then apologized to the two of them, “Brother Qu, Brother Jiung, please take a seat. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Qu Changqing didn’t think much of it. He waved for him to wash up, picked up his tea and started eating. He did not forget to greet Jiung Hengzhou, “Brother Hengzhou, try this green bean cake. It’s no worse than the Cauldron Food Pavilion!”

Jiung Hengzhou had been silent ever since they entered the house. Zuo Shaoqing noticed that his eyes dimmed after he looked around and thought darkly: This great scholar didn’t come for Lu Zheng did he?

Unfortunately, how could Lu Zheng live in this kind of place?

After he finished washing his face and rinsing his mouth, he sat down facing the two of them and asked, “When did the two of you arrive in the capital? Where do you live? How did you know I live here?”

“You really have a lot of questions! However, even if you didn’t ask, I would have told you. After we parted ways with you that day, our group stayed at the Cang State for an entire night before we set off on our journey. It has already been four or five days since then, and we lived at the Immortal Landing Inn that is two streets away.”

“So that’s how it is.”

Jiung Hengzhou finally opened his mouth and said, “Luckily, we came a few days earlier. If we were to encounter snow on the road, it would be difficult to leave.”

“I didn’t expect it to be snowing in March in the north. I’m afraid a lot of students will be delayed on their way here.” Qu Changqing said worriedly.

“There’s still about half a month before the exam begins. There’s still enough time.” If it’s too late, Zuo Shaoqing thought, it’s better not to come.

“Indeed, Changqing doesn’t need to worry too much. The imperial government has already ordered the distribution of quilts and bedding to the poor students. It won’t be so cold in another half a month.”

Zuo Shaoqing was surprised. The imperial court was actually this humane?

“I heard that it was played by the officials of Ministry of Personnel. Quite a few students have traveled to the capital for a long time, and they have used up all their energy. If they don’t eat enough, they might not even be able to eat comfortably.”

Upon hearing that it was an official from Ministry of Personnel, the image of Jiang Che immediately appeared in Zuo Shaoqing’s mind. He raised his eyebrows and thought to himself: Doesn’t that Jiang guy love to do such famous things?

Jiung Hengzhou’s expression was also a bit agitated. He lowered his voice and said, “The Emperor just ascended the throne, so he’s unstable. There will always be a few officials eliminated. This is a good opportunity for us to show off our skills!”

Zuo Shaoqing raised his eyebrows and agreed, “Brother Jiung’s opinions!”

As far as he knew, Emperor Tianfeng relied most on the Cabinet’s chief assistant, Shang Xianyang, and Duke Zhen’s Zhou Tie. Emperor Tianfeng’s most trusted opponent was Jiang Che, who had just entered Ministry of Personnel.

Shang Xianyang was the head of the officials, and was a rather old-fashioned man. Under his influence, all the officials in the entire Great Yang court were upright and upright, which was a rare phenomenon of clarity.

Thus, after Zhan Yuanfeng had ascended to the throne, the first person he tried to win over was this First Assistant to him, even though he was standing on the First Prince’s side all those years ago.

As for Lu Zheng, as long as the military power in his hands was still there, and as long as Beidi’s threat was still there, Zhan Yuanfeng would not dare to touch him.

In Zuo Shaoqing’s previous life, he only knew that Jiang Che’s ability was outstanding, but ignored that Jiang Family was also one of the founding fathers of the previous era. Jiang Che was also one of Zhan Yuanfeng’s reading companions, so their relationship was needless to say, which was also the reason why Zhan Yuanfeng handed over Ministry of Personnel to him without worry.

Zuo Shaoqing only understood these things after his rebirth. For Zuo Shaoyan to be able to see Jiang Che’s potential before Conference Test and then use himself to push Jiang Che, it could be said to be wise.

“The two of you are the top scorers for the country level exam, so of course you don’t have to worry about high school. It must be hard on my results.” Qu Changqing stuffed a handful of beans into his mouth and bit down hard.

Zuo Shaoqing chuckled and didn’t say much.

Jiung Hengzhou shook his head and scolded: “This Conference Test is an anonymous reading, no one can say for sure that it will be in high school. I heard that this year’s main examiner was upright, and many students who wanted to pay their respects to him were kicked out.”

Zuo Shaoqing blinked, “They fought their way out?” Luckily, he didn’t join in on the fun after listening to Lu Zheng’s words. Otherwise, he would lose a lot of face.

“We had originally arranged to visit on the second day after arriving in the capital, but we hadn’t even set off when we heard the bad news. However, there are still a lot of students who came knocking on our doors looking for a beating.”

Qu Changqing chimed in, “Luckily Brother Wu Tie and I got into a fight to the end, but Brother Wu Tie is a disciple and a teacher, so I’m guessing he would be able to enter the head examiner’s eyes.”

Jiung Hengzhou smiled and did not answer. He did have the recommendation letter from the teacher, but it was not a good thing to show off too much at this time.

It was a big tree that stirred the wind. Before high school, everything had to be done with caution.

“It’s getting late, it’s time for us to take our leave.” He stood up and explained to Zuo Shaoqing, “An anonymous person sent an invitation and invited him to go outside the city to enjoy the Plum Blossom.”

“Anonymous?” Zuo Shaoqing looked at Qu Changqing with a puzzled expression. At this crucial moment before the exam, they actually dared to go and meet with an anonymous person. They must be pretty daring.

Qu Changqing saw his worry and explained, “Not only did Brother Wu Tie and I receive the invitation, a lot of the students in the city also went there. Furthermore, the person who posted the invitation is Lu Mingju outside the city.”

Zuo Shaoqing immediately understood. He had heard of Lu Mingju before. It was one of the most prestigious and elegant gardens in the capital. Those who could afford it were definitely nobles. No wonder no one doubted him.

Zuo Shaoqing saw them out. As soon as he walked out of the door, he saw Luo Xiaoliu running in and handing him a post.

Looking at the familiar quincuncial stamp, Zuo Shaoqing had a bad premonition. After reading it, he thought, “Sure enough, it’s the same Lu Mingju, also an anonymous post.”

“Haha, it seems like we can go together. Shao Qing, quickly go and change your clothes!” Qu Changqing pushed him into the room and stood outside the door with Jiung Hengzhou, waiting with a smile on his face.

Zuo Shaoqing didn’t really want to go, but he knew that this kind of gathering would definitely bring together the most outstanding students in the entire Great Yang.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Zuo Shaoqing walked out of the room as if he was brand-new. He cupped his hands towards the two people waiting outside and said, “Sorry to have kept you two waiting.”

He was wearing a mink hat, eyes like a star, beautiful face like jade, a mink coat of the same color, a five-colored silk pendant around his waist, and a pair of deer boots.

Jiung Hengzhou had obviously heard about Zuo Shaoqing’s situation. He knew that Zuo Shaoqing was just a bastard son of a declining family and was not someone he liked. However, judging from his clothes and temperament, it would be reasonable to call him a direct son.

He did not believe that Qu Changqing would lie to him, so, either Zuo Shaoqing had some other fate or had already obtained all the support from Zuo Family.

Zuo Shaoqing saw that the two of them had not moved for a long time, so he asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with it?”

Qu Changqing recovered and touched his nose awkwardly, “No, no, I thought…” He did not say the rest of the sentence, but everyone present understood what he meant.

Zuo Shaoqing shrugged and did not explain further. He just reminded him, “Isn’t it time to go? It will probably take some time to get out of the city.”

Jiung Hengzhou and Qu Changqing came in a carriage, so Zuo Shaoqing didn’t need to prepare another carriage and got in the same car as them.

After chatting for two hours, the three finally arrived at Lu Ming Residence before noon.

After handing over the post, the gatekeeper neither humbly nor arrogantly accepted it, and then pointed out the path for the three of them before taking them to the next guest.

“As expected of the famous garden. Look at the scenery, it doesn’t have the slightest hint of winter.”

Zuo Shaoqing looked at the scenery in front of him and nodded in agreement. This garden was obviously built in the style of Jiangnan. There were pine trees, camphor trees and green bamboo growing inside, so even though it had just snowed, it didn’t completely cover up his greenery.

After passing through the arch of the bridge, the three of them did not need any special guidance as they headed in the direction of the voices.

“Fragrant Snow Garden.” Qu Changqing raised his head and glanced at the signboard on the arch, then walked inside. He stopped after taking two steps and muttered, “Looking at the vast sea of snow, it is a good title for our family. Sure enough!”

Zuo Shaoqing was also shocked by the beautiful scenery in front of him. How was this a garden? It was simply a sea of flowers. From afar, he couldn’t tell if it was snow or flowers.

“So beautiful!” Zuo Shaoqing sighed.

“The owner of this Lu Ming Residence is probably not an ordinary person.” Jiung Hengzhou whispered.

“Hey, Jiang Top is here…” When some people saw Jiung Hengzhou, more and more people came to greet him.

However, many of them were familiar with Jiung Hengzhou. Some of them also knew Qu Changqing, but no one knew Zuo Shaoqing’s origin.

Zuo Shaoqing was getting impatient with the greetings from the group of strangers. He walked alone towards a road where there were fewer people. The fragrance of plum blossoms lingered at the tip of his nose, and the snow-white color in his eyes actually made his mood a lot brighter.