The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

The Imperial Examination at Lintai continued until the first quarter of noon. With the final clear sound of the jade chime, all writing materials were put down, and the examination papers were silently and swiftly collected, annotated, and sealed by the scribes dressed in blue robes.

The heavy files were carefully packed into a sandalwood box, gathering together countless day and night's ambitions.

The moment the seal was completed, Tang Xixue's exam paper was taken directly by two imperial guards dressed in black armor, who kept their eyes straight ahead. Without being mixed with other documents for a moment, it was sent straight to the imperial study.

This subtle yet special process, when observed by those with a keen eye, sparked several subtle exchanges of glances.

The tense atmosphere in the examination room suddenly relaxed.

"These exam questions are truly difficult! I couldn't even figure out the direction for the question about the correspondence between stellar orbit shifts and leyline changes..."

"More than that! That strategy for predicting the supply and demand of grain for the border region over three years requires a thorough understanding of the Ministry of Revenue's historical archives and the climate of various regions. Is the Imperial Advisor testing our all-knowing abilities?"

"Such difficulty could probably only be handled with ease by someone as well-read and quick-witted as Miss Shen Yan?"

"Young Master Shen Xian will surely be the champion again! He was calm and composed when he answered, and his pen flew across the paper, showing that he was confident of victory."

The crowd naturally surged towards the front of the lecture hall, like a stream flowing into a ravine, surrounding Shen Xian and Shen Yan, the brother and sister, in the center.

Shen Xian, dressed in a bamboo-leaf robe, stood tall and had a gentle face. He was nodding slightly and talking to his classmate beside him, his demeanor exuding impeccable aristocratic grace.

Shen Yan stood half a step behind him, her eyes sparkling with spring, and her cheeks flushed with a perfectly placed blush.

"ah--"

Someone shoved her slightly in the crowd, and Shen Yan stumbled slightly, letting out a soft cry.

Shen Xian, who was in front of her, reacted very quickly. Almost instinctively, he turned around, stretched out his arm, and steadily supported her elbow.

"careful."

His voice was gentle, and he bowed his head with concern.

Shen Yan straightened up with his help, looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears, and shyly whispered her thanks: "Thank you, brother."

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, then quickly looked down, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

This heartwarming scene, witnessed by everyone, further solidified the beautiful story of the Shen siblings' talent, good looks, and harmonious relationship.

Many eyes, intentionally or unintentionally, glanced towards the back of the lecture hall, at the figure that would always flutter towards Shen Xian like a butterfly at this time.

"Wouldn't Princess Mirror be furious if she saw this?"

"She goes crazy whenever any woman gets close to Young Master Shen."

"Isn't that right? She's even jealous of her younger sister."

"No one can compare to Miss Shen Yan's understanding and tact..."

"..."

However, today, Tang Xixue is still sitting in her window seat, slowly tidying up the scattered papers and pens on her desk.

Sunlight streamed through the roof tiles, casting a small, quiet shadow on her lowered eyelashes. Her expression was indifferent, as if the surrounding clamor did not register with her at all.

"Yanchuan, how did you do on the exam this time?"

Tang Xixue asked casually.

"I've finished answering the questions."

Pei Yanchuan hadn't expected her to care about him, and replied in a low voice.

"Thank you for lending me the writing brush, ink, and inkstone, Your Highness."

He carefully wiped the used brush, ink, and inkstone clean, then held them with both hands and respectfully placed them back in their original positions on the smooth lectern in front of him.

Just then, a tall figure, exuding an aura of lingering restlessness, leaned against the windowsill next to her.

Young General Feng Zhuo, arms crossed, his gaze like a quenched blade, first swept over the eye-catching brother and sister in the crowd, then sneered as he glared at Tang Xixue.

"Tsk."

His voice was filled with biting sarcasm.

"Your beloved fiancé is completely focused on his sister right now, not even sparing you, the right person, a second glance."

Tang Xixue paused for a moment as she organized the papers, without looking up.

Seeing this, Feng Zhuo felt an even greater surge of anger. He leaned closer and practically spat out the rest of his words through clenched teeth.

Every word was imbued with suppressed anger and some unspeakable pain:

"I really don't understand..."

"How blind were you back then—to abandon me and choose such a piece of trash? You have absolutely no sense of male virtue!"

His words were extremely bitter.

"He's certainly not as good as my Ranzhi."

Tang Xixue slowly raised her eyelids, her eyes clear as autumn water washing over cold stars, and looked into Feng Zhuo's eyes.

Feng Zhuo froze instantly.

The gleam of the snow outside the window seemed to flicker before his eyes.

A small hole, burning with pain and itchiness, was scalded into my heart.

"That's natural!"

He suddenly straightened his back, like a snow leopard whose tail had been stepped on but which was trying to remain calm, but his voice involuntarily revealed a slight tremor.

"I...I'm naturally a thousand times, ten thousand times better than him!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he cursed himself in his heart.

No prospects!

So many years have passed, yet how come a single word or glance from her can still throw him into disarray, making him unable to speak fluently?

She's a bad woman!

But my gaze was drawn to her face by invisible threads, and I couldn't take it off.

Those eyes, once brimming with arrogance and impatience, were now wet, reflecting the snow outside the window and her calm face, like obsidian immersed in a cold spring, stubbornly locking onto her without blinking.

They were childhood sweethearts who grew up together.

Even though she was so bad, he still couldn't stand her fiancé and treated her with the slightest disdain and lack of appreciation.

"This lousy engagement... I don't know why you insisted on it in the first place. Now it seems like nothing but a joke."

Tang Xixue listened quietly to his barbed yet aggrieved complaints, and instead of getting angry, she nodded very lightly.

A gentle smile appeared on her snow-white face.

"Um."

She responded with a softer voice than before, like a feather gently brushing across a frozen lake.

"Ran is right."

These five simple words fell into Feng Zhuo's ears.

"Thump—"

He seemed to hear his wildly beating heart pound heavily in his chest.

My ears felt hot belatedly, and my neck even stiffened.

He abruptly turned his face away, looking at the snow-covered plum blossom branches outside the window, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

However, his tightly pursed lips and subtly flushed ear tips betrayed the young general's chaotic state of mind amidst the chaos of war.

"You're always the best at sweet-talking people. You say it's right, but deep down you still can't let go of that marriage certificate."

Feng Zhuo's gaze was fixed on Shen Xian's gentle yet indifferent profile in the distance.

His knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white and cracked, and a violent urge to smash something with his fist surged in his chest.

The handful of first snow that he cherished like a treasure, carefully held in his palm for fear of it melting, was nothing more than dust that could be trampled on at will in the eyes of others.

The thought was like a poisoned ice pick, chiseling at his heart, causing a dull ache that almost suffocated him.

"Besides lying to me, what else can you do?"

Tang Xixue raised her hand and gently ruffled his always unruly, sticking-up black hair.

The casual and intimate movements, carrying a familiarity from a distant memory, instantly pierced through the boy's layers of armor and sharp edges.

"This time, I won't lie to Ranzhi."

Her voice was right next to my ear.

Feng Zhuo trembled, as if burned by the sudden touch and promise. He jerked back half a step and stared at her with his still moist eyes.

Her face flushed red and then turned pale, a fierce battle raging between embarrassment and a strange, incredulous thrill.

"……snort!"

He finally managed to squeeze out a heavy breath from his nose, like a cat whose fur had been stroked but which immediately arched its back in defense, turning its head away, its neck stiff, its voice hard and hoarse:

"If I ever believe your nonsense again... I'd be the biggest fool in the world!"

Having said that, he seemed unable to bear the unsettling atmosphere in that small space any longer.

Also, to cover up the pounding heart that was about to burst out of her chest, she turned around and strode away.

He took only two steps before abruptly stopping, turning half of his taut, handsome face to the side, and uttering a harsh remark:

"If you do terribly on the exam this time and get kicked out of Lintai... don't come crying to me with red eyes again!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already swept past a few students who were pausing to peek, and disappeared around the corner of the corridor without looking back.