No matter if you are a human or an immortal, you can still farm for me after traveling through time!

At the end of March, Ji Qingyue's shop business gradually got back on track.

Li Sanlang set off early for the palace to take the final exam.

Ji Qingyue stayed alone in the shop for half a day, thinking about where to go after the business was over, while worrying about Li Sanlang.

I heard from Sanlang that the palace examination papers are usually handed in before sunset and then you can leave. The results of the palace examination will be out within four or five days, and the gold list is still posted on the east wall of the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.

Then it will be truly “passing the imperial examination”!

At this time, in the solemn imperial palace, eighty-eight tribute scholars arrived at the designated location before sunrise, and then followed the palace servants into the majestic palace city, until they entered the tall and magnificent Taiji Hall.

Officials from the Honglu Temple had already placed a yellow table in front of the imperial throne, and on the table were today's test papers.

At this time, the emperor was sitting on the throne, looking down at the candidates waiting outside the hall.

Officials from the Guanglu Temple were responsible for arranging the examination tables and seating the candidates. Candidates drew number cards outside the hall and entered the hall in order.

They had already been examined before entering the palace, and now they sat down quietly with their stationery and a bag of palace cakes. The palace cakes were distributed to the candidates by the palace servants while they were waiting, to prevent those candidates who did not bring food from fainting from hunger in the examination room.

Unfortunately, the inexperienced Li Sanlang was one of them.

The first thing every candidate who enters the Taiji Hall must do is kneel down and pay their respects, and then they can go to their seats and wait for the exam to begin.

Li Sanlang was wearing an indigo blue round-necked robe with a leather belt connected to a silver belt hook, tied around his thin waist, with a small sachet hanging down, making him look both energetic and upright.

Most people from the Northwest are tall and strong, and Li Sanlang is no exception. It's just that he has used his brain too much in recent years, which has consumed a lot of energy, so he can't hold on to the flesh.

Even so, his tall frame makes him look like what Ji Qingyue calls a "clothes hanger", and a simple robe can make him look different.

Li Sanlang found his seat according to the number and knelt on the mat.

After arranging the stationery, he finally freed himself to quietly survey the entire hall.

In addition to the emperor sitting on the throne, there were also many high-ranking officials and ministers in the examination room.

Beside the yellow table under the emperor's seat stood a white-haired old man, wearing purple court robes, a jade crown on his head, and a dignified look on his face.

There were several chairs placed on the left and right sides of the hall, with officials wearing purple and red robes sitting on them.

Li Sanlang looked to the left and saw a middle-aged man with a beautiful beard leading the way.

Rumor has it that Lu Shu, the Left Prime Minister, is a handsome man.

At this time, the purple-robed man leading the group on the left also turned around and met Li Sanlang's gaze.

Li Sanlang, who was caught stealing glances, did not avoid the gaze, but respectfully clasped his hands and bowed to show his respect.

The handsome middle-aged man nodded slightly and then turned his eyes away.

The emperor, sitting high on the throne, had a panoramic view of everything that was happening in the hall. He turned his head slightly, and the white-haired eunuch Zhang Yi, who was serving beside the throne, immediately leaned over and whispered something to the emperor.

The emperor nodded, and when all the candidates were seated, he announced the start of the exam.

Upon hearing this, the purple-robed old man beside the yellow desk immediately saluted the emperor, picked up the test paper on the yellow desk, and opened it in front of everyone.

The opened test papers were then distributed to the candidates one by one by officials from the Ministry of Rites. The candidates who received the test papers could then answer the questions, and the time limit for answering was before sunset.

As the highest level exam, it not only tests the candidates' literary talent, understanding of political history and culture, and ability to analyze current affairs, but also exercises their psychological endurance.

Under the supervision of the emperor and many high-ranking officials, can he still think clearly and answer the questions calmly?

……

The palace examination went smoothly in the imperial palace, but Ji Qingyue in the shop welcomed an unexpected customer.

Seeing that it was already noon, Ji Qingyue was feeling very sleepy after having lunch. He immediately closed the shop door and planned to go upstairs to lie down and take a nap before going out to play when the sun was smaller.

It was around the end of the afternoon. After a short nap, Ji Qingyue got up, washed up, and put on a cap, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Just as I was about to go downstairs, there was a knock on the door.

He thought the visitor was the same as usual, another customer who came to buy flowers.

"Sorry, the store is closed today." Ji Qingyue refused through the door.

The visitor was a woman, her voice filled with anxiety: "Shopkeeper, could you please be flexible? My daughter wants to buy a few peonies from you. Please give them up."

The store has already gained a reputation, and anyone who is interested can find it with a little inquiry. In autumn, the seed shop will be promoted again.

The peonies on the wall are in bud, and there is not much time left before they officially bloom.

I can sell it...

The woman outside the shop didn't hear the shopkeeper's answer for a long time. She realized that the shopkeeper was hesitating, so she immediately put forward a condition: "Please name your price. No matter what the price is, my lady will agree to it."

Ji Qingyue was ashamed. It was too easy to make money from people in Chang'an.

When the door opened, Ji Qingyue saw clearly the woman knocking on the door. She was a maid dressed in Hu clothing.

"I wonder if the shopkeeper is willing to give it up?"

Ji Qingyue spoke frankly, "The reason I don't want to sell flowers is not because I love them so much that I can't bear to part with them, but because the shop still needs these flowers as a signboard. Now that my goal has been achieved, there's no question of whether to part with them or not. As long as the price is right, the girl will buy them."

No matter what the reason was for the shopkeeper to refuse to sell flowers, he now agreed. The maid was overjoyed and couldn't help turning around and waving in a certain direction of the street.

"My young lady is just around the corner. Please wait a moment, boss."

Ji Qingyue looked at a small carriage slowly approaching, his eyes full of shock.

The carriage is made of rosewood, with soft gauze hanging on it, fluttering in the wind. Four gold tassels hang from the four corners of the hood, and two lanterns hang on the frame, indicating that the owner of this carriage is of extraordinary status.

It was her.

Lu Lu, who was also wearing Hu clothing, got out of the car and soon came in front of Ji Qingyue.

Ji Qingyue said nothing, but just took a step back and made way for the aisle.

Although they were all wearing Hu clothing, it was obvious that the Hu clothing worn by Miss Lu was different from those of the five maids around her in terms of style and material.

The black gauze hat is decorated with gems, the brocade with Baoxiang patterns is tailored to the body, and there is a jade hook belt inlaid with gems around the waist.

The little girl has escaped from the nightmare in Shandan and returned to Chang'an under the protection of her family. She is as elegant and free as the wind.

I didn't expect a confrontation to happen so soon.

When Lu Lu walked into the store, she immediately saw a whole wall of peonies. Plants of different heights were placed in different positions, giving people a heavy and oppressive feeling of "dark clouds pressing down on the city".

After admiring the peonies in the shop, Lu Lu turned around and wanted to discuss something with the shopkeeper.

The five maids, led by Tu Lun, each took their own positions, guarding the shop door and controlling every move in the shop.

This shopkeeper was really strange. He was still talking just now, but why did he stand silently by the door without saying a word since the young lady entered? Shouldn't a normal shopkeeper greet guests enthusiastically?

Tu Lun, who came to knock on the door, was the most suspicious. She had just clearly seen the shock and hesitation in the eyes of the Hu shopkeeper when he saw her young lady's carriage.

If he was shocked, it could be explained as the foreigner knew the young lady's noble status and that he could only make a profit and not a loss by making this deal.

But this person... didn't show any joy at all, he was actually hesitant!

Why else would a foreign merchant open a shop if not to make money?

Not right.

So as soon as he entered the door, Tu Lun stood opposite Ji Qingyue, paying attention to his own lady while staring at Ji Qingyue closely.

"Shopkeeper, I want to buy ten White Snow Pagoda trees from you. I wonder how much they cost?" Lu Lu asked, but received no answer for a long time. She couldn't help but frown, "Shopkeeper?"

"Miss Lu, please name your price."

Finally, Ji Qingyue sighed and spoke.

Now it was Lu Lu's turn to widen her eyes.

This voice...!!

Faced with the young lady's careless loss of composure, several maids stepped forward and said, "Young lady, what's wrong?! Is there something wrong?!"

Lu Lu patted his chest and exhaled gently to calm down.

When she calmed down, she waved her hand, signaling them not to worry: "I'm fine."

Although the maids didn't know why their young lady lost her composure, they knew in their hearts that it must be related to the Hu merchant in front of them.

The reason why several maids did not recognize Ji Qingyue was that they did not have the opportunity to have close contact with him when they were in Shandan.

When Lu Lu walked into Yangshu Hutong to ask Ji Qingyue for help, only Shufu had been with her the longest. If Shufu was still there, he would definitely be able to recognize the voice.

"I wonder if there's room in the shop for guests? I need to discuss the exact price with the owner."

Several maids expressed confusion at their young lady's unexpected behavior.

What's wrong with you, miss? Didn't you agree to go back after buying flowers?

Ji Qingyue made a "please" gesture towards the stairs, and then climbed up the stairs first.

Only two maids were left guarding downstairs, and Lu Lu followed Ji Qingyue up to the second floor with three maids.

The study was on the right side of the stairs. When Ji Qingyue pushed open the door and looked up at the scroll on the wall, he immediately felt something was wrong. However, the person who came had already caught up with him. If he rushed in to take down the scroll first, it would definitely be too late. As long as he moved out of the way, the four masters and servants behind him would see the scroll on the wall at a glance.

It's really a case of planning everything out, but one move is too late.

This can't be concealed now.

Sure enough, just as Ji Qingyue stepped into the study and slightly moved aside, a cry of surprise came from behind him.

Tu Lun pointed at the scroll on the wall and said, "Look, young lady!"

Lu Lu also saw that the painting on the wall was the one that was stolen from the mansion.

She walked into the study silently and looked around the simple study.

In an instant, more and more questions like a tangled thread rolled around in her mind.

The appearance of this painting is strange.

The scroll, which should have been neatly stacked in an empty secret room, was suddenly hung at the entrance, as if to attract the attention of anyone entering the secret room.

When the scroll was taken out, the letters and tokens she had given to her benefactor were also found.

The strangest thing was that the scroll stored in the ear room was snatched down by someone and then disappeared from the mansion.

Finally, the painting went around in a circle and appeared in a seed shop in the south of the city, and the owner of the seed shop turned out to be the benefactor.

Wasn’t my benefactor assassinated and died alone in the mountains at the beginning of last year?

"Miss Lu is wondering why this painting is in my hands."

Lu Lu nodded.

She stood in the study with her head nodded and her hands behind her back, like a proud peacock.

Unfortunately, Ji Qingyue couldn't tell her the truth, so he could only ask, "Miss, do you know what happened to me in Shandan?"

"know."

"I wonder if Miss knows who is behind this?"

"Father found out that the person who murdered my benefactor might be from Tuyuhun."

The corners of Ji Qingyue's mouth rose slightly. He was not at all surprised or doubtful about the answer, as if he had known it for a long time.

Now it was Lu Lu's turn to be surprised: "My benefactor knows the identity of my enemy?"

Ji Qingyue shook his head gently: "I don't know, I'm just guessing."

Since Ji Qingyue refused to give a direct answer, Lu Lu did not force him, but asked the original question again.

Why does the painting appear here?

When Hu Xiao discovered that the scroll had disappeared, he immediately reported it to her.

After a thorough investigation, no loopholes were found.

It's so strange. All this points to one possibility: the painting was not stolen, but escaped on its own.

How can it be!

"Ms. Lu, please forgive me for not being able to tell you the truth now. Just think of it as a fate between me and this painting."

Ji Qingyue refused to answer again and again, which angered Tu Lun and Hu Xiao behind Lu Lu. They were the ones who took the scroll out of the secret room and they were the ones who discovered it was lost. Do you know how much psychological trauma this caused them?

Lu Lu raised her hand to signal Tu Lun and Hu Xiao behind her to not worry, and asked softly, "Was it you who hung the envelope and the token on the painting?"

Ji Qingyue nodded.

"You..." Lu Lu shook her lips slightly and said hesitantly: "Are you in the secret room?"

Ji Qingyue did not answer and remained silent.

Everyone was silent now.

Tu Lun and the others didn't know why their young lady asked this, while Lu Lu lowered his head and began to think.

After a long while, she took a deep breath, smiled helplessly, and seemed to finally give up the topic.

"Benefactor, let's discuss the price of ten White Snow Towers."

"Miss Lu, you should still call me Pu Yan in Chang'an..."

"Puyan...? Is that your name now?"

"Ah."

Finally, the two of them discussed it and finally decided on a price.

Just because one is unwilling to sell at a high price and the other is unwilling to buy at a low price.

Buying the flowers was enough to settle the matter. Lu Lu went downstairs and looked at the wall of peonies. She said jokingly, "If Princess Yong'an knew I bought flowers from you, your shop would be empty in a day."

"It would be great if someone is willing to buy flowers." Although Ji Qingyue said this, he couldn't help but complain in his heart: At the latest tomorrow, Princess Yong'an will send people to empty the entire store.

After Ji Qingyue sent Lu Lu out of the store, he closed the door.

Lu Lu set a time for someone to pick up the flowers, so she couldn't go out for fun in the afternoon.

Back in the study, Ji Qingyue took off the cap on his head, slumped in the chair, and wrote about the accident that happened today in the letter.

The current situation is not getting better, but it is not getting worse either.

The emperor and his officials recovered a small amount of land by dealing with Buddhist temples, then suppressed bandits to regain the lost labor force and stabilize society at the same time; they strengthened the army through military reforms, so that they could better resist foreign enemies.

At present, the effect of tax reform is not obvious, and most of the land is still firmly held by large landowners and nobles.

Will the emperor issue other measures to continue to put pressure on the large landowners and nobles?