For literati, this is the best of times, but for Lin Nuo, this is not good news.
If he wants to get more blessings, the best way is to hold a high position and hold power. But the current emperor is a wise king. If he wants to take a shortcut to get promoted quickly, it is impossible. He can only rely on the imperial examination and step by step.
Come.
As for joining the army, Lin Nuo didn't even think about it. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the status of military generals was getting lower and lower. A second- and third-grade general had to bow his head when facing a seventh-grade county magistrate. This shows the status of a military man.
How low.
Lin Nuo needs martial arts, but he doesn't want to take the military path. The path that best suits his interests is the powerful Ge Lao.
"Xiu'er, how many years does our emperor have left to live?" In the study under the oil lamp, Lin Nuo put down the book in his hand and asked Xue Xiu'er, who was studying ink.
Talking about the life and death of the emperor is a serious crime of beheading, but neither Lin Nuo nor Xue Xiuer had any special reaction to this. In their hearts, these two people had no respect at all for the so-called secular etiquette, the three cardinal principles and the five constant principles.
Heart.
"Who knows, but most of the emperors in our dynasty don't live long. I guess our Emperor Hongzhi doesn't have a few years left, right?"
"Yeah, it shouldn't be a few years!"
Lin Nuo nodded lightly. After Hongzhi's death, Emperor Zhengde ascended the throne.
In Lin Nuo's opinion, this emperor who was extremely playful and caused headaches to all the officials was the best emperor he could be.
Because only this kind of emperor who likes to act unconventionally, not stick to the rules, and do things with great imagination, Lin Nuo has the opportunity to rise to the top in one step without having to endure years and qualifications step by step!
However, even if you want to reach the sky in one step, there is still a prerequisite, and that is... the imperial examination!
Without the imperial examination, he is not even qualified to be an official. Even if Emperor Zhengde does not adhere to etiquette and law, he will not ignore the opinions of hundreds of officials and promote a young scholar to the court!
...
Spring passed and autumn came, and in the blink of an eye, it went from early spring to early autumn, and it had been more than half a year since Lin Nuo came to this world.
In the same old-looking small courtyard, Lin Nuo sat cross-legged facing the east, breathing in and out constantly.
At this moment, wisps of extremely sparse smoky purple gas suddenly appeared above his head, fluttering slightly in the air for a few times, and then disappeared into Lin Nuo's eyebrows again.
When the purple smoke disappeared, Lin Nuo opened his eyes, and there seemed to be a flash of light in his eyes. Then his whole body made no other movements, and suddenly stood up as if suspended in the air.
"Yes, the second pulse-charging stage of the Nine Yang Divine Art is indeed very simple for you. The meridians in your body are smooth and there is no need for pulse-charging. The speed of accumulating internal energy is much faster than that of ordinary people."
After Lin Nuo finished practicing, Xue Xiuer walked up to him, held his wrist and explored it, then showed a smile on his face.
"In terms of the speed of internal energy cultivation alone, your cultivation results in half a year are comparable to those of ordinary martial arts knights for five or six years. Your internal energy capacity is already comparable to that of a second-rate martial artist!"
Hearing this, Lin Nuo had a look of joy on his face. The suffering of the past six months was not in vain. You must know that even Xue Xiuer, although he can fight with the top masters because of practicing the Nine Yin Manual and the Dugu Nine Swords, but
In terms of internal energy capacity, it is only stuck at the peak level of a first-class master.
After all, there are too few people like Lin Nuo who have smooth meridians before practicing. Most people who practice martial arts have accumulated internal strength bit by bit by attacking their meridians day after day.
Even Xue Xiuer had never heard of a pervert like Lin Nuo who didn't need pulse pulses and only needed to continuously accumulate internal energy.
"Lin Nuo, the day for the Qiuwei Provincial Examination is not far away now. It's time for us to set off for Nanchang Mansion!"
On the table in the courtyard, Xue Xiuer had already packed some gifts. In fact, there were not many things, just some silver coins, a change of clothes, and some dry food to satisfy hunger on the road.
As for the rest, they are the pen, ink, paper and inkstone required for Lin Nuo's exam, as well as identification documents such as road guides and customs clearance documents.
Lin Nuo went into the house and changed into a green shirt that only scholars were qualified to wear. Then he tied Xue Xiuer's sword around his waist, picked up the package on the table, and walked out of the house with his wife.
During the Ming Dynasty, the control of various weapons was extremely strict. It was impossible to bring weapons such as swords, guns, swords and halberds into the city. Lin Nuo was here to take part in the imperial examination, not for fighting, so it was commonly used during practice.
I didn't carry that iron gun.
After all, the spear is too eye-catching and cannot get past the gate guards.
As for the sword on his waist, as a scholar, he was qualified to wear it. This was one of the few benefits the court gave to scholars.
After walking out of the yard, within a few steps, a carriage was already waiting there. Xue Xiuer had already arranged these things in advance without any mistakes.
The moment he stepped on the carriage, Lin Nuo suddenly felt worried about gain and loss. These days, he didn't need to worry about anything. He only needed to practice martial arts and study. He had long been used to having Xue Xiuer by his side.
He couldn't imagine what would happen to him if Xiu'er left one day, would he lose the ability to take care of himself?
"What's wrong?" Xue Xiuer asked subconsciously as if she sensed something strange about Lin Nuo.
"nothing!"
Lin Nuo shook his head and looked at the young woman in front of him who had already put her hair into a woman's bun and looked charming in a light yellow dress. He couldn't help but feel moved and clenched his fists.
"It seems that we have to find a way to break the three-year agreement!"
...
The journey from Jianchang Prefecture to Nanchang Prefecture is not very close. Even if the two of them take a carriage, it will take several days.
Fortunately, both of them are martial arts practitioners, and their cultivation is not weak, so the journey did not feel hard at all.
Even on the carriage, Lin Nuo did not waste time. He practiced his internal skills every day and felt the ever-increasing volume of smokey purple energy in his Dantian. His whole body felt light and airy, as if he wanted to become an immortal.
"Xilulu!"
On this day, when Lin Nuo was sitting on the carriage practicing as usual, the carriage that was moving forward slowly suddenly stopped.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Lin Nuo finished his work, stood up and stuck his head out, looking at the middle-aged horseman driving the car in front of him and asked.
"My dear husband, there is a convoy of escorts advancing in front of us. Let's wait for them until they are far away before we continue on our way. Otherwise, the distance will be too close and it will easily cause misunderstandings!"
Seeing Lin Nuo, who was dressed in a scholar's robe, calling him brother, the coachman looked flattered. He bowed and saluted quickly, and then pointed to the front and explained.
Lin Nuo looked around and saw that there was indeed a convoy of the Escort Bureau in front of him. Seven or eight strong men were dressed in fancy clothes, with swords hanging on their waists and long bows on their backs. They were riding tall horses, guarding the carriage in the center.
On the carriage, there were small flags on the left and right sides. The left flag was embroidered with a vermilion word "Lin", and the right flag was engraved with four neat large characters "Fuwei Escort Agency!"
"Haha, that's interesting!"
Unexpectedly, just on the way to the imperial examination, I met the famous Fuwei Escort Bureau. And it seems that the Qingcheng sect, who covets Lin Ping's family's evil sword repertoire, has not yet taken action against the Fuwei Escort Agency!