Chapter 4

Zhao Jing and Li Qi chatted for a while. Seeing that Li Qi spoke in a peculiar manner and his accent did not seem local, Zhao Jing said, "It's truly a great honor to meet a talented man like Brother Li today. I wonder where Brother Li is from?"

People say that ancient people were more reserved, but it seems that what those history books say is all nonsense. How could they ask where someone lives on their first meeting? How unreserved, and you're not even a girl. Even if you told me, I wouldn't invite you up for a cup of coffee.

Before meeting his wife, Li Qi was quite a playboy. But it wasn't his fault; who could blame him for being young and wealthy, facing the colorful world outside? How many men could remain unperturbed?

"Qana!" Li Qi replied casually.

"Qana?"

Zhao Jing frowned and glanced at the servant beside him with a questioning look. The servant also looked puzzled and shook his head slightly.

"Please forgive my ignorance, but what place is this Qana that Brother Li mentioned?" Zhao Jing asked, his expression slightly awkward.

Sigh, another kid who can't even pass level three English!

Li Qi chuckled and said, "My hometown is just a small village in the north. It's not surprising that you haven't heard of it."

"Is that so!"

Zhao Jing smiled slightly, and two shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks, which were quite charming.

Li Qi couldn't help but feel a bit moved.

Seeing Li Qi staring at him blankly, Zhao Jing frowned and called out several times, "Brother Li, Brother Li!"

Li Qi was slightly startled and immediately came to his senses, asking, "Ah? What is it?" but inwardly he wondered, Why am I staring at a man? Could it be—. Li Qi shuddered at the thought.

Zhao Jing forced a smile and asked, "I wonder if Brother Li has taken the imperial exams?"

"Imperial exams? What's that?—Oh—I see," Li Qi shook his head and said, "No, I haven't taken the imperial exams, but I have taken the college entrance exam."

"College entrance exam?" Zhao Jing asked, puzzled.

"Uh... This... This college entrance exam is... Oh, right, it's the entrance exam for private schools in our place. Only qualified children can enter to study. Heh, quite harsh, isn't it?"

After saying this, Li Qi let out a light breath. It's really hard to communicate with someone from a different era!

Zhao Jing showed a勉强能懂的表情, and said, "I see Brother Li's literary talent is extraordinary and has a grand style. Why don't you take the imperial exams?"

"Why should I take them?" Li Qi asked, puzzled.

"Of course, to serve the emperor and the country!" Zhao Jing said urgently, as he had never heard anyone question why they should take the imperial exams.

"Serve the emperor? No, no, no," Li Qi shook his head vigorously. The idea of serving Emperor Huizong, that great tyrant, was even more unbearable than being killed.

"Lou?" Zhao Jing looked at Li Qi with a questioning gaze.

"Uh... No means—won't go," Li Qi explained, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Why not? I heard Brother Li's poem 'Chrysanthemum Residue' and felt Brother Li's concern for the country and its people. Do you want to join the army? Or do you have some hidden reason?" Zhao Jing raised his eyebrows and asked.

Is that so? I didn't know. Fang Laoguo is a 21st-century Chinese, how could he write a poem to worry about your Song Dynasty? How strange.

Li Qi was very confused and shook his head, saying, "I think you must have misunderstood. I'm not as great as you say. That poem was just to express my feelings, nothing more."

"Brother Li is too modest. Although my literary talent is not as good as yours, I can still understand the meaning of 'North wind in chaos, night not yet over,'" Zhao Jing said, bowing and showing admiration.

Li Qi immediately understood. Because the Song, Liao, and Jin were at war in the north, Zhao Jing mistakenly thought that "North wind in chaos, night not yet over" was a reference to the northern war.

Li Qi found it amusing. Your literary talent isn't that great. But he didn't bother to explain and said straightforwardly, "I won't join the army, and I won't take the imperial exams. To put it bluntly, I don't want to serve that tyrant."

Tyrant!

His words caused a huge stir!

Zhao Jing's expression changed dramatically. His eyes widened, and his face was filled with anger. Before he could speak, the servant beside him couldn't hold back and jumped out, pointing at Li Qi and shouting, "How dare you, a commoner, speak such treasonous words!"

Li Qi, coming from the 21st century, a time of free speech, wouldn't be so cautious. Seeing that the servant had no manners, he sneered, "I'm talking to your master. How dare you interrupt? You have no respect for your elders."

"You—!"

The servant's face turned red with anger, and he wanted to say more, but Zhao Jing glanced at him, and he grumbled and stood obediently to one side.

Zhao Jing narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said coldly, "The current emperor is in his prime, with both literary and military prowess, striving to govern. He has already sent troops to Yanjing and will soon recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. This is a great achievement. I will pretend I didn't hear those words, but I hope Brother Li will not speak recklessly again."

MD, I spoke recklessly?

When Li Qi heard about the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, he was immediately furious. The history books clearly recorded that in the fourth year of Xuanhe, Emperor Huizong sent the traitor Tong Guan with 150,000 troops to attack Yanjing, but they were almost completely defeated by 10,000 Liao troops.

That wasn't all. Later, Tong Guan recruited another 150,000 troops, but they were routed by 7,000 enemy troops. A total of 300,000 troops! Even a fool wouldn't fight like that! In the end, they had to spend a large amount of gold and women to get the Jin to help, and they only recovered empty cities. The people, livestock, and treasures had already been plundered by the Jin.

What literary and military prowess, what striving to govern? Pah!

They say the people of ancient times were very ignorant. Today, I see it's true.

Li Qi didn't want to argue about this with him. History would eventually prove him right. He sighed and said, "Since you have such confidence in that old emperor, I have nothing more to say. But I want to remind you, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. If you rely on that dog of an emperor, heh, I can only say..."

At this point, Li Qi inexplicably opened his arms and gave Zhao Jing a very polite hug, patting his back and saying, "Good luck!"

Hey? What's that nice smell?

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qi suddenly felt a fragrant scent, like perfume but not quite. One thing was certain: the scent came from Zhao Jing.

What is this smell?

Could it be—could it be—

Two words suddenly popped into Li Qi's head—rouge!

Li Qi quickly stepped back and said with a forced smile, "Don't misunderstand, it's just a pure hug!"