Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Worship the Three Pure Ones
319 Worship the Three Pure Ones
After meeting up with Zhao Zhitong, the group headed straight to the examination hall.
By then, the examination hall had been unsealed. When they arrived, they saw a steady stream of candidates coming out, lively discussions taking place among the scholars.
"Qiao Muchen, Zhao Yue, over here, over here!"
From a distance, Zhao Zhitong saw Qiao Muchen and Zhao Yue walking out side by side. She waved her little hand, beckoning them.
The two of them also saw Zhao Zhitong and her companions. The exhaustion on their faces vanished in an instant, and smiling, they hurried over.
Qiao Muchen asked, "Tongtong, you’re back from the Princess Mansion. How is it? Did the Princess get better? Did the princess give you a hard time?"
Wei Zijian immediately replied, "No, no. My master is so skilled. The princess even wanted to hold a banquet to thank my master, but he refused."
Qiao Muchen smiled, "As long as everything is fine."
It had been a while since they saw each other, and Zhao Zhitong was quite excited. She asked, "How about you guys? Is it cold in the examination hall? Are you tired now? Did your hands go numb while writing?"
She was genuinely concerned about the two of them in the examination hall. She had heard that, despite the arrival of spring, the hall was still very cold.
With all the eating, drinking, and other bodily needs having to be taken care of inside, she was worried that Qiao Muchen’s body, which was very sensitive to cold, might not be able to endure.
Zhao Yue replied first, "No, not at all. Auntie gave us these kneepads she made for us, so we’re very warm, not cold at all."
Wei Shulan folded her arms and smirked at Zhao Yue. "Oh, your thick skin can handle the cold, but Qiao Muchen isn’t a rough man like you. Why are you answering for him?"
"Hey! Who are you calling a rough man?"
Zhao Yue was quite unhappy with the description. "I’ll have you know that I’m suave and handsome! You have no idea how many girls chase after me, yet you dare to call me a rough man."
"Oh." Wei Shulan expressed her total disinterest.
Zhao Yue was instantly provoked by Wei Shulan, like a ruffled rooster, and began to desperately prove to her that he was indeed charming.
Zhao Zhitong couldn’t help but chuckle. When did these two start bickering like this whenever they met? However, she wasn’t too worried since she knew that they didn’t really dislike each other; they just enjoyed trading barbs.
"Qiao Muchen, are you cold?" Zhao Zhitong ignored the squabbling pair and asked Qiao Muchen instead.
Qiao Muchen smiled and replied, "No, I’m not cold. And I’m not tired now either. My hands didn’t go numb while writing. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
Zhao Zhitong laughed, shook her head, and said with a cheerful, silly grin, "No, nothing else."
Qiao Muchen always answered her questions one by one like this, no matter how many she asked at once, and he never seemed to get annoyed.
He would also remember her questions no matter how many times they were interrupted.
Although Qiao Muchen and Zhao Yue said they weren’t tired, their friends were still concerned and decided to let them rest at the inn that day, planning to go out and have fun the next day.
Wei Shulan mentioned that there was a very efficacious Yuqing Monastery in the Capital City. They agreed to visit and pay their respects the following day.
Everyone happily agreed.
「After resting for a day」
The next morning, after breakfast, the group went to Yuqing Monastery together.
"There’s a Peach Grove in the backyard of the Yuqing Monastery," Wei Shulan chattered on, introducing the Yuqing Monastery to Zhao Zhitong. "It’s peach blossom season, so many young ladies and gentlemen come to admire the flowers. Most importantly, there’s a Marriage Fate Tree in the Yuqing Monastery, which is said to be very effective. So, the monastery has a steady stream of worshippers all year round."
Zhao Zhitong listened patiently, occasionally posing questions. "A Marriage Fate Tree? What is it for?"
Wei Shulan explained, "Naturally, it’s for seeking marital fate. It is said that if you write your name and the name of your beloved together and hang it on the tree with a red string, you’ll be connected by the red thread of the Matchmaker God, and kindred spirits will eventually be united."
"Oh, I see," Zhao Zhitong nodded. "So marital fate is something you seek."
Wei Shulan nodded. "Of course, marital fate has to be sought from the Matchmaker God."
"Oh, then I’d quite like to see what the Marriage Fate Tree looks like." Zhao Zhitong was very curious about it.
Wei Shulan declared, "Then let’s go check it out later!"
Zhao Yue, standing to the side, shook his head and sighed, trying to spoil their fun. "You girls just believe in all sorts of nonsense. If the tree really worked, there’d be so many names hanging on it. How could the Matchmaker God possibly keep up?"
Wei Shulan glanced at him. "Some people are just bitter because they don’t have a sweetheart. Don’t mind him, Tongtong."
Zhao Yue retorted, "Who are you calling bitter? And who said I don’t have a sweetheart?"
The moment he said it, Zhao Yue choked on his words.
Zhao Zhitong, on the other hand, suddenly became very interested. She quickly asked, "Wow, Zhao Yue, who’s your sweetheart? Is it someone I know?"
Oh, my! Her good friend actually has a sweetheart! Why am I so excited?
Meanwhile, Wei Shulan put on an indifferent appearance, humming to herself, but her ears were perked up to listen.
Upon hearing Zhao Zhitong’s question, Zhao Yue’s gaze unconsciously fell on Wei Shulan. He then scoffed, "No, I was just kidding. This young master flits through a field of flowers, yet not a single petal clings to him. I’m only destined to be someone else’s sweetheart."
Zhao Zhitong put on an act of being unimpressed. "Hmph."
How disappointing. I thought I was going to get some juicy gossip.
Zhao Yue looked at his friend and reminded her, "Hey, why don’t you ask Qiao the Beauty? I’m sure he’s got a sweetheart."
He then whispered to Zhao Zhitong, "Let me tell you, during the exams, I saw him standing in the corridor, looking at the moon and giggling to himself. That’s a classic sign of having a sweetheart."
Zhao Yue’s attempt at whispering was completely ineffective; Qiao Muchen, standing nearby, heard everything.
Zhao Yue smiled wickedly. "Hey, Qiao Muchen, come on and share with us who your sweetheart is."
Qiao Muchen calmly replied, "Oh, I just remembered. That time you got drunk, you were hugging a pillar and confessing your love for someone... Let me think..."
Zhao Yue’s face stiffened. How could he forget that Qiao Muchen had this on him, especially when he was trying to tease Qiao Muchen?
So, he immediately stopped Qiao Muchen from revealing more. "Uh, uh, I must have misremembered. Don’t you all jump to conclusions. Qiao the Beauty was just reciting poetry to the moon."
Qiao Muchen smiled at Zhao Yue. "Oh, that night I had a bit too much to drink and fell asleep. I didn’t hear a thing."
Zhao Zhitong and Wei Shulan looked at the two men suspiciously. Their intuition told them that something was definitely off with these two.
During their conversation, they arrived at Yuqing Monastery.
Upon entering the Yuqing Monastery, they saw that it was indeed bustling with worshippers.
Wei Shulan suggested, "How about we first pay our respects to the Three Pure Ones, then check out the Marriage Fate Tree, and finally visit the Peach Grove?"
"No problem."
All three agreed, so they went to worship the Three Pure Ones first.
Zhao Zhitong naturally prayed for the safety of her family and friends, and for her good friends to succeed in the examinations and make the honor roll.
After kneeling and praying, the four of them left the Hall of the Three Pure Ones.
Wei Shulan asked, "Tongtong, what did you pray for?"
Zhao Zhitong replied, "For the safety of my family and friends, and for Zhao Yue and Qiao Muchen to make the honor roll. What about you?"
Wei Shulan smiled. "The same. Qiao Muchen, what about you? What did you pray for?"