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"Hm? You are here." When Gu Jiao straightened herself up, she saw Xiao Liulang. She walked towards him with the small medicine chest in her arms and didn't give An Junwang another glance.
An Junwang smiled at himself and looked at the hand he stretched out.
He knew she could avoid it.
But still——
"Classes ended early today, so I came over to take a look." Xiao Liulang paused and then added, "Jing Kong was taken back by Liu Quan."
This was the tacit understanding between people who lived together day and night. He already knew what she might ask without her opening her mouth.
Gu Jiao bent the corners of her lips upwards, "I have nothing else to do here; I can go home after packing up."
Xiao Liulang: "How is Jiang Shi's situation?"
Gu Jiao: "He’s recovering well."
Xiao Liulang: "I just saw Little Jiang Li. She is helping to get the medicine. The little girl is very quick-witted."
Someone was being a bit too talkative today.
Gu Jiao didn't think too deeply about it and simply headed to her small courtyard to pack her things.
An Junwang smiled at Xiao Liulang with a look of recognition and support, "You did well in the metropolitan exam. The difficulty of the palace exam is no less than that of the metropolitan exam. Do well in the palace exam too, and I will find a way to send your exam paper to the hands of His Majesty."
All Gongshi were eligible to take the palace exam, and there were a total of 210 Gongshi this year, but there were only less than 30 exam papers that could really be presented to the Emperor.
It might seem that authority in the palace exam was in the hands of the Emperor, but the first step actually depended on the cabinet.
With regards to choosing examinees, not only they should be talented enough, they had to have a good background as well, otherwise their exam papers wouldn’t reach the Emperor at all.
The Grand Secretary of the cabinet was surnamed Yuan, but Grand Secretary Yuan was already quite old, and most of the power of the cabinet was now in the hands of Grand Preceptor Zhuang.
The reason why An Junwang threw an olive branch at Xiao Liulang was that he really set his eyes on Xiao Liulang from the beginning, and that he was confident enough to become the Zhuangyuan even if he sent Xiao Liulang's exam paper to the Emperor.
As for whether there was a third reason, such as showing off his status and superiority in front of Gu Jiao, it was unclear.
Gu Jiao came back wearing her back basket, "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing." Xiao Liulang looked at An Junwang with a straight face, without any sign of gratitude. Then he turned to Gu Jiao and said, "Let's go."
"En!" Gu Jiao nodded and went out of the medical hall with him.
In the evening, Feng Lin came over. He came by himself and didn't bring Lin Chengye along. Ever since he and Lin Chengye lived together... Er, no, after they became housemates, Feng Lin rarely went out alone.
Today, Lin Chengye was arranged for a blind date by Steward Zhou.
Feng Lin came to talk to Xiao Liulang about his parents' case in Song County, and there was indeed a progress in the case—— after receiving a letter from Xiao Liulang, Old Feng's student immediately asked to handle the case of Feng Lin's parents and personally interrogated Feng Lin's relatives.
When had his relatives ever seen such a powerful official? In their hearts, the county magistrate could already cover the sky with his hand, but even the county magistrate could only stand by the side and pour tea for the other party.
Without much effort, Feng Lin's relatives confessed the truth. This matter had nothing to do with Feng Lin's parents at all, and now, both his parents and Feng Lin were cleared of any crime.
"Liulang, did you hear me?" In the study, Feng Lin waved his hand in front of Xiao Liulang.
"Yeah, I heard you." Xiao Liulang said absent-mindedly.
Feng Ling: How come I feel like you’re not in the right state?
Feng Lin had to go back soon to study in preparation for next month's palace exam, and didn’t stay long.
Upon coming out of the courtyard, he met Old Chief coming from next door. After thinking about it, he told Liulang's granduncle, "...I have no idea what is wrong with him. I've never seen him like this since I met him again for so long."
Thereupon, Old Chief went to Xiao Liulang's study.
"You’ve come." Xiao Liulang greeted him in a low mood.
Old Chief sat down opposite his desk, then gave him a deep look and asked, "What's bothering you?"
"Nothing." Xiao Liulang denied it.
Old Chief asked, "Is it Marquis Xiao?"
Xiao Liulang: "No."
Old Chief:“The palace exam?”
Xiao Liulang: "No."
Old Chief pondered for a moment before saying, "JiaoJiao?"
Xiao Liulang:“…”
Xiao Liulang suddenly changed the topic, "Aren't you tutoring Little Jing Kong? How is he learning so far?"
Yo yo, look at how he shifted the subject.
Since when have you and the little monk been bound by deep feelings?
Old Chief didn't give up so easily. If he was such a person, he wouldn't have decided to move here at the beginning. His Ah Heng wasn’t the carefree Ah Heng he used to be. He was now someone who locked himself up and didn't want to let himself out.
Old Chief said earnestly, "I've always wanted to ask you, what are your plans between you and JiaoJiao? When you fainted on the road and were picked up by JiaoJiao, it was the Gu Family who forced you to marry her. Although you are husband and wife in name, you really are not."
Xiao Liulang didn't speak.
Old Chief then said, "Before, you didn't leave her because you were worried that she had nowhere to go. Now that this worry is gone, what else bothers your mind?"
Xiao Liulang said, "Nothing bothers my mind."
Old Chief responded, "Then let me ask you again, why did you come back here to the capital? This place—— it’s a place you should never want to come back to for the rest of your life, am I wrong?"
Xiao Liulang hesitantly opened his mouth to say something.
Old Chief didn't give him a chance to answer, "Don't say JiaoJiao forced you to come. Did she put a knife on your neck?"
Xiao Liulang lowered his eyes, "No."
Old Chief let out a sigh, "JiaoJiao is such a nice girl, miss her once and she might be gone forever. If you don't cherish her, someone else will cherish her for you. I think Feng Lin is good, and that boy Lin Chengye is also loaded."
Xiao Liulang blushed, "Teacher!"
Old Chief laughed, "Okay, okay, I was just kidding. They didn't see JiaoJiao that way, but I can’t guarantee that others won’t."
That was a big truth. JiaoJiao was such a fine woman that someone would inevitably find her good and be attracted to her.
His foolish disciple was smart about everything, but he wasn’t very enlightened in this aspect.
After Old Chief left, Xiao Liulang stayed in the study for a long time.It wasn’t until it was completely dark that he got up and went out.
Gu Jiao was tidying up the yard.
When Xiao Liulang saw that there was no firewood in the woodshed, he picked up an axe to chop some firewood. Gu Jiao rushed over and took the axe from his hand, "It’s fine, I'll do it."
Gu Jiao insisted.
Xiao Liulang then headed to the well to draw some water, and she stopped him again.
Xiao Liulang's gaze fell on her hand that was holding the bucket. Her fingers were long and slender, but it was not as smooth as that of a young lady of high background. Her palm was calloused, and there were cut marks on the web between her thumb and forefinger.
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