Liu Qiaoer stepped back again and refused: "Really, no need, it's not a big deal, I don't have much to lose."
Lu Yunzheng grabbed Liu Qiaoer's chin, preventing her from retreating any further and forcing her to look directly at him.
"But you have seen me naked a long time ago. I have suffered losses, and you should be responsible for me."
Even though Lu Yunzheng was drawn ugly, his eyes like lake water could still make people want to drown in them.
Liu Qiaoer supported her body with one hand and pushed Lu Yunzheng away with the other. She could not even feel her own heartbeat.
"Stay away from me, I don't have enough air and I can't breathe."
Lu Yunzheng's chest felt like it was burning in a wildfire. Some emotion was like a gust of wind that fueled the fire so vigorously that he couldn't control himself.
At this moment, he had no way to think about anything. His mind was filled with only one thought: he wanted to taste the rouge on her lips, whether it tasted fragrant or sweet.
With a "bang", Liu Qiaoer couldn't hold on any longer and fell on the carriage, while Lu Yunzheng also lay on top of her, soft and emitting a faint fragrance.
His mouth touched her chin, and the stinging pain instantly woke him up.
He climbed down from the carriage in a hurry, feeling his head in a mess.
"You, are you okay?"
Liu Qiaoer was also a little confused. She swallowed hard and adjusted her breathing quickly.
"I'm fine, thank... thank you... You, you go to sleep, I, I'll sleep in the carriage tonight..."
The carriage was outside the temple. How could he let her sleep here alone? It was not safe.
But at this time Lu Yunzheng didn't know what was going on, so he wanted to escape. He quickly came to the temple and instructed Qi Ze.
"Qiao'er is not feeling well and wants to sleep in the carriage. You go and take care of her. Don't worry about this place."
"Okay," Qi Ze agreed readily.
But just as Qi Ze got up, Lu Yunzheng stopped him again: "Forget it, I'll go. It's not convenient for you to go."
Qi Ze had a question in his mind: "I'm just guarding outside and not going in. Why is it inconvenient?"
Lu Yunzheng hesitated for a moment, frowning, "I'll go."
After saying that, Lu Yunzheng turned around and came to the front of the carriage again. He saw him sitting on the shaft, leaning against the carriage, with his long legs placed on the frame, his arms folded, and his eyes closed.
Liu Qiaoer had been sitting in the carriage and lay down in a comfortable position. When she saw Lu Yunzheng coming back, she was also full of doubts.
Among them, only Gu Mubai had a clear mind. Looking at Lu Yunzheng's conflicted and childish expression, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Your young master has just fallen in love."
"Ah?" Qi Ze was even more confused.
Gu Mubai's clear eyes swept across Xia Ying's face, and her originally pale face became even paler.
"Forget it, I'll go and enlighten this young master of yours who is slow to realize things."
Even though Lu Yunzheng is already engaged, he is still very passive when it comes to love.
He is so good-looking that he has been pursued by a group of girls since he was a child, which is also a very annoying thing.
Now, it seems that he has found someone who makes his heart move, but he cannot realize that this is love.
Gu Mubai was having a wedding, and the water bag was filled with wine instead of water. He held it in his hand and walked towards Lu Yunzheng with a smile on his face.
Lu Yunzheng looked at his half-smile and frowned even more tightly.
"What are you laughing at? You look so sexy. Could it be that Xia Ying has agreed to marry you?"
Gu Mubai smiled softly, stepped forward and hugged Lu Yunzheng's neck: "I'm laughing because you finally have someone you like."
Lu Yunzheng looked like he was caught, and he swallowed nervously and pulled Gu Mubai's hand away.
"It's hot." His red ears revealed his shyness, but he was not willing to admit it.
Gu Mubai glanced at his face and said, "If you ask me, don't push yourself too hard. Go to Beijing when you should, and be moved when you should. It's not your fault that you like her. You just can't help it."
The thoughts of ancient men were not as open as modern people think, and their gentlemanly behavior was also very restrained.
Take Lu Yunzheng for example. When he was young, he had to study and take the imperial examinations. Marriage was decided by his parents and the matchmaker, so he did not allow himself to like others casually.
Although everyone had rumored that he and Yue Nishang were close friends, Lu Yunzheng's admiration for Yue Nishang was more pity than love, and given his status at the time, it was impossible for him to marry her.
He would not do anything that was impossible, and he was very respectful to Yue Nishang.
Later, when he got engaged to Su Xueying, he also abided by the etiquette and they respected each other in their relationship. They even stopped seeing each other after they got engaged.
According to ancient rules, men and women cannot have private relations after engagement.
Later, he knew Su Xueying's character and decisively broke off the engagement. Until then, he had never said in his heart that he really liked anyone.
With the exception of Liu Qiaoer, from the moment he was rescued to the time they spent day and night together, his emotions were almost out of his control.
Until the idea suddenly popped up in his mind just now, his rash action not only surprised Liu Qiaoer, but also made himself feel incredible.
I fled in a hurry, but now I have calmed down and thought about it carefully.
Lu Yunzheng was suddenly enlightened, that is, he liked it.
"Love comes from nowhere, but it grows deeper and deeper."
Lu Yunzheng snatched the wine jug from Gu Mubai's hand and took a big gulp, choking him and causing him to cough violently several times.
"I know, but I... forget it, let's go to bed. We have to travel tomorrow."
Even if he likes her, what can he do? In his current state, he can't make any promises to anyone.
Rather than having no results, it is better to never start.
Everyone was sleepless and a little tired after traveling for days. In the afternoon, the group finally arrived at the gate of Yuzhou City.
The spring imperial examination for juren is held every two years.
Although there was corruption both inside and outside the imperial court, the imperial examination system was still being implemented in various places.
The person who presided over the imperial examination in Yuzhou City was their prefect Wang Boyan, Lord Wang.
"Many people came to take the Juren exam this year."
Liu Qiaoer was tired, so she got on the carriage. Lu Yunzheng followed beside her on horseback, watching the people coming and going, many of whom were scholars.
"There were quite a few in previous years, but there are fewer and fewer disciples from poor families in the past two years."
"Why?" Liu Qiaoer asked puzzledly.
Lu Yunzheng's eyes were indifferent, with a cold smile on his lips.
"It's because those officials are too greedy. In the past, officials served the people and wanted to be good officials. Now, those officials only care about their own enjoyment. None of them is willing to consider the people."
"Ten years as a prefect, a million silver coins, that's what those officials think."
Liu Qiaoer understood that the court had become so corrupt due to greed, power, collusion between officials and businessmen, and foul smells. However, the emperor seemed to be blind to it and was only worried that his throne would be taken away by his sons.
But they don't care about how the ordinary people below live.
In the past, common people could achieve advancement from humble origins to the nobility through the imperial examinations, but now the imperial examinations have become a trick played by the nobility and aristocrats.
In addition to being selected from among the successful candidates in the imperial examinations, the vast majority of court officials were recommended from aristocratic families and the children of nobles.
The children of aristocratic families and nobles were recommended to become officials as soon as they reached a certain age. There was no place for children from poor families. The only way to enter the officialdom through the imperial examination was also occupied by corrupt officials. There was really no place for children from poor families.
This is also the reason why Gu Mubai failed the imperial examination twice in a row. It was not because he was not well-educated, but because he had no family background and no one to rely on.