Do You Know?: Rule the World

"Zhong Huai, you're joking. How could I be late today?" Zhao Han smiled and bowed as he took a seat.

This is the finest elegant room in Guangyuntai, decorated in a luxurious yet elegant style.

From this location, you can have a panoramic view of the singing, dancing and music in the building.

Those self-proclaimed elegant men of letters and gentlemen, as well as the young men in gorgeous clothes, were all dressed very respectably today. They gathered in twos and threes, and glanced at the stage from time to time.

"Hey, Yuan Ruo is here today too!"

Gu Tingye narrowed his eyes and looked at a young man not far away who was wearing a moon-white brocade robe and holding a folding fan.

He took the initiative to introduce: "Brother Zhao, that is the only son of Duke Qi and Princess Pingning."

"The Princess usually protects him like the apple of her eye. This is the first time I've seen him come to a place like this."

Zhao Han looked in the direction Gu Tingye pointed.

Seeing that Qi Heng looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old this year, his appearance was pretty much as he had expected, and his every move showed his elegance and refinement.

After noticing the gazes of the two, Qi Heng calmly stood up and brought his servant Buwei into the elegant pavilion.

He bowed to Gu Tingye and said, "Second Uncle Gu."

"Calling me 'Second Uncle' all day long has made me feel old."

Gu Tingye scolded him, but there was a smile in his eyes. He reached out and patted Qi Heng on the shoulder, "By the way, this is Mr. Zhao Han. Today's song "Mulanhua" was written by him!"

Princess Pingning was named Gu Tingwan. She was born in the Marquis of Xiangyang's Mansion and was of the same generation as Gu Tingye. When she was young, she was adopted by the emperor and the queen.

The first Marquis of Xiangyang and the Marquis of Ningyuan were brothers, and the two families had close contacts and were as close as family.

By the time of the second generation of Marquis of Xiangyang, he had no children. For some reason, he insisted on bypassing the lineage of Marquis of Ningyuan and adopting a son who was three generations out of the lineage from the Gu clan in his hometown to inherit the title.

Because of this incident, the Marquis of Xiangyang and the Marquis of Ningyuan became estranged from each other, and even stopped visiting each other during the New Year holidays.

After all, according to common sense, the second generation Marquis of Xiangyang should choose a son or nephew from the lineage of Marquis Ningyuan, who is the closest relative.

However, Qi Heng was still very polite to Gu Tingye. Whenever they met, he would respectfully call him "Second Uncle" and did not take the grudges of their ancestors to heart at all. Gu Tingye naturally did the same.

Qi Heng has always loved words. After hearing this, he turned and looked at Zhao Han with a clear and polite look.

"I've long heard that the author of this poem is a scholar from Yangzhou. Seeing it with my own eyes today, it is indeed extraordinary. The writing truly reflects the person. Mr. Zhao, please accept Yuan Ruo's greetings!"

After saying this, Qi Heng actually bowed deeply.

Zhao Han quickly reached out to support him, "I am just a humble student, unworthy of such a generous gift from the young master."

Gu Tingye looked at them with great interest and said quietly, "One of you is extremely talented, and the other is full of knowledge. Why are you refusing here? Come on, sit down and have a drink together."

The two of them then took their seats with a smile.

At three quarters past ten o'clock in the morning, a melodious sound of a piano surrounded the surroundings, calming the noise in the room.

Everyone looked up and saw Wei Xingshou sitting upright in the elegant pavilion, with the pearl curtain half-rolled up, and her graceful figure looming.

When the prelude was about to end, she raised her head slightly, opened her red lips, and her voice was not as sweet and soft as that of ordinary singing girls. It was like pearls falling on a jade plate, clear and melodious, hitting the heart directly.

When the song ended, the lingering sound still lingered in the beams, and the guests were intoxicated and unable to extricate themselves for a long time.

After a long while, a scholar in a green robe clapped his hands and praised, "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful, the lyrics are wonderful and the singing is wonderful, this song should only exist in heaven!"

"As expected of the Wei Xingshuo, this is a voice that can't be found anywhere else in the entire Great Zhou, let alone the Jiaofang Bureau!"

"This trip today was truly worthwhile. This song will surely become a hit all over the country."

"..."

Amidst the crowd's praises, Wei Xingtou stood up with a smile on his face, his eyes unconsciously looking towards Zhao Han.

Seeing that Zhao Han also had an expression of admiration on his face, her heart moved, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she gave him a bright smile.

Gu Tingye, holding a wine glass, couldn't help but make a joke when he saw this.

"I see that Wei Xingzu treats you, Brother Zhao, as a close friend. Brother Zhao, please don't let her down!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? You know Chief Wei's personality." Zhao Han said, and quickly looked away.

The servant who had been standing beside Qi Heng bowed and said, "Young Master, we should go back. If the princess finds out that you are not at home, she will be furious."

Among the nobles in Bianliang, many people laughed at the Duke of Qi's Mansion and said it was just a showpiece.

Princess Pingning knew very well that the Qi family had few descendants and that the Duke of Qi had only a title but no real power.

I have no brothers to help me, and my father and the government will get old one day.

So, she placed all her hopes on Qi Heng.

No matter spring, summer, autumn or winter, when other princes and nobles went out to walk their birds and play with their dogs, Qi Heng was always supervised by her and read in the study.

Even now, there is not even a maid in the courtyard, let alone allowing him to come to such a place of brothel.

Qi Heng turned his head to look at Shi Chen, sighed softly, and said in unison: "Second Uncle Gu, Young Master Zhao, I'll take my leave first."

"I'll personally host the party some other day and I'll definitely ask Mr. Zhao for some advice!"

After Qi Heng left, Gu Tingye picked up the wine glass and drank it all, then whispered, "Brother Zhao, I haven't contradicted my father recently, nor have I done anything wrong and been punished."

"I vaguely sensed that Madam Xiao Qin's attitude towards me was no longer the same as before."

"A few days ago, when I went to pay my respects, she claimed she wasn't feeling well and didn't even show up. This has never happened before as far as I can remember."

Zhao Han's eyes darkened. "I had anticipated this."

"After all, if you are on the right track, her years of planning will be undone."

Gu Tingye nodded in agreement.

"To be honest, Brother Zhao, I've been thinking a lot these past few days. I really shouldn't continue to idle around in Bianjing."

"Last night I told my father that I wanted to inherit the Gu family's legacy and pursue a path of military honor, but I never expected him to flatly reject it."

"He told me to study at the White Deer Grotto Academy first. If I failed the imperial examination in a few years, I could come back and pursue military service."

Zhao Han's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Bai Ludong Academy is the most important of the six major academies in the Zhou Dynasty and is the dream study place for countless students.

He said, "Lord Gu is a man of foresight. Even if you prefer the path of military exploits, it's always good to read more books. Besides, the White Deer Grotto Academy is full of talented people, and countless people pass the provincial and imperial examinations every year."

"Since even Brother Zhao says so, I will promise my father when I return home." As Gu Tingye spoke, his eyes were deep, very different from his usual dandy appearance.

Zhao Han continued, "But Zhong Huai, when you go to the White Deer Cave Academy, you must stay away from women and be pure and aloof."

Chapter 35 High School Champion

Gu Tingye glanced at Zhao Han with a nonchalant look, and laughed: "Brother Zhao, you worry too much. Although I am a scoundrel, I will never neglect my studies for the sake of women."

"I'm going there to study. The academy is full of men, so where would women come from? Besides, I don't have any homosexual tendencies."

Zhao Han hesitated to speak. He remembered clearly that Gu Tingye was bewitched by Zhu Manniang when he was in Bai Ludong Academy.

This woman looks weak, but in fact she is as vicious as a snake and has caused Gu Tingye a lot of trouble.

"Zhong Huai, you should still act with caution. Your status as the legitimate son of Ningyuan Marquis can easily attract people with ulterior motives."

Gu Tingye put down his wine glass, put away his joking expression, nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will only study peacefully this time and won't even touch a woman's hair!"

"Don't forget what you said today."

Zhao Han let out a breath, and that was all he could say.

After three rounds of drinks, the night grew darker. The two said goodbye under the moonlight and each boarded their carriage back home.

At this time, inside the Imperial Examination Hall, the nine courtyards were brightly lit, the vermilion lacquered gates were tightly closed, and the imperial guards stood with spears in hand, looking solemn and stern.

The sealed examination papers must be sent to the Transcription Office, where they will be copied by the transcriber with a red pen.

It will be sent to the review office again, where the review officer will check the red and black scrolls word by word to ensure that the transcription is correct.

If there are any errors, they will be marked with a yellow pen and reported for correction.

The test papers that have been read correctly will be sent to the editing office, where the editing officer will number the test papers to prevent the examiners from identifying the candidates.

After completing this process, the original paper is sealed and the red paper is sent to the examination hall to be reviewed by the chief examiner, deputy examiner and co-examiners.

The chief examiner for this year's spring examination was the Minister of Rites, Mr. Han Zhanghan, and the deputy examiner was the Vice Minister of Works, Hai Yanping.

One was of the second rank, the other of the third rank, and the co-examiners were all Hanlin scholars and officials from the six ministries who were well versed in classics, poetry and prose.

The examiners will mark the test papers as pass, rough, or fail, and will also write a brief comment.

Pass means qualified, rough means average, and no means unqualified.

In the examiner's room, candlelight flickered.

Han Zhang sat alone in the main hall, with a pile of red-colored papers in front of him that had been marked as "pass" by his fellow examiners.

Sometimes he stroked his beard in deep thought, sometimes he picked up his pen to make comments, and sometimes he uttered an exclamation.

In the east and west wing rooms, several examiners were busy marking the test papers meticulously.

They would often argue over a policy paper, even getting red in the face and slamming the table, secretly cursing each other's clans in their hearts.

In this way, half a month passed and finally the day of the results announcement arrived.

Yulin Lane, Sheng Mansion.

As Sheng Wei walked out the door, he said, "Brother Sheng and his men have already entered the Bian River. They will arrive in a couple of days. Today, I will have to go with you to see the list on his behalf."

"Nephew, are you nervous?"

Zhao Han smiled and shook his head.

"The ink is dry, the writing is done, and there's no point in getting it right. It's better to save your energy."

Sheng Wei laughed out loud when he heard this and patted him on the shoulder: "My dear nephew, you are very understanding. It's getting late. Let's get in the carriage quickly."

Soon, three carriages slowly set off towards the Imperial Examination Hall.

When Zhao Han and others arrived, although the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall was still closed, there was already a lot of noise and traffic outside.

There were candidates and their families looking at the list, as well as many wealthy merchants waiting here to find a son-in-law.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Pinlan couldn't wait to lift the curtain and jumped down lightly.

"Brother Zhao, I'll go help you check the list!"