Chapter 209 3/3

Master Lu Wang nodded repeatedly, as he was used to gathering information for his master and didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“There are many wealthy people in the capital; we’re sure to make good money. Then, Master will buy roasted chicken for you at the restaurant.”

“Master, I also want to eat that sesame cake we saw today!”

“You’ll get it. I’ll buy two for you; you can eat one and throw the other away!”

With their plans made, the master and apprentice went their separate ways to get started.

Master Lu Wang went to gather information, while Lu Mingshan started weaving copper coins with old red string.

When the time came, he would begin with some sweet talk, then mention how the person’s son would face misfortunes like a love disaster or a travel calamity, and thus he could “sell” these disaster-warding copper coins!

Meanwhile, He Yi instructed his men to find a fortune-teller: “It doesn’t matter if they’re real or fake, just make sure they look convincing, preferably someone unfamiliar.”

If they hired a well-known fortune-teller in the capital, the competent ones wouldn’t agree, and it would be easy for information to leak. If they hired an incompetent one, no one would believe them.

He Yi’s subordinates agreed and set off.

The next day, Li Qingzhi woke up a bit late. Yesterday, he and Jin Xiaoye cleaned the house and bathed Li Damao and Li Ermao. After washing the kids, they also took a bath themselves.

During their journey, they couldn’t be intimate, but now they were settled and clean, so they had a romantic evening.

They didn’t fall asleep until the early morning hours.

After breakfast, Li Qingzhi sent Zhang Zao and the others to the dock to bring over the remaining items. He and Jin Xiaoye went out to buy things.

Although they brought glassware and soap with them yesterday, they left some items on Wu Baichuan’s boat, which needed to be retrieved to save money on buying new ones.

Everything was more expensive in the capital compared to Chongcheng County.

Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye went to buy stationery, rice, flour, oil, and other necessities. They also wanted to explore the surroundings.

They bought a lot of grain and paid the store to deliver it to their home. Then they went to the stationery store.

As luck would have it, they saw Fan Weiyan again after finishing their purchase.

Fan Weiyan and two other scholars had also arrived in the capital. Instead of renting a house, they chose to stay in a good inn.

They were out buying things as well, having realized they were still lacking some items despite bringing a lot.

Li Qingzhi saw Fan Weiyan, and Fan Weiyan saw Li Qingzhi, his face immediately turning cold.

Just then, a small man ran over from a distance and bumped into Fan Weiyan.

Following closely, a tall man shouted, “You little thief, how dare you steal from me!”

The tall man then threw two eggs forward, missing his target but hitting Fan Weiyan instead!

The eggs landed squarely on Fan Weiyan’s face, breaking open and spilling their contents.

Being hit with eggs wasn’t pleasant, especially when they were rotten eggs!

The foul smell spread, causing the scholars around Fan Weiyan to instinctively step back while Fan Weiyan himself couldn’t help but retch.

“Catch them! Catch the man who threw the eggs!” Fan Weiyan shouted.

His servants immediately gave chase, but the two who had been running and fighting had already disappeared.

Fan Weiyan was furious, wanting revenge, but both men wore hats, so no one saw their faces clearly. The onlookers didn’t recognize them either, meaning even if they reported it, the authorities wouldn’t catch anyone.

Fan Weiyan had no choice but to endure the situation, retching and heading home to clean up.

Li Qingzhi turned to Jin Xiaoye and said, “The person who threw the eggs was aiming for Fan Weiyan.”

Fan Weiyan seemed to be an innocent victim of bad luck, but Li Qingzhi clearly saw that the egg-thrower’s target was Fan Weiyan all along.

Someone was intentionally making trouble for Fan Weiyan!

Fortunately, Li Qingzhi was always cautious, never letting anyone know he was Qionglu Sanren. Otherwise, he might have met with an “accident” as soon as he arrived in the capital!

Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye returned to Qingshi Lane, only to run into another familiar face.

The official who presided over the provincial exam, Lord Ping, was carrying a bag and entering Qingshi Lane with them.

“Lord Ping, do you live here too?” Li Qingzhi asked with a smile.

“Indeed, I live here,” Lord Ping replied, surprised to see Li Qingzhi. “You’ve come to the capital?”

After overseeing the Jiang’an Province exam, Lord Ping returned to the capital not long ago, and he hadn’t expected Li Qingzhi to arrive so soon.

“I’ve never been to the capital, so I set off early to come ahead of time,” Li Qingzhi explained.

“Arriving early is good. The climate here is very different from Jiangnan. Coming early allows you to acclimate,” Lord Ping said.

The capital was much colder than Jiangnan, and the exam would be in February…

February was still quite cold, and many southern scholars often fell seriously ill due to the cold during the exam. Some even died.

After chatting with Lord Ping and learning his address, Li Qingzhi promised to visit him soon.

Lord Ping was his examiner for the provincial exam, and even if they hadn’t met, Li Qingzhi should still pay a visit.