“The last time I encountered a lone woman, she was a corpse ghost, and now again? Are there no normal people left in this world?”
As the carriage sped along, Lu Zheng was at a loss for words inside. “When I get back to Tonglin County, I’ll go out to the outskirts every evening to see if I can meet a corpse ghost every day.”
Liu Qingyan covered her mouth, chuckling. “But didn’t we also meet Sister Shen alone once?”
Lu Zheng shrugged. “She was a ghost too, wasn’t she?”
“Huh?” Liu Qingyan blinked, realizing Lu Zheng had a point.
But… my dear, comparing Sister Shen to a corpse ghost—should I tell her about this when we get back?
Liu Qingyan: (◔◡◔)
…
The next day, the carriage entered Yizhou Prefecture, and at Lu Zheng’s direction, they arrived at the inn where he had stayed during his first visit.
Yuelai Inn!
After stabling the horses and storing their luggage, leaving Old Huang to rest at the inn, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan went out to explore the streets.
In Yizhou Prefecture, the number of scholars had increased compared to his last visit.
However, since it was only a local exam, not the autumn or spring imperial examinations, most were young scholars, along with some who had failed the xiucai exam for years.
Indeed, even the xiucai title, though an officially recognized degree in the Great Jing Dynasty, had limited quotas per exam. While more attainable than the juren degree, it wasn’t something just anyone could achieve.
Thus, its value was somewhat higher than the xiucai title in Lu Zheng’s world.
…
Over the next two days, Lu Zheng took Liu Qingyan to thoroughly explore Yizhou Prefecture, enjoying some quality time together.
…
Two days later, the exam began.
Lu Zheng didn’t join the crowd but waited quietly until the exam was nearly over before heading to the exam venue.
The prefectural exam was held at the prefectural academy. Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan ordered a few dishes at a restaurant outside the academy, waiting for Zhu Yushan to emerge.
Soon, the exam ended.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates poured out of the academy, some leaving in groups, others alone. Many relatives and friends of the scholars, like Lu Zheng, had reserved tables at the restaurant to treat the candidates to a meal.
But even as the scholars cleared out of the academy, Lu Zheng didn’t see Zhu Yushan.
“What’s going on?”
Lu Zheng was momentarily stunned, exchanging glances with Liu Qingyan. “Did you see Zhu Yushan?”
“No?”
Liu Qingyan shook her head. “If you didn’t see him, of course I didn’t either.”
“Did we miss him? That shouldn’t be possible.”
With Lu Zheng’s strength and keen eyesight, he had scanned every scholar leaving the academy. Theoretically, he couldn’t have missed anyone.
“Unless…”
“Bad luck raining down?” Liu Qingyan asked tentatively. “He’s already cultivated successfully; how could he still miss the exam?”
“Yeah…” Lu Zheng was also puzzled.
Liu Qingyan whispered, “Should we visit the River God Mansion?”
Lu Zheng blinked, pondering.
Just then, he turned his head and saw two figures appear at the street corner, running swiftly toward the academy.
“Zhu Yushan?”
“Sister Li?”
The two figures were indeed Zhu Yushan and Li Hanyu.
Perhaps to avoid causing a scene, their speed stayed within human limits.
Zhu Yushan tucked his robe into his waistband, running with large strides, while Li Hanyu lifted her skirt with both hands, taking quick steps, not much slower than her husband.
But when they reached the academy, they saw the janitors sweeping the grounds, preparing to close the gates.
Zhu Yushan stood frozen at the entrance, lips trembling, face pale, eyes vacant, and expression desolate.
Li Hanyu hesitated, stepped forward, and softly asked a janitor, “Excuse me, the prefectural exam…”
“Just finished, didn’t it?”
A janitor replied casually, then looked up and saw Zhu Yushan standing at the entrance.
Clearly, as a local celebrity in Yizhou who had failed the exam twelve times, the janitor recognized him and burst into laughter.
“Zhu Yushan? I was wondering why I didn’t see you this year. Thought you’d given up, but turns out you missed the exam again.”
Other janitors looked up, noticing Zhu Yushan at the entrance.
“Well, isn’t that Zhu Yushan? In the past, he either showed up after the gates closed, came all dirty and got turned away, or was too sick to come at all.”
“This time’s a new one—showing up after the exam’s over. Even if you were here to pick someone up, you’re too late; everyone’s gone!”
“Zhu Yushan, what bad luck did you run into this time? Spill it, let us have a laugh.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since we saw you. What’ve you been up to?”
“You didn’t mix up the exam date or time, did you?”
“Hahaha—”
…
Up in the restaurant, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan overheard the conversation at the academy gate.
“This…”
Liu Qingyan couldn’t make sense of it. “Why did Young Master Zhu miss it this time?”
“No idea…”
Lu Zheng was equally clueless, but…
“Let’s ask.”
Lu Zheng moved his lips, sending his voice into Zhu Yushan and Li Hanyu’s ears. “Brother Zhu, Sister-in-law, I’ve ordered some food and drink upstairs. Please come up and talk.”
“Brother Lu?”
Zhu Yushan snapped out of it, turned, and saw Lu Zheng at a second-floor window of a nearby restaurant, nodding to him.
“Little Sister Qingyan is here too?” Li Hanyu spotted Liu Qingyan first.
“Sister Li!” Liu Qingyan waved at Li Hanyu.
…
Moments later, Zhu Yushan and Li Hanyu entered the restaurant and sat across from Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan.
Lu Zheng filled their cups, and the four raised a toast.
Setting down his cup, Lu Zheng blinked, unable to resist asking, “Brother Zhu, this time…”
“Sigh…”
Zhu Yushan let out a long sigh, put down his cup, and shook his head silently.
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan turned their attention to Li Hanyu.
Li Hanyu pursed her lips, glanced at Zhu Yushan, and seeing he didn’t object, said with a mix of exasperation and amusement, “He was in seclusion cultivating and lost track of time.”
“What?”
“After we visited Tonglin County, my husband got more serious about cultivation. Half a month ago, he had a sudden breakthrough and said he’d seclude himself for a few days.”
Li Hanyu said helplessly, “But once he went into seclusion, he didn’t come out. I was worried about disturbing his cultivation, so I didn’t dare break in to call him, and so…”
“Pfft—”
Liu Qingyan quickly stifled her laughter, resuming her posture and waving her hands. “It’s fine, it’s fine, I just choked a little.”
Her lips trembled, barely holding back her amusement.
Lu Zheng teased, “Choked on the rain of bad luck?”
“Pfft—”
This time, not only Liu Qingyan but even Li Hanyu couldn’t hold back her laughter.
