Yi Li had been taking the Fengshui exam for three days, but Yu Shu did not plan to go. Instead, she stayed at home to sort out what she had learned and heard in the past six months, and focused on preparing for the exam of Uncanny Arts.
Uncanny Arts, as the name suggested, must be a rare or even rare art of disguise. For example, the Qimen Arts, Jia Zi Na Yin, and so on, which were usually used by the people who changed their fortune, could not be called uncanny. Only the more obscure divination arts, such as the Spiritual Chess Scripture and the Duke of Zhou's Dream Interpretation, could be considered "uncanny".
However, the scope of the exam for Uncanny Arts was not limited to the content of a specific uncanny art. The questions were usually about current affairs and focused more on application, so the questions were often tricky.
For example, Yu Shu had seen in the Dayan dossier over the years that there was a question that asked the examinees to predict the top three of the year's imperial examination. The time limit was five days, and the examinees were allowed to go home to answer. Once the five days were up, they had to go to the Taicheng Department to submit their papers.
This kind of open book exam had advantages and disadvantages for Yu Shu. The advantage was that she was good at the application of Yi Li, but the disadvantage was that it benefited the examinees who had a "backdoor". For example, people like Ji Xingxuan, who came from an aristocratic family of Yi Li and had elders who were proficient in Yi Li, helping them to plan in the dark. This was not considered cheating.
In other words, this subject was the most unfair among the six subjects of the Dayan. It was the subject with the most tricks. The examinees did not compete on knowledge, but on family background.
Because of this, there were very few people who participated in this subject. Most of them had some family background, and they relied on this subject to get a good ranking in exchange for the title of Teacher Yi, to act as a facade.
However, there was no lack of people with real talent among them. For example, Yunhua Yi Zi, who appeared out of nowhere, took the first place in the Uncanny Arts, and forcibly suppressed the children of the aristocratic families, not allowing them to show their faces. That was called boldness!
Because of the leak in the astrology subject, Yu Shu did not plan to take it again. Now, among the six subjects, she had the most confidence in the Uncanny Arts and Mathematics. Mathematics was a special subject, and it was also given a title. If she could not get into the top three, it would be a waste.
In this way, if she wanted to enter the Taishi Library, she had to take the subject of the Strange Arts. At the very least, she had to enter the hundred yuan. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to get the title of Teacher Yi.
There were hidden dragons and crouching tigers in this Grand Examination. Who could guarantee that there wouldn't be another Master Yi Zizi? She didn't have full confidence that she would be able to enter the top three. If she got the fourth or fifth place, she would have gotten the title of Master Yi for nothing. If she wasn't even a Master Yi, then she wouldn't be able to enter the gates of Taishi Library.
These days, there were things that gave Yu Shu headaches, but there were also things that made her happy.
Ever since the Yellowfrost Stone returned to her hands, the successive disasters around her showed signs of abating. After a few days, Yu Shu found that sometimes, she didn't have to deliberately avoid them. Those small disasters that she had predicted earlier were inadvertently resolved.
For example, half a month ago, she predicted that she would have a patient on the first day of the first year. She did suffer from the cold in the examination hall for the whole morning, but when she got home, she drank a bowl of ginger soup, wrapped herself in a blanket, and slept.
Another example was that she predicted that she would lose money on the third day of the first year. In the end, when she went to Changchun Street to watch the execution, she got a little drunk in a restaurant and left her purse on the table. However, Jing Chen saw it, and in the end, she didn't lose a single copper coin.
Another example was this morning, when she got up to cook, she tripped at the kitchen door. When she got up and went into the kitchen to add firewood to start the fire, the pot hanging on the door finally fell with a "clang". It was a scare, but not a real danger.
Such an immediate effect made Yu Shu pleasantly surprised. She repeatedly sighed that the Yellowfrost Stone was indeed a good treasure. In the past, she really didn't know what it was. She didn't lose anything by exchanging Yi Zi's test paper for it.
Yu Shu carried the amulet made from the Yellowfrost Stone for two days. She hung it on Jing Chen in front of Yu Xiaoxiu. She didn't hide it from him. Jing Chen didn't say anything, but Yu Xiaoxiu vaguely heard them talking about this stone before. He knew it was a treasure. When Yu Shu hung it on him, he took it off and gave it to her.
As an elder sister, she always put her younger brother first. Naturally, the younger brother also cared about his elder sister. In the heart of Yu Xiaoxiu, as long as Yu Shu was good, he would be good.
Yu Shu had said all kinds of soft and hard words, but Yu Xiaoxiu still refused to wear the amulet. She had no choice but to not go too far in front of Jing Chen. In private, she knocked on Yu Xiaoxiu's head several times and hung it on his neck.
Yu Xiu finally submitted to Yu Shu's violence and wore it reluctantly.
"Why are you pouting? I didn't give it to you. Take it off for me when I take the exam in a few days." Yu Shu rubbed Yu Xiaoxiu's head and said angrily, "You don't even know that you are good to you. Really."
Yu Xiaoxiu snorted, touched the amulet in his collar, and asked Yu Shu, "Sister, when will Brother Xue come back?"
When Yu Shu heard the words' Big Brother Xue, 'she went silent, and the blurry figure of Xue Rui's back when he left that night appeared in her mind. Moreover, when he lightly descended on her shoulder, it caused her to have an extremely uncomfortable feeling in her heart. She'd rather have a falling out with him than have such an ambiguous attitude.
Who knew if he would forgive her or not listen to her after he heard her confession. She didn't have any confidence in Xue Rui at all.
"I don't know. Didn't he promise to take you to ride horses? He should come to you when he comes back." Yu Shu perfunctorily answered Yu Xiaoxiu, but in her heart, she thought that Xue Rui had better forget about it. Otherwise, when they met, she didn't know how embarrassing it would be.
"Oh."
"You must be hungry. Sister will cook. Let's eat egg pancakes tonight." In winter, ordinary people didn't have much to eat. The best they could do was to eat meat, then fish and eggs.
Yu Xiaoxiu said, "Then make two more pancakes and heat them up for breakfast tomorrow morning."
"Okay, let's go. Help me."
Since the day Ji Xingxuan lost the Yellowfrost Stone in Changchun Fang, Ji Huaishan had been sending people to inquire about the nearby area, trying to find the person. However, after seven or eight days, there was no result.
Ji Xingxuan lost the thing she loved and felt uncomfortable for several days, but she didn't show it in front of Ji Huaishan. She had to participate in all six subjects of the Dayan Examination, so she had to work harder than others. After two subjects, she lost a lot of weight. Ji Huaishan loved his granddaughter dearly. Three times a day, he ordered the housekeeper to send supplements to her courtyard. In order to make her happy, he spent a lot of money to buy a pair of colorful parrots that could talk and sing as a gift.
After yesterday's Fengshui exam, Ji Xingxuan rested at home, waiting for the next subject. Last night, she spent half the night watching the stars, so she woke up a little late in the morning. The pair of parrots stood side by side in the birdcage. From the living room, they could be heard chirping:
"Lucky star shines, fortune rolls in! Lucky star shines, fortune rolls in!"
It was a cold day, so the stove in the room was burning brightly. Ji Xingxuan was helped up by two servant girls. After washing up, she drank a cup of white fungus to get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth. Carrying the hand stove, she walked to the living room. Breakfast had just been placed on the table. There was porridge and hot dishes, a small plate of peeled quail eggs, and a bowl of steaming fresh goat's milk.
As soon as she woke up, Ji Xingxuan didn't have much of an appetite. After drinking half a bowl of porridge, she washed her hands and rinsed her mouth. Then, she took a small plate of peeled peanuts and fed them to the parrots. The pair of birds were also clever. Seeing that there was good food, they fought to be the first to say auspicious words. Their sweet words made Ji Xingxuan smile for the first time that morning.
The head servant, Yun He, reminded her, "Miss, don't feed them too much at once. The birds can't eat too much."
This servant girl, Yun He, had served Ji Xingxuan for three years. She was assigned to her by Ji Huaishan after she was selected to enter the Imperial Historian's Library and came to the capital to study. She was skilled in both literature and martial arts. She was reliable in her work and was older than Ji Xingxuan by two years. As a result, Ji Xingxuan treated her differently from the other servant girls and was willing to listen to her.
"En." Ji Xingxuan handed the plate to Yun He and was about to go to the study to read when she heard someone panting outside the curtain.
"Miss, Miss, Master has sent this servant to summon you to the front courtyard. Someone from Yiyang City has arrived."
Hearing this, Ji Xingxuan hurriedly gestured for the servant girl to roll up the curtain to let the person in. She asked, "Who has arrived?"
"It's Third Master, Second Young Master, and Young Master Ma's entire family. I heard that Young Master Ma has been promoted and is going to the capital to be an official!" The errand boy replied excitedly.
"Is that so? My Little Aunt is also here? " Ji Xingxuan stood up. Her face, which was not covered by a veil, clearly showed a happy expression. She turned to Yun He and said,
"Go get a cloak and come with me to the front courtyard.
"Yes." Yun He saw that she was full of energy again, so she responded with a smile. She ran into the room and picked out a blue furry cloak. She draped it over Ji Yunshu's body and tidied her hair. Then, she helped Ji Yunshu out of the room and hurried to the front courtyard.
When the pair of parrots in the cage saw that everyone had left and there was no more peanuts to eat, they flapped their wings and kicked over the small dish on the bamboo pole with a "ding dang" sound. The millet grains inside the dish spilled out and fell onto the ground.
"Miss is lucky, Miss is lucky!"
On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Shu went to Tai Chengsi's house early in the morning. Tai Chengsi looked at the notice. The astrology exam was set on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year. There was also a physiognomy exam after that.
On the way back, she deliberately passed by Autumn Osmanthus Lane and went to Fu An Escort Agency. Zhao Qinghui was out, but his uncle, Boss Zhou, was there.
When Yu Shu came, he warmly invited her to the tea room. He lit the stove and served her tea. The two of them sat and chatted for a while.
This was the first serious business that Yu Shu had gotten from setting up a stall in Autumn Osmanthus Square. The red packet of twenty taels a month was not a lot, but the escort agency rarely looked for her if there was nothing important. Last month, she decided to take the Dayan exam, so she told Boss Zhou about it. At that time, Boss Zhou politely gave her fifty taels as a gift, but Yu Shu tactfully declined.
Recently, Fu An Escort Agency was smooth sailing. After sitting for a while, Yu Shu got up and said goodbye. Boss Zhou knew that she was preparing for the exam, so he did not ask her to stay for dinner. He said that after she finished the exam, he would treat her to a drink.
Yu Shu walked back to Huixing Street. It was almost noon, but Jing Chen was alone at home. She was wondering if she should buy food or cook for lunch when she heard someone shouting behind her.
"Little brother, slow down. Can I ask you something?"
Yu Shu turned around and saw a carriage stopped not far from the street. The coachman was waving at her. The other party spoke with a southern accent, so she took the initiative to walk forward.
The coachman smiled at her and said: "I'm asking for directions. How do I go back to Huixing Street?"
Yu Shu pointed to the street behind her and said: "This is it."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Yu Shu saw that there was nothing else for her to do, so she turned around and walked away. Behind her, she heard the coachman's report:
"Master, this is Huixing Street. The road is narrow, and the carriage can't go in. Do you want me to go inside and ask for directions?"
"No need, let's get off and walk."
At first, Yu Shu thought the voice in the carriage was familiar. After walking for more than 10 steps, she curiously looked back. But when she saw it, she suddenly stopped.
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