Xu Chengyuan saw that Guan Jiaze also walked in the direction of his small courtyard, and turned his head to find a mule cart to return to the county hall, and caught a glimpse of a middle-aged man standing behind him in the afterglow.

"Brother Yuan, will you go back together?" He asked.

This middle-aged man is also from Lishui County, he is forty-five years old this year, and he has long been a grandfather, but he is still a child. He passed the government examination more than ten years ago, and he has been stuck in the hospital examination, and he can't pass it.

This time, he ranked 62nd in the first exam, which can be described as a precarious one. If you do well in the re-examination, you may pass the hospital examination and gain fame in the show; If you don't do well in the exam, you can only lose your name to Sun Shan.

Although Xu Chengyuan felt that this person had a gloomy personality and did not like to associate with him, he was still very sympathetic to him.

And it's quite far from the county hall, and the two of them can save half of the car money when they go back. This is a good idea for Xu Chengyuan, who has always saved.

Yuan Zhongqiu avoided answering his question, and instead asked, "I was behind you just now, and I heard that Young Master Guan praise Young Master Du for being amazing, saying that he had passed the test. What are you hearing and do you know the topic? ”

Xu Chengyuan became nervous when he heard this, and said with a serious expression: "Brother Yuan, you can't eat indiscriminately, and you can't talk nonsense." The question was made by the academic master, and he only came up with the question after entering the Tribute Academy, who knows? Du Jinning just analyzed the questions of the township examination and the general examination over the years, and found that the law was tested more and more, so he reminded us to look at the law more. ”

"The number of questions in arithmetic has increased greatly in the last government examination, which shows that the court also attaches great importance to arithmetic, so he reminded us a few words, saying that arithmetic must also be studied hard, and there must be during the college exam. No, except for the etiquette question, he said the content correctly. ”

He stared at Yuan Zhongqiu: "That's what Young Master Guan said just now. You don't have to be obedient and listen to half of it, misinterpret nonsense there, and put black pots on other people's heads. This crime is not small, it is to kill all the heads and implicate several generations. Not only the Du family, but also the scholars and politicians are inseparable. Therefore, please Brother Yuan be cautious in his words and deeds, and no trouble will come out of his mouth. ”

He smiled coldly: "You have to know that Young Master Guan is the Guan family, Du Jinning is the personal disciple of Guan Shanchang, and he also has a good relationship with the young master of the Qi family and the young master of the Liang family." The University is a third-class official in the DPRK. If rumors spread outside because of you, Du Jinning and Master Xuezheng would be innocent and fine. But it's hard to say how your home is. The Guan, Qi, and Liang families can pinch you to death with just one finger. Hello do it yourself. ”

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding." Yuan Zhongqiu's family background is average, with dozens of acres of land and a small courtyard, which is one of the most ordinary people in Lishui County. Such a living environment, coupled with his age, life has long worn off his edges and corners.

Hearing Xu Chengyuan's words, he didn't dare to say anything, but arched his hand with a smile on his face: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, I heard it badly, Brother Xu is not angry, I won't talk nonsense, rest assured, rest assured." ”

Xu Chengyuan stared at him and nodded: "I hope so." Saying that, he softened his expression, "Then Brother Yuan is willing to go back to the county hall with me?" ”

Yuan Zhongqiu shook his head and said with a smile: "I still have something to do, I want to go to the front to meet a friend." Brother Xu, you go first, and I'll go back later. ”

"Then I'll go first." Xu Chengyuan arched his hand and walked towards the mule cart next to him.

In fact, he is not short of money. Not to mention that when he came to catch the exam, Xie was worried that he was too poor and looked down upon, so he stuffed him with a lot of money, and Du Fangfei also gave him ten taels of silver.

Xu Chengyuan wanted to carpool with Yuan Zhongqiu, but it was natural to get used to it.

He got into the mule cart, reported the address of the county hall with the coachman, turned his head and glanced at Yuan Zhongqiu uneasily, and saw Yuan Zhongqiu looking around there, as if he was looking for someone.

Thinking of Qi Siyu's various difficulties with Du Jinning before the exam, Xu Chengyuan's heart suddenly burst into vigilance.

Yuan Zhongqiu didn't get admitted to Xiucai at this age, and he was ranked like that in this preliminary examination. If he took the guess he just made to surrender to Qi Siyu and wanted to fight for his future, wouldn't it cause Du Jinning a lot of trouble?

You must know that Qi Siyu's hostility towards Du Jinning when he first entered the examination was seen by many candidates in Lishui County.

In the past two years, under the influence of Du Jinning, his vision and thinking have long been different from before, and he will think deeply about everything.

The consequences of this incident are too serious to be overstated.

He thought about it, directly stopped the mule cart, took out twenty copper coins and stuffed them into the coachman's hand, told the coachman the address of Du Jinning's small courtyard, and said, "When you get there, find Young Master Du, and tell him and Young Master Qi to hurry to the gate of the Gongyuan, saying that I have something very important to tell him." I can't get out of it now, so I'll tell you to go. When it is done, I will give you a penny. ”

Du Jinning's small courtyard is very close to the tribute courtyard, you can get twenty yuan for one trip, and there is a penny of silver in the back, the coachman suddenly blossomed, patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, I will definitely bring you the message." ”

Xu Chengyuan waved his hand, and he didn't have time to pay attention to the coachman anymore. Because he saw that Yuan Zhongqiu had already gone to Qi Siyu's side at this time.

Qi Siyu didn't do an arithmetic problem because of it, and he was the last to hand in the paper at the urging of the soldiers. So Du Jinning and they are all gone, and he is only coming out now.

Du Zheyan was waiting for him outside.

Xu Chengyuan saw that his conjecture had come true, he was angry and angry, and ran towards the front quickly, shouting as he ran: "Brother Yuan, why are you still here?" Brother Fan is looking for you everywhere. ”

Yuan Zhongqiu is a small ordinary person, who is immersed in reading all day long, and has no place to practice the ability to be old and treacherous. Otherwise, he would not have asked Xu Chengyuan in person, but quietly went to Qi Siyu to surrender. When the time comes, if something happens, as long as Qi Siyu doesn't bite him out, he will be fine.

Now he is walking towards Qi Siyu, but it is just an impulse, a kind of resentment that has not been able to pass the college examination for more than ten years, and a kind of panic about the results of this college examination. Xu Chengyuan's words made him feel like a thousand pounds every step he took, and he was already in a cold sweat after only a few steps, which made him want to stop.

Hearing Xu Chengyuan's call, he was shocked, and his feet were weak and he almost fell to the ground.

Xu Chengyuan ran to Yuan Zhongqiu's side at the fastest speed in his life and grabbed his arm. The strength was so great that Yuan Zhongqiu exclaimed: "Ouch." ”

Du Zheyan heard the sound and looked over, and saw Xu Chengyuan grabbing an old man with gray hair, and almost threw him to the ground. He recognized Xu Chengyuan as Du Jinning's brother-in-law, and couldn't help but say sarcastically: "Ah, is this bullying the elderly?" ”