How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

Bian Yangchun couldn't help but look at him, "Why do you say that, Brother Cheng?"

"I just suddenly felt something." Xie Chengze didn't explain much, "Let's leave. Brother Ji looks uncomfortable."

Bian Yangchun turned around and found that Ji Songhua looked pale and seemed to be about to vomit, so he hurriedly said, "Let's go, my good friend is in the county town ahead."

Everyone got on the carriage.

The county ahead is called Peilin County. Although the situation is better than here, it is not much better. After entering Peilin County, Xie Chengze said, "Since you want to bother them, you should bring some gifts to avoid being accused of neglecting etiquette."

"No problem, my good friend is very easy to talk to." Bian Yangchun waved his hand and said, "If you are too polite, he will get angry."

Xie Chengze shook his head. "After all, I have a lot of people with me, and I don't have any friendship with them, so I still need to prepare."

Ji Songhua on the side also agreed, "Yes, we can't let them take us in for nothing."

Bian Yangchun had no choice but to nod, "Okay, I'll buy some too."

After some calculation, they decided to go to the bookstore and snack shop on the street, but unexpectedly, prices were soaring, and many writing materials were several times more expensive, not to mention food and snacks. Xie Chengze was not stingy and directly paid for them.

"Brothers, please don't be polite to me. I don't have much talent and can only offer some gold and white things. If you can pass the imperial examination in the future, don't forget me."

"Brother Cheng, you are so kind!" Bian Yangchun said with emotion, "Brother Cheng and I hit it off the moment we met. We are good brothers for life! Regardless of whether I can pass the imperial examination or not, I will definitely come to find you!"

Ji Songhua stroked his forehead slightly, but also said, "When I pass the imperial examination in the future, I will definitely invite Brother Cheng to Beijing to celebrate and enjoy the wonderful banquet together."

After asking along the way, they found the good friend's residence. The other party's family was indeed well-off. There was an independent courtyard house with a tall gate in the county town. There were two big words written on the plaque on the door - "Gu Mansion".

Bian Yangchun walked up to the two guards at the door and talked for a few words, then saw one of the guards go in to report.

Everyone was waiting on the street, but they didn't expect that half an hour would pass by.

Xie Chengze thought to himself, it seems that this door is not easy to enter.

Bian Yangchun could no longer sit still, and said to the other guard at the door, "Brother, can you go in and urge them?"

The guard glanced at Bian Yangchun, thinking that he was just a poor friend that the young master met from some unknown place. He actually came with his family to seek refuge during such a tense period. He couldn't help but reveal a bit of contempt and disgust on his face, "Of course not. If I leave, who knows if you will force your way in?"

Hearing what the other party meant, Bian Yangchun couldn't help but frown. Just as he was about to argue with him, Ji Songhua quickly stopped him, "Forget it, it seems that they don't welcome us."

Bian Yangchun had no choice but to walk back to the convoy, feeling a little discouraged.

Xie Chengze tried to comfort them, "It's understandable. There's a famine going on right now, and it's hard for people to accommodate such a large group of us. Why don't we go our separate ways? You wait here, and we'll go to the next county town to find an inn to stay in."

“This…” Bian Yangchun was hesitant when he suddenly heard a plop behind him. He turned around and saw a black figure jumping down from the wall with a bag on his back. When he saw Bian Yangchun, he excitedly waved his hand, “Brother Bian! I’m here to join you!”

Bian Yangchun:?

"Hurry up! If my dad finds out that I ran away with you, he will definitely break my legs!" Gu Ying jumped onto Xie Chengze's carriage like a lively little black dog and urged, "What are you still standing there for! Hurry up! I've got the money!"

Bian Yangchun had no choice but to look at Xie Chengze. Xie Chengze's eyes were immediately filled with smiles, and he said in cooperation, "Let's go!"

The carriage started off, and soon, an old man was heard behind them in a loud voice, yelling and cursing in the street. Some of the words he said were "Don't come back if you dare to leave", "You bastard", "Be careful or you might die out there".

Gu Ying wiped the sweat off his face and explained, "I'm sorry, Brother Bian, for keeping you waiting for so long. My father is too conservative and thought you were here to have a bite to eat, so he didn't dare to receive you."

"I received your letter. I also want to go to the Minjiang River to have a look!" He patted the short knife at his waist and said coolly, "You are a scholar after all. It is very dangerous to go there. I have martial arts to protect you."

He paused, then quickly added, "...you guys!"

Bian Yangchun disagreed, "We went to Yizhou for the Yizhou exam. Xiaoying, you are a martial arts expert, so you will definitely have no problem passing the exam. There is no need to suffer there."

"Well, I'm just sitting around doing nothing!" Seeing that Bian Yangchun still looked disapproving, Gu Ying rolled his bright eyes and said, "Besides, isn't it said that an official from the imperial court will come to Yizhou this time? I'll go over and show off my skills, and maybe I'll be noticed by those officials. Then I'll be able to rise to prominence in the capital, and I'll be able to protect you!"

Ji Songhua couldn't help but interrupt at this time, "Then I'll have to rely more on Brother Gu."

Gu Ying seemed to have just noticed the others. He glanced at Ji Songhua, turned back and asked, "Brother Bian, who is this?"

"His name is Ji Songhua, and he's a student from our village." Bian Yangchun introduced them one by one. When he introduced Xie Chengze, Gu Ying's eyes suddenly widened and stared at him, "Oh my god, brother, you are so handsome!"

Xie Chengze complimented him, "Brother Gu is also very handsome."

Xie Zimiao on the side counted silently. Three "non"s represented the opposite meaning. The second brother must be saying that the other party was not very heroic at all.

"I am indeed very heroic." Gu Ying rubbed his face narcissistically, and then quickly changed the subject, "By the way, where are we staying tonight? My father said that the famine will become more and more serious in the future, so we have to stock up some rice in advance, otherwise we will have no food to eat when we go there, and we won't be able to survive until next year's spring examination!"

"It's hard to say. If we're on the road, we can only sleep on the spot. If we happen to be in the county town, we might be able to find an inn to stay in temporarily."

"No problem, I'll follow Brother Bian!" Gu Ying said cheerfully, hugging Bian Yangchun's arm very intimately, "You can't just ignore me."

Bian Yangchun couldn't help but lower his eyebrows and smiled, "Of course."

The group continued to move forward, and two days later, they arrived at Jiangdu County in the middle reaches of the Minjiang River, where they found that there were many more soldiers guarding outside the city gate.

This exceeds the number of guards in an ordinary county. Now Jiangdu County has suffered the most from the disaster, and most people are fleeing the city to escape the famine. Few people would go the other way.

After sending someone to inquire, we learned that the prefect of Yizhou learned that the students came to observe the reconstruction of the river embankment, so he specially arranged an inn for them to stay in. All students who came could rent it by paying a small amount of silver.

"I didn't expect the governor of Yizhou to be so practical and prepare accommodation for us students who came here after hearing the news." Bian Yangchun said in surprise, "This is the role model of an official!"

Shen Yuan frowned and glanced at Xie Chengze.

Xie Chengze looked innocent and praised, "Yes! This prefect is really a good official!"

Shen Yuan's brows furrowed even tighter.

He roughly guessed what Xie Chengze was planning.