C19 (2/2)
”Then, Brother Zhuge, is there anything wrong with what I said?” Seeing Zhuge Yan's expression, Lu Que's smile became even more radiant.
”Alright, at least you have your reasons. Since the logic belongs to you, the one feeling hungry right now is me, your brother. Since you invited me here, have you prepared some meat and wine pastries?” Clutching his stomach, Zhuge Yan unhappily rolled her eyes.
”But I don't have any meat and wine pastries.” Lu Que's eyes darted around as he replied, ”But I have the essence of the mountains and rivers, and I want to share it with brother.”
”The essence of nature? He was indeed the eldest son of the princess. To think that he would have such a great treasure. He was truly blessed today. Lu Que, take it out quickly. I'm starving to death. ” Joy was written all over Zhuge Yan's face as he urged her to hurry up.
Lu Que took out a few ball-shaped objects from his robes and threw them to Zhuge Yan. He wiped his hands on his clothes and took a bite out of them, nodding his head in satisfaction.
Zhuge Yan frantically grabbed the item thrown at him by Lu Que. As he focused his eyes, the smile on his face couldn't help but freeze. This is the Mountain Spirit? ” Seeing Lu Que's head, he could not help but reveal an expression of disbelief, ”This, I am not wrong, this should be a mountain and plum right? You said that this thing is a spirit of nature?”
”Isn't it? This tree was a tree that grew in the mountains, but these fruits were not eaten by animals. One could tell how lucky this tree was. Everyone has said that peaches are everywhere, and now that the period is over, Li Zheng, although these plums don't look too good, they can still be used as wood essence. ” Lu Que looked at the dazed Zhuge Yan with a mischievous expression.
”You ~ ~ I ~ I ~” Zhuge Yan opened his mouth wide for a long time, but he did not manage to utter a complete sentence. He knew that he had been eaten to death by this brat today, so he was unwilling to accept this outcome. He casually picked up a plum and put it into his mouth without even looking at it. Although the fruit was gone, the juice was still in its mouth and it spitted a few more times.
”What a good Lu Que! Pei, you actually gave me such a sour plum. Pei, this young master is so sour.” Zhuge Yan said while spitting out saliva. After a while, he felt that his teeth were aching. He could feel a wave of uneasiness just by touching his upper and lower teeth.
”Who told you to not look when you're eating? Drink two mouthfuls of water first.” Lu Que shook his head, looked up at the sky and said, ”It should be raining in the evening. We still need two hours to get back to the city. Let's go down now.”
”I'm not going, I'm hungry, I can't move.” Zhuge Yan drank a few mouthfuls of water and washed up a few times. Only then did she feel slightly better.
”Wait until we go to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to eat in the city. I've heard that a ship's sea cargo is coming to the capital.”
”Is that true?” Before Lu Que could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Zhuge Yan.
”What do you think?” He glanced at Zhuge Yan.
Seeing the clouds gathering in the sky, Lu Que said, ”Arrive at the Hundred Treasures Hall in two hours. I will treat you to dinner.”
”Then what are we waiting for?” ”Let's go, let's go.” Zhuge Yan hurriedly stood up, picking up the bow and dagger from the ground, and pulled Lu Que down the mountain.
”There are really a lot of students taking the Beijing college entrance exam this year.” After an hour, the two of them were on the way back to the city. Seeing the carriages filled with students, including ox-cart and donkey cart, Lu Que exclaimed in admiration.
”These are the students from the neighboring counties. They will be escorted into the capital by the relay stations. The students from the distant counties will have to wait for a few more days before they can arrive.” They will have a ship specially built to sail two, two, two, and four canals into the capital. ” Zhuge Yan seemed to have thought of something and her expression turned slightly ugly.
”What's the matter with you?” Feeling the heaviness in his good friend's heart, Lu Que felt a little strange. He really couldn't think of anything that could really affect Zhuge Yan's mood.
”Lu Que, do you know that today's Qian Yuan Great Examination is the one with the largest number of people since the founding of the Great Gan Nation?”
”I've heard my mother mention it before. But so what? With your talent, Brother Zhuge, you shouldn't have to worry.” Lu Que was baffled. No matter how many people there were, they wouldn't be able to affect Zhuge Yan. Not to mention his family background, even if he had the talent, he would still be able to handle the test.
”Sigh ~” Zhuge Yan let out a long sigh and fell silent. It wasn't that he was afraid of failing the examination, but that he was afraid of not being in the top twelve. He assisted the country's Duke of Zhuge's family, passing on his family's teachings through poetry. His grandfather was the prime minister of the dynasty, a great minister; his father was the commander-in-chief of the army and was in charge of the country. Right now, the might of the Zhuge family far surpassed that of the Duke of Wei, the Lu family. Many pairs of eyes were staring at the Zhuge family. Grandfather and Father didn't say anything about this year's test. However, Zhuge Yan knew that if he didn't obtain a good ranking in this exam, there would definitely be rumors circulating around the world to undermine the prestige of the Zhuge family. Entering the top 12 was the lowest standard he could set for himself, but even with that standard, he didn't have much confidence.
Today was the first time in a long journey that there were so many talented people in the Chanyang exam. The eight great dukedoms had thirty-six civil and military dukedoms, and each had a member of their family participating in this year's great exam. In addition to the various aristocratic families and Humble Classes, the heroes were like crucian carp that had crossed the river. Other people aside, the protector of the nation, Bai Fuguang of the Bai family, and the wise and resourceful man of the Ning Kingdom were all on par with him. Lu Que, who was standing by his side, was even more monstrous. There was also Le Miaomiao from the nine great families, Wu Jia's daughter, Wu Yunchang, Qu Xingran from the Qu family, and the Yan family's righteousness. Even Zhuge Yan, who had the title of a prodigal son, could feel the pressure that was as heavy as a mountain.
”Lu Que, you want to study in that school?” Thinking of this, Zhuge Yan looked at Lu Que, who was playing with the bamboo shoot as he walked.
”Me? The Phoenix's Cry Palace. ” Lu Que said indifferently.
”Why is it the Phoenix's Cry? Do you know that the Phoenix Cry School has the least number of spots in the Nine University Palace? ” Zhuge Yan was slightly surprised. He had always thought that a person with an indifferent disposition like Lu Que would be the most suitable for him in the Vault of Clouds.
”Because it's close to home.”
Hearing Lu Que's answer, Zhuge Yan was stunned for a moment before laughing out loud. This was exactly what he had told his grandfather before. The dark clouds that had filled his heart also disappeared because of Lu Que's words.