Chapter 21

A servant boy looked at the others' reactions of difficulty swallowing and sighed, "It's already good that we have something to eat. Everyone, eat up, or you won't have the energy to walk tomorrow."

Yu Qing reached out and patted Chong'er's head. Chong'er turned around, saw him, and quickly stood up, swallowing what was in his mouth, "Young Master."

Yu Qing glanced at her bowl and said calmly, "Put the bowl down and come with me." Then he turned and left.

Chong'er glanced at the food left in the wooden bucket, a bit hesitant, but dared not disobey Yu Qing, so he put down the bowl and followed.

Yu Qing looked around and stopped in front of a half-height earthen wall used for soldiers' training. When Chong'er timidly approached, he reached into his clothes and, as if by magic, pulled out an oil paper package, placed it on the earthen wall, and indicated with a nod, "Open it and take a look."

Chong'er was suspicious but still reached out to untie it. When he opened the oil paper package, he was stunned.

Inside the oil paper package was a pile of white rice, some vegetables, and even meat, with the aroma of the deliciously cooked ribs very tempting.

Yu Qing said, "I brought it for you, eat it."

From the situation along the way, he could see that these servant boys were treated the worst, definitely not as well as the candidates. As a result, he saw that they were even treated worse than the lower-ranking soldiers, probably just a mix of leftovers from the food preparation.

Chong'er was surprised, his bright eyes staring at him, not expecting that this young master would actually remember to bring him food. He shook his head, "Young Master, you keep it for a midnight snack, I'm not hungry."

Yu Qing snorted, "I don't know if you're hungry or not, but I know this little servant boy wouldn't die even if he didn't eat for a month. That one meal of spirit rice wasn't for nothing, thinking about it makes me feel the pain. Hurry up, eat it when I tell you to, no more nonsense, don't make me angry."

Chong'er was a bit afraid of him. When he was scolded, he quickly complied, pinched a piece of rib with two fingers, and took a bite. The soft, tender, and fragrant texture in his mouth made his nose feel very stuffy.

For so many years, it was the first time someone had cared for him so much. Two crystal-clear tears rolled down his cheeks.

Smack! Yu Qing casually slapped him on the buttocks.

Chong'er's body trembled violently, his mouth still holding the rib, his eyes wide with shock, as if he was completely stunned.

"Stop crying, you're like a woman, hurry up and eat." Yu Qing urged.

Chong'er quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve, grabbed food with both hands, and stuffed it into his mouth, burying his head to eat hard, no longer able to cry.

Not knowing how Ashi Heng's injury was recovering, Yu Qing, lost in thought, leaned against the earthen wall and gazed at the horizon, while Chong'er occasionally stole a glance at him.

The horizon was dim and dark red, and the two people standing close could hardly see each other's faces clearly.

After the food was finished, Yu Qing finally began to give instructions, "Our luggage, you must take good care of it, be more attentive, understand?"

This was the reason he gave Chong'er food. The twenty pounds of spirit rice was still nominally Xu Fei's, and the luggage was under Chong'er's supervision.

Chong'er, sucking on his oily fingers, naturally nodded in agreement.

Yu Qing waved his hand, "Let's go, go back and rest early, get enough energy for the journey tomorrow, and have the energy to take care of the luggage."

Chong'er nodded again.

After they walked back, Yu Qing suddenly asked, "Where do you sleep?"

He needed to confirm this, in case he wanted to check the luggage at midnight and needed to know where Chong'er was.

Chong'er pointed to a eave, "I was assigned to sleep under that eave."

Yu Qing was taken aback, "Under the eave? That won't block the wind, how can you spend the night with your body like that?"

Chong'er pointed to a pile of straw on the parade ground, "It's fine, they gave us straw to pad, and we can lay down our bedding later."

Yu Qing frowned, "Do all the servant boys sleep like this?"

At this time, "servant boys" was just a term for a certain group of people. Some candidates came with family members, and servant boys were generally not allowed to be women, as it was inconvenient for women to mix with a group of men and could cause trouble, damaging the reputation of the state's academic atmosphere.

Chong'er pointed to a row of tents on the parade ground, "Some sleep in tents."

Yu Qing was suspicious, "Why were you assigned to sleep under the eave? Is there any special reason? Is someone deliberately bullying you?"

Chong'er said seriously, "Young Master, you're overthinking it, no one is bullying Chong'er, and there is no special reason. The officer in charge of the servant boys gathered everyone and casually pointed out where to sleep, dividing us roughly."

"Is that so!" Yu Qing raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, but missed and scratched his chin instead. After a moment of thought, he waved his hand, "Come, take me to meet the officer in charge of you."

Chong'er seemed to realize something and quickly waved his hands, "Young Master Shiheng, it's fine, really, it's fine. Even in the tents, we sleep on straw."

Yu Qing gave him a cold look.

At this glance, Chong'er immediately wilted and immediately lowered his head to lead the way.

In the middle of several tents, there was a bonfire, and several soldiers were gathered around, cooking some soup.

Chong'er pointed to a bearded soldier in the middle and then hid behind the tent, not daring to go further.

Yu Qing walked over confidently, approached the bonfire, and several soldiers turned their heads. Seeing his attire, they were somewhat surprised, not knowing what this candidate was doing there.

Yu Qing glanced at everyone, waved to the bearded soldier, and motioned for him to follow.

The bearded soldier exchanged glances with the others, slowly stood up, and followed with a suspicious look, but still walked over. After a few steps, he forced a smile, "Sir, where are you taking me?" Clearly, he didn't take this so-called candidate seriously.

Yu Qing didn't say much, casually put his hand on the soldier's shoulder, and almost forcibly led him to Chong'er behind the tent. As the soldier tried to shake off his grip, Yu Qing opened his palm, and three pieces of silver appeared, like a spell.

People might not recognize him, but money couldn't be unrecognized. The soldier, who was just annoyed, was stunned and then smiled, "Sir, are you going to reward me?"

Yu Qing nodded toward Chong'er, "This is my servant boy. Look at his small frame, I'm afraid he'll catch a cold sleeping outside and get sick all the way to the capital. Could you help take care of him on the journey?"

The bearded soldier immediately acted, grabbed the silver pieces into his hand, and smiled, "This is easy, Sir, rest assured, I'll make sure he doesn't catch a cold on the journey."

Yu Qing pointed to Chong'er again, "I heard the carriage they ride in is shared, and most of the time they have to walk. Look at his thin arms and legs, his legs are definitely not as strong as others. We can't be unreasonable, can we? If you could help take care of him on the journey, I won't let you down when we reach the capital."

The bearded soldier put the silver pieces into his clothes and said in a low voice, "It's rare to have a Sir like you who understands the situation. Unlike others who think they are future officials and don't take us seriously. You can rest assured about your servant boy. But I have to say one thing: I can't favor him with the rotation of the carriage and rest stops, or I'll face the wrath of the others. But I can assign someone to watch the luggage carriage and let your servant boy ride in it. What do you think?"

"You're a practical man." Yu Qing patted his back, agreeing, and nodded toward Chong'er, "This boy is tired from walking all day, let him rest early."

"Sure, I'll take care of it!" The bearded soldier patted his chest and left, happy to have unexpectedly earned some money.

Soon, a sleeping spot in a tent was arranged, and the ground was covered with straw. Chong'er knelt on the ground, crawling around to spread out the bedding.

After Chong'er finished setting up, Yu Qing pointed to the luggage next to the sleeping spot, "Remember to take care of the luggage."

This was the purpose of his help, to prevent the luggage from being stolen if left outside.

"Okay." Chong'er nodded vigorously.

"Rest early, no need to get up, no need to see me off, I'm leaving." Yu Qing stopped Chong'er from getting up, glanced at the other servant boys who were also busy setting up, and left, muttering, "It's like I'm his servant."

He couldn't help it; he knew Xu Fei was currently very busy, being pulled to various social engagements, and had no time to care about his servant boy.

As for the money spent, he was unusually generous and didn't feel the pain at all, since it wasn't his own money. He didn't believe that when he mentioned this matter, Xu Fei would let him pay for it. Using others' money to win people's hearts, why not be generous?

The tent was pulled open a bit, and Chong'er's eyes, illuminated by the nearby fire, were bright. He watched until the swaying, looking around Yu Qing disappeared from sight, then returned to his spot and lay down in his clothes.

He knew his own master was busy and couldn't take care of him, but he also knew that even if his master wasn't busy, he wouldn't be so concerned about arranging his accommodation.

Not that his master was bad, but he knew his master would only go with the flow, letting his servant boy follow the unified arrangements, and wouldn't take such special care.

Especially the act of packing food from the table and bringing it to him, his master would never do such a face-losing thing.

That oil paper-wrapped food was so fragrant, and he could still smell it now. When he grabbed it to eat, it was still hot, and he could still feel the warmth.

Fragrant and warm, he smiled and fell asleep, without the sighs and fatigue of the other servant boys after a long journey.

The next morning, Yu Qing found Chong'er again, confirmed that the luggage was fine, and took out another oil paper package, instructing, "Eat it in secret, it's not good if others see. If everyone starts doing this, it won't last with hundreds of people taking, and rules will be set. Then you won't get to eat the good stuff anymore."

"Okay." Chong'er nodded vigorously, understanding that Yu Qing would bring him food in the morning and evening from now on.