On the ninth day of February, when Gu Hai walked out of his house, there were still a few cold stars hanging in the sky, and everything around him was gray.
"This is food, this is clothes..." Ms. Cao and Gu Shiba Niang followed behind carrying baskets. As they walked, the mother and daughter looked through them, fearing that they might miss something important.
The sound of carriages passing by could be heard in the alley of the Gu family. There were lights in the alley, illuminating the earth with light.
"...Mom, why did you put a pair of shoes in there?" Gu Shiba Niang asked.
"...There are so many people...Every time, someone's shoes are squeezed out..." Ms. Cao smiled, "Your father took the exam three times and was pushed out three times. Later, he told me that when Brother Hai takes the exam in the future, Must have that spare pair…”
Speaking of their father, mother and son were silent for a moment.
"Mom, don't worry, I won't let dad down." Gu Hai turned around and put his arm around Cao's shoulders.
Cao's eyes were filled with tears and she nodded without speaking.
Walking out of the alley, you can see that the street is also brightly lit, and there are long lines of cars, horses and people on foot.
The patriarch Gu Changchun led the elders of the family to stand at the street corner, offering incense and toasting, and praying for the candidates of the Gu family.
Gu Hai stood at the end, and next to him was Gu Long, who was just taking a nap while chewing snacks. Because there were so many people and the street was so busy, he couldn't hear what Gu Changchun said excitedly in front of him.
"...It's so annoying. If you don't leave, you'll be late entering the examination room." Someone complained impatiently.
When he saw Gu Hai, he greeted him respectfully.
"Brother, I will definitely go to high school this time," he said.
Gu Hai returned the favor with a smile, saying that he didn't dare, and that everyone would make progress together.
Gu Changchun finally finished speaking, picked up the wine, spilled the first and second cups on the ground, and handed the third cup to Gu Yu, who was standing in the front.
Gu Yu was wearing a plain silver wind-fur straight cotton robe. Because it was windy at night, he was also covered with a wide cloak of the same color. Under the light of torches and lanterns, his whole person looked like he was made of ice and snow, so crystal clear that it was difficult to look directly at him.
He took the wine glass and first bowed respectfully to the elders of the clan before facing everyone.
"Go to the saints and carry on the unique teachings to create peace for all generations." He said loudly, raised his wine glass and drank it down in one gulp.
Gu Changchun looked excited and looked at him as if he had seen the leader's announcement message delivered to the Gu family ancestral hall.
"Bah." Gu Long spat, turned to look at Gu Hai who was smiling and said hurriedly, "Mu Mu, you will definitely pass the exam, you will be the first."
Gu Hai smiled and said I wish you good luck. The team began to move and everyone went to find their carriages.
"Brother..." Gu Shiba Niang supported Cao and stood by the roadside, waving to him.
Gu Hai waved to them from a distance, looked at the carriage squeezed in the middle, simply picked up the test basket from the top and strode away.
"Why don't you take a car?" Ms. Cao was a little anxious. She was far away and couldn't hear what Gu Hai said.
Gu Shiba Niang stood on tiptoe and looked at the dense crowd of people on the street. She smiled and said, "Maybe we can walk faster."
"But, after all, it's still far away, and it's cold at night...it will take two days to take the exam..." Ms. Cao looked worried as she watched Gu Hai blending into the queue of various vehicles.
"Senior brother."
Someone called him from behind. Gu Hai turned around and saw Gu Yu slowly following him, with a boy behind him carrying a test basket.
"Take this opportunity to compete with my senior fellow students," he said with a smile on his face.
Gu Hai smiled, cupped his hands and said, "Okay, let's teach each other."
Gu Changchun and others standing aside had their eyes fixed on Gu Yu. Until then, they saw Gu Hai following his line of sight and couldn't help but be stunned.
"Who is that child?" Gu Changchun asked an old man beside him.
The old man squinted his eyes for a long time.
"It seems to be Gu Leyun's son..." he said, still a little uncertain.
"That's him." Another old man said with a smile in his voice, "I heard that he is very knowledgeable and the old master from Zhoushan values him very much."
"Him?" Gu Changchun was obviously surprised and looked at Gu Hai again.
Gu Yu and he were both on foot, weaving in and out of the traffic.
"Him?" Gu Changchun looked away and chuckled, "Thank God for being half as smart as his father..."
Doesn’t he still know the knowledge of their father and son
"You should look at each other with admiration after three days of separation." Someone laughed behind him.
Gu Changchun turned around and saw that it was his fifth uncle, Mr. Gu Wu.
Mr. Gu Wu looked at the team going for the exam with a meaningful smile on his face.
"Tomorrow will be a good day..." He raised his head, twirling his sparse beard, and looked at the blue night sky. There was already a faint light in the east.
When it was daylight, the old, weak, women and children standing on the street seeing off their students had not yet dispersed.
"Mom, let's go back." Gu Shiba Niang supported Ms. Cao, "I've been standing here for half the night..."
Only then did Mrs. Cao feel that her legs were a little sore. She nodded, looked at the street that was now clear again, and the mother and daughter turned back.
Because the exam lasted two days, Gu Shiba Niang did not go to the pharmacy these two days and stayed at home with Cao.
Two days later, there was another peak of traffic and people on the street. Finding Gu Hai in the dense crowd had to rely on Peng Yizhen, a stout man.
"Brother Hai, Brother Hai." He waved and shouted, pushing aside the crowd and pulling the troubled-looking Gu Hai over.
As soon as she saw her son's face, Ms. Cao burst into tears.
"My son..."
Gu Hai cheered up and smiled at everyone.
Peng Yizhen checked his pulse smoothly and said with a smile: "It's okay, it's okay. I feel sleepy. Just take a nap and you'll be fine."
"Master, how did you do in the exam?" Lingbao asked with concern and curiosity.
Lingyuan showed the abruptness of her question and pulled her back.
"It's okay, it's okay." Gu Hai smiled kindly at her, "The egg pancakes made by Lingbao are delicious, thank you."
Lingbao didn't expect that he would go out of his way to praise himself for this, and his eyes were so happy that he smiled.
"Let's talk when we go home, let's talk when we go home." Gu Shiba Niang said with a smile, and asked everyone to get in the car, and those who were riding horses, and the group went off in a lively manner.
Gu Hai slept for a day, and when he got up he was back to normal, reading and writing, and waiting with peace of mind for the announcement of the results.
During this period, various gossips were circulating. Some said that someone Mo's article was praised by the examiner, and some even said that someone had been convicted...
Of course, Lingbao heard all this and told Gu Shiba Niang when she was making medicine.
Gu Shiba Niang just smiled after hearing this.
"The person in charge of the case is definitely not the student Zhou you mentioned..." She raised her head and said calmly.
"Why?" Lingbao spread the washed herbs on the dustpan and was curious about Gu Shiba Niang's determined tone, "People say that Mr. Zhou is the most talented person in Jiankang..."
Gu Shiba Niang did not answer, but stopped her hand and looked at Bai Zhu in front of her in deep thought.
No reason, because the person in charge of the case in fate is Gu Yu, but I don’t know if fate will change...
To be honest, she was restless in her heart. She wanted to know immediately who was the culprit, but she also hoped she would never know.
For her, who is the first in the case determines whether her fate will change.
If the head of the case is still Gu Yu, does that mean that everything that is destined will still happen, but it will just happen sooner or later.
My mother will die, my brother will die...
Gu Shiba Niang closed her eyes and felt a huge boulder pressing on her chest.
Since the medicine was still not available, Gu Shiba Niang only came to the medicine shop to practice her skills and went back after noon.
Taking advantage of the excitement on the opening day, the pharmacy's business was still good. When Gu Shiba Niang walked out, she saw four or five people waiting for Peng Yizhen to see a doctor.
"Lingbao, come and grab the medicine." Lingyuan saw her passing by and hurriedly called to Lingbao, who was pouring water for the people waiting for treatment, and followed him out.
After leaving the door, I saw Gu Shiba Niang standing motionless at the door, her small and thin body standing there, her porcelain-white complexion seemed to be broken at any moment.
Even when she was smiling, there was sadness in her eyes. Lingyuan watched her take a few steps closer, but found that she didn't know what to say, so he stopped.
Gu Shiba Niang had already noticed the person approaching and looked back.
"Lingyuan, you're here just in time. Let's go to my father-in-law's place outside the city to see if he's back," she said.
"Okay." Lingyuan replied immediately, turned around and prepared the car.
The carriage stopped outside the thatched hut. Due to a winter of wind and snow, the thatched hut almost collapsed and was no longer habitable.
Lingyuan stood behind Gu Shiba Niang, hesitated for a long time, then stretched out his hand to put the cloak on her.
"Thank you." Gu Shiba Niang came back to her senses, raised her head and smiled at him, then stretched out her hand to tie the belt.
Lingyuan lowered his eyes and said nothing, stepped back a few steps, and saw her standing in front of the hut deep in thought, not daring to disturb her.
Among the black soil shrubs beside the road, there were faint green branches, thin and soft, unlike those dry and stiff in winter. Lingyuan reached out and pulled a few branches, folded them in his hand, and slowly turned into an ant. Grasshopper.
"What are you doing?" Gu Shiba Niang's voice came from above her head.
Lingyuan raised his head and realized that she was already standing in front of him without realizing it, looking at the branch in his hand with interest.
"You're just playing around..." Lingyuan stood up and wanted to throw it away.
"Let me take a look." Gu Shiba Niang took it and held it in her hand for inspection, with a slight smile on her lips, "Is it a little rabbit?"
Lingyuan nodded.
"Lingyuan's hands are so skillful." Gu Shiba Niang looked at him with a smile.
Lingyuan turned his head uncomfortably.
"What else will you do?" Gu Shiba Niang asked.
In the late winter afternoon, the lazy sunlight shone lazily on the wild landscape. It didn't take long for Gu Shiba Niang's hands to be filled with all kinds of dogs, cats and rabbits outlined by branches...
"Is this still a rabbit?" Gu Shiba Niang looked at the one in Lingyuan's hand and smiled.
A smile appeared on Lingyuan's lips, "It's a fox...how can a rabbit have such a long tail..."
"But these ears don't look like that." Gu Shiba Niang said seriously.
Lingyuan also looked at it and nodded, with a bit of regret, "The branches are still too hard, so the result will not look good. Wait until summer when the dog's tail grass grows, and the result will look good..."
"This is also very beautiful." Gu Shiba Niang sighed, looking at what she was carrying in her hands, "Who did you learn this from?"
"I just figured it out myself..." Lingyuan said, "When I first escaped, my younger sister was always crying, so I did this to coax her to play..."
"Lingbao is so happy..." Gu Shiba Niang smiled.
There was a smile on her face, but her voice was a little sad, as if she was remembering something unhappy.
Lingbao is so happy….
She was so lucky. She met herself, and with just a little effort, she avoided losing her brother, and didn't have to taste the feeling of losing a loved one.
That kind of feeling, even now that your loved ones are still there, still wakes you up every night, and when you wake up, you feel heartbreaking pain.
"If you like it, I'll do it for you too." Lingyuan couldn't help but said.
Gu Shiba Niang smiled at him, raised the braid in her hand and looked around, the smile on her face finally spread to her eyes.
"Okay," she said.
When the results were released, Gu Shiba Niang didn't go to see them in person. She was panicked and felt that she had nowhere to hide. She finally sat in the pharmacy in the backyard, as if she could escape the unpredictable fate.
"Eighteen Mother..."
"Miss…"
"Master..."
"lady.."
When Peng Yizhen and Lingbao's voices broke through the door, Gu Shiba's face was pale, her body was tense, and her hands were flat on her knees.
The door was pushed open violently, and daylight poured in.
"Sister..." Gu Hai looked at her with a smile on his lips, "Gu Yu came second in the exam."
His hand grasped the door knocker, his knuckles white and trembling slightly.
"He's not number one... He's not number one..." he said softly.
He is not number one, his destiny has changed.
Gu Shiba Niang felt tears welling up in her eyes. Finally, she could see a glimmer of hope. She stood up and wiped away her tears with some excitement.
"Isn't it very authentic for us to do this..." she laughed, "We are so happy when someone didn't do well in the exam..."
"We are not targeting him..." Gu Hai said with a smile, looking at his sister whose eyes finally brightened up, he joked, "Sister, don't you care who the culprit is?"
No matter who it is, as long as it is not Gu Yu, it is enough to prove that fate is not unchangeable, which means that her efforts will not be in vain...
Gu Shiba Niang suddenly stopped smiling and looked at Gu Hai in disbelief.
Gu Hai grinned, his smile getting bigger and bigger, and finally he let out a hearty laugh.
"It's Gu Hai." He said, "It's Gu Hai..."
When the news reached the Gu family, everyone's jaws dropped. Gu Changchun even fell down from his chair.
How can this be? Now let's not talk about how many candidates and students there are in the Gu family. Let's just say that he is the leader in the Gu family. Jiankang City is so big, plus the counties under it, there are many students, including many famous ones. This case is the first How could it be Gu Hai's turn
At this time in Jiankang, the students were all asking each other who this Gu Hai was.
"In fact, it's not that difficult. Just study hard, read the classics well, and practice a lot." Gu Hai smiled calmly when facing a few close brothers from the same race who came to congratulate him, "The answer sheet is just a question, the sentences are fluent, and the words are expressive. That’s all.”
Everyone obviously didn't believe it, and they all said they were self-effacing.
Standing behind the screen, Gu Shiba Niang believed that the candles that stayed on every night, the tattered books, the piles of articles written, and the square stones tied to her wrists to practice calligraphy, step by step. He came out of it down-to-earth.
"The depth and shallowness are interlaced with reality and illusion, and the writing is well-organized. Both the content and the font are grand and neat. The whole article is laid out on a piece of paper and can be summarized in two words," said Zhoushan, the teacher of the Gu family school and a famous scholar in Jiankang, to the people in the room with some excitement, "The examiner only said two words..."
He looked around at everyone again, stretched out two fingers, and said, "Be sure."
There are many candidates who are talented and write brilliantly in their essays, but only Gu Hai is so talented, and every word of his words presents the image of a calm and disciplined student who is neither arrogant nor impetuous in front of the examiner.
This talented student who writes splendid fireworks articles probably includes myself.
Gu Yu clenched his fists tightly, and there were blood stains on his thin lips.
He doesn't believe it, he doesn't believe it
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It's too late. I've finished writing. Let's go have a meal.