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The crowd was surprised to see him sitting next to Xiao Liulang instead of taking his own seat.
On second thought, however, he left early last night and came late today, so he probably didn't hear those rumors about Xiao Liulang. Furthermore, he also came from a poor family and must not know the rules of the seating order, only thinking that the Zhuangyuan and Bangyan must have been arranged to sit at the head seat of each side.
This was the tragedy of poor scholars. They were unable to see the situation clearly and were ignorant of the rules, as a result, they would inadvertently offend people without them knowing.
However, it was still Xiao Liulang that people hated the most, so Ning Zhiyuan didn’t receive much animosity. Ning Zhiyuan, after all, neither had the appearance nor background. Compared with Xiao Liulang, he was simply not worth mentioning.
The crowd soon turned their cold eyes back on Xiao Liulang as they whispered to one another from time to time, mostly criticizing Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang sat upright on the seating mat, as if he didn't hear them, or as if he heard but just chose to ignore them.
In the middle of a noisy hall, his figure appeared somewhat thin.
Ning Zhiyuan took a sip of tea and suddenly said to him, "I went to the Ministry of Rites to check the exam papers. I've read your article, and you truly deserve the position of Zhuangyuan. Don't mind other people's gazes on you. An Junwang's article is also very good, but compared to yours, some of his points are a little less pure-hearted. I think this aspect is what really impressed His Majesty. On the contrary, it was me. My article is actually inferior to that of Yuan Yu, but in the end, I came third and he came fourth. Maybe it's because Yuan Yu is the grandson of Grand Secretary Yuan, and he can easily make a name for himself, while a humble student like me has little hope of soaring to greatness if I don't get into the top three."
Xiao Liulang glanced at Ning Zhiyuan with slight surprise.
He threatened him so much yesterday, and yet he was still able to say such words to him.
It seemed that he wasn’t aware of those rumors.
Xiao Liulang looked away indifferently, "You still have the courage to sit here and talk to me? Aren't you afraid of drawing fire to yourself?"
Ning Zhiyuan was silent for a long while before he whispered, "If it weren't for you, I would be the one who would be excluded right now."
Ning Zhiyuan was also from a humble background. Unlike Xiao Liulang, who had entered the eye of a noble person, he had no one to back him up. If he was ostracized, he might not be able to continue staying in the capital.
Xiao Liulang's achievements were better than his, his halo was bigger than his, which attracted the jealousy of everyone, to the extent that hardly anyone had the leisure to ostracize him.
"You, hang in there." Ning Zhiyuan took a deep breath and said, "Otherwise, the moment you fall down, it will be my turn next…"
Xiao Liulang who was almost touched by his words: "…"
When the Emperor came over, all the people turned silent.
Seeing where An Junwang was sitting, the Emperor didn't say anything. After he was seated, he asked the musicians to play the “Lu Ming” song, then all the Jinshi sang the song together. Finally, the Emperor appointed the top three Jinshi to make a poem that suited the occasion, which set the academic atmosphere perfectly.
The meals in the Lu Ming Banquet were prepared by the imperial kitchen, which was much more lavish than the light meals on the day of the preliminary and palace exam. Many people had never eaten palace delicacies in their lives, and today might be their first and last time.
Despite the terrible pressure coming from the presence of the Emperor, they still ate with relish. After all, the meals were really delicious.
The Emperor sat for a while and then left, handing over the scene to the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
Towards evening, the banquet ended, and all the Jinshi left in turn.
Xiao Liulang walked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony with Feng Lin and others. Soon after they came out, one of the eunuchs approached with a big smile, "Excuse me, is this Zhuangyuan Xiao?"
Xiao Liulang gave him a faint look, "You are?"
The eunuch said with a smile, "This old servant’s surname is Huang, a servant of His Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness wants to meet Zhuangyuan Xiao and asks Zhuangyuan Xiao to come to the East Palace."
Xiao Liulang paused, "Why does the Crown Prince want to see me?"
The eunuch smilingly replied, "This servant is just a messenger. If Zhuangyuan Xiao has any questions, you can ask His Highness the Crown Prince in person."
Du Ruohan frowned.
Since it was the Crown Prince's summon, it was unavoidable——
Feng Lin actually rejoiced, "Liulang, the Crown Prince wants to see you!"
"En, I know." Xiao Liulang nodded and said to the eunuch, "May eunuch lead the way."
The eunuch made a gesture of invitation, "Zhuangyuan Xiao, please."
"You guys go back first, no need to wait for me. Liu Quan will come to pick me up later." Xiao Liulang said, and then went with the eunuch in the direction of the East Palace.
Feng Lin smiled and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince must have heard about Liulang's talent and wanted to recruit Liulang, right?"
He couldn’t be blamed for thinking so, the Crown Prince was after all Marquis Xuanping's nephew, and Xiao Liulang resembled Marquis Xuanping's son in appearance. So wouldn't he be like the Crown Prince's cousin? They were like a family!
Du Ruohan curled his lips, "The Crown Prince married his cousin's fiancee. Who knows what the Crown Prince would feel when he meets someone who looks like his cousin?"
Feng Lin shook all over, "Ah, I forgot about that!"
……
Imperial capital, Liu Family’s courtyard.
The formerly glorious and splendid Liu Residence had long been confiscated, and now the Liu Family was crammed into a small, ramshackle courtyard house, which was said to be the new Liu Residence, but in fact there was only the master, Liu Yisheng, a little mute servant, and an elderly woman who could hardly move from old age left.
When Gu Jiao stepped into this Liu Residence, Liu Yisheng was crouching on the ground, practicing calligraphy on a broken stone slab he had picked up from outside with an old brush dipped in water.
He had no money to buy a brush and paper, so he could only practice in this way.
He was slightly startled at the sudden appearance of a small figure in the yard, and a trace of embarrassment and awkwardness flashed within his eyes, albeit only for a moment as it was immediately replaced by a sense of self-mockery.
His situation was already so low in the dust, what self-respect and face did he still have?
He continued to practice calligraphy, ignoring Gu Jiao.
The mute servant in the yard grabbed a stick warily and stood in front of Liu Yisheng, as though to protect him.
It seemed that Liu Yisheng had been bullied a lot.
Liu Yisheng smiled coldly, "Stand down Ah Nu, you can't beat her."
Ah Nu didn’t withdraw and continued to glare at Gu Jiao menacingly.
He was young, the same age as Gu Xiaoshun. Gu Jiao took a piece of candy bar from her pocket and handed it to him, "Do you want to eat?"
Ah Nu's eyes lit up and his saliva flowed down the corner of his mouth, but he didn't come forward. Instead, he stuck to his position.
Liu Yisheng sneered, "Go ahead and eat it. She doesn't have to go to so much trouble if she wants to kill you."
Ah Nu hesitated for a moment before putting down the stick in his hand and swiftly grabbing the candy bar Gu Jiao was handing him like a little monkey, as if he would be calculated by Gu Jiao if he were a second slower.
After he took the candy bar, he broke off a small bite and ate it, and then put the rest into his pocket.
"What are you doing here?" Liu Yisheng asked.
"Your medicine." Gu Jiao threw a bundle of bound medicine bags at him. "The last course of treatment."
"But I'm not in pain anymore." He was referring to his cholecystitis.
"You still have to take this medicine even if it no longer hurts. It's a course of treatment." Gu Jiao replied.
Liu Yisheng said, "I don’t have any money."
Gu Jiao said, "I’m well aware that you have no money. Sell me some information, and I won't charge you for your medicine."
Neither of them mentioned the flower hairpin bet between them, as if they had both forgotten about it.
The hand Liu Yisheng used in writing paused, "What information do you want?"
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did your Liu Family really rebel?"
Liu Yisheng responded, "What if we did? What if we didn’t?"
Gu Jiao stroked her chin, "If you really rebelled, you should know a lot about the palace. For example, is there any other way to get into the palace?"
Liu Yisheng:“…”
…..
On the other side, Eunuch Huang led Xiao Liulang to the East Palace. Seeing that he was about to pass by the imperial garden, Xiao Liulang's steps suddenly halted.
Eunuch Huang asked, "Zhuangyuan Xiao, what is the matter?"
"Nothing."
He seemed to hear a cat meowing. The sound was very indistinct, but it made his hair all over stand for a moment.
Eunuch Huang said with a smile, "If it's nothing, then let's hurry, lest we keep His Highness the Crown Prince waiting."
Xiao Liulang nodded faintly.
Not far away ahead, a white cat was lying on a banyan tree, enjoying nibbling on a small dried fish.
People crossed the imperial garden and were about to pass the banyan tree when suddenly a palace maid came running from another entrance of the imperial garden, "Aiya, not good! Someone, please!"
Xiao Liulang turned around.
Eunuch Huang frowned, pointed to the little eunuch beside him and ordered, "You go and see what happened. I'll take Zhuangyuan Xiao to see His Highness."
"Yes." The little eunuch went quietly.
Who knew that the palace maid would push him away, run all the way to Eunuch Huang, and plop down on her knees, "Eunuch Huang! How fortunate it is that you’re here ah! I beg you to help my Highness! My Highness is dying!"
"Who is she?" Xiao Liulang asked Eunuch Huang.
Eunuch Huang was furious and tried to break away from the palace maid, but the palace maid hugged his thigh tightly, "Eunuch Huang! Please, save my Highness!"
Eunuch Huang said angrily, "How can this old sage manage your Highness's affairs? You have to report to His Majesty!"
The palace maid cried, "If I could see His Majesty, why would I beg eunuch instead? Please take me to see His Highness the Crown Prince! Although my Highness is a hostage prince, he is the prince of the State of Chen nonetheless. You can't just ignore him! My Highness has been ill for a long time!"
"What happened?"
Ning Wangfei, who was strolling near the imperial garden, also heard the noise. She slowly walked over with the help of her servants.
Imperial Consort Zhuang attached great importance to Ning Wangfei's baby, and specially asked the Emperor for grace, allowing her to raise the baby in her own Yongshou Palace.
Seeing Ning Wangfei coming, Eunuch Huang looked at the banyan tree not far away, and a dark glint flitted across his eyes. He secretly cursed the palace maid for ruining things.
If the State of Chen's hostage prince is sick, then that’s that. He came here to be a hostage prince, not a guest imperial prince. Don’t you really get how things work here?
Eunuch Huang was infuriated!
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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