The yellowing leaves took off the branches and fell to the river and rippled in a circle.

Inside and outside Hegu County, the bleak autumn was clearly felt, and the streets outside the government office in the city and several adjacent streets were overcrowded.

The book boy standing by the street, the wife and daughter of a family, and the servant looked forward to the closed academy in the distance, the yamen runners holding weapons, and the soldiers in the city guarded the surroundings closely.

Occasionally, the gate of the courtyard opened, and the person who looked like a scholar was forked out and threw it outside, causing a burst of laughter.

"Checking in the exam room..."

"It's already a lucky chance. I don't know if there will be another next time."

The cheating scholar got up from the ground in a mess, and didn't bother to take a slap in the dust on his body. With the sound of fingers around him, he buried his head and quickly squeezed out the crowd and fled here.

The provincial examination is the second threshold for the country to obtain scholars. It is a top event for all states and counties. Candidates with student status gathered in the city early as the summer season. Even Lu Liangsheng arrived early to avoid wasting time.

At this time, the third exam has been held. Every day, the nearby restaurants are often crowded with guests. Some literati and elegant guests may discuss whether this year's test questions are difficult or bet on this year's list, who will be Jie Yuan.

"If you want me to tell me, it must be Sixiu in Nanxiang. Those four people were born in poverty, but they were very knowledgeable."

"...That's not necessarily the case. I have seen those four people from afar, just to study hard. I heard that they were almost eaten by the fox demon on the way here."

"Fake it, the government said, where are there fox monsters? They are all bandits pretending to be monsters."

"...Hey, by the way, have you heard that there is a candidate living in Grand Secretary Zhou's mansion. I heard that it is from Fushui County."

"Living in Bachelor Zhou's Mansion? Oh, then the number one place this year must have not been running away."

"I heard that his surname is Lu... I was still a student of Shuhua Gong who was famous in the capital ten years ago."

"Who is Shuhua?"

Amid the noisy discussion, the waiter who was passing the dishes carefully squeezed over a man dressed in a Taoist priest with a tray. The latter smudged his lips as he smelled the aroma of the food around him, and his eyes locked at a table beside the river.

The table was where two middle-aged literati sat opposite each other, looking at the scenery by the river, laughing at the sound of the wind, pecking and chewing slowly. In the afterglow, a gray figure suddenly approached. When he turned his head, he was a Taoist priest with a sharp-mouthed cheek, and a yellow silk cloth bag was slung on his shoulder.

It is common for monks to beg for alms. If they drive the other person away, they will seem too arrogant and lack elegance. They pretend not to know and continue to chat and have fun.

However, after drinking another glass of wine, the Taoist was still standing next to him, and one of them couldn't help but speak.

"This Taoist priest, you are standing here, can you beg for alms?"

The Taoist twisted the sparse tips of his chin, and his eyes swept across the dishes on the table, revealing a smile.

"This way is not for begging for alms, but for the two of them are graceful in their expressions and their manners are extraordinary, so I want to make a trick for them."

The two of them looked at each other at this table and smiled.

"Haha, okay, there are tricks to watch for a meal, but I just don't know what tricks to change?"

The man's eyes thief rolled around the table, and looked at the two of them left and right.

"This trick is called changing the shape. Please be optimistic."

As he said that, he reached out and pressed the glass that the man had just finished drinking on his left, and pressed his other hand on the half-full glass on the right.

The Taoist smiled with a sharp mouth: "You two are optimistic."

These words also made the guests near the tables unable to help but look over curiously. The Taoist took back both hands at the same time. The empty wine glass in front of the literati on the left became half full, while the half-full wine glass was empty.

"Oh, this Taoist is amazing!"

"......what, what happened just now?"

The two middle-aged scholars were also staring at the wine glass in a daze at this time. They couldn't figure it out. The wine was clearly on the right side, and they ran there in a blink of an eye.

"This Taoist priest is probably a Taoist priest..."

When one of them was thinking, suddenly the friend opposite him looked around and said, "Where is that Taoist?"

On the second floor, everyone suddenly came to their senses. The Taoist priest who was still there just now seemed to have disappeared in the blink of an eye. Everyone was surprised and looked around. The table where the Taoist priest had just stood suddenly shouted.

"What about my pear blossom stuffing...Where is steamed chicken with honey sauce? Why is it gone?!!"

The sound floated outside the guardrail, and the willows on the river bank rose lightly. At the top of the restaurant, the missing Taoist priest lying across the roof and kissed the thorn on the street.

Bathing in the autumn, the hanging wine pot, the wine reflects the sunlight and draws a sparkling arc and pours it into your mouth. I grab a plate of sweet chicken and chew it in big mouthfuls, swallow it, and let out a "ah." Satisfied feeling.

Next to it, a toad wearing a long gown with a Tongbao money hole printed on it. He looked at the sky and a piece of fat jerky stuffed into his mouth from the web.

"It's time to get out after the exam for so long."

"It should be soon." This Taoist was Sun Yingxian. He brought the toad Taoist to wait for the three provincial examinations. The lunch was solved on the spot. In his shameless words, those people ordered so many dishes and couldn't finish them in the end. Why not share some of them with them...

"Old toad, if you go next time, you will be cheating me in the past two days..... Bah, I'll get it."

The toad Taoist looked slightly slanted, looking at the Taoist who was lying lazily there.

"Do you think about it carefully and be sure to let me go?"

The Taoist raised his face and spit out a chicken bone in the sky. He looked at it with his eyes squinted for a moment, then turned his head and looked at the academy.

"Forget it, maybe by goodbye, you're already in the steamer..."

"What I said is that I am not afraid of the whole restaurant's death..."

The Toad Taoist seemed not to want to argue with him today. He inserted his webbed into his sleeves and turned to the side with his short legs crossed. Soon, the crowd below shouted, "It's out."

The door of the academy in the distant provincial examination opened, and a crowd of people came out one after another. Among the crowd, Lu Liangsheng walked out leisurely, carrying a small bag with pen and ink, and sniffing the air outside hard.

The speed under his feet was faster, and his figure seemed to not exist in the eyes of others. He squeezed out in a vague way, and he felt the position of the Taoist and the master from afar.

He jumped over and stepped on the eaves of a nearby shop, and his figure was thrown to the roof of the restaurant, and he threw away his books and sat on it.

"It's finally over."

Lu Liangsheng leaned against the roof and completely relaxed, reaching out to take a chicken leg handed to the aisle.

"We're finally finished the exam. When the results are released, we'll go back to Lujia Village."

"Don't you go to the northwest to take a look?" Sun Yingxian turned his head in surprise.

Over there, the scholar smiled, watched the bustling crowds below gradually dissipate, sighed, held the pot of pear blossoms in his hand, and took a sip at the spout.

"Go, but go back and see your parents first. I have never left home. I have been leaving for nearly three months and I am worried about it."

Sun Yingxian wanted to slap himself, saying that he had no father or mother, why did he talk about this?

"Okay, I will go back with you."

After eating a little wine and meat in his hand, Lu Liangsheng rubbed his fingertips, and the oil stains disappeared by themselves. He clapped his hands and stood up.

"Let's go, go back to Zhou's mansion, wait for the results to be released in two days and say goodbye to Mr. Zhou."

The Toad Taoist frowned, "Liangsheng."

The scholar who was about to leave stopped and looked at the master's expression, hesitating.

"Master, what do you think is wrong?"

The toad pointed to the half-chewed chicken.

"I haven't finished eating yet, take it away together."

Lu Liangsheng was a little amused and picked up the half chicken and wrapped it. During this period, he found that his master liked to eat chicken more and more. If he hadn't looked like a toad, he would have thought it was a fox.

....

After finding a remote corner, he descended to the street and walked through the downtown area to return to Zhou Mansion. The old man Zhou Ying moved a big chair and sat under the eaves in the middle of the front yard. When he saw Lu Liangsheng coming back, he had an expression on his face.

"How did the test of "State" today?"

Although the scholar in front of him was not long, he was still half of his academic mentor. This question was not abrupt.

Lu Liangsheng bowed.

“It can still be dealt with.”

The old man knew that this was a humble word, and laughed out loud. Some juren came out of his school and were exposed to him wherever he was placed. Moreover, this young man, regardless of appearance and character, was very suitable for him.

His wife even blew in his ears a lot.

"Rong'er's marriage has retired, and she has been sad for a few days. I saw her running to the side yard from time to time to see Mr. Lu. Could it be that he is interested in him? Anyway, that Mr. Lu has a good character and appearance. Although his family is poor, he is upright, gentle and polite, and talented. It is better to be a pair with Rong'er..."

With this meaning, Zhou Ying became more and more pleasing to Lu Liangsheng and taught him as much as he could in his studies. However, the mysterious art made him feel difficult. After all, it is difficult to guess the thoughts of people in practice.

If you don’t like love between men and women, then you will be embarrassed to ask.

Lu Liangsheng naturally noticed this, so he told Sun Yingxian that after the results were released, he quickly said goodbye and left. He couldn't say he was annoying to the eldest lady of the Zhou family, but the diligence he came here every day made him feel as if he was radiant.

Just now, just said goodbye to the old man and returned to the side yard. In front of the crescent door, Zhou Rong, wearing a green dress, stood graceful and graceful. When she saw the scholar coming, she quickly took a bowl of ginseng soup from the maid and greeted her.

"Mr. Lu, can the last game today be considered a smooth one?"

Lu Liangsheng took the ginseng soup and smiled and said, "It's still going well."

He said awkwardly, suddenly looked at her face, and asked quickly, "By the way, have you not had a good sleep recently?"

Hearing this, Zhou Rong touched her cheek and lowered her face slightly.

"I've seen it... I've been wondering why recently, I've often had nightmares. I dreamed of a woman in red dress and long sleeves singing songs many times. It's very strange. Mr. Lu, am I getting any dirty things?"

Red clothes and long sleeves, and still sing songs?

If you stay there... something is going to happen.
To be continued...