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When Xiao Liulang arrived at Hanlin Academy the next day, he noticed that everyone was looking at him with strange gazes. Although these people might not be close to him normally, they never looked at him with such contemptuous and complicated eyes.
It was as though they despised what he had done, but at the same time they couldn’t believe it, and there was even another trace of something that Xiao Liulang failed to understand.
Ning Zhiyuan was summoned by Reader-in-Waiting Yang to be a teaching assistant in the Hanlin Lecture Hall today, so there was no one to gossip to Xiao Liulang about what was going on with the way this group of people looked at him.
However, Xiao Liulang soon found out the answer for himself, because he was summoned by Chancellor Han.
Chancellor Han was the highest official of Hanlin Academy and was in charge of the entire Hanlin Academy. People of his level generally wouldn’t summon a Senior Compiler of sixth rank.
Chancellor Han observed Xiao Liulang. Although very restrained, his eyes still swept the crutch in Xiao Liulang's hand.
Then, his eyes fell on Xiao Liulang's face.
He had to say that this face really looked a lot like the deceased Little Marquis of Zhao.
When he recovered his senses, he sighed deeply and asked with a frown, "Do you know why this official called you here?"
Xiao Liulang said neither humble nor arrogant, "This lower official doesn't know."
His manners and temperament were not bad, not at all rustic.
Chancellor Han thought for a moment, looked straight at Xiao Liulang and said, "Do you know that the court officials of the State of Zhao are not allowed to linger around brothels at will?"
Xiao Liulang replied, "This lower official knows."
Chancellor Han looked at him sternly, "And you still went despite knowing that?"
Xiao Liulang said with a firm tone, "This lower official has never been there."
Chancellor Han said, "If you haven’t gone there, how come you know a courtesan?"
Xiao Liulang answered strangely, "This lower official doesn’t know any courtesan."
Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Chancellor Han knit his brows into a frown and said, "You may withdraw. Do well in your job and lead an honest and clean life. Don’t follow the bad example of others and do things that will damage the reputation of Hanlin Academy."
Brothels were legal establishments in the State of Zhao, but it wasn’t appropriate for officials to visit brothels after all. Only Marquis Xuanping, who was thick-skinned and didn’t care about his reputation, was indifferent to being reprimanded by His Majesty.
Hanlin Academy, on the other hand, cared a lot about their reputation.
Thinking that people like Xiao Liulang shouldn’t have the money to visit brothels, he let Xiao Liulang go after a few words of advice. At the same time, he called an old attendant and instructed him to tell the Hanlin officials that they shouldn’t let any rumors spread outside.
Xiao Liulang went out and met Ning Zhiyuan who came back from Hanlin Lecture Hall.
Ning Zhiyuan pulled him into the corridor and asked him in a low voice, "What's going on? The whole Hanlin Academy is talking about the rumors of you going to a brothel! Even if you beat me to death, I won't believe you would go to a brothel!"
If he wanted to go there, he would have gone early. Back then, he didn’t even hesitate to offend his fellow Jinshi and let himself get drunk in order not to be in a brothel.
Xiao Liulang said calmly, "I haven't been there."
"Of course I know you haven't been there! But have you offended someone recently? I mean... people other than… An Junwang." Ning Zhiyuan believed that An Junwang wouldn’t paint Xiao Liulang in such a negative light.
It was too easy for him to suppress Xiao Liulang, so it wasn’t worth doing so.
Xiao Liulang shook his head.
There were many people in Hanlin Academy who didn’t like him, but he couldn’t remember if he ever took the initiative to offend any of them.
Ning Zhiyuan was anxious as he said, "Think again! If you don't dig out this scourge early, he will ruin you behind your back in the future! Chancellor Han can trust you once, but not necessarily ten times. Public clamor can obscure the actual truth, gossip is a fearful thing!"
Xiao Liulang thought it over carefully.
Just then, Junior Compiler Cen came out of Reader-in-Waiting Yang's office and walked towards the corridor.
Ning Zhiyuan, afraid of being discovered, gestured at Xiao Liulang and then disappeared in a flash!
Xiao Liulang was already accustomed to it. He walked calmly into the corridor and inevitably ran into Junior Compiler Cen.
When Junior Compiler Cen saw him, his eyes flashed!
In the past, Xiao Liulang would never pay attention to insignificant people in his life, but today he inexplicably noticed him.
"Junior Compiler Cen?" He halted his footsteps.
Junior Compiler Cen's official position was a rank lower than his, but he was admitted to Hanlin Academy earlier than him. He took the examination by imperial favor in the Year of Yichou and became a Hanlin bachelor. He was then completely admitted to Hanlin Academy three years later and became a Junior Compiler of the seventh rank.
Hanlin bachelor's promotion speed was slower than that of the first-class Jinshi. After two more years, he still remained a seventh-ranking Junior Compiler in Hanlin Academy.
It wasn’t that the official position of a Junior Compiler was very low.
One couldn’t enter the Hanlin Academy without becoming a Jinshi, and one couldn’t join the cabinet without being a Hanlin official. And even if a Hanlin official didn’t join the cabinet, their presence would still be very valued in other government offices.
It was just that some people happened to be more popular than other people.
Junior Compiler Cen, a person who hadn't been promoted for five years, hated this kind of Zhuangyuan “who appeared out of nowhere” most, becoming a sixth-ranking Senior Compiler in one go! He felt like being stepped on the head!
Junior Compiler Cen gathered up his jealousy and looked coldly at Xiao Liulang, "What's the matter, Senior Compiler Xiao?"
Look, this was his attitude towards the new Zhuangyuan, alright!
So what if he was a rank higher than him? In the end, he was just a soft steamed bun that everyone could bully!
Xiao Liulang didn't care about the trace of pleasure from another's plight that flashed within his eyes, but he did remember one thing, "Junior Compiler Cen seemed to have a lot of complaints about me back when we were working in the library."
Junior Compiler Cen harrumphed, "Isn't that because you got me into trouble? If I hadn’t been assigned with you, wouldn’t I have done many more things?"
Xiao Liulang nodded, "So you deliberately didn't call me when going back, making me spend the night in the library?"
He said it so casually and frankly that Junior Compiler Cen almost felt his heart explode in panic!
"You, you, you, you, you... what are you talking about?" Junior Compiler Cen's eyes widened and he put on some false bravado.
Xiao Liulang heard Ning Zhiyuan say back then that Senior Compiler Yang was furious about his being late the next morning, which showed that Senior Compiler Yang wasn’t aware that he was locked up in the library.
Senior Compiler Yang would not leave without calling him, but he would not call him himself.
Then there were only Senior Compiler Wang and Junior Compiler Cen who were assigned to the same room as him.
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