Chapter 28: Brother Without Roots

  The county government office was located at the Dou Sha Guan, and the old master accountant lived in the south of the city. The ox cart rattled along the stone road and soon arrived at the gate of the old master accountant's house.

  Someone else's gate has stone lions, the old steward's family gate has two stone-carved mountain goats, the body of the goat is not particularly special, but the two big horns are exceptionally thick and sharp, the pointed sheep horns pointing outward, as if they want to pierce something, I don't understand what this means. The peach symbol above the door looks like it's been around for a while, dark and gloomy, with two terrifying god images on top.

  Looking at the four characters "Qin Shàn Rén Jiā" (Diligent and Virtuous Family) carved on the door frame, Yun Zheng couldn't help but sneer inwardly. The mastermind behind the brothel had nothing to do with diligence and virtue no matter what.

  A young servant in a green robe and small hat stood on the steps with his hands clasped together, curiously watching the youth who didn't hurry to present his visiting card but instead carefully observed the gate. The master had instructed him early this morning that a young student might come over and told him to wait at the door, it seemed like this was the one.

  This young man was quite strange, his hair wasn't tied up with a bun, but simply combed into a single braid tied with a rope hanging behind his head. His clothes weren't very new, but they were extremely clean. The collar of the white linen undershirt didn't have even half a speck of oil stain. What surprised Xiao'er the most was that the little girl who looked like a maid was carrying a backpack, and inside the backpack stood a small child staring at him with wide eyes, its face red with anger. Although the child was small, it wasn't wearing children's clothes, but instead wore clothes exactly like the young man's, just much smaller.

  Yun Zheng finished measuring the gate, then took out a visiting card from his sleeve and handed it to the young servant with a smile: "Please report back to your master, Yun Zheng of Dou Sha Village has come to pay respects."

  The young servant took the visiting card, feeling a weight in his hand. When he turned around to look, he found that there were ten more copper coins in his hand. He quickly thanked Yun Zheng and hastily entered the door.

  "I want to eat bamboo rat!" Yun Er pulled on the braids of cured meat and shouted at Yun Da.

  "If you shout again, I'll cook all these bamboo rats and you can eat them by yourself tonight. If you can't finish them, I'll force-feed you."

  Yun Er knows that Yun Da is a self-made man, others consider themselves as children, but Yun Da won't, he only treats his body like a child and takes good care of it, in other aspects, he will never spoil himself at all, so keeping quiet is the safest.

  A young man came out and made a fist at Yun Zheng, saying: "Young Master Yun, please come in. Our ancestor has mentioned it several times."

  Yun Zheng didn't dare be rude, and with a fist in hand, he replied: "Making the respected elder wait for so long is Yun Zheng's fault. I will go forward to apologize to the elderly respected one."

  The young man just smiled and didn't respond, beckoning Yun Zheng to enter with a bow of his hand.

  The mansion is very large, with square tiles laid out on the ground. The tender yellow peach blossoms in the garden to the left are in full bloom, while the ground to the right is bare and empty. Under the eaves of the house, a rack for holding weapons has been installed, all of which are rough and long. According to what Zong knows, these things are all forbidden, but he doesn't know why they are openly displayed here.

  The young man saw Yun Zheng's confusion and smiled to explain: "My ancestors were born in the military, followed Emperor Taizong on a distant expedition to the border, now although doing civil servants, these things can't bear to give up, put them at home also have a thought."

  "I didn't know Elder Zun had such an experience, forgive me, forgive me."

  "What impertinence is this? In the Apricot Flower Pavilion, you clearly know that I am inside, yet you avoid seeing me. What kind of reasoning is this?" A spirited and white-haired old man stood at the door, smiling as he questioned Yun Zheng.

  "How dare I, a humble person, pay respects to my elders? I'm afraid that if the old master finds out that I lingered in the flower cluster, I would be embarrassed and flee. Cloudy Peak explained while placing a basket of bamboo mushrooms and a basket of bamboo mice on the steps, bowing again: "I am poor and have only these small tokens of goodwill, please accept them, sir, and alleviate my guilty conscience."

  "Of course, we must collect it. Among these things, 30% belong to me, why not collect? You little brat has used the trick of 'borrowing flowers to offer Buddha' too skillfully. In the past, I was the one who did such things."

  Old Master Zhang laughed and patted Yun Zhen's shoulder, saying: "Talents emerge in every generation, a small discovery can make Beisha County suddenly gain an extra source of wealth, and also eliminate disasters. Heroes indeed emerge in their youth, this is not deceiving me."

  "If the old man says so, it will spoil the young master. Since ancient times, there have been countless examples of people who were outstanding in their youth but not necessarily great when they grew up. What virtue or ability does the young master have to deserve the title of hero?"

  The old man was obviously flattering himself, his own grandson standing aside was somewhat unhappy, if this continued, it would be a fatal blow, which is more severe than framing.

  "You're not worthy of it now, but if you can pass the county exam, prefectural exam and imperial exam this year, then my words won't be excessive at all. Do you know that there are only five candidates for the examination in Dousha County this year? And that includes you, so it's easy to find a guarantor for you. I'm putting on a proud face as your mentor just to bask in your glory."

  The young man couldn't help but hum, Yun Zheng looked at him and cupped his hands: "Until now, I haven't asked for your esteemed name, it's truly impolite."

  "In the lower Xiao without root! Words are full of meaning. Now in the official school advancing studies."

  "Turns out brother is the first scholar in our Dou Sha County for 15 years, sorry, sorry, country people's nonsense. You are a talented person from Dou Sha County, how can you not know what kind of virtue your fellow villagers have? This is like a child wanting to swear an oath to marry three old wives, just laugh it off." Just as Yun Zheng had finally coaxed this rootless brother into revealing a smile, he heard Yun Er say on the side.

  "Yun Dai, you've said it before, sir! You're the greatest talent under heaven! The others are all fools!"

  Everyone in the house stopped talking and stared at Yun Er, who was picking and eating dried fruits and snacks on the table. He not only ate himself but also kept giving some to Larou, instructing her to pack them for him to eat slowly on the road.

  "Haha, " the old steward suddenly burst out laughing and couldn't catch his breath. He pointed at Yun Er's green face and said to Yun Zheng: "Indeed, brotherly love runs deep, you're still young but already know how to speak up for your own brother, truly a family affair."

  Wú gēn xiōng liǎn sè nán kàn le yī shùn jiān, yě lì kè zhuǎn biàn guò lái, shuí huì ba yī ge sān suì hái zi de huà dàng zhēn, zì jǐ zài zhè ge nián líng shuō bù dìng rèn wéi zì jǐ de fù xiōng cái shì tiān xià de dì yī hǎo hàn.

  After re-seating, the old master did not test Yun Zheng's knowledge, but instead explained to him in detail the rules of the Tongzi trial. If it were in another county, it would not be so simple, but in Dou Sha County, the examination location was in the county government office, the papers were issued by the county magistrate, and the examination questions would not be too far-fetched, nor would the county magistrate intentionally block the future of his own students.

  Having obtained the examination paper, it was already noon, and Yun Zheng politely took his leave. That rootless brother had been gazing at the sun for countless times, growing increasingly impatient.