Chapter 146 The Top Scholar

Xie Mianmian stared blankly at the leaf stalk, which still bore green marks, and carefully admired the veins on the leaf.

This is a beautifully shaped and elegant ginkgo leaf, resembling a butterfly with outstretched wings.

As soon as Xie Mianmian saw this leaf, she knew where it came from.

It is a secret place.

I also found out who had given me these books.

Her thoughts wandered through the dilapidated palace in autumn, across narrow paths, and around a dark corner.

I was plunged into a golden, bright world, where a huge ginkgo tree guarded its ancient soul, quietly standing guard in this sparsely populated open space.

Xie Mianmian has recently taken to lying on her back on the layers of leaves, watching butterflies of various shapes fall from the tree, while cicadas flutter around and swat at the leaves.

The cats will choose the ginkgo leaf they think is the most beautiful and give it to Xie Mianmian.

However, as she looked at the yellow coin in her hand with a faint smile, she felt that the one given to her by the Seventh Prince was the most perfect.

Then, Xie Mianmian's attention returned to the calligraphy practice books and primers beside her, and she rubbed her forehead in despair.

Why is the Seventh Prince no longer studying with her, and instead urging her to improve herself?

There's so much to learn, I simply can't learn it all!

Anyway, he didn't know. Xie Mianmian put those books into her own bookshelf, then picked up the comic book and started reading it with a smile.

The Crown Prince's deeds shocked the court and the public, and the emperor ordered a thorough investigation into what the Crown Prince had done.

You wouldn't know unless you investigated. Once you did, you discovered that the Crown Prince had been doing a lot of things in secret, good or bad, big or small, anything that interested him.

The Crown Prince did it all!

The emperor was furious and destroyed all the underlings of the crown prince.

This included a merchant caravan that sold precious herbs from the Great Zhou Dynasty to the Northern Rong, and the Crown Prince even risked colluding with an enemy country.

The emperor rubbed his temples weakly, and with a wave of his hand, the crown prince was imprisoned forever in that autumn.

The herbs that the prince ordered the caravan to sell to the Northern Rong were not just of some value, but were also one of the raw materials for a special poison.

It was a poison specially concocted by the Northern Rong to tame wild beasts.

No one knew that the disappearance of this caravan brought ten years of peace to the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The sky over Beirong was pitch black, as if a massive storm was brewing.

Life is like a gentle stream; the cold river water begins to freeze, endures the heavy snowfall, and then gradually melts away.

Finally, a hint of green has appeared, and spring is in full bloom.

The following spring, Xie Mianmian followed the women of the Xie family to a restaurant and booked a private room facing the street.

After the waiter brought the food up, he respectfully closed the door and left.

Xie Mingyi pointed to a plate of fruit on the table and said to Xie Mianmian, "When Young Master He gets to the bottom, throw the fruit from the plate at him, understand?"

Xie Mianmian took the mangosteen that Wen Shuwan handed her. It had already been half-opened, revealing the tender white flesh inside, which was plump and looked like a cat's little paw.

She cried out, "Why did you throw Brother He? What did he do wrong?"

Xie Mingyi pinched her little cheek, "This is called 'throwing fruit to fill the carriage,' it's a tribute to the newly appointed talented scholar, you know?"

Xie Mianmian nodded. She was planning to throw a big one, like that big guava, because she would definitely be the one to praise Brother He the most!

"Second sister, wasn't it said that only three people could parade through the streets? How can you be so sure that Brother He will be among them?"

Xie Mingyi smiled faintly, recalling last winter when heavy snow fell and the Xie family funded the purchase of cotton quilts to give to poor families to help them get through the winter.

For some inexplicable reason, she thought of He Chuan, who was an orphan, all alone, and whose clothes were faded from washing.

It's so cold outside, I wonder if he's alright.

So Xie Mingyi, along with her maid and a thick quilt, took a carriage and arrived at the alley where He Chuan lived.

She stepped off the carriage against the cold wind, walked through the windswept alley, and arrived at his door. The maid knocked on the wooden door.

After a long while, the door finally opened, and behind the crack in the door was a thinly dressed boy.

"Miss Xie, what brings you here!" He Chuan hurriedly opened the door and welcomed them into his home to escape the cold wind.

The house was bare, and the cold wind seeped in everywhere, making it even colder than outside. At least the sun was warm when it shone on people.

Xie Mingyi wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and looked around, especially noticing the thin blankets on the bed. "How can you stand like this at night? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"

He Chuan turned his head away awkwardly, "If I'm too cold to sleep, then I won't sleep. I'll just get up and study."

Xie Mingyi glared at him disapprovingly, "Nonsense! If you get sick now, what will you do when you're old?"

As she spoke, she took off her cloak and, ignoring He Chuan's objections, forcibly draped it over his shoulders.

A warm fragrance wafted over, leaving He Chuan's mind blank. The poems he had just been reciting seemed to vanish along with the cold.

He stared blankly as Xie Mingyi instructed the maid to spread a soft, thick quilt on the bed. After a long while, he found his voice again.

"Miss, I'm afraid I'll become lax in my sleep, with a secure pillow and warm quilt."

In that case, we would be even further away from the untouchable moon.

"Look how terrible the bruises under your eyes are. You should eat well and sleep well so that you can study with plenty of energy. Sharpening your axe won't delay your work. Do you understand, Young Master He?"

He Chuan quickly bowed to Xie Mingyi and said, "Thank you, Miss. I was too hasty."

After personally seeing Xie Mingyi off to her carriage, He Chuan returned home. Although a gentleman is supposed to be cautious even when alone, he couldn't help but hug the still-warm cloak to his chest.

Gently inhaling the delicate fragrance, as if embracing the bright moon, his inner desires deepened.

Could it be that he could also have that opportunity?

Recalling how diligently He Chuan studied, Xie Mingyi assured the child, "Heaven rewards diligence. Heaven will not let Young Master He down. Let's wait and see; he will surely come."

He'd at least be a third-place finisher.

That day, Xie Mingyi also found a thick hemp rope on the roof beam of He Chuan's house, which looked like it was used for hanging.

Although He Chuan said it was for hanging one's head from a beam, Xie Mingyi still confiscated it.

As I was thinking, suddenly, gongs and drums sounded from the other end of the street, accompanied by a lively commotion.

"Here he comes! The top scholar is here on a tall horse!"

"The top scholar is really handsome, even more so than the third-ranked scholar."

From the adjacent room came the voice of a young woman, "Father, this top scholar is good."

"Very well, then let this old man find a son-in-law from among those listed on the imperial examination!"

Xie Mianmian, clutching a guava, ran to the railing and peered out, straining to see the other side of the street.

A tall black horse slowly trotted in, with a man of upright posture sitting on its back.

He wore a bright red robe with cloud and goose patterns embroidered on the collar, and a black gauze hat with wings, adorned with a golden flower.