The Nanchu King looked at Su Rong and Zhou Gu, then at Nangong Che. Intrigue rose in his heart, but he remained unmoved.
The Nanchu King bore no goodwill towards anyone of the Nangong family, for all these years he had suffered much from those surnamed Nangong. Be it Nangong Yin of the past, his Queen Nangong Xin, or even anyone of the Nangong surname, he had little desire to see them.
However, he had to admit that his daughter had a broader perspective than him, tolerating all sorts of people. As long as they posed no threat to Nanchu’s river and mountains, regardless of who they were, she would accommodate them.
He sighed inwardly, giving thanks to Xie Yuan’s teaching. Xie Yuan was indeed much more benevolent than him.
Looking at Nangong Che, who was uncompromised by distractions, even with his Princess and her husband standing before him, one after the other grinding ink for his ongoing test. Initially startled by Su Rong’s actions, he now was deeply immersed in his test paper, confidently showcasing his eloquence in writing. His temperament was remarkably stable.
Even without assessing his talent, this quality alone would be sufficient to mold him into a person of character.
The King thought to himself, it was the relentless emergence of talents from the Nangong family that made it a colossal entity. Their ambition grew larger, daring to rebel against the ruling power. Without Su Rong, their conspiracy might have succeeded. Even though the Nangong family had fallen, their tenacity and perseverance could still produce someone so outstanding, demonstrating their vitality.
As the time went by and Zhou Gu’s hand started to ache, Nangong Che happened to finish his examination.
These three entries had expended a great deal of his mental and physical energy. After completing them, he stared blankly at his own examination paper for a while, until Zhou Gu took out a cloth to clean his hands. Jolted out of his trance, he looked up and saw a young man standing next to his desk. The man’s face clear, his demeanor distinguished. Dressed in simple brocade clothes, his identity couldn’t be discerned at first glance, but he stood calmly and confidently by the Princess, suggesting his identity to the discerning observer.
Nangong Che, being savvy, quickly dropped his brush and stood up to greet him. However, being aware that some students hadn’t finished their papers and the room was hushed, he thought better of announcing himself aloud, merely opening his mouth and closing it mute.
Zhou Gu smiled at him and placed ink cloth in Su Rong’s hand.
Unlike Zhou Gu, Su Rong was less delicate, having been reared roughly since childhood. The ink stains on her fingers were already dried and couldn’t be cleaned off. Nevertheless, she accepted the cloth, wiped her hands carelessly, and then returned it to Zhou Gu.
Zhou Gu glanced at her, silently called her a "fool".
Su Rong: "..."
Wondering why he suddenly insulted her.
Looking at her own hands, it was indeed marred with ink splotches transforming them into black hands. So, was he criticising her crude ink grinding skills? That was true, she rarely did serve people after all.
She gestured for Nangong Che to sit down, then reached out to grab Zhou Gu, planning to visit her two cousins from the Cui family.
Zhou Gu, disgusted by her stained hands, didn’t avoid them. Instead, he used the cloth to wrap her hands, pulled her up and whispered into her ear, "Go wash your hands."
Su Rong had no choice but to let him lead her to wash her hands.
The Nanchu King watched the two, appreciating that Zhou Gu was a suitable husband for the princess. He seemed like an outspoken and difficult person, but he knew what to do and what not to do, understood where to draw the line. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that Su Rong was deeply attracted to him.
The Nanchu King finally descended from his throne and approached Nangong Che.
Nangong Che quickly stood up to pay his respects.
The Nanchu King ignored him, picking up the papers on Nangong’s desk and began to read.
Zhou Gu led Su Rong out of the Main Hall and into a box in the side hall. As soon as they entered, he released her hand and voiced his displeasure, "The Princess herself grinding ink for the Palace Examination, I’m afraid, will make quite an interesting tale."
Su Rong, placing her hands in the water, laughingly asked, "What interesting tale?"
"Nothing but the Princess loving talent, bestowing scholars with respect, and personally adding perfume ink. Or it may be said, the Princess has taken a fancy to someone, making the new scholar’s ink perfumed, thanks to her attentions," Zhou Gu replied with a sour face.
Su Rong chuckled, pulling his hand, "Then what should we say about the princess’s husband also adding perfume to the ink?"
Zhou Gu pulled his hand from the basin of water, only to have it stained with the ink on her fingers. He grimaced and responded, "We’d remark that the Princess’s husband is very aware of potential threats. He snatched the attention away, giving the new scholar a reality check, making it known that, despite some talent, it wouldn’t be easy to steal the Princess from him."
Su Rong laughed and playfully washed their hands together, "Enough, stop overdoing it. This good article should not be hindered by the need to grind one’s own ink midway through. If you say it’s talent I love, you’re not wrong. Nangong Che’s essay- you saw it too, doesn’t he possess great talent?"
"Hmm, his writing doesn’t fall short to Brother Su,’’ Zhou Gu admitted.
Su Rong Chided, "So grinding the ink for him is indeed doing justice to his talents."
Zhou Gu made no agreement or disagreement, he ordered for a fresh basin of water. He then took soapnuts and scrubbed off all the ink stains from Su Rong’s hands.
Su Rong watched him, "I thought you weren’t coming to the Palace Examination. Why did you come after all?"
"My father-in-law sent someone to summon me. He said that the Princess was personally grinding ink for someone. How could I dismiss my father-in-law’s kind intention? So, I came to have a look," Zhou Gu replied bluntly.
Su Rong, both amused and frustrated, murmured, "My father..."
This was truly out of tune.
Perhaps her mother fell in love with his quirky style? Difficult to understand.
After they had cleaned their hands, they returned to the Palace Examination. The timing was perfect, all the students had submitted their papers.
A stack of papers was piled up in front of The Nanchu King. Seeing their return, he gestured Su Rong to the papers in front of him.
Su Rong gave him a glance, disregarding any plans for settlement. She walked towards him and started to review papers from the top of the stack, skimming through with remarkable speed. Soon, the rustling sound of papers being turned filled the entire Golden Hall.
All the scholars watched her, their hearts pounding with anxiety. Given the speed at which the Princess was reviewing the papers, their works had been gone over in just a few short lines.
About a quarter of an hour later, Su Rong had finished reviewing all the papers. She then picked up the brush and started drafting the list of ranks for the Palace Examination.
The Number One Scholar, without a doubt, went to Nangong Che—the one for whom she and Zhou Gu had personally ground ink. He achieved the prized Triple Promotion and was appointed as the Number One Scholar.
The second and third places still went to her two cousins from the Cui Family, providing steady performances. Cui Xingyu, who had more depth in thought, was granted the position of the Adjunct Wrangler, while Cui Xingyi was appointed as the Proximate Limist, both were conferred degrees of Jinshi (Advanced Scholar).
The Top of the Second Class went to a scholar named Lu An. His performance was as expected. Su Rong personally appointed him as the Translator and was conferred the Jinshi degree.
The second of the second-class went to Nangong Ya. Her overperformance in the Palace Examination made Su Rong rank her name second.
The remaining ranks were assigned according to the order in Su Rong’s mind, which she determined upon finishing reading all the test papers. She called out each name one by one, and once the rank of the last contestant was decided, she selected two papers-on from Nangong Che and the other one from Nangong Ya. She handed them over to an Eunuch and instructed, "Circulate these two papers among all the scholars who participated in today’s Palace Examination."
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