Chapter 37: Come Take A Look
“How did you end up becoming someone’s guard?”
This was probably the longest Ling Yu’s eyes had left the book since he started talking to this youth; he hadn’t looked at the book again.
Mo Zheng said, “Just to earn a living.”
Ling Yu frowned. “Doesn’t your cousin want to support you?”
As he spoke, his hand pressed toward his waist, as if searching for something.
Mo Zheng smiled and reached out to press his hand. “Senior Brother, why are you still like this? I like reading, but if I have to rely on someone to support me to read, then I might as well not read.”
Back then, Ling Yu always saw that child hiding under the window to listen to the lessons, writing with a branch on the ground, listening earnestly and writing neatly, quiet and well-behaved, so he invited him inside to listen to the lessons and read.
The child shook his head. “My family has no money.”
The school required tuition, and brush, ink, paper, and inkstone also needed money.
For Ling Yu, a young master from a wealthy family, reading was the most important thing; money was not. He untied his money bag to hand it to the child.
The child stepped back to avoid it, his gaze surprised. “How can I use someone else’s money to read? That would be the shame of reading.”
The over ten-year-old wealthy young master Ling Yu didn’t understand this saying, but the now twenty-year-old still-wealthy young master Ling Yu understood.
Not everyone was like him, born to read.
Most people were born to live.
“I’m not supporting you to read,” he said. “Aren’t you a guard? I’ll hire you as a guard.”
He lowered his head to look at the youth’s hand pressing his own.
The youth’s hand looked fair, felt soft to the touch, but the roughness of the fingertips could be felt—this was the grind left by survival. These hands couldn’t just be used for writing and turning pages.
Mo Zheng smiled again, gently patted Ling Yu’s slender and smooth hand, and withdrew her own.
“In the Capital City, under the Son of Heaven, you, a Five Classics Doctor, need what guard?” she said, then smiled again. “This young lady has shown me kindness; I’m repaying kindness, guarding her for a while.”
Ling Yu said “oh” and glanced at her, his gaze wandering. “How’s this young lady’s scholarship?”
Mo Zheng touched her chin with her finger. “Hmm…”
……
…….
“You’ve all worked hard, young ladies.”
The finished calligraphy was collected one by one by the palace maids
“Next, we will test everyone’s understanding of the Classics.”
As they spoke, the five instructors walked into the hall, lifted the paper in their hands, with one line of classics written on each sheet of paper.
“These respectively come from the Five Classics. Please have each young lady choose a question to answer.”
The women in the hall all looked toward the paper in the instructors’ hands, nervously repeatedly deliberating and selecting what they were good at.
Yang Luo actually didn’t need to look. She already knew which one Miss Yang had chosen. Thinking of this, she glanced at Miss Yang, but saw that she hadn’t lifted her head either. Instead, she had already spread out the paper, lifted the brush, and was preparing to write…
Huh? Doesn’t she need to choose? Why does it look like she already knew what she was going to write?
Perceiving the gaze, Yang Hui looked over with wariness, using her sleeve to block her paper.
“Miss from Fuzhou, write your own, okay?” she said softly.
Yang Luo smiled. “Miss Yang is overthinking it.” With that, she withdrew her gaze.
She had long since copied it, and moreover, she had copied it even better, more exquisitely.
As each selected what they wanted to write, the noisy sounds gradually quieted down. The girls either pondered or lifted their brushes to write.
The princesses ahead also have to write.
Princess Pingcheng fell her brush steadily as before, Princess Wuyang gritted her teeth hatefully, Princess Nangong looked distressed and sorrowful., Princess Shengping had tears welling up in her eyes “I don’t understand these.”
An instructor handed over a scroll: “Princess, just copy one essay.”
Princess Shengping unwillingly rubbed her own wrist. “Being a princess is too tiring.”
……
…….
Passing through the covered walkway amid wind and rain, they arrived at a palace, above which “Cold Smoke” was written in bold, flourishing strokes like coiling dragons and dancing phoenixes.
This is the place where National Academy disciples attend class.
However, because it was not class time at the moment, the students were either in their residences or the library, making the place seem very spacious, with only seven or eight people inside engaged in animated discussions.
Ling Yu stood in front of the hall door and coughed lightly.
The people in the hall looked over, the discussion voices suddenly ceased, and the two sitting people stood up.
“Third Senior Brother.” They paid their respects respectfully.
Although these people vary in age, some older and some younger, in the sect what matters is not age.
Libationer Wang Zaitian has accepted a total of six disciples. Ling Yu has been following Wang Zaitian in reading since childhood and ranks third among the master’s disciples.
Ling Yu nodded and walked in, looking at two men in their thirties among them: “Fifth Junior Brother, Sixth Junior Brother, are you substituting for the teacher to judge the princess companion reader selection today?”
The two disciples nodded.
Wang Zaitian, as the libationer, only taught once a month at most and would not handle these miscellaneous matters.
The other disciples among the six were either officials or teaching outside, and only these three disciples were at the National Academy. Ling Yu was a bookworm, so naturally no one could command him.
“What instructions does Third Senior Brother have?” the two asked.
Ling Yu sat down on the cushion nearby: “I’m idle and have nothing to do, so I came to take a look.”
Idle and have nothing to do? The two disciples exchanged a glance, their expressions surprised. Did Ling Yu ever have free time? Wasn’t Ling Yu known for spending all his time reading books?
Ling Yu did not explain further, and a youth quietly stood behind him without a sound.
The people indoors then noticed him and saw that the youth had his head slightly lowered, so only his small, fair, and slender face could be seen.
Is he a student?
There were many students at the National Academy, so it was impossible to know them all.
However, what student could follow beside Ling Yu, who always came and went alone?
……
…….
A drum sounded with a thud, breaking the quiet indoors and causing noise.
“Ah, how is it so fast!”
“I haven’t finished writing yet.”
The instructors only said: “Young ladies, don’t worry, whatever you have written is fine.” They walked around one by one collecting the scrolls.
Some dawdled unwilling to hand them in, but feared being noted down for poor conduct by the palace maids with their piercing gazes, so they could only submit them.
Yang Luo looked at the essay that filled a full sheet of paper and gently exhaled.
After recalling from the previous days, she had written out the best essay she had composed in her previous life.
“You’ve written quite a lot.” Yang Hui looked over from the side.
Yang Luo glanced at her, lifted her sleeve to cover it.
Yang Hui’s face flushed with annoyance: “Who wants to see yours.” She unfolded her own answer sheet with both hands and handed it to the approaching instructor.
Yang Luo also handed hers in accordingly.
The instructors quickly collected them all.
“Young ladies, you’ve worked hard.” The palace maid smiled and said, “Everyone, please rest for a bit first.”
Palace maids filed in carrying pastries and tea, along with chessboards, pitch-pots, shuttlecocks, and other items.
“Everyone can play and enjoy yourselves.”
Though it was called playing, it was actually the palace maids beginning to observe the women’s speech, behavior, temperament, and personality.
The women in the hall did not relax and began to show themselves off.
Yang Luo was not worried. She had not just come from the countryside either; having been influenced in Duke Ding’an’s Mansion for five years, she was already a standard young lady from a great family, and these were merely supplements after the National Academy selected the candidates. The most crucial part was still the National Academy’s judgment.
Her gaze followed the instructors carrying the answer sheets as they walked out, and she clasped her hands in front of her.
Actually, she did not know what the result would be, but she had done her best.
The rest could only depend on luck.
She hoped her luck would be a bit better this time.
……
……
In the hall of Han Yan, the instructors placed two stacks of scrolls on the desk.
Besides the two disciples, Ling Yu also sat over.
Since he sat over, the two disciples politely gestured: “Please review them, Senior Brother.”
Ling Yu did not stand on ceremony and reached out to first take the scrolls for calligraphy.
However, he did not lower his head to flip through them, but instead turned and handed them to the youth behind him: “Take a look.”
The two disciples once again looked at the youth in surprise.
Was he to judge them?
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