The requirements are not high; graduation is sufficient.
"Why are you pulling me?! You scared me to death!" Tang Feng followed behind Shen Qinghang, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, arms crossed. "Scared you to death? You're telling me you were scared to death? You seem quite happy!" Shen Qinghang turned to look at Tang Feng. "I don't know what His Highness Prince Duan sees in you, that he would go to such lengths to secure such a favor for you." Shen Qinghang muttered as he turned back. Zhou Ziliang gained Prince Duan's favor because he held military power, fought on all fronts year-round, and the Zhou family were influential figures in the court, able to speak with the emperor. But Tang Feng... Shen Qinghang sighed. He truly didn't know what merits Tang Feng possessed. Although he had mentioned to Prince Duan that Tang Feng was a promising talent, he hadn't said he was an exceptional one! Tang Feng was too lazy; if he were to shoulder great responsibilities, he was destined to suffer greatly.
Shen Qinghang and Tang Feng didn't say much along the way, each walking separately. "This is it. It's not convenient for me to go in, so you go in by yourself! Also, remember to bow!"
"Oh, I know, I know, it's just Little Li! It's no big deal," Tang Feng waved his hand. He wasn't afraid of Li Yunrui to begin with. Li Yunrui was different from Li Yunheng; he had a kind and gentle appearance. In addition, Tang Feng had spent a lot of time with Li Yunye and Li Wuyou in the past few days, which made him feel even more that Li Yunrui was down-to-earth.
"Little...Little Li? You want to die! That's His Highness Prince Duan, not some neighbor you can't even greet! Call him Your Highness! Call him Your Highness! Call him Your Highness! Do you hear me?!"
Tang Feng didn't respond to Shen Qinghang's words. He waved his hand at him, lifted his robe, and stepped inside. "Your Highness, Prince Duan, you wanted to see me?" Tang Feng greeted Li Yunrui with clasped hands and a respectful bow.
When Li Yunrui saw Tang Feng arrive, he put down his teacup and gestured to the cushion opposite him. "Sit down! Sit down! You don't need to be so formal. Today I just wanted to talk to you about the exam."
"An exam?" Tang Feng picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. "What exam? Don't tell me you're going to rig this exam!" He then put down the teapot, leaned close to Li Yunrui's ear, and whispered, "Well, let me tell you, you know Lu Changyuan, right? Don't let him pass. Just seeing him... makes my heart ache. You know that morning sickness in early pregnancy, right? That feeling..."
Li Yunrui chuckled upon hearing this. "You even know that! I may be able to pull strings behind the scenes, but I don't intend to manipulate others. I intend to manipulate you instead." He then pulled a stack of papers from under the table and read aloud, "Equestrianism, Grade 3; Chess, Grade 3; Tea Ceremony, Grade 3; Calligraphy, Grade 3; Archery, Grade 2; History, Grade 3; Poetry, Grade 1. Except for poetry, you haven't passed a single one!"
Tang Feng chuckled, scratching his head after hearing this, "Not bad, not bad. Your information is pretty accurate, you just finished the exam a few days ago!"
"I wasn't praising you," Li Yunrui sighed. "I called you here to ask if you've decided where you want to go."
Tang Feng shrugged and laughed, "Why should I think about this? You've already arranged it for me!"
You know?
"I don't know! I just wanted to tease you." Tang Feng took a sip of tea. "I know what you're thinking. You want to use me as a contact to get closer to Zhou Ziliang, no problem; as for me?" Tang Feng pointed to the report card on the table. "I just want to leave the academy safely. I guess we can have a win-win situation!"
"Do you know what I like about you?" Li Yunrui stared at the folding fan in Tang Feng's hand, then nodded. "I like your quick wit and calm demeanor. I heard you cured the floodwaters over there?"
"I guess so!" Tang Feng rubbed his legs, which were a little sore from kneeling, then plopped down on the ground. "I just happened to have a dream about a method for controlling floods, so I used it."
"You've got some nerve, using a method you only dreamed about here. What if it doesn't work? Aren't you afraid of getting your head chopped off?"
"Beheading?" Tang Feng laughed loudly, almost spitting water in Li Yunrui's face. "What a joke! This swamp has been flooding for over ten years, and countless officials have tried to control it, but I don't think any of them have succeeded! His Majesty is merciful, not even punishing the officials, so why bother with a mere infant like me?"
Li Yunrui stared at Tang Feng for a long time without saying a word, then suddenly burst into laughter. "I told Qinghang you're a once-in-a-lifetime genius, but he didn't believe me. Here, take this!" Li Yunrui took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and threw it to Tang Feng. "When you get back to Xiling, go work at the pawnshop. With grades like this, even if you were assigned to one of the Six Ministries, it would be a waste." Li Yunrui picked up Tang Feng's paper again and looked at it closely. "How on earth did you do so poorly?"
“This is a case of 'silent until the moment of truth,'” Tang Feng picked up his waist token, hid it in his robes, then stood up and patted his backside. “Prince Duan, oh no! Crown Prince, I can go to the pawnshop. You can also boldly use me to get close to Zhou Ziliang. But to put it bluntly, Zhou Ziliang and I aren't married yet. You'd better think carefully about this deal that's not even close to happening. Also, I have no intention of getting involved in the struggle for the throne. You've seen it yourself; I simply don't have the brains for that. As for Zhou Ziliang, that depends on your own abilities. Finally, can I ask you three questions?”
"Threatening me?" Li Yunrui narrowed his eyes. "Tell me."
I hope you will answer truthfully.
"That depends on what you want to ask," Li Yunrui stood up and looked at Tang Feng. "Speak! What do you want to ask?"
"Where is the Fire Talisman now?"
Before the memorial tablet of the Empress Dowager
Has anyone touched it?
"It's heavily guarded and riddled with traps; getting in is easy, but getting out is difficult."
"Six years ago, I went to the Emperor to request a marriage decree. Were you present then?"
"Present"
"Should I go anywhere else?"
“I’ve answered the three questions,” Li Yunrui smiled. “We can ask the other questions when we do the transaction later!”
Tang Feng shrugged. "Alright! If you have nothing else, I'll head back." Tang Feng bowed and turned to leave, but as he reached the door, Li Yunrui called out to him, "Tang Feng, if you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet."
"Then we'll meet force with force, and water with earth." After Tang Feng stepped out of the courtyard, he saw Zhou Ziliang standing at the door waiting for him. Tang Feng smiled at him, "How did you know I was here?"
"Brother Mo Bai has been shouting himself hoarse, how could I not know?" Zhou Ziliang pulled Tang Feng's hand and turned around, saying, "Let's go! Let's go back, otherwise Brother Mo Bai will definitely be worried. You know, Brother Mo Bai is younger than you, yet he still has to take care of you, aren't you ashamed?" Zhou Ziliang turned and gently pinched Tang Feng's nose, but Tang Feng pulled his hand away. "This little madman has always liked to worry, what's it to you! Don't try to sow discord between us."
"Alright, I won't stir things up anymore. Let's go! My senior brother brewed a pot of fine tea today, saying we should all enjoy it together."
"Ziliang..." Tang Feng slowly stopped in his tracks. "Aren't you going to ask me what I was doing just now?"
“If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. Of course, I won’t force you,” Zhou Ziliang smiled. “Do you think you’re a prisoner in jail? You’re someone I cherish dearly!”
Tang Feng blushed slightly, his toes tracing patterns on the ground like a compass, and then said, "Prince Duan mentioned to me about getting me a job at the pawnshop."
"You said yes to him?"
Tang Feng nodded, took out the waist token from his pocket, and handed it to Zhou Ziliang. "We made a deal. He wants to use me to get close to you, and I want to use him to avoid taking the exam."
"You're quite the schemer," Zhou Ziliang tapped Tang Feng's forehead. "To avoid the exam, you just sold your husband off like that?"
"Who sold you out!" Tang Feng pouted and rolled his eyes at Zhou Ziliang. "I told Prince Duan that getting close to him through me is no problem, but whether Zhou Ziliang is willing or not is his business. What does it have to do with me?"
Zhou Ziliang didn't say anything and turned to continue walking. Tang Feng followed behind him, tugging at Zhou Ziliang's sleeve and shaking it. "You...you're not angry anymore! I...I just..."
"Do you think I have such a bad temper?" Zhou Ziliang grabbed Tang Feng's hand and held it tightly. "I was just thinking, my wife is quite clever, she even knows how to make deals with princes. I really didn't make a mistake marrying you."
Zhang Mobai saw Zhou Ziliang, beaming, leading a reluctant Tang Feng at the courtyard gate. He stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy? Come in, Yang Fei has already prepared tea and is just waiting for you."
"It's nothing," Zhou Ziliang smiled. "I said a few words to her, and she got upset with me."
"Who's throwing a tantrum at you! Men are all the same!" Tang Feng put his hands on his hips, shoved Zhou Ziliang aside, and put his arm around Zhang Mobai, saying, "He's no good either, he just bullies me, he calls me stupid!"
"Bully you? You should take a good look at what you just said. How did I bully you?"
"Fine, fine! Go ahead and show off your love. Stay away from us." Zhang Mobai pushed Zhou Ziliang away. "No matter whose fault it is, it's your fault. Little brother, have you forgotten something?"
"Forgot what?" Tang Feng looked at Zhang Mobai with a puzzled expression.
"Recite! Recite! How many times do I have to remind you? Will you ever graduate?" Zhang Mobai felt sorry for Tang Feng and didn't dare to hit him, but he was so angry that he grabbed Yang Fei's ear. "If you don't take it seriously, I'll do this to you!"
Tang Feng pulled out his waist token from his pocket and waved it at Zhang Mobai. "That's really not necessary. In fact, going to see Prince Duan has turned out to be a blessing in disguise."
Zhang Mobai took the token and examined it carefully. Judging from the pattern and texture, it was indeed a pawnshop's token. Zhang Mobai stared at the iron rice bowl in shock. Had the path ahead been paved for him in just one hour? "Tell me, tell me, how did you manage to trick people into giving you this token?"
"What do you mean by lying! He gave it to me willingly!" Tang Feng shrugged. "Anyway, at least I can go back safely now. It's so great not having to study anymore." After saying that, Tang Feng turned and went back into his room. Ever since Zhang Mobai decided to supervise his studies, he hadn't had a few good nights' sleep. With this matter resolved, Tang Feng felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
Seeing Tang Feng return to the house, Zhang Mobai asked in a low voice, "How exactly did you get the waist token, little brother?"
"Sigh, how else could I get it? By trading it with me, of course."
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