Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

"You, you! I told you not to cause trouble when you are out!"

Li Fu pointed at Li Zhi and scolded him.

Li Zhi remained calm and said, "It's my fault. Please punish me, father."

Although Li Zhi admitted his mistake, his cold and calm voice made it seem like he was throwing a tantrum.

However, Li Fu had long been accustomed to his son's tone and voice, so he didn't say anything. He was just thinking in his heart with great annoyance about how to help Li Zhi clean up this mess.

The reason why Li Fu appeared in the capital was actually because he was worried about his son.

After being restless at home for two days, he finally rushed to the capital under the pretext of investigating business.

After rushing and hurrying, he finally arrived in the capital, but he didn't expect to hear bad news as soon as he arrived: his beloved son had beaten up several second-generation officials in the capital.

These young masters who dare to abuse their power in the capital by relying on their family's protection have elders in their families who are officials of no less than the third rank.

This is no small matter. If it is not handled properly, Li Zhi will go to jail.

This frightened Li Fu so much that he almost fainted on the spot.

However, no matter what, since it has already happened, we can only find a way to solve it.

So Li Fu booked the best restaurant in the capital - Juzuilou.

He also used nice words to invite the few young masters who had been thrown out by Zhang Da that day to come.

Although those young masters were of noble status, they were strictly disciplined at home and the monthly allowance they received was not much. Seeing that Li Fu wanted to be a money-giving boy and spend money to get things done, they naturally agreed.

So a few of them came together laughing and joking.

After the meal, thanks to Li Fu's humble and deliberate flattery, the young masters ate and drank well and were in a good mood.

Therefore, after Li Fu handed each person a large sum of silver notes, several young masters were very sensible and said that they would not hold Li Zhi accountable for the past.

After the young masters had eaten and drunk their fill and left in a swagger, Li Fucai sat on a chair with a tired face, beating his sore feet.

Li Zhi looked at Li Fu, who had been busy pouring wine and serving food to the young master since he arrived, running around without even having time to sit down.

There seemed to be some fluctuation in the calm eyes, but it was immediately covered by calmness.

 …

Not long after the official second generation incident, Li Fu had to go back because of some problems in his family business.

Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded Li Zhi not to cause trouble.

Li Zhi naturally agreed, and then stayed in the inn all day long, studying hard, and rarely even stepped out of the room, as if all the troubles in the outside world had nothing to do with him.

The days passed one by one, and as the day of the imperial examination drew closer, more and more students came to study in the capital.

That day, Chen Xi came to Li Zhi's room.

"Young Master, I heard that many students have recently gone to the Confucius Temple in the west of the city to worship. It is said that this Confucius Temple has a long history and is very popular. Many people believe that praying here for academic success and success in the imperial examinations can gain the blessing of gods. Do you want to go and take a look too?" Chen Xi asked.

Li Zhi thought about it and realized that he hadn't been out for a long time, so he agreed.

After packing up, Li Zhi took Zhang Da and Chen Xi out.

There are many more people coming and going on the street than before, and the scene is shoulder to shoulder everywhere.

After walking and squeezing in the street, we finally arrived at the Confucius Temple.

The Confucius Temple was even more crowded, with all kinds of stalls lined up at the entrance, and the stall owners and vendors were working hard to sell their own products.

Li Zhi took a quick glance and saw that most of them were pendants for good luck or things like brushes.

He was not interested in these things, so he led Zhang Dachen into the Confucius Temple.

The Confucius Temple was filled with burning incense and huge crowds of people.

Not only scholars waiting for imperial examinations came here, but also many came to pray for their families, and some women even came here to find their marriage partners.

Li Zhi came to the statue of Confucius and saw that the statue had one hand behind its back and the other holding a book. Looking from afar, he had an extraordinary demeanor.

In front of the statue of Confucius, devout people kneel down and pray.

Seeing this, Chen Xi also said to Li Zhi: "Young Master, why don't you also pray and ask Confucius to bless you with a successful imperial examination this time."

Although Li Zhi was confident about this imperial examination, after hearing what Chen Xi said, he did not refuse his kindness and was about to follow the others in kneeling down to worship Confucius.

Just as Li Zhi was about to kneel down, his body suddenly shook.

An almost crazy roar sounded in his heart!

No kneeling!

No worship allowed!

No begging allowed!

This is not what you want!

This is not what you are looking for!

No!

No!

No!

Li Zhi's eyes, which had always been as calm as water, turned slightly red for the first time.

He was completely unable to move, as if he was frightened by the roar.

Li Zhi just stood there motionless, and Zhang Da and Chen Xi also noticed something was going on.

But before they could say anything, Li Zhi moved. He staggered and almost fell. Fortunately, Zhang Da was quick to catch him.

Li Zhi steadied his body, raised his head and took a deep look at the statue of Confucius.

"Let's go." Li Zhi lowered his head slightly and said calmly. He returned to his original calm state.

"Ah? Now that you're here, don't you want to pay your respects?" Chen Xi asked in surprise.

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "I don't want anything, so I won't kneel down and worship you."

It was originally just a conversation between master and servant, but unexpectedly it was heard by others.

I saw a man shouting, "How dare you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi looked at the man. He saw that the man was about 40 years old, well-dressed, and obviously a wealthy or noble person.

At this moment, his eyes were wide open, his hair was standing on end with anger, and he pointed at Li Zhi with one hand and shouted, "How can the venerable Confucius not be worthy of your kneeling down to him! You look like a scholar, but as a scholar, you don't have the slightest respect for Confucius in your heart! You are unworthy of being a scholar!"

Li Zhi listened to the man in front of him scolding, his face unchanged, he bowed to him and said: "Confucius taught the world, I should respect him, but Confucius's way is not what I pursue, if it is not what I seek, I cannot worship him."

"Oh! You are just trying to attract attention! As a scholar, you don't follow the teachings of Confucius, but instead focus on unorthodox ways. With your attitude, I am sure you will fail in this imperial examination!" the man sneered.

Zhang Da and Chen Xi's faces changed. They thought it was because this man had just heard that Li Zhi was also going to take an imperial examination.

Zhang Da lost his temper and spoke up for his master before Li Zhi could speak. He said, "You are such a scoundrel. It has nothing to do with you whether my master bows or not. Besides, the imperial examination depends on one's own talent, and you can decide it with just one word!"

Li Zhi gently pulled Zhang Da, signaling him to stop talking. If one were to be serious about this matter, it was indeed his fault. With the identity of a scholar, he said disrespectful words to Confucius in front of him. This was heresy, and anyone who heard it would call him arrogant.

But Li Zhi himself didn't know what he wanted. He came here just to give it a try.

I just didn't expect this to happen.

He felt quite helpless. He had just promised his father Li Fu that he would not cause trouble, but as soon as he went out, he got into trouble again.

He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, nor did he want to argue with this person anymore, so he pulled Zhang Dabian and wanted to leave.

Li Zhi admitted his mistake, but the other party didn't want to let him go easily.

He took a step forward, stood in front of Li Zhi, and said with great momentum: "Confucius taught the world, and all the scholars in the world are disciples of the sage. As a scholar, if you don't respect Confucius' teachings, you are disloyal, unrighteous and unkind!"

Hearing the host being scolded, Zhang got so angry that his face turned red. Even Chen Xi, who was usually good-tempered, had red eyes.

The man glanced at Zhang Da, not taking him seriously at all, and said, "You just said that the imperial examination cannot be decided by me alone? Do you know who I am?"

Zhang Da was stunned for a moment, and a bad feeling arose in his heart.

The man waved his sleeves and said, "I am Huang Cheng, the current Minister of Rites, and the chief examiner of this examination! Do you think I am qualified?"