Jinning Prefecture was located in Jiangnan Province. It was close to the river and rich in natural resources. Because several generations of emperors of Dayan had visited Jiangnan, they all went to Jinning, so it had the reputation of being the "Southern Capital".
It was September, and the Gui Roll had just been released. There were already many candidates who could not wait to embark on the journey to the capital, hoping to get first place in the general exams next year and rise to the top.
The Juren masters were in high spirits. They called for friends, relatives, servants, and officials to send them off. They either sat in sedan chairs, drove carriages, or rode horses. There was an endless stream of carriages and horses on the official road outside the city.
In this grand scene, the strange Taoist priests said that half of the world's talents came from Jiangnan.
Gu Dao stood by the roadside and looked at this scene that was completely different from the later generations with great interest. In the eyes of Old Scholar Liu beside him, it was clearly the envy of an unsuccessful scholar for fame.
Therefore, the old scholar sighed and called out,"Ming Chang."
Mingchang was Gu Dao's name. In the past, when Master lectured him, Gu Mingchang would not dare to neglect him and would respectfully respond and listen to his lecture. But at this moment, the student was still staring at the team that had already left on the official road.
Scholar Liu was not angry. Seeing his student wearing a Confucian scarf and a faded linen shirt, even though he had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, his bearing was not ordinary, it could not help but make people sigh.
He knew that his student was talented, but he could not do anything about it. He failed both the provincial examination and his old mother could not be taken care of, so he gave up on the imperial examination. Now, he was barely making a living by selling paintings and calligraphy. He was already 25 years old.
The old man thought back to his life and failed many times. Later, he opened a school to teach and was recently recruited by the county magistrate as a guest. In the end, he did not have any achievements in the imperial examination.
In a trance, she actually felt that she was in the same boat as her student."Mingchang."
"Ah?" Only then did Gu Dao realize that the old scholar was calling him."Teacher has something to do. Oh, what instructions does Teacher have?"
Scholar Liu saw his absent-minded appearance and his tone became heavier. Don't be impatient."
Seeing that Gu Dao had finally come back to his senses, he did not say anything more. He pointed at the book on Gu Dao's back and said,"You have to copy the scriptures carefully. The governor worships Buddha. This is one of the birthday gifts that the county parents gave to the governor.
I knew your calligraphy was good, so I helped you get it. If the two old masters are satisfied, in the future, you will be better than a thousand taels of silver."
Gu Dao said yes, but he didn't think so in his heart. However, due to his current status, he had to be more respectful to the old scholar.
The two of them chatted for a while by the roadside. The old scholar was still worried. He pulled Gu Dao to a nearby tea stall and sat down. While enlightening him on the path of official career and economy, he repeatedly instructed him to copy the scriptures of the birthday gift.
Seeing that it was getting late, Gu Dao stood up and bade farewell. The old scholar was rejected by him because his mother was too old to leave at night.
"Teacher, please wait. I will take my leave." Gu Dao bowed as a disciple and turned to leave, but he was stopped again.
"Take this with you." As the old man spoke, he handed him a package. Gu Dao was surprised."Teacher was carrying this when he took the scriptures from the county government this afternoon. Is it for me?"
When he opened it, it was full of eggs.
The old man smiled with a hint of pride in his eyes."It's laid by an old hen at home. It's very delicious. I'll give you some."
As he spoke, he snatched Gu Dao's book manual and carefully put the package inside.
Seeing that Gu Dao was about to decline, he said seriously,"It's not for you. You didn't bring some food for your mother when you went into the city. How dare you say that you're my student?"
"In that case, thank you, teacher!"
Scholar Liu waved his hand impatiently."What's this worth? That scripture was the real deal! If you do well and the county lord is satisfied, it might be good for your reputation."
After saying that, he saw Gu Dao looking at him with a hesitant expression. He hurriedly said,"Let's go back and copy the scriptures and study." If you don't participate in the next provincial examination, I won't forgive you!"
Gu Dao nodded. He carried the book and walked a few steps forward. He turned around and bowed to the old man."Teacher, the county office is not as tiring as the village school."
While the scholar was stunned, Gu Dao had already walked far away.
Looking at the back of the student, the old man laughed and shook his head. He thought that the young man was stubborn and wanted to save face, but he did not know that his student was no longer the Gu Mingchang of the past.
More than two months ago, Gu Xin, a freshman, stayed up late to submit his resume. When he woke up the next day, he was already in this world. He became Gu Dao, Gu Mingchang, the unranked scholar of Great Yan University.
It took him more than a month to recover from the shock. During this period, many people thought that he had lost his mind.
What was even more difficult for Gu Dao to accept was that this world did not seem to be as simple as the ancient world in a parallel space-time…
"It's not an illusion. There are indeed some unclean things in Gold Peace City."
Ever since they left Gold Peace City, the feeling of trepidation had disappeared.
Looking at Jin Ning from the main road, one could only see the magnificent ancient city under the bright sun and the gentle wind.
"Scholar Liu has lived in the city for so long, but I haven't heard of anything bad happening…It should be harmless."
It was not that Gu Mingchang did not want to tell the old man directly, but the old scholar was a scholar who studied Confucianism and did not believe in such strange things.
Moreover, how credible was it for a person who had just recovered from his "madness" to say such words?
Gu Dao let his imagination run wild as he walked and unknowingly went down the official road.
He lived in the Gu Clan Village, which was about twenty miles away from Jinning City. He still had to walk down a small country road after getting off the official road.
The small road was not as wide and flat as the official road. Instead, it was built according to the terrain and was rugged.
On both sides of the village road were farmlands. It was the busy farming season now. Farmers were harvesting rice in the fields, or sitting by the roadside in groups of three or five. There were also children who were still young and were chasing and playing with children who were delivering pulp and food in the fields.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle ~" A ball rolled to Gu Dao's feet, and he frowned imperceptibly.
"Fellow villager, give me a hand!" A simple voice came from the farmland.
Gu Dao looked sideways and saw five or six old farmers waving at him. Beside the farmers were six or seven children clapping happily.
He pretended not to see it and continued walking around the ball stiffly.
A few complaints came from the farmland. Another voice came from behind Gu Dao."It's okay, it's okay. They can't see us."
The ball that spoke had all five facial features. It was clearly a head. As the head spoke, one of the headless farmers floated towards the village road.
Gu Dao tried his best to control his body from trembling."We'll be home soon. It's okay. We'll be home soon."
In the evening, the sun was about to set. On both sides of the village road were farmlands. Farmers were either harvesting rice in the fields or sitting by the roadside in groups of three or five. There were also children who were still young and were playing with children who were delivering pulp and food in the fields.
Some were people, some were not…
Other than transmigrating, Gu Dao had another secret. Ever since he came here, he often saw things that ordinary people could not see and would not want to see.