By the time the moon was halfway up in the sky, the city of Guiyang was already dark and silent. However, the Yang residence was brightly lit. Countless servants and maids walked in and out busily because their master had rushed over from Bozhou and had just moved into the residence.
In the back of the residence, Yang Yinglong, who had finished his bath, was wearing a light robe. He laid down lazily on the official hat chair and picked up a bowl of pickled bamboo shoot chicken skin soup. He took a small sip and closed his eyes to savor the taste. He asked slowly, "The person I asked you to find out about, have you found out where he is?"
The steward replied respectfully, "After I received Master's message, I immediately sent someone to Tongren, but I didn't expect that person to come to Guiyang. I checked all the inns in Guiyang, big and small, but there was no news of him. He must have rented a house, which is not easy to find. However, since he came to Guiyang to participate in the Tribute Examinations, he will definitely register at the government office. I will find him. "
"Mm! As long as you find him, don't disturb him. This person is very useful to me! "
Yang Yinglong lightly knocked on the armrest and said leisurely, "Has there been any special news from Shui Xi recently?"
The steward thought for a while and said tentatively, "Lian Xie Ji seems to be very interested in this year's Tribute Examinations."
Yang Yinglong smiled faintly and said, "It's not just a Tian family that is interested in the Tribute Examinations. Is there anything else?"
The steward thought for a while and suddenly laughed, "There is one more thing. It has been very popular in Guiyang recently, but Master, you may not be interested in this."
Yang Yinglong didn't respond. He only sipped his soup and listened quietly.
The steward said, "The eldest daughter of the Xia family of Red Maple Lake has always been kept at a respectful distance by the rich young master of Shui Xi. Who knew that recently, she would suddenly have two suitors. One is Young Master Ge Long of the Guoji family of Cool Moon Valley, and the other is unknown. These two have agreed to have a duel at Flower Creek to determine who is qualified to pursue Miss Xia. "
As expected, Yang Yinglong wasn't interested. He said lightly, "Ignorant children's games. Did the Yang family of Jing Province send someone here? "
The steward of the Yang Residence smiled flatteringly and said, "Master, would the Yang Family of Jing Province dare to disobey your orders? Madame Yang has come personally, but the journey is long and she is still on her way. The Yang family of Jingzhou has already sent a messenger to deliver a message saying that Madame Yang will definitely arrive in Guiyang during the Tribute Examination. "
Yang Yinglong grunted and yawned lightly. The steward hurriedly said, "Master must be tired from the journey, please rest first. Do you need someone to serve you?"
Yang Yinglong stood up and stretched. "No need, I'm tired."
"Yes!"
The steward acknowledged and hurriedly stepped forward to send Yang Yinglong into the back hall with a bow.
At this time, although the Tian Residence was silent, the lights in Tian Miaowen's residence were still lit.
On the desk, there were a few pieces of paper. On the paper were some names and numbers.
Tian Miaowen put down her brush and frowned. She said in a low voice, "For this year's Tribute Examination, Southern Zhili and Northern Zhili will each take 135 candidates, Jiangxi 95, Zhejiang and Fujian 90, Huguang and Guangdong 85, Henan 80, Shandong 75, Sichuan 70, Shaanxi and Shanxi 65, Guangxi 55, Yunnan 45, and Guizhou the least. Just like last year, we only have 30 candidates."
Tian Miaowen gently leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She lightly patted her forehead and muttered to herself, "Of the 30 candidates, according to tradition, the An family will take four, the Song family three, the Tian family and the Yang family two each, and the other Tusi families will take turns sharing 14. The remaining five will be given to the ordinary Elementary Scholars.
None of these families are easy to deal with. To fight for one more is like snatching food from a tiger's mouth. It looks like only by placing Xu Boyi among the ordinary Elementary Scholars will we have a chance to fight for one more spot. I wonder if he has the ability to do so … "
Tian Miaowen thought hard for a long time before picking up her brush again. She pulled over the pieces of paper filled with names and numbers and started calculating again. The lamp in her room was lit until very late …
…
On the green hillside, Ye Xiaotian flicked his finger and a small bug silently landed on Xia Yingying's sleeve. Without waiting for it to crawl into her sleeve, Ye Xiaotian said in 'surprise', "Aiya, there's a bug!" As he said this, Ye Xiaotian stretched out his hand and flicked the bug to the ground before giving it a hard kick.
"Ha! I really am a genius! It's only been a day and I've already mastered the technique of releasing bugs. "
Ye Xiaotian thought complacently. Xia Yingying saw that her sweetheart was so considerate and smiled sweetly at him. Her big eyes were rippling with a charming spring light that was indescribably seductive.
Xiao Lu and Xiao Wei crossed their arms and stood more than ten feet away from the two of them, helplessly watching them stick to each other. However, they reckoned that these two people's good days were about to come to an end. Gorgelon had already spread the news of the Flower Stream Gathering to the entire Guiyang Prefecture. Those rich and powerful young masters were so idle that when they heard of such an interesting matter, it was as if they were injected with chicken blood, clamoring to go and watch the fun.
As the news spread, the Red Maple Lake, which was not far from Guiyang City, would definitely receive the news as well. When Xia Yingying's more than twenty uncles, eighty to ninety cousins, and even more than a hundred nephews rushed to Flower Creek aggressively …
The two ladies could already foresee Ye Xiaotian's miserable end.
Ye Xiaotian looked at Xia Yingying's sweet smile in fascination and said, "You're still smiling? I'm going to duel with that gorilla in eight days, aren't you worried that I'll be killed by him?"
Xia Yingying said sweetly, "Why would I? I'll be watching. If he wants to kill you, I can't bear to."
Ye Xiaotian rolled his eyes and said, "Actually … we're already in love with each other, what does it have to do with him? You don't even like him, why don't you tell him there's no need to duel. "
Xia Yingying smiled sweetly and shook her head, "You've already promised him, it'll be too embarrassing to cancel the duel now. I heard from Xiao Lu that the entire Guiyang Prefecture knows about this. If we cancel the duel, you'll be laughed at. "
Ye Xiaotian hurriedly said, "I don't mind being laughed at."
Xia Yingying widened her eyes and said, "But I mind! If you're laughed at, I'll lose face. I'll definitely be very angry. "
Ye Xiaotian sighed helplessly and said unhappily, "In other words, we have to duel no matter what."
Xia Yingying gently tugged at his sleeve and said in a sweet voice, "What's wrong? Are you angry?"
Ye Xiaotian took advantage of the situation to pretend to be angry and said with a straight face, "In the end, don't you just like to see two men fight for you?"
"That's not it."
Xia Yingying smiled sweetly and her voice became sweeter. She gently pulled Ye Xiaotian's sleeve and said softly, "I just like to see you fight for me. Ah! Look, look over there … "
Xia Yingying jumped happily and pointed to the front of the slope. Ye Xiaotian was already used to her surprise. Following her finger, he saw three oxen in front of the slope, two males and one female. The two bulls with huge horns were 'butting' at the entrance, so he asked, "What are you looking at?"
Xia Yingying said, "Look, those two bulls are fighting for the heifer. You're a man, are you not as good as a bull?"
If Ye Xiaotian did not see the two bulls, he might not be able to recognize the gender of the three cows. But thinking that she was a local village girl, it was not strange for her to recognize bulls and cows, so Ye Xiaotian was relieved. But he did not know that Xia Yingying's standard to identify bulls and cows was actually based on their body shape. And these two bulls were already adults, more than twice as strong as the heifer that had just grown up. Coincidentally, she guessed correctly.
The duel between the two bulls ended with one side losing. The defeated bull ran for about a mile before it came to a halt on the hillside. The victorious bull mooed triumphantly and rushed towards the little heifer that was grazing on the grass. He raised his two front hooves with all his might and suddenly stood up like a man, placing his two front hooves on the back of the little heifer.
This adult bull was very strong. The strength of this rise and fall was also very strong. The heifer was pressed down by him and immediately knelt on the grass. The bull also slipped and fell to the side. The heifer mooed and struggled, as if it wanted to run away, but the bull suddenly jumped up, raised its two front hooves, and put them on the back of the heifer again.
This time, the prepared heifer stood firmly, and the adult bull stood firmly on its two hind legs. It raised its head and let out another "moo". That incomparably big fellow, which was as long and straight as a rolling pin, but a bit thicker than a door pole, stabbed forward with all its might.
Xia Yingying's eyes were wide open, and her two small hands were clenched in front of her chest. She was so nervous that she could not breathe, "Look, look! That big guy doesn't want to fight over the heifers. He just wants to bully whoever he catches. He's so bad. Aiya, look, he's poking that heifer with his big meat stick. It's so painful! "
Xia Yingying frowned her delicate eyebrows, and her little face wrinkled. She was in pain for that heifer. Ye Xiaotian's eyes widened. He looked at the two bulls that were mating, and then looked at Xia Yingying, who did not even blink and had a face full of righteous indignation. His cheeks twitched a few times.
Xiaowei and Xiao Lu quickly ran over and pulled Xia Yingying away with red faces, "Yingying, come quickly. I found a lot of mushrooms in the forest over there."
"I am not leaving. That big bull is so hateful. I want to see injustice …"
"Forget it, forget it. Don't meddle in the affairs between animals …"
"Hahahaha …"
Ye Xiaotian could not hold it in anymore. He hugged his stomach and laughed wildly. He felt that this little wife of his was quite cute. It seemed that he would not be lonely for the next twenty years.
At this time, in the Red Maple Lake's Xia Mansion, a burst of unrestrained and rough laughter sounded.
Master Xia put his hands on his waist and laughed majestically, "How is it? How is it? I said, with my precious granddaughter's fairy-like beauty, how can there not be a man who likes her? Unless that man is blind. In the past, you guys have been watching her too closely. Look, I only let her go out alone twice, and there are people fighting for her. If I let her go out two more times, there will be people who will light the beacon for her, hahahaha … "
Xia Tianyan, the great hero who successfully gave birth to a precious daughter for the Xia family and ended the Xia family's history of masculinity, complained, "Father, in the past, when Yingying went out, you were worried and had eight or ten people follow her. How did it become us watching her too closely? Also, the beacon teasing the feudal vassals, that is not a good metaphor. "
"Get out of here!"
Master Xia glared at him and gave his son a swift kick, "You're the only one who has studied! Don't show off in front of me! I want to go to Guiyang. I want to see, other than Ge Long, whose child has such good taste to fall in love with our Yingying. "
When Xia Tianyan heard this, he hurriedly advised, "Father, don't go, you're already so old …"
"Get out of here!"
Master Xia kicked his son's buttocks again, "My mother can even weave a net to catch fish. What's wrong with me going out? I must go. All of you, come with me. If everything goes smoothly, I will be able to bring home a grandson-in-law, hahahaha …"
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