Chapter 292 Making Things Difficult (Second Update)
The weather in Beijing at the end of May was muggy and hot, just like the height of summer.
Xiao Liulang has been at the Hanlin Academy for twenty days. He is a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, but as a newcomer, he is still mainly focused on learning.
In the morning, a special tutor or lecturer would give them lessons, which would last for one hour. The rest of the time they would study on their own.
If you encounter something you don't understand, you can privately consult the attendant or lecturer, or you can consult the Hanlin Academy scholars or the Five Classics Doctors.
The highest-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy was the Academician of the Hanlin Academy, a fifth-rank official. He was in charge of all matters of the Hanlin Academy and was very busy with official duties, so he generally did not have time to answer questions for newly arrived officials.
Below the Hanlin Academy scholars were two Attendant Readers and two Attendant Lecturers, all of whom were of the sixth rank. Their main job was to teach, and they were not limited to training Hanlin Academy officials and probationary scholars. If they were qualified enough, they had the opportunity to enter the palace to teach the emperor and the crown prince.
Xiao Liulang was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official.
The second-place scholar, Prince An, and the third-place scholar, Ning Zhiyuan, were appointed as compilers in the Hanlin Academy, holding the rank of seventh grade.
Below the three, there were nine Doctors of the Five Classics, who were of the eighth rank.
It is worth mentioning that among all the officials in the Hanlin Academy, only the Five Classics Doctors were hereditary.
Therefore, even though they did not hold high official ranks, they possessed profound literary knowledge and cultural background, and held a prominent position in the Hanlin Academy.
In addition, there were two clerks of the eighth rank, two scribes of the ninth rank, six imperial edict attendants of the ninth rank, and clerks of the first rank who were not included in the official ranks.
The duties of the Hanlin Academy varied in different dynasties. In this dynasty, the Hanlin Academy was in charge of drafting imperial edicts, compiling history, and writing documents, and also compiled the emperor's daily records.
After studying for a while, Xiao Liulang and the others gradually began to learn some basic literary matters.
Today, a compiler surnamed Yang summoned Xiao Liulang.
He is the most senior compiler, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will be promoted after the year-end assessment. Currently, all compilers in the Hanlin Academy are under his jurisdiction.
He asked Xiao Liulang to write an inscription, saying that His Majesty planned to rebuild the imperial mausoleum.
Half an hour later, Xiao Liulang handed over the inscription he had written to Yang Xiuzhuan.
After reading it, Yang Xiuzhuan frowned in dissatisfaction: "You are supposed to be the newly appointed top scholar, is this all you've got? Look at what you've written! If this kind of inscription is shown to His Majesty, it will surely enrage him!"
Xiao Liulang paused, then asked, "Then may I ask, which sentences would anger His Majesty?"
Yang Xiuzhuan looked incredulous: "Can't you see which sentences yourself? Do I need to teach you? How did you become the top scholar back then?"
Xiao Liulang pursed his lips, said nothing, and went back to rewrite it.
Yang Xiuzhuan was still not satisfied.
Xiao Liulang wrote seventeen or eighteen inscriptions in one morning, but they were all rejected by Yang Xiuzhuan.
Yang Xiuzhuan angrily said, "How come you can't even write a decent inscription? I think you don't need to eat lunch. Stay here and keep writing! Keep writing until I'm satisfied!"
After saying this, Yang Xiuzhuan abandoned Xiao Liulang and coldly went to the Hanlin Academy restaurant.
Xiao Liulang took the inscription back to his office and continued grinding ink, picking up his brush, and writing the inscription.
The weather was sweltering, and his office felt like a sauna. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat, which soaked his clothes.
Suddenly, a head wearing an official's hat poked its head in, pinched its nose, looked around, and only after confirming that no one was outside did it quietly slip into the house with a food box.
A dark shadow fell on his paper. Xiao Liulang paused in his writing and looked up at him: "Why are you here?"
Ning Zhiyuan placed the food box on the table and said, "I brought you some food! I ran into Feng Lin and Lin Chengye at the restaurant just now. They asked me why I didn't come to eat, and I told them you had already eaten."
As he spoke, he opened the lid of the food box.
It's not a very good dish.
He came from a poor family, and prices in the capital were high. His meager salary was not enough to cover his expenses each month.
He brought Xiao Liulang a bowl of plain noodles, sprinkled with a few scallions, and a dish of braised bean sprouts.
It's just that... Xiao Liulang's room is too close to the latrine. It's alright when the weather is cold, but now that it's hot, the smell is really strong.
He hurried to close the doors and windows.
The taste was finally a bit better, but the room felt more and more like a steamer.
"Eat quickly, eat quickly!" Ning Zhiyuan urged Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang didn't make a fuss. He took out his bowl and chopsticks and ate the plain noodles and braised bean sprouts.
The plain noodles were bland, and the braised bean sprouts were too salty, but he didn't complain and ate them all up.
In just a short while, Ning Zhiyuan was already soaked with sweat. I really don't know how Xiao Liulang gets through each day.
Seeing that Xiao Liulang had finished eating, Ning Zhiyuan, despite his exhaustion from heatstroke, went over and opened the doors and windows.
A gentle breeze blows, cooling you down... yet also intoxicating.
Xiao Liulang put away the bowls and chopsticks.
Ning Zhiyuan looked at the densely packed stack of inscriptions on his desk, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Did Yang Xiuzhuan embarrass you again?"
This isn't the first time.
The previous attempts were more subtle, only allowing him to rewrite three or five chapters, but today he wasn't even allowed to have lunch.
Ning Zhiyuan casually picked up a few inscriptions and looked at them, then said speechlessly, "They're much better than mine. He even praised me this morning... I think you shouldn't write anything new. Just pick one and hand it in. I bet he hasn't even looked at any of your previous ones!"
However, it cannot be denied that each of Xiao Liulang's epitaphs was indeed better than the last, but his first one was already amazing enough.
How did this guy do that?
"Did no one see you come over?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Ning Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Everyone's eating, no one's paying attention to me."
"Don't stay too long, go back early." Xiao Liulang said, taking out a silver ingot from his money bag. "This is for your meal."
Ning Zhiyuan waved his hand: "I don't want your money! I can afford a bowl of plain noodles!"
Xiao Liulang thought for a moment and then stopped trying to force it on him: "Okay, thank you."
Ning Zhiyuan sat there for a while longer. It was really stuffy and smelly. It was really hard on Xiao Liulang. He had to stay in such a harsh place every day and was constantly being bullied.
If it were him, he would probably have collapsed and resigned long ago.
"You... never mind."
He wanted to persuade Xiao Liulang to apologize to Prince An. Actually, it wasn't that Prince An was targeting him. Prince An had just arrived and couldn't command these people yet. Ning Zhiyuan guessed that it was at the behest of Grand Tutor Zhuang.
We need to make Xiao Liulang suffer a bit.
However, if Prince An is willing to mediate, he can protect Xiao Liulang to some extent.
After all, the three of them are the top three in this year's competition. They are disciples of the emperor, and their friendship is different from that of fellow students.
But he also understood that Xiao Liulang was not the kind of person who would outwardly comply but inwardly defy.
"Go back," Xiao Liulang said. "It's too hot here."
"Alright, I'm leaving." Seeing that he didn't want to delve deeper into the topic, Ning Zhiyuan sighed, picked up the food box, and carefully went out.
In the afternoon, Xiao Liulang gave Yang Xiuzhuan a new inscription he had written.
Yang Xiuzhuan naturally had a lot of critical remarks. If it weren't for the rules, he might have thrown this stack of inscriptions at Xiao Liulang's head.
"More trouble than they're worth!"
He sat back down in his chair, annoyed, and glared at Xiao Liulang: "What are you standing there for? Go rewrite it!"
Xiao Liulang turned and left.
"Hey—what kind of attitude is this—" Yang Xiuzhuan gritted his teeth, about to explode, when Prince An suddenly walked in.
He glanced at Xiao Liulang approaching, then at Yang Xiuzhuan, who was fuming, and said with a gentle tone tinged with a hint of guilt, "Did I come at the wrong time?"
"How could that be?" Yang Xiuzhuan's expression changed instantly. He stood up with a grin, came to Prince An, and bowed respectfully.
Prince An stepped aside to avoid his greeting and said politely, "There is no Prince An here, only Zhuang Yuheng. Yang Xiuzhuan is too polite."
"Ah...yes! Yes!" Yang Xiuzhuan laughed heartily, scratched his head, and asked, "Yuheng, is there something you need from me...uh...?"
Prince An said, "On the way here, I met Scholar Han. He said that there is a batch of historical books in the library of Yueluo Mountain that need to be edited. He asked you, Yang Xiuzhuan, to take a few people there and finish editing them today."
The library on Yueluo Mountain was donated by a recluse and contains many historical books from various dynasties, although some of the history needs to be revised.
Yang Xiuzhuan hurriedly said, "Alright, I'll take men over right away! Zhuang Bianxiu..."
“I can go,” Prince An nodded.
Yang Xiuzhuan smiled brightly.
Prince An looked at Xiao Liulang, who had already walked out, and said, "Take Xiao Xiuzhuan with you too. I remember he is very good at history."
Yang Xiuzhuan flattered, "I can't compare to you!"
However, since Prince An had spoken, Yang Xiuzhuan temporarily abandoned his plan to torture Xiao Liulang into writing the inscription, and instead took Xiao Liulang and Prince An's party to Yueluo Mountain outside the capital.
Ning Zhiyuan didn't go; he was called away by the attendant to do odd jobs in the afternoon.
(End of this chapter)
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