Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 144 Follow-up
"Wha...what?"

"Father, what do you mean by that?"

From Wu Zhengyuan's words, Wu Qihao vaguely understood something.

"Could it be... that my failure this time wasn't because my essay wasn't good enough?"

Wu Qihao's lips trembled, and he stammered!
"You traitor!"

Wu Zhengyuan shook his head and shouted angrily: "Now that things have come to this, don't you understand?"

"Ah!"

Wu Zhengyuan looked at his son kneeling in front of him and let out a cold laugh!
"Your uncle has already written to me!"

"He said that after you failed the exam, he immediately asked someone to consult the examiners at the time, and he even got the real reason for your failure from the deputy examiner, Magistrate Luo!"

A flame seemed to ignite in Wu Zhengyuan's eyes as he said with exasperation, "Lord Luo has pointed out that the chief examiner of this year disliked you because of your arrogant attitude at the examination hall, and therefore deliberately rejected your paper!"

Wu Zhengyuan didn't give his son any time to process the criticism, and continued to attack: "Moreover, your article is not particularly outstanding. Whether it's good or bad is debatable!"

"And it is because of your arrogance and recklessness that all these consequences have occurred!"

"you you……"

Wu Zhengyuan became increasingly angry as he spoke, and in the end, he was overcome with rage and fainted!

"boom!"

The sound of Wu Zhengyuan falling to the ground immediately startled Wu Qihao, who was kneeling on the ground in a daze!

"what?"

“Dad! Dad…”

Seeing the situation, Wu Qihao immediately became anxious!

Forget everything else, he quickly got up from the ground and scrambled towards his father who was lying on the ground!
"Someone is coming! Someone is coming quickly!"

"..."

For a time, the Wu family, one of the wealthiest families in Jiangning, was bustling with activity.

……

Bianliang City, the residence of the Duke of Qi.

"Tell me about it!"

"What exactly happened today?"

In a spacious and luxurious room, countless candles were lit, as if competing to show off their light, making the whole room dazzlingly bright.

However, in this brightly lit room, Buwei, kneeling on the ground, felt no warmth whatsoever. His entire body was enveloped in a chilling aura, as if he were naked in the freezing cold.

And the source of all this was none other than the noble lady sitting at the head of the table—Qi Heng's mother, the Princess Pingning, personally bestowed by the Emperor!
At this moment, Princess Pingning's clear and cold voice came again, seemingly casual, yet it was filled with anger without being imposing!
"Tell me everything!"

Buwei, kneeling below, had his head down, and the muscles on his face were twitching slightly.

"Your Majesty, I do not understand what you mean?"

After weighing the matter in her mind for a while, Buwei finally gritted her teeth and decided to keep the secret for her young master.

After all, Qi Heng treated Buwei very well. Although they were master and servant, they also had a brotherly relationship. So, during the time that Buwei watched his young master's unrequited love, he also felt a little sad. Now that Qi Heng finally had a glimmer of hope, he really couldn't bear to expose it and then have it extinguished!
"call!"

Princess Pingning paused abruptly while waving her fan, then slammed it onto the table.

"Boom!"

What was originally a very faint sound was amplified many times in the silent room where everyone was holding their breath.

"No, you'd better think this through!"

Princess Pingning's voice remained faint, yet it was as if she had a mouthful of ice, giving a chilling sensation the moment she spoke.

The current Duke of Qi feels this very well; for so many years, he has never been able to truly warm the heart of his wife.

"Your Highness, are you asking about what happened to the young master at the polo field today?"

Buwei wasn't stupid. Since Princess Pingning had already used a threatening and angry tone, he naturally couldn't remain silent.

"Miss!"

Hearing that Princess Pingning remained silent, Buwei had no choice but to continue, "Actually, the reason why the young master is here today is entirely because he pities the eldest daughter of Grand Secretary Yu, Miss Yanran." In order to protect Qi Heng's love, Buwei had no choice but to use Yu Yanran as a smokescreen, hoping to obscure Princess Pingning's view.

"The prize for that match was a keepsake from Yanran's deceased mother, because..."

"..."

He didn't explain everything that happened on the polo field in detail.

"Your Majesty, this is what happened!"

"Young Master only helped Miss Yanran because he felt sorry for her!"

Aside from mentioning Sheng Minglan's name when necessary, Buwei's words were all implying Yanran's importance in this matter.

"Humph!"

After listening, Princess Pingning gave a soft hum.

"Has your young master been acting strangely lately?"

After a brief silence, Princess Pingning asked another question.

"No, Your Majesty!"

Buwei naturally brushed it off with a casual reply: "Young Master has always been studying hard!"

"In fact, in preparation for the upcoming imperial examination, the young master has been constantly engrossed in his books, his mind completely focused on them. He only puts them down to rest his eyes when he's eating or sleeping!"

"Sometimes, even the little ones feel sorry for them when they see this!"

Buwei quietly raised his head and cautiously glanced at Princess Pingning above, feeling uneasy.

"I wonder if Her Majesty actually believed it or not?"

After Buwei said a few more similar things, Princess Pingning finally made a new move.

She waved her hand and said, "Alright, you can go back and serve your young master now!"

"Yes, madam!"

Upon receiving the order, he felt no joy in his heart, but showed no sign of it on his face. He simply bowed and slowly withdrew.

His demeanor throughout the journey was unhurried and showed great sincerity.

Inside the house, Princess Pingning watched Buwei's retreating figure with her slender eyes, remaining silent.

"Miss!"

The old nanny who served Princess Pingning, Wei Mama, suddenly spoke up: "You can finally rest assured this time!"

"With the young master studying so hard, he's sure to pass the imperial examination with flying colors!"

"Ah!"

Princess Pingning sneered, "You don't believe what this monkey says?"

Mrs. Wei paused for a moment: "Could it be that this kid is just spouting nonsense?"

Princess Pingning remained silent, clearly agreeing with this view.

"Your Majesty, then let this old servant go and capture this little monkey, and interrogate him properly!"

"never mind!"

Princess Pingning thought for a moment and then declined Wei Mama's suggestion, saying only, "The imperial examination is just around the corner, so let's not touch this boy!"

"After all, he is Yuan Ruo's close associate. If this affects Yuan Ruo's imperial examination, it would not be worth it!"

"Yes, madam!"

Princess Pingning waved her round fan, feeling inexplicably flustered!
"Could it be that Yuan Ruo, this child, has really come up with something?"

……

The next day.

After a good night's sleep, Sheng Changquan resumed his daily routine of reading, practicing calligraphy, and boxing, without the slightest relaxation after becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination.

That makes sense, after all, among the male members of the Sheng family, his academic record is still the lowest among the children.

(End of this chapter)