After the big fool gets married

They stayed at home for another night, and the next day, the two said goodbye to their uncles and aunts, and embarked on the road back to Beijing.

Wu Xuan was already very familiar with this road.The food that Yu Peili brought can also be taken at any time, and she walked comfortably and slowly all the way.

Passing by many carriages on the road, I occasionally heard the sound of reading aloud from inside the carriages, which seemed to be a sign of going to Beijing to rush for the exam.

While resting at the Zhenxingfu post station, I also met a table of candidates talking about the examination at the beginning of the year.Most people expressed their optimism towards Gu Jin, while some retorted that Gu Jin was too young, and in terms of talent and learning, he was still not as good as several well-known Jiangnan talents.

Wu Xuan picked up the dinner plate and walked to the room, the weather was too cold and there were noisy people outside, so he didn't let Doudou come down to eat.

Because the road was slow, Wu Xuan only arrived at the south gate of the capital at noon on the third day.

There is still a distance of two miles from the city gate, and a long queue has already formed in front of it. All the chariots and horses entering the city are lined up on the right side of the official road. There are soldiers with long knives to maintain order. armor.

Wu Xuan followed the flow of people into the queue, listening to the discussions of the people around him.

A businessman in a rich dress shouted impatiently: "What's going on? Why is the gate not allowed to go? The citrus I shipped from the south froze to death after a long delay!"

An old vegetable farmer with a basket next to him said: "My lord, please stop shouting. Your Majesty is showing compassion to the people without all the martial law."

"What?" The rich businessman looked at the old vegetable farmer, then at the armor on the soldier's side, and hurriedly bowed towards the city gate to apologize, "Your Majesty is benevolent, the grass people's brains have been froze from running around for days, I hope Your Majesty is magnanimous!"

His behavior made everyone in several carriages around laugh out loud.As we all know, His Majesty is gentle and generous and loves the people like a son, so he will definitely not argue with a small businessman just because of a word.

Hearing that it was His Majesty who was going out, the officials in the carriage beside Wu Xuan all got out of the carriage curiously and asked, "It's very cold in winter, why is Your Majesty going out?"

The people of Dalan Kingdom all know that His Majesty has been weak and sick since he was a child, and he seldom goes out.

The old vegetable farmer raised his head proudly, "Your Majesty is here to pick you up, the son of Yuan Xiang's family——Yuan Yueque!"

"Yuan Xiang?" a candidate said, "You mean the chief minister of the cabinet 20 years ago, Mr. Yuan Ge?"

The front of the team stopped moving, and the old vegetable farmer simply put down his picks and sat on the big basket, "You are young, and you have never seen Yuan Xiang back then, but I have seen a real person. During the 11th year of spring farming in Chongwen, the first emperor and Yuan had a blind date. To persuade farmers in the eastern suburbs, only six miles away from our village, the whole village went to see it."

The old vegetable farmer sighed heavily, "The first emperor was a good emperor, and Prime Minister Yuan was also a good official."

Everyone nodded in approval.

Another question asked: "Didn't Yuan Ge's family members disappear? Why did you suddenly return to Beijing? Do you want His Majesty to come and pick you up in person?"

"I don't know about that. When I entered the city yesterday, I heard it from the guy in the back kitchen of the restaurant." Seeing that the team was marching again, the old vegetable farmer picked up his pole and walked forward.Most of the surroundings are carriages, only he walks on two legs, so he has to be fast so as not to block the way of others.

The rich businessman transporting citrus saw that the old vegetable farmer was struggling to walk, so he called him to his carriage, "Put the baskets on the carriage rack, and you can save some effort."

-

After letting a group of people enter the city, the team slowed down again.

Several candidates in the carriage next to him were still discussing about Elder Yuan Ge, and guessed what a great event Yuan Yueque had done, and it was worthy of His Majesty to come to the city gate to welcome him in person.

They came to the capital from the western frontier to participate in the examination. They walked for three months on the road, passed through countless post stations, and heard a lot of news, but they didn't hear anything about Yuan Yueque.

Wu Xuan rubbed his hands, gently lifted a corner of the car curtain, and asked Doudou, "Is it stuffy inside? Do you want to come out to get some air?"

"Can I go out?" Doudou suddenly became excited.

Wu Xuan said: "Wrap the cloak tightly and put it on the stove."

"Yeah." Doudou nodded, and at the same time a cloak appeared on him out of thin air, and even the hat just fit on his head.

Doudou smiled triumphantly, "I'm good!" Wu Xuan didn't let him read and embroider while he was idle in the carriage for the past few days, saying it hurt his eyes.He had no choice but to keep studying the jade pendant on his body, and now he has become more and more proficient in using it.

"Amazing!" Wu Xuan stretched out a hand.Doudou put her hand on it, and walked out while supporting Wu Xuan's arm.

Because Wu Xuan's carriage was going too slowly, after a while, a group of carriages had changed around. As for the most anxious citrus merchant's convoy, there was no sign of it.

Wu Xuan leaned on the frame, holding the rein with one hand, and Doudou leaned on Wu Xuan, talking to him.

"Brother Xuan, how long will it take to enter the city?"

"There is still about a mile to go, at the current speed, it will take half an hour." Wu Xuan gently patted the palm of Doudou's body, "If you are in a hurry to go home, let's squeeze forward. "

"Don't worry, it's not too cold today." The sun at noon in winter is also warm.

Wu Xuan opened Doudou's cloak and hat a little so that he could bask in the sun.

"Brother Xuan, just now I heard from people outside that His Majesty came to meet people at the South City Gate in person?"

"Well, judging by the posture, it should be true."

"Brother Xuan, what do you think His Majesty looks like?"

"Want to know what His Majesty looks like?" Wu Xuan said with a smile, "Doudou studies hard, and he will be able to meet His Majesty the day he is named on the gold list."

Doudou stuck out her tongue quietly, "I don't want to take the exam. Let alone the exam, I can't even pass the provincial exam."

"Hahaha—" Wu Xuan laughed out loud.Doudou could feel the vibration of Wu Xuan's chest, he slapped Wu Xuan's chest, "Brother Xuan knows how to laugh at me! If you don't tell me, I will ask Gu Jin and Tan Yan, they must have seen His Majesty .”

"No, it's not that I didn't tell Doudou, but I haven't seen His Majesty either!" Wu Xuan held Doudou tighter in his arms, "When I meet His Majesty at the palace examination at the beginning of the year, I will definitely come back." Let me describe it to you."

"Okay, then I'll wait for Brother Xuan to be named on the Gold List." Doudou said.

Wu Xuan looked up at the sky with a little guilty conscience, but he didn't dare to continue the promise.

-

The carriage moved forward slowly, and Wu Xuan could already clearly see the South City Gate and the dense crowd of soldiers on the top of the gate.

The inspection for entering the city was much stricter than usual.Fortunately, Wu Xuan has the status of Juren, and the reason for going to Beijing to rush for the exam is very legitimate. The soldiers at the gate of the city checked the household registration documents, looked at the two of them up and down, opened the curtain and looked at the empty carriage, and waved them in. .

After entering the city gate, Wu Xuan realized why the team entering the city walked so slowly.

I saw that the spacious road that could have been used by six carriages side by side was occupied by the people of the capital who watched the excitement, leaving only a passage for one carriage to travel.

There are guards to maintain order, but it doesn't seem too scattered.

After the several carriages in front passed by, Wu Xuan was about to drive the carriage to the middle when he suddenly heard a loud voice from the city gate tower: "Open the city gate!"

The people suddenly became excited and stretched their necks to look at the city gate.

A group of imperial guards came over to block Wu Xuan's carriage, saying: "The imperial guards block the road! Back off!"

There were two carriages behind, surrounded by people, and began to squeeze forward excitedly, where could he retreat?

The imperial guards also saw what was going on behind them, so they just blocked Wu Xuan's carriage and prevented him from going forward.

Wu Xuan and Doudou sat comfortably in the carriage like this, and got the viewing position in the first row and closest to the city gate.Such a good location, maybe I can really see His Majesty later.

The city gate opened slowly, and the emperor's Luanjia led the way, followed by thousands of imperial guards, heading out of the city gate mightily.

"Are you actually going out of the city to greet him? I thought His Majesty was just looking down from the city gate tower."

"It should be just Luanjia. Your Majesty has a noble dragon body, how could he go out of the city in person?"

"Maybe, after all, he is the son of Yuan Ge's hometown, and he has made such a great contribution. The water bandits in the entire southeast sea area, large and small, have hundreds of dens, and he was wiped out by himself! And the Feng family Those saltworks that were built secretly have all been taken back."

"That's right, there are so many islands in the sea, all of which belong to my Dalan Kingdom! Although the islands are not as good as the land, they are also credited to the expansion of the territory. If it weren't for the fact that the dynasty did not grant kings with different surnames, this person might be—"

"The Yuan family already has the title of Marquis of Wu'an. Judging by His Majesty's current attitude, maybe they will be promoted to another level."

"Bah! A despicable fugitive who still has the face to pretend to be a prince!" Amidst the praise, a middle-aged man's loud accusation seemed extremely out of place.

In the middle of winter, the people who came to the gate of the city regardless of the severe cold must have a good impression of Mr. Yuan Ge and Yuan Yueque.Therefore, as soon as the middle-aged man said this, he was immediately glared at by the people around him.

Relying on the protection of the nursing home, the middle-aged man still shouted loudly: "Yuan Yueque, this dude, was disrespectful to his father when he was young. Not only did he not like to study and not test his fame, but he is also arrogant and lustful, and he likes brocade clothes the most. He dresses up all day long. You have to show off, neither male nor female."

The middle-aged man became more excited as he spoke, "After Yuan Ge died of a sudden illness, he ran away from the capital alone in fear of death. Such disloyal and unfilial people should not be rewarded no matter how great their contributions are! "

"Young Master Yuan is not a dandy, he never bullies the common people!" Someone retorted loudly.

"Yuan Yueque is 35 and six, and he still has the face to call himself a son? Bah! He thought he was the most beautiful man in the capital back then? He has been floating on the sea for more than ten years, and he has no idea what he has become!" This middle-aged man not only belittled Yuan Yueque's character, but even stepped on his appearance.

"You rely on the integrity of the Yuan family and don't reciprocate private interests, so you speak so blatantly!" Another man dressed as a scribe said.

"Everything I said is true. Yuan Yueque couldn't even memorize the Four Books and Five Classics, so he was kicked out on the spot by the master of the Imperial College. He also had an indistinguishable face, and spent all day hanging around with some painters and embroiderers. And face. Yuan Ge, a talented person who is diligent, simple, educated and well-educated, I don’t know why he raised such a—”

"Back! Back!" The imperial guard held a spear to maintain order, and the spear in his hand hit the middle-aged man's head impartially, causing him to swallow back his words.