Chapter 13: Continued

Chapter 13: Continued

Chapter 13: Continued

The next day, on the way to Da Ci'en Temple, Pei Yuan was still playing with the copper coin in his hand.

After rubbing it for half the night, the patina on it dimmed a lot, and it looked even more beautiful than the coins from the Hongwu and Yongle periods.

Pei Yuan left home early, and when he arrived at Da Ci'en Temple, the sun had just risen.

The Da Ci'en Temple was extremely popular, which led to the prosperity of the surrounding streets.

Because many of those who come to burn incense are family members of officials, and there are many guardian arhats in the temple, there are very few playboys causing trouble here.

This also makes many ordinary people happy to visit here.

Pei Yuan, wearing the official uniform of a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and holding an embroidered spring sword in his hand, entered a food shop on the street and waited for the sons of Chen Toutie and Cheng Zhihu to come looking for him.

Pei Yuan occupied a table alone and put his knife aside. The waiter did not dare to neglect the Jinyiwei master and hurriedly came up to greet him with a nod and a bow.

Pei Yuan casually ordered a few dishes.

——He didn’t dare to order something too expensive, because unless it was not too excessive, most store owners would not dare to ask him for money.

This is an unspoken rule taught to him by his father Pei Guang.

Pei Yuan has been determined to live above his bottom line since he was young, and of course he will remember all the rules taught by his father.

Today happened to be a day off, and many officials and their wives came to Da Ci'en Temple to burn incense. This street shop was also filled with many more people than usual.

Those are the candidates from all over the country.

This year is the sixth year of Zhengde. In the spring examination that just ended, a remarkable top scorer in the Xinwei exam emerged, and that was Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe, the Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Palace.

Normally, if the son of a grand scholar became the number one in the imperial examination, it would definitely cause strong criticism.

But this year is not a normal situation.

Because Yang Shen is really too powerful.

When Yang Xiao was eleven years old, he could write sentences like "The brothel cuts off the beauty's soul, and the sun shines on her bones covered with green moss."

After hearing about Yang Shen's talent, candidates from all over the country admitted defeat one after another.

"I can't, I can't!"

"It can't be compared, it can't be compared!"

This imperial examination is difficult to describe in a few words. Many candidates with wealthy families chose to stay in the capital and wait and see for a few more days.

First, we can exchange knowledge and benefit from it.

Secondly, you can make some friends, so that you will have some support in the future whether you want to become famous in the scholar community or become an official.

These scholars had nothing to do and heard that on the holidays at the Da Ci'en Temple, the daughters of officials often came to burn incense and worship Buddha, so they all came to join in the fun.

Pei Yuan felt a little annoyed when he saw these scholars in the food shop.

Among all the scholars, Pei Yuan hated the Juren the most.

Because if they passed the imperial examination and became officials, they would know how terrible the Jinyiwei were. If they were still just scholars, they would not have the confidence to provoke Pei Yuan.

But these scholars were ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, and exploded at the slightest provocation, and Pei Yuan was unable to do anything about it.

For example.

The middle-aged scholar who arrived late at the door.

If you arrive too late, it will be the same if you change to another store.

But this person, seeing that the other side of the store was full and Pei Yuan was the only one sitting alone, patted his sword and amid the playful looks and whispers of many scholars, with a fearless expression of slaying demons and eliminating monsters, he ran to the opposite side of Pei Yuan and wanted to share the table.

To be honest, Pei Yuan is not the kind of person who cannot tolerate others.

But if that's the case, how can I have the nerve to eat this meal for free in front of a scholar?
When the scholar saw that Pei Yuan had a sullen face but didn't say anything, he immediately became bolder.

He seemed to have the power of successful candidates in all the capitals and thirteen provinces, all blessed upon himself. He calmly ordered food and tea in front of the treacherous Jinyiwei.

Pei Yuan ate his meal silently and ignored him.

Seeing that nothing happened here, the scholars in the restaurant quickly chatted about their own things and forgot about this corner.

Pei Yuan was thinking about having to pay the bill later, and he couldn't help getting angrier and angrier.

He looked at the scholar for a while, thinking that knowledge is also wealth, so with the idea of ​​not suffering any loss, he took out the copper coin from his sleeve, forced a smile, and complimented the scholar.

"I heard that all the scholars who can go to Beijing to take the imperial examination are very talented. There are two words on this coin. I wonder if I can ask for your advice?"

The candidate was stunned at first, but then he thought that even the treacherous Jinyiwei were bowing their heads to him to ask for advice, and he couldn't help but feel a little motivated.

He looked around and found that no one was paying attention to this side. Feeling a little disappointed, he casually took the copper coin.

The scholar glanced at him calmly and chuckled, "If you want to ask me about other subjects, I'll still look up to you. But if it's this..."

He was talking, and suddenly shut up.

He suddenly grasped the copper coin in his hand, then his eyes flickered wildly, and in an instant, he opened his palm and looked carefully at the coin in his hand.

The middle-aged scholar was a little fat, but he looked fair. At that moment, he looked shifty and rather vulgar.

Pei Yuan saw it all but remained calm.

The middle-aged scholar couldn't let go of the coin and played with it for a while. Then he shook his head regretfully, put the coin on the table and slowly pushed it over.

Pei Yuan was not in a hurry to take it, but looked over inquiringly.

Judging from this guy's reaction just now, he was clearly subconsciously greedy, but I don't know what words he will say.

The middle-aged scholar restrained his expression and said cautiously, "These two words are called Xu Zhu."

Pei Yuan asked, "Is there something special about this copper coin?" Then he asked the question that concerned him most, "Is it valuable?"

"Valuable?" The middle-aged scholar smiled and was about to make a joke, but then he remembered that he was just a vulgar warrior, and immediately shook his head and said, "One penny is it, one tael is it, and a hundred taels are it. Sometimes, several hundred taels of silver may not be as useful as it." Pei Yuan was both happy and surprised when he heard this, and quickly took the copper coin in his hand and looked at it carefully.

At this moment, he remembered that he had not yet asked the middle-aged scholar's name, so he hurriedly and enthusiastically asked, "I have not yet asked for your name, sir."

"What's your name?" The somewhat arrogant candidate became depressed and lost interest. "With Yang Yongxiu in the front, who dares to call me by my name? It's Zhang Cong, the failed candidate in Yongjia."

Pei Yuan didn't care about his feelings.

This "Xuzhu" coin is just a copper coin in his hand, but the thing in front of him has the ability to turn this decayed copper coin into something magical.

Thus, this annoying middle-aged scholar suddenly became handsome in Pei Yuan's mind.

Pei Yuan immediately smiled and complimented him, "Sir, you have the talent of a sleeping dragon. Even if you are unlucky now, you will definitely have the opportunity to rule the world in the future."

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, Zhang Cong felt as if his heart was stabbed by hundreds of knives. He could not help but shout in shame and anger, "Shut up!"

Pei Yuan was stunned and felt a little unhappy.

This is crazy! ?

Little did he know that his unintentional act had actually touched upon Zhang Cong's sad memory.

Zhang Cong was also considered a child prodigy, being knowledgeable and talented at a young age.

When he was thirteen, he once wrote a poem to compare himself to a man in the Wolong Mountains. He was noble and pure all his life. He held a white feather fan in his hand, which was as bright as snow. When it moved, it created a breeze; when it was still, it created a bright moon. The breeze and the bright moon were only between the movement and stillness, willing to make the people of the world suffer from the heat.

Zhang Cong used to talk about this matter and still expressed pride about it.

But after arriving in the capital, he met Yang Shen, who was able to write "The brothel cuts off the beauty's soul, and the sun shines on her bones under the green moss" at the age of eleven.

Zhang Cong had the simple idea of ​​​​that many candidates at that time.

"I can't, I can't!"

"It can't be compared, it can't be compared!"

At this moment, Zhang Cong felt his teeth itching. These Jinyiwei bastards were indeed treacherous!

This heart aches so much!

Seeing Zhang Cong's embarrassment and anger, Pei Yuan suppressed his confusion and asked.

"Sir..., why are you angry?"

Zhang Cong's face was dark, and after a while he said, "I don't have much friendship with you, let's talk about money."

When the topic returned to money, the atmosphere became noticeably more harmonious.

"This Xuzhu coin is a rare and exquisite product in the world. I remember that this coin was mentioned in the "Quanzhi" by Hong Zun of the Southern Song Dynasty. Unfortunately, it has been rarely seen in the world since the Song Dynasty."

"Just like the famous swords and horses in the world, the price of this coin not only reflects the value of the coin, but also the reputation it carries."

As Zhang Cong spoke, he could not help but reach out to Pei Yuan to ask for it again.

After looking for a while, he said again.

"If it were just this, it would only be a little more expensive, and it can still be measured in money. But this coin is unique because it is a coin for warding off evil."

Pei Yuan was confused. "Money for warding off evil?"

Zhang Cong explained a few words.

"Yan Sheng coins were minted by the ancients to ward off evil and disasters and to celebrate and pray for blessings. Some ancient coins with a long history are regarded as auspicious treasures after they have been used for many years. Look at this coin. The text on the right says 'Xu' and the text on the left says 'Zhu'. It was minted by the ancients to prolong life and pray for longevity."

As Zhang Cong spoke, he handed the coin in his hand back to Pei Yuan.

"If I meet someone who knows the value of this good thing, it shouldn't be a problem to sell it for dozens or even hundreds of taels of silver."

Pei Yuan couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

After knowing these stories, Pei Yuan seemed to have his mind enlightened. He immediately came up with several ideas to sell this copper coin at a high price.

Zhang Cong looked at Pei Yuan's excited expression and said in amazement, "You are not planning to sell this thing for money, are you?"

Pei Yuan was startled, "No way?"

Zhang Cong looked at Pei Yuan with disdain and said teasingly, "The greatest value of this thing is not to sell it, but to give it to others."

"Send someone away?" Pei Yuan was stunned.

Zhang Cong was enjoying what he was saying and wanted to show off his skills, so he said proudly.

"I'll teach you."

"Xu Zhu is very famous, but the real thing is almost impossible to find in the world."

"The current Grand Secretary Li Dongyang is old and frail. If you send this as a gift, Li Dongyang will be overjoyed and will welcome you as a distinguished guest. Isn't it better to get a hundred taels of silver?"

After Zhang Cong finished speaking, he couldn't help but feel superior in terms of intelligence.

If this life-extending coin of great origin was presented to Li Dongyang, it would be a lucky and festive item that would come to him on its own, and its significance would be similar to offering auspicious signs to the emperor.

Pei Yuan certainly understood the value of being Li Dongyang's guest!
He held the coin in his hand with some disbelief, "Is this thing really so effective?"

Zhang Cong smiled.

"Who knows? Maybe Li Daxueshi is happy and has something to rely on, so he can be more determined and live a year or two longer."

Pei Yuan held the copper coin in his hand, thinking about the green-glazed porcelain vase at home that housed the gold-carrying little ghost, and couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

He looked at Zhang Cong again.

This scholar, who was originally extremely annoying in his eyes but later became handsome, now has a beauty that is so stunning that she can captivate all men.

(End of this chapter)