At the end of September, the Hai family moved back to Chang'an.
The Hai family has young men preparing to take part in next year's imperial examination. Perhaps out of respect for the examiners or guilt towards the princess, the Hai family sent people to the Danyang Princess's mansion three times to visit the princess and Yan Shang respectively.
Yan Shang supported Hai's son's participation in the imperial examination next year. He was polite and modest to appease Hai. Hai met this examiner once and studied his personality in private - she came to the conclusion that this person was gentle and easy to bully, which was a breakthrough.
The opposite is his wife Mu Wanyao. Mu Wanyao did not hold a grudge against Hai for being suspected of murdering the prince, but her attitude was ambiguous, making Hai unpredictable.
When Hai returned to Chang'an this time, she had to manage the business well. Not only did she make friends with the nobles and the poor, but in October, she sent her youngest daughter to the palace as a concubine.
Mu Wanyao then selected a few beauties from the emperor's harem and sent them in, just like a competition.
The emperor, who was in the deep palace, was troubled by these ministers. Late at night, he sat in the imperial study, sighing at the endless memorials.
The emperor held his forehead with his hand, undecided about the disposal of an acre of fertile land outside the city:
Someone from a noble family wanted this piece of land, so they presented a century-old coral tree to the emperor as a tribute. The emperor used it to please a new beauty in the harem, so he agreed to the deal.
However, a lawsuit soon followed over the land. It was said that a young eunuch under Liu Wenji had bought the land a long time ago, but was beaten by the noble family that had received the emperor's approval. So Liu Wenji came to file a complaint.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice who made the judgments were from aristocratic families, so the eunuchs felt that it was unfair. However, the Dali Temple was controlled by the eunuchs, so if the Dali Temple made the judgments, the aristocratic families would feel that it was unfair.
A small case was brought to the emperor's desk. It was not about the land involved, but whether the emperor favored the nobles or the eunuchs. The two sides stared at the emperor with eager eyes, and the emperor was in a dilemma and could not make up his mind. He stared at the case for half an hour, and finally turned his head and asked the young eunuch: "Has Yan Suchen asked for leave and returned?"
The young eunuch bowed his head and said, "I just returned to the Secretariat yesterday to sign."
The emperor immediately breathed a sigh of relief and threw down his pen: "Then send this case back to the Secretariat and let Yan Suchen handle it. Let him handle it well. If they are dissatisfied again, I will mediate for them."
Liu Xianggong, who had been standing outside the palace waiting for the emperor's approval, had been waiting for half an hour, but he didn't expect to get this result. Liu Xianggong saw that the emperor didn't approve many memorials at all, and pushed the difficult matters back to the Secretariat, especially to Yan Shang... Liu Xianggong sneered, ignored the eunuchs' obstruction, and broke into the cabinet.
Although he was old, he was vigorous and solemn. The emperor was just taking a break when the prime minister came in. He did not dare to disrespect these senior officials left by his father, so he quickly ordered the eunuchs to leave and asked someone to prepare a seat for the prime minister.
Seeing the emperor's attitude, Prime Minister Liu's expression softened a little and he said, "Your Majesty has been in charge of government for nearly three months, so you should be able to make decisions on such matters. Your Majesty cannot but express your views on the struggle between scholars and eunuchs. I brought the memorial to Your Majesty, but Your Majesty pushed it back. Do you intend to keep pushing it back?"
The emperor said, "Isn't there Yan Suchen? I heard that Yan Suchen is your disciple, sir. You should believe in his ability."
Prime Minister Liu suppressed his anger and said, "He is in the Secretariat and concurrently serves as a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel. He is also in charge of the Hongwen Academy and at most supervises the palace guards as a captain of the imperial carriage... How can he be in charge of solving this case?"
The emperor said awkwardly, "Then why not give Yan Suchen the title of Jingzhao Yin?"
Prime Minister Liu said sternly, "The new Jingzhao Yin is a member of the royal family. Your Majesty wants to dismiss him after only three months in office. What will the world think? What will the royal family think? Will Your Majesty push the humble man up, or Yan Suchen? He is just a minister, and holding multiple positions is already the limit. Does Your Majesty want to push all the decisions to him?"
The emperor was somewhat displeased with being scolded.
He said, "It makes sense for me to do this. When the noble families and the eunuchs are fighting, it makes sense to let the leader of the poor family mediate between them."
Prime Minister Liu looked at the emperor who was as confused as mud, and said for a while: "Your Majesty is reluctant to deal with the eunuchs? Your Majesty only sees the important positions of the noble families, but does not see the tyranny of the eunuchs. Liu Wenji relies on your Majesty's favor to act tyrannically, and no one in the court takes him seriously. The rank of an eunuch is counted as the same as that of ministers like me... Who listens to whom?"
The emperor said, "Liu Wenji was left to me by my father. He is a loyal and righteous man. He treats me like a family member. You are worrying too much, sir."
Mr. Liu: "..."
Liu Xianggong was ultimately defeated by the emperor, who was determined to play dirty and refused to deal with the conflict between the eunuchs and the scholars. What could he do? Liu Xianggong was worried that Liu Wenji would become too powerful and undermine the emperor, but the emperor relied on Liu Wenji to entertain him...
Liu Xianggong finally left, and the emperor breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. These ministers were all difficult to deal with, but did they think he was stupid? If he dealt with Liu Wenji, these ministers would be arrogant and demand more... What about the internal eunuchs messing up the government? What can a rootless thing mess up?
The eunuch bowed beside the emperor and whispered, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Liu has arranged Huaqing Pool for you tonight..."
The emperor waved his hand and said, "The lady sent in by Danyang the day before yesterday has a great voice. Let's go and see her tonight."
The young eunuch had listened to Liu Wenji's instructions and didn't want the princess to become too powerful, so he smiled and said, "Madam Hai has also asked someone to come and invite us..."
The emperor suddenly lost interest, feeling that he was being pulled by others and everyone was taking advantage of him. After a while, the emperor said, "Forget it, let's go to the queen tonight."
The young eunuch told Liu Wenji what happened in the imperial study. When Liu Wenji heard how Liu Xianggong belittled him and encouraged the emperor to suppress the eunuchs, Liu Wenji could not help but sneer and cursed: "Old bastard. You are about to retire but you are still restless."
The eunuch reported: "Recently, the noble families have been holding banquets in Beili and invited Yan Erlang to attend the banquet."
Liu Wenji narrowed his eyes, and a trace of worry rose in his heart. Yan Shang had a master-disciple relationship with Liu Xianggong. After Liu Xianggong retired, Liu Xianggong would probably leave all the talent resources such as disciples and students to Yan Shang. And now Liu Gong, who was jumping up and down in the court and asking people to join him in attacking the eunuchs, was Liu Xianggong's son.
Liu Wenji was really worried that the noble families and the poor families would join forces.
But will Yan Shang join forces with him to deal with the aristocratic family represented by his teacher?
Liu Wenji hesitated and ordered, "Hold a banquet in Beili tomorrow and tell them that I am inviting Yan Erlang to dinner. Let's see if he will come."
If Yan Shang didn't come, Liu Wenzhi planned to join forces with the aristocratic families to defeat Yan Shang first.
The emperor is now using Yan Shang so smoothly that Liu Wenji feels a sense of crisis. He is afraid that Yan Shang will advise the emperor to attack the eunuchs and the emperor will listen to him... If Yan Shang is unwilling to cooperate, then Liu Wenji can only strike first.
-----
Yan Shang had not yet attended Liu Wenji's banquet. With his current status, people were watching him no matter what he did. The noble families had sent people to look for him many times. Even though he represented a poor family, he was still a scholar. If he got together with the popular eunuch, the entire scholar class would have to think twice.
Besides, Yan Shang has not been in good health recently, and the emperor has piled a lot of things on him. When Liu Xianggong called Yan Shang over and said that the emperor wanted Yan Shang to deal with the dispute between the noble families and the eunuchs over the good farmland, Yan Shang sighed softly, saying that he had been busy for too long and was a little tired.
Yan Shang smiled bitterly: "I have so many things to do all day long, and His Majesty continues to put things on me. I can't take this case anymore. If I take it again, I'm afraid I won't even have time to sleep."
Liu Xianggong looked at his student's thin and elegant appearance, and thought of how romantic Yan Erlang was when he first came to Chang'an. But now he is cold and bleak like the moonlight, which makes people feel sad. If this is his own child, Liu Xianggong must keep him at home and feed him food and medicine every day until he can completely recover.
Unfortunately, Yan Shang was the Prime Minister, and his position was the same as that of the Prime Minister. If the Emperor wanted to use him, no one could stop him.
Liu Xianggong also sighed and waved his hands in annoyance: "Forget it, take good care of yourself, I will plead with His Majesty on your behalf and let someone else handle this case."
Yan Shang paused and said, "I'm afraid if I don't accept it, Your Majesty will complain again."
Liu Xianggong: "Then you have to cherish your life. Her Royal Highness Princess has sent people to ask me to arrange less work for you several times... Su Chen, you are young and have a bright future. Why do you have to work so hard?"
When Yan Shang heard that Mu Wanyao had made a special trip to seek help from his teacher, he felt touched and embarrassed.
He said: "I also want to rest...After this period is over, I may take a long vacation."
Liu Xianggong was happy to hear this and said that he would definitely approve the leave. However, although the two said this, Liu Xianggong didn't know when Yan Shang could rest. The three forces fought so fiercely that if Yan Shang fell, the other two forces would definitely destroy him.
Words cannot be overturned.
Yan Shang chatted with the teacher and heard about how Liu Ruozhu and her husband visited the people in Hexi to find ancient books. He was happy to hear that and said he would write back to Liu Ruozhu. Liu Xianggong also said that the young couple was planning to get pregnant recently, so he joked with Yan Shang: "You and His Highness are not young anymore, you can consider having a child."
Yan Shang smiled upon hearing this: "Your Highness and I are both very busy, I'm afraid we don't have time to have a baby."
Liu Xianggong sighed. He wanted to ask Mu Wanyao to stop governing the country and just stay at home to have children. Liu Xianggong never agreed with a princess participating in politics like this. However, since the emperors did not say anything, he did not say much. But considering the pressure Yan Shang is under now... If there is no Princess Danyang to help him, Yan Shang will fall faster, right?
Yan Shang reported to Prime Minister Liu that he was leaving and that he wanted to go to the Ministry of Personnel to take a look. He still held a post in the Ministry of Personnel, and it was an extremely important position, so he had to go.
Liu Xianggong let the man go, but looking at Yan Shang's slender bamboo-like back, he suddenly felt inspired and said, "Su Chen, tell me, is it better for the world to be in chaos while your Majesty is not, or is it better for your Majesty to be in chaos while the world is not?"
Yan Shang turned around and looked into his teacher's weathered and tired eyes.
The world is in chaos but Your Majesty is not, which refers to the late emperor; Your Majesty is in chaos but the world is not, which refers to the current emperor.
Yan Shang said after a while: "I always hope that the world will be clear and bright, and no one will be dull."
Liu Xianggong laughed and stopped talking. He sat in the hall of the Secretariat, his sleeves brushing the ground, his temples gray. He stared at Yan Shang's back as he left the hall, watching the sun set in the west and the red clouds covering the sky.
He is old and no longer able to support the country and revive Wei. He can only watch the building collapse...
-----
Yan Shang did not accept the task assigned by the emperor to deal with the conflict between the aristocratic families and the eunuchs. That night, the emperor wrote a letter and scolded Yan Shang.
The emperor was furious and said that Yan Shang did not take him seriously, was stubborn and self-righteous, and had no respect for the emperor...
That night at the princess's residence, Mu Wanyao had already let Yan Shang go to bed. She opened the letter herself, glanced at the emperor's scolding from the beginning, and couldn't help but sneer. Mu Wanyao folded the letter lightly and told her people to let the beauties she sent from the palace whisper more in the emperor's ear.
When Mu Wan turned around, she saw Yan Shang standing in the empty corridor under the shadow of the phoenix tree, with his clothes on.
He held out his hand to her, his eyes fixed on the letter in her hand.
Mu Wan shook his head expressionlessly and hid the letter behind him.
Yan Shang couldn't help but laugh: "What's there to hide?"
Mu Wanyao: "It was a curse word to you, I don't want you to see it."
Yan Shang: "It's not like I haven't been scolded by His Majesty before, don't worry, I won't be unable to bear it. I just want to see if there are any other instructions in the book that I missed."
Mu Wan looked at him for a few moments, and seeing his firm attitude, she had to give in. She sat on the steps of the corridor with Yan Shang to read the letter. She held his arm and observed his expression. Seeing that his eyes were a little dim after he finished reading, Mu Wan bit her lip.
Mu Wanyao: "Don't pay attention to him. He wishes you could do everything for him. He wishes we could do everything for him so that he can just be the emperor and enjoy himself... How could such a good thing happen?"
She arched her furry head against his neck, buried herself in his arms, and said in a tender and domineering voice: "Second Brother Yan, I'm cold, hug me!"
Yan Shang smiled, he hugged her, whispered that he was not sad, she didn't need to be like this. While the two of them were arguing like this, someone came to the front hall, and a new letter from His Majesty was delivered -
The letter encouraged Yan Shang to do his best and said that the emperor still trusted him. The emperor also asked Yan Shang and his wife to come to the palace for lunch tomorrow, saying that he had not eaten with them for a long time.
Yan Shang and Mu Wan looked at the two letters with opposite attitudes, both speechless.
-----
In mid-October, the first snow fell.
As the struggle in the court became more intense, Concubine Zhao Ling, the youngest daughter of Censor Zhao who was negotiating a marriage with the Wei family in Luoyang, left the house.
Concubine Zhao Lingfei met her distinguished guest who had been waiting for her in a tavern. She shook off the snowflakes on her body to hide her unruly appearance, acted like a little girl, and respectfully saluted the young man opposite her.
The young man opposite had a kind face and a somewhat cold look in his eyes. He looked about the same as Wei Shu, the seventh son of Wei Qilang. He was Wei Shu's elder brother, Wei Kai.
Now Wei Shu is a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, a position above the fifth rank. When Wei Shu entered Chang'an, Wei Kai, the eldest son of the Wei family, was already a fifth rank official, and now he is a secretary, the same rank as his seventh brother whom he used to look down upon.
Wei Kai nodded to Concubine Zhao Lingfei, asked them to sit down, and after a few pleasantries, he got down to business: "Since Juyuan returned from his mission, my family saw his ability and tried their best to cultivate him. At my age, it took me ten years to get to the fifth rank, but Juyuan was just a young man and he was already a fifth rank official. He was even the top scholar back then... Our family has always underestimated Juyuan.
"Hopefully it's not too late to cultivate him now."
Concubine Zhao Ling smiled, and her deliberate pretense of being well-behaved disappeared a little, revealing her true lively side.
She suppressed her joy and said, "Brother Juyuan is really amazing."
Wei Kai nodded.
Wei Kai looked at her young and beautiful face and said slowly, "Juyuan is good in every way, except for his marriage. As an outstanding young man from an aristocratic family, cultivated by his family and expected by scholars, if he marries someone from the inner eunuchs, how do you think the world will view Juyuan?"
Concubine Zhao Ling was slightly startled. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the flying snow outside evasively.
Wei Kai stared at her closely, "Your Zhao family has long since surrendered to Liu Wenji and become his lackeys. Liu Wenji is determined to marry into an aristocratic family, and some people in the aristocratic family have already been tempted, but no matter who it is, it should not be Juyuan. Juyuan has a bright future, he is young and promising, he was a doctor in the Ministry of Rites at the age of 20, how many people in the world can achieve this at his age?
"He should become the leader of the aristocratic families and the scholars. He should not marry into the Zhao family or the eunuchs! The scholars and the eunuchs will definitely be at odds with each other. Even if the two sides cooperate now, they will definitely fall out in the future... Where do you want Juyuan to go?"
Concubine Zhao Ling looked at him in a daze.
Wei Kai softened his tone, "I know that during those years of diplomatic missions, you and Juyuan trusted each other with your lives and fell in love. I shouldn't have said anything when Juyuan asked to marry you. He is my illegitimate son, and the higher his status, the more disadvantageous it will be for me. But we are from the same family, and he is the eldest brother, so I have to consider the future of my younger brother.
"Even if we are happy today, we will be enemies in the future. If Juyuan is still the Juyuan of the past, it would not matter if the Wei family sacrificed his marriage. But he is no longer the Juyuan of the past, and his marriage can no longer become a sacrifice of the family.
"Miss Zhao... you are still very young, and your father has now taken refuge with the eunuchs, and has great power over the government. You will not have to worry about getting married, so just let our Wei family and Juyuan go!
"That's all I have to say. I hope you can consider the relationship between you and Juyuan and give him a future. Don't let him down!"
After Wei Kai finished speaking, he stood up and was about to leave.
Zhao Lingfei stood up and raised her voice: "Brother Wei, you told me this, aren't you afraid that Brother Juyuan will get angry if he finds out?"
Wei Kai raised his eyes and looked back. He said calmly: "I am the eldest son of the Wei family. I will protect and take care of all the younger brothers in the family. The prosperity of the Wei family is not due to me, but its decline must be caused by me. Although I don't like him, he is his eldest brother after all. I have done what I should do. If you insist on being together, if you insist on ruining his future... I can't do anything about it.
"Miss Zhao, take care of it yourself."
Concubine Zhao Ling said in a trembling voice: "But how can I control how my father acts? But does it mean that I will follow who my father supports? My father only supports the eunuchs. He is not a treacherous minister who brings disaster to the people..."
Wei Kai: "As the daughter of Censor Zhao, you are naturally bound by your positions. Do you want to break up with your father? If you break up, where will you go and where will you go? Madam Zhao, we are children of noble families and we have no choice. Love and affection are good, and I am also very moved by the love between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, but back to reality... I'm sorry, I still want to break you up.
"If you can control your feelings, then please control yourself, girl. If you can't control yourself, then be prepared - to ruin Juyuan's future.
"It's up to you."
Concubine Zhao Ling stared blankly at the eldest brother of the Wei family holding an umbrella and going downstairs. She leaned over the window and watched the young man get into the carriage after leaving the building. The wheels of the carriage sank into the snow, and it took the driver a lot of effort to get the carriage moving. Wei Kai lifted the curtain and looked up at Concubine Zhao Ling with a sigh.
Concubine Zhao Ling was lying on the window, her eyes blurred. When she saw Wei Kai, it was as if she saw Wei Shu. Such a cool, clean... a man as pure as ice and jade.
But she covered her face and cried, and began to hate many people. If only they were still on the diplomatic mission, if only they hadn't returned to Chang'an... When the envoy jokingly said he would be a matchmaker for the two of them, it would have been great if they had nodded at that time.
She began to hate Chang'an.
I began to miss the warm moonlight outside the Great Wall, the endless desert, and the days when we were busy all day long, with no hope of life or death, but depended on each other for our lives.
She missed Wei Shu at that time.
-----
In November, Concubine Zhao Ling threatened to commit suicide and refused the marriage proposal from the Wei family.
Zhao Yushi cursed and cursed, and when Wei Shu came to talk to her, she closed the door and refused to see him. However, Wei Shu blocked the door several times, and it was obvious that Zhao Lingfei could not hide for a few days.
Yan Shang found an opportunity and rested for a few days. However, during this rest period, a newly built garden wanted someone to write an inscription, so they asked Yan Shang to come. Yan Shang felt ashamed and said that he was not well educated and his calligraphy was not good, so he didn't need to waste his time writing an inscription.
However, the inscription of Tong Pingzhangshi was so precious that he sent gifts all day long and came to the princess's mansion to ask Yan Shang to write the inscription.
Yan Shang couldn't refuse, and Mu Wanyao thought it was fun and encouraged him to write the inscription, so he agreed.
But three days after Yan Shang wrote the inscription, Hai Sanlang, a member of the Hai family, was also asked by the owner to write the inscription. Hai Sanlang was going to take part in the imperial examination next year. He was only sixteen years old and was known as a child prodigy. The young man was ignorant of the immensity of the world. When asked to write the inscription, he wrote it with pride.
Hai Sanlang is a man of extraordinary talent. His calligraphy is so vigorous and majestic that it amazes people.
The owner was delighted to see the talent, and immediately placed Hai Sanlang's calligraphy on the first door at the entrance of the garden, and moved the original calligraphy by Yan Shang to the second wall at the entrance.
So Chang'an was talking about it with great relish, and everyone said that a sixteen-year-old boy was better than Tong Pingzhangshi. They said that the sixteen-year-old Hai Sanlang was as talented as Wei Juyuan in his day, and was the "second Wei Shu".
Wei Shu had surpassed Yan Shang back then, but in the end... Yan Shang's talent was always shallow. No matter it was then or now, he is always incompetent and cannot compare to those young prodigies who are arrogant because of their talent.
When Mu Wanyao heard the rumor, she was furious and wanted to go to the Hai family to settle the score. She hated them for stepping on others to get to the top in order to become famous. Yan Shang stopped her and said that it was nothing. That night, Wei Shu came to comfort Mu Wanyao and said that he had never looked down on the second brother Yan.
Wei Shu was also annoyed that Hai had come to power and used him as a stepping stone. Now he was deeply involved in a lawsuit with the eunuchs and the twists and turns in his marriage with Concubine Zhao Ling, and he was also upset.
In the end, it was Yan Shang who had to comfort his upset wife and Wei Shu who was depressed and confused about the future.
The next day, Hai took the unconvinced Hai Sanlang to apologize to Yan Shang. Yan Shang was kind-hearted and didn't take it seriously. Yan Shang thought that his talent was indeed shallow and he didn't want to write inscriptions for others. Now that several people were unhappy, he blamed himself for being too complacent when he was flattered.
Yan Shang reflected: "...I will never write inscriptions for others again in the future."
Mu Wanyao was still suppressing her anger, her face expressionless, and she did not respond to Yan Shang's words.
-----
In March of the following year, the new emperor held his first imperial examination. Yan Shang was the examiner of the Ministry of Personnel and was in charge of the examination.
Hai was afraid that Yan Shang would bear a grudge against Hai Sanlang for the humiliation he had caused her last year, so she went to the princess's residence to submit her papers several times with trepidation. When the results of the imperial examination came out, Hai Sanlang ranked first and became the top scholar of the year. When the news reached the harem, Hai Sanlang's sister, who was a concubine in the palace, was also happy for her brother.
Hai was relieved again, because it turned out that Yan Shang was really as gentleman as people said, and he had never taken revenge in secret.
Xingyuan held a banquet for the successful candidates of the imperial examination, and the emperor went to the banquet. However, Hai's daughter held a banquet in the palace for her brother's success, and invited all the concubines to come. Mu Wan compromised and did not go to the Xinglin banquet, but came to the palace to attend the banquet of the concubines.
At the banquet, Chunhua, who had not seen each other for a long time, looked at the beauty surnamed Huo sent by the princess to the palace with some entanglement. She was bickering with Hai's daughter in a subtle way. The beauty surnamed Huo had an outstanding face and a body as gentle as water. She would look into Mu Wanyao's eyes from time to time, and they both smiled.
As they interacted with each other, there were hints in their eyes and brows that others could not understand.
Chunhua looked at Muwan's smiling face, the way she slowly waved her fan, and then looked at the delicate and charming appearance of Lady Huo, who was brought into the palace by the princess...
Chunhua felt lost and uncomfortable. She suddenly felt that the distance between her and the princess was growing farther and farther.
The princess would rather send new beauties to the palace to the emperor than use herself. His Majesty said that Liu Wenji and Yan Erlang were fighting fiercely in the court. Is it because of this reason that the princess regarded herself as an enemy? However, Chunhua was a woman in the inner house. She never had a say in their affairs and did not understand them.
The princess should have known.
But was it because I was so useless that I became the princess's abandoned child...I was obviously the Empress Xian, but I had nothing except a son.
Chunhua stared at Mu Wanyao's eyes in a daze, trying to find a chance to talk to the princess and ask her if she didn't want her anymore... But she saw two palace maids hurriedly coming to the table, one went straight to Hai's daughter, and the other went straight to Mu Wanyao.
Then Mu Wanyao and Hai's daughter's expressions changed slightly and they looked at each other.
Mu Wan stood up quickly and left the table with a sullen face.
There was a sudden whisper at the table, and half an hour later, the concubines finally found out why Princess Danyang suddenly left the table - at the Xingyuan Banquet, Hai Sanlang provoked the chief examiner Yan Shang and asked Yan Shang to compose a poem.
Every year's candidates should regard the chief examiner as their teacher. Hai Sanlang looked down on the chief examiner and embarrassed Yan Shang in front of the emperor... Mu Wan rode on his horse, whipping him, out of the imperial city, and headed straight for Fanchuan, to Qujiang Lake, and to Xingyuan.
Her eyes were red with hatred. She gnashed her teeth and said, "The Hai family! I will kill you... for humiliating you again and again like this!"
-----
At the Xingyuan Banquet, Mu Wan got off her horse and rushed over. She ignored everyone who tried to stop her and rushed all the way to the Tanhua Banquet. She held a whip in her hand, and the guards from her princess's mansion followed behind her. She was clearly furious and was going to lose her temper today.
Yan Shang was standing by the stairs on the second floor of the attic, having just finished answering the questions given by Hai Sanlang and barely passed. He had just gotten rid of the other examinees when his servant whispered a few words in his ear in a panic, saying that the princess was coming to kill them.
Yan Shang was stunned for a moment, he stood at the window, opened it, and looked into the hazy night. He saw Mu Wanyao in a red robe, with a dazzling array of gold and jade. She was holding a whip and walking very fast. When she was about to enter the building, she probably heard what Fang Tong said in her ear, Mu Wanyao suddenly raised her head and looked upstairs.
He met Yan Shang’s lowered gaze.
Up and down, across the window, across the night, Yan Shang and Mu Wan looked at each other.
He saw the redness in her eyes, the hatred in her eyes, and her trembling hands holding the whip.
There was mist in her eyes, she was hard and cold, and the look in her eyes when she looked at him was painful—
humiliation.
Humiliation again and again.
Yan Shang didn't care, but Mu Wanyao felt the same way. He felt that Hai Sanlang was just a teenager, and that teenagers were arrogant because of their talent, so there was nothing to worry about; but when Mu Wanyao heard the rumors, saw that he was being pointed out by others as unworthy of the position, and saw that the Hai family wanted to step on him to get to the top... Mu Wanyao felt pain and discomfort.
Yan Shang looked at her in a daze.
The humiliation she inflicted on him was like a burning fire that she could not bear. Suddenly, he understood Mu Wanyao's concern and her protection for him.
Yan Shang stood in front of the building and spoke slowly: "Hai Sanlang."
Hai Sanlang, who had been hiding among the scholars after his tantrum, raised his head and looked at the young man in a blue-and-white robe standing in front of the window.
Yan Shang turned his back to all the scholars and Hai Sanlang. He looked at the beautiful princess downstairs and said, "You set the questions for me to see if I am qualified to be the chief examiner. But I am not the one who set the questions for this year's exam, and I am not the one who tests your talents.
"But today I want to come up with a couplet to test you."
Yan Shang suddenly turned around, his eyes as gentle as water and as cold as lightning stared at Hai Sanlang. The night wind blew his sleeves, and he spoke loudly, so that Mu Wanyao downstairs could also hear his question -
"Let me ask you, the phoenix flies up nine thousand miles, breaking through the clouds, carrying the sky on its back, its feet stirring up the clouds, watching the mayflies for ten thousand years, who is soaring?"
The universe is in the sky, looking down at the mayflies. What a momentum, what a boldness. The scholars stared at Yan Shang in a daze, seeing the sharp aura of this examiner for the first time.
They heard him say calmly: "I have given the question, please answer it."
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