CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 60 ARRIVING IN THE DIVINE CAPITAL

The carriage slowly entered Divine Capital City.

Jin Mingxuan curiously opened the carriage window to observe the scenes outside. The streets were bustling with noise and crowded with people, forcing the carriage to move at a slow pace. Of all the cities Qing Yu had passed through, none had ever surpassed the prosperity of this place.

Jin Mingxuan glanced outside a few times before retreating back into the carriage, muttering, "I thought Northern Zhou Capital City would be something different, but it turns out it’s just more of the same."

Qing Yu couldn’t help but give a wry smile. Jin Mingxuan was not really saying that Northern Zhou Capital City was mediocre or overrated. The prosperity of Divine Capital was the extreme of what Qing Yu had seen in the world for over a decade. Perhaps, only Daqian Imperial City, Tianjing City, which he had never seen, could compare with it.

What Jin Mingxuan lamented was probably the lack of things in Divine Capital that could give him a fresh experience. Coming from a wealthy family, he had grown accustomed to the splendor of the world, and Divine Capital’s prosperity failed to astonish him. Only novel things different from those in Daqian could pique his interest.

However, he failed to consider that Northern Zhou was established by the remnants of Great Zhou and was also part of the Nine Provinces of Central Plains. As for customs, the Northern Zhou Imperial Family, originally residing in Central Province, would not have been changed by the locals; instead, it was the governed populace that adapted to the rulers.

"By the way, Brother Meng. There are still ten days until the Mountain River Academy’s entrance examination. Shall we go to Tianyue Workshop tonight... hehe, just to have some fun..." As Jin Mingxuan spoke, his face revealed a grin that any man would understand.

In ancient times, ordinary people married around the ages of fifteen or sixteen. As a rich young man, despite his unmarriageable status, Jin Mingxuan must certainly be acquainted with the pleasures of the flesh. Now in Divine Capital, how could he not be eager to experience the rare bliss of heaven found in Tianyue Workshop.

"Aren’t you afraid of failing the entrance examination and going back in shame?" Qing Yu looked at him oddly.

"What’s there to be afraid of? Don’t be fooled by my appearance—I’ve got substance. I already passed the Jixia Academy’s examination before coming here, but I was intrigued by the legendary Divine Capital Tianyue Square so I came to Northern Zhou to try my luck," Jin Mingxuan said confidently, patting his chest.

So you are truly amazing, but I am scared, Qing Yu thought to himself.

Unlike the confident Jin Mingxuan, Qing Yu was entirely unsure about passing the Mountain River Academy’s entrance examination. Regarding the Confucian teachings, Qing Yu could claim only a fleeting, peripheral acquaintance with the literature of his past life. At a similar age back then, he was quite interested in literature, but tragically, he ultimately chose the sciences.

Hence, Qing Yu could only hope for some support from the Six Gates. Otherwise, this mission would be doomed before it even began.

However... this guy is quite a surprise, Qing Yu thought, eyeing Jin Mingxuan, whose facade was anything but serious.

Originally dismissing him as a carefree dandy, Qing Yu had thought he was relying on some unknown forces just like himself. Unexpectedly, this guy turned out to be quite scholarly.

Passing Jixia Academy’s entrance examination was not just ’having some goods in his belly’ as he put it but, in fact, having a considerable supply.

Jixia Academy was Daqian’s official school, founded by Daqian Ancestor Ji Muqing. The lecturers there were descendants of the extinct Humanity Lineage of the Confucian world. Unlike the Mountain River Academy, which tailored its teachings to individual aptitudes and covered the Six Arts comprehensively, Jixia Academy primarily taught the way of officialdom and was a genuine government-run institution. Those from Jixia Academy were known as the Emperor’s Disciples, able to secure government positions in Daqian without difficulty.

Jin Mingxuan, the guy who abandoned the more promising Jixia Academy in Daqian for the pleasures of Tianyue Workshop, clearly didn’t care about the path of an Emperor’s Disciple. Moreover, his family must be extremely powerful—unconcerned with repercussions from the Daqian Court—to forsake Jixia Academy and seek education in Northern Zhou’s Mountain River Academy instead.

Otherwise, if an adversary used this as leverage and applied some pressure, it would be anything but pleasant, especially at a time when Prince Zhen Shan had just betrayed the Daqian Court, declared himself independent, and aimed to be the next Northern Zhou.

This man is worth befriending.

That thought immediately sparked in Qing Yu’s mind.

Originally, although Qing Yu wasn’t worried about the entrance examination, he had intended to rest well. To truly look the part of a scholar pursuing studies, he had realistically traveled a month’s journey on a donkey. Constantly exposed to the elements along the way, had it not been for his three years living in the mountains, occasionally hunting game and wielding some wilderness skills, he might not have coped with the journey.

Furthermore, places like Tianyue Workshop, a brothel, had historically been hotbeds of trouble. For instance, Zhang Mingyuan in Yang City once, out of jealousy, eavesdropped on the intimate delights of a rival’s boudoir while lying on the cold floor for two hours.

Therefore, Qing Yu had always kept a respectful distance from such trouble-prone places.

But now... it’s rather appealing.

For Jin Mingxuan, a newfound friend he felt closely bound to, Qing Yu expressed that nothing was a problem.

"Then it’s settled. Brother Jin, I’ve been traveling and have become disheveled; I wouldn’t want to offend any beauties. Allow me to bathe and change clothes first, and then I can fully appreciate the bliss from heaven with you," Qing Yu said with a smile.

"..."

Jin Mingxuan stared at Qing Yu, who was suddenly all smiles, his eyes conveying a single thought, "I never knew you were like that, Brother Meng."

All along the way, Qing Yu had carried himself with the dignity of a scholar, mostly listening and rarely agreeing to Jin Mingxuan’s propositions, exuding the air of an upright, learned man. When Jin Mingxuan invited him, it was more to tease Qing Yu—as he had amused himself by provoking such reactions from other scholars in the past, delighting in their blushing embarrassment.

Unexpectedly, he had now encountered a mudslide among scholars, as Qing Yu’s reaction was immediate—a transformation from a bookish man to a debauched scholar in a split second.

"Excellent, it’s a deal then. There’s still time before evening, and I’ll also freshen up. Tonight, we’ll go together."

This Brother Meng, so suited to my tastes. Jin Mingxuan was pleased that the companion he had casually picked up on the road turned out to be someone he saw eye-to-eye with—a matter of fate, indeed.

"Ada, find us the best inn nearby," Jin Mingxuan instructed the coachman, who was also a house servant he brought from home.

"Yes, young master." After inquiring from passersby about Divine Capital’s best inn, Ada drove the carriage there.

Yunlai Inn.

Qing Yu stood in front of the inn, staring blankly at the sign above the entrance.

"Yunlai Inn, this is the most famous inn chain in Daqian, with locations spread across the Daqian Seven Provinces. I never expected to see this inn in Divine Capital," Jin Mingxuan remarked from the side.

You have no idea just how much you didn’t expect. Qing Yu rolled his eyes.

The first piece of information for the Six Gates mission was received at Yunlai Inn in Ling Province Mingyang City. The detailed cover identity for Qing Yu was also designed and sent through Yunlai Inn to the Six Gates, from which he obtained the specific completed false identity documents at another city’s Yunlai Inn.

And now, here was Yunlai Inn again in Divine Capital.