There is nothing to say yet.
He was from Lingnan, and he had never seen a woman dressed like this. But looking at Princess Danyang's posture and the reactions of the people around her, he knew that in Chang'an, there were many women like the princess who deliberately wore men's clothes.
He was quite impressed by the openness and generosity of the people in Chang'an.
Just as he was sighing, he was pushed aside by Mu Wan, and the poetry board in his hand was taken away: "Get out of the way!"
Princess Danyang thinks people are blocking her way, so of course all the people in the world should give way.
Mu Wanyao took Yan Shang's poetry board and didn't hang it in the place that Yan Shang had chosen, but squeezed in among the talented people.
Yan Shang followed her: "My poems are average, there's really no need to hang them in a good place..."
Mu Wanyao: "Your poetry is average. Why did you come to Chang'an? To try your luck? I think you are hopeless. You should go back to your Lingnan countryside and farm."
Yan Shang had no choice but to follow Mu Wanyao. He saw several scholars gathered nearby stepping back and almost stepping on Mu Wanyao. He immediately stepped forward and stretched out his hand to block the scholar's back, helping Mu Wanyao block the blow.
Mu Wan shook her head, her beautiful eyes slightly drooped, her cherry lips half-bitten, and she glanced at Yan Shang coquettishly.
Yan Shang's face felt slightly hot when he was looked at by her gentle gaze. He quickly turned his face away, coughed, and avoided Mu Wanyao's gaze.
The scholar who was stopped by Yan Shang turned around and saw Yan Shang. He greeted him first, and then saw Mu Wanyao in men's clothes. The scholar's eyes lit up: "Yan Suchen, this lady is yours..."
Yan Shang interrupted the other party's ambiguous speculation: "Friends, friends."
He turned around and saw Mu Wanyao had already joined the group of talented people. He was afraid that she would take his poetry board and write about it, so he hurried to catch up with her.
This time, Mu Wanyao finally picked the right spot. She carefully compared the poem board with hers, and then hung it in the center of the wall where the line of sight was the best, making sure that visitors to the temple would be able to see Yan Shang's masterpiece right in the center when they glanced at the wall.
Facing the astonished gazes of his friends around him, Yan Erlang, who has always been low-key, was rarely so high-profile. He covered his sleeves and coughed violently.
Mu Wan shook her head without replying: "If you are sick, go see a doctor. Cough, cough, cough, why are you coughing endlessly?
"Now that you are in Chang'an, even if you think your poems are not good, you still have to show your strength. If you think you are not good enough, what are you asking for in front of the emperor?"
So, that makes sense.
He seemed to be thinking about something.
What makes Mu Wanyao better than him is that no matter what she does, she is always very imposing.
He stared at the princess from behind. She kept talking, and none of what she said was nice. However, from Yan Shang's direction, he only paid attention to the sunlight hitting her. Her profile was extremely delicate.
This bold and beautiful princess of Wei, with her bun wrapped in black gauze, wore a round-necked robe with a notched waist. She stood straight, with thin threads hanging from the small holes on the belt around her waist, on which hung small knives, sachets, jade pendants and other items.
It is so heroic.
Mu Wan turned her head to show Yan Shang how well she had hung his poetry board, but she saw him standing behind her, staring at her intently. His eyes were dark and shining like water, and his clear pupils reflected the smug smile that she had when she suddenly turned around.
Amid the crowd, the two of them suddenly looked at each other.
Mu Wanyao was slightly startled, and then he seemed to suddenly remember his identity, and was annoyed at why he had to go to the trouble of helping Yan Shang hang the poetry board. He himself didn't care.
She bit her lower lip, a little angry, and her pretty face instantly sank.
She pushed Yan Shang away without saying a word, turned around and left.
Yan Shang was slightly surprised, and after briefly explaining what was happening here, he went to chase after the princess.
He could choose not to pursue and pretend that nothing happened;
But when she thinks about it later, she will definitely blame him for not pursuing her.
-----
"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Yan Shang followed behind Mu Wan and shook his head.
Mu Wan stopped and scolded with a stern face: "What are you yelling for? Can you yell randomly outside?"
Yan Shang: "Then... Madam Mu?"
Mu Wanyao: "Are we so unfamiliar with each other?"
Yan Shang: “…”
Mu Wan raised her eyebrows and looked at him.
Yan Shang hesitated: "Shake?"
Mu Wanyao was as furious as he expected: "Are you and I really that close?"
In short, neither left nor right is right.
She is here just to make things difficult for people.
But who is Yan Shang?
He is a person who can make everyone around him feel happy and like him.
The princess's scolding was in his ears, but Yan Shang was neither embarrassed nor embarrassed. He looked down at her with a calm expression. After Mu Wanyao turned away in displeasure, he still followed her and said, "You are in a bad mood. Did someone make you angry?"
Mu Wanyao: "How do you know that someone made me unhappy, rather than me just irritating you on purpose?"
Yan Shang said gently: "Although you have a bad temper, you are not the kind of person who gets angry at others for no reason. Someone must have provoked you and made you unhappy. If you can vent some of your anger on me, that would be my role."
Mu Wanyao's face suddenly felt hot.
I actually felt a little embarrassed by what he said.
She was a person who would get angry for no reason. But Yan Shang modified her, and it was as if she suddenly became a cute princess who had suffered a great injustice and could only vent her anger with a little temper.
She wasn't as good as he made her out to be.
He followed her all the time, and the two of them walked around the temple one after the other. There were countless men and women playing around in the temple like them, but some people couldn't help but look at them in amazement.
Because the girl in men's clothing in front is pretty and amiable, and the young man following her has lowered eyebrows, elegant and humble. A handsome man and a beautiful woman walking together always attract attention.
After Yan Shang said a few words, Mu Wanyao strangely shut up, feeling embarrassed to get angry with him. She thought, forget it, Yan Shang is such a good-tempered person, arguing with him is like hitting a fist on cotton, there is no effect at all. Why bother yourself?
She remained silent. Yan Shang observed her expression and repeated, "If someone provokes you, or if you have any troubles, you can actually talk to me. Maybe I can help you find a way to solve it."
Mu Wanyao didn't care: "You are of low status and have no official position. What can you think of to help me?"
Yan Shang said: “Give it a try.”
He was extremely calm. Mu Wan turned her head to look at him and thought of the several ideas he had given her when they were in Lingnan. In the case of Bai Niu Tea, he had played her around, and she didn't realize it until her uncle pointed it out.
Mu Wanyao's heart couldn't help but move. She thought, her uncle said he wanted Yan Shang to be a counselor. Maybe Yan Shang was really good at this?
Mu Wan shook her head and looked at him for a moment, then tilted her head towards herself, motioning for him to come over.
Yan Shang said "I'm sorry", took a step forward, and stood almost shoulder to shoulder with Mu Wan.
Her shoulder bumped into his arm, and they both froze for a moment, then pretended nothing had happened.
Continuing to walk forward, Yan Shang lowered his head and listened to her.
Willows are swaying by the water, and smoke from the temple is curling up.
Yang Si was dragged by his sister-in-law and cousin to visit Yongshou Temple without any care. With his hands behind his back and expressionless face, he followed the women in his family. When he narrowed his eyes, he saw a young couple leaning against the wall and holding onto a tree not far away.
Yang Si recognized Mu Wanyao at a glance.
Even if she's wearing men's clothes.
But the young man next to her...if he’s not Wei Shu, then who is he?
Yang Si hugged his chest and looked at the couple thoughtfully.
-----
Mu Wanyao was talking to Yan Shang: "...In short, the prince is not happy with me helping Wei Qilang. The Wei family doesn't think highly of the prince. If Wei Qilang enters the court, it is very likely that he will not side with the prince, but will be pulled away by my uncle's side."
Yan Shang: "Why does the Wei family look down on the prince? Wouldn't it be much easier to follow the prince?"
Mu Wan paused, then said briefly: "Because if my second brother had not died young, the crown prince position would not have passed to this person. Large families that value orthodoxy and legitimate lineage naturally look down on the crown prince. However, the crown prince is the most powerful, and I think the crown prince is pretty good.
"The Crown Prince will surely have a bright future, so the Li family does not reject my attachment to the Crown Prince. But my mother had a conflict with my father because of the Li family's great power. So the Li family does not want to be tied to the same boat with the royal family now."
Yan Shang glanced at her.
I understand that Mu Wanyao is on the prince's side.
The problem now is that Mu Wan is siding with the Crown Prince, but she is also involved with the Jinling Li family. If she doesn't handle it right, she could easily offend both sides.
Now that she has nominated Wei Shu, she has become a thorn in the prince's side.
Seeing that he remained silent, Mu Wanyao pushed him impatiently and said, "Do you have any ideas? Don't just listen to my intelligence and not give me any analysis."
Yan Shang came back to his senses.
Smiled slightly.
He said slowly: "In fact, if Your Highness wants to avoid offending the Crown Prince and the Li family in this matter, there is a way."
Mu Wan was stunned for a moment and looked up at him in surprise. She didn't expect that he could actually come up with a solution.
Yan Shang said: "In addition to nominating Wei Shu, you can nominate a few more people to increase the power of the prince's side."
Mu Wan thought for a moment and shook his head: "I don't want to recommend anyone anymore. Because the noble families each have their own stances. There are not many people like Wei Shu. They must have chosen their own team for the imperial examination. Even if I recommend them, they will not repay me in this regard in the future."
Yan Shang: "I'm not asking people to take sides. No one will take sides easily. It's just to show your heart to the prince, to show him that you have taken a step back and made concessions."
Mu Wanyao stopped for a moment, as if she had realized something. But after a moment she denied it: "Your method is good, but the children of aristocratic families are really too troublesome. It's hard to get rid of them once you get involved. I'm already in trouble, and I don't want to cause more trouble."
Yan Shang seemed to have expected her to say this. He was neither impatient nor anxious, and led her step by step: "Then recommend the poor family student."
Mu Wanyao sneered, "If you are not from an aristocratic family, how many people can succeed in the imperial examination? How do I know that if I recommend someone, that person will be able to pass the exam among thousands of scholars? If he fails, how can I express my loyalty to the prince? If I say that I recommended him, but that person himself is not motivated, am I innocent?"
He just smiled but said nothing.
Mu Wan suddenly realized it.
She looked up and met his eyes.
Mu Wan narrowed her eyes, grabbed his sleeve, and said viciously: "The poor boy you are referring to who can be recommended... is it you?"
Yan Shang smiled.
Mu Wanyao stared at him with her beautiful eyes wide open: "You didn't even want to hang up the poetry board properly just now, and now you are trying to induce me to recommend you?
"Are you really giving me advice, or are you using public affairs for your own benefit?"
Yan Shang stepped back and leaned against the tree. Mu Wan approached him and examined him.
Yan Shang smiled and said softly, "Didn't you just suggest that I should fight for it?"
Mu Wan shook his head and chuckled.
She poked his chest with her jade-white fingers and tapped it twice: "You failed in your attempt to find Mr. Zhang to present the scroll, didn't you?"
Yan Shang: “Hmm.”
Mu Wanyao gloated: "I told you a long time ago that Mr. Zhang and the chief examiner have a bad relationship."
Yan Shang helped her stand up, a little further away from him. He bowed and saluted, bowing to her, and said softly, "Then please have mercy on me, Your Highness."
Muwan shook his head in silence.
Yan Shang raised his head, she glanced behind him, her expression suddenly changed, and she pulled him: "Let's go!"
The words are still strange.
Mu Wan shook her head hurriedly: "I seem to have seen an acquaintance, and I don't want to meet him."
So, Yan Shang didn’t say anything more and mixed in with Mu Wanyao into the crowded place.
Yang Si came forward to investigate and saw Mu Wan pulling the young man and disappearing into the crowd.
Yang Si sighed, knowing that Mu Wanyao must be avoiding him.
Oh, she's hiding from him?
He was too lazy to pay attention to her.
Just then, his cousin was calling him from behind, so Yang Sanlang turned around and left.
-----
He Yanshang mixed into the crowd, knowing that Yang Si was a very skilled martial artist, Mu Wan's heart was pounding, and he didn't even dare to turn his head, for fear that if he turned around, he would meet Yang Si's half-smile.
She didn't want to see Yang Si at this time.
Yang Si, who only has the prince in his heart, might gossip to the prince when he sees her. Mu Wanyao doesn't want the prince to know her every move.
Mu Wanyao didn't know what queue she and Yan Shang were queuing in. She just saw that there were so many people, so she pulled Yan Shang over.
She was distractedly wondering if Yang Si was chasing her, when Yan Shang suddenly pushed her arm. A young monk in front of her said "Amitabha" and said, "Please draw lots, donors."
Mu Wanyao looked back in surprise and saw that it was her and Yan Shang's turn in the team.
There were two bamboo tubes on the table in front of them, filled with tablets. What the little monk was talking about was, of course, for her and Yan Shang to draw lots from them.
I was dazed at dusk.
Yan Shang observed her expression and explained to her: "It's just like drawing lots. It's like fortune telling. Believe it or not, just draw one or two at random, don't delay the people behind you."
Mu Wan shook her head.
Isn't this the same mentality as Princess Jin's wish for a child?
The young monk smiled and said, "Both donors should silently recite the questions they want to ask, and then draw lots from the bamboo tube. The female donor should take the one on the left, and the male donor should take the one on the right. The answer written on the lot is naturally the answer you two are thinking of."
Mu Wanyao doesn’t even worship Buddha properly with her sister-in-law, so how could she believe this?
She probably understood that what she saw was just a scam to make herself feel at ease.
People come to the temple to seek peace of mind. Women only ask for marriage, children, and the safety of their husbands and families. Men do not ask about marriage, but about their future and how many concubines they can marry. What is written on this fortune is just some auspicious words. No matter what you ask, it is applicable everywhere.
Mu Wanyao had no intention of disrupting other people's plans.
She randomly thought of a marriage in her mind: I want to see what I, a princess who doesn't want to get married, can get.
She pulled out an ivory tablet from the bamboo tube, glanced at it, and suddenly tightened her grip on it. On the tablet was written:
"The wind blows and the flowers fall, but I feel sorry for the person in front of me."
The person in front of me...
Mu Wan waved her hand and held the long sceptre. She looked up at Yan Shang who was one step away. She stared at him with strange eyes, looking him up and down. His face was gentle, but he was silent.
Seeing Yan Shang’s expression seemed... the same as hers?
Yan Shang held the sceptre in his hand and stared at it for a long time before he raised his eyes and met Mu Wanyao's gaze.
Yan Shang broke the silence: "Is your calculation... accurate?"
Mu Wan shook his head and laughed dryly: "It seems not very accurate."
Yan Shang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "Mine is not allowed either."
The two of them said "oh" peacefully, turned around and put the hu back into the bamboo tube. But perhaps the content on the hu affected them, and they were both a little absent-minded. Mu Wan's right hand holding the hu touched Yan Shang's left hand. The two of them trembled, and the long hu in their hands fell to the ground together.
The two of them squatted down together to pick it up.
Mu Wanyao picked up Yan Shang's tablet and glanced at the words on it:
"I am the leader of all officials wearing purple robes and gold and jade belts."
Mu Wanyao held the long scepter tightly.
I was filled with horror.
She raised her head suddenly and looked at Yan Shang: I wear a purple robe and a golden jade belt, and I am the leader of all officials... This is the prime minister's sceptre!
It’s the prime minister’s tablet!
Is Yan Shang asking about the future?
What he got was the prime minister’s tablet?
Yan Shang picked up the long sceptre that Mu Wanyao had left and saw the words "Pity the person in front of you". He was silent for a moment and looked at her: "What are you asking?"
Mu Wan shook her beautiful eyes and looked at him.
She was originally asking about marriage, but when she saw Yan Shang, the prime minister, the topic that they had just abandoned halfway was picked up again by Mu Wanyao.
She had an idea in mind.
She looked at Yan Shang and smiled: "I'm asking whether I should recommend you."
Cherish the person in front of you.
Princess Jin succeeded in her prayer for a child here, and Yan Shang got the chancellor's tablet... Mu Wanyao couldn't help but develop a subtle sense of conviction about Yongshou Temple.
If he really becomes that powerful in the future... then she helped him in the beginning, and he should repay her in the future.
Thinking of this, Mu Wanyao's beautiful eyes lit up, and she grabbed Yan Shang and pulled him up.
She hurriedly threw the tablets in the hands of the two to the young monk, and dragged Yan Shang out of the crowd.
-----
Back in the backyard of the temple, Mu Wanyao opened the door of the humble house where Yan Shang lived, knowing the way. Yan Shang was inexplicably dragged back here by her, and before he could react, he was pushed hard by the princess.
Yan Shang sat down at the table, looked up in shock, and saw Mu Wan leaning towards him.
He leaned back cautiously and asked tentatively: "Your Highness, what are you doing..."
He just raised his hand, but his outstretched hand was grasped by Mu Wan.
Mu Wanyao held his hand, staring at him with a smile: "Don't you want me to recommend you? I agree!"
Yan Shang was such a cautious person, but seeing her attitude was so different, he immediately refused with a smile: "No need..."
Mu Wanyao: "I am going to recommend you, do you dare to stop me?"
Yan Shang: "...But I may not be able to pass..."
Mu Wan shook her head gently, "It's okay. Just give it a try."
Yan Shang reminded her: "I won't stand on the prince's side either."
Mu Wanyao smiled more sincerely and said softly: "I don't mind."
She loosened her grip on his hand and put her hand on his face. She looked at him tenderly, but not with the eyes of a lover, but with the excited eyes of a pig that was about to be served on her table.
As Yan Shang was terrified, she stroked his face and murmured to herself, "You are so good-looking, why didn't I think of it earlier? With a look like this, it is indeed easy for you to pass the imperial examination."
Yan Shang: “…”
He asked respectfully, "What do you mean, Your Highness?"
Mu Wan gave him a charming look and said, "Beautiful boys like you are exactly what the Central Government likes the most. You don't know that, in fact, for an official, appearance is still very important."
Yan Shang didn't know what to say.
After a long while, he could only say: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."
Mu Wan smiled and said, "Okay, since I want to help you, let's get started now. I'll tell you how to please the examiner."
Yan Shang, who was a little uncomfortable with her teasing, now calmed down and said, "Your Highness, please speak."
-----
That night, Mu Wanyao stayed in Yan Shang's humble abode for a long time.
Princess Jin simply couldn't hold on any longer and passed away. The maids were getting tired from waiting outside, and some were so exhausted that they simply lay down on the carriage with their knees resting on their heads and took a nap.
The light in my humble abode is as dim as a bean.
The handsome young man sat under the lamp, writing freely.
Mu Wanyao, dressed in men's clothes, walked in front of him leisurely, "You said that your poems are not good, but that's okay. The examiner selects poems not based on how good your poems are, but on whether your poems have the spirit of a royal palace.
"See if your poems are magnificent and elegant, and if your words are rich and colorful. To be honest, what can you, the successful Jinshi, do? At the beginning, you just flatter the court and write poems to please my father and praise him more.
"The more you can praise, the more the examiner will praise you. You should control your frugality and be as splendid as possible. You should practice how to praise others, and how to praise others calmly and eloquently.
"Oh and, when you go to the Shangshu Province to take the exam, you should dress yourself up nicely."
Mu Wanyao dreamed, "Maybe the examiner will choose you as the 'Tanhua Lang' for your good looks?"
Yan Shang couldn't stop coughing and poured himself some tea.
Mu Wan gave him a glare and he hated him for being so shameless and useless.
This went on until very late at night when Mu Wanyao finally left the temple. Her behavior naturally made some people who were looking for her feel strange.
-----
It rained on the day of the scientific expedition in mid-February.
Yan Shang, Liu Wenji, Feng Xianyu and others went into the Shangshu Province together. When they put away their umbrellas, they saw a carriage parked outside the courtyard gate and Wei Shu came out with an umbrella.
The young man Wei Shu was as clean as floating snow, which attracted everyone.
Yan Shang and everyone else looked and saw that a corner of the carriage curtain was gently lifted. Through the rain curtain, Mu Wan was looking in this direction.
He turned his face away sharply.
Others thought she was looking at Wei Shu, but Yan Shang knew she was looking at him. It was rare for her to spend so much energy on him, and she must see results.
"Next."
Arrived at Yan Shang.
Yan Shang put away his umbrella and was searched. A civil official stood beside him, looking at the scholars taking the exam expressionlessly.
Unknown to the candidates, this was the newly appointed Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel, the chief examiner of their exam.
The chief examiner stood at the gate and watched them enter the examination room. No one knew them, so naturally no one would take the initiative to get close to them.
The examiner heard his subordinate register a young man named "Yan Shang".
Suddenly, his ears moved, and he thought of the travel document sent by Princess Danyang two days ago.
He glanced at Yan Shang unconsciously, and saw the young man was tall and handsome, with a jade-like body and a cold body. The rain soaked his robe, but he didn't look embarrassed, but made his temperament more clear.
The examiner was stunned for a moment, thinking: ...This person should be the most handsome among the candidates this year, right?
If the poems and essays are similar, then we will choose the third place winner.
Since the first day of the imperial examination, the meaning of the Tanhua award has always been based on appearance.
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