Chapter 134

Xue Jin'an glanced at him: "You came here just to say that?"

"If I say yes, would you believe me?" The Fifth Prince leaned closer with a smirk, and suddenly noticed that Xue Jin'an had grown a lot taller, and the height difference between the two of them had completely disappeared.

The Fifth Prince suddenly realized that Xue Jin'an had changed a lot. Before being confined, he was a thin, small, and emaciated child. Now, at seven years old, he could still wear clothes meant for five or six-year-olds, and his exposed arms and legs looked like skin and bones.

After being confined to the house, his face became rounder, he grew taller, and his hands and feet became stronger. In the blink of an eye, he caught up with me in height.

The Fifth Prince was somewhat displeased. He straightened up, pursed his lips, and said, "What did you eat to grow so fast? Were you confined to Zhaoyang Palace or were you taking care of your health?"

"They're plotting a rebellion," Xue Jin'an said truthfully.

"Tch." The Fifth Prince didn't believe it at all.

Xue Jin'an asked, "What do you want from me?"

The Fifth Prince, who was usually quick-witted in his banter, was silent for a while this time. His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes were momentarily clouded with emotion, but he quickly suppressed it. He curled his lips into a casual smile, "I found something interesting at Prince An's place, about medicine for controlling Gu worms."

"Don't you need to hide it from me?" Xue Jin'an tilted her head, somewhat puzzled by his sudden revelation of his identity.

"Haven't you already figured it out? What's the point of hiding it?" The Fifth Prince scoffed. "The play is for those who are immersed in it, not for someone like you who sees through it all but refuses to pretend. It's pointless."

"So, are you willing to hear this message?" he asked.

Xue Jin'an did not immediately agree, "Prince An will not want you to act on your own."

"That depends on the time. Normally he wouldn't want you to know this news, but now it's not certain. I understand people's hearts much better than you do." The Fifth Prince chuckled and didn't ask Xue Jin'an any more questions. He directly told her the news, "Xiao Shu's spices are missing the most important one, so she can't make that medicine."

The Third Prince broke his leg after a horse ran away from the horse farm. The Imperial Guards searched Minghua Palace and found a bunch of bottles and jars of spices. They eventually managed to concoct a drug to lure the Gu worms.

The Fifth Prince crossed his arms, and he probably didn't even realize that when Xiao Shu was mentioned, his expression completely disappeared, and he looked very indifferent.

He said, "The medicine she needs is limited. All the medicine prepared has been used at the horse farm, and there is no left."

So even though no tools used in the crime were found, Xiao Shu remained calm. Only after the medicine was reconstituted did her expression change drastically, and she said it was impossible.

Only people in the palace could pull off such a thing.

"Internal strife has broken out?" Xue Jin'an's first reaction was that the common interest group between Prince An and the harem had collapsed from within. This kind of internal strife was not unprecedented. Chu Wenwan and Xiao Shu had a falling out and sabotaged each other, and ended up both of them going down in the end.

"Who knows?" The Fifth Prince said he didn't know, but his tone leaned towards the answer. He chuckled and said, "Perhaps the Imperial Noble Consort has regretted it?"

Xue Jin'an had already foreseen that Consort Min and Prince An were in a cooperative relationship during the Twin Lotus Festival, but both sides tacitly kept it to themselves. Who would have thought that the Fifth Prince, after drinking, would blurt it out today?

A man like the Fifth Prince wouldn't make mistakes because of being drunk; what he said could only be what he wanted to say.

Xue Jin'an didn't understand why he was doing this, and he asked sincerely, "Don't you want to live anymore?"

Prince An might be able to tolerate the matter of medicine, but he might not be able to tolerate being exposed completely.

The Fifth Prince was almost driven mad by Xue Jin'an. He rolled his eyes, had no desire to speak, and left with the words "Go to hell."

However, that's all in the future. When the five-person group entered the alley where Jiu Tianyi was, the birthday celebration had just begun.

Liu Zheng surveyed his surroundings, tapping his fan lightly in his palm as he pondered, "Aren't there too few people here today?"

Although they had been engrossed in their studies and had never actually visited Jiutianyi, they were still aware of its bustling crowds. This street had become the most prosperous place in the entire capital, and it was said that it was so crowded every day that it was impossible to move an inch.

However, when they came today, although there were many people on the street, it wasn't astoundingly crowded as other bustling streets.

"Perhaps everyone is preparing for the palace examination after the results of the provincial examination have just been released?" Tian Chengmin guessed.

Liu Zheng shook his head. "Nine Plus One is quite expensive, and it is, after all, an entertainment venue. Many scholars look down on this kind of place. The ones who really linger here are the spoiled young masters from powerful and wealthy families."

Du Yin was somewhat unwilling: "Could it be that Jiu Tian Yi is not open for business today?"

"Since we're already here, we should at least go and take a look," Liu Gu said.

"Too."

The five quickened their pace, prepared for the possibility of arriving empty-handed. However, when they arrived at the location, they found that Jiu Tian Yi was open for business as usual, but the entrance was deserted.

Curious, they walked over, but were stopped by the waiter at the door before entering. The waiter apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, the restaurant is booked out today and we are not accepting outside customers. Please come back another day."

"Nine plus one can book the whole place?" Liu Zheng was very curious. He could easily calculate the store's revenue and knew how astronomical it was. Booking the whole place would cost tens of millions of silver.

His merchant's pulse pounded. He spread his fan to cover his mouth and whispered to the shop assistant, "Give me a hint, how much?"

"This..." The waiter looked troubled.

"I'm giving your boss money. He won't be unhappy. He might even give you extra money as a reward. Tell me about it," Liu Zheng coaxed patiently.

The waiter was very tempted, but could only refuse helplessly, saying, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I don't know either."

Undeterred, Liu Zheng pulled a silver ingot from his belt. "How about you inquire about it for me?"

The waiter stared intently at the silver, clearly envious, but he gritted his teeth and didn't take it. He just whispered, "To tell you the truth, our master booked the whole place today, and I really don't know how much silver it cost."

This is not something that needs to be hidden. Today, knowing that Jiu Tian Yi has booked the entire venue and is not accepting outsiders, quite a few people have come to inquire. The manager's intention is to turn a blind eye, and if it really can't be fooled, then he will admit that it is the host who has booked the venue.

On the surface, the master of Jiu Tian Yi is Cui Zui, and in official documents, he is Xue Qi Gongzi. In secret, it is said to be Shi Quan Gongzi. But everyone knows that the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War have supported Jiu Tian Yi. They also have a project that is in the final stages. These three families are essentially Jiu Tian Yi's backers and can also be called the master.

Upon hearing that the host had booked the entire venue, no one bothered to ask which host it was. They wondered if they could pick on an easy target. Everyone knew that Jiu Tianyi was someone you couldn't afford to offend. The other party's explanation of the host's identity was just a way of letting them know the basics, and those who knew better wouldn't pry any further.

Liu Zheng was very tactful; he simply tossed the silver to the shop assistant and said, "Thanks, brother."

The group of five left together again, but they didn't go too far. Instead, they went to a restaurant across the street and found a private room, because Tan Lingyue asked, "Will we be able to see Young Master Shi Quan today?"

The five men exchanged glances and immediately agreed. They went to the restaurant next door, entered their private room, opened the window to make sure they could see the entrance of Jiu Tian Yi, and then asked the waiter for paper and pens. They very tacitly buried themselves in their work and began to write down their exam papers from memory.

—Well, who wouldn't want to get some pointers from the Perfect Young Master?

They wrote from day to night, until the birthday banquet ended. However, everyone had tacitly parked their carriages at the back gate of Jiutianyi when they arrived, and naturally left through the back gate as well, so they didn't see it.

It was time for the five of them to go home. Before curfew, they went to Nine Plus One again. At that time, the Nine Plus One staff were installing door panels. They thought the banquet inside was still going on and would continue until dawn. They were closing the door just to avoid trouble.

Liu Zheng, with his sharp eyes, spotted the shopkeeper who had given him the silver. He took out another silver ingot and handed over the five people's answer sheets. "Young man, could you do me a favor and give these to Young Master Shiquan?"

"What 'Perfect Young Master'? We don't have anyone like that in our shop." The waiter was a low-level hoodlum who knew nothing about the affairs of scholars. He didn't even know how "Nine Adds One" came about, so naturally he didn't know about "Perfect Young Master".

Although he was somewhat coveting the money, the young master inside was still there, and he didn't want to cause trouble, so he'd better get to work quickly.

So he waved to Liu Zheng and said, "You can go now. I really don't know this person you're talking about. We're closing up now. Please come back tomorrow."

"Brother, please help me out..." Liu Zheng smiled and took out another silver ingot and stuffed it into his hand.

The waiter looked helpless and was about to say, "He really doesn't know the Perfect Young Master," when he heard the manager's voice coming from afar, "Why are you dawdling over closing the door? Stop chatting and hurry up."

The waiter immediately responded and ran away.

"Which shop are you from? Trying to poach our Jiu Tian Yi?" The shopkeeper saw the silver in his hand, crossed his arms, and scanned the group up and down. He raised an eyebrow and said with amusement, "This little bit of money won't get you any of our people."

Liu Zheng awkwardly touched his cheek: "No, I'm not here to poach people."

"We are very sorry." The five people stepped forward, clasped their hands in apology, and Du Yin explained, "We are students taking the imperial examination this time, but we admire the Ten-Complete Young Master..."

It was too late for Xue Jin'an to return to the palace. He was in his room preparing to go to sleep when he heard a familiar voice coming from downstairs. He went out to look and saw, "It's you."

Xue Jin'an had met Du Yin and even pointed out that he had gotten a question wrong.

Du Yin suddenly looked up at Xue Jin'an, and then remembered him. His eyes lit up with surprise and delight. "I'm so glad to see you again!"

"Come in, I'll show you the papers," Xue Jin'an said.

"This...it seems too late..." The group of five hesitated.

Xue Jin'an casually threw on his coat and walked over. "It's alright, it won't take up much time. You can still get back before curfew."

It didn't take much time at all. Xue Jin'an scanned directly with the high-definition camera, spent about two or three breaths analyzing the data in his mind, and then pointed out the problem in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The five listened with rapt attention. At first, they were somewhat doubtful and apprehensive about Xue Jin'an's identity, but after listening, they were filled with admiration: If this person is not the Perfect Gentleman, then there is no Perfect Gentleman in this world!

"Is there anything you don't know?" Tan Ling asked more sincerely.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xue Jin'an replied, "Write an article that satisfies the teacher."

"He must be ignorant! Don't listen to him!" Completely unaware of how nonsensical Xue Jin'an's writing was, the five people had their eyes on the perfect young master completely clouded, and they firmly believed that the young master teacher they had never met was intentionally suppressing the perfect young master.

As the group of five was leaving, Liu Gu, who hadn't been very active, hesitated and asked Xue Jin'an a question, "Why don't you, someone as capable as you, take up an official post?"

The whole city knew that the Ministry of Revenue was offering a large reward for finding the "Perfect Young Master," but the "Perfect Young Master" had not yet appeared.

"I think if it were you, the court would be very willing to make an exception for you." Xue Jin'an had grown much taller and his features had matured, but he was still clearly a young boy. Liu Gu thought that Xue Jin'an was not going because he was too young.

“That’s not what I’m looking for.” Xue Jin’an said only four words. Liu Gu was stunned, his eyes filled with both admiration and confusion.

Suddenly, Teacher X popped into my head and said: "When humans are eager to know the answer to a question, it often means that the question itself exists."

Speaking in riddles. Xue Jin'an refused to do reading comprehension exercises.

Teacher X: He is wavering about taking up an official post.

Xue Jin'an understood. He said, "Instead of hesitating, it's better to just do it. You'll only know if you want to do it after you've done it."

Liu Gu suddenly understood, while the other four were still somewhat bewildered. They simply thought the words sounded nice and subconsciously memorized them. Little did they know that these words would guide them for the rest of their lives.