Chapter 313: Eight miles of fireworks
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The next day, before the break of dawn, many of the officials were gathered, wining and dining as they waited for dawn.
"You may all leave, the Emperor is not coming today." A crisp voice rang out throughout the hall. Then, a figure in palace robes came through the door.
"The Emperor is not coming?"
"How does Eunuch Wei know about this?"
All of the officials were stunned by what Eunuch Wei just announced.
Ever since he took the throne, Emperor Lin Mubai had rarely been absent from court. This caused all the officials to wonder if something major had happened.
"I have no idea." Eunuch Wei shook his head, but showed no intention to leave.
"Eunuch Wei is the Emperor’s personal aide. Even if you do not know what happened, you should know where the Emperor is currently right? Could you enlighten us?" One of the officials asked when he saw Eunuch Wei stay.
"Since Official Li has asked, I will tell all of you the truth. The Emperor spent the night in the Imperial Decree Hall. He is still there, but I really do not know why he is not coming today."
"I see, thank you Eunuch Wei!" Official Li shook Eunuch Wei’s arm, then discreetly dropped a tael of silver into his sleeve.
"Official Li need not be so courteous. The Emperor still required my presence. I will make my move first." Eunuch Wei said flatly as he bowed to the officials and took his leave.
Very quickly, the hall became rather chaotic.
"The Emperor is in the Imperial Decree Hall?"
"But, this is not the memorial period, what is the Emperor doing there?"
"Could he be marking the scripts there? After all, this is the first time the Emperor has not given us the scripts to read."
"Official Sun does make sense. But why would the Emperor read the scripts there and not in the imperial library?"
"I am afraid that the Emperor values this court examination more than we can guess. The fact that he is personally marking all 200 scripts is testament to this fact."
"What does Left Prime Minister Yu think of this?"
All of the officials finished their discussions and looked in unison towards the silent, red robed, Yu Yiping.
"Guessing the Emperor’s intentions is not something we should do. The results will be announced in four days. Usually, the Emperor will meet with the top ten candidates before the results are announced. All we have to do is wait." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping sipped his tea and replied flatly.
"What Left Prime Minister Yu says is right!"
"Since that is the case, we should leave."
"Official Wang, I hear that you managed to get an exquisite blood jade. Under sunlight it looks like blood flows within. Could you let us take a look?"
"This exquisite blood jade is one of the rarest jades. There is barely one every century. Official Wang should not be too selfish about it!"
"Hahaha... I got this exquisite blood jade by chance as well. It is my honor for Official Qin and all of you other valued officials to take a look at it. I will prepare some drinks at my place later. I hope you will all drop by."
"We will definitely be there."
"Hahaha..."
All of the officials left the hall in groups.
At this point, Left Prime MInister Yu Yiping stood up and looked towards the Imperial Decree Hall. He frowned, "Imperial Decree Hall?"
...
Winter was coming. The fallen leaves covered the capital like a golden armor. They formed a soft carpet for people to tread on.
Time continued to pass.
It had been three days. It was only one more day to the results for the court examination. Everyone was engaged in heated discussions and guesses about the results.
The capital was the gathering place for everyone. There were businessmen coming to trade, and commoners coming to look for work.
If one did not do anything whilst they were young, then their youth was wasted.
The younger one was, the more risks they could take.
To the youths of the capital, this was great news to them! They were simply going to enjoy as much as they could whilst they were young.
Wen Dabao had a keen nose for such fireworks. Even though he enjoyed living the high life, he was not talented in any way.
However, this did not stop him from wanting the luxuries in life.
He decided to find himself a talent. That way, with a talented buddy, he could truly become someone admirable.
The talent in this case was naturally Fang Zhengzhi.
Other than Fang Zhengzhi, Wen Dabao could not find a second person who would be willing to join him on his escapades.
Fang Zhengzhi was getting rather bored nowadays. He had basically finished all of the delicacies in the capital. He had also seen virtually all the sights there were to see.
His life was basically wining, dining and having fun.
Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had done everything except for having fun. He had read that the ‘fireworks’ in the past were quite different from the ‘fireworks’ that he had experienced in his previous world.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was the ten mile long Qinhuai River. On one of its banks was the examination grounds for the metropolitan examination. On the other bank was the gathering point for everyone looking for some fun.
The beauties of Qinhuai were famous throughout history.
They sold their arts and not their bodies. That was the beauty of the ancient ‘fireworks’.
Fang Zhengzhi was still a minor, so he still had some boundaries. He would not let himself go too far. All he wanted to do was admire and enjoy. After he looked at Wen Dabao, he turned to look at Yan Xiu, who was still enjoying his tea.
He was surprised that Yan Xiu agreed to come without hesitation.
Indeed, one should not judge a book by its cover. The wants and desires of the people here were not that much different from those of his previous world.
"You’re going to see fireworks? How can you leave me out?" Ping Yang appeared just as they were about to leave.
"These... fireworks are not actually fireworks!" Fang Zhengzhi blushed. He felt so embarrassed, almost as if he had just been caught in bed with another woman.
"Duh... I know that you are going to drink and listen to music. Do you really think that I am a stranger to such places? I know them better than you do!" Ping Yang glanced at Fang Zhengzhi scornfully, her head raised.
"You’ve been there?!" Fang Zhengzhi felt like the world was going to crumble around him. Ping Yang was even younger than him!
How could she be familiar with such a place?
At what age did she go?!
Who brought her there?!
"Of course, I have been going to such places to listen to music since I was six with my granddad." Ping Yang said haughtily.
"Grandfather?"
"King Liqin! Haven’t you met him before?"
"Him?" Fang Zhengzhi recalled who that was. He was the old man who wanted to take a look at the Traceless Sword in the throne room. He didn’t expect that the old man was so dirty minded that he would bring along a six year old girl.
How evil.
All four of them left for the destination.
Wen Dabao was ecstatic. He didn’t think that Ping Yang joining was inappropriate. Even Yan Xiu was calm.
Fang Zhengzhi was the only one who thought it was weird to bring the princess along.
He wondered what the Emperor would think if he found out.
...
There was no ten mile Qinhuai River in the capital.
However, there was a street eight miles long that was adorned with red lanterns and silk. It was quite different from what Fang Zhengzhi had envisioned.
The decorations here were antiquated but elegant. Each loft was adorned with poems and paintings. Melodious tunes floated out into the street.
There were sounds of guzheng, pipa, flutes...
"I hear that the people here today are all intellectuals!" Ping Yang said excitedly.
"The Princess is knowledgeable. There doesn’t seem to be anything you don’t know. The announcement of the court examination results is tomorrow. I think that there will be many people here tonight." Wen Dabao replied respectfully.
Fang Zhengzhi blinked and thought to himself, What’s the link?
Wen Dabao turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu after sucking up to Ping Yang. Then, he began introducing the area to them like a tour guide.
"The most famous loft here is the "Intellectual Loft"! The night before the announcement of the court examination results, there will be a gathering held there. Many candidates would go there to talk about their policies!"
"Discuss policies?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed to reply.
This gathering was quite similar to those that he had after each examination in his previous world. Candidates would match their answers with each other. If their sentiments were echoed by the rest, they would be more confident.
They arrived at the entrance to the Intellectual Loft.
It was a three storey tall loft. There were eight red lanterns on the entrance and eight sets of couplets lined the doors. It looked like they were written by eight different artists.
In the middle of the loft were the words Intellectual Loft written in calligraphy. Anyone unfamiliar with the penmanship would have found it difficult to discern the letters.
"Congratulations Young Master Wu, congratulations! The Emperor had asked to meet you in person. I am sure you have made the top ten. Based on your abilities, I think it is possible that you even take home the top spot."
"Yes yes I agree. I also heard that Fang Zhengzhi has been spending all his time wining and dining. He didn’t even get called by the Emperor. I think he is out of the top 10."
"I wonder if Nangong Hao met with the Emperor?"
"Is that even a question?"
"That’s true. However, I haven’t seen Nangong Hao since the examinations. It’s almost as if he vaporized."
Just as they were about to enter, they heard laughter from inside. It was accompanied by the melodious tunes from a guzheng.
It was quickly accompanied by the crisp sound of a flute. It combined with the melody from the guzheng, giving the music a light wafting feel.
"Hahaha... you have done well in the exams. The flute and strings sing for you. I think you should say something."
"Yes yes. Young Master Wu, why don’t you tell us the direction of your policy paper so that we can learn from you."
After a short period of time, the music stopped.
It was closely followed by claps and cheers.
"What a bunch of idiots. The meeting with the Emperor is a secret. Unless you tell them yourself, how would they know? Official Fang, don’t you agree?" Wen Dabao commented angrily.
"Meeting with the Emperor?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather confused.
In the ancient times of his previous world, the emperor would meet with the top candidates just before the release of the results. He would ask them some additional questions before deciding on the top three.
However, he did not know if they had the same tradition here. As such, he did not think too much about it.
"Official Fang... don’t scare me. Did you really not receive it? The invitation to meet with the Emperor before the release of the results. It means that you are in the top 10! Did you not receive it?" Wen Dabao’s expression changed as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi in disbelief.
Wen Dabao did not participate in the court examinations.
As such, he did not know what had happened inside. Even so, he was certain that Fang Zhengzhi could make the top 10.
Even the top three.
Even though the top spot would probably go to Nangong Hao, this did not bother him.
It was Nangong Hao after all.
Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at Yan Xiu and Ping Yang, his eyes filled with unspoken questions.
"I heard that the Emperor was in the Imperial Decree Hall looking through all the scripts personally. As such, I thought that there wasn’t any meeting with the Emperor." Yan Xiu’s expression changed when he heard this as well.
"You thought that there wasn’t... does... does that mean that Young Master Yan didn’t receive the invite either?" Wen Dabao’s jaw dropped in shock.
"Yup, I didn’t receive it." Yan Xiu nodded.
"How is that possible? Both of you didn’t meet with the Emperor? You are the top two candidates from the imperial examinations. Isn’t it too much of a coincidence? Could Wu Feng... he lying?" Wen Dabao’s expression revealed traces of rage.
"No way. Wu Feng would not joke around with something like that." Yan Xiu shook his head as he looked at the lights in the Intellectual Loft. His grip on his fan tightened.
"Oh gosh... Fang Zhengzhi. You didn’t receive the invite. Are you going to fail? It’s only a pity that Yan Xiu... did you mislead Yan Xiu?" Ping Yang’s voice rang out.