Back In Time For Imperial Examination Chapter 3

Ryan Cui handed the mirror to the servant and asked him to return it to its master.

The servant left in response. Just as he reached the door, a somewhat harsh voice suddenly sounded outside: "What are you doing here with a mirror in your hand? Haven't you packed your things yet? The master has ordered before going to the yamen that the young master must be sent back to his hometown today. Now it's almost noon, and there are still so many boxes and crates that haven't been loaded. Are you waiting for the master to come home to vent your anger again?"

He was lying on the bed and couldn't turn around. He could only see a man in a blue gown, with one foot on the doorstep, pointing and talking like an overseer.

Another person outside the door said, "Cui Ming, you have also seen the young master's injuries, how can you bear to rush him like this?"

Cui Ming snorted coldly: "Uncle Yuan, you only saw that the eldest master was injured, but didn't you see the second master's injury? Are you complaining that the master is unkind or that the wife is unkind? Because of your long-term friendship with my father, I will just pretend that I didn't hear it. Tell your son Ethan Peng to stop wandering around and help load the car when he is free. Let's get on the road earlier so that everyone can be safe."

With him watching, the servants moved faster. Bong Yan, who had brought back the mirror, also joined the moving procession. Boxes and crates were sent out one after another. When they were almost done, two tall male servants came in and carried Ryan Cui to drag him under the bed.

"Uncle Yuan" rushed over to stop him, and asked someone to find a spring stool and put several layers of bedding on it. The two servants put a pole under the stool and carried him to the backyard in big strides. There was a small cart with a green oil-covered roof parked there, which was filled with various boxes and bundles. There were also a few tied to the roof, leaving only a narrow space next to the door, so he had to curl up to lie down.

Alex Cui sighed and said, "Such a narrow car, with bumps on the road, what if it hits the young master's wound?"

Cui Ming smiled faintly: "The eldest young master is being punished and is returning home, not being assigned an errand to manage the family business. How good a car can he need? We only have a few cars in total. The master wants to meet guests, the second young master wants to hire a doctor, and the lady has to ask the servants to go out to do things... Where can we leave? According to the master's intention, we should rent a car outside, but the lady felt sorry for the eldest young master's injury, so she specially made this car available for you. Uncle Yuan, please advise the eldest young master a lot after returning home. If he grows up in the future, the lady may persuade the master to take him back."

The threshold of the outer courtyard had been removed, and several strong servants pulled the carriage out. Alex Cui did not bother to argue with him, and went out to drive the carriage. Then he told his son: "You follow the carriage from behind, and watch the young master carefully, don't let him touch the wound."

Ethan Peng followed the carriage obediently, occasionally lifting the curtain to look at Ryan Cui. Ryan Cui grew up in modern society, so he could not feel at ease watching a 10-year-old child walking behind a carriage. When he lifted the curtain to look at him, he reached out and grabbed the curtain, saying in a stern voice: "You go sit in the front. I will call you from the back if I need someone. Otherwise, I will not be able to stay here peacefully if you keep looking at me."

After he said that several times, Ethan Peng finally rushed to the front of the carriage and sat side by side with his father to drive the carriage.

The car had not gone far when the gate was slammed shut from the inside, shutting tightly...

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The weather on the road was extremely hot, but the carriage was small and stuffy, and the two small windows for ventilation were blocked by the cage. Alex Cui was afraid that the young master's wound would fester, so he stopped the car not far from Cui's house and walked to the back of the carriage to check his wound.

The road was crowded with people, many of them rode past the car and looked in curiously. Ryan Cui held onto his belt and refused to let go, saying firmly: "I know my wounds, and they will cool down after applying the medicine. It won't be a problem. It's useless for us to watch them on the road. If the wounds are stained with dust, it will be easy to get infected. I will change the medicine myself when we get to where we live."

Alex Cui said helplessly: "If someone is injured, he still needs to sprinkle a handful of fine soil on the wound to stop the bleeding. Even if it gets a little dust on it, what can it do? If the young master doesn't want me to see him, then it doesn't matter. After we leave the capital, we will first find a clean inn to stay in and ask a doctor to see his injuries."

He touched Ryan Cui's forehead and felt it was a little hot. He sighed and went back to the front to drive.

Although he was worried about Ryan Cui's injury, he did not dare to find a place to stay in Beijing. He was afraid that those who were bent on currying favor with his wife would hear about his staying in a hotel to recuperate, and tell Victor Cui about it behind his back, which would further hurt the relationship between them. Fortunately, the official roads in and out of the capital were very flat, and the carriage was not too bumpy if it went faster, so he hurriedly drove away from Beijing and arrived in Tongzhou at lunch time.

He didn't know the place very well, so after entering the city he asked a few people, then walked down the main road and headed straight for the inn on the street.

This inn is a two-story building. From the outside, it looks very gorgeous with flying eaves, brackets, and colorfully carved bricks. However, the lobby seems a bit deserted for some reason.

Alex Cui and his son drove close to the store door, but saw that the customers inside were all sitting with their heads down and not eating. Outside the store, there were a few men in cloth clothes and caps guarding the door. They were all tall and strong, with fierce auras and sharp eyes like eagle hooks staring at the customers passing by, forcing passers-by to move to the other side of the official road.

There were also a few people dressed up as servants standing timidly beside the big men. Alex Cui didn't know what was going on, so he stopped the car and asked from a distance: "Little brother, is your store open for guests today? My young master is in a hurry to stay in a store, so if this one doesn't work, we'll go to another one."

The waiters dared not speak, but a sturdy man standing at the door glanced at him and said in a deep voice: "You speak official language very well. Judging from your attire, you look like a servant of an official in Beijing. Who is your master? You said that your young master was in the back carriage, but why are the ruts so deep? It looks like there is cargo piled in there?"

While he was asking the question, there were suddenly several loud noises coming from upstairs of the inn, like someone slamming a table, and shouting, but they could not be seen clearly through the window.

The more Alex Cui looked at it, the more he felt something was wrong. He regretted following someone's advice and coming to this inn. He shook the reins and said, "Since we can't stay in your inn, we'll just leave. Why treat him like a thief? My young master is the son of an official. How can we just pull him out and interrogate him?"

He was a little annoyed, but didn't want to get involved, so he turned his horse around to avoid them and get back on the road. But the big man winked at everyone, led his men to the front of the horse, and said calmly: "The Jinyiwei are investigating a case here, and you bumped into us. You look suspicious. You can't leave unless you explain yourself."

He walked to the front of the car, lifted up his shirt, revealing a slender embroidered spring sword, and waved it in front of the father and son.

Alex Cui had seen the Jinyiwei raiding a house in Beijing, and his face immediately turned pale. He said in a trembling voice, "Sir, my young master is the eldest son of Cui Langzhong of the Yunnan Division of the Ministry of Revenue. Today is his first time going out. We were going back to our hometown in Qian'an, so we brought extra luggage, which is why the wheels were pressed deep. We have nothing to do with the villains you are looking for!"

The big man pondered and said, "Are you the son of Doctor Victor Cui? Do you have a pass with you?"

Alex Cui immediately took out the pass from his sleeve, and took out a whole envelope of silver from his bosom, and stuffed them into his pocket. But the Jinyiwei refused to take the silver. After reading the pass, he returned it to him and waved his hand, saying, "You are unlucky. We, Captain Xie, are investigating a case here. I cannot let you go until the demon is captured. Wait here."

Alex Cui complained bitterly and pleaded, "My young master is injured. He is stuck in the car in such hot weather. I am afraid that the wound will flare up, which will be fatal!"

The Jinyiwei wondered, "Who did your young master offend? Why did he have to return to his hometown with injuries? I have never heard of any nobles or ministers having a grudge against anyone recently."

The Cui family father and son were family members, and they couldn't say that their master favored his step-wife and youngest son, and beat the eldest son of Yuandi like this, so they could only hold back their anger. The Jinyiwei didn't ask any more questions, but waved his hand and asked the two people beside him to go to the back for inspection.

Two Jinyiwei walked around to the back of the car, knocked on the door, and politely called out: "Is it Mr. Cui in the car? Please get out of the car and see him. We want to check the things in the car."

The door was pushed open from the inside, and five pale, slender fingers were placed on the edge of the door, revealing half of a sick face. The face was as pale as the hands, and the cheeks were burning red. Although it was mostly covered by the car and the sleeves, the exposed eyebrows and eyes were as bright as leaping flames, instantly illuminating the vision of those who saw it.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his nose was red. He smiled at the two guards with tears in his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "Sorry, I have been curled up in the car all the way, and my legs are a little numb. Please wait for me to get off slowly."

The two of them looked at his appearance and felt that their earlier suspicion that he was a bandit was blasphemous. They said in a friendly manner: "It's okay. Master Cui is injured. Don't hold on. We will help you down."

As he said that, he opened the car door and carried him out.

Ryan Cui was bored in the car all the way. Although he didn't feel anything because he was reading in his head, the muscles in his legs were actually so tense that he lost all feeling. It was not until he was called that he realized that his legs couldn't support his body at all. He felt numb and painful, and he almost fell to his knees as soon as his feet touched the ground.

Fortunately, two people nearby helped him up. He held onto the body of the car and stood behind it despite his numb legs. The two Jinyiwei wanted to check the things inside. Seeing that he looked shaky, they took the initiative to suggest: "Mr. Cui, you don't have to stand here. Ask your servant to help you go into the store to rest. Wait until our captain captures the demon before making any plans."

Ryan Cui then bowed his hands to express his gratitude, and slowly moved the carriage forward. Ethan Peng hurriedly jumped off the carriage to help him, still holding the paper bag his father had given him, and quietly gave it to the two men.

Unexpectedly, the two lieutenants refused to accept it, and said with a wry smile: "Thank you for your strict rules. I accept a few taels of silver from you, which is not even enough for a pot of good wine. If you go back, you will be punished. It's not worth it. Help your young master in."

Ryan Cui said "thank you for your hard work" and walked forward with the inkstone. Just as he got close to the front of the car, a loud bang suddenly came from the second floor of the inn, and a window facing the street suddenly fell down.

The two of them were frightened by the falling object and stopped walking. They looked up and saw a thin man in his forties jumping down from the window. He landed lightly on the ground, holding a Japanese sword in his right hand, and rushed towards the master and servant with his toes. A man in green robes followed him to the window, leaned against the window frame to look, waved his hand behind him, and jumped down.

Ethan Peng screamed in fear. Ryan Cui also felt as if he had stepped into a costumed martial arts drama. He stared at them blankly until the man in front of him was about to rush in front of him. He then reacted and pushed Ethan Peng away reflexively.

The man didn't even look at the man holding the inkstone. He put the long knife in his right hand on his neck, turned his body, and clamped his neck with his right arm.