chapter 67

Although there were still injuries on his feet, Zhen Tingyun always woke up early, and woke up before dawn the next day.

The morning light by the window was still faint, and it could not even penetrate the thin and thin layer of morning mist, and could only faintly hear the chirping of birds in the depths of the jungle.

When she woke up, her first thought was to lift the quilt and check the wound on her foot by the morning light leaking in by the window: the wound on her ankle has healed a lot, at least it was not swollen into a steamed bun as seen last night. Probably because of the medicine, now there is only a circle of redness and swelling, but there is still a little soreness.

Zhen Tingyun sighed unconsciously, then put on a red shirt and a white skirt, got up and went to bed-no matter whether his feet hurt or not, he must still go to class.

Feeling that he was the representative of the disabled and determined, Zhen Tingyun couldn't help reaching out and rubbing his face.

Probably due to the slight inconvenience of the legs and feet, Zhen Tingyun made some noises when he stayed and opened the cabinet, Du Qingqing on the side heard the sound, rubbed his eyes, and muttered, "How are your feet? "She hasn't woken up yet, and her mind is still a little chaotic. These words are completely based on instinct, and she blurted out. It can be seen that she has been thinking about Zhen Tingyun's foot injury.

Zhen Tingyun was also touched by her appearance, and said, "I'm fine. I think it's still early, why don't you sleep for a while?"

Before he finished speaking, Du Qingqing had closed his eyes and fell down again with a plop.

Zhen Tingyun: "..." It's like falling asleep in seconds!

That's the case. When Zhen Tingyun finished washing up, he still had to pick up Du Qingqing, who was sleeping soundly: "Wake up! There is a classics and history class this morning, so you can't be absent. You have to go early to get a good seat."

In the women's school, only the classics and history class and the etiquette class are the main classes, which are naturally more important than the other selected sub-classes. Even the two schools take the joint entrance exam.

Du Qingqing hugged Zhen Tingyun's arm, acting like a kitten, humming in a nasal voice: "I don't want to get up..."

Zhen Tingyun pulled her fingers apart one by one: "Get up!"

She found it: Du Qingqing is probably the eldest young lady petted by the family. She looks fine on weekdays, but if she is in front of close people, she is easy to be lazy and likes to act like a spoiled child, and if you indulge a little bit, she will be able to make progress The next grinding. He is really a typical figure in the legend who "doesn't have the house uncovered for three days", and he can't be condoned at all!

While speaking, Zhen Tingyun brought a cold towel over and put it directly on Du Qingqing's face.

Du Qingqing was so frozen that he woke up immediately, and hurriedly said, "I'll get up right away, get up right away!"

There was no need for Zhen Tingyun to urge again, she hurriedly picked up her clothes.

By the time the two of them packed up, ate together in the dining hall, and hurried to the classroom, Yang Qionghua was already waiting inside. She occupied a seat for Zhen Tingyun and others, and waved actively: "Here."

Zhen Tingyun pulled Du Qingqing over.

When he got closer, Zhen Tingyun realized that Yang Qionghua's face was not quite right - Yang Qionghua looked as if he hadn't slept well all night, his face was pale, and there was a tinge of cyan in his eyes, and the whole person looked sullen. .

Seeing her like this, Zhen Tingyun was also a little concerned, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong with you, haven't you slept?"

Hearing this, Yang Qionghua couldn't help but look at the refreshed Zhen Tingyun again, feeling even more depressed, couldn't help but raise his eyes to stare at her. She used to have apricot eyes and peach cheeks, but now she opened her eyes wide and the dark circles under her eyes became clearer, making her face pale and haggard even more. I just heard her half-truth joke: "It's all your fault! I saw your gentleman last night, and after I went back, I had a nightmare all night..."

Zhen Tingyun: "..."

Although Zhen Tingyun didn't quite understand why Yang Qionghua would have nightmares after seeing Yuan Hui, she still wanted to speak for Yuan Hui: "Actually, my husband is a very nice person, and you are just seeing each other for the first time, so you don't need to think so much."

"Oh, you don't understand..." Yang Qionghua retracted his gaze and sighed.

At this moment, Yang Qionghua really felt that he was currently in a complicated and tangled mood, probably only a fool like Rong Ziming could understand a thing or two.

Zhen Tingyun: "..." I really don't quite understand what you mean.

Although Yang Qionghua understood that the more she knew, the quicker she died, but when she remembered how Zhen Tingyun and the Prince Regent were joking last night, her curiosity was scratching at her heart like a cat's claws. She couldn't hold back, she was rude for a while, and asked one more question: "Tingyun, how did you meet your gentleman?"

"I met you on the road." Zhen Tingyun couldn't tell the story of Yuan Hui's stealing a horse, so he considered the situation between the two to beautify a little, "At that time, we happened to be in an inn, and we On the same road, we simply returned to Beijing together."

Does this work too? !

Yang Qionghua resisted the urge to complain and ask questions, and turned to another matter: "By the way, the results of the joint entrance examination of the two schools will be released today, you should know?"

Speaking of this, Zhen Tingyun also sighed, sighing for a long time, feeling that the misfortunes are not singly: she just sprained her foot last night, and she will post her results today.

Although Zhen Tingyun felt that she had put her heart into the exam this time, she reckoned that the top 100 of the two schools really depended on luck. It happened that she passed the top five grades and one grade two in the entrance exam. If she didn't even make it to the top 100 this time, there would be someone talking behind her back and doubting her grades in the entrance exam.

While the two were talking, they saw Zhou Qingyun walk in from the door.

She is tall and slender, with her head in a high bun, revealing a smooth forehead and bright facial features. When she came in from the door holding the book, her skirt did not move at all, her steps were light and firm, and there was no sound. Even if it is a red shirt and white skirt that is regulated in the same style as everyone else, the graceful and graceful woman who wears Zhou Qingyun is no ordinary girl. It contrasts with her strength and straightness like the green bamboo in the mountains. People, it's amazing.

"Grandfather!" Yang Qionghua's attention also turned back to Zhou Qingyun, dissatisfied, and whispered: "This time there is no Yushe, she is not necessarily the top of the list."

Zhen Tingyun couldn't make it to the top of the list anyway. Hearing this, he patted Yang Qionghua on the shoulder and encouraged her: "Yes, maybe you will be the top of the list this time."

It sounds insincere and perfunctory.

Yang Qionghua snorted angrily and didn't bother with Zhen Tingyun.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Qingyun, holding the book, actually walked in their direction.

Zhen Tingyun had a sense of shame that he was caught speaking ill of people behind his back, only Yang Qionghua was still sitting, looking up at Zhou Qingyun, who was carrying Shuxing, with his head held high.

However, Zhou Qingyun passed over Yang Qionghua and walked directly to Zhen Tingyun. She put down her book, put her hand on it, leaned forward slightly, stared at Zhen Tingyun, and said word by word: "The list will be released at noon, I hope you can do better in the test this time. I have failed Madam Chu's teaching."

After all, she left with the book in her hand.

Zhen Tingyun was inexplicable when he heard it. After thinking about it, he turned to ask Yang Qionghua, "Could it be that she is still angry because Madam Chu accepted me as her apprentice?"

Yang Qionghua was angry because Zhou Qingyun ignored him, and his face was red with anger. Since he didn't hear Zhen Tingyun's words, he glared at Zhou Qingyun's back and gritted his teeth: "...she doesn't even look at me!"

Really angry!

In the past, she and Zhou Qingyun both went hand in hand, and they were called "Shuangshu", that is, when she was disgraced in the entrance examination because of the imperial examination, Zhou Qingyun won the sixth place and took the top spot. As a result, Zhou Qingyun is not looking at her right now, Yang Qionghua!

Really pissed off!

Yang Qionghua was so angry that his chest felt tight and painful, as if a stone had been pressed down, and it was heavy. She simply held back her breath, stayed up until the morning class was over, and immediately dragged Zhen Tingyun out to watch the red list without a moment's delay.

Zhen Tingyun didn't want to watch it very much - Yang Qionghua was eager to watch it because she was sure that she would be on the list, maybe even the top one, but Zhen Tingyun is a difficult person to be on the list, so she might as well not watch it.

In particular, the list was only released now, and a large group of people were crowded in front of the three red lists, each looking up at the list, seeing the pile of hairpins swaying in front of him, Zhen Tingyun only felt a splitting headache, and he didn't want to go. Crowded.

So, she simply said to Yang Qionghua, "I still have some pain in my feet, so I won't squeeze with you. Would you go take a look first?"

Yang Qionghua didn't mind either, and quickly squeezed in. After a while, she heard Yang Qionghua stand on tiptoe, and hurriedly called her: "Tingyun, come here! I see your name!"

Zhen Tingyun: "..."

Although he didn't really want to crowd, Zhen Tingyun still felt his heart skip a beat when he heard that he was on the list. He couldn't help but get up and move forward, moving in the direction of the crowd.

At this time, there were a lot of people in front of the list, and Zhen Tingyun dragged another injured leg, and it was almost impossible to move to Yang Qionghua's side. Then, she looked up at the list and asked, "Where is it? ? Where's my name?"

However, Yang Qionghua didn't understand Zhen Tingyun's urgency at all, instead he pointed to the top of the list at the bottom, quietly bit her ear, triumphantly: "I just said, this time the top of the list is not necessarily her Zhou Qingyun. ."

Zhen Tingyun followed Yang Qionghua's gaze and looked up, and sure enough, he saw two names written side by side at the top of the list: Zhou Qingyun and Yang Qionghua.

Obviously, the two are tied for first place.

Yang Qionghua has been accompanying Zhen Tingyun to prepare for the exam these days, and this effort is indeed nothing in vain.

Zhen Tingyun was indeed very happy for Yang Qionghua, but she still had to ask, "What about my name?"

Yang Qionghua scratched his cheek and whispered, "...I read the list wrong just now, what I saw was your sister's name—she didn't take the top of the list this time, and her name fell behind. At first glance, I thought that It's yours."

Zhen Tingyun: "..."

However, Zhen Yiyun was involved in the matter, especially when he heard that Zhen Yiyun failed to pass the exam this time, Zhen Tingyun was still a little curious, so he couldn't help but look up.

Because of the joint entrance examination between the two schools this time, a total of three lists have been posted. The top one is the level that will graduate; the middle is the female students of the first level of Zhen Yiyun, and the bottom is Zhen Tingyun and Yang Qionghua. incoming freshmen. Zhen Tingyun looked at the list in the middle, and sure enough, he saw Zhen Yiyun's name in the second row.

If you count, Zhen Yiyun probably dropped from the first place to the eighth place. Of course, she is still in the top ten and is still synonymous with excellence in the eyes of ordinary people. However, if you compare Zhen Yiyun's previous achievements and her past reputation as a talented woman, such a fall is simply unimaginable, and it is estimated that the Zhen family will be surprised and worried because of this.

Zhen Tingyun had no idea about this. After caring about Zhen Yiyun's grades, she looked at the end of the last list that she didn't hope for. When his nomination could be improved a little, he suddenly felt like he caught a very familiar name out of the corner of his eye.

is her name.

Zhen Tingyun's expression changed slightly, and he looked again in disbelief. Sure enough, he saw his name at the end of the last list.

At the same time, Yang Qionghua finally retracted his gaze from the name at the top of the list, followed to look at the end, pointed at the name and smiled: "Tingyun, it seems that you are really on the list."

Zhen Tingyun was also a little dazed and nodded: "Yeah, I'm on the list."

Yang Qionghua counted: "Probably the third-to-last, or ninety-eight."

Zhen Tingyun: "If it's the third to last, isn't it ninety-seven?"

Yang Qionghua felt that she was so happy and stupid, so she had to point it out to her: "One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight. Isn't this the ninety-eighth."

Zhen Tingyun nodded, suddenly feeling that his heartbeat was a little faster, and there seemed to be an indescribable joy in his tumultuous heartbeat. At this moment, she didn't even want to say anything, she just wanted to hold Yang Qionghua and dance like this, smiling.

As a result, Zhen Yiyun jumped up and down with joy, and before he could look into the future, his feet became sore and soft, and he almost didn't fall to the ground: "Ah, my feet!"

This is probably the legend of happiness and sadness.

Yang Qionghua couldn't even sigh, and didn't care to appreciate his name on the top of the list, so he had to help his silly girl to find a female doctor to prescribe medicine.

For this reason, the female doctor in the women's school also said a few words to Zhen Tingyun: "Why are you so careless, you little girls really don't care about your body more and more. How can you be better in the future if you work so hard? ?"

Saying that, the female doctor tentatively pressed her hand on her swollen ankle.

Zhen Tingyun's eyes were teary with pain, and he just stared at the person.

The female doctor had to stop her hand, and then turned her head to get the ointment for her, and asked her to apply it three times a day.

So much so that Zhen Tingyun's afternoon etiquette class was helped by Yang Qionghua.

For this reason, Zhou Qingyun actually came over to see her once, her cold and arrogant face was rarely relieved, and she said softly: "It's okay to fail the exam once in a while, don't be too uncomfortable. Just keep trying."

Zhen Tingyun: "..." I can't understand her words!

Yang Qionghua: "..." I can't believe that someone with the surname Zhou could say such a person's words!

In the end, it was Du Qingqing who quietly came over to solve their doubts: "Now there are rumors outside that Tingyun was upset because she failed the exam this time, and she accidentally broke her leg."

Zhen Tingyun: I'm not, I don't, don't talk nonsense!

Du Qingqing couldn't help laughing again when she saw her speechless appearance. After laughing, she comforted Zhen Tingyun: "In this way, no one will come to discuss your grades with you." , If I say this again, wouldn't it be rubbing salt on people's wounds? Generally, a well-mannered girl would definitely not be able to do such a thing.

Zhen Tingyun also closed his mouth to refute the rumor.

It's just that this rumor spread so fast that in the evening after school, Mrs. Chu even asked Zhen Tingyun to talk to her.

Mrs. Chu really valued her disciple, and it was inevitable that she had to think more about it. After hearing the rumors, she felt that as a teacher, she should also pay attention to the students' thoughts.

Therefore, she said to Zhen Tingyun: "I told you when I accepted you as an apprentice that your grades will not be very good in the joint examination between the two schools this time. Therefore, this time you can I am very pleased to be in the top 100. After all, no matter how talented you are, you cannot catch up with the lack of foundation caused by more than ten years in such a short period of time. In this regard, I have patience and hope that you can take it Be patient, don't put too much emphasis on the results in front of you, but lose your sense of normalcy."

As soon as Zhen Tingyun heard it, he guessed that Mrs. Chu might have heard the rumor, and had to take the initiative to refute the rumor: "Sir, I accidentally twisted my foot during the Qixi Festival last night, and it has nothing to do with my grades. If I can get into the top 100, I am very happy."

As he spoke, Zhen Tingyun's expression became solemn, and he said seriously: "I was very competitive when I was young, and I always didn't want to be left behind, so I forced my grandmother to ask my husband to read and write. When I am older and sensible, I understand that there are gaps in learning. When I was taught by a famous teacher since I was a child, when I read and learned characters, and gradually progressed, I could only follow the uneducated private school gentleman in the countryside to randomly recognize a few words, and buy books and read randomly. ; When people think about learning from the qin, se, xiao, and flute that they like to learn, I have to buy the qin myself, and I can only afford a second-hand qin from others...”

"At that time, I knew that the gap will always exist. No matter how I catch up, my foundation is here, and I will always be inferior to those people."

When Madam Chu heard the words, her brows moved slightly, and her expression seemed to be a little complicated, and she was about to speak for comfort.

Zhen Tingyun pursed his lips and smiled, with pear eddies on his cheeks: "I said this, not to complain to Mr., but to tell Mr. that I didn't know anything at that time, and I couldn't compare to others. , but I persevered in the end. Now I am in the women's school, everyone is under the general conditions, there is a gap of one or two between the same teacher and the book, but I can already see the direction of my efforts. For me, this is That's enough. Sir, I really like and cherish my current life, and I have the patience and confidence to catch up with others little by little."

Hearing this, Mrs. Chu felt relieved, and she couldn't help but soften her voice: "'There is no difficulty in the world, those who have the will to achieve it; there is no easy task in the world, and those who have perseverance will achieve it' - this kind of truth, you can understand it yourself, it is better ."

As she said that, Mrs. Chu remembered those rumors, shook her head, and smiled unconsciously: "Speaking of, you have only been in school for a few days, but a lot of your words have been passed down in the school. Speaking of which, you are also a famous person in the school. already."

No, Zhen Tingyun has only been in women's school for a few days. From Mrs. Chu's acceptance of her as an apprentice to Qian Manyue's dropping out of school, and then to Zhen Tingyun's exam results and her legs falling, all kinds of rumors about her have spread throughout the school. , Can be called a man of the year in women's school.

Thinking of these rumors, Zhen Tingyun couldn't help but wrinkle his face. He was so miserable that he didn't know what to say.

Seeing this, Mrs. Chu rarely laughed out loud.

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Compared to Zhen Tingyun, who was the third-to-last on the red list, he was so happy that he could slap his feet again. At this time, Zhen Yiyun was really surprised.

Standing in front of the red list, she looked at her name with a cold face, and counted it over and over again. Even if she watched without blinking, she still couldn't believe it: How is it possible! How could she not be number one? !

Even, she didn't even have the top three or five!

Although Zhen Yiyun felt that she had seen through the opportunities and the false reputation, and believed that the most important thing at the moment was to establish a relationship with the Prince of Yan, but this did not mean that she could immediately abandon her reputation as a talented woman who had worked hard for more than ten years—— For so many years, she has been patient enough to read and write, and she has suffered a lot. Even if she worshipped Mr. He as a teacher according to the plot, she did not dare to slack off overnight, for fear of damaging her reputation and delaying her future. Even if she has now made up her mind that she must marry the Prince of Yan, she is just shifting her mind to the Prince of Yan, and it is not that she has not studied at all.

As she thinks about it, these days the family has constant big and small matters. Even if she relaxes a little bit and can't get the top spot in the exam, the top three are always close to each other. At that time, as long as she pushes the whereabouts of her grades to her family, it may be uncertain. It can even make her parents and teachers pity more... But, not only did she not get the top spot in the exam, she only got the eighth place in the exam!

Zhen Yiyun's palm in his sleeve clenched tightly without realizing it, his palm was about to turn red, and his face was so cold that ice chips could fall out.

However, there are still people on the side sneering: "Oh, did I read it wrong? I didn't expect Sister Zhen to fail the first test..."

"Don't say that, even if people are poor in the exam, it's still the eighth. Can you compare?" Another person sang along and sneered, "He's still a high-level apprentice of Mr. He, we vulgar people are not. incomparable."

Climbing high and falling heavy, that's the truth.

Zhen Yiyun ignored the words of these people, gritted his teeth, and had a cold face, just staring at the bottom list, looking back and forth eagerly.

Sure enough, at the end, she found Zhen Tingyun's name - good or bad, it happened to be the ninety-eighth.

Seeing the ranking of Zhen Tingyun, Zhen Yiyun felt relieved for some reason, and there was a sneering smile on the corner of his mouth: Yes, how could Zhen Tingyun compare to her.

Thinking that Zhen Tingyun, the heroine, only got such a result in the exam, which is even more different from herself. Zhen Yiyun's heart was strangely balanced: anyway, even if she failed the exam, it would be better than Zhen Tingyun.

It's just that this time her grades have dropped so much, if she doesn't want a better rhetoric, I'm afraid she won't be able to explain it to Mr. He and her parents. Thinking of this, Zhen Yiyun couldn't help but feel another worry in his heart. Worrying and worrying like this, after she left school in the evening and rode home in the carriage, she still had no idea what to say.

Until the carriage arrived at the second gate, Zhen Yiyun got out of the carriage, and his heart moved for some reason, and tears fell from his eyes.

So, she wiped away her tears like this, and went to the main courtyard to find Mrs. Pei, and all the makeup on her face was spent crying all the way.

It was also the first time that Pei saw the eldest daughter look like this, and she was startled. She quickly pulled her to sit down in front of him, took a handkerchief and wiped her face in person, and said softly, "What's the matter, why are you crying? Is it like this?"

Zhen Yiyun cried even more, her face flushed red, full of tears, and she couldn't cry.

Pei's heart became even more anxious by her beloved daughter's whimper, and she wrapped her shoulders with one hand and caressed her back with the other, and did not forget to ask someone to bring hot water.

After the girl brought hot water, Mrs. Pei stood up and twisted a hot and humid handkerchief from the basin. While gently wiping her daughter's tears off her face, she comforted her softly: "Okay, okay, my mother is here. You cry like this, and my mother doesn't feel well..."

Only then did Zhen Yiyun stop crying a little, and whispered about the test results. After she finished speaking, she just lowered her head and wept, choked up and said, "...I'm really embarrassed to see people like this. Even in Mr. He's place, I don't dare to go there."

Pei Shi was also anxious about her daughter's grades, but she couldn't bear to blame her when she saw her crying like this, so she had to first caress her daughter's back to comfort her and said, "I can't be in a hurry for this. ."

Saying that, Mrs. Pei couldn't help but think of the series of things that happened at home when Mrs. Zhen took Zhen Tingyun to Beijing, even Mrs. Pei himself got mad several times, not to mention the eldest daughter who is the same as Zhen Tingyun. yard?

Thinking of this, the movements of Pei's hands were even more gentle. She gently held her daughter's tender face, wiped away the tears on her face with a handkerchief, and said softly: "Good boy, don't feel bad about the grades this time or two, it will be long in the future. Mother believes, As long as you have the heart and are willing to work hard, you will be able to return to the top of the list next time."

Zhen Yiyun nodded with tears in her eyes, thought for a while, and then said, "By the way, the second sister has also entered the top 100 this time."

In fact, at this point, Zhen Yiyun didn't mean to mention Zhen Tingyun, but she felt that she would be so sad that she would cry in the top eight in the test. Zhen Tingyun was the last countdown, so she was embarrassed if she didn't say a word for her.