After Yu Shu caught Qu Hai, she did not bring him back to her home. Instead, she went to Huixing Street in the south of the city.
Speaking of which, this small courtyard with three rooms was the first place Yu Shu had settled down after coming to the capital. Later, when Xia Mingming returned to Xia Jiang's home and Zhao Hui and her husband came to the capital to look for someone, the two of them moved over and this place became vacant.
The security in the south of the city was not as good as the north of the city. When people saw someone carrying a beggar on the street in broad daylight, they only looked at it out of curiosity and did not ask anything.
Yu Shu walked in front and led the way. When they reached the entrance of the small courtyard, she put her hand into the gap under the threshold and took out the spare key. She unlocked the door and signaled the two men she just bought to bring Qu Hai in. She turned around and hung the door bolt.
The small courtyard had not been cleaned for a period of time, so there was a layer of dust inside and outside. Yu Shu pushed the door open and entered the central room. She asked them to casually throw Qu Hai on the ground. She touched the dust on the table and dusted her hands. She walked back and forth in the room with her hands behind her back before she stopped. She turned around and looked at the two men who were doubting her: "I did not say it clearly in the concubine. The steward there must have told you that I bought you to be the guards of the concubine. In fact, that is not the case. You see, I am a young woman going out alone, so you must be suspicious. I might as well tell you that I am a customer. I am a teacher, so I don't care about the customs. I used the money to buy you back. If I want you to guard the door at night, it will be a waste of your talents. Here is a task for you to do. If you do it well, I will treat you as my subordinates in the future. In the future, I might even help you get rid of your slave status. "
At this point, the two martial artists' faces were already filled with shock. They looked like they didn't believe her, but Yu Shu didn't want them to believe her for a while. She just wanted to scare them into working for her. That was enough.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Yu Shu asked again.
The two martial artists weren't untactful. One of them was good at reading the situation. He stealthily pulled on the other and stepped forward. Cupping his hands in obeisance to Yu Shu, he lowered his head and said sincerely, "Since I, Zhou Hu, am already Miss's person, I will naturally follow Miss's lead and follow your orders. I will listen to Miss's instructions. "
The other one was a little simple and honest, but he was not stupid. Seeing Zhou Hu's attitude, he also cupped his fists and said in a low, muffled voice, "I am Song Dali. As long as Miss takes care of my food, I will listen to your orders."
Yu Shu could roughly guess their temperament from their words and actions, so she was a little relieved. Nodding his head in satisfaction, he pointed at Qu Hai who was thrown on the ground and said, "This person has some old grudges with me. You will stay in this courtyard for the time being and help me keep an eye on him. Don't let him escape. Here is some silver. Take it and eat and drink for the next few days. Throw him into the water and wash him. Change him into clean clothes, tie him up and watch him. "
Yu Shu took out the biggest piece of silver in her purse and gave it to Zhou Hu, who seemed to be a bit smarter. After giving a few more instructions, he left the key and left alone.
The reason why he wasn't in a hurry to interrogate Qu Hai was because there were some things that he had to clarify before he could interrogate him.
*
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*
Yu Shu left Huixing Street and went to the north of the city to find a big exchange shop. She bought two things and returned home. The sky was already dark and she hastily ate her dinner. She asked Yun Dou to urge the kitchen to boil water and send it into the house. After taking a bath and changing clothes, she placed the small incense burner she bought in the afternoon on the tea table. She opened a small enamel box and took out a piece of ambergris. She burned it in the burner.
In the Selected Works of Yi Zha, it was recorded that burning ambergris could help the bargainer predict the future. This was also the favorite method of the rich bargainer. Yu Shu didn't use it in the past because a small box of ambergris was too expensive. She couldn't afford it, but this time she was able to make a loss.
Yesterday she saw Ji Xingxuan at the Double Suns Meeting and today she bumped into Qu Hai who escaped from prison. Yu Shu was very cautious in times of peace and was very suspicious of the connection between these two incidents. After she returned from the banquet at the Princess Mansion, she was worried that Liu Yi would cause trouble for her. So she used the six lines to make a divination for herself. The divination had been uneven and ominous. Coupled with Jing Chen's previous warning, she was almost sure that with her bad luck, she would most likely be in trouble.
Unfortunately, her date of birth was not accurate. She couldn't use the rule of time of calamity that she was most familiar with. Her aptitude was limited and she couldn't see through the six lines divination. Every time she wanted to calculate the details, she would throw out an empty hexagram.
In order to avoid disaster and lose money, she took a bath and burned incense. She prepared everything and asked Yun Dou to guard outside the door to prevent people from making noise. Then she took out the three Tong Bao coins that she usually used. She sat in front of the table, closed her eyes and devoutly chanted a paragraph of the Clear Heart Mantra that Jing Chen taught her. When her mind was clear and her heart was free of distracting thoughts, she concentrated on asking about the matter. She threw the almost hot copper coins into the silver plate. Once and twice, she dipped her finger into the tea and wrote the hexagram on the table. Until the sixth complete hexagram, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. Then she looked at the hexagram on the table and showed a trace of joy.
Success!
She didn't waste her one hundred taels of silver. Yu Shu was secretly happy. She knew that it was not the time to be happy. She quickly withdrew her thoughts and focused all her attention on the hexagram that was about to disappear. She had a vague feeling in her heart. She held the teacup in one hand and dipped the other into the water to calculate. It was not that she didn't want to use pen and paper, but the inspiration was fleeting. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to calculate the result when she turned around.
It took about two hours to burn the small box of ambergris. Yu Shu finally got a clear sign.
She frowned and wiped her fingers in front of her body. She got up and walked to the desk with the fragrance of incense. She grinded the ink thoughtfully and dipped the pen into the paper to write —
February 13th, avoid water, fatal disaster.
*
*
*
Yu Shu couldn't sleep the whole night because of the hexagram she calculated yesterday. She couldn't be blamed for not being calm. How many people in this world could lie in bed and sleep when they knew that a disaster was about to befall them?
During breakfast, He Fangzhi was the first to notice that Yu Shu was a little strange. He noticed that Zhao Hui had only taken two bites of the food she picked up for her and observed her complexion. He said, "Don't force yourself if you don't have an appetite. I'll take a look at you later to see if you have indigestion or anorexia."
Hearing this, Zhao Hui hurriedly put down her chopsticks and reached out to touch the back of Yu Shu's hand. She was afraid that Yu Shu would catch a cold because she didn't cover herself with the quilt last night. She had been with Doctor He and his wife for the past few days, so she probably knew how to take care of herself. She knew that cold and warm weather alternated and that it was easy to get sick when the seasons changed.
Yu Shu saw their worried expressions and suppressed the annoyance in her heart. She shook her head at them embarrassedly, "I'm not feeling well. I slept late last night, so I'm a little sleepy now and can't eat."
Zhao Hui had a false alarm and patted her, "Don't eat if you don't want to eat. Go back and sleep for a while. Didn't you say that Mr. Xue found someone to look at the rankings for you? When the person comes, I'll ask the maid to wake you up. I'll have the kitchen steam a bowl of egg custard and add a few drops of rice vinegar. Then you'll have an appetite."
"Okay, then I'll go back to the room first. Father and Mother, take your time to eat."
Yu Shu took the opportunity to return to her room. The bedroom was still filled with a sweet fragrance. She had Yun Dou open the front and back windows to let in some air and lay on the bed with her clothes on. One moment, she thought about Qu Hai, who she caught yesterday, and the next moment, she thought about the disaster of February 13th. She slowly fell asleep.
It was already two hours later when Xue Rui woke up. Xue Rui had sent someone to check the ranking list and return to Zhao Hui's house to pass the message. When Zhao Hui received the news, she sent someone to wake Yu Shu up.
Yu Shu was woken up by Yun Dou. She rubbed her face and sat up. As she put on her shoes, she casually asked, "What did they say? Did you pass this test?"
There were six subjects in the Da Yuan Examination. There were a hundred people who could enter the rankings for each subject. Those who could pass one of the subjects would be called Teacher Yi and would be registered with the Celestial Commissioner. From then on, they would have a proper name. If they were lucky enough to pass two subjects and make it onto the rankings, they would be called Teacher Yi and receive a salary from the Imperial Court. Furthermore, if they managed to place first in each subject, the Celestial Commissioner would send someone to their residence to congratulate them and bring them to the Imperial Court to announce the results.
However, this was not the highest honor. Whenever a mighty figure obtained first place in the three subjects and occupied the top three positions, he would be considered an extraordinary person. He would be personally visited by the Imperial Astronomer to congratulate him. Even the Emperor would have to summon him to the palace for an audience and put him in an important position. This was truly reaching the heavens in a single bound.
It was easy to imagine how difficult it was to enter the rankings for each subject in the Da Yuan Examination. Thus, Yu Shu didn't have any delusions. She crammed for a few days and studied hard. She was able to stand out from thousands of people in the subject of Yi Li, which was a must-pass for a Teacher Yi. She knew that reasoning wasn't her forte.
As expected, Yun Dou stuttered and didn't dare to say it directly. Yu Shu didn't make things difficult for her. She smiled and put on her shoes, got off the bed, and went to the front yard to listen to the news.
When she entered the living room, she saw that Zhao Hui and He Fangzhi were both seated. However, she didn't see anyone who came to report the news. They must have been sent away.
The husband and wife were talking in low voices. When they saw Yu Shu enter, they stopped.
"Xiao Yu, you're here." Zhao Hui raised her hand and called for Yu Shu to come over. She pulled her to sit down and patted her hand. She gently said, "Just now, Sir Xue sent someone over. Tai Chengsi has already removed the rankings. He said that only seventy people passed this subject. It's not strange that you weren't on the list."
Zhao Hui was afraid that Yu Shu wouldn't be happy because she didn't pass the test, so she carefully passed the message. Who knew that Yu Shu would smile and comfort her, "Mother, don't worry. I'm not anxious. I took a total of three subjects. Aren't there two more after that? Uncle already said that I'll definitely be on the list for Mathematics."
Unfortunately, Mathematics wasn't included in the evaluation of Da Yi Master. Even if she passed the Strange Technique, she was still just a Yi Master. She couldn't become a Da Yi Master.
When Zhao Hui saw that her mother didn't care about it, she felt relieved. She smiled and said, "Your godfather said that if you pass the test and become a female teacher, he will give you a banquet in the courtyard for a day and invite a lot of guests."
When He Fangzhi saw that they were chatting and laughing, she knew that there was nothing wrong. She said, "Your uncle said that he will also send someone to take a look. I don't know if he got the news. I will send someone to inform him so that he won't be anxious."
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