After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 125

Despite the Minister of Rites fuming and glaring in anger, the rankings were still set as they were.

Li Miao was the Third Place Scholar, Yan Jia was the Second Place Scholar, and Zhou Xun…

Was the Top Scholar.

Yes, the Top Scholar.

Three years ago, standing here was Zhou Cai, the legitimate eldest son of the Zhou family. He wore the crimson robes of the Top Scholar, his black hair tied up, looking across the sea of people towards Rong Xuan, who had advocated strongly for him to be the Top Scholar. All eyes were focused on him alone. He walked under the sunlight with such ease, his robes fluttering… While at that time, Zhou Xun was struggling on his sickbed, suffering from a high fever, his face flushed red, trapped in a nightmarish dream of endlessly writing in the examination hall, but never finishing the essay.

Now, standing here was he himself. His robes were the ones fluttering. In a daze, it seemed as though he had missed nothing, as if fate had finally come into his hands.

After expressing his gratitude, Zhou Xun looked up. From afar, the emperor, who had maintained a cold expression and shown no sign of acknowledgement towards Zhou Xun throughout the day, finally, across the vast hall, slowly blinked his eyes at him as he was about to leave.

They had kept their distance for a day, as if they were strangers, even when Zhou Xun was deliberately put through difficulties, the emperor had never said a word. Only at this moment did he give Zhou Xun a wink.

Yet, this distance and respect, rather than favoritism, were all the more precious. The emperor understood him so well that he had to be fair and just, ensuring Zhou Xun would not question what he deserved, and not let him be put in a difficult position.

Until the moment before mounting the horse, Zhou Xun remained in a daze. Surrounded by people, he was dressed in the Top Scholar’s robes and a red flower on his chest. Amidst the continuous congratulatory voices, he was escorted to the horse. Grand Scholar Gu smiled kindly at him, Prince Duan waved his fan and also smiled, and the Minister of Rites looked disgruntled but powerless… As he rode in the robes of the Top Scholar, he would see the sights of the capital.

“Hey, hey!” Li Miao called out to Zhou Xun from behind him three times before Zhou Xun heard him. Zhou Xun turned around and heard Li Miao sourly say, “Alright, now I admit, you are indeed worthy of being Old Shen’s disciple.”

Zhou Xun smiled, and Li Miao continued, “But I’m not bad either. In some aspects, you’re actually inferior to me.”

“In what aspects?” Zhou Xun, unusually patient, asked.

Li Miao said, “Since ancient times, the Third Place Scholar has always been awarded to the most handsome candidate among the top scholars… Hey! Come back!”

Zhou Xun: … There’s really nothing to say to this person.

He rode slowly. To enter the city, he had to pass two tall buildings. On the first building, various ministers and royal relatives stood or sat by the railing, smiling and watching the three young scholars. Occasionally, whispers could be heard, discussing the candidates’ backgrounds, talents, or affiliations.

The second building was much more lively. Curtains hung by the railing, behind which many noblewomen, such as princesses and noble ladies, stood. The scene here was different from before. They quietly stood behind the curtains, discussing the three young and handsome scholars. Occasionally, laughter and chatter could be heard from behind the curtains, as they enjoyed their carefree youth, chatting about their affections and having fun with their closest friends in a place hidden from outsiders.

Someone seemed to have tripped and nearly fell out from behind the curtain. Another hand reached out to pull her back. When that person extended their hand, their profile showed, with long eyebrows and a somewhat aloof expression. Zhou Xun heard Li Miao behind him gasp, “Is that Princess Chang Le? She’s back in the capital?”

Princess Chang Le? The very princess who despised Zhou Cai, and had previously gone to the frontier with her uncle? Zhou Xun thought.

He turned his gaze towards the curtain and, to his surprise, the princess was indeed standing there, not avoiding his gaze. Zhou Xun only saw her profile and felt she seemed very aloof, and then noticed her gaze.

She was looking at Yan Jia.

A moment later, Princess Chang Le looked towards Zhou Xun. The glance felt almost confrontational. After another moment, she looked away.

Li Miao seemed to have been holding something in. Since Yan Jia remained silent, he thought Yan Jia was feeling embarrassed and resented him, so after leaving the palace, he specifically spoke to Zhou Xun, “Princess Chang Le is already over twenty. At her age, she should have been married by now, but she still spends her time racing horses with her uncle. The censors have submitted several memorials about her. I guess she’s back in the capital now because the emperor is planning to arrange a marriage for her. Even if she’s a princess, she can’t just drift around like this. It’s possible that the princess’s future husband is among this year’s candidates…”

He said too much, and Zhou Xun glanced at him, before saying before the crowd grew larger, “I didn’t expect the heir to know so much about Princess Chang Le.”

“Well, she’s been like a boy since childhood, and she even beat me up…” Li Miao inexplicably said.

Zhou Xun looked at him strangely and suddenly understood what Li Miao was thinking. But just now, Princess Chang Le had not looked at him at all.

She was watching Yan Jia, for a long time, but it wasn’t with admiration or affection.

She did glance at Zhou Xun, but it was a rather strange look… as if she knew Zhou Xun had noticed she was looking at Yan Jia.

“Why did she return to the capital? I thought she’d stay in the frontier for life…” Li Miao murmured. But before he could finish, he saw the bustling streets ahead.

The common people rushed out of their homes to admire the three top scholars. They held orchids or other flowers, throwing them to the handsome young men and praising their talent and appearance. Some young ladies, veiled and hidden in the pavilions, peeked out to watch them, while others from official and gentry families also came to see.

For them, the scholars’ talents were the least important—after all, their talents couldn’t be seen during the parade. As a result, their looks became the hot topic of discussion. Among the three, Li Miao was the most handsome and rugged, and many young ladies were stealing glances at him. Yan Jia was only slightly less striking but still charming, with his beautiful sister and his own good looks causing some bold young ladies to throw orchids at him.

Zhou Xun received fewer “gifts.” This wasn’t because he was less attractive than the other two—in fact, he was far superior in looks. However, he exuded an aloof and distant aura, as if he was on a higher pedestal. People whispered about him but dared not look too long or throw anything at him, as if it would be an offense.

As they proceeded westward into the city, the route became congested. Someone went ahead to check and reported, “A young lady is throwing embroidered balls to propose.”

Indeed, there was a young lady on the upper floor of a building, veiled and proposing with an embroidered ball. The crowd hurried towards her, but unexpectedly, the ball seemed to drift directly towards Zhou Xun.

As the ball flew towards Zhou Xun, he was about to dodge it when a dark shadow flashed from the crowd…

The shadow moved with incredible speed, like a lightning bolt, carrying a bloody aura of a blade. In Zhou Xun’s brief glimpse, the eyes were full of sharp killing intent, clearly belonging to a seasoned assassin or spy.

The seasoned spy and Zhou Xun locked eyes…

…Then, with lightning speed, the spy knocked the ball away to another place.

After completing this action, the shadow revealed a “gentle” smile to Zhou Xun before vanishing into the crowd.

Zhou Xun: …

He recognized a familiar figure from a distance and understood.

…Your Majesty, is this how your elite shadow guards are deployed? Zhou Xun couldn’t help but feel speechless.

As he was watching, he suddenly sensed something unusual. An odd reaction surged in his heart.

Not far from here was Yan Yunfang, separated only by a river. Zhou Xun looked towards where his premonition came from. He was near a teahouse, and in the distance was a red building named “Luxuriant Dew.”

“What’s wrong?” Li Miao asked from behind him.

“Nothing.” Zhou Xun shook his head.

He continued walking with the crowd. Meanwhile, on the upper floor of the red building, a young woman in plain clothes respectfully drew the curtain for another woman.

“He shouldn’t be able to see us,” the young woman in plain clothes said.

The woman seated next to her wore gray clothing, with her hair styled in a woman’s coiffure and her face veiled. Though no longer young, traces of her former beauty remained—like a rose that had been picked and crushed, its faded hue still hinting at its former splendor.

The plain-clothed woman remained silent, waiting for the gray-clad woman to sink into her memories. She did not know the gray-clad woman’s story, but her insight allowed her to sense some clues. However, the gray-clad woman showed no sign of hesitation, simply taking up the bamboo tube containing intelligence and said, “You did well.”

The plain-clothed woman smiled gently, “It was nothing. Lord Xie is very cautious. I put in a lot of effort to obtain this information. He’s not the type to appreciate a woman’s delicate beauty, so I had to put in extra work.”

“The eldest prince of Xiliang is no longer in the capital and is planning to return to Xiliang, right?” the gray-clad woman said淡淡地道，“I’m afraid he didn’t expect that the little girl he picked up when she was five would betray him. On the surface, you are from Xiliang, but in reality, you have long been working for Northern Wei.”

The woman seated opposite her smiled. The plain-clothed woman was Tian Nu, who had appeared light as a feather on the flower cart, but now her private smile was sweet and less cold than on the cart. She said, “Serving only the eldest prince, I would remain as ‘his Qing Ruo’ forever, even if one day he is in a high position, I would just be a concubine. Being a useful blade, a blade will always become dull eventually. But working for oneself is like this tea.”

She picked up the tea she brewed: “Whether the tea is cold or warm, bitter or sweet, it’s all earned by oneself, not begged for. The achievements are also one’s own.”

After leaving “Luxuriant Dew,” the gray-clad woman saw a woman in the back courtyard. The woman, with eyes similar to Lin Yan’s, was holding a baby and cursing at the child, who had failed to bring her the honor and wealth of marrying into the Zhou family, becoming a burden instead. She used harsh and vulgar names for the child, showing no signs of being a mother.

The gray-clad woman’s attendant whispered, “Such a mother exists in this world.”

“The child’s birth was not what she wanted. Though it shouldn’t be so, it’s somewhat understandable,” the gray-clad woman said calmly, as she boarded the carriage.

Upstairs, Qing Ruo opened the curtain again. She watched as the parade of the top three scholars had already left the street. The top three scholars, of course, would not come to this street. She held her hands, looking at the distant scene, and thought about the young Top Scholar she had just seen.

Her memory was excellent, and she could remember the names of people she had seen once. If it weren’t for this, she wouldn’t have become a useful blade.

“I seem to have seen him before,” she thought, “Was it on the day of the Tian Nu parade? The man beside him…”