Chapter 298 Strength (First Update)
Ning Zhiyuan felt deeply sorry for Xiao Liulang.
This was his first time in the capital, but not his first time in officialdom. He had worked as a teacher at the prefectural school and as a temporary clerk under the county magistrate when he was in the countryside.
He had witnessed the darkness and infighting in officialdom firsthand, but he never expected that such injustices could occur in a place as upright as the Hanlin Academy.
Actually, his life wasn't very smooth either, but this kind of misfortune was within the normal range. He had no power, influence, or background, so he wasn't taken seriously by others.
Xiao Liulang, however, was deliberately suppressed.
It's just that Xiao Liulang had a good mentality and didn't break down; anyone else would have broken down long ago.
Ning Zhiyuan said nothing more, patted him on the shoulder, sighed, and left.
Xiao Liulang went out to wash his brush, and when he arrived at the ink-washing pool, Prince An happened to be there as well.
He doesn't need to do things himself; someone else will do them for him.
He was surrounded by a group of colleagues who congratulated him one by one.
"I heard that Editor Zhuang got first place in the exam. That's what you call true gold that fears no fire!"
"Yes! This time, no one dared to show favoritism!"
As they spoke without any restraint, they couldn't help but cast meaningful glances at Xiao Liulang.
The story of how Xiao Liulang achieved first place had already spread throughout the capital. It was said that he simply had a face that resembled that of the young Marquis of Zhaodu by seven or eight points, and that he had gained the favor of the young Marquis's father and his fellow disciple.
Even his top scholar ranking was deliberately waived by the emperor in order to suppress the bookmakers.
However, the emperor could not interfere in everything. The Hanlin Academy was a place where the emperor's lineage could not reach. Sure enough, he was exposed for what he was doing in the first Hanlin examination!
Don't assume that scholars are more subtle in their speech than country shrews. Country shrews are just loud, their words are rough and their reasoning is blunt, and they don't hit the nail on the head.
When scholars start to curse, they can dissect a person's heart; their words are sharp and incisive.
However, the officials of the Hanlin Academy were not as unscrupulous as the young playboys of the Imperial Academy. They valued their reputation and would not actually corner Xiao Liulang here or do anything to him, nor would they deliberately trip him up to embarrass him.
They would only use their power to suppress him, or band together to ridicule and isolate him.
Xiao Liulang's expression did not change much.
He planned to leave after washing his brushes.
“…It should be calculated like this, the answer is twenty-seven.” After explaining the answer to an editor who had asked him for help with an arithmetic problem, Prince An called out to Xiao Liulang, “Wait a minute.”
Xiao Liulang stopped and looked at him calmly: "What is it?"
Prince An said, “The Hanlin Academy is a place of fair competition. No matter what others say, I hope you understand that here, it is based on merit. You know in your heart how you became the top scholar. The Hanlin Academy will not give Marquis Xuanping any opportunity to interfere. You really shouldn’t have sided with Marquis Xuanping in the first place.”
If one were to become a military general, it would be understandable to join the Marquis of Xuanping.
He's clearly a scholar, but the dealer is the biggest tree in the tree!
Xiao Liulang didn't respond to Prince An's words, but glanced at the question in the hands of a certain editor and said, "Nineteen."
After saying that, he left with a calm expression.
Prince An frowned.
What nineteen?
The editor was studying Prince An's solution process and didn't dare to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Prince An walked over, picked up the problem, and looked at it again. He suddenly realized that he had omitted a number in the seventh step, so the final calculation result was—
Prince An took the paper and pen and did the calculations on the draft paper.
nineteen!
How could he have known?!
Had he done this problem before? It's unlikely that he just listened to Editor Zhang read the question aloud and then mentally calculated the answer.
impossible!
He's not that smart!
Such a massive amount of calculation would take an ordinary person a whole day to work on paper, and even a Hanlin scholar, who was more intelligent than the average person, would still need half an hour to complete it.
He was exceptionally intelligent, so it only took him a quarter of an hour, but that still required writing out the complex and extensive calculation steps on paper.
And he also miscalculated.
How could Xiao Liulang possibly calculate it correctly using only mental arithmetic?
After finishing his duty, Prince An boarded his carriage to return to his residence and was surprised to find that Grand Tutor Zhuang was also in the carriage.
"Grandfather," Prince An bowed, "what brings you here?"
"I was just passing by and thought I'd drop by to see you," said Grand Tutor Zhuang in a good mood.
Ever since Empress Dowager Zhuang sent Zhuang Yuexi home from the palace, Grand Tutor Zhuang had not shown such a joyful expression for many days.
Prince An couldn't help but ask, "Grandfather, why are you so happy? Is there some great news?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang's appreciative gaze fell on him, and he could not hide his smile: "Indeed, this is a joyous occasion."
There weren't many things that my grandfather would consider a happy occasion...
Prince An looked at Grand Tutor Zhuang with a puzzled expression. For some reason, an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.
Grand Tutor Zhuang finally stopped keeping him in suspense and smiled at Prince An, saying, "Chief Minister Yuan has feelings for you."
"Chief Minister Yuan?" Prince An was startled.
Yuan, the chief minister, is the pillar of the Zhao Kingdom and the undisputed first chief minister of the cabinet.
Why would he suddenly have feelings for me?
It wasn't that Prince An was being self-deprecating or felt he lacked the ability; it was simply that his reputation had already spread far and wide, and if Chief Minister Yuan wanted to take a liking to him, he would have done so long ago.
If it was because of this imperial examination, he only ranked second, while above him was Xiao Liulang, the newly appointed champion.
Grand Tutor Zhuang smiled and said, "When you went to Yueluo Mountain to organize the library, he saw the ancient books you organized and was very satisfied with you."
Prince An was also very satisfied with the ancient books he had compiled.
He read extensively from a young age, and even while serving as a hostage in the State of Chen, he never neglected his studies, and he also excelled in history.
He didn't organize many ancient books that day, but he was confident that he had done the best among them.
"Chief Minister Yuan loves studying ancient books," said Grand Tutor Zhuang.
"I see." Prince An suddenly realized, no wonder he suddenly took a liking to him. "Then... does he intend to take me as his disciple?"
That would be wonderful if I could become a disciple of Chief Minister Yuan.
Although they were all considered disciples of the emperor after passing the imperial examination, none of them would complain about having such an excellent teacher.
In his view, among the six kingdoms, only four people were qualified to be his teachers.
One is the late Master Feng, another is the Hermit of Hanshan in Yan, another is Mr. Lianyun in Zhao, and the third is Chief Minister Yuan.
Even his fourth uncle, Zhuang Xianzhi, wasn't quite qualified.
As for Huo Jijiu, he was at odds with Empress Dowager Zhuang, so Prince An naturally didn't like him much either.
“He’s not a disciple, he’s my grandson-in-law,” said Grand Tutor Zhuang.
Prince An frowned.
Grand Tutor Zhuang said, "The girl he wants to marry to you is his granddaughter who grew up in a Taoist temple. She is quite talented, and Grand Secretary Yuan values her highly. It's a pity that she is a woman and cannot inherit Grand Secretary Yuan's mantle. If you really marry her, you will be no different from Grand Secretary Yuan's disciple."
How can there be no difference?
They're from different generations.
Prince An didn't say that.
He has no say in his marriage. It doesn't matter who he marries, since he doesn't marry the woman he desires.
After being promoted, Yang Shidu was busy teaching the junior scholars at the Hanlin Academy and didn't have time to make things difficult for Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang dismissed his duties on time.
He packed his things and left the Hanlin Academy.
He had just left when Editor Cen came out of his office.
He had been avoiding Xiao Liulang for the past two days, partly because he had anticipated Xiao Liulang's guilty conscience, and partly to observe when Xiao Liulang would confront and complain to Yang Shidu.
After leaving the Hanlin Academy, Xiao Liulang headed west.
He clearly remembered that Xiao Liulang always headed east...
Did he really go to complain to Yang Shidu?
The west side happens to be the direction of the Hanlin Academy.
Xiao Liulang did indeed go to the Hanlin Academy, but he didn't go to see Yang Shidu; instead, he went to see Feng Lin and Lin Chengye. He had compiled some astronomy and mathematics problems last night, which should be suitable for their current progress.
Editor Cen followed furtively.
He saw Xiao Liulang heading towards the Hanlin Academy, and his heart jumped into his throat!
Unexpectedly, Xiao Liulang was stopped halfway there.
It was a woman!
The woman was beautifully dressed, with delicate features and adorned with jewels. Despite wearing a veil, she still exuded charm.
Editor Cen felt his eyes widen after just one glance.
The woman did not approach.
It was her maid who went over and said something to Xiao Liulang.
From Cen's perspective, he could only see Xiao Liulang's back; he didn't know what Xiao Liulang's expression was, nor could he hear their voices.
Then, Xiao Liulang left.
The maid and the woman both gave Xiao Liulang a slight bow.
I went to a relative's house for a family gathering today. Everyone was playing cards, but I was the only one typing...
(End of this chapter)
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