Chapter 5
After the Emperor and Empress arrived, the banquet officially began, accompanied by singing and dancing, and everyone toasted each other. Most of the court officials came with their lords and legitimate daughters and sons, and everyone complimented each other. Then, someone asked about Lin Jinyan, the legitimate son of the Minister of Personnel, Lord Lin.
Lin Jinyan was also one of my brother's close friends. She was beautiful and dignified, talented, well-known, and good at socializing, but she was also very principled. So, my brother's close friends were all good people.
The Emperor's aunt was determined to arrange a marriage for the Crown Princess at the banquet. "Lord Lin, your daughter Jinyan is sixteen this year, right? Is she engaged?"
Lord Lin, the Minister of Personnel, quickly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, my daughter is not yet engaged." Lin Jinyan also lowered her head shyly.
The Emperor nodded. "Jin Yan is well-educated, well-mannered, and beautiful. The Crown Princess is also of marriageable age. I wonder if she would be interested in him?"
Lin Jinyan blushed with shame, and Lord Lin quickly thanked the emperor, "Your Majesty, your words are too kind. I am grateful to Your Majesty and the princess for not abandoning me."
"Good, good. Tomorrow I will issue an edict granting the marriage to the two, and the Ministry of Rites will also begin preparations." The emperor clapped his hands in approval. Everyone around congratulated the princess and Lord Lin.
I watched with great interest from the side, and chatted with my brother, "So the princess likes brothers like Jin Yan." My brother also looked straight at me and said, "Jin Yan's talent and character are suitable."
I couldn't help but gasp. After the previous incident, the Emperor's aunt and the princess must have discussed it privately again. This time, it was most likely the princess herself who chose him. Maybe they had already exchanged glances, but of course, I couldn't say anything.
However, Brother Jinyan is also in line with the aesthetics of this era. Besides, he's also Brother's good friend. Thinking about it this way, didn't the two of them meet often before? It's my fault for not seeing it before.
The Queen had already asked Jin Yan to come sit with her. It seemed she was quite fond of this son-in-law. My father did glance at my brother secretly, but he was being overly suspicious. My brother didn't want that kind of life.
I've been thinking a lot these past few days, and I can't help but make a decision. I still have to strive for progress, to provide support for my brother. Perhaps in a world where imperial power reigns supreme, it's difficult or even impossible to be the one at the top, but I must strive for that position above everyone else.
Seeing me lost in thought, my brother pinched me, quite handily. "Don't overthink things, little one. You might not grow taller."
"That's impossible, everyone in my family is tall." I quickly pushed my brother's hand away, even though it didn't hurt. My brother was getting more and more naughty, perhaps because he was always a lively person.
My brother looked at me seriously and said, "I'm fine now, really."
"Haha, of course. We two, brother and sister, are invincible in the world." I was busy fooling around, not wanting him to think of his previous life at all.
The Third Princess hadn't been able to get over to the banquet until the end. She saw Qiu Fei and her sister standing in front of the Crown Princess and the Third Princess, chatting. I was smug. Well done, my friend! My brother glanced at me and said, "You little mischievous one."
Speaking of Qiu Fei, she is the granddaughter of the Taifu family. When I was a child, about six years old, I followed my father to the palace.
The Queen was chatting with my father, and I was bored, so I took the little prince out to play outside the palace. Before I knew it, we were at the Royal Academy.
Coincidentally, Qiu Fei had followed her grandmother into the palace. Perhaps she wanted to get some fresh air. She happened to see me climbing the rockery with the little prince.
I waved at her. Children are very curious. Qiu Fei looked back at the school, which was not far away, and then walked towards us.
At that time, Qiu Fei had rosy lips and white teeth, and I thought he was some young master from a wealthy family.
I finally climbed to the top of the rockery and reached out to the little prince who was halfway up, trying to pull him up. By the way, I asked Qiu Fei, "Who are you from? You're so beautiful. Do you want to play with us?"
Qiu Fei looked at the group of anxious attendants around him, then looked up at me and said, "It's very dangerous."
I relied on my soul being an adult and the mountain not being high, and was very confident, "No."
As soon as the last note of "hui" came out, my feet slipped. Oh no, I forgot I was a six-year-old and couldn't pull a five-year-old. Besides, there was still ice on the rockery after the snow.
I screamed "Ah" and fell down. The servants were so scared that they shouted and came to pick us up.
I didn't catch it, but by chance, I hugged Qiu Fei's lower body, and with a little force, I lay down and pulled down Qiu Fei's pants. Qiu Fei also sat down naked in the snow.
With a cry of "Wow", Qiu Fei stood up again due to the cold, and pulled his pants from my hand and put them on regardless of whether there was snow or not.
Before I even started crying, the little prince was already frightened and started crying loudly.
Many of the tutors and princesses who were teaching came out.
I was too embarrassed to get up and just continued to lie there motionless. This frightened everyone even more.
The princess ran over and picked me up. She looked at my trembling eyelashes and felt around me. Seeing that I was fine, she asked, "Are you hurt?"
I opened my eyes then, "It's okay, just wear something warm."
The princess finally breathed a sigh of relief.
I looked at the little prince who was still sobbing, then looked at Qiu Fei whose face was flushed red. Amidst everyone's puzzled looks, I walked up to Qiu Fei.
"Don't worry, I will be responsible for you!" Although I am still young, I understand that there are still men with integrity in this world. When I grow up, this incident will be remembered.
After I finished speaking, everyone was even more confused. Qiu Fei, on the other hand, was about to turn into a pufferfish. "I'm a girl, not a boy!" Qiu Fei shouted.
An attendant had already explained the situation, and everyone burst into laughter. Qiu Fei even turned around and threw himself into the arms of the Grand Tutor.
"Hurry up and change their clothes first, so they won't catch a cold." The princess ordered.
With that, we parted ways with Qiu Fei. On the way back to Queen Jun, we were met by Queen Jun and my father who had hurried over.
I was shown concern and criticism, changed my clothes, had my pulse checked, and only went home after making sure there was nothing wrong.
My father prepared a generous gift and took me to the Tutor's house to apologize. Qiu Fei had caught a cold and was running a bit of a fever. I felt even more guilty, and for several days in a row I kept running to the Tutor's house. Eventually, the guards at the gate ignored me and followed me in and out.
It took me several days of coaxing before Qiu Fei started talking to me again. That's how our friendship continued, and I often lament that it was all thanks to my thick skin.
Of course, many things happened later that proved those childhood words true. Of course, I wasn't responsible for Qiu Fei, but it was Qiu Fei who was responsible for me. Whether it was big or small, Qiu Fei always helped me.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, I started to work hard and make progress. Although my parents were very surprised, they were also very pleased. From time to time, I would receive nourishing soups and food from my father.
My brother comes to visit me every few days. I try to comfort him by saying that a lazy person like me won't let myself suffer. But he rolls his eyes. But he still comes to visit me often.
I said it tough, but I was still very happy about my brother's arrival. After all, my brother is my biggest spiritual support for progress.
As I read more and more books on science exams, my mother was puzzled. "Why waste your time and energy on this? Learn more practical things. We, children of wealthy families, don't need to take exams."
I just said that I was interested, and my mother didn't ask any further questions.
My brother noticed this and asked me privately what I thought. I honestly told him, "Since the founding of the country, all the three highest officials have been elected through examinations."
My brother laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to be so ambitious." I pretended to be noble and said, "Well, I'm a top student from a 985 or 211 university, so I have real talent and knowledge. Although I don't have much confidence in getting the top scorer, I can still try hard to become a Jinshi."
My brother smiled and didn't refute me. Instead, he was very interested and said, "How about I learn it too and take the exam secretly?"
I also didn’t expect that my brother likes to find things to do so much. It seems that he is really improving every day.
"I just don't know if it's feasible. How about giving it a try?" Anyway, I should just support my brother in whatever he wants to do. Besides, there's really no rule that says he can't do it, right?
My brother laughed out loud, "I won't cause trouble for myself. There's no pressure. I have the time, I can do anything." I curled my lips, and my brother just said it. I haven't seen him idle all these years, and now he is half a Chinese medicine practitioner.
My brother chatted with me for a while, and I tentatively said, "How about I ask the princess to see if men can take the exam?"
My brother thought for a while and said, "Forget it. I might as well think of a way to help mother with the economy and make some money."
I was working hard, and my brother would go out from time to time. When he came back, he would always tell me about what was going on. Actually, I wasn't completely unaware of what was going on. After all, my sisters were relatively free and would come over to tell me about their latest fun. I was also very supportive, so everyone loved telling me stories.
But I really enjoy listening to my brother talk, so I never interrupt him. Besides, some things are funny that other people just can't understand. This is also the tacit understanding between my brother and me.
The days passed like this, and when spring came, I asked my teacher to secretly help me register in the nearby provincial capital. Although he didn't understand, he still did it.
Then I lied about going on a trip with my sisters and secretly took the exam. My brother watched me silently, not understanding the meaning of hiding it from my parents.
My answer was, I will work hard secretly and surprise everyone! This made my brother laugh non-stop.
I became a student, and then, quite smoothly, passed the provincial and academy examinations. Now I'm a full-fledged scholar. My grades are pretty good, but the provincial education commissioner doesn't recognize me and is probably still confused as to why I'm not very close to her.
After I got home, I boasted about it to my brother.
However, I didn't expect that my brother also did something big. He planted the grain and wheat that we had discussed before.
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