Chapter 35 Eating

Despite his advanced age, Chief Minister Cui is still so petty.

He makes it sound so easy, but everyone knows he's just pretending to be relaxed.

The palace examination consisted of only one session, which ended in the afternoon.

The emperor came several more times during this period. Perhaps he had finished his business, because when he came again in the afternoon, he sat directly on the throne in front of him to supervise the candidates answering the questions.

The Crown Prince, however, was present the whole time.

After several hours of writing, Ye Jianshan was a little tired, but he also felt a great sense of satisfaction.

He enjoys the feeling of writing down all his thoughts.

He'd be even happier if everyone there stopped staring at him.

He can make eye contact with people looking at him from all angles simply by changing his posture slightly.

Then you can see the person's eyes light up, with an expression that says, "Indeed, it looks very similar."

Ye Jianshan was already adept at interpreting what they were saying from their expressions.

The entire imperial examination began in the early morning and lasted until evening.

Although there was enough time, the psychological pressure added a lot of burden to the test takers.

In the end, many people rushed to finish their work, unable to complete it, and knew they were doomed before the results were even released.

I'm afraid I'll have to get a spot as a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Although there is only a one-word difference between "Tong Jinshi" and "Jinshi", their treatment is vastly different.

After the palace examination, the candidates left one by one, waiting for the results to be announced three days later.

After the grand ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations, they became Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and began the procession of the top scholars through the streets.

This was the scene Ye Jianshan had been most looking forward to. Who wouldn't want to be the leader, dressed in red, riding a tall horse, with a red flower on their chest, receiving blessings from people lining the streets?

This is one of the three things I'm most proud of in my life.

After the candidates leave the examination hall, the ministers who are grading the papers will have to get to work. They need to finish grading the papers within three days and place the final rankings and answer sheets on the emperor's desk for him to judge whether the rankings are correct and whether there are any adjustments needed.

Once the emperor confirms and stamps the document, the grand ceremony of announcing the results can be held on the fourth day.

Everyone guessed that Ye Jianshan would be the top scholar this year, but the winners of the second and third place were still unknown, becoming the focus of discussion among onlookers.

After leaving the palace, Ye Jianshan intended to decline Luo Shaohui's invitation and return directly to the Ye residence.

Luo Shaohui and the others didn't have much hope and asked the question symbolically.

With the end of the palace examination, their imperial examination careers officially came to an end. After that, they just had to wait for the results, and they no longer needed to take any more exams.

Regardless of how well they did on the exam, they relaxed at this moment.

Cui Jianbing had just recovered and was thinking of getting together with everyone, but he didn't expect Ye Jianshan to be so exclusive and not give him any face at all.

He began to persuade him, "I haven't had a meal with Ye Huiyuan yet, why not give him a chance today?"

Ye Jianshan actually had something to do when he went back. His mother had gone to the Jiang residence to visit Jiang Song at the request of Master Zhang. He hadn't thought about it while taking the exam, but he had been thinking about it ever since and wanted to go home to ask his mother what had happened to Jiang Song.

I didn't expect to be caught in this situation. With so many people around, refusing again would be a bit disrespectful.

Ye Jianshan simply said, "Alright, then I'll have someone tell my family, and we'll go to Jingfu Restaurant."

When Kyungbook Restaurant was mentioned, both Choi Kin-byung and Luo Shaohui had strange expressions.

Cui Jianbing's first embarrassing moment was at Jingfulou. He failed to hold a literary gathering. He had hoped to make a big splash, but instead, he lost face big time. To this day, the Cui family has not taken the initiative to hold another literary or poetry gathering.

Now he suddenly realized that this was also related to Ye Jianshan.

When someone shouted "Your Highness the Crown Prince," was that Ye Jianshan?

He remembered that it was the heir of the Marquis of Weiyuan and Feng Xing who shouted it, but he couldn't afford to offend either of them, so he didn't want to ask. Besides, so much time had passed that everyone had almost forgotten about it, and bringing it up again would only make the Cui family lose face once more.

When Choi Geon-byung realized what had happened, he almost lost his smile.

This Ye Jianshan is indeed here to ward off him.

Luo Shaohui also thought of this. He felt that Ye Jianshan didn't do it on purpose; perhaps he only knew about this restaurant.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Or you can decide on the location? I'm fine with anything."

Ye Jianshan urged.

It's inappropriate for them to keep gathering at the palace gate.

Cui Jianbing smiled again and said, "Then let's go to Jingfulou. See you there."

"Alright, brothers, I'll take my leave first."

Ye Jianshan cupped his hands in greeting to them, then turned and got into the carriage, instructing Guo Yu to head towards Jingfu Restaurant.

Indeed, Ye Jianshan only then noticed that the coachman waiting for him at the palace gate was Guo Yu.

After the carriage started moving, Ye Jianshan lifted the curtain and asked, "Uncle Guo, it's you here? How long have you been waiting?"

Guo Yu could hear the undisguised concern in his tone, and smiled shyly: "I just arrived, I'll be here soon."

Seeing that Ye Jianshan hadn't lowered the carriage curtain even after he finished answering, and seemed to have something else to ask, Guo Yu spoke first: "Is there anything else you want to ask, young master? You can ask me anything."

Ye Jianshan was a little uncomfortable seeing that he was calling him "Young Master" after just one day apart. He patted him like a brother and said, "Uncle Guo, don't be so polite. Just call me Ye Jianshan, or Jianshan. Don't keep calling me 'Young Master' or 'Young Master.' It sounds awkward. I really do have something to ask you."

Ye Jianshan paused for a moment, and Guo Yu slowed down the carriage, afraid that he might not hear his young master's words.

Ye Jianshan coughed and asked, "My mother went out today. How was she when she came back?"

Guo Yu hadn't expected this question. He thought for a moment and said, "The Crown Princess did go out, but she didn't seem any different when she came back."

They all had blank, expressionless faces.

Guo Yu wouldn't look at it too much, much less try to guess the Crown Princess's feelings.

Ye Jianshan's heart sank. No wonder Master Zhang wrote a letter to an outsider to look after Jiang Song. It seemed that Jiang Song was not doing well in the Jiang family.

"Okay, I understand."

Ye Jianshan frowned slightly, lowered the carriage curtain, and sat back in the carriage. His current identity was complicated, and he could no longer go out to find people as freely as he did in Qingyang.

Not to mention going to see a woman of similar age. If he dares to show up today, the gossip about him and Jiang Song will spread throughout the entire capital tomorrow.

We need to investigate the Jiang family's situation first.

Ye Jianshan thought for a moment and then lifted the curtain again. This time, he plopped down next to Guo Yu and drove alongside him.

Guo Yu's heart tightened: "Young Master, this won't do, you should sit inside quickly."

Although he knew Ye Jianshan wasn't delicate, it was still dangerous for him to sit outside so casually.

Falling down and getting hurt is no small matter.

Seeing that he was so anxious that he had stopped the carriage, Ye Jianshan quickly compromised: "Alright, alright, can I sit a little further inside to ask?"

"Alright, you can ask through the curtain. Your subordinates can hear you."

"good."

Ye Jianshan sat inside, lifted the carriage curtain slightly, and whispered, "Do you know anything about the Jiang family?"

Guo Yu thought for a moment. Although he didn't know why his young master would ask about Minister Jiang, he knew that the young master would have to know about the relationships between the various ministers in the court sooner or later.

Guo Yu recounted what he knew about Minister Jiang: "Minister Jiang is the Minister of Rites, and he has many wives and concubines, as well as many children..."

Ye Jianshan listened to them all and felt that none of them sounded like Jiang Song.

He stopped beating around the bush and directly asked, "Is there anyone here named Jiang Song?"

"Jiang Song?"

Guo Yu had no recollection of it: "I don't have much personal relationship with Minister Jiang, and I didn't know that he had a family member named Jiang Song."

Ye Jianshan sensed something was wrong, but he wasn't surprised by the result: "Okay, I understand."

So did his mother actually see Jiang Song?

Guo Yu didn't know whether Jiang Song's letter to Master Zhang was genuine or a mistake.

Ye Jianshan was starting to worry about her.

It's really unusual that he hasn't sent any messages to Jiang Song even though he's been in the capital for over a month. The whole of Qingyang knows he's in the capital taking the exam; Jiang Song must know.

"Young Master has arrived."

Guo Yu's voice pulled Ye Jianshan out of his reverie. He quickly got out of the car and saw the familiar restaurant. Before he could speak, someone came up to greet him.

"Is this Ye Huiyuan? Please come up to the third floor. Young Master Luo and Young Master Cui are already here and waiting for you."

The waiter suppressed his excitement and guided Ye Jianshan upstairs.

Ye Jianshan nodded, surprised that they had acted so quickly and had come to wait for him ahead of time.

"Okay, I understand. Please lead the way."

"Ye Huiyuan, you're too kind."

Guo Yu followed along, and the people in the restaurant had already helped take the carriage over and tied it up, showing they had that much service awareness.

After Ye Jianshan and Guo Yu went upstairs, the few people sitting in the hall dared to look up.

Feng Xing almost buried his face in his plate, trying to pretend he was eating and didn't know anything.

The man in blue sitting next to him nudged Feng Xing: "This is the little prince you've seen several times?"

The entire hall fell silent as soon as Ye Jianshan entered.

They must have heard correctly; the waiter was calling for Ye Huiyuan.

Everyone in the capital knew the name Ye Huiyuan. Although they had never met the Crown Prince, they had certainly heard of Ye Huiyuan.

That's what the waiter said.

Unexpectedly, this person was Ye Jianshan. His face was exactly the same as the Crown Prince's. So this is what the Crown Prince looks like. There were also quite a few familiar faces among the people following behind him.

Isn't that Guo Yu, the head of the Imperial Guards?

Older people with slightly impaired eyesight might actually think that Guo Yu was following the Crown Prince.

Unexpectedly, he is now protecting Ye Jianshan closely.

Feng Xing didn't want to discuss this topic any further and replied casually, "Eat your food, eat your food. You already know, why are you asking me? How did you know there were only two of you?"

After these words were spoken, another silence fell over those around them.

That's right, the little prince is so precious now, it's impossible for him to have only Guo Yu by his side.

The group, who had intended to have a long discussion, swallowed their words, nearly choking on their own urges.

Jiang Xiuyuan was the same. His father had told him about Ye Huiyuan, and he had also seen His Highness the Crown Prince from afar at the banquet. He never expected to run into the young prince while dining at the restaurant today.

"We can eat, but after we finish eating, are we leaving or staying?"

Jiang Xiuyuan asked, somewhat conflicted.

Feng Xing: ...

Why does this person only ask unpleasant questions? They could have just left without saying anything. Now that they've spoken, they definitely can't leave.

Eat slowly.

The people at the table: ...

Alright, let's stay and wait for the little prince to come down so we can see if we can say hello.

Feng Xing was filled with regret. He shouldn't have gone out. He hadn't been out to eat for a long time, and the moment he came out, he ran into the little prince.

-----------------------

Author's Note: First update is here! Second update before midnight! [Sprinkling flowers]