Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Having accepted Pei Lian's invitation, Qin Ji made arrangements for his official duties in advance, freeing up his time on the afternoon of April 20th.

Since the vest was already in jeopardy, in order to ensure everything went smoothly, Qin Ji even sent out ingredients to confirm the participants of this tea party in advance.

After confirming several times that no one who shouldn't be there would be at the party, Qin Ji finally felt relieved.

Soon it was time for Pei Lian's invitation.

After finishing his official duties, Qin Ji changed into a moon-white casual robe, with the jade pendant given to him by Jiang Jibai hanging from his waist. He then leisurely left the palace with a folding fan that read "A great scholar's belly can hold a boat."

At 1-3 PM, at Pingxin Yashe.

The waiter respectfully led the elegant-looking Qin Ji through the corridor and into the quiet courtyard, stopping in front of a round archway hidden behind several clumps of green bamboo.

The private room is built next to the pond, with windows on three sides. The pleasant aroma of tea is carried by the breeze, lingering in the air and not dissipating for a long time.

From a distance, one can vaguely see several figures kneeling before a tea table, sipping tea and chatting.

The waiter bowed and gestured for them to enter.

Qin Ji, fanning himself with a folding fan, strolled forward leisurely.

Following the pebbled path, we soon arrived at the entrance of the private room.

A young voice came from the private room, "Putting everything else aside, Brother Gu's calligraphy is indeed beautiful, with natural elegance and extraordinary charm. The official style has limited your potential."

"Not at all, Brother Zou, you're too kind. Everyone here who passed the imperial examination has beautiful handwriting. I'm just offering a suggestion to get the ball rolling." Gu Zhenhe raised his teacup and offered a toast from afar with a smile.

"Brother Gu, your words are too modest. In terms of calligraphy, I'm afraid only Brother Fu can rival you. My writing is barely passable, merely neat and tidy, far inferior to yours." Lu Zhongbai shook his head with a smile: "If yours are just bricks thrown to attract jade, then what about mine, which are nothing but sand and gravel?"

Yan Mingli said enviously, "Brother Gu's articles are also very well written. Apart from Brother Fu and the little prodigy Pei, he is the best. He is likely to be among the top ten in the palace examination and be guaranteed a second-class position. He will most likely be able to stay in the capital to take up a post."

Unlike me, I barely made it onto the list after failing the provincial examination. Although the results for the palace examination haven't been released yet, I know my own limitations.

"It would be good enough to get a vacancy; the worst thing is being sent back to my hometown to wait for a replacement, with no idea when I'll be able to get one."

Lu Zhongbai was ranked over two hundredth in the imperial examination, and he was just as uncertain. He could only shake his head and sigh.

Gu Zhenhe comforted them, saying, "The court is currently short of manpower, so this year the quota has been expanded and many more people have been selected. If they were not needed, why would we select so many? I'm sure you two brothers will have the opportunity to realize your ambitions, so there's no need to worry."

Yan Mingli and Lu Zhongbai exchanged a wry smile, then raised their glasses to Gu Zhenhe together: "In that case, we'll take advantage of Brother Gu's auspicious words."

Gu Zhenhe smiled in response and lowered his head to drink his tea.

Before she could even swallow her tea, she looked up and saw the young man entering the private room, causing her to choke on her tea.

Lu Zhongbai, who was standing nearby, quickly patted him on the back to help him catch his breath.

Yan Mingli followed Gu Zhenhe's gaze, his hand trembled, and tea spilled all over his sleeve.

The two of them stood up at the same time.

Lu Zhongbai glanced at the newcomer, seeing it was a young gentleman, and asked, completely bewildered, "Brother Gu, Brother Yan, what's going on?"

He ranked low in the imperial examination and was far away. In addition, he had been studying from dawn to dusk since he was a child. His family had not been able to afford his education. He would save the light at night and barely be able to read the words in the book by the moonlight. Over time, his eyesight became a little blurry and he could not see things in the distance very clearly. Therefore, he did not know who this young master was, nor did he know why Yan Mingli and Gu Zhenhe had suddenly reacted so strongly.

Zou Rong also looked towards the door. He "recognized" the young man, a loyal "supporter" of Mr. Gu. When the second class was held at Si Ding Zhai, he was reported by Fu Xingjian for doing "business" with Gu Zhenhe. Later, in order to protect Mr. Gu, he threw a pen at Yan Mingli and belittled Yan Mingli with sharp words.

He thought to himself: Perhaps that's why Gu Zhenhe and Yan Mingli are behaving so strangely.

But isn't today a gathering of classmates from Songjian Academy who passed the imperial examination?

Could it be that he was also on the list, but he didn't notice this fellow examinee during the palace examination?

He had only seen the boy once at Songjian Academy, and he never expected that this person would also be among those invited.

Zou Rong had always been unlucky, but this time he managed to avoid both falling ill and being assigned a bad grade, and smoothly entered the palace examination. He focused all his attention on the questions and did not have any thoughts of prying into the emperor's appearance, so he did not know Qin Ji's identity.

"The more connections you have, the better," Lu Zhongbai said with a smile to Pei Lian, the initiator of the tea party. "Brother Pei, won't you introduce this gentleman who just arrived?"

Pei Lian was only fifteen years old, and he didn't feel uncomfortable being called "Brother Pei" by Lu Zhongbo, who was almost two decades older than him. He didn't answer Lu Zhongbo's question; he didn't even have the patience to give perfunctory answers to any fool who was inferior to him.

Although Lu Zhongbai also passed the imperial examination, in his eyes, he was just a fool who wasn't that stupid.

This tea party was arranged by my senior brother, who said that having more friends would give him more opportunities in his future career and that he could have a good get-together with his classmates. He was initially very reluctant, but then he remembered that he could invite Jiang San to come and have a showdown, so he reluctantly agreed.

Pei Lian stared intently at the doorway.

Lu Zhongbai was completely ignored, which made him a little embarrassed.

Gu Zhenhe, who was always adept at social maneuvering and getting along with everyone, was shocked by the newcomer and couldn't even pay attention to him.

Lu Zhongbai was about to make a laugh and say something to cover it up.

Fu Xingjian offered him a way out: "This is..."

Fu Xingjian paused slightly.

He went up Mangshan with "Jiang San" and Gu Zhenhe and saw "Jiang San" disguise himself as "Jiang Daru". Later, at the Mangshan Poetry Gathering, he learned that "Jiang San" was Jiang Daru's disciple.

So what kind of face did Jiang Daru have under his veil? By connecting the various behaviors of "Jiang San" in Si Ding Zhai and the unfathomable depths of "Mr. Gu", it can be almost certain.

After the Mangshan Poetry Gathering, "Jiang San" had already become famous among the students.

Back then, "Jiang San" and Jiang Daru covered their faces with veils, presumably because they were burdened by Jiang Daru's great reputation and wanted to avoid a lot of trouble.

If we were to reveal Jiang San's true identity here, Zou Rong, as a student of the Si Ding Zhai school, would likely associate "Mr. Gu" with "Master Jiang" upon seeing Jiang San's true appearance.

If he were only referred to as "Master Gu's" disciple without his name being mentioned, Pei Lian, who had clashed with "Jiang San," would immediately know that the recently famous "Master Gu" in the academy was the great Confucian scholar Jiang Jibai.

Finding no way out, Fu Xingjian quickly made a judgment: "This is Mr. Gu's disciple."

Pei Lian's teacher, Zhao Siye, had a past relationship with Jiang Daru. Even if Pei Lian realized Jiang Daru's identity, it wouldn't be a big deal. He would probably cover for "Mr. Gu." Besides, Pei Lian might already know about this from his teacher.

Lu Zhongbai had long heard of Mr. Gu of Sidingzhai. If he hadn't already heard the news and Sidingzhai was already packed with people, and no one was willing to give up their spot, he would have wanted to go and see him for a long time. He glanced at Yan Mingli and Gu Zhenhe beside him and stood up as well: "So you are Mr. Gu's esteemed student. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Lu Zhongbai couldn't help but wonder: Why didn't Brother Fu introduce Mr. Gu's disciple by name? How should he address him?

The title was quickly given.

Pei Lian stood up abruptly, his eyes burning like two flames: "The last person has finally arrived. Let's make friends through literature today."

"Jiang San, I want to have one last match with you."

...

First update delivered, second update should be after midnight~