Chapter 196

It snowed at night. In the morning, the ground was covered with ice and slippery.

Gu Jiao had already made preparations to spread the sand that she had collected a few days ago on the ground of the corridor and yard.

She opened the door of the courtyard and wanted to spread the hutongs. Then she saw that they were all paved. There was coal ash and straw mat.

Gu Jiao is thinking about what's going on. A neighborhood not far away opens the door of the courtyard. She leans out a head and says with a smile, "LIULANG is going to take an exam, isn't he?"

"Aunt Lu." Gu Jiao said hello. This is one of the old lady's card friends. She has been to her home several times.

Gu Jiao understood that the roads were paved by the neighbors, and the materials used by each family were different, so they were colorful.

She always thought that their family was isolated, but the old lady didn't know when she had integrated them into this alley.

Gu Jiao said thanks.

After that, several neighborhoods opened their doors and said good luck to Xiao LIULANG high school.

Gu Jiao thanks one by one.

Her gratitude comes from her heart. They are not Xiao LIULANG's family and have no obligation to do so for Xiao LIULANG.

Their kindness is not their duty, but their affection.

Of course, my aunt also contributed.

My aunt didn't get along well with them. She told them that LIULANG in the family wanted to take an examination. They were afraid that they didn't even know there was such a person in the alley.

Each family also hung lanterns under the corridor to shine brightly in the Hutong, which is generally only for the new year.

Gu Jiao bent her lips.

She likes Beijing.

Xiao LIULANG also got up, and they had a simple breakfast.

Knowing that they would get up early and go out, they let Xiao Jingkong sleep in the old lady's house last night.

The carriage had been waiting in the alley for a long time, but it was not the carriage of the old wine worshiper. It belonged to Xuanping Marquis's house.

Manager Liu saluted Xiao LIULANG and Gu Jiao, and said with a smile, "young master, young lady, get on the bus."

Not far away, Liu Quan was wrongly standing next to another carriage. He came a step late and was robbed by the grandson!

Liu is the same surname, but they are not related.

The iron hooves and wheels of Xuanping Marquis's mansion are skid proof according to the specifications of the war. They can attack in ice and snow. Naturally, this kind of road condition is no exception.

Xiao did not refuse.

He first let the carriage go to Lin Chengye's house, met Lin Chengye and Feng Lin, and then went all the way to Gongyuan.

I don't know how many cars and horses skidded on the road. The coach of Xuanping Marquis's house arrived at the destination without any influence.

They were the first to arrive, and the rest of the candidates were delayed by the traffic.

Gu Jiao put down the curtain and said, "fortunately, today is just admission."

Xiao LIULANG nodded.

Gu Jiao checked it before going out, and now she took out his baggage to check it for the second time.

Xiao LIULANG is going to spend three days and two nights in it. She is not allowed to bring silver charcoal and handstove. Gu Jiao has to think about her clothes and food.

Gu Jiao prepared a jar of dry pepper for the three people. If it was really cold, she would chew some dry pepper. After all, the number room was so small that she couldn't get up and run.

In winter, you don't have to prevent mosquitoes, but you have to prevent the wind and cold. Gu Jiao also gave the three people cold medicine, which won't doze off.

And frostbite cream.

The seat number of the examination is not allocated according to the score, it is a draw on the spot.

When they saw it, they went down to draw a lot.

The Gongyuan in the capital is much larger than that in the local area. There are four examination rooms in total, and three of them have won the three examination rooms. This is also no one's luck.

Xiao LIULANG is in No.5 examination shed of east examination hall.

The size of the test shed is the same as that of the place, but the walls are cleaner. There are still two boards in the test shed, one as a table and the other as a bench. When sleeping, the two boards form a bed.

The bedding was provided by the Gongyuan.

After all, it's not good to freeze candidates in cold weather.

The examination was supervised by the Ministry of rites, and the Hanlin academy produced and graded the papers.

As early as yesterday, the examiners of Hanlin Academy had already entered the inner hall of Gongyuan. Just like the local examination, they could not leave the inner hall until all the examination papers were reviewed.

It wasn't long before Xiao LIULANG and his three men entered the Academy. After a while, the rest of the candidates showed up. Du Ruohan was not slow either. He was the twentieth.

Gu Jiao also gave him a small medicine bag.

Du Ruohan politely thanks, but in fact, he doesn't take it seriously. Are you kidding me? He's in such good health. How can he get sick?

After giving the medicine to Du Ruohan, Gu Jiao doesn't have to stay any longer.

"Let's go." Gu Jiao said.

"Where is the young lady going?" Liu asked from the outside seat

"The hospital." Gu Jiao said.

More than half a month later, Gu Chenglin has not been discharged from the hospital. Gu Jiao plans to drive him away!

Steward Liu's attitude towards Gu Jiao has changed greatly. Gu Jiao didn't ask why, but it's easy to guess from Xiao LIULANG's attitude that he has met Xuanping marquis.

And xuanpinghou's attitude to him is not too slight, otherwise Liu Guanshi will not change face so quickly.

At this time, we were not in a hurry, and the carriage drove slowly in the street.

Gu Jiao curiously enjoyed the scenery along the way.

She hasn't been in this area. It's strange.

She was looking at it vigorously when steward Liu suddenly said with a smile, "young lady, how did you and the young master get to know each other?"

Gu Jiao said: "you Xuanping Marquis's house is so powerful, can't you check by yourself?"

Yes, of course. I want to check with you?

Steward Liu has already figured out the reason why the Marquis of his own family is so impolite. Xiao LIULANG, the illegitimate son, looks very much like the dead marquis.

The age is basically right, that is, the birthday of the young marquis is in the twelfth month, and Xiao LIULANG's is in the first month.

In fact, the interval should have been longer, but the young Marquis gave birth to a month prematurely.

He said to the Marquis, "it's all your flesh and blood, brother. It's not strange to look like that! Is it possible that the dead Marquis has survived? "

The Marquis of his own family obviously understood this, but he still wanted to inquire.

Liu said with a smile, "young lady, when you see the young master, is there a mole under the young master's right eye?"

"No Gu Jiao said.

Liu Guanshi said: "don't answer so fast. Think about it carefully."

Gu Jiao said: "I see him a hundred and eighty times a day. Do I still need to think about whether there are moles on his face?"

Liu Guanshi was speechless.

Liu is in charge of affairs. He not only underestimates the young master, but also underestimates the young lady. He doesn't have the poverty of a poor child. He's not easy to handle and fool.

It's really not a family, not a family.

The carriage was driving on the streets of the southeast district. Because of the examination, several main streets were closed, and only the examinees were allowed to pass with the test guide. The road they came on was no longer the same.

They changed streets.

The shops on this street are very novel, giving people a sense of red and green.

"What's that?" Gu Jiao asked, pointing to a loft on her left.

Liu Guanshi said: "does the young lady talk about Cuixiang building? That's the brothel. "

Is this the ancient brothel?

I haven't seen her for such a long time. Gu Jiao opened the curtain slightly and looked at the brothel curiously.

Steward Liu looked back and saw her excited little face, frowning slightly.

Girls, shouldn't you avoid the brothel when you hear it? Why do you still like it? Without blinking?

"What building is that?" Gu Jiao pointed to the shop of another double story building and asked.

Liu Guanshi said: "cloud music hall? It's theater. "

"The audience?" Gu Jiao asked.

Liu Guanshi pause, explained: "men listen to drama."

Gu Jiao: "Oh."

The area of Guozijian is a key school district of Zhaoguo. It's not allowed to be a place where people can get drunk, let alone brothels and theatres. Gu Jiao has never seen a gambling shop or martial arts school.

"Is that a gambling house?" Gu Jiao pointed to a shop with big gambling words hanging in front of her and asked.

Liu Guanshi: "yes, young lady."

"What about that?"

"Gambling house, too."

"Why didn't you write gambling?"

"It's a high status gambling house."

"And this one?"

"Auction house."

Gu Jiao asked about many places, such as brothels, martial arts schools and gambling houses. Her eyes were bright and green.

Steward Liu: are you really good, young lady? Looking back, the Marquis asked, but I really didn't bring it bad.

After crossing the street, the shop became more and more serious. Gu Jiao was not interested enough. She yawned and put down the curtain.

Liu Guanshi, who carefully selected the most noble street in the capital for Gu Jiao and planned to be introduced by a tour guide, said: "I'm not sure."

At the end of the street, Gu Jiao's attention was attracted by shouts and quarrels. Gu Jiao opened a gap in the curtain and looked at the shop on the street: "where is this?"

"This is Qingfeng building." Liu said.

Gu Jiao's head poked out: "it seems very lively. What are they doing?"

Liu steward helplessly closed his eyes: "the next test bet."

Young lady, can you not always be attracted by these indistinct things?

"What's the test note?" Gu Jiao asked.

"Place." Liu said.

There are a lot of such gambling in Beijing, but the most sensational one is Chunwei, which is once every three years. All the major gambling houses in Beijing will start to let everyone to bet. There are many kinds of things blocked. The most popular ones are Huiyuan and the number one, followed by Tanhua, Bangyan, the top ten of the meeting and the top ten of the palace examination.

The higher the ranking, the more expensive the minimum bet.

For example, in the top ten of the imperial examinations, the minimum is ten Wen per note, while in the top ten of the imperial examinations, the minimum is 100 Wen per note.

It's not that the more expensive you are, the more you will lose. It mainly depends on the number of people who bet. If all the people are next, then the odds of this person is very low.

The most popular person this year is the prince of an County. From Huiyuan to the number one scholar, they all buy him.

In contrast, the competition for the top spot and flower exploration is fierce. Gu Jiao even saw Du Ruohan's name on the bet list.

Gu Jiao sweeps down from the beginning to the end, not to mention the top ten in the palace examination. She doesn't even see Xiao LIULANG's name in the top ten.

What happened?

Is her husband not even in the top ten?

"Young lady..." steward Liu followed Gu Jiao, looking worried.

Although all the major gambling houses in the capital have set up gambling, qingfenglou is particularly different. It is actually an elegant place, where you can drink tea, taste wine, enjoy delicious food, and even hear storytelling and singing songs. It gathers the top celebrities in the capital.

Although my young wife is the daughter of Hou family, she grew up in the countryside. I'm afraid

To put it bluntly, steward Liu is worried that Gu Jiao will not be able to appear on the stage, and he is not afraid of losing the face of Xuanping marquis. Anyway, marquis has no face and no skin, but her loss of face has aroused the ridicule of others, and it's her own pain.

Gu Jiao went out in a hurry and didn't bring any silver with her. She turned her head and looked at Liu Guanshi: "have you brought any silver?"

Liu Guanshi was stunned.

Gu Jiao stretched out her hand and made a gesture to pay for him.

Steward Liu didn't bring too much, just some broken silver, plus the coachman's, a total of only ten Liang.

Gu Jiao walks into Qingfeng building.

The second child came forward and asked politely, "girl, do you want to bet or drink tea?"

"I bet." Gu Jiao said.

To be honest, Gu Jiao's clothes are not luxurious, but every year at this time, many civilians come to bet, and there are still many.

Gu Jiao compared with those people, that is, a red spot on her face.

He warmly leads Gu Jiao to the table and asks her, "do you want to go to the master?"

All those who take part in the examination are Juren who have a reputation. It's not too much to call one Juren master.

Gu Jiao said, "the people I want to get off are not on your list."

"Which bet are you going to make?" Xiaoer said with a smile.

Gu Jiao said: "Huiyuan and number one."

"Oh, isn't it up here? Look Xiao Er pointed to the list hanging in the center of the lobby. Huiyuan and Zhuangyuan wrote the name of Prince an in turn. Of course, they also wrote the names of several other candidates. Obviously, those candidates were for Prince an as a foil. Few people bought them, and they were all nurseries.

Gu Jiao: "there are no candidates I want to bet on."

Sophomore: "then... Who does the girl want to bet?"

Gu Jiao: "Xiao LIULANG, the Imperial College."

Sophomore said he had never heard of it.

Xiao LIULANG is still well-known in the Imperial College. After all, there are not many freshmen going to the straightforward hall. This year, there are only two. One is Prince an, and the other is Xiao LIULANG. And Xiao LIULANG almost ranked first in the subsequent examination, but also had a conflict with Zheng Siye.

It's just that all these things happened inside the Guozijian. Who knows him when it comes to Guozijian?

I don't know how many aristocrats and noble families are in the capital. There are many talented people who are famous. They may not be as good as Princess an, but they can't be compared by a poor boy from the countryside.

"I'm just going to bet on him. I'll go to another house without me." Gu Jiao said, really turned and left.

It's a business that can't make a loss. It's not on the list. It means that the man is bad!

Xiao Er won't miss the deal. He called Gu Jiao and said with a smile, "girl, don't go. I'll help you write down your name! How much would you like to order? The lowest note in the top ten is.... "

"Huiyuan, number one, big three." Gu Jiao said.

Small two muddled: "you, you three note all under that person?"

"Well." Gu Jiao nodded seriously.

Second child looked at her like a fool: "OK, OK!"

I really don't know where the little fool comes from. This kind of note will definitely float.

Small two way: "meeting yuan one or two silver one note, champion five Liang silver one note, how much do you want down?"

Gu Jiao said: "all under."

Gu Jiao made five bets on Huiyuan and one on number one, just twelve, all of which were Xiao LIULANG's names.

So far, Xiao LIULANG's name finally appeared on the bet list.

Manager Liu shook his head.

Ten taels of silver, his ten taels of silver, were wasted.

I don't know where the young lady's self-confidence comes from. She thinks that the young master can beat many talents in the capital to become the first, even if she is in the top ten.

Huiyuan? Number one?

How dare you think!

Steward Liu followed up and asked Gu Jiao in a low voice, "young lady, can we go now?"

Gu Jiao pause, suddenly looked at the opposite side, with translucent screen to block the list, said: "what is that list?"

"That..." manager Liu frowned.

The second child stepped forward smartly and said with a smile: "that's the zanhuabang! You can bet, too! "

"What is zanhuabang?" Gu Jiao asked.

The second child said: "Zanhua list is the list of girls. It's the last list to be announced. Candidates of Gongshi in senior high school will take part in the palace examination personally presided over by your Majesty in April. Those who do well in the palace examination will be selected by your majesty as the first-class Jinshi, that is, the number one scholar, the number one scholar and the number one flower explorer. These three people can visit the streets with hairpins. Their flowers can be given away to others. Now everyone is betting on who can get the flowers of the first class Jinshi. "

"Only one?" Gu Jiao blinked and asked.

Small two corners of the mouth a smoke, what mean can only get one? Do you know how rare a flower is?

This flower is a gift from your majesty. It's of great significance. The general number one scholar, ranking scholar and Tanhua are not willing to send it out!

The girls plundered, but they had robbed them. However, it was too shameful for the imperial court, so the Imperial Court banned the plundering of flowers.

There are only two ways to get the hairpin flower of the first class Jinshi: one is that the other party is willing to send it, the other is to challenge the other party. The other party can fight or refuse. If the other party loses, the hairpin flower must be sent.

The second child sighed: "girl, do you think how talented people are those who can get into the first grade? Who can challenge them? Don't say it's a challenge to their martial arts. They can't challenge what they are not good at! So, unless they are willing to send them, or they are as smart as the princess. "

Referring to the princess, the second child couldn't help saying something: "girl, don't tell me, someone really got two hairpins."

Gu Jiao light way: "that Prince concubine?"

"That's right, that's her! She challenged two first-class Jinshi in succession and won in the end! Your majesty said that she had wronged her daughter. Otherwise, what's the matter with the men? "

Gu Jiao is not interested in the princess. She is only curious about who is on the hairpin list.

Little two led her to see.

There are many names of famous ladies on the Zanhua list. Of course, they are not real names. For example, the daughter of Luo state government is Miss Luo San.

The most popular people on the list are Miss Gu and miss Zhuang er.

You don't have to guess that they are Gu Jinyu and Zhuang Yuexi.

Zhuang Yuexi is the elder sister of the king of an County. The king of an county is sure to be the number one scholar in high school. He is likely to give the hairpin to his younger sister.

As for why not give it to Zhuang Mengdie, Zhuang Yuexi is a talented woman and Zhuang Mengdie is a straw bag. Of course, people prefer the former.

Rao is so. Zhuang Mengdie is still on the Zanhua list. It says that Miss Zhuang Wu bought it herself. It's just a shame.

Next to Gu Jinyu and Zhuang Yuexi are Miss Luo San, Miss Thursday and Taoist Miaoyin

Er... Why are even Taoist nuns on the list?

Gu Jiao saw a few familiar surnames on the list, which seemed to be the gold of female education.

"Girl, do you want to bet on zanhuabang? You can't be wrong to follow everybody. " Xiao Er refers to Gu Jinyu and Zhuang Yuexi, both of whom are likely to get hairpin flowers.

Gu Jiao is not interested in this.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, a woman's bantering voice came from the corridor on the second floor: "come on, I'll bet!"

It's Zhuang Mengdie.

Gu Jiao raised her eyes and looked around.

From her point of view, we can see Zhuang Mengdie coming from a room with Zhuang Yuexi's arm in her arm. Both of them are wearing veils. We can't see her from their point of view.

The shopkeeper went upstairs in person and arched his hand at them: "who would you like to bet on, Miss Zhuang?"

Zhuang Mengdie said with a smile: "the note from Miss Gu! Five

The shopkeeper said in a warm voice, "how much do you want? I'll write it down for you."

Zhuang Mengdie laughs sarcastically: "wait a minute, what I want is not Miss Gu who is already on the list."

"Ah?" The shopkeeper was stunned.

Zhuang Mengdie looked at the opposite wing: "it's Miss Gu of Marquis's residence in Ding'an! I'm afraid you don't know yet. Miss Gu on the list is not the daughter of Hou family at all. She's just a peasant girl in the countryside! The real Miss Gu has someone else! You have such a big disk in Qingfeng building. As a result, you don't even know the truth of people! I'm so sorry for your qingfenglou! "

She reproached qingfenglou on her lips. Who can't tell that she was insinuating Gu Jinyu?

Gu Jinyu also came to the gambling scene today. She just wanted to see how popular she was and who expected to meet Zhuang Mengdie!

There are many people in qingfenglou. Once the news is released, the whole capital will soon know!

Gu Jinyu's face was livid.

Zhuang Mengdie is in a good mood and leaves with a coin.

That's right. One coin and one note on the zanhuabang.

Zhuang Mengdie made only one bet.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Gu Jiao's name appeared alone in the last of the Zanhua list.