The little princess was torn, and the demon emperor patched her up

Chapter 28 Miss Huo's Groom
Dusk.

A servant in green shorts came to the dilapidated temple and bowed with a smile, saying, "My young lady is getting married tonight. Please come to the back garden at 15:30 and have some wine for us."

Xiao Qian said happily: "Although this little brother and I have never met the young lady, we are grateful for her care and resting in your house. Please tell the young lady that we will definitely attend her wedding banquet."

After the servant left, Xiao Qian straightened his clothes and said, "Little brother, you should also hurry up and get ready."

Shang Bingjiu picked out a red lantern from the basket, lit it slowly, and then used a bamboo pole to hang it under the eaves of the dilapidated temple.

He looked at Xiao Baojing: "It's too dark at night. Light the lantern and the little princess won't be afraid anymore."

The tips of Xiao Baojing's ears turned slightly red.

This peddler is quite considerate.

After Shang Bingjiu and Xiao Qian left, Xiao Baojing climbed out of the box and squatted at the door of the dilapidated temple with his face in his hands.

What on earth was she doing in this garden?

She touched her bag and suddenly took out "The Analects" and some papers.

The paper was filled with words written in her handwriting. She read them one by one, vaguely remembered, and murmured to herself: "Yes, I came from Furong Town in Julu Mountain. I want to go to Yejing to find the national teacher. I also promised Ji Zhengyan that I would send him to see Yunniang..."

She opened the Analects and called out, "Ji Zhengyan! Ji Zhengyan!"

A wisp of green smoke floated out of the book, and soon a figure in wide clothes and a belt emerged.

Xiao Baojing frowned.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but Ji Zhengyan’s figure is a little fainter than before.

Ji Zhengyan bowed politely and said, "I wonder how this lady knows me?"

Xiao Baojing was stunned.

Ji Zhengyan, forgot about her.

She probed: "Do you remember who you are?"

"I am a newly-appointed Jinshi in the first year of Zhengyuan, Ji Zhengyan is right."

"Where are you from?"

"I came from Yuhua Lane, and my fiancée is still waiting for me to come home."

When talking about Yunniang, a gentle look appeared on Ji Zhengyan's stern face.

"It's good that you still remember this..." Xiao Baojing breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's go to Yuhua Lane to meet Yunniang now!"

She ran out with the Analects in her pocket, and Ji Zhengyan followed behind her, shouting, "Who are you, young lady? Why are you going to Yuhua Lane? Could it be that you also know Yunniang? But how can a man and a woman like you and I walk together in the middle of the night? It's really disgraceful!"

Xiao Baojing didn't say anything, but repeated the seven words "Go to Yuhua Lane to see Yunniang" in his mind, fearing that he would forget them halfway.

But soon after running out of the dilapidated temple, Ji Zhengyan suddenly stopped leaving.

Xiao Baojing turned around anxiously: "Ji Zhengyan?"

The young man sat upright on a stone, his eyes lowered and his sleeves raised to cover half of his face. "Young lady, you are young, you don't know that boys and girls should sit separately when they are six years old. However, I am well-versed in classics, history, and literature. I am concerned about your reputation, so I cannot go with you."

If there was no hammer around, Xiao Baojing really wanted to hit him on the head with the hammer.

What time is it now? And you’re still talking about fame, fame!
This death scene with his sleeves covering his face is just like that of Tang Monk in Journey to the West!

She was about to scold him when a few green phosphorescent lights came closer.

A servant in green appeared under the loquat tree and bowed to the two of them with a smile, "My young lady is getting married tonight and is hosting a banquet in the garden. Why don't you two go over there?"

Xiao Baojing refused crisply: "We don't have money to pay for the gift, so let's not go!"

The servant said, "My new son-in-law is a newly-appointed scholar, can write excellent essays, and his family is wealthy and prominent. Why should the two of you pay a gift?"

Ji Zhengyan asked curiously, "I wonder in which year your new son-in-law passed the imperial examination?" "He passed the imperial examination in the first year of Zhengyuan."

The first year of Zhengyuan...

Ji Zhengyan clapped his hands and laughed: "I am also a newly-appointed Jinshi in the same year! How can I not drink at the wedding of my classmates? Take me to the banquet quickly!"

Xiao Baojing watched them walk towards the back garden and his jaw dropped.

"Ji Zhengyan!"

She shouted, but seeing that Ji Zhengyan didn't even turn back, she had no choice but to chase after him.

The lights in the back garden are as bright as day.

An embroidered building hung with lanterns is hidden among the loquat trees. There are twenty or thirty banquet tables on the open space in front of the building. The wine and fruits are fragrant and the delicacies are abundant. The scene is bustling with people and the food is toasting.

"Ji Zhengyan, come back soon!"

Xiao Baojing chased after the young man in loose clothes and nearly knocked over several maids who were carrying trays to serve the dishes.

The maids were wearing yellow and green skirts, and all of them had round, cute faces, just like twins. The leading maid cursed Xiao Baojing "hateful" in a coquettish tone, and the other maids followed suit. Even their voices were exactly the same.

Xiao Baojing apologized and hurried to chase Ji Zhengyan, but he was no longer in sight.

In a panic, she wandered around and even broke into the embroidery building.

The maids in the embroidery building were all busy preparing for the young lady and her husband's wedding, and no one had time to pay attention to her.

Xiao Baojing originally wanted to leave the embroidery building, but the rooms and stairs in the building were like a maze. She opened the door at random and didn't know whose boudoir she broke into.

The boudoir was decorated festively, with even big red "囍" characters pasted on the window frames.

But those hanging from the beams...

Xiao Baojing's pupils suddenly shrank.

Countless bodies of men in bright red wedding gowns were hanged under the beams of the house. They were so crowded together that it was impossible to count them at a glance. Some were so old that they had already dried into skeletons. Only the empty, loose wedding gowns were left swaying in the night wind.

Xiao Baojing swallowed.

These are...

The groom who is marrying the young lady?
She slammed the door shut, turned around and ran out.

Finally she ran outside the embroidery building. Her face was pale. She didn't find Ji Zhengyan at the banquet, but she saw him at the foot of the wall.

"Ji Zhengyan!"

She shouted, but the young man did not respond to her.

She ran over and scolded, "What are you looking at so intently? Have you even forgotten your own name?"

Ji Zhengyan raised his hand and pointed at something stuck on the wall.

It was a long, big red notice announcing the results of the imperial examinations, densely written with names. They were the names of the new Jinshi candidates who had passed the imperial examinations in the first year of Zhengyuan.

Xiao Baojing suddenly realized: "So you are looking at the results notice of that year! What place did you get? Where is your name?"

Ji Zheng said nothing.

Xiao Baojing took a quick look but didn't find Ji Zhengyan's name.

She looked carefully again, but still couldn't find Ji Zhengyan's name.

"Ah, this..." Xiao Baojing looked at him suspiciously, "Could it be that you failed the imperial examination and imagined that you passed the imperial examination? I heard that there was a kind of ghost in ancient times called the imperial examination ghost. When they died, they were depressed because they failed the imperial examination. They became resentful and turned into ghosts. They like to teach others and instruct scholars. Ji Zhengyan, could it be that you are the imperial examination ghost?"

(End of this chapter)