The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 930 - 928 Exposure

Chapter 930: Chapter 928 Exposure

It’s obvious, with this kind of good tea, even if my closed-door disciple has some means, how much can he really have?

If I were to squander it recklessly, what would I do for the rest of the days?

Imperial Physician Du, who had never bothered to budget his tea consumption, has now learned to calculate meticulously, thinking of drinking it slowly, sometimes hungry, sometimes full, so that it could last until the next Qingming.

Today, not wanting to lose face, he painfully took out the tea leaves to share, not expecting this second-ranked official to be so shameless!

Zhu Haoran, unlike Governor Chen, didn’t have such a thick skin to act first, could only regret silently, and couldn’t help but say: "Old Du, this kind of good tea, how is it the rural wild tea you mentioned? Bring me two pounds of such rural wild tea!"

Imperial Physician Du nearly spat, such a big face, asking for two pounds right off the bat. Why don’t you ask for two carts!

He said with a cold face, "This tea originally grows in the wild mountains, not in great quantity, my disciple only found a little of it to show filial respect to me, even that’s not enough, where would two pounds come from? Not even two leaves!"

Upon hearing this, Governor Chen tightened his grip on the tea leaves, refusing to let go even more.

Zhu Haoran hadn’t drunk the tea yet; had he drunken it, he would feel refreshed and clear-minded, and upon hearing such words of preciousness from Imperial Physician Du, he would yearn for it even more, becoming restless and just holding onto Imperial Physician Du, not letting go.

Lv Wenguang, too, found this tea excellent. He had thought that by following the two officials, perhaps he might snag a mere one or two ounces.

Unexpectedly, Imperial Physician Du was not loosening his lips, causing a moment of awkward suspension.

Being one among the accompanying guests, it was hard to persuade and also hard not to persuade.

Fortunately, someone came up to relieve the situations: "Report to the lord, the Dragon Boat race preparations have been completed, and we are just waiting for the right time to start."

Lv Wenguang took this excuse, inviting everyone to the edge of the terrace on the viewing stand, leaning on the railing to look out.

Not far away, eight dragon boats adorned in red and green were ready to set off.

In past years, each dragon boat had 15 people, including 12 rowers, one helmsman, one drummer, and one gong player, and additionally two reserve members.

Due to changes in this year’s race rules being different from previous years, an additional person was added to each dragon boat, specifically responsible for uncovering questions and answering them.

The river surface, about one mile long, was divided into eight lanes, with eight smaller boats each manned by one person on either side of each lane.

At the starting point, each person held two questions in hand, and at the finish line, each person on the boat held one question.

Each dragon boat had to first receive questions from the starting point, answer them correctly to be allowed to set off.

Upon reaching the finish line, they must take another question, answer it correctly, and return to the starting point to take the final question. Only after answering it correctly could they continue to the finish line, with the final winning team crowned as the champion.

The questions for each segment were the same, with a total of three questions, which were said to be determined by Governor Chen and Minister Zhu.

To ensure no cheating would occur, those delivering the questions were all guards under Governor Chen and Minister Zhu.

The race was set to commence from the fifth quarter of Si Hour, and now it was nearly almost the third quarter of Si Hour, with everything prepared and ready.

During this time in past years, a small boat would go to the viewing stand to invite the County Magistrate to board, proceeding to the center of the river to encourage the contestants. Following that, the drums and firecrackers would sound, with the timing judge raising a red flag, and upon lowering it, the race would commence.

This year, due to two high-ranking officials coming from the Capital City, they politely declined back and forth, finally leaving it to Governor Chen to take the small boat to offer pre-race encouragement to the contestants.

At this moment, the small boat to pick up Governor Chen had already paddled under the viewing stand, waiting quietly for a long time.

This viewing stand was specially constructed, half suspending above the river, with a ladder leading directly down to the river from it. The small boat was docked underneath it, with personnel switched to the guards brought by Governor Chen.

Over here, Governor Chen had already gone to change clothes; as for donning official robes, naturally, it couldn’t be done casually.

Everyone knew the race was about to begin, each becoming restless, glancing at the river from time to time.

Compared to previous years, the atmosphere at the starting point now held a heavier air.

The students of Baiyun Academy just took off their outer long gowns, revealing short garments underneath, which showed a few burly, strong-waisted men, attracting attention from students of other academies.

To be honest, our dynasty has not been established for a hundred years, the martial spirit has not faded, yet scholars have increasingly become gentle and elegant types, incapable of wielding anything heavier than a chicken.

Changqing Academy, at least, paid some attention to students’ physical fitness, as attending provincial and metropolitan examinations required substantial stamina.

If one’s body was too frail, even if they had the fate to take the exam, most of their life might well be drained after the ordeal.

The academies in Jing County have always followed the lead of Changqing Academy. How Changqing Academy acted was grumbled about on the surface, but privately they wished to imitate it exactly.

Plus, with Jing County’s annual Dragon Boat race, the students of Jing County Academy had notably good physical conditions.

Of course, they appeared just more spirited than regular scholars, without seeming unendurably fragile.

But those few burly students in Baiyun Academy, although one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, didn’t quite look like scholars.

Yet no one said anything, for there even was a black-faced, dark-skinned scholar in Changqing Academy who didn’t look like a scholar.

Song Chongjin, however, glanced a few more times, as Baiyun Academy’s dragon boat was next to Changqing Academy’s. With such proximity, Song Chongjin naturally noticed these students seemed to show signs of martial skills. Although their actions were hidden to some extent, habitual movements could still expose them.

Song Chongjin’s gaze sharpened, thinking that Baiyun Academy’s tactics were downright disgusting!

He turned and murmured a few words to Gu Zikai.

Gu Zikai also glanced over, sneering coldly after a while: "It seems Baiyun Academy is dead set on overshadowing Changqing Academy today!"

Yet they also understood, with the race soon starting, if anything truly erupted, Baiyun Academy would gain nothing, but it could also delay the Dragon Boat race and offend Governor Chen.

Moreover, Baiyun Academy dared to do so; surely, they had backup plans, perhaps even waiting for Changqing Academy to emerge and expose them now.

Otherwise, why reveal it so close to the start?

Everyone wasn’t foolish, so they could only watch wide-eyed at this moment.

The nearby scholars displayed disgust: "Unexpectedly, Baiyun Academy engages in such underhanded methods! Too despicable!"

The small commotion on Changqing Academy’s side immediately caught the attention of Baiyun Academy, with some students deliberately showing provocative expressions.

Everyone was at a youthful, vigorous age, and amid such an atmosphere, several Changqing Academy students displayed indignant expressions.

Fortunately, Song Chongjin and Gu Zikai remained calm, urging everyone to hold back: "Don’t fall for it, they’re deliberately revealing it now to provoke us! The more critical the moment, the more you must stay calm! Don’t forget today’s race rules; we must answer the questions first before setting off. Not to mention it’s a round-trip three times, focusing more on endurance. As long as we don’t panic and maintain our usual pace, we won’t lose!"