In the eighth year of the Great Song Dynasty, on February 29, the wind and the sun were beautiful.

Today is the tenth day of the College of Literature and Taoism, most of the students have left yesterday, and there is silence in the college.

A two-wheeled carriage drove in from the gate and headed straight for the small courtyard where Xuezheng He Chang was.

After a while, He Chang walked out of the courtyard gate while tidying up his appearance, bowed to the carriage that had just stopped, and said, "I don't know if the county lord is here, the contemptible people have missed the welcome, forgive the sins." ”

Xu Hao, who had a smile on his face, got out of the car and said, "Lord Xuezheng is polite, the official took the liberty to visit, and he also invited He Xuezheng Haihan to disturb him." ”

He Chang hurriedly said that he didn't dare, and then made a gesture of please: "Lord County, please speak in the inner hall, and Tong'er will serve tea." ”

The two sat down as guests of honor in the inner hall, and the scholar served fragrant tea.

Xu Hao took a sip of the cup and praised: "Good tea." ”

"The county lord praised it falsely, I can't talk about good tea, but it is the new tea that has just been delivered, and the taste is okay. He Chang clenched his fists again: "My lord came to the cold house, I don't know what advice I have?"

Xu Hao waved his hand: "I can't talk about advice, the official is here to ask He Xuezheng for advice, a while ago, the official seems to have understood, but he has not been able to make the slightest improvement in the past few days, and he can't grasp the clue, he is anxious, and he is here to ask Lord Xuezheng for help." ”

He Chang had a bottom in his heart, it turned out that Xu Hao was here for private matters, no wonder he came in an ordinary carriage, instead of using the usual honor guard - the two-horse flying carriage as usual.

He stood up and pointed to the bookcase next to him and said, "Lord Xu, please." ”

Both of them were scribes of calligraphy, and of course they had to use words to discuss the Tao, just as a healer needs to look and hear, and if he wants to find out the problem, he needs to read the words first.

Xu Hao stood up and walked to the desk, picked up the pen and wrote the word "Yong" in italics.

He Chang frowned slightly, vaguely feeling that he had seen this word somewhere, but he just couldn't remember it.

Seeing his expression, Xu Hao smiled and said, "Master Xuezheng feels familiar, I can't hide it, this word comes from an exam paper during the county examination." ”

He Chang suddenly realized: "The volume with only one word, right?"

"That's right, it was written by Qin Mo and Qin Shuangjia. Xu Hao said: "It is certain that the official had a feeling after seeing this word, so he found the volume and put it on the desk, and was unconsciously affected by it, and when he wrote this word again, he would involuntarily use similar brushwork." ”

It is not surprising that many calligraphers and scribes have seen other people's works and have a sense of it, and after enlightenment, they have the opportunity to upgrade.

If Qin Mo was a famous person, Xu Hao would ask him for advice without thinking, but unfortunately he was just a new boy, and he probably couldn't say anything useful, so he decided to come to ask He Chang for advice.

Because in Xiayi County, only He Chang's attainments in calligraphy can be compared with Xu Hao.

He Chang frowned and looked at it for a while, shook his head and said, "Please forgive me for being clumsy, I can't see anything different about this word." ”

Different people have different perceptions in the process of cultivation, and it is normal for He Chang not to gain anything.

Xu Hao said with some disappointment: "It seems that it is really difficult to seek a breakthrough. ”

Failing to help the county lord solve the problem made He Chang feel a little embarrassed, and he suggested: "It's better to invite Dr. Gu Meng, maybe he can find out the key from it, he is now the gentleman of the children's class, teaching basic knowledge, and the study of this word is stronger than you and me." ”

Xu Hao's eyes lit up: "That's right, why did the official forget about Dr. Gu, then hurry up and invite him." ”

He Chang smiled bitterly: "If I guess correctly, Gu Xianzhao should be over there in Tingquan Caolu, his relationship with Qin Mo is very unusual, the two are also teachers and friends, he not only goes to eat and drink every day, sometimes he also sleeps over there, I'm afraid you will wait a little longer." ”

There is a distance of more than ten miles from here to Tingquan Caolu, even if you go on horseback, it takes less than half an hour to go back and forth.

Xu Hao put down the brush and said, "Since it is to ask for advice, it is better for the official to go to the grass house in person, which will save time." ”

"I'll go with the county lord. He Chang said.

A moment later, the two of them boarded the carriage and headed for the Tingquan Cottage.

At the same time, Qin Mo was also on his way back to the cottage, and after breakfast, he went to the county seat to buy daily necessities.

He carried a bag containing essential condiments such as oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, as well as several spices such as peppercorns and anise, which he bought from the drugstore, which played a great role in getting rid of the fishy smell.

From afar, he saw the dried fish drying in the yard, and his face showed a relieved smile, and it was inconvenient to fish when it rained on a cloudy day in the future, and he didn't have to worry about no fish to eat.

Walking into the courtyard, he saw that the door of the main hall was open, and when Xindao left, he obviously closed the door, could it be that Gu Meng came to sleep again?

No, it's morning, how can anyone come to sleep early in the morning, the soil kang in the grass house is so hard, it must not be as comfortable as the wooden bed.

He was about to reach out and push the door when a shout rang out behind him: "Catch the thief!"

Looking back, there were several people coming in a rage, carrying sticks, brooms and other things in their hands, led by Shechang Yan Ming, and a young man in a scholar's clothes.

The word "thief" comes from the mouth of a scholar.

Qin Mo's eyelids began to jump, and a few guys seemed to be coming for him.

"Qin Mo, you are so bold!" Yan Ming glared at him, and shouted: "Dare to go to the dormitory area to steal, it's just bold, don't you know the academy's punishment for stealing?"

Qin Mo frowned, and said in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant: "Chief Yan Ming, I don't understand what you are talking about. ”

Yan Ming raised his eyebrows: "You still dare to quibble, do you think that without evidence, the head of this house will chase here?"

Qin Mo's sense of smell was sensitive, and he had already smelled the smell of conspiracy, so instead of being nervous, he became more calm, and said with a smile: "What evidence?"

Yan Ming said: "About a quarter of an hour ago, there was a theft incident in the children's dormitory area, someone saw the thief fleeing in the direction of Tingquan Caolu, and the head of the dormitory led his subordinates and eyewitnesses to chase you and block you here. ”

Qin Mo raised his right hand, pointed at himself with his thumb, and said, "You mean, I stole something from the dormitory and was followed by you, right?"

Yan Ming sneered: "If you are willing to admit it, just hand over the stolen goods immediately, and confront the head of the house with Master Xuezheng." ”

In the rules of the court, stealing is a serious crime, and those who dare to violate it will be directly expelled, and their identity plates will be withdrawn and they will never be hired.

This kind of punishment is equivalent to denying a person's literary name and cutting off his or her path to continue to participate in the imperial examination.

It is precisely because there is such a heavy punishment that the students are honest and dedicated to cultivation in the academy, and no one will bury their future for petty profits.

Qin Mo still maintained his previous calm, glanced at the scholar with an excited face, and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this person is the so-called eyewitness, right?"

Yan Ming continued to sneer: "It is worthy of being a double-class child, and you can guess it at a glance! That's right, this is the scholar of the child Xu Chengzhi, and I saw you sneak into the master's dormitory and steal a new set of brushes and a side inkstone. ”

It's Xu Chengzhi again.

Qin Mo can basically conclude that the surname Xu and the surname Yan are together again, and last time they were embarrassed, one sang red face and the other sang black face, and tricked him into living in Tingquan Caolu.

They originally thought that the harsh environment on this side of the grass house could affect Qin Mo, who thought that not only did he not have any regression, but instead overwhelmed the group in the monthly exam, since he couldn't make a plan, he gave birth to another one.

The hidden door has already explained everything, the so-called stolen goods must be in the room, Yan Ming brought so many people over, the purpose was to catch the stolen goods on the spot.

At this time, an arrogant voice sounded: "I heard that the thief has been found, is it here?"

The person who came was Xu Chengzhi, with a smug expression on his face, thinking that this time it must be foolproof, even if Xuezheng He Chang and Doctor Gu Meng supported Qin Mo, he would have to end up swept away.

When he saw Qin Mo, he deliberately pretended to be very surprised, and said, "How could it be Qin Shuangjia, are you mistaken?"

It seems that he doesn't know that this is Tingquan Caolu, and his expression is extremely contrived.

The scholar showed a look of invitation, and tried his best to pretend to be serious, and said: "Young master, we are not mistaken, the little one and Yan Shechang followed all the way, and the person who stole it was this Qin Shuangjia." ”

Seeing that Qin Mo was silent, Xu Chengzhi thought that he was completely stunned, and said pretendly: "Really? Qin Shuangjia has just won the first place in the monthly exam, and he has received the three-millimeter Qiankun pen rewarded by Xuezheng, how could he sneak into my room and steal things?"

The scholar quickly responded and said in a loud voice: "You forgot, there is a newly bought inkstone in the room, worth six hundred taels of silver, compared to what a three-millimeter Qiankun pen is." ”

Da-da-da-da.

The rhythmic sound of horses' hooves sounded, and everyone looked back to see that it was a two-horse carriage.

The Great Song Dynasty followed the "Zhou Li" system, and the emperor traveled in a carriage driven by six horses, which was driven six for the Son of Heaven, and then the prince and the princes drove five, the secretary drove four, the doctor three, the scholar two, and the Shuren one.

The two-horse carriage belongs to the grass-roots level of the taxi and can be used, and only the county honorable Xu Hao in Xiayi County meets the regulations.

Qin Mo was beating a drum in his heart, could it be that Xu Chengzhi invited all the county masters in order to deal with himself?

I have never heard that the Xu family has such a strong background, and it is not difficult to judge from Xu Hao's performance in the county examination that he is an honest and principled person, and he will not be in the same league as Xu Chengzhi.

The carriage stopped, and everyone saluted it, for everyone knew that the man who came down from it was extraordinary.

It was He Chang who came down first, and when he saw Yan Ming and the others copying sticks and other things, with a fierce expression on their faces, he said unhappily: "What are you doing?"

Then it was Xu Hao who got out of the car, with a look of doubt in his eyes, although he didn't know what was going on, but at least he was sure that these guys were not here to welcome him.

Xu Chengzhi didn't expect Xuezheng and the county to appear at the same time, and Yan Ming didn't expect it either.

But the two of them were excited at the same time, and they overthrew Qin Mo in front of the county lord, even if He Chang wanted to be partial, they couldn't find a chance.

The two glanced at each other, and Yan Ming said loudly: "Master Qiyu Xuezheng, the children's dormitory was stolen, and the lowly led the crowd to chase here, and the person who stole it was Qin Mo." ”