After the government examination results were released, everyone planned to say goodbye and return to Hailing, but unfortunately a continuous spring rain fell, and everyone had to postpone their plan to return to their hometown.
However, Zhou Yi and Ge Youli died on the Yangtze River boat. The threat to Xu He was gone, and Zhang Jingxian's soldiers had to rush back after completing their mission.
Before they left, Xu He gave the soldiers two taels of silver each as a reward for these days.
Although these private soldiers are treated better than ordinary soldiers in the guard station, they still have a lot of money, which is enough for them to pull some cloth and make some clothes for their wives and children at home.
Xu He also prepared a thank-you gift for Zhang Jingxian early and asked everyone to take it back.
The things are not valuable things, just some fresh fruits and snacks. They are valuable because of your heart. Is Zhang Jingxian thinking of this as a thank you gift? No, but Xu He must have an attitude of repaying his kindness.
Several soldiers were so happy when they saw this, they quickly picked up their things and left with a lot of thanks.
Xu He was just about to study when someone from outside the commanding office came to report that a scholar named Xie had invited Xu He to attend a cultural gathering at Tianning Temple today and asked him to attend.
As soon as Xu He heard it, he knew that this was a letter sent by Brother Sao. These days, Xie Liangcai, the prince of the temple, was very busy. He was arranged to attend various gatherings among literati every day.
After Xu He finished his exam, Xie Liangcai came to see him twice, saying that he would take him to the lake to meet some friends who were studying, but Xu He rejected them both times.
But this time it was different, because at Tianning Temple, Xu He happened to think of the favor he owed to the great monk Zhenke, so he said to the disciple: "Please tell the visitor that I will go to the appointment today!"
Soon after the doorman left, Xu He borrowed an umbrella and went out.
Tianning Temple is located in the north of Yangzhou City and occupies a large area.
Xu He hired a car and was shocked by the Tianning Temple in this life when he came to the mountain gate.
There are so many temples in Tianning Temple, and the single-eaves resting top of Shanmen Hall alone is many times larger than that of Tianning Temple in later generations.
Just as he was about to climb up the stairs, a voice suddenly came from behind him. Turning around, Xu He was surprised to see Wu Decao, wearing a Lan shirt and holding a torn paper umbrella, running panting not far away. Come over.
Because of the rain and running, his already shabby Yue Bailan shirt was covered with mud spots, and he was in a state of embarrassment.
"Brother Wu! Are you coming to the cultural gathering too?" Xu He asked.
Wu Decao panted for a long time, and then he regained his composure: "Yes, yes! What? Brother Xu too?"
Xu He smiled: "Okay, let's go together!"
Unexpectedly, the two of them were stopped in front of the Shanmen Hall. The people who stopped them were not the monks from Tianning Temple, but a few powerful men dressed as writers.
"Are you pilgrims?" one of them asked, staring at Xu He.
"We are guests invited to attend the cultural gathering!" Xu He explained.
The big man laughed out loud: "Just you? You look like a scholar, right? Why aren't you wearing a Lan shirt?"
Xu He said: "I am not a student, just a child."
The big men laughed exaggeratedly upon hearing this, their laughter was unrestrained and sarcastic.
The man who just spoke said: "Tong Sheng? Tong Sheng also wants to participate in the cultural gathering? Are you worthy?"
Xu He didn't want to get into useless entanglements with these people, so he said patiently, "I was invited by Xie Defu."
"Xie Defu? I don't know him! This boy, please come back!" The man looked at Xu He jokingly, his eyes full of contempt.
Wu Decao on the side was furious when he saw this: "He was invited by me, and I am a student. Can we two go in?"
Wu Decao originally thought that these big men would take a high look when he was exposed as a student, but unexpectedly, these people saw the wrinkled shirt on his body and sneered, "Where is this poor scholar? Is this a way to earn money?" "
"You!" Wu Decao's face turned pale and then red, because the other party looked down on him as a scholar. Hong was because the other party spoke to his mind. Recently, he was short of money and all the money he had as guarantee was thrown away by him.
For a while, the two sides were in a stalemate, with no one willing to give way.
Xu He snorted coldly and said: "Even if we don't participate in the cultural gathering, Tianning Temple is the gate of Pudu. Do we have to be stopped at the door and sorted into grades when we go to offer incense?"
The big man glanced sideways at Xu He and said, "Boy, to tell you the truth, even if the prefect of Yangzhou comes to Tianning Temple today, he won't be able to enter without the nod of our young master."
"You..." Wu Decao was furious.
At this moment, another person came at the foot of the steps outside the temple. This time it was a magnificent carriage. Those big men were accustomed to only recognize Luo Yi but not anyone else.
They knew from the materials used in the carriage that this person was coming from a wealthy family. Seeing this, the big man just now ran down the steps in the rain, opened an umbrella, and picked up the people in the carriage.
When Wu Decao saw this, he took a sip and cursed in front of the other big men: "A dog looks down on people!"
At this time, the people on the carriage were picked up at the mountain gate, and the big man nodded and folded his umbrella.
Suddenly, the visitor saw Xu He and said "Eh" in surprise: "Xu He!"
Xu He was also startled. This person was Wang Juren, who had spoken highly of his article on the day when the results of the imperial examination were released.
Wang Juren said happily: "Are you also here to attend the cultural conference?"
Xu He nodded.
When Wang Juren heard this, he took Xu He and walked inside.
Wu Decao became anxious: "Master Juren, these servants won't let us in!"
Hey, Xu He immediately wanted to laugh when he heard this. Wu Decao deeply bound himself to him with a simple sentence. Wang Juren stopped and said to the big men: "This Xu Hexu is the county examiner." , The double chief of the government examination, he is very talented and learned, let him go in with his friends."
The other party was shocked when he heard this.
You must know that Tong Sheng is nothing special in their eyes. On weekdays, Tong Sheng has to walk around in front of their house.
But the case is different. In this world, it is not easy to win the first place among thousands of troops. The key is that he is the double champion of the county examination and the prefectural examination. This is very scary!
Hearing this, the big man said calmly: "It turned out to be the leader of the case. I thought he was a kid who came here to eat and drink."
The judge didn't seem to dare to offend this group of people. He smiled and clasped his fists and said, "Everyone, please do it for your convenience!"
As expected, the big men stopped talking. It was just that Wu De had just cursed someone, and it was very unpleasant. When he entered, the big men stared at him.
After entering the door, Wu Decao raised his head and said in an awesome voice: "Hmph! How dare you look down on me, what a stupid mother!"
When Wang Juren heard this, he just glanced at him and then turned to Xu He and smiled: "Little friend, we meet again today. My surname is Wang and my given name is Hengyuan!"
"Brother Hengyuan!" Xu He saluted and said, "I don't have a cousin yet!"
Wang Hengyuan nodded and said with a smile: "I'm going to meet the host of the cultural gathering. You guys go to the garden verandah to rest first. The cultural gathering will be held there!"
After saying that, he bowed his hands and left!
Only then did Wu Decao have time to be surprised: "Brother Xu, you, did you pass the civil service examination?"
Xu He smiled and nodded.
