Since Consort Xuan was “badly ill”, the medicinal herbs were sent to King Xuan’s Manor like flowing water. The imperial physicians who had served Crown Prince Xieyue in the manor were all summoned to her. It was said that the sick Consort Xuan fell into a coma several times. After having “reformed his ways”, King Xuan had been deeply in love with Consort Xuan, and these days, he couldn’t find a time to accompany the envoys of the Southern Barbarian Lands.
Therefore, King Chu, Feng Yuxuan, had to free up some time to accompany Crown Prince Xieyue and Princess Caifeng. However, Princess Caifeng usually did not come out. When a woman’s face was hurt even though she wasn’t totally disfigured, she did not want to see too many people. Furthermore, King Chu was not the person she wanted to see.
As for King Xuan, since his wife was so ill, he could not be bothered with the envoys from the Southern Barbarian Lands!
When she heard that Consort Xuan was about to die from illness, Princess Caifeng stopped making a fuss these few days, but tried her best to create a gentle and gracious image. She even let go of all the matters concerning Hu Qianyue. Of course, Hu Qianyue had shown her loyalty many times and repeatedly said that something was odd about what had happened that day and that someone had framed her.
Originally, she was going to find Consort Yan, but soon after she came out, she met one of Consort Yan’s maidservants, who told her that Consort Yan was on the other side, so she went there with her people. Then she did not meet Consort Yan. As for what happened later, it was also beyond her expectation. Of course, Hu Qianyue also said that everyone was in a panic at that time, so she had forgotten to take responsibility for Princess Caifeng, and that it was their fault.
Because of this, two palace maids had been beaten 20 times. If not for the fact that Princess Caifeng did not bring many palace maids with her when they came and that she trusted the two of them who had been serving her and had never made such a misjudgment before, they would have been beaten to death immediately!
In the end, after Hu Qianyue repeatedly swore to the heavens, Princess Caifeng had officially forgiven her.
Happily, Princess Caifeng was ready to receive the news of Consort Xuan’s death.
King Yan, Feng Yulei, had stayed in his manor quietly ever since he returned that day. Only You Yuecheng and the Sixth Princess from the palace came to visit. The others did not dare to enter King Yan’s Manor at this time. Even if they wanted to, they did not dare to make any trouble right now.
The results of the examination had come out, and the next was the final imperial examination presided over by the Emperor. In the end, Qin Yufeng became the Number One Scholar and immediately rode through the streets for three days with the examiners. Among the top three candidates of this year, the man in the second place was a bit old and had reached his 40s, but the Number One Scholar and the man in the third place were both young and strong. Especially, the Number One Scholar was not yet 20 years old, which shocked the court and the commonalty for a while.
Furthermore, Qin Yufeng’s father, Qin Zheng, was also a high-ranking official in the imperial court. It was icing on the cake! With the help of his father and his own strength, it was foreseeable that he would have a bright future. Therefore, the Qin Manor was bustling with people. They all were the madams from a family’s back yard, and they were fighting for Qin Yufeng, trying to marry their daughter or niece into the Qin Manor.
So Mdm Yu got awfully busy!
Someone came to ask Qin Yufeng for the words written in the Number One Scholar’s own hand. Even Qin Zheng started to get busy. From time to time, there would be his colleagues who expressed their willingness to marry their daughter into the Qin Manor. Compared to the man in the third place, who didn’t have a very powerful support, Qin Yufeng was much better in every aspect.
Emperor Zongwen was also very enthusiastic about this. He was very satisfied with the top three in this examination. He would hold a banquet in the palace three days later to celebrate the three!
Officials of the third grade and above all attended the banquet with some of their family members. Emperor Zongwen intended to arrange a marriage for the Number One Scholar and the man in the third place, who had not yet gotten married. If the two families were satisfied with each other, Emperor Zongwen would issue an edict directly. Thus, the unmarried young ladies immediately grew anxious and all came to the good clothes stores and accessory stores. They hoped that they would be able to make a name for themselves and win the favor of the Number One Scholar.
The Qin Manor was in a big damn hurry, but Qin Yufeng was very free. After saying that he had to rest for a while after the examination, he went to the place where he had made an appointment with Xiang Xieyue that day. He sat in the private room and waited quietly. The two of them had already agreed that whether they passed the examination or not, they would meet for a drink after it.
Xiang Xieyue pushed open the door of the private room and found Qin Yufeng already sitting there. “Brother Qin, you came so early,” he hurriedly said with a smile.
“Brother Xiang, you’re late!” Qin Yufeng put down the book in his hand and smiled. His eyes fell on Xiang Xieyue’s pale face as a smile which was as warm as the spring breeze tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The two of them looked at each other and then burst out a gale of laughter.
Then Xiang Xieyue took a seat.
“Congratulations on being the Number One Scholar, Brother Qin. Then you will marry a beautiful girl. You’re so successful. Congratulations, Brother Qin.”
“Brother Xiang, you didn’t take the examination!” Qin Yufeng picked up the teapot beside him and poured a cup of tea for Xiang Xieyue. He then pushed the cup to the latter and asked with a casual smile.
It was not a question, but a statement!
“I’ve been in bad health, so in the end, I wasn’t fit to go out.” Xiang Xieyue coughed in a low voice and covered his mouth with a handkerchief. He really didn’t look well, and there was always abnormal paleness of illness and weakness on his face.
“What a pity! With your talent, Brother Xiang, you would definitely have passed the examination.” Qin Yufeng remarked sincerely. Then, he took out the book he had borrowed from Xiang Xieyue and pushed it to him.
“Many thanks for your book, Brother Xiang. It has solved my doubts!”
Xiang Xieyue took it and put it aside casually. He slightly coughed in confusion and asked, “Brother Qin, what you read is the book of rite and morality, and what you learn is also the knowledge of Confucianism, which is about governing the country and the world. How did you know such an unorthodox book of heresy?”
Xiang Xieyue took the book out because he intended to send it to those princes. Unexpectedly, Qin Yufeng was interested in it, which saved him from the trouble of bringing it here from the Southern Barbarian Lands. However, the book was full of anecdotes. Except for one matter, the rest was all useless. It was just an idle book. Then why would Qin Yufeng be interested in such a book? Xiang Xieyue felt it strange.
Did Qin Yufeng have the ability to predict the future? Xiang Xieyue certainly did not believe it.
The matter was originally a secret. The South Pearl necklace was given to the Qin Kingdom as a gift from his country. Even he only found the secret later. When he tried to fix it, it was too late. He could only hurriedly take the book with him. He wanted the Qin Kingdom to understand that this was not his idea. He also wanted to show goodwill to the Qin Kingdom.
Even if Qin Yufeng’s father was the Left Censor, it was not something that anyone who could know about as they wanted.
Qin Yufeng looked at Xiang Xieyue and said meaningfully, “As long as one book exists, it is attractive. These books may make people feel that they are absurd, but at the right time, everything is possible.”
Xiang Xieyue’s heart skipped a beat and his expression became serious. “Brother Qin, what do you mean?”
“I don’t mean anything particular. I just said what I felt. Just like the way of rebirth in it. Originally, it was impossible, but…” Qin Yufeng lowered his eyes so that no one could tell whether he was happy or angry. However, Xiang Xieyue was so sensitive that he noticed the loneliness in his eyes. That feeling should not have appeared on the new Number One Scholar.
“Rebirth?” Xiang Xieyue muttered to himself, and suddenly his eyes lit up with surprise. He immediately took the book beside and eagerly turned to one page. Then he pointed to the picture on it and asked, “Is this what you said, Brother Qin?”
The picture was so old that one might regard the flowing blood on it as yellow. But even so, the strong smell of blood was still overwhelming.
“Brother Xiang, you must be kidding. I was just casually mentioning it. Don’t take it seriously.” Qin Yufeng calmed down again. He looked up at Xiang Xieyue and asked with interest, “Brother Xiang, you care about it so much. Have you heard of such a matter as rebirth in the Southern Barbarian Lands?”
Xiang Xieyue’s expression changed drastically when he heard that. His eyes suddenly became sharp as he stared at Qin Yufeng. Qin Yufeng still looked calm. He smiled and did not retreat.
After a long time, Xiang Xieyue looked away, slightly coughed with his handkerchief covering his mouth, and asked, “When did you know about it, Brother Qin?”
“Brother Xiang, you’re so talented, but you couldn’t take the imperial examination because of your poor health. This kind of thing usually won’t happen. Even if one is weak, he would have a try even if he is ill or wounded now that he has entered the capital.” Qin Yufeng uttered gently and took a sip of tea with a smile on the corner of his eyes.
No matter where the candidates for the imperial examinations came from, since they had rushed all the way to the capital, it meant that they were very determined. How could they not take the examination at the last minute because they were not feeling well? Furthermore, he had such a book. There were some things in Qin Yufeng’s mind that he could not link them together. However, when he saw the book, he could immediately tell that the book was genuine.
Since this book was genuine, Xiang Xieyue would not have a simple identity!
If he remembered correctly, the envoys of the Southern Barbarian Lands had come to the capital recently. It was said that the name of Crown Prince Xieyue not only had a similar name to Xiang Xieyue in front of him, but he was also sick. There was no such coincidence in the world. With Qin Yufeng’s intelligence, he had already known that Xiang Xieyue was not an ordinary person.
Both of them were not ordinary people. Xiang Xieyue laughed after being stunned. Not feeling embarrassed, he picked up the tea next to him and took a sip. “Brother Qin, you really have a good eye. I thought I fooled you, but I didn’t expect you to be a truly discerning person. You have already seen my identity according to the book.”
“Brother Xiang, you flatter me. When you lent this book to me, you were no longer trying to hide your identity,” Qin Yufeng commented, neither humble nor arrogant. He was still as calm as before.
Since they had already made it clear, there was no need to hide it anymore. Originally, the two had a good opinion of each other, so they were naturally congenial. From time to time, they would discuss some topics in the book. This book was originally placed in front of the temple’s altar in the Southern Barbarian Lands. If it had been secretly taken out coincidentally, Xiang Xieyue would not have seen it.
The two continued talking for a while before they parted ways. This time, they made no appointment to see each other again. Previously, Xiang Xieyue had not revealed his identity, and Qin Yufeng was a man without rank. It was not a big deal for them to be close to each other. However, Qin Yufeng had known that Xiang Xieyue was the Crown Prince of the Southern Barbarian Lands, and Qin Yufeng was the new Number One Scholar of the imperial examinations. They should not get close to each other. They were both sensible. Even though they were congenial, they made no appointment.
Xiang Xieyue walked to the door, suddenly stood still, turned around, and asked again, “Brother Qin, is it really impossible for one to be reborn?”
“It’s impossible!” Qin Yufeng nodded. All the opportunities depended on coincidence and almost all possible opportunities were blocked.
Xiang Xieyue did not speak this time. His pale face darkened. He cupped his hands to Qin Yufeng, then pushed the door open and went out.
In the room, Qin Yufeng half-closed his eyes, and his handsome face showed a bit of sadness. He asked someone to order the wine, and then drank alone!
No one would understand why the new Number One Scholar, who had a bright future, was so depressed..
