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Ning Zhiyuan felt deeply sorry for Xiao Liulang.
This was his first time coming to the capital, but it wasn’t the first time he came into contact with officialdom. When he was at the local level, he had been a teacher at a prefectural school, and he had also worked as a temporary chief at the side of the County Magistrate.
He had seen the darkness and strife of officialdom with his own eyes, but he never expected that there would be such injustice in a clean place like Hanlin Academy.
In fact, his own life wasn’t too smooth either, but this kind of discomfort was within the normal range that someone with no power, no great potential and no background experienced. In short, he just wasn’t taken seriously.
In Xiao Liulang’s case, however, he was deliberately being suppressed by others.
It was thanks to Xiao Liulang having a good mentality that he hadn’t collapsed yet. If it was someone else, they would have broken down long ago.
Ning Zhiyuan said nothing more, patted him on the shoulder and went out with a sigh.
Xiao Liulang went out to wash his writing brush, and it so happened that An Junwang was also in the ink-washing pond to clean his writing brush when he came there.
He didn’t have to wash it himself; someone else would do it for him.
He was surrounded by a group of colleagues who congratulated him one by one.
"I heard that Junior Compiler Zhuang ranked first in the exam. This is what you called ‘true gold does not fear fire’!"
"Right! No one was able to play favorites this time!"
As they spoke freely, they did not forget to cast a meaningful look at Xiao Liulang.
The story of how Xiao Liulang topped the exams had long been "spread" in the capital. Reportedly, he was nothing more than someone who resembled the Little Marquis of Zhao, winning the favor of the Little Marquis's father and senior brother disciple.
Even his Zhuangyuan title was deliberately given by the Emperor in order to suppress the Zhuang Family.
It was impossible for the Emperor to extend his hand so long in everything. Hanlin Academy, for example, was a place where the Emperor could not reach out his hand. His true colors were finally revealed during this first Hanlin examination.
Don't think that scholars would be more subtle in their words than the shrews in the countryside. The latter only had louder voices and rough words, but their insults couldn’t really reach where it hurt most.
On the other hand, when a scholar mocked someone, it could cut open the other party’s heart. Their every word was like the edge of the blade seeking to draw blood.
However, the officials of Hanlin Academy were still not as reckless as the little dandies of Imperial Academy. They cherish their reputation, and would not really block Xiao Liulang’s way to do anything to him, nor would they intentionally trip him up to embarrass him.
They would only use their authority to suppress him, or band together to mock him and isolate him.
There wasn’t much change in Xiao Liulang's expression.
He intended to leave after cleaning his writing brush.
"...it should be calculated in this way. The answer is twenty-seven." An Junwang helped a Junior Compiler calculate the answer to an arithmetic problem, and then called Xiao Liulang to a halt, "Hold on."
Xiao Liulang paused and looked at him faintly, "Is something the matter?"
An Junwang said, "Hanlin Academy is a place of fair competition. No matter what others say, I hope you understand that this is a place where strength speaks for itself. You know exactly how you came to be the Zhuangyuan. Hanlin Academy won't give Marquis Xuanping a chance to intervene. You really shouldn't have turned to Marquis Xuanping."
If he were a military official, it made sense to take refuge in Marquis Xuanping’s camp.
But when it came to civil officials, the Zhuang Family was obviously the tallest tree!
Xiao Liulang didn't answer An Junwang's words. He simply looked at the problem in the hands of a Junior Compiler and said, "Nineteen."
After that, he left with an indifferent look.
An Junwang frowned.
What nineteen?
The Junior Compiler was studying An Junwang's problem solving process and did not dare to eavesdrop on their conversation.
An Junwang went over, took the paper from his hand and looked at it again. Suddenly he realized that he had written a number less in the seventh step, so the final result of the calculation would be——
An Junwang took a writing brush and a paper and solved the problem again.
Nineteen!
How did he know that?!
Had he done this problem before? It couldn’t be that he calculated the answer in his mind after only listening to Junior Compiler Zhang read the problem, right?
That was impossible!
He couldn’t be that smart!
It would take a day for ordinary people to do such a huge amount of calculations on paper, while Hanlin scholars, who were smarter than the average people, would take at most half an hour to solve it.
With his intelligence, it only took him half a quarter of an hour to get the answer, but this still required him to write down the complicated and huge calculation steps on paper.
Besides, he still miscalculated.
How could Xiao Liulang get it right just by mental calculation?
After duty hours were over, An Junwang got into the carriage back to the residence and unexpectedly found that Grand Preceptor Zhuang was actually in the carriage.
"Grandfather." An Junwang saluted, "What brings you here?"
"I was passing by, so I came to see you." Grand Preceptor Zhuang said in a good mood.
Ever since Empress Dowager Zhuang sent Zhuang Yuexi home from the palace, Grand Preceptor Zhuang hadn't shown such a pleasant expression for many days.
An Junwang couldn't help asking, "Why does Grandfather look so happy? Is there any joyous event?"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang's admiring eyes fell on him, and he could hardly hide his smile, "Well, it is indeed a joyous event."
There were not many things that his grandfather could call a joyous event ...
An Junwang looked puzzled at Grand Preceptor Zhuang. Somehow, he felt an ominous premonition in his heart.
At last, Grand Preceptor Zhuang stopped keeping people in suspense and smiled at An Junwang, "Grand Secretary Yuan is interested in you."
“Grand Secretary Yuan?” An Junwang was shocked.
Grand Secretary Yuan was the Mount Taishan and the North Star of the State of Zhao, the number one official of the cabinet.
How could he suddenly be interested in him?
It wasn’t that An Junwang was belittling himself nor he felt that he didn’t have the strength to be admired by him. It was just that his reputation had been there long ago, if Grand Secretary Yuan would take a fancy to him, it should have happened a long time ago.
If it was because of this year’s imperial examination, he was only the Bangyan, and on top of him, there was Xiao Liulang, the new Zhuangyuan.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang said with a smile, "Didn’t you go to Mount Yueluo to organize the library pavilion this time? He read the ancient books you sorted out and restored and was very satisfied with you."
An Junwang was also very satisfied with the ancient books he had compiled.
He had read a lot of books since he was young and had never slacked off in his studies even when he was a hostage in the State of Chen, so he was very confident with his knowledge in history.
He didn't organize many ancient books that day, but he was confident that the ones he organized were the best among several of them.
"Grand Secretary Yuan loves to study ancient books." Grand Preceptor Zhuang stated.
"I see." An Junwang suddenly realized. It was no wonder he suddenly took a fancy to him. "Is he... planning to accept me as a disciple?"
It would be great if he could learn under Grand Secretary Yuan.
Although everyone was already a disciple of the Son of Heaven after becoming a Jinshi, no one would dislike having such another excellent master.
In his opinion, only four people in the six estates were qualified to be his master.
One was the deceased Old Feng, the other was Layman Hanshan of the State of Yan, the other was Sir Lian Yun of the State of Qing, and the other was Grand Secretary Yuan.
Even his fourth uncle, Zhuang Xianzhi, wasn’t qualified.
As for Chief Huo, he was at odds with Empress Dowager Zhuang, so An Junwang naturally didn't like him much.
"Not a disciple, but a grandson-in-law." Grand Preceptor Zhuang said.
An Junwang furrowed his brows.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang said, "He wants to betroth you to his granddaughter who grew up in a Taoist temple. That girl's talent is also quite good and Grand Secretary Yuan values her very much. Unfortunately, she is a woman and can't inherit the mantle of Grand Secretary Yuan. If you really marry her, you will be no different from a disciple of Grand Secretary Yuan."
How could there be no difference?
There was a generation difference.
But An Junwang didn't say that out loud.
His marriage wasn’t something he could decide on his own, and since he couldn’t marry the woman she liked anyway, did it still matter who he married?
……
After Reader-in-Waiting Yang was promoted, he was too busy giving lectures to the Hanlin bachelors in Hanlin Academy, and temporarily neglected to make things difficult for Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang was out of duty on time.
He packed his things and left the Hanlin Academy.
As soon as he left, Junior Compiler Cen came out of his office.
In the past two days, he had been avoiding Xiao Liulang. First, he felt guilty for scheming against Xiao Liulang. Second, he was also observing when Xiao Liulang would find Reader-in-Waiting Yang to tell on him.
Xiao Liulang headed west after leaving Hanlin Academy.
He clearly remembered that Xiao Liulang used to head east...
Did he really plan to find Reader-in-Waiting Yang and tell on him?
The west just happened to be the direction of Hanlin Lecture Hall——
It was true that Xiao Liulang was on his way to Hanlin Lecture Hall, but instead of looking for Reader-in-Waiting Yang, he was going there to find Feng Lin and Lin Chengye. Last night, he compiled some topics on astronomy and arithmetic, which should be suitable for their current progress.
Junior Compiler Cen followed him furtively.
Seeing Xiao Liulang go in the direction of Hanlin Lecture Hall, his heart went up his throat!
Unexpectedly, Xiao Liulang was stopped halfway.
It was a woman!
The woman was beautifully dressed, with a delicate countenance and hair decorated with beaded ornaments. Although she was wearing a veil, it was still difficult to hide her amorous charm.
Junior Compiler Cen felt dazzled after only one look.
The woman did not come forward.
It was the little girl around her who went over and said something to Xiao Liulang.
From Junior Compiler Cen’s perspective, he could only see Xiao Liulang's back, so he didn’t know what Xiao Liulang's expression was right now, and he couldn’t hear their voices either.
After that, Xiao Liulang left.
The little girl and the woman bowed slightly towards Xiao Liulang.
References
1. — a person of distinction; leading or eminent figure, scholar, artist, etc.
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