When Zhang Shunyi returned home after winning the title of "Jie Yuan", he had to visit Wang Hezhi, his mentor.
This is an unavoidable rule set by the human relationship between the king of heaven and earth and the master.
But he didn't...
There is no doubt that this is the impact of Zhang Youde's death.
"Shunyi."
Xu Chong looked at Zhang Shunyi seriously, "You shouldn't doubt Master because of a few vague words."
"I know."
Zhang Shunyi sighed and took the first step forward, "Master has been so kind to me. Without him, I would just wait to inherit the bookstore and be a shopkeeper all my life."
"But, I can't control my suspicion."
"I believe more and more that my father's death was caused by the Master."
Zhang Shunyi's dress is obviously much more elegant than before, but Xu Chong only sees helplessness, desolation, and contradiction from his back.
"The Lord of Heaven and Earth is my dear teacher, and my dear is always in front of my teacher."
Zhang Shunyi said to himself, "I sometimes wonder, if my father really committed any crime, why was he punished unfairly and strictly with the law?"
"And if the father did not commit a crime but only violated the master's interests, then why didn't the master just kill the father?"
"Why should he be allowed to die on an unfounded charge? In the end, he was not even allowed to leave his name on a stone tablet."
Xu Chong remained silent and walked slowly behind.
He really wanted to tell Zhang Shunyi that Zhang Youde was not killed by Master, and Master had nothing to do with this matter from beginning to end.
It's a pity that he can't.
It is true that Zhang Youde died at the hands of a water ghost.
But the real cause of Zhang Youde's death was Xu Chong himself!
To put it another way, even if he could hide his existence shamelessly and blame the water ghost alone, Zhang Shunyi would most likely not be able to threaten the water ghost.
But why can I know the truth, and why can I say this is the truth?
Unless everything is revealed, there is no way to explain it.
Therefore, Xu Chong could only remain silent.
"Brother Xu can rest assured."
Seeing that Xu Chong remained silent, Zhang Shunyi added, "I won't do anything to you, Master. After all, these are just conjectures. I don't have any evidence."
"I just can't face him like before."
"It's better not to meet than to meet."
Okay...
It seems like this is all we can do now.
Xu Chong sighed faintly and changed the subject: "If I'm not wrong, are you going to take part in the spring examination? Why not move into the Xu Mansion, where there is a lot of space and someone to take care of the chores, so you can study with peace of mind."
/p>
"No need."
Zhang Shunyi rejected Xu Chong's proposal without thinking, "I just came back to see Brother Xu, and I will leave for the capital today."
"Leaving today?"
Xu Chong was stunned, then stepped forward to stand side by side with Zhang Shunyi, "So urgent? You haven't been here for years?"
The rural examinations in Daqing are held in various prefectures, while the joint examinations are held in the capital. Provincial yamen do not handle imperial examination matters.
As for the distance from Canglong to the capital, two months of travel time is enough, and it’s not too late to leave after the Chinese New Year.
"No."
Zhang Shunyi shook his head, "Thanks to the respect of the teacher, I have been receiving letters urging me to come to Beijing for several months. It is extremely rude and disrespectful to leave now."
"That's it..."
Xu Chong nodded slowly.
It seems that Zhang Shunyi is taking the imperial examination road that he gave up and is getting smoother and smoother.
In Daqing, only the examiners of the provincial examination and the general examination will be called the examiner by the candidates.
The examiner of the rural examination must be from the Hanlin Academy.
Although their grades may not be high, they are definitely upstarts from the imperial court who are expected to join the cabinet in the future.
If he can be valued by such a being, Zhang Shunyi's future can be said to be smooth.
Neither of them spoke again.
Zhang Shunyi didn't stop until he reached the door of a bookstore.
This bookstore was rebuilt on the former site of Youde Bookstore. The four words "Zhiyuan Bookstore" are written on the plaque.
At this time, there were many scholars wearing long gowns in the bookstore who were selecting books.
"The business is going well. It seems that I was right to transfer the land deed to him."
Zhang Shunyi nodded and said with some emotion: "It's just that I didn't expect that although the signboard has been changed, the bookstore will still be built as it was before."
"Maybe everyone is used to it."
Xu Chong was noncommittal.
"Brother Xu, do you still remember how we met?"
Zhang Shunyi suddenly laughed.
"Remember."
Xu Chong nodded, it was in his original memory.
"Thirteen years ago, Youde Book Store just opened."
Zhang Shunyi recalled, "My father had not yet made a fortune at that time, and Brother Xu had no money to buy books, so he could only stand at the door and watch, sometimes for the whole day."
"Yeah."
Xu Chong also laughed, "At that time, I still thought, how come this house has so many books? It's so enviable."
"I'm afraid it's not just envy, right?"
Zhang Shunyi looked at Xu Chong teasingly and said, "I remember that Brother Xu dared to sneak into the bookstore to read a book while his father was taking a nap after watching it for a few days."
"Uh..."
Xu Chong touched his nose and said, "I didn't expect there was you inside."
"I didn't expect that you would cover my mouth when you came up and beg me to help you hide it. You also said that you would repay me in the future."
Zhang Shunyi looked sideways at Xu Chong and smiled evilly.
"Ahem..."
Xu Chong coughed twice.
Although this was an embarrassment for the original person, it was inevitable that he would be a little embarrassed if it was told in person.
"The days when I read books with Brother Xu are probably the happiest times."
"It's a pity that it didn't take long. In the coming year, my father will become rich, and Brother Xu will no longer have to sneak into the bookstore."
At this point, Zhang Shunyi's voice suddenly dropped: "My father's fortune was just like my father's. It was so sudden... It was probably after that year that my father began to change."
Xu Chong's smile slowly faded and he remained silent.
Zhang Youde was born in poverty, and the fact that he was able to suddenly open a bookstore had a lot to do with becoming Zhou Ze's military slave.
After becoming a martial slave, my memory fades and appears. It would be nice if I didn't go crazy. It's not unusual for my character to change.
"In fact, no matter who killed my father, I don't have much hatred for the fact that he killed my father."
"Because I know that my father was indeed abnormal at that time, and he might even have committed some crime."
"What I hate is that man who made my father lose his true heart."
Zhang Shunyi turned his back, and there was no trace of hatred in his tone, only endless lamentation, "If a person loses his true heart, is he still himself?"
"In my opinion."
"The father who obviously doesn't have the habit of taking a nap, but keeps pretending to be taking a nap..."
"He was killed more than ten years ago."
After speaking, Zhang Shunyi waved his hand in the distance.
A luxurious carriage approached slowly and finally stopped in front of the two of them.
"Brother Xu, take this seriously."
Zhang Shunyi bowed to Xu Chong and boarded the carriage.
Xu Chong just stood there, watching blankly as the carriage wheels began to turn, supporting Xie Yuanlang and gradually going away.