Chapter 31
Outside the Taiji Hall.
Yan Huaijin stood with his hands at his sides, awaiting the sage's summons.
She waited for about half an hour, until her calves were slightly numb from standing, before a eunuch came out of the hall and called her in.
The Emperor Taizong was not alone in the hall; the ministers who had just discussed state affairs with him were also present. At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on Yan Huaijin.
Yan Huaijin maintained a respectful expression and kept his eyes straight ahead.
She walked to the center of the hall, knelt down, and greeted Your Majesty: "Your subject Yan Huaijin pays her respects."
"You are the daughter of Minister Yan," Emperor Taizong of Tang, who was sitting upright in the main seat, was in a good mood and treated Yan Huaijin with exceptional gentleness. "Get up."
Yan Huaijin got up as instructed.
Do you know why I summoned you to the palace today?
"To paint portraits of meritorious officials of the Tang Dynasty."
"Then do you know why I chose you alone, and not your father?"
Yan Huaijin looked up; this was indeed the source of her doubt.
Logically speaking, although she had some fame in the public eye, this fame would not influence the emperor's judgment in the slightest. In terms of legitimacy, ten of hers could not compare to her father.
"This humble woman does not know, and begs Your Majesty to enlighten me."
Emperor Taizong of Tang laughed heartily.
After he finished laughing, before he could even speak, a palace attendant announced that the King of Wu was requesting an audience.
"Speak of the devil and he appears; let him in."
Upon hearing this, Yan Huaijin's mind went blank. Could it be that the King of Wu had recommended him to the Sage? Otherwise, why would the Sage say such a thing?
Before King Li Ke of Wu arrived, his voice preceded his arrival: "Your son greets Your Majesty."
As he spoke, he walked up to Yan Huaijin's side. It was the first time Yan Huaijin had been so close to him, so close that his broad back almost completely enveloped her.
She lowered her eyes and bowed: "Your Highness, Prince Wu."
"My dear minister, look! This young lady from the Yan family and my son stand together; they are quite a good match."
Whether the sage was joking or implying something, Yan Huaijin was so frightened by his words that he broke out in a cold sweat.
It's not that the King of Wu is bad; he's too good.
Historically, Emperor Taizong of Tang once praised the Prince of Wu in front of Changsun Wuji, saying that he was "as brave and decisive as I am." He even considered making the Prince of Wu the new crown prince after deposing him, but this idea was quickly stopped by Changsun Wuji.
From Changsun Wuji's perspective, he was the elder brother of the deceased empress, and it was understandable that he hoped his nephew could ascend the throne.
However, he harbored resentment towards the Prince of Wu because of Emperor Taizong's words. Later, after Li Zhi ascended the throne, he even used his power to falsely accuse the Prince of Wu of treason, which led to the Prince of Wu's death, which was extremely wrong.
Cause and effect are cyclical, and retribution is inevitable.
Changsun Wuji himself did not have a good end either. Only eight years after the death of the King of Wu, he was also falsely accused of treason, stripped of his title, exiled, and hanged himself.
well.
In short, the affairs of the imperial court were too complicated, and Yan Huaijin did not want to get involved.
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Wu is indeed a man of noble character and integrity, but I am far too unworthy to be his disciple. How could I possibly hope to have him enter my household..."
What? !
Her words truly shocked everyone in the hall, even the King of Wu, who was standing to the side, stared at her with wide eyes.
......
Yan Huaijin had no idea how he left Taiji Palace.
When she uttered those words, "I dare not even hope that the King of Wu will enter my residence," even Emperor Taizong of Tang, who was sitting at the head of the table, was stunned into silence.
Even ordinary men consider it shameful to marry into another family, let alone the son of an emperor.
This young lady from the Yan family is truly audacious, daring to be so arrogant in the main hall. The ministers present couldn't help but feel a little uneasy for her.
Fortunately, the emperor was magnanimous and did not blame her.
However, the King of Wu had a strange expression on his face, and Yan Huaijin suspected that he might cause trouble for him in the future.
】
As she finished writing, Xu Ying stretched and got up to go to the restroom.
After using the toilet, she wandered back and forth between the living room and the kitchen, eating some fruit and peanuts, seemingly finding everything interesting except for writing.
After lingering outside for more than half an hour, she finally returned to the bedroom.
Adding extra chapters might feel good in the moment, but it'll lead to disaster afterwards.
She doesn't have a single chapter saved up right now, so she should hurry up and write more to accumulate more chapters.
*
It was a little after 4 p.m.
Taking advantage of the cool weather, Xu Ying put on her helmet and went out to register for driving lessons at a nearby driving school.
She searched on her phone beforehand and found a driving school in the suburbs to the west and south of her home. Since she was going out for a stroll, she could go there and register on the way.
The driving school staff were very welcoming. Xu Ying paid the fees, downloaded the relevant app, and went home. As for the subsequent driving lessons, she could discuss the schedule directly with the instructor on her phone.
On the road.
Xu Ying suddenly remembered that Grandma Wang had said at noon that there were no more spare ribs at home, so she called Grandma Wang.
"Grandma, I'm out now. I'm going to the supermarket. Tell me what you need and I'll buy it for you."
Grandma Wang said loudly on the other end of the phone, "You're going to the supermarket? That's great! I was just thinking of having hot pot tonight and was planning to ask you to go shopping with me."
"Hmm, what should I buy?"
"Just buy some hot pot meatballs that you like, and some vegetables, beef slices, shrimp paste, and the like!"
"Okay," Xu Ying said, hanging up the phone and riding her bike to a large supermarket near her home.
When she arrived at the supermarket, she went straight to the vegetable section. Grandma Wang always treated her like a child, thinking that she liked to eat those hot pot meatballs. In fact, she was long past the age of liking to eat those.
As she grew up, she became more and more interested in natural products, and now vegetables and soy products still suit her taste better.
She bought a lot of vegetables: lettuce, bok choy, water spinach, garland chrysanthemum, spinach... she bought a small handful of everything that could be cooked.
She also bought some soft tofu, a box of sliced beef, and shrimp paste.
Finally, looking at the various hot pot meatballs available for bulk in the freezer, she thought for a moment and decided to pack some to take home. After all, since her grandmother had mentioned it, she had to buy some, otherwise the old lady would be disappointed.
That concludes our supermarket visit for today.
After paying the bill and stuffing the items into the plastic bag one by one, Xu Ying realized that she had actually bought so much. The bag was so full that she couldn't fit everything in it.
However, it wasn't particularly heavy. She mostly bought vegetables, which looked fluffy and took up a lot of space, but were actually not heavy.
After putting a bag of things under the car seat, Xu Ying closed the seat cushion and was about to leave when her phone suddenly dinged; someone had sent her a message.
She took it out of her pocket and saw that it was Lin Zhongxu.
He posted a photo of his dinner, a tomato soup topped with enoki mushrooms and crispy pork, which looked incredibly delicious.
Lin Zhongxu: The food in the school cafeteria is really cheap. Guess how much this meal cost?
Looking at the photos, Xu Ying suddenly realized that she had forgotten to buy enoki mushrooms, and she didn't know if the supermarket had any crispy pork, which she also wanted to eat.
She glanced down at her seat cushion and figured no one would take her things if she left them there, so she went back to the supermarket feeling reassured.
After buying enoki mushrooms and crispy pork, she realized she hadn't replied to Lin Zhongxu's message.
Xu Ying: 20.
Since someone has asked this kind of question, you need to give them a way out and allow them to show off. If they immediately guess five yuan, then the game is over.
Sure enough, the other side immediately sent a happy emoji of a puppy wagging its tail.
Lin Zhongxu: If you guessed wrong, guess again.
Xu Ying smiled.
Xu Ying: 16
Lin Zhongxu: Let's guess what happens next.
Xu Ying: 14
Lin Zhongxu: Actually it's 13, isn't that super cheap!
Xu Ying: Really? Your school is amazing!
Lin Zhongxu: Of course it's true.
Lin Zhongxu: Let me show you the price list.
......
Xu Ying sat on her electric scooter at the supermarket entrance, chatting with Lin Zhongxu for a while before finally putting away her phone and going home.
*
That evening, while having hot pot at home, Grandpa Li suddenly asked Xu Ying if she wanted to take the civil service exam.
?
Xu Ying looked completely bewildered.
Grandpa Li put down his chopsticks and said earnestly, "You've been home for a while now. If you have nothing to do, you can try to prepare. Maybe you'll pass the exam."
Grandma Wang chimed in, "That's right! You're free anyway, so why not buy some books and give it a try? Whether it's for a civil service job, a public institution job, or a teaching position, whatever interests you, just give it a shot. You're smart, you'll definitely pass the exam if you want to!"
Xu Ying doesn't want to take the civil service exam, nor does she want to take the public institution exam or the teacher exam.
She explained, "I'm writing a novel now, so I have something to do and I can earn money to live on."
“Writing novels is one thing, but it won’t stop you from taking civil service exams or applying for government jobs. You still need a proper job, otherwise it’s hard to explain yourself to others.”
"Introduce, introduce what?"
Xu Ying sensed that something was wrong.
"Just a couple of days ago, a few people in the neighborhood were chatting, and someone mentioned that a young man from their relative's family was quite nice. I casually asked about him, and they probably thought I was afraid they'd introduce him to someone, so they quickly said they didn't need me to look him up. Ugh, I was so angry!"
Grandma Wang looked furious.
"I was just asking casually. I never intended to introduce you to anyone, but look at their attitude! Isn't it infuriating? They just think you're unemployed and stay at home all day!"
Grandpa Li also said, "We both support you in writing novels, but social status is still very important. If you don't have a proper job, people will look down on you, and it will be difficult for you to find a partner in the future."
Big cities are fine, but especially in their small county towns, they value the status of government employees.
Xu Ying found it funny.
She didn't expect that she had only been back for less than a year, or rather, only three months at most, when rumors about her had already started circulating in the neighborhood.
She's probably seen by other people as a vampire who clings to Grandpa Li and Grandma Wang, spending her days idly and being lazy.
puff.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing in front of the two elderly people.
The two men stared at her, completely bewildered.
She quickly waved her hand. She knew that Grandpa Li and Grandma Wang were saying this for her own good, because they were afraid that she would be looked down upon by others. But she really had no interest in working within the system, and she didn't care much about other people's opinions.
She decided to tell the truth.
"Grandpa and Grandma, actually, I'm only going back to my hometown for a short period of time. I'll definitely leave eventually; I won't live here forever..."
"Are you leaving?"
"Where are you going? Are you planning to work in another city?"
The two elderly people were very surprised.
They had little experience in the novel industry and didn't know how much money a famous writer could make. In their simple minds, Xu Ying was barely making ends meet, and they never even considered the possibility of her buying a house in another city.
"......"
Xu Ying didn't know what to say.
Saying she plans to buy a house in another city seems like wishful thinking, especially since she hasn't saved enough money yet.
"Yes, I'm planning to go to work in another city."
Buying a house and writing novels in another city can also be considered working in another city, she said vaguely, and then quickly changed the subject.
The two elderly people were relieved to know that she had a plan. As long as she had a plan, that was fine. What they were afraid of was that she would live her life in a daze.
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's bitter. You all thought I had a stockpile of drafts, but actually I write everything on the fly. I just set a specific time to publish it. [crying emoji]
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