Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Fu Xingjian looked somewhat uncomfortable. He moved his lips, about to speak, when Gu Zhenhe stood up with the wine pot in his hand and scolded him first, "You, Fu Xingjian, trying to steal the spotlight?"

Gu Zhen bowed to Yu Tingyuan and said with a smile, "Why should Headmaster envy the good fortune of the other gentlemen? Elder Zhao and Elder Jiang have disciples to serve them, and Elder Liu was taken by Lord Fu, his nephew. You are the Headmaster of Songjian Academy, and we students have all heard your teachings. How could we let you be an 'outsider'?"

Having said that, he took the wine pot, knelt down beside Yu Shanzhang, and poured him a cup of wine.

Although Fu Xingjian was an upright man who was not good at lying, he was also an extremely intelligent person. He immediately realized Gu Zhenhe's intention to help him out of the predicament. He stepped forward to serve the banquet to Liu Jijiu, his ears slightly burning: "I was a step too late. I hope Uncle will not be angry."

Liu, the Imperial Scholar, stroked his beard and said, "It's my good fortune that my nephew has this kind of heart. What's so strange about it?"

Seeing this, Yan Mingli raised his glass at the opportune moment: "Brother Fang, you have achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination and have a bright future. I wish you a meteoric rise in your career and continuous advancement."

Chen Han and the others breathed a sigh of relief. His Majesty's sudden appearance and his condescending service to Mr. Jiang were too overwhelming. Under such shock, everyone was bound to lose their composure and almost gave themselves away. Fortunately, Gu Zhenhe was quick-witted and skillfully defused Fu Xingjian's strange behavior. Yan Mingli then naturally began to offer toasts.

They followed suit, raising their glasses one after another, and the scene became lively for a while. After a while, Fu Xingjian's earlier actions no longer seemed abrupt.

As Pei Lian served food to his teacher, he watched as everyone mingled and tried to mend and cover up their previous lapses in decorum. He stole a glance at His Majesty, who was serving Mr. Jiang with unwavering deference, and thought in amazement: What a magnificent show this is.

Fang Yanqing dealt with the congratulatory messages from his fellow students over and over again, glancing at the only audience member at the head of the table.

The teacher wore his usual gentle smile. He politely drank the wine offered by the young people and ate all the dishes set out by his junior disciples. As if sensing his gaze, his warm eyes looked back at him through the clinking of glasses and nodded slightly, indicating that he should relax and enjoy the conversation.

Meanwhile, the emperor, who orchestrated this grand spectacle of one act ending and another beginning, calmly served wine and food to his teacher, hiding behind a mask and playing the role of a dutiful disciple, as if he hadn't single-handedly built this troupe.

Under imperial power, all living beings are merely actors.

Fang Yanqing was jolted awake by reality almost instantly.

The slight emotion that had arisen in my heart due to His Majesty's condescension was instantly crushed into dust, and the thought of feeling sorry for my teacher took the lead.

Just then, Master Yu praised, "I've read Yanqing's essay for the palace examination; he truly deserves the title of top scholar. Brother Jiang, your disciple is truly remarkable!"

Jiang Jibai smiled slightly and was about to speak when Fang Yanqing spoke first: "Mr. Yu is too kind. It was just a fluke. I am not like my junior brother."

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, and gazes came from all directions.

Fang Yanqing could naturally feel the sharp gaze from the emperor and the teacher's slightly probing look. He smiled politely, making it impossible to tell whether it was unintentional or deliberate: "Junior Brother's zither skills at the Mangshan Poetry Gathering are superb, and his poetry is on par with that of Pei Xiao Tan Hua. I admit that I am not as good as him."

This statement is flawless, as everyone knows about the poetry competition at Mangshan. However, the punctuation makes it difficult to determine whether the self-admiration refers to literary skills, musical talent, or poetry; whether it is "praising the emperor" or "using the opportunity to stir up trouble."

Headmaster Yu became quite interested in this: "Your junior brother also writes well? I remember that Jiang San and Pei Lian have a policy essay competition at the Mangshan Poetry Gathering. Why don't we take this opportunity to let them compete today?"

Now that Pei Lian has already achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations, and everyone here today is a relative or friend, there's no need to let this little prodigy suffer too much of a setback, so there's no need to hold back.

Pei Lian never expected that the fire would spread to him. The place that had already healed began to throb with pain again. He instinctively wanted to say that he had already fought and was no match for "Jiang San," but then he remembered His Majesty's instructions and changed the subject several times: "Today is Brother Fang's victory celebration banquet. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to steal the spotlight?"

Yu Shanzhang asked curiously, "Young Pei, back in Mangshan, weren't you full of fighting spirit and only reluctantly gave up the competition?"

Pei Lian choked on his words. To maintain consistency and avoid giving His Majesty any opening, he could only say, "Times have changed. I am now a Hanlin Compiler; how can I act as freely as before?"

Yu Shanzhang looked at him with new eyes; this kid had indeed grown a lot since passing the imperial examination.

Zhao Siye glanced at his young disciple several times.

Yu Shanzhang then looked at Jiang Jibai: "What does Brother Jiang think?"

Jiang Jibai was not oblivious to the undercurrents between his two disciples and the unusual atmosphere of today's celebration banquet. He glanced deeply at the junior disciple who had silently served him food, sensing his clear refusal. Then, he looked at Fang Yanqing, who was holding a wine cup with his eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought. With a smile, he said to Headmaster Yu, "Today's protagonist is Yanqing. If I agree to this, wouldn't that be favoritism?"

Back then at the Mangshan Poetry Gathering, the teacher called a halt to the competition on behalf of His Majesty. Today, in the teacher's eyes, it was probably because he knew that his junior brother was unwilling to participate in the policy essay competition, yet he deliberately brought up the old matter to force him.

Having already forced out a weakness, Fang Yanqing decided to withdraw while he was ahead. He raised his eyes, smiled, and toasted, "Young Scholar Pei is willing to give me, the host, face, and my teacher doesn't want to show favoritism either. I, Yanqing, cannot disappoint them, so I'll have to let Mr. Yu down."

Yu Shanzhang chuckled and shook his head: "I've actually played the villain. I hope Yanqing won't blame me for meddling?"

Fang Yanqing smiled and stepped forward to pour a cup of wine for Yu Shanzhang: "What are you saying? I am grateful for your visit. It's just that I'm too proud to be the host today, and I've made Pei Xiaotanhua and my teacher take notice of me."

He sighed, "Being too important is also a worry."

Fang Yanqing's words made Yu Shanzhang, Liu Jijiu, and the others burst into laughter.

After the laughter subsided, Liu Jijiu glanced at Qin Ji, who was serving Jiang Jibai, and asked, "Now that Jiang Liu and Yan Qing have both entered officialdom, and your young disciple is no ordinary person either, why did he fail to pass the imperial examination this year? Does he have any official rank?"