Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Zhao Siye knew immediately that Pei Lian had passed the imperial examination with the third-highest rank.

Today, after the grand ceremony of announcing the winners of the imperial examinations, the top-ranking scholar paraded through the streets. He was craning his neck to watch from a teahouse next to the main street when he saw his beloved disciple dressed in the official robes of the third-ranked scholar, riding a tall horse out of the Meridian Gate. He almost laughed his beard off.

Pei Lian was only fifteen years old when he passed the imperial examination with top honors, more than a full twelve years younger than when he first passed the examination.

Truly, the student surpasses the teacher, and the younger generation surpasses the older!

Zhao Siye immediately sent a letter to each of his old friends to share the good news.

He could picture the old men replying to him with their sarcastic remarks.

Afterwards, he had his servants prepare fine wine and food to wait for Pei Lian to return. Knowing that Pei Lian had already eaten at the Qionglin Banquet, he prepared only light snacks to go with the wine. Unexpectedly, the wait lasted until almost curfew.

He was getting restless, fearing something might have gone wrong. He sent someone to inquire and learned that none of the three men in the first rank had left the palace yet, which put his mind at ease.

Now that he has confirmed with his disciple that it was His Majesty who bestowed the banquet, and seeing Pei Lian mention the first armor, he could no longer maintain his stern face, and every wrinkle on his face overflowed with joy.

Zhao Siye, beaming with joy, pulled his beloved apprentice inside, saying, "Since you haven't had a drink yet, come and have one with your master."

Pei Lian gritted his teeth and strode after him, the force of his muscles tearing at his wounds. His lips were pale, and he tried his best to maintain a steady voice, behaving as if nothing was wrong with him: "Didn't you just ask me with a stern face if I had too much to drink? Why are you trying to drag me into drinking now?"

Zhao Siye stroked his beard, his face flushed: "I don't allow you to drink outside because I'm afraid you'll get drunk again like last time, which would not only be impolite but also embarrass you."

"Today is a special day, and we're celebrating for you at the manor. What's there to be afraid of?"

Pei Lian's sensitive nerves were stung by the words "lost face," and a surge of sourness welled up, making her eyes sting.

Before the emperor, he was treated like a child, held down by eunuchs, stripped of his clothes, and punished.

Now that things have come to this, what face does he have left to save?

Pei Lian lowered her gaze, hiding the tears in her eyes, and barely kept up with Zhao Siye's pace.

Wine and dishes had already been laid out in the main room. Zhao Siye pulled him to the table, smiling broadly, and said, "Luckily, they're all appetizers, and the weather's warm now, so the food won't get cold..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Siye's gaze lingered slightly on his disciple's face.

Earlier, when it was dark outside, he was so busy being happy for his disciple that he didn't notice.

The orange candlelight in the main room shone on the boy's face, concealing his unusual pallor. The boy lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact, so his eyes were not visible.

Pei Lian has always been spirited and proud. Now that he has become the third-ranked scholar, he should be even more triumphant and radiant. Why is he looking so listless and uninterested?

He grabbed Pei Lian: "What's wrong with you?"

If no one had paid attention, it would have been fine, but the teacher's caring words were like a warm current that almost brought out all the grievances and bitterness in my heart.

But his pride and stubbornness wouldn't allow him to cry and complain to his teacher.

Moreover, His Majesty has repeatedly ordered him to keep it a secret and not to tell his teacher.

If everything that happened in the palace were revealed, it would inevitably lead to the question of whether His Majesty was "Jiang San" and Jiang Jibai's disciple.

If he were to disobey His Majesty again and defy his imperial decree, he didn't know if His Majesty would still consider his young age and give him a "light punishment" next time.

Pei Lian held her breath, calming the emotions that were rising in her nose, swallowed the hot air surging in her throat, and forced a nonchalant smile: "What? What's wrong?"

The more he tried to cover it up, the more Zhao Siye felt something was wrong.

He looked his disciple up and down several times, then pulled him to sit on a round stool by the table, and put his hand on Pei Lian's shoulder: "Did something happen at the Qionglin Banquet or the small banquet His Majesty bestowed upon us today?"

Pei Lian almost jumped up when he touched the stool. He used all his strength to keep his expression from showing pain, but the corners of his eyes were still tinged with a thin layer of red from the moisture.

When Zhao Siye saw that his precious apprentice's eyes welled up with tears of grievance as soon as he asked the question, he immediately concluded that he had hit the nail on the head.

Is this still available?

Zhao Siye slammed his hand on the table and stood up: "Who bullied you?"

"Was someone at the Qionglin Banquet taking advantage of your shyness and forcing you to drink?"

"Or did someone say something unpleasant behind your back that you overheard?"

"Is it that brat from the Gu family again, talking behind your back about how arrogant you are?"

"They're just spouting sour grapes because they failed the first-class exam themselves." Zhao Siye sat down next to Pei Lian, patting his disciple on the back. "You can't talk about ice with a summer insect. Let's not stoop to their level."

"I'll write a letter to their parents right away, telling them that you passed the imperial examination with top honors and achieved third place, which will infuriate their fathers!"

After being annoyed by the teacher, Pei Lian's pent-up grievances were instantly forgotten. He let out a soft hum, slightly raised his chin, his eyes red-rimmed, and echoed, "Yeah, let's make them furious!"

Seeing the life finally come back to life on his beloved disciple's listless face, Zhao Siye rubbed his disciple's head with his withered, old hand: "Let others say what they want. Just do your job well. They can only watch your back as you walk away, and they'll never catch up with you."

The burn-like marks on his body reminded him of something his teacher didn't know.

The despair, resentment, grievance, and embarrassment felt when someone was forced to sit on a bench and had their robe lifted to beat them.

The bittersweet feeling of being personally helped up by His Majesty, receiving patient guidance and high expectations.

Pei Lian didn't know what to say for a moment, and just hummed in response to his complicated feelings.

Zhao Siye smiled and stroked his beard: "Not crying anymore?"

Pei Lian's expression changed: "When did I cry? I didn't cry!"

Knowing that his youngest disciple was proud and arrogant, and easily offended, Zhao Siye immediately raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, alright, your old eyes are failing me."

"What do you mean 'old'? You're not old at all!" Pei Lian said again.

Zhao Siye shook his head and said, "The Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves, and a new generation replaces the old."

Pei Lian corrected him: "It is clearly the older generation that rides the waves for the younger generation, and the old generation that guides and lights the way for the new generation."

Zhao Siye grinned from ear to ear, poured two cups of wine, and pushed one towards Pei Lian: "Then congratulations to young master Pei on passing the imperial examination with flying colors and achieving the third-highest rank!"

Pei Lian glanced at the shadow cast on the door of the main room, which lingered there for a long time. "Today I passed the imperial examination with flying colors, ranking third among the scholars. Could you grant me a request?"

Zhao Siye wasn't blind, so he naturally saw the figure pacing back and forth at the door: "If it's about me making up with some unrelated person, then forget it."

The shadow at the doorway seemed to have gotten used to these words, and didn't even flinch, just stood there silently.

Pei Lian didn't expect that her good intentions would backfire and cause her senior brother to hear something hurtful.

His injuries were inexplicably throbbing more intensely, and he mumbled, "I want to celebrate today's victory banquet with you and my senior brother. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event of passing the imperial examination..."

Seeing the slightly reddened eyes of his usually proud and arrogant disciple, who never showed any weakness, Zhao Siye looked at the figure at the door with a complicated expression. After a long while, he said in a calm tone, "Since you've come to attend my disciple's victory celebration banquet, how can we turn away a guest?"

"Young Master Xie, please come in."

...

First update delivered. The second update should be after midnight. I'm still about 700 words short of finishing this chapter out of pure enthusiasm, everyone keep going!