Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 281 - 240: I’m here to fall in love_1

Chapter 281: Chapter 240: I’m here to fall in love_1

Since Li Xuan was going to observe the ceremonies and enjoy the festivities, he decided to invite Xue Yunrou along.

Although he hadn’t seriously pursued romance in his past life, he knew that women treasured companionship. He didn’t want to risk being outdone by other men, so he decided not to leave his girlfriend behind.

When they arrived at the external academy of the Guozi Bureau at Yuhuatai for the second time, escorted by Wang Jing and Long Rui, they found it already teeming with people, with crowd rubbing shoulders and jostling for a sufficient view.

Li Xuan found the Guozi Bureau’s selection competition rather dull, yet the number of onlookers proved considerable.

Apart from scholarly students and noble maidens from Nanjing, the majority of the crowd were local residents.

Although most of these average folks had no understanding of the scholarly arts, it didn’t prevent them from joining the lively gathering.

Over two hundred stalls had even sprouted up outside the academy gate, forming a makeshift marketplace comparable to the Chenghuang Temple fair. This forced the Liudao Division to assign a sizeable troop to ensure safety.

Unexpectedly, the ones assigned to oversee the situation were from Mingyou City.

Upon seeing Li Xuan and Xue Yunrou, arm in arm, their collective expressions became complicated. Ma Chenggong looked especially bitter. How was it fair that while he worked tirelessly, Li Xuan had the leisure to enjoy a carefree outing at Yuhuatai with a girl?

"Did Jijiu Quan invite you?" Ma Chenggong sneered in disbelief after hearing Li Xuan’s explanation, "Jijiu Quan is a significant figure; would he really go out of his way to invite you? Qianzhi, you love pulling my leg. Okay! Fine! It’s fair enough that you get a few days off after solving so many big cases recently. Nobody will argue with that.

Although I, old Ma, haven’t had a day off in a month – my solitude being spent in prison – I respect you, Qianzhi. Not the least bit jealous, I say, sincerely."

However, the bitter resentment he emanated was so strong, Li Xuan could sense it ten miles away.

Peng Fulai and Zhang Yue cast sympathetic glances at Yue Qianqian but, apart from her slightly pale face, there were no major changes.

The two then looked in vain for Xiaowei Jiang Hanyun, who seemed to have disappeared.

Luo Yan spent a long while staring at Xue Yunrou, who was clinging to Li Xuan before scoffing and drifting back to her patrol. She pretended not to care, but occasionally stole glances in Li Xuan’s direction.

Seemingly oblivious, Xue Yunrou was having a fantastic time, pulling Li Xuan along joyfully as they browsed the stalls in the marketplace.

Oddly, Li Xuan noticed that the two of them kept running into Yue Qianqian and Luo Yan.

Each time this happened, Xue Yunrou would become noticeably more affectionate.

Not until the Hour of Shen did the chimes ring out from the Guozi Bureau. Prompted by Long Rui, they finally entered the gate of the external academy.

The moment Li Xuan crossed the threshold, he felt a perturbation and glanced towards a high building on his right. Quan Dingtian was standing there, saluting him.

Li Xuan responded by raising a fist in return.

"This examination is based on the Six Arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, writing, and arithmetic. Music is represented by poetry, and charioteering by horse riding – Confucianism adapts with the times. The methods of chariot warfare were obsolete by the Warring States period, replaced by mounted warfare. And the ceremonial dances of ancient times have long been lost," said Long Rui, leading the way and explaining, "Archery and charioteering are already finished; the afternoon is devoted to rites, music, writing, and arithmetic. Among these, writing is the most important and tests not only calligraphy, but also interpretation of scriptures and artistic literature."

Li Xuan wondered, "Isn’t the Xiao Mausoleum ritual on the second day of the tenth month? That’s only a few days away, isn’t it? Why are you selecting a candidate to recite the prayers now?"

"Hence my saying it’s an emergency," Long Rui spread his hands helplessly, "The head scholar at our academy was a man surnamed Zhang: undeniably the leading candidate. His character and scholarship were such that everyone would readily accept him. The master and several of the senior tutors had designated him to participate in the Xiao Mausoleum ritual, but a family emergency recently forced him to return home for mourning. The academy had no choice but to re-select a candidate."

Looking up at the platform in front of them, where several respected scholars sat, he added, "Now that the leader is gone, the boars, leopards, monkeys, foxes, and wolves in the mountains have to fight to see who will be the new king."

Li Xuan was puzzled, "But I can’t help you with this, and I can’t make any decisions."

While he could act as a judge and slightly influence the points awarded, he had no intention of getting too deeply involved with Confucianism.

"The main problem is ’arithmetic’," Long Rui’s face lit up with a smile, "You needn’t worry about the rest, Qianzhi. Xiquan and I both struggle with that. Conveniently, the Guozi Bureau, despite making the exam challenging, allows a team of three and permits us to invite outside help. For this section, we’re relying on you, Qianzhi."

During their previous conversation at the bar, he had discovered that Li Xuan’s mathematical abilities were exceptionally strong.

Although he seemed to have never formally studied the "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" or "Suanjing", no problem was too difficult for him.

Now, Wang Jing was genuinely asking for his assistance, earnestly imploring, "We need the strength of your arm!"

Li Xuan was immediately relieved and confidently guaranteed, "Done! I assure you both will pass!"

Mathematics? In college, he studied science. What could be so challenging about arithmetic in this era?

It’s not that people of this era are less intelligent than him, but modern people hold numerous mathematical tools at their disposal, making calculations far more convenient and swift.

Li Xuan’s confidence in this field was much stronger than poetry and literature.

No sooner had he spoken than there came a scoff from the side. "You two fancy yourselves as boars and leopards, vying for kingship? Boasting shamelessly! If it were your senior who went to Beijing for the examination, he may have the worthiness. As for you two, you are nothing but toads and rabbits."

Following the voice, they saw two young men dressed in Jiansheng robes standing a few steps away.

Immediately, Long Rui’s face became solemn. "It’s not yet decided who is boasting shamelessly. Don’t forget that in this morning’s shooting and horse riding, both of you lost to me, with scores not much better than mine."

The faces of the two young men changed instantly.

One of them scoffed, "Shooting and riding may be arts of a gentleman, but for scholars, it boils down to timing, governing arts and arithmetic. This afternoon’s comparison will truly reveal the truth."

After saying this, he turned up the corners of his mouth slightly, "Especially after the etiquette and music test, I am looking forward to seeing your results in arithmetic."

He then sneered at Li Xuan, "Is this your outsider assistance? A coarse soldier from the Liudao Division. What does he know about arithmetic? Our teacher’s questions are tough. I suggest all of you not to embarrass Mr. Jijiu."

Immediately, Wang Jing’s eyes sharpened, "If you two have no intention of getting physical, mind your language! Not only are Brother Qianzhi’s character and knowledge greatly admired by me and Shouzhi, but he has also earned praises from our teacher. He is our invited guest and will not tolerate your insolence!"

Li Xuan glanced over with dissatisfaction, "I did not appreciate your words. The Liudao Division has suppressed demons for a thousand years and maintained peace in this world. The border soldiers have sacrificed millions of lives to protect our homeland since the establishment of the Jin Dynasty. What is there to despise about us soldiers?"

He didn’t bother arguing with this person and chose to win him over with his virtue instead.

He took the "Song of Righteousness" fan that he’d won from Yue Qianqian and flicked it open in front of his chest. A powerful aura of righteousness manifested in response.

His progress with the ice and thunder technique had been rapid in the past two days, which indirectly benefited his righteous aura. Showing only thirty to fifty percent of it was already phenomenally compelling, drawing attention from people around him.

The two young men looked stunned. They knew that Li Xuan’s aura was unusually pure, strong, grand and upright, which much surpassed their own; they were no less inferior than famous scholars.

They realized that the autograph on that "Song of Righteousness" fan was by Huang Shangbin! How could such a treasure, precious to every scholar, fall into the hands of a warrior?

One of them swallowed hard, "So what if he has a formidable aura? The test is about your arithmetic abilities. Let’s meet again in two hours. We’ll see the truth then!"

When the two of them left, Long Rui said to Li Xuan, "One is called Chu Wen, and the other is called Xi Hanqing, disciples of the Assistant Minister of Rites in Nanjing. They’ve had a long-standing academic dispute with our teacher. As for composition and governing arts, we only started learning five years later than them, our skills are not inferior. The only aspect we consistently lose to them is arithmetic."

As he said this, a smile appeared on his lips, "Even in arithmetic, we are only a bit behind them. There are other experts in Guozi Bureau whom we can only look up to."

At this point, the bells rang again inside Guozi Bureau. It was a notification to let the students know that the etiquette test had officially begun. Long Rui and Wang Jing hurried to the examination field.

For this basic round, etiquette would be tested. The Confucianism’s five ceremonies - the joyous ceremony, mournful ceremony, military ceremony, guest ceremony, congratulatory ceremony, all had to be scrutinized.

Guozi Bureau emphasized this aspect particularly because the key requirement of the Xiao Tomb worship was for there to be no mistakes in the etiquette.

After Long Rui and Wang Jing left, Li Xuan, accompanied by Xue Yunrou, arrived in a secluded alley within the Guozi Bureau to meet Quan Dingtian as planned.

Quan Dingtian immediately handed Li Xuan a stack of papers, "These are the papers to be reviewed and evaluated by Hufa. There are a total of thirty-four. This is the first time in over a decade that there have been so many papers, and I’m afraid it will be a lot of work for Hufa."

At the same time, Quan also handed a large package to Li Xuan. "This is the honorarium for Mr. Hufa, presented by our Confucian fellows."

Upon receiving it, Li Xuan could not help but touch his forehead, wiping away a bead of sweat.