Chapter 64
After the imperial examination results came out, no one expected that Zheng Dehao, who had always been unreliable, would actually be the top scorer. Not only did his friends not believe it, but he himself had to confirm it several times.
Until he stood at the door of Zichen Palace.
Zheng Dehao and Feng Da, the servant who grew up with him, had been hesitating at the door of the Zichen Palace and were afraid to go in. Feng Da knew his young master well. He would stutter nervously when encountering any big things, and now this old habit had come back again.
So Feng Da kept chatting with him to ease his tension.
Feng Da was in high spirits when he patted his young master on the shoulder and said jokingly, "I thought you wouldn't be able to pass the imperial examination in your next life! I didn't expect you to pass it!"
The two grew up together and were close as brothers. Young Master Zheng didn't take it to heart, but just kept nervously seeking his affirmation, "Feng Da, I should be able to do well in the palace without you!"
He looked at his young master's bewildered appearance, a trace of helpless indulgence flashed across his eyes. He reached out and patted the other's trembling shoulder: "Just be careful, don't be unable to walk when you see Her Royal Highness the Princess!"
Zheng Dehao murmured softly, "The princess probably doesn't know what I look like!"
Feng Da advised, "No matter what, be careful not to get discovered!"
Zheng Dehao: "Okay!"
Zheng Dehao took a deep breath, and the ambergris wafting from the depths of the palace filled his lungs, mixed with the cool breeze. Just as he was about to step onto the first step, he suddenly heard the jingling of imperial bells.
At the western corner gate, a sedan chair slowly descended. The bearer knelt and gently lowered the poles to the ground. The curtain was lifted by a serving palace maid with a silver hook. First to descend were a pair of white silk slippers embroidered with lotus flowers, stepping on the scarlet felt carpet.
Zheng Dehao and Feng Da subconsciously stopped and looked over the falling curtain of the sedan chair.
As the woman stood up with the help of the palace maid, her moon-white gauze skirt rippled with her movements, and the Bodhi leaves embroidered with silver thread on the hem of her skirt gleamed in the sunlight.
She had just returned from Jing'an Temple outside the city, with a fresh branch of white magnolia pinned in her hair. The dew condensed on the petals slid down her hair and wet the pearl necklace around her neck.
"Long live Princess Yongning." The eunuchs guarding the corner gate bowed in unison, their voices echoing softly in the empty palace corridor.
Zheng Dehao finally came to his senses and quickly stood sideways at the bottom of the stairs.
He watched the white figure walk by and smelled the cool fragrance carried by her skirt. It was not the incense commonly used in the palace, but rather the scent of sandalwood mixed with morning dew, which was unique to the temple.
The cuffs of her gauze skirt were embroidered with half a verse of the Heart Sutra. The stitching was so fine that no thread ends were visible. It seemed that she had specially changed into plain clothes when she was copying sutras in the temple.
Yongning did not notice Zheng Dehao at the bottom of the stairs. She just lowered her eyes slightly and walked slowly towards the Princess Palace in the east.
Zheng Dehao looked at the white figure gradually moving away, and he murmured, "I really think I've seen her somewhere!"
However, he then shook his head, clearing his mind of thoughts, and whispered to the moon-shaped door, whose back he could not see, "She looks so inhumane, with a pointed face and monkey cheeks. Since ancient times, women should be like our princess!"
That's right, a big part of the reason why Zheng Dehao came to take the imperial examination was to be able to see his dream lover again, and his dream lover was the princess with whom he was exchanging letters at the time.
Feng Da, who was standing nearby and watching the whole thing, complained, "What happened to you, young master? How could you go blind at such a young age?"
Zheng Dehao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Let's go!"
——
Years of incense ash accumulated in the cracks of the golden brick floor of the Purple Palace. The gilded bells hanging from the eaves swayed gently in the draft, but not a single sound could penetrate deep into the palace.
Zheng Dehao could see through his lowered eyelids that his toes were curled up tightly in his official boots, and the hem of his red robe swept across the cold ground, raising fine dust.
"Your Highness, he is Zheng Dehao, the top scorer in this imperial examination." Eunuch Ma bowed and said.
When Zheng Dehao heard the word "Your Highness", he hurriedly kowtowed deeply according to the rules taught by the Ministry of Rites, with his forehead almost touching the twined branches pattern carved on the gold brick.
A very light sound came from above, as if a jade ruyi was knocking on a rosewood armrest.
Zheng Dehao held his breath and glanced upwards out of the corner of his eye, just in time to see that Crown Prince Li Yin's fingers, which were supporting his chin, were slightly bent.
"Raise your head." Li Yin's voice was deeper than expected, with the clarity unique to young people, but also wrapped in a majesty that could not be ignored.
Zheng Dehao's heart skipped a beat. When he slowly stood up, he met those black jade eyes. There was no scrutiny of first sight in them, but instead a kind of casual scrutiny, as if he was looking at the newly planted magnolia in front of the steps outside the hall. He was curious, but also had an innate alienation.
The ambergris in the incense burner curled up and wove an invisible net between the beams.
Zheng Dehao suddenly felt his throat tighten, and a slight tingling sensation spread across his fingertips. He quickly bowed his head and said in a gesture of loyalty, "Your Highness, I am willing to die for Your Majesty and serve you with all my strength, even if my bones turn to dust..."
Li Yin interrupted and said nonchalantly, "There's no need to go to that extent."
Zheng Dehao looked confused when he saw this.
Li Yin continued, "I see that you are interested in military tactics and have great talent, so I have assigned you the position of Left Attendant of the Xuanwu Camp. Let me see your abilities!"
When Zheng Dehao heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes for a moment, and then he thought of what Feng Da said, and quickly concealed his expression, returning to normal, calm and respectful.
Then, he knelt on his knees, leaned forward, and knocked his forehead heavily on the ground with a dull sound. He bowed deeply and said, "Yes, thank you, Your Highness."
Li Yin was just about to ask him to leave when Luo Sanrong happened to come into the hall to deliver a memorial. Li Yin tilted his head and asked Luo Sanrong to come forward. The two smiled at each other tacitly.
When Luo Sanrong placed the memorial on the low table and turned around, Zheng Dehao, who was secretly looking up, met her eyes. Luo Sanrong couldn't help but exclaimed: "Mr. Zheng..."
Zheng Dehao's expression was no less serious.
Li Yin looked at their expressions and asked tentatively, "Do you two know each other?"
The two paused, then looked at each other. Luo Sanrong thought it was better to mind her own business, so she replied, "I don't know him." Unexpectedly, Zheng Dehao and she had no tacit understanding, so she directly admitted, "I know him."
Li Yin showed an interested expression.
Luo Sanrong cursed inwardly, then adjusted his expression and said, "We've only met a few times before on Yuncong Street."
Seeing this, Zheng Dehao agreed, "That's right."
Li Yin knew that there was something hidden between them, but he wanted to wait for Luo Sanrong to tell him in person, so he didn't intend to pursue it. He waved his hand and said, "I understand, leave!"
Luo Sanrong quickly pulled Young Master Zheng out, and the two of them walked to the secluded bamboo forest behind the East Palace. As soon as they got out, Zheng Dehao swore and promised, "Sanrong, don't worry, I will never tell anyone. Don't worry."
Zheng Dehao was talking about helping someone write love letters and meeting the princess on his behalf, but he didn't know that Li Yin had already known about these things.
"That's good, that's good." She said it twice, her voice still trembling slightly from having just relaxed. Then she leaned closer, her eyes full of inquiry, and asked softly, "But how did you get the top score? Is this... really the top scorer?"
Zheng Dehao nodded and said, "Yes, it's true. I can't believe it myself."
Zheng Dehao was about to continue saying something when he was suddenly interrupted by a figure in the distance, as if he was being strangled by the neck.
Luo Sanrong followed Zheng Dehao's gaze and saw that it was Princess Yongning.
Princess Yongning also saw Luo Sanrong and came over excitedly to say hello. In her heart, Luo Neiguan was someone her brother trusted, so she was willing to be close to him.
When Princess Yongning approached and looked around in confusion, Luo Sanrong was just about to introduce Zheng Dehao to the princess, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the person who was standing next to her disappeared. Luo Sanrong sighed inwardly.
The wind from the corridor blew past with the sweet scent of tuberose. Princess Yongning paused slightly while holding the fan. The tassels inlaid with pearls on her temples swayed slightly as she tilted her head, making her almond-shaped eyes, which were filled with doubt, appear even clearer.
"Just now..." she said softly, her gaze fixed on the person opposite her. "I saw a figure standing beside you. How come it disappeared in the blink of an eye?"
Luo Sanrong was trying to figure out how to cover up her lie when she was interrupted by Princess Yongning, who leaned closer to her and teased, "Why do you look so flustered?"
Luo Sanrong blurted out, "Ah? No? I just noticed that you've become very different."
Then, after taking a closer look, he said, "But is your nose naturally this high?"
Yongning didn't get angry either, and replied with a smile: "Really? This princess only recently realized that my nose bridge is so high."
The two chatted for a while, and Princess Yongning looked at the sky and said, "I should go now, Neiguan Luo. See you next time."
“.....”
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