A little estrangement
"The Dragon Gate Examination is not only related to General Wei. Among the high-ranking officials and important ministers of the court, there are many who covet the official positions in the Dragon Gate Examination and will stop at nothing to ensure that their useless children pass the examination and are then transferred and promoted," Lin Kuo said. "In this light, the people of aristocratic families are the Emperor's wise choice."
Song Yinxing frowned and said, "This is not a good job."
“It’s certainly not a good job, and good jobs don’t come our way.” Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Kuo turned his head and kissed Song Yinxing. “So, Wei Chong and I discussed it and decided to feign illness and stay at home. We will not see each other unless it is absolutely necessary.”
"What is a critical moment?" Song Yinxing continued to ask, following Lin Kuo's words.
Lin Kuo replied, "You come to see me, and Xiao Qi goes to see Weichong."
When Song Yinxing relayed this to Wu Qi, she continued drawing without stopping and didn't even look up before saying, "We can't go, so this crucial moment won't exist at all."
They didn't know how many eyes would be on Yi Shen and Lin Kuo, or on the aristocratic families; they couldn't act rashly. If they were caught red-handed and convicted of deceiving the emperor, they would truly regret it.
Song Yinxing laughed and said, "So, you really won't see me?"
"not see."
Song Yinxing added, "We can't see each other for at least half a month."
Wu Qi said firmly, "I won't see him either."
“But you and Brother Weichong have never been apart for more than half a month,” Song Yinxing said.
Wu Qi paused in his drawing, then suddenly said, "It really is."
She's never been separated from Yi Shen for more than half a month in all her life.
Wu Qi added, "However, the winter before last, Yi Shen seemed to distance himself from me for some reason..."
Song Yinxing asked with some skepticism, "But Brother Wei Chong seems a bit distant from you?"
“Yes, an unprecedented distance.” Wu Qi put down his pen and said, “I don’t know why either. I just heard people say that at this age, if you have someone you like, you will become more distant from others. So I assumed that Yi Shen had someone he liked.”
"And then?" Song Yinxing asked.
"Then I started thinking about who Yi Shen might like. I didn't sleep all night and went through everyone I could think of. After thinking it over and over, I still think that Yi Shen likes me."
"He loves me, and I will treat him very well."
"Even if he doesn't love me, he'll still be fine."
"However, I still want him to like me."
As the sun set behind the mountains and evening smoke lingered around the trees, the once empty house was now littered with crumpled paper balls and haphazardly stacked blueprints. Even so, the house was devoid of any sign of life. The crumpled paper balls, blueprints, and other miscellaneous items looked like drops of ink on an imperial edict.
Abrupt and chaotic.
Wu Qi lay on the table, her head tilted to the side, her hair ribbon drooping down, but the flowers on her head remained intact, showing no signs of falling off.
It's like a vibrant splash of color in a stereotypical ink painting.
Although somewhat out of place, it was undeniably eye-catching.
"Later, I don't know what happened, but Yi Shen got better again," Wu Qi murmured. "It seems that after a snowy day, he stopped distancing himself from me."
To this day, she doesn't know why, but she only remembers one frosty, snowy day.
That winter, frost and snow mingled, gently falling to the ground. From that day on, Yi Shen no longer distanced himself from her.
Song Yinxing felt something was wrong. If what Wu Qi said was true, Yi Shen had become somewhat distant from Wu Qi the winter before last. At that time, she was also by their side, but she could not feel Yi Shen's distance from Wu Qi at all.
No, to say we've grown distant, perhaps we have.
It was simply that Yi Shen was a little further away from Wu Qi while they were eating together. Now that he thinks about it, the distance between their chairs was indeed a bit too far.
Apart from that, Song Yinxing couldn't think of any other reason to distance herself.
Is this considered an "unprecedented alienation"?
Perhaps this was indeed something "unprecedented" for the two of them...
“Yi Shen can handle the Longmen Examination well, I shouldn’t bother him.” Wu Qi sat up straight, picked up a pen and slowly twirled it. “If he is willing to enter officialdom, he will definitely be a rare and excellent official, whose name will be remembered in history and praised by future generations.”
She changed the subject, saying, "However, how did Brother Lian Shi get this information?"
Song Yinxing lowered his eyes and said, "He has people in the palace."
"Huh?" Wu Qi almost thought he had misheard.
She originally thought that she was the only one who had violated the rules of aristocratic families, but then she learned that Yi Shen had also violated the rules of aristocratic families to practice swordsmanship. Now she has learned that Lin Kuo has already interfered in the court and has even placed his own people in the palace.
If they were truly punished according to the rules and customs of aristocratic families, they would be severely injured and even die a minor death; they might actually perish.
Wu Qi said, "There's something else wrong."
Song Yinxing exchanged a glance with her and said knowingly, "Both are young masters from noble families, so why did His Majesty only allow Weichong and Lin Kuo to handle the Dragon Gate Examination, but not Han Su?"
Wu Qi nodded and said, "I always feel that His Majesty treats the Ning family too specially, whether it's Sister Yuqu or Hansu."
Song Yinxing said, "I feel the same way, but I don't know why."
If the children of high-ranking officials were to consistently fail to visit the Cizi Pavilion like Ning Xunxu, their parents would likely bind them and send them there without the Emperor even needing to speak. Yet, Ning Xunxu rarely visited the Cizi Pavilion. On several occasions, the Emperor arrived, but Ning Xunxu had not yet come.
At first, many teachers would remind Ning Xunxu, or after receiving news that the emperor was coming, they would hurriedly send people to invite Ning Xunxu. However, when the emperor found that Ning Xunxu was not there, he would only say lightly, "Han Su is at home helping Yu Qu with his work."
And so the matter passed. Seeing that the Emperor showed no sign of reproach, and since Ning Xunxu could not be summoned, many teachers eventually turned a blind eye. Whether Ning Xunxu came or not didn't matter, since the Emperor hadn't said anything. Only Teacher Sun, whenever Ning Xunxu failed to come three times, would either personally go to Ning's residence to teach him or, like last time, send someone to inform Ning Xunxu.
This matter is neither too big nor too small, but as long as it concerns His Majesty, there is no such thing as a small matter.
Wu Qi felt something was wrong, but couldn't find any clue, so she could only keep it in mind. She picked up the pen and twirled it, but unexpectedly, with just one twirling, the still-wet ink splashed onto her clothes.
It can't be wiped clean.
Wu Qi stared at the few drops of ink and said thankfully, "Fortunately, the clothes I'm wearing today weren't bought by Yi Shen."
Song Yinxing said, "You can't stop talking about Brother Weichong. In my opinion, if Brother Weichong really closes his door to guests for half a month, you'll probably be itching to see him, your fingernails digging into the door."
"Who knows?" Wu Qi said with a smile.
Just then, there was a knock on the door; it was Yi Shen and Lin Kuo.
When Yi Shen knocked and entered, he didn't show any unusual expression when he saw the crumpled paper and scraps of paper scattered on half the floor. To avoid stepping on the paper and scraps, he took a longer route before finally embracing Wu Qi, who was smiling and stretching out her arms for him to hug.
Wu Qi patted his back and said, "You've worked so hard, Yi Shen."
Lin Kuo said solemnly, "The information I received is that in seven days, His Majesty will announce that I and Weichong will be in charge of the Longmen Examination."
Seven days later, it will be General Wei Mao's birthday.
They were forced to become a sharp sword used by the Emperor to pierce General Wei, yet they were not even allowed to struggle. In the clash of swords, they were the victims.
Wu Qi patted Yi Shen's back gently again, saying with reluctance and affection, "Our Yi Shen, you've really had a tough time."
Yi Shen hugged her tightly and said, "Don't worry."
Lin Kuo's information was correct. Seven days later, on General Wei Mao's birthday, the Emperor did indeed order Yi Shen and Lin Kuo to begin work on the Longmen Examination, but he did not specify who they could assign to the task.
The students of Cizi Pavilion were shocked. Ning Xunxu propped his head up and whispered, "Strange, I'm not here again."
Master Sun patted the table and reminded him, "What's wrong? You've all finished drawing, right?! No one who hasn't finished drawing is allowed to leave school!"
Everyone snapped to attention, picked up their paintbrushes, and began to paint, handing in their artwork just as school was about to end.
Master Sun pulled out Yi Shen's and Lin Kuo's paintings, then berated them all mercilessly. Finally, he picked up Lin Kuo's painting and said without any mercy, "What kind of painting is this? It's not even as good as Wu Qi's!"
Lin Kuo exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!?"
Wu Qi blinked and said, "Huh?"
The two men uttered the same word, but the emotions they conveyed were quite different. Lin Kuo found it hard to believe, while Wu Qi felt it was an undeserved disaster, causing the students of Cizi Pavilion to lower their heads and cover their laughter.
Master Sun put down Lin Kuo's painting and picked up Yi Shen's painting. After only a couple of glances, he frowned and said with some dissatisfaction, "It's about the same as Wu Qi's painting."
Upon hearing this, Wu Qi said, "It seems that I have indeed made a lot of progress."
“You haven’t improved, it’s the other two who have regressed. Do you think you can neglect your studies just because you’ve joined the Moonfall Camp? If I were to file a complaint with the Yi and Lin families, you two would be in deep trouble,” Master Sun said. “You two come with me. We’ll have food and clothing. When you’ve finished your painting, you can come to Cizi Pavilion.”
Everyone looked at each other, finally understanding why Master Sun had said that.
Master Sun knew that Yi Shen and Weichong would face numerous obstacles in taking over the Longmen Examination. Suppression from high-ranking officials in the court, gifts from acquaintances... any misstep by others would be fatal, which is why Yi Shen and Lin Kuo decided to close their doors to visitors.
But ultimately it wasn't quite right.
Therefore, Master Sun took them away.
This also means that Yi Shen and Lin Kuo have truly closed their doors to visitors. They will not see anyone until the Emperor sends someone to them. The only person they can see is the lonely Master Sun.
Master Sun collected everyone's paintings, stacking them neatly one by one, and said as he rolled them up, "I haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I won't be coming to Cizi Pavilion for classes. Study hard, and if the paintings you hand in when I return are still inferior to Wu Qi's, then I will kick each of you once."
"Wu Qi, you also need to draw well."
Wu Qi knew that he wasn't unwell; he just needed to stay by Yi Shen's and Lin Kuo's side.
Master Sun not only admired her, but he admired every student in the pavilion. He was happy to use his great name to hold an umbrella for his students in the rain so that they would not get wet.
He was a good teacher who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
Master Sun said, “Alright, only Chong and Lian Shi will come with me.”
Lin Kuo exhaled a breath of stale air, stood up, hugged Song Yinxing, and whispered, "I'm leaving."
"Yes, be careful in everything," Song Yinxing said.
Yi Shen did not hug Wu Qi. He looked at Wu Qi for a moment, then reached out and plucked a flower from her hair.
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