Chapter 390 Domineering Aura (Second Update)

Xiao Liulang ignored the ashen-faced Prince An and turned to enter the Hanlin Academy.

He took two days off, and there was some more work piled up on his desk. He flipped through it and found it wasn't much; he could basically finish it in a morning.

Starting tomorrow, he will resume teaching the Crown Prince. He will need to give the Crown Prince some questions, but it won't take too long.

In short, the duty roster can be completed on time.

However, no one expected that just after he finished dealing with his official duties, Yang Shidu would give him a new one.

It is a eulogy for the late emperor, used during sacrificial rites.

This was a task assigned to Yang Shidu by Hanlin Academy scholar Han, but Yang Shidu was too lazy to do it, so he went to Xiao Liulang instead.

Speaking of which, it had been a while since Yang Shidu had bullied Xiao Liulang. Firstly, he was recovering from a serious injury and had no energy. Secondly, Xiao Liulang had a one-sided confrontation with Grand Tutor Zhuang at the entrance of the Hanlin Academy. Thirdly, he had heard that Marquis Xuanping had personally gone to the countryside to pick up Xiao Liulang.

All of the above factors combined mean that most people will no longer easily provoke Xiao Liulang. However, some people are just like that, forgetting the pain once the wound has healed.

Yang Shidu happened to be one of them.

He shouted, "What are you standing there for? Go on! Haven't you written this before or seen it before? If you don't know how, go look it up in the book! There are past years' eulogies in the library!"

Xiao Liulang glanced at Yang Shidu with a slightly cool look in his eyes.

That seemingly casual glance made Yang Shidu's heart skip a beat.

Is it just my imagination?

It looks like it's being targeted by a venomous snake.

When Yang Shidu looked at Xiao Liulang again, Xiao Liulang had already returned to his usual aloof and indifferent self.

Xiao Liulang understood that this eulogy to the late emperor would not satisfy Yang Shidu unless it was written twenty or thirty times. He would not even look at it and would make him rewrite it again and again.

In the past, he wouldn't have cared.

What right does someone like him, someone who should have died in the fire long ago, have to care about his own fate?

But now—

If he is not doing well, some people will worry.

Xiao Liulang turned around and went back to his office.

Yang Shidu sneered: "I knew it. You just got lucky. A cripple from the countryside, do you really think those important people up there would look down on you?"

Perhaps it was that look he had given Xiao Liulang earlier that made him feel very uncomfortable. He made things difficult for Xiao Liulang for the entire morning, rewriting the poem countless times. Finally, when it was almost time to hand it in, he picked up the first poem he had written and said, "I think this one is the best."

Xiao Liulang walked out in silence.

Yang Shidu scoffed dismissively, then picked up a neatly written eulogy and went to Lord Han's office.

Upon seeing the pleasing calligraphy, Lord Han couldn't help but reveal a satisfied expression: "This is... Xiao Liulang's calligraphy, isn't it?"

Among all the calligraphers in the Hanlin Academy, Xiao Liulang's calligraphy was the best, even surpassing that of Prince An.

Yang, the Imperial Tutor, smiled obsequiously and said, "My handwriting is not good, so I had him make a copy."

Copying is no great achievement; writing a moving and inspiring eulogy is the real skill.

"Hmm, these few sentences are well written," Lord Han praised generously.

Yang Shidu was overjoyed.

However, his joy was short-lived, as Lord Han's smile froze on his face: "Did you really write this?"

Yang Shidu was so engrossed in his self-praise that he didn't notice Lord Han's expression: "It was written by this humble official."

Lord Han slammed a eulogy onto the table with a loud bang!

Yang Shidu was startled and asked, "Lord Han?"

Lord Han angrily said, "Yang, are you out of your mind?! How dare you disgrace the late Emperor's name!"

"What was the late emperor's name?" Yang Shidu was bewildered and quickly took the eulogy to look at it.

The eulogy does mention the late emperor's name, but not his formal name; it uses his childhood name. It appears in a couplet that begins with a negative comment and then shifts to a positive one, and happens to be the negative part. Therefore, upon closer examination, it could indeed be said to be an insult to the late emperor.

Yang Shidu's face drained of color instantly, and he said in a panic, "Lord Han! It wasn't me! It was... it was Xiao Liulang! He did it!"

He almost blurted out that the eulogy was written by Xiao Liulang, but he quickly changed his mind, saying, "He must have copied it wrong!"

Lord Han said coldly, "He is the newly appointed top scholar, would he make such a ridiculous mistake? Besides, this sentence doesn't even make sense without the late emperor's childhood name!"

Yes, this sentence is so well written, so seamless, so flowing. If it weren't for the late emperor's childhood name, it would be an absolutely perfect couplet.

No, it's thanks to the late emperor's childhood name.

That's not right either!

Xiao Liulang was audacious and reckless, actually using the late emperor's name to create a couplet!

He, he, he must have done it on purpose!

You bastard Xiao Liulang!

Yang Shidu was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. At this critical moment, he didn't care that the ghostwriting had been exposed. He cupped his hands and said, "Doctor Han, to tell you the truth, this eulogy was written by Xiao Liulang! He wrote a lot! They're all on my desk! If you don't believe me, I'll go and get them right away!"

After saying this, he put down the eulogy and left as fast as the wind could carry him.

To his despair, however, all the eulogies that had been on his desk had disappeared!

He panicked: "What happened? Where are the eulogies written by Xiao Liulang? Where are those dozens of thick eulogies? Where did they go? Where did they go? Where did they go..."

At this moment, Han Xueshi's attendant came over: "Yang Shidu, Lord Han wants you to go to his place to confront Xiao Liulang."

"Xiao Liulang... Xiao Liulang!" Yang Shidu gritted his teeth and went to Lord Han's office. As soon as he entered the room, he rushed towards Xiao Liulang. "Did you do it! Did you do it!"

Whether Xiao Liulang is guilty or not is another matter, but Yang Shidu's mad dog-like behavior is truly unbecoming of a Hanlin official.

Scholar Han frowned.

Xiao Liulang's expression was very calm. Although he was the one with the limp, he stood up straight, like a pine tree, with an outstanding demeanor.

This only made Yang Shidu appear even more disheveled.

Yang Shidu was a veteran Hanlin Academy official. He had taken a law exam when he left the academy and did quite well; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stay in the academy.

He knew very well what a grave crime it was to desecrate the late emperor's name.

He looked at Scholar Han in horror: "Lord Han! You must believe me! It was him! It was him! He's the one who harmed me!"

Xiao Liulang said calmly, "How can I not understand what you are saying, Yang Shidu? I have no grudge against you, why would I want to harm you?"

“Because…” Yang Shidu almost blurted out “Because you are dissatisfied with me and I’m making things difficult for you.” He gritted his teeth. “This matter is also my fault for not explaining it clearly to you. I was thinking that since this is your first time writing a eulogy, I don’t know if it will suit Lord Han’s taste. If it doesn’t, then I will take the blame for you. If Lord Han really likes it, then I will tell him that you wrote it.”

This was meant to explain to Scholar Han why he initially claimed it was a copy by Xiao Liulang.

Unfortunately, that's not the point.

Lord Han only cares about who wrote this eulogy!

Xiao Liulang already knew the whole story, and he said, "I don't know the late emperor's childhood name."

Scholar Han suddenly realized.

Yes, the late emperor's childhood name was not the name of the country or the reign title, so how could it be known to everyone? The reason why Yang Shidu knew it was because when he finished his studies, he took a test on the history of the Zhao Kingdom, which included the history of the royal family.

But Xiao Liulang had only been in the Hanlin Academy for a few months and hadn't even learned anything here yet.

He was a poor scholar from the countryside, not a member of the imperial family, so it was impossible for him to know the late emperor's childhood name without studying the history of the imperial family.

In this way, Xiao Liulang's suspicion was completely eliminated.

Scholar Han did not believe that Reader Yang had intentionally offended the late emperor. The most likely explanation was that he himself did not remember and had accidentally used the late emperor's childhood name.

"This matter..." Han Xueshi looked at Xiao Liulang.

Xiao Liulang cupped his hands in a slight gesture: "Please handle this matter impartially, Your Excellency."

Scholar Han closed his eyes. Sigh, he's not an easy person to talk to.

To be honest, this was Yang Shidu's first offense. If the three of them hadn't said anything, Han Xueshi could have given him a minor punishment and let the matter drop. But Xiao Liulang clearly didn't want to cover for Yang Shidu.

If word gets out, he himself will inevitably be accused of lax management and unfair treatment.

Scholar Han sighed, "I understand. You may leave now."

Yang Shidu's official position is now in jeopardy.

Han Xueshi wrote a memorial and sent it to the cabinet. Officials of this rank are usually dismissed or appointed by the cabinet.

In the afternoon, Yang Shidu was demoted two ranks and became a seventh-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy.

Xiao Liulang's official position was Compiler, a sixth-rank official.

After their shift ended, Xiao Liulang was talking to Ning Zhiyuan about visiting his home during their next day off when Yang Zhou stormed over aggressively.

Seeing that things were going badly, Ning Zhiyuan quickly stopped the person: "What are you doing?"

Although Ning Zhiyuan was a civil official, he was quite large and had grown up in hardship, making him much stronger than these officials in the capital. Yang Zhou couldn't push him away!

"It's alright, let him come over," Xiao Liulang said calmly.

"Are you sure?" Ning Zhiyuan turned around and saw that Xiao Liulang didn't seem to be putting on a brave face, so he let go of Yang Zhou's arms.

When Yang Zhou came up to Xiao Liulang, he had already planned to punch Xiao Liulang in the face, but when he actually faced Xiao Liulang, he suddenly realized that this young man was actually so much taller than him!

Xiao Liulang's eyes were cold, reminding him of the feeling of being stared at by a poisonous snake.

He clenched his fists, suppressing the horror in his heart, and glared angrily at Xiao Liulang: "You are so despicable!"

Xiao Liulang gave a faint smile: "You flatter me."

"you!"

Shameless!

Yang Zhou's rise to his current official position was not easy. He had spent many years in the Hanlin Academy. Unlike Prince An and Du Ruohan, he did not have a family background or connections. He was just an ordinary junior scholar at the beginning.

And what he did wasn't too outrageous!

He was also subjected to similar difficulties when he first came to the Hanlin Academy!

Why can't he do the same things that his senior can do to Xiao Liulang?

Yang Zhou was so angry that he couldn't speak coherently: "Why...why did you do this...?"

Xiao Liulang's eyes remained calm: "I can't stand you."

Yang Zhou choked so badly he almost vomited blood, and he raised his fist.

“Hey—” Ning Zhiyuan shouted.

Xiao Liulang didn't even blink, looking at him with an extremely indifferent expression: "You, a seventh-rank editor, have no right to lay a hand on me."

Yang Zhou's arrogance immediately subsided.

Xiao Liulang adjusted his wide sleeves, holding the flowers he had picked for her in his palm, not wanting to ruin them: "Next time, remember to bow."

After saying that, he brushed past Yang Zhou and walked away without looking back.

Prince An, who witnessed all of this from a short distance away, couldn't help but frown.

He had also heard about Yang Shidu's matter. Putting aside the incident itself, wasn't Xiao Liulang's attitude towards Yang Zhou a bit too arrogant?

It wasn't the kind of domineering arrogance, but rather a condescending contempt and indifference, as if nobility was inherent in its very bones.

Is this still the same submissive Xiao Liulang?

Why does it seem like you've become a different person?

Could it be... just because his aunt and Marquis Xuanping are backing him up?

When Xiao Liulang walked out of the Hanlin Academy, the Hanlin Academy had also finished its classes. Several junior scholars invited him over to ask him for advice.

Xiao Liulang said, "I have something to do today. Come find me again tomorrow at noon."

"Ah, I know I shouldn't, but I still want to ask, is it something urgent?"

"Hmm." Xiao Liulang nodded slightly, glanced at the small figure standing at the alley entrance, his eyebrows curved slightly, and looked at them, saying, "It's urgent, so I'm sorry, please come back tomorrow."

Everyone readily agreed.

"Am I seeing things? Did Lord Xiao just laugh?"

"I think I saw it too."

"I never knew Lord Xiao could be so gentle?"

Although Xiao Liulang wasn't born with an icy expression, he was still quite aloof and distant. If it weren't for Feng Lin and Lin Chengye taking the lead in seeking his advice, they probably wouldn't have dared to bite the bullet and come to him.

Their curiosity compelled them to keep watching Xiao Liulang.

They saw Xiao Liulang arrive at the first alleyway and start talking to a girl.

A rare tenderness flashed across his eyes, and the profile of his face seemed to soften.

"This is for you." He handed her a freshly picked begonia.

Gu Jiao took the crabapple blossom and smelled it, quite fond of it: "It smells so good. How was your day?"

Xiao Liulang stared at her intently: "Yes, all the best. I'll be getting a promotion soon."

Although nothing is certain yet, the position of tutor has become vacant.

There are many people who are qualified to take the place.

But if you like it, I'll try to get it.

"Really?" Gu Jiao's eyes lit up.

Looking into her clear, joyful eyes, Xiao Liulang's heart melted uncontrollably: "Yes, really."

Gu Jiao looked up at him, her eyes filled with unwavering determination and faith: "I knew it, my husband is amazing!"

(End of this chapter)