good season

After leaving the palace, Yan Xia did not go directly to the Ministry of Justice, but returned to his residence first. This case was difficult to handle, and he needed to calm down and think it over carefully.

He decided to go home to get his books and go to the Imperial College for classes.

Yan Xia was a student at the Imperial Academy, but he could only attend classes a few days a month. As a result, he had been at the Imperial Academy for five years but had not yet been promoted.

The Imperial Academy of the Dayong Dynasty followed the example of the previous dynasty and established four halls and six chambers.

Students entering the Imperial Academy were divided into three classes based on their grades. Those who completed the Four Books could enter the three primary halls, with a study period of one and a half years. After passing the exam, those who passed would enter the Hall of Cultivating the Way and the Hall of Sincerity, with a study period of one and a half years. After passing the exam again, those who were proficient in both classics and history and excelled in both literature and science could enter the highest class of the Imperial Academy, the Hall of Spontaneous Nature. The Hall of Spontaneous Nature adopted a credit system, and students could graduate once they had earned enough credits.

The Jinshi degree was the first-class degree, while the Jiansheng degree was the second-class degree. Although Jiansheng graduates could also enter officialdom, the imperial court had a rule that "only Jinshi can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only Hanlin scholars can enter the Grand Secretariat." Those Jiansheng selected from various regions who wanted to make a good career would mostly participate in the imperial examination after becoming Jiansheng and enter officialdom as Jinshi.

However, for noble sons like Yan Xia, and for hostages in the capital, participating in the imperial examinations would be pointless.

The hostages would study at the Imperial Academy. The Imperial Academy even opened a special junior class for these hostages and nobles. Most of them entered the academy at the age of five or six, learning while playing. After the age of fifteen, they entered the Zhengyi Hall, one of the three primary halls of the Imperial Academy, without taking an exam.

The Imperial Academy had very low requirements for them; while others were assessed on their exam scores, they were assessed on their attendance.

For each day they attended, a red circle would be drawn under their corresponding name in the attendance book. The Justice Hall would take a year and a half, and the Cultivation Hall a year and a half, which would add up to three years. In these three years, as long as they accumulated seven hundred red circles, they could be promoted to the Free Spirit Hall without taking an exam.

Ordinary students who wanted to graduate from the Imperial Academy needed to take an exam, and after the exam, they had to do an internship. They still had to draw circles, and once they reached a certain number of red circles, they would graduate from the Imperial Academy.

The hostages could continue to stay at the Imperial Academy and coast along (no need to draw circles or take exams, just coast along), while the sons of noble families could seek a proper official position in the Six Ministries and the Court of Judicial Review, instead of having their fathers arrange a low-ranking military post in the Five City Garrison or the Banner Guard. Those with hereditary titles would have a better future, unlike ordinary students who would only be fourth or fifth-rank officials until their death.

In other words, for the sons of noble families, the Imperial Academy was like a gilded medal.

As long as they draw enough red circles at the Imperial College, a bright future awaits them.

However, these seven hundred red circles were an insurmountable obstacle for Yan Xia.

This is his sixth year at the Imperial College, and he has only accumulated a little over two hundred red circles. In other words, at this rate, let alone graduating, it will take him another twelve years to even be promoted to the Shuaixing Hall!
However, no one dared to laugh at him; the last person to do so had been hung on a large tree in front of the Imperial College.

Upon returning to his residence, Yan Xia began searching for his books. The Duke of Wei's mansion now only housed his family of five. Although their living quarters were spacious, there were only two study rooms.

One room belonged to the Duchess Yu. It was more of an accounting room than a study. Every day, Madam Yu would look at the account books, issue orders, and occasionally play mahjong or dominoes.

The other room belonged to the father and his two sons. Of course, when Little Sixteen grew up a bit, this study became the home of the father and his four sons.

Yan Xia is rarely at home, and the Duke of Wei becomes less and less fond of reading as he gets older. Therefore, the one who uses this study the most is nine-year-old Yan Shiyi.

Yan Shiyi is currently studying at the Imperial Academy. At his age, he will be able to enter the Hall of Justice in six years. If Yan Xia cannot enter the Hall of Cultivation within six years, he will be in the same class as Yan Shiyi.

Therefore, in order to become classmates with his elder brother, Yan Shiyi would do his homework every day. The standard for whether a student could enter the Hall of Justice from the Junior Class was the amount of homework assigned each day. If a student did not do his homework for more than ten days in a month, it would be recorded in the evaluation. If he recorded too many times, he would not be able to graduate from the Junior Class.

Actually, this is just to scare children. The teachers in the gifted youth program are eager to send them all away when they reach a certain age. They're a bunch of unruly kids; who wants to keep them around?

Yan Shiyi believed it to be true and diligently did her homework every day.

At this hour, Yan Shiyi had already gone to school, and the study was empty. Yan Xia gathered his books and prepared to go to the Imperial Academy to draw red circles.

He had just stepped out of the study when he bumped into Madam Yu.

"Oh my, the sun has risen in the west! Is the young master going to school?"

Yanxia had a headache; how did she end up running into her mother?

"Yes, go to school, otherwise you'll be classmates with Xiao Shiyi."

Madam Yu smiled radiantly: "Anyway, you won't be able to collect those seven hundred red circles, so just forget about it. You've finally come home, so spend some time with your mother."

Yanxia: My mother is truly a stumbling block on my path to education.

Finally, Yanxia reluctantly put down his book and went into Madam Yu's study.

Mrs. Yu pushed aside the untidy playing cards on the table, propped her elbow on the table, rested her chin on her hand, and looked her son up and down.

"Tsk tsk tsk, my son is tall and strong, and handsome too. I'm really good at giving birth. Congratulations, you have an amazing mother!"

Yan Xia looked utterly dejected: "The last time you boasted was when my aunt was coming to the capital. You said you had arranged a wife for me, and she was on her way. You also said that you had done a great service in raising such an excellent son as me, so I should not refuse this marriage because of your contributions."

Yanxia deliberately brought up her deceased great-aunt, and sure enough, the stars in Madam Yu's eyes disappeared.

Miss Biao's body was barely cold when she wanted to arrange a marriage for her son.

It would be a lie to say I don't feel guilty.

But you can't blame her. First of all, she didn't let her great-aunt take her granddaughter to the capital. Her great-aunt only informed her after she had already set off. Secondly, her cousin was killed by Zhu Yu, and her son almost lost his life to avenge her cousin. Even if she felt guilty, she had cleared her name.

That brat of hers was doing it on purpose, trying to shut her up and stop her from saying anything more.

That was close! I almost fell for it.

Mrs. Yu rolled her eyes. That's why you raise a son; he's just infuriating. If only you had a daughter.

That soft and cuddly little girl, alas, she can't have any more children; she can only rely on her daughter-in-law.

"You brat, let me tell you, the other day when the Empress asked about your marriage, guess what? She mentioned the eldest princess of the Liang Prince's mansion. Turns out, the eldest princess is the same age as you." Yan Xia frowned, suddenly remembering the name Zhu Yu had shouted when she went mad.

Zhao Yun is so kind!
"Why did you mention the eldest princess?" he asked.

Madam Yu's eyes sparkled again. In the past, when those young ladies were mentioned, this brat would either pretend not to hear or turn away, which was completely different from now.

Could this guy have had feelings for her all along?
"You would never believe it, but sometime before, Consort Qiao somehow persuaded Consort Li to arrange for the eldest princess to marry that dead eunuch Zhu Yu. The Emperor did not agree, but now that Eunuch Zhu is dead and his family has been expelled, Her Majesty the Empress has no more scruples and told me about it. After all, our family and the Liang Prince's Mansion are related."

Before the Empress entered the palace, she and Lady Yu were close friends, like sisters. Now, although their statuses have changed, Lady Yu is still the only friend the Empress can talk to.

Yan Xia suddenly realized why Zhu Yu kept calling out Zhao Yunnuan's name when she went mad. It turned out there was such a scheme behind it. The reason why the emperor did not agree to the marriage was probably because Zhu Yu had been castrated. If Consort Li and Consort Qiao had brought up the marriage before Zhu Yu was castrated, would the emperor have really agreed?
Thinking of this, Yan Xia felt a surge of nameless anger. Although he had never met Zhao Yunnuan, he had heard of her great name. How could Zhu Yu, that trash, be worthy of her?
"That Baoqing Marquis's mansion, a den of thieves and prostitutes, actually dares to covet Zhao Yunnuan! How despicable!"

Mrs. Yu's mind raced. Oh dear, this brat even knows her girl's given name.

"Would you be willing to let the eldest princess marry into our family?" Madam Yu asked tentatively.

Yan Xia was stunned, and blurted out, "How is that possible?"

Madam Yu sighed: "Why is it impossible? Although the Empress did not make it clear, in my opinion, the Emperor is determined to bring the eldest princess to the capital as a hostage."

Yan Xia stared at Madam Yu in disbelief: "A hostage? What kind of hostage is she, a young lady? Besides, isn't the second young master of the Liang Prince's mansion already a hostage in the capital?"

Madam Yu shook her head: "That's what I don't understand either. I don't know what His Majesty is thinking, but judging from Her Majesty the Empress's words, this matter is already settled. If it's not Zhu Yu, it will be someone else. In short, once the mourning period is over, the eldest princess will marry into the capital. So, after all, they are relatives. It's not bad to strengthen the bond between relatives, right, my dear eldest son?"

Yanxia's lips twitched. Whenever her mother said "my dear eldest son," it was never a good thing.

"The Emperor is wary of the Liang Prince's family. Aren't you afraid that by letting the eldest princess marry into our family, you'll become a thorn in the Emperor's side?"

Madam Yu sneered: "Our family is a bunch of ignorant and uneducated bumpkins. Are we the emperor's thorn in his side? We are not worthy. If we want to be the emperor's thorn in his side, we should at least be like the Feng family, which has power and influence and has a son-in-law who is a prince."

“Mother, tell me the truth. Besides strengthening family ties, do you have other motives?” Yan Xia continued to glare at Madam Yu.

Madam Yu roared, "You brat, why are you glaring at me? What could I possibly want? I just want a daughter-in-law who can carry on the family line and give birth to daughters. You don't know, that old Princess Liang not only gave birth to twins, but also two daughters. The daughters resemble their mother. Our Yan family lacks nothing, except daughters."

Yan Xia was still glaring at her: "Tell the truth!"

Madam Yu slammed her hand on the table in anger: "You brat, are you interrogating your mother like a criminal?"

Seeing her son looking at her like she was a criminal, Madam Yu sighed, "Alright, alright, I'll talk, okay? I'm just furious. How dare even a scoundrel like Zhu Yu covet a princess of the royal family? What makes you any less than him? Even if you studied at the Imperial Academy for five years and still didn't get promoted, even if you didn't earn a single tael of silver in the Ministry of Justice for several years, even if you have a scar on your face and are disfigured, even if you were a little slow-witted after being injured on the head by Old Madam Wei last time, even if..."

Seeing her son's almost tearful expression, Madam Yu finally softened: "Even if you have this or that flaw, you're still better than Zhu Yu. Compared to Zhu Yu, if he's a beast, you're a human being. Why can a beast dare to covet a human being, but you can't? That's not fair, and I just can't swallow this."

Yan Xia stood up, grabbed his book, and turned to leave.

Madam Yu called out from behind, "Where are you going?"

Yanxia: "I only realized today that I am utterly useless. I am ugly, bad at studying, can't earn money, and a bit stupid. So I am very sad and need to calm down."

Mrs. Yu, what did she say? She didn't say anything. Who taught this brat to be so quiet? Do you even know how to write the character for "quiet"?

"It's okay, you don't need to feel inferior. You're the only one who can study at the Justice Hall for five years. You're unmatched by anyone else because of that."

Yanxia: She's really a mother hen. When it comes to stabbing someone in the back, she's more ruthless than anyone else.

Yan Xia left the mansion with his books, but he didn't go to the Imperial Academy. It wasn't because he had been traumatized and had a sudden enlightenment, but because it was almost noon.

The red circle at the Imperial Academy has a time limit. If he hadn't been held up by Madam Yu, he could have made it in time to get the circle drawn. But now, it's too late, and it would be pointless to go anyway, as his attendance book has already been locked up.

Yan Xia stood outside the mansion for a while, and then realized that he had nowhere to go.

This case is very serious, and he'll definitely be getting a lot of inquiries from people trying to find out more in the coming days, so he'd better not go to the Ministry of Justice.

Where are you going?

As he hesitated, something suddenly flew overhead. Yan Xia instinctively looked up and saw an eagle fly past.

Yan Xia's heart stirred. He remembered that the last time an important intelligence was delivered to him, it was also by an eagle.

Yan Xia had raised eagles before, so he understood them. This eagle was not yet fully grown; it was still a juvenile eagle, about two years old.

Things couldn't be that coincidental, nor could it be that he just happened to encounter two similar eagles. Therefore, it must be the same eagle.

Yan Xia did not hesitate. There was a horse tied to the hitching post in front of the mansion. It was not his horse, but it belonged to the mansion. It was the horse that someone rode when they went out on an errand.

Yanxia tossed the book into the doorman's arms: "Keep this for me!"

He quickly untied the reins, mounted his horse, and galloped after the eagle.

Horses cannot be ridden in the inner city. Fortunately, the eagle was not flying very fast and seemed to be waiting for him. Yan Xia became more and more suspicious, but he had a feeling that the person behind the eagle had no ill intentions, otherwise he would not have given him a message last time.

He chased the eagle, farther and farther away, out of the inner city and into the outer city, and then walked a long way again. Finally, the eagle flew to a small building. The window on the second floor of the building was open, and the eagle flew inside. (End of this chapter)