Chapter 4 Who did I offend?
Ye Jianshan ran out and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was chasing him. He then rubbed his knees and gasped for breath, cursing under his breath, "Damn it, are the people in the capital crazy? What's with all this kneeling at the drop of a hat?"
Is this how you shorten his lifespan? Ye Jianshan couldn't understand.
When Ye Jianshan returned to the guild hall, he saw that the Gao family had come again. He was numb; Old Man Gao still hadn't given up on him.
Ye Jianshan felt that he was really unlucky.
All I've encountered in the capital are lunatics.
"Ye Jieyuan, this is a cotton coat that our master prepared for you. The weather is getting colder, so please take care to keep warm."
The servants from the Gao family diligently presented large and small packages to Ye Jianshan.
Ye Jianshan refused, saying, "Please take this back and tell your master that I lack nothing and there's no need to send anything more. That's all."
After finishing his sentence, Ye Jianshan went upstairs to his room. Once back, he reflected on his words and realized that it felt much better to say the words of refusal. He should have done it sooner.
Fortunately, he had never accepted anything from the Gao family before, and his third uncle had always refused them. This time, however, they had offered it to him directly.
The servants of the Gao family were terrified; their master had said that if they didn't finish the job, they wouldn't be allowed to go back.
Unexpectedly, he failed again this time, and he waited here specifically for Ye Jieyuan to return.
The servants of the Gao family left carrying large and small bags of things.
The scholars sitting in the hall of the guild hall looked at each other in bewilderment. Didn't everyone say that this year's top scholar came from a poor family?
How did this get involved with the Gao family in the capital?
Ye Jianshan is so young and mysterious, it makes people more and more curious.
Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan, who remained at the literary gathering, were the most curious about Ye Jianshan. As soon as Ye Jianshan left, the two of them became the focus of attention, while the Marquis of Weiyuan's heir and the Third Young Master Feng, who were sitting above, kept talking about the Crown Prince and such.
But the Crown Prince didn't even show up today.
The two men, however, claimed to have seen His Highness the Crown Prince.
This threw the entire literary gathering into chaos, leaving the Cui family with no choice but to cancel the event.
They were also worried that if the Crown Prince came secretly, and the Cui family held a grand literary gathering and selected the best disciples, wouldn't His Highness think they were forming cliques?
That's a serious charge.
After the literary gathering was canceled, Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan felt something was off on their way back to the guild hall. Suddenly, Luo Shaohui had a horrifying thought: "Do you think the heir of the Marquis of Weiyuan and the Third Young Master Feng were kneeling before Ye Jianshan?"
Tan Jingshan broke out in a cold sweat: "I suspected it right away. Ye Jianshan suddenly said he had a stomachache. Could it be that he has some kind of relationship with the Crown Prince?"
"But isn't he from Qingyang? What connection could he possibly have with the Crown Prince? Besides, the Crown Prince is all alone and has no children..."
No matter how they thought about it, the two of them felt that it was all related to Ye Jianshan; everything was too coincidental and too strange.
When Ye Jianshan appeared at the literary gathering, apart from some scions of prominent families in the capital who had seen the Crown Prince before, most of the attendees had come from other places to prepare for the exams and naturally did not know what the Crown Prince looked like.
Even Cui Jianbing had never met His Highness the Crown Prince, but he recognized Ye Jianshan.
Even before Ye Jianshan arrived in Beijing, some members of the Cui family were already keeping an eye on his movements.
When he saw that the center of the chaos was where Ye Jianshan was sitting, he had doubts in his heart. When he returned, he told Chief Minister Cui about it: "Grandfather, I am not mistaken. The direction that the Marquis of Weiyuan's heir and the Third Young Master Feng pointed to was the place where Ye Jianshan was sitting. Is he really a farmer's son?"
Today's literary gathering has even touched on the Crown Prince, so Chief Minister Cui has naturally heard the news and feels it's no coincidence: "That boy from the Feng family was sent to a temple before for talking nonsense, and now the Marquis of Weiyuan's heir has been added to the list. It might not be a mistake, but the Crown Prince could not possibly be at Jingfu Restaurant. You can focus on your exams, and I will have someone keep an eye on this matter."
Cui Jianbing acknowledged and left. He was determined to win both the top two ranks in the imperial examinations; the honor of achieving the highest rank in all six examinations could only belong to him.
Ye Jianshan, who was being interrogated by Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan at the Qingyang Guild Hall, sneezed.
"Ah Qiu—"
Ye Jianshan wiped his nose and looked innocently at his two brothers who were approaching aggressively: "Brothers, I really don't know what happened. I feel really unwell."
Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan could tell from his expression that he wasn't lying; his face was indeed pale, and he had just sneezed.
Moreover, he is only sixteen years old, so it's normal for him to experience some discomfort due to the change in environment in the capital.
"We were overthinking it. You should take better care of your health these days. Let's not go out and attend any literary gatherings."
"That's what I think too. It's better to spend half a day studying in my room than wasting time like this."
After Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan left, Ye Lei stood beside them, extremely worried: "Dashan, what exactly happened?"
Ye Jianshan sighed: "Third Uncle, you'd better find out where the Guo residence is as soon as possible."
He said that his mother had left him a way to save his life, which turned out to be related to the Crown Prince.
The things Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan just recounted, and Gao Han's unusual behavior...
All of this suggests that he might be the child of the Crown Prince's enemy!
But what exactly is the point of kneeling before him?
Could it be that his father was a high-ranking official before he died? Ye Jianshan racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
But he realized that there was a reason why his mother didn't want him to come to the capital; that was probably why she was unhappy.
Ye Jianshan finally understood his mother's good intentions, but no matter how dangerous the capital was, he had to come. He wanted to become the top scholar in the imperial examination, and it was impossible for him to run away now that he had come this far.
His mother probably thought the same way, preferring to avoid him rather than persuade him not to go to the capital for the imperial examination.
Ye Lei thought so too, but after inquiring for several days, he had not heard of any Guo residence.
There are almost no officials with the surname Guo in this capital city.
"Your third uncle will remember this. Don't go out these days. Focus on your exam preparation. We'll leave after the exam."
This capital city is not a place to stay for long.
Ye Jianshan had planned it that way from the beginning, and agreed to go to the literary gathering out of curiosity, but things still went wrong.
So he should just stay home and prepare for the exam, and wait patiently for the spring imperial examination next February, which is only a few months away.
Minister Feng had just come out of the palace when a servant came to report that the Third Prince was ill again, and this time he was still talking about the Crown Prince.
The heir of the Marquis of Weiyuan was not ill, but he was quite frightened.
If Feng San wasn't lying, then the person in the library last time was also the Crown Prince's second uncle.
But it's strange, why would the Crown Prince's second uncle disguise himself as a young scholar to sneak into the literary gathering and the library?
Are they investigating a case?
I haven't heard of any cases recently that would require the Crown Prince's second uncle to make such a sacrifice.
When Minister Feng returned, he found the Marquis of Weiyuan's heir there as well. After exchanging pleasantries, the Marquis of Weiyuan's heir explained on Feng Xing's behalf, expressing some concern that Minister Feng might get angry and send the man to a temple to reflect on his actions. If he were sent there again, the man would only be gone for a few days.
Feng Xing's illness hadn't fully healed from the last time, and today, after being tormented and frightened, it relapsed.
Seeing that the heir of the Marquis of Weiyuan spoke up for her, tears of grievance finally flowed out: "I didn't lie. The one I saw last time was the Crown Prince, and I saw him again today with the heir."
Minister Feng was nearly driven mad with worry: "You all claim to have seen the Crown Prince, but who was it that I just saw in the palace?"
All three of them fell silent.
The two of them spoke as if it were the truth, and Minister Feng even began to wonder if he had just been talking to a ghost in the palace.
Feng Xing and the heir of the Marquis of Weiyuan exchanged a glance, then, as if struck by a sudden realization, sat up abruptly: "I know what's wrong. The crown prince I met was dressed as a scholar, and he was quite young..."
The doubts in the mind of the Marquis of Weiyuan's heir were also resolved; that was exactly what he had been thinking.
"Yes, he initially entered Jingfu Restaurant dressed as a scholar, and even sat down to answer questions. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old..."
After the Marquis of Weiyuan finished speaking, Feng Xing nodded frantically: "Father, yes, the crown prince we saw was not old, much younger than the one in the palace."
Minister Feng frowned: "Are you saying that a young scholar who looks very much like the Crown Prince has suddenly appeared in the capital?"
"yes!"
The two were absolutely certain.
All three had their own guesses, but none of them dared to say them aloud, as fabricating royal rumors could get you beheaded.
What they all wanted to say was whether the boy was a descendant of the crown prince who had been separated from his family when he was young.
Everyone is very satisfied with the current crown prince. The only thing they are dissatisfied with is that he is a romantic and has been guarding his deceased wife's memorial tablet for more than ten years without having any children. It will be difficult for him to establish a crown prince after he ascends the throne, and the royal bloodline will be cut off unless he adopts a descendant from his brother.
Unexpectedly, things took another turn for the better; the Crown Prince might have a biological son.
This left Minister Feng with mixed feelings. Who knew what this person who suddenly appeared wanted to do?
In recent years, there have been instances of people pretending to be the Crown Prince's biological son, but this time it seems a bit real. If the scholar that Feng Xing and the Crown Prince mentioned looks like the Crown Prince, then it is very likely true, or it could be a conspiracy.
Ye Jianshan sneezed again. Help! He just wanted to take an exam.
Ye Lei brought up some ginger soup with concern: "Why are you sick?"
Ye Jianshan didn't know either. He had always been strong and healthy since childhood and had never been sick, but he was really not used to the capital. His nose had been stuffy for several days and he kept sneezing.
He suspected that someone was insulting him.
"Has someone come to inquire again today?"
Ye Jianshan sniffed and drank the ginger soup in one gulp. It was so spicy that his nose wrinkled up, but he felt much better.
Since the end of that day's astronomical meeting, several groups of people have approached Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan to inquire about Ye Jianshan, who was standing next to them that day.
Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan were extremely worried, fearing that these people were there to cause trouble, so they both claimed they hadn't seen them and didn't recognize them.
The Qingyang Guild Hall was also on high alert, feeling that someone was plotting against their top scholar from Qingyang.
Moreover, their biggest suspects are the Cui family. If Ye Jianshan falls, wouldn't Cui Jianbing be the biggest beneficiary?
Luo Shaohui and Tan Jingshan were also filled with regret. They should have known better than to drag Ye Jianshan to that literary gathering. Now, in retrospect, it was all a conspiracy by the Cui family to harm Ye Jianshan.
Ye Jianshan hadn't done anything yet, but the entire guild was already doing everything in their power to protect him.
This is the hope of Qingyang. If Ye Jianshan succeeds and achieves the highest rank in the imperial examination, they will be honored and proud.
Ye Jianshan was deeply moved when he heard this, but at the same time he was speechless.
What did he do to deserve this?
He didn't know where the enemy was, and he didn't know how to defend against them.
At the same time, a secret letter was also delivered to Emperor Yuan of Jin's desk.
A note from the author:
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