Reborn: The First Rank "Madam"

C70 – Each with His Own Thoughts

Zuo Shaoqing did not delay any further and sat down next to Lu Zheng. He cupped his hands towards Jiung Hengzhou and said: “I am Zuo Shaoqing, Changping County man, third in the family. I have yet to ask for this young master’s name.”

Jiung Hengzhou said with a smile, “I have long heard a lot about you. Rumor has it that Chang Ping has produced the youngest Top Scorer of the Jin Dynasty. Everyone is very curious about him. I did not expect to meet him today. I am Jiung Hengzhou from Chongyang County.”

Zuo Shaoqing did not miss the flash of contemplation on Lu Zheng’s face, and appropriately expressed his surprise, “It’s actually Brother Jiung, disrespectful, disrespectful. Speaking of fame, all the students in Great Yang are familiar with Brother Jiung, Master Yin’s favorite student, makes me extremely envious.”

Everyone liked to hear good words, even though Jiung Hengzhou was used to hearing them, his attitude was much better.

“Who is Jiang Hengchuan?” Lu Zheng suddenly asked in a deep voice.

Jiung Hengzhou’s perfect smile froze on his face. He replied with excitement: “Jiang Hengchuan is my brother, but my brother passed away prematurely. I wonder how this warrior met my brother?”

Lu Zheng picked up a piece of meat and threw it into Zuo Shaoqing’s bowl. He didn’t answer Zuo Shaoqing’s question, but said coldly: “Eat without saying anything. Eat!”

Zuo Shaoqing ate his food without knowing what was happening and his mind started to stir. It turned out that the person Lu Zheng knew was Jiung Hengzhou’s elder brother, and judging from his attitude, he most likely had a good relationship with Jiang Hengchuan.

This made Zuo Shaoqing’s heart feel a little better. At least, he knew that Lu Zheng didn’t treat him specially because he had his eyes on Jiung Hengzhou.

He even wondered if others in his previous life had misunderstood him. Perhaps Lu Zheng had a different opinion of Jiung Hengzhou and wasn’t as emotional as Jiang Che had said.

Zuo Shaoqing couldn’t stop himself from saying this as he comforted himself, “How could Master Lu be seen through so easily?” Someone else must have made it up.

Jiung Hengzhou also didn’t know what to eat. He wanted to continue asking, but was embarrassed. He could only deal with the meal first.

After the meal, Jiung Hengzhou wanted to say something but hesitated. That hesitant expression on his face made Zuo Shaoqing very curious.

The Jiung Hengzhou that he knew was not only this year’s top scholar, but also the famous Imperial Physician with Great Yang in the future. He was famous for being “bold and straightforward”.

Zuo Shaoqing stood up and said in a magnanimous manner, “You two still have something to say, so I won’t disturb you. Please do!”

Jiung Hengzhou’s impression of Zuo Shaoqing immediately increased by a lot. However, he didn’t know that Zuo Shaoqing was also anxious to find Qu Changqing to dig up his bottom line in order to know who his opponent was.

Qu Changqing was very happy that Zuo Shaoqing was able to take the initiative to look for him. He brought him to his room and prepared to ask him about the circumstances of meeting Cao Sect.

Qu Changqing’s room wasn’t big, it was filled with luggage. He said embarrassedly, “The space on the ship is limited, so we brought a lot of things.”

Zuo Shaoqing smiled with understanding. People with certain conditions would bring as many things as possible to the capital, such as food and clothing, all kinds of carefully prepared congratulatory gifts, and boxes of books. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to pack them all up on a boat.

“Being able to meet Brother Qu on the way here is also our fate. When I was travelling with my brother, I never thought I could survive on the boat. I got sick for a while and then stopped to rest for a few days.” Zuo Shaoqing took the initiative to talk about his situation.

“Brother Shao Xi has left you alone?” Qu Changqing asked in an unfriendly tone.

He had once invited Zuo Shaoqing to travel with him, but was rejected by Zuo Shaoqing for the reason of “not being able to control himself”. He also understood that Zuo Shaoqing was too weak in Zuo Family and had no right to speak, so he could only follow closely behind Zuo Shaoyan.

However, he didn’t expect Lord Zuo, who had a good evaluation, to leave his sick little brother behind. This wasn’t the work of a man.

Zuo Shaoqing didn’t care about it and explained for Zuo Shaoyan, “I asked to stay. At that time, I didn’t know that I had to rest for a few days, so it wasn’t good to delay my brother’s future.”

Qu Changqing silently sighed, and looked at Zuo Shaoqing with a bit of pity in his eyes. He didn’t ask how Zuo Shaoqing managed to board the Cao Sect ship, after all, people would always encounter trouble, and there was no need to salt his wounds anymore.

Zuo Shaoqing chatted with him for a while and then inadvertently asked, “That Brother Jiung really has an extraordinary bearing. Only Scholar Yin can teach such a student. I wonder where did his ancestors come from?”

Qu Changqing told them everything that he knew, even talking about many of the things that happened in the academy.

“Brother Hengzhou has been brought along by the mister since he was eight and was raised by him personally. I heard that he has an elder brother who has taken the martial arts exam. The second son of the Jiang family, one man, one man, both have great reputations in the local area. However…” A few years ago, his elder brother died on the battlefield.

“So there was such a thing?” Zuo Shaoqing looked sad. He went silent for a while for Brother Jiung and said, “That Brother Jiung is the only son in the family. He should be married a long time ago, right?” Since he was their only son, the Jiang family should be thinking of letting him grow their branches and scatter their leaves as soon as possible.

“Not really. It’s just that Brother Hengzhou has a fiancee that he’s engaged to and hasn’t been married off yet. He’s preparing to get married after this spring.”

Zuo Shaoqing was elated. No wonder he never heard of Lu Zheng and Jiung Hengzhou being together in his previous life. So there was actually such a thing? That’s right, how could there be a man in his twenties who isn’t married yet?

“Then little brother will wish Brother Jiung a happy ending first.”

“Haha… You have to keep these words for yourself and Brother Jiung. However, you are a good brother, so you will definitely get a good result on this Spring Festival. You don’t have to belittle yourself.”

Zuo Shaoqing thought: “How can you tell that I’m looking down on myself?” Not only that, he also wanted to compete with Jiung Hengzhou for the top scholar position. He wanted to see if his advantage was the greater after his rebirth or if it was the advantage of being a disciple of a famous sect.

Having heard enough of what he wanted, Zuo Shaoqing took his leave due to his unwell health. When he walked to the deck, he saw Lu Zheng on the other side of the ship, silently looking at the wide river.

Zuo Shaoqing walked over and stood behind him for a while before saying: “Did Master Lu and Brother Jiung finish their discussion?”

Lu Zheng turned his head around, a trace of sadness flashed across his eyes. However, it was soon replaced by anger, “You have a good relationship with that old fellow villager?”

Zuo Shaoqing looked at him innocently. He did not understand and honestly nodded: “Yes, it’s not bad. It’s good for you, Wu Tie. You have always taken care of me.”

“Oh? So you guys can stay in the same room for so long?”

“Ugh…” Zuo Shaoqing widened his eyes. He thought he was the only one who would be jealous. From the bottom of his heart, he looked down on Jiung Hengzhou. He didn’t expect Lu Zheng to feel the same way.

He laughed until he attracted dozens of gazes. Then, he realized that he had lost his composure. He blushed and said: “In my heart, it’s only Master Lu!” He ran like the wind.

Lu Zheng was stunned for a long time. He had actually seen Zuo Shaoqing run away from him. However, his eyes that were staring at the cabin became brighter and brighter.

Although the people in the distance could not hear what they were saying, they could see the scene of the two of them together. Some of them shook their heads and smiled bitterly. It wasn’t their fault for thinking too much of it.

Jiung Hengzhou stood at the bow of the ship and looked at the man on the deck. He didn’t get any useful information from their conversation. He didn’t even know the man’s identity, only that he was an old friend of his brother.

Jiang Hengchuan was his personal bodyguard that year, and his performance on the battlefield was extraordinary. Later on, he took the initiative to enlist in the enemy’s camp to burn the rations, in order to cut down the other party’s rations.

The quest had been completed, but that team hadn’t been able to successfully retreat.

Lu Zheng only heard their names were similar, so he asked casually. If Jiung Hengzhou needed help, he would probably help a little, that’s all.

The following journey went smoothly. The two boats of Qu Changqing would have a poetry gathering from time to time, and Zuo Shaoqing would always be among the invitees, but not every time.

In any case, he was still young and had a small stature. Seeing how weak he was, no one doubted him even if he casually said that his body wasn’t suitable for the wind to blow.

However, he had performed quite well in the few meetings he had attended. His poetry, poetry, and the theory of national policy were all on the same level, making him the target of the students’ friendship.

At one time, Zuo Shaoqing wrote a poem, which won a lot of applause for his vigorous and vigorous work. Even Qu Changqing secretly told him: “I didn’t expect that after being in the Yin Sect for a few years, my younger brother would grow up to be like this, while my younger brother didn’t. It seems that this talent is entirely personal!”

“Brother Qu is too kind. Who doesn’t know that your theory is outstanding? This is my weakest point.”

Due to his experience, Zuo Shaoqing was not a match for the students who roamed the world, so he could only gain an advantage in the Book of History.

Because of this, he decided to devote the rest of his time to planning. He even pulled Lu Zheng to explain to him the things he had seen and heard in the Northern Frontier.

Zuo Shaoqing found that although Lu Zheng was a martial general, he had a wide range of knowledge and views. The way he saw things was always very new and not at all out of the ordinary.