Chapter 32: Preparations Before The Exam
After Zhao Tan ascended to the throne, his mother entered the Imperial City as Zhao Tan’s woman, and he, this tagalong, followed her to live there too.
He roamed the Imperial Palace like a stray cat or dog, climbed onto the wall of an abandoned courtyard, and saw a little child lying under the eaves inside.
The child was thin and small, just like a puppy cub competing with him for food.
No, more like a puppy cub that he had bitten to death, lying motionless.
A crow flew down onto the little child, seeming about to peck at a bit of rotting flesh, when suddenly the child, who seemed dead, reached out and grabbed the crow, biting its neck…
The crow screeched in fright, flapping its wings wildly, and he also got a fright and fell off the wall.
Landing on the ground, he came back to his senses, very angry—how could grabbing and eating a crow scare him!
He had been thrown into a pile of hunting dogs or a dead person pit and never been afraid; he had even eaten dead dog and cat meat.
He climbed back onto the wall, and by then a palace maid had rushed out from inside.
The palace maid cried out in alarm and reached out to shoo the crow away.
The crow flew off.
In the palace maid’s eyes, she had driven the crow away, but in his eyes, the little child had let go with its mouth, and the crow had fled in panic.
The little child’s face and neck were splattered with bloodstains.
The palace maid panicked and picked up the child, crying.
“Oh heavens, pecked and injured… even crows bully you… my poor Your Highness.”
He crouched on the wall and curled his lip; that blood wasn’t from the crow pecking, but from the little child biting open the crow’s neck—crow’s blood.
The palace maid sobbed as she held the child and went inside, perhaps immersed in grief, or maybe because he spent all day with pigs and dogs and had no human scent; in any case, the palace maid didn’t notice him.
However, the moment the palace maid turned to go inside, the little child in her arms turned its pitch-black pupils toward him.
Face covered in bloodstains, eyes calm and quiet.
He had seen many kinds of looks: disgusted, mocking, cruel, sorrowful, pitying, lecherous…
But he, who could ignore all those kinds of looks, stiffened at that moment—no, after more than ten years, Wei Jiao’s body still stiffened.
He couldn’t describe what that feeling was: afraid, shocked, or excited.
Wei Jiao let out a scoff, as if expelling a breath of stale air pent up for over ten years.
“What treasure? Just a thing worse than pigs and dogs.”
……
……
“Young Lady.”
The door was pushed open, sunlight pouring in.
Yang Luo looked up, squinting because the sunlight was too bright, and saw the young guard standing in the doorway.
The guard held a bowl of steamed rice.
“Even if you hang your hair from the beam and pierce your thighs with an awl, you still have to eat.”
A Sheng said, placing the rice bowl on the desk.
Yang Luo set down the brush in her hand and looked at her with a smile.
A Sheng frowned slightly at the look: “What?” Had this young lady foreseen something about her again?
Yang Luo said, “You advised me to spend sparingly, A Sheng. With you, I’ve already saved a lot of money.”
She reached out and counted on her fingers.
“One maidservant, one cook, one menial laborer, one coachman.”
A Sheng smiled: “No problem. Once Young Lady accomplishes her great task, just compensate me according to these numbers.”
Could the great task succeed? Yang Luo’s expression paused slightly.
A Sheng raised an eyebrow: “What? Can’t pass the exam?”
She looked down at the open book on the desk, covered in writing.
“The calligraphy is pretty good.”
Yang Luo was amused and looked down at her own writing too. Yang Luo from White Horse Town had also read and written, but just to recognize characters, not seeking mastery. After entering Duke Ding’an’s Mansion, Duke Ding’an’s Wife hired a female tutor to teach her reading and writing, saying that noble ladies in the Capital City were proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, so as not to be looked down on, she should study diligently behind closed doors.
At the time, she naturally obeyed obediently, studying day and night without rest so as not to lose face, learning whatever she was taught, and even grateful to her uncle and aunt for raising her so carefully.
Of course, later she learned it was just her uncle and aunt keeping her confined at home to prevent her from going out.
But now, it had come in handy.
Yang Luo sighed inwardly, set aside those thoughts, and asked, “Does A Sheng know calligraphy too?”
A Sheng said oh: “What’s to know or not know? Anyone with eyes can tell beauty from ugliness. Look, written so neatly—how nice.”
Yang Luo was amused again and nodded: “Yes, yes, A Sheng is right.”
She also examined her own writing, her expression a bit proud.
Indeed, her writing was really good.
“Eat quickly, so you have strength to write tomorrow.” A Sheng said.
Tomorrow was the day the National Academy selected companion readers.
Yang Luo smiled and went to wash her hands, then sat back down to eat; A Sheng checked the things needed for the exam nearby.
But actually, there wasn’t much to bring, just some personal items.
Brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and musical instruments were provided by the National Academy, and maidservants were not allowed.
“The exam isn’t like the men’s exam for the National Academy; after all, it’s just accompanying the princess in reading. The invitation is the first hurdle; after selection, there’s another exam, mainly to check if you’ve really read books, write some calligraphy, compose an essay, show some skills, while palace maids observe manners and behavior.”
Yang Luo described it in great detail, as if she had personally taken it once.
A Sheng didn’t question the truth of it; she already knew this young lady’s abilities—foreseeing the future.
“This time, I won’t need your protection; I’ll rely on myself.” Yang Luo said, finishing her meal in big bites and handing the bowl to A Sheng. “You just look after Miss Liu for me.”
This time she had used Miss Liu’s calling card. She wasn’t a rat; she would repay Miss Liu, at least ensuring that she and her maidservant wouldn’t nearly starve to death like in her previous life.
A Sheng took the rice bowl and said, “I checked yesterday; Miss Liu has already moved.”
Yang Luo wasn’t surprised; Miss Liu had discovered the invitation chewed to pieces by a rat and feared the government inquiring, so she naturally hid away pretending not to have come to the Capital City—just like in her previous life.
“Find out where she moved to.” Yang Luo said. “Give her some money to hold her over until her family finds her, so she doesn’t go hungry.”
A Sheng agreed and walked out with the rice bowl, turning back to see Yang Luo muttering something to herself.
Diligent, or pondering something again? A Sheng closed the door.
……
……
A bag of money was thrown down in front of the meat-cutting knife.
Zhang Sheng You was somewhat puzzled: “What’s this?”
A Sheng smiled and said, “Rice money for Miss Liu and her maidservant from my young lady.”
Nearby, Tao Hua chuckled, took the money bag and shook it: “This isn’t enough; we still need to get medicine for Miss Liu.”
A Sheng said, “Then Sister Tao Hua can only wait for the Liu Family to come and ask them for it; my young lady only gave this much.”
Tao Hua smiled and pocketed the money: “Your young lady really… stole something so important from others, pinned it on a rat with a few scraps of paper, and just swaggered off. Not afraid at all of them reporting to officials. Who knows if she has a brain or not.”
A Sheng smiled: “Because Young Lady has me as her guard.”
Although Yang Luo hadn’t instructed it, after stealing the invitation, A Sheng had Tao Hua find a way to get close to Miss Liu.
Tao Hua first used street-to-street selling of braised meat to connect with the Liu Family’s maidservant, then recommended herself as having a secret remedy for illness.
After two doses of medicine, Miss Liu’s illness improved a lot, gaining trust; then she recommended lodging to the panicked Miss Liu and her maidservant who wanted to hide after losing the invitation… the back residence of a street-facing butcher shop.
A bustling street-front location was safe, and the shop’s back residence was quiet and undiscovered. Though a young lady from a scholarly family had to live among pork, the sick and frightened Miss Liu didn’t care anymore and gladly accepted.
In this way, A Sheng had them under her watch.
Miss Yang’s boldness came from being a prophet; without prophecy, she took control of the unknown herself.
