After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 118

“That… that’s also stealing the account book,” Bai Yuxing muttered, “I, Bai Yuxing…”

The emperor asked, “Hmm?”

Bai Yuxing replied, “… I, Bai Yuxing, will give it my all!”

Hearing the emperor’s threatening “Hmm?” with many twists and turns, Bai Yuxing quickly forced a smile, clasped his hands in salute, and bowed. The emperor was very pleased with his sincere attitude and gave him a thumbs-up: “I remember all the contributions you’ve made. When you retrieve the account book and hand it over to Lu Xiandao, I’ll reward you handsomely. I’ll even open the national treasury for you to choose two items.”

“Great!” Bai Yuxing was overjoyed, but then realized he had heard a name. “Lu… Lu what?”

“Lord Lu,” another voice sounded from beside the emperor. Bai Yuxing recognized it as the young man named Zhou, “Lord Lu is responsible for the affairs in Qingzhou.”

Bai Yuxing: …

Bai Yuxing remained immersed in this unfortunate news until he left the palace. He walked slowly through the capital, feeling dejected. As he walked, he heard a crisp voice behind him: “Old Bai?”

The voice—Bai Yuxing’s eyes lit up. It was Miss Zhang Lingsu!

He turned around and saw Zhang Lingsu standing there, holding a bag of oranges, smiling at him. At that moment, Bai Yuxing didn’t quite know where to put his hands. He looked her up and down and then chuckled, “Oh, so you’ve become a great physician!”

“You’re not much older than me; stop calling me little girl,” Zhang Lingsu said with a frown. Bai Yuxing noticed how lively she looked. Zhang Lingsu continued, “You’re back in the capital?”

Bai Yuxing nodded. As he was about to boast about his experiences, Zhang Lingsu said, “I was worried about you. I heard from Lord Lu that you managed to get the rice from the emperor. Very impressive, Old Bai.”

Hearing the word “impressive,” Bai Yuxing briefly basked in the praise. But then he scratched his head and asked, “Who told you that?”

“Lord Lu,” Zhang Lingsu said casually, “Old Bai, you’re really lacking in loyalty. You didn’t even come to see me before you left and just left a necklace wrapped in paper.”

“I… I was…” Bai Yuxing rubbed his nose, “I was busy… Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Qingzhou again. Let’s make up for the farewell today. I’ll bring you a gift when I return.”

Zhang Lingsu huffed, “At least you have a conscience.”

She glanced at the oranges in her hand and said, “I have to go now. The Imperial Medical Department is busy, so I’m heading back.”

“Alright, alright!” Bai Yuxing responded enthusiastically, “Let me carry it for you.”

“No need.”

Although Zhang Lingsu declined, Bai Yuxing still diligently helped her carry the items to the Imperial Medical Department. As he left, he pondered why Lu Xiandao had informed Zhang Lingsu about the rice. It was normal for someone like Lu Xiandao to have sources of information, but why tell Zhang Lingsu?

After thinking it over, he decided not to dwell on it. He stood at the entrance, watching Zhang Lingsu’s figure disappear into the Imperial Medical Department and heard her distributing oranges to her colleagues. Zhang Lingsu came out of the Imperial Medical Department, handed him an orange, and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be busy? Why are you still here?”

“I’m just resting after a long journey.” Bai Yuxing, who could travel thousands of miles and lie effortlessly, said this with a straight face.

“Oh…” Zhang Lingsu didn’t press further, “Safe travels.”

Her words and the orange landed in Bai Yuxing’s hands. He turned his back to her, tossed the orange up, caught it, and smiled, “Alright!”

…

Bai Yuxing’s speed exceeded Zhou Xun’s expectations. Within half a month, he had located and stolen the account books hidden in the Qingzhou government. However, there was a minor mishap. While Bai Yuxing was searching through the Qingzhou government in the dead of night, he collided with Lu Xiandao, who was also there searching for things, and they mistook each other for thieves, leading to a fight.

This fight nearly ruined the entire Qingzhou mission. Fortunately, the emperor managed to save the situation just in time. With the account books in hand, the special investigation team could handle the corrupt officials more effectively. Although dealing with the aftermath of the flood would require a lot of manpower and time, all the involved officials were dismissed and transported back to the capital by boat and imprisoned. Unfortunately, Bai Yuxing couldn’t return immediately—he was recovering from injuries in Qingzhou.

Lu Xiandao didn’t return either; he stayed in Qingzhou to “take care of” Bai Yuxing. Bai Yuxing was clearly moved and sent numerous letters to the emperor expressing his gratitude to Lu Xiandao, ending each with “Lord Lu’s deep loyalty and righteousness have truly touched me, but I feel unworthy of such heavy loyalty, so please call him back to contribute to the country.”

The emperor commented, “I didn’t expect Lu Xiandao, who seems so indifferent, to be quite gentle. He’s truly a loyal and righteous man!”

The emperor’s expression of admiration for Lu Xiandao’s “loyalty and righteousness” resembled his expression when he had clasped Zhou Xun’s hand and declared they would be lifelong brothers. Zhou Xun glanced at him but made no comment about the emperor’s loyal and righteous man.

This year’s weather was warmer than usual. By early March, the peach blossoms in the city were already budding. Just as the first buds were slowly blooming, the results of the spring examination were finally announced.

On the day the results were announced, a light rain fell in the capital, but the enthusiasm of the candidates heading to view the results was undiminished. Zhou Xun, escorted by Xiao Duo and Lele, barely managed to navigate through the bustling streets and arrive at the announcement site.

The announcement site was packed tightly with people. Zhou Xun and his party had to find a nearby teahouse to sit down. The sounds of candidates’ lamenting cries or exclamations of joy continually reached their ears. There was even someone who fainted from excessive excitement and was carried out by the medical team stationed by the emperor. Zhang Lingsu was among the medical team, busily attending to patients. Beside her was a handsome mixed-race boy, Xiao Wu, repeatedly helping her with supplies.

“We’ll go over when there are fewer people,” Zhou Xun said to his attendants.

It was not until nearly evening that the crowd around the announcement site had thinned out a bit. Zhou Xun then made his way through the crowd. Just as he entered the throng, someone nudged his arm and called out, “Hey!”

Zhou Xun turned in surprise.

To his surprise, it was Li Miao who appeared before him. Li Miao, seeing Zhou Xun turn around, had a disgruntled expression on his face: “This young master called you for a while, and you pretended not to hear?”

Zhou Xun replied, “I didn’t hear.”

Li Miao frowned: “Do you think I would believe that? Hmph, you’re definitely pretending not to hear. Do you think this will provoke me?”

… Zhou Xun seriously felt there was no point in talking to this person.

“You’re friends with Zhou Cai, aren’t you?” Zhou Xun said淡淡 (dàn dànly), “Why are you stopping me?”

“This young master is also participating in this year’s spring examination,” Li Miao said.

Zhou Xun was genuinely surprised: “I thought someone from the Duke’s residence had already informed you.”

Li Miao, upon hearing this, immediately became smug: “Hmph, I heard the servants report this morning. However, such a one-time event like the spring examination, this young master naturally has to come and see my name on the list myself.”

Zhou Xun responded, “Oh.”

Seeing Zhou Xun’s indifferent demeanor, Li Miao frowned again. He relaxed his brow and said with a smile: “Hmph, do you know what rank I got?”

Zhou Xun, who was only interested in seeing his own rank, found Li Miao’s persistent presence annoying. He reluctantly played along: “What rank?”

Zhou Xun’s tone showed no curiosity, which further displeased Li Miao. However, thinking of his own rank and imagining Zhou Xun’s astonished expression upon seeing it, Li Miao felt slightly satisfied. As several people bumped into Zhou Xun, almost colliding with him, Li Miao ordered his servants from the Duke’s residence to clear a path for Zhou Xun: “Let’s show you this young master’s rank.”

Zhou Xun: …

Since Li Miao was making way for him, he decided to take advantage of it.

Zhou Xun calmly followed the path cleared by the Duke’s residence servants. Li Miao walked beside him, and when the red list appeared before them, he pointed to the top of the list and said: “This young master is third in the top three! As a successful scholar, there are only three top-three scholars!”

Zhou Xun: “Oh.”

Li Miao, feeling triumphant, smirked. But the next moment, he heard Zhou Xun’s attendant excitedly exclaim: “Master, your name is first in the top three!”

Li Miao: ………………

Li Miao became even more silent, and his silence was prolonged. He slowly raised his eyes to the red list, and the smirk on his face remained frozen. First in the top three, Zhou Xun.

Second in the top three, Yan Jia.

Third in the top three… Li Miao.

For a moment, the world seemed very quiet. After a while, Li Miao forced a few dry laughs and said: “There’s still the palace examination; the final ranking is not yet known!”

Zhou Xun nodded beside him: “Mm.”

Li Miao: ……………

After a long silence, Li Miao twitched his eyebrows and said: “Oh? Don’t you have anything to say? Are you holding back words and laughing inside? Stop pretending, just say it.”

Zhou Xun looked at him and finally said: “I just want to say…”

Li Miao: “Don’t get too smug!”

Zhou Xun: “It’s too crowded here. Will you escort me out?”

Li Miao: ……………

Stay calm, stay calm. You are the heir of the Duke’s residence, a precious heir, a graceful heir… Li Miao kept repeating this to himself, then stifled his frustration, maintaining his dignity as an heir, and escorted Zhou Xun out of the crowd.

After escorting Zhou Xun out of the crowd, he gave Zhou Xun a cold glance and then left.

“This young master will wait for you at the palace examination!” he threw this statement over his shoulder.

Zhou Xun: …

“Master,” Xiao Duo said cautiously, “Li Young Master seems quite angry…”

“Don’t worry about him,” Zhou Xun replied, “He won’t do anything.”

Xiao Duo: … Oh.

As Zhou Xun turned to go back, another voice called out from behind: “Zhou Xun.”

He turned around to see Yan Jia standing alone under the eaves, holding an umbrella.

Zhou Xun paused and said, “What a coincidence.”

“Not a coincidence,” Yan Jia said calmly, “I’ve been waiting here for you since this morning.”