It was only after pulling him into his arms that Young Shen Zheng realized the person in his embrace was ice-cold, not a trace of warmth left in him.
The joy of their reunion was instantly swallowed by worry. He hurriedly shrugged off his cloak and, without giving Young Wen Zhuo a chance to object, wrapped him up in it from head to toe.
Young Wen Zhuo froze for a moment and was just about to decline when Young Shen Zheng’s words came pelting down like a rapid-fire barrage—
“Why are you wearing so little? Did you run out of travel money, or did something happen in Mianzhou? You came all this way from Mianzhou to the capital like this? Why didn’t you write ahead to tell me you were coming? I could have sent someone to meet you!”
He reached out and tapped Young Wen Zhuo on the chest, right where the peace charm hung.
“And you—are you an idiot? This thing could have fetched you quite a bit of silver. You were freezing like this, so why didn’t you sell it for money? Besides, I have plenty more. I could give you ten of them. Why don’t you know how to be flexible?”
Young Wen Zhuo opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Young Shen Zheng continued without pause.
“Wait, you came here to sit the exams? You’ve already passed the provincial examination? You’re that young and you’ve already passed? You’re a genius! If I’d known, I would have brought you to the capital to prepare for the exams. It would have been much better than sleeping rough in the wind and snow and getting stranded outside the city!”
For the third time, Young Wen Zhuo tried to speak, but Young Shen Zheng still showed no signs of stopping.
“Never mind, never mind. We’ll settle all that later. We haven’t seen each other in eight years, and you’ve actually grown so—so…” He swallowed hard. His eyes shone as brightly as sunlight reflected off the snow. “No, that’s not right. You were already… Damn it, I can’t put it into words!”
Young Wen Zhuo gave up trying to interrupt him altogether. Inwardly, he thought, His Highness was already a chatterbox with a muddled tongue as a child. Now he’s only gotten worse.
Yet the awkwardness and unfamiliarity of not seeing each other for eight years gradually melted beneath that familiar stream of rambling. The cloak carried the young man’s body heat, and the warmth seeped into him layer by layer, bringing him a sense of security unlike anything he had felt before.
“How long have you been staying here? Where are you sleeping? With so many people crammed together, can you rest properly? Can you study?”
Even Shen Zheng, watching from the sidelines, couldn’t stand listening any longer. He longed to cover his own mouth. “This is the downside of having a schoolkid come along. All he knows how to do is spout nonsense.”
Wen Zhuo agreed wholeheartedly and said softly, “If it were His Majesty, he would have taken a private room and dragged me inside by now. He would also have told me that, in the modern world, people express their joy at reuniting after a long separation by kissing.”
Shen Zheng was left utterly speechless. After holding it in for a long while, he finally turned his head and chuckled.
But Young Wen Zhuo had clearly not yet cultivated Wen Zhuo’s sharp tongue. He merely listened to Young Shen Zheng’s endless chatter, his ears flushed crimson.
The soft fur of the cloak brushed against his neck, warm and ticklish, much like the feeling Young Highness gave him.
The scion of that aristocratic family stood nearby with the fur-lined robe in his hands. His expression had long since turned awkward. He had offered his garment out of kindness only to be refused, yet the other boy had calmly accepted a cloak from someone else.
He had never been treated so coldly in his life. A competitive spirit rose within him, and he wanted to see exactly where this newcomer had come from.
At last, Young Wen Zhuo found an opening and said quietly, “I did not mean to conceal anything. I merely wished to achieve something in my studies before appearing before Your Majesty, so that I would not fail to repay the years of kindness and care bestowed upon me by Consort Liang.”
Consort Liang?
The aristocratic young man’s heart gave a jolt. The way he looked at Young Shen Zheng became more probing.
“How can you think that way?” Young Shen Zheng asked sternly. “Are you saying that if you couldn’t pass the examinations in the capital, you would never see me again in this life?”
Young Wen Zhuo pressed his lips together. He had a bellyful of classical references and eloquent arguments, but he simply did not wish to contradict him.
Softly, he uttered three syllables: “Mi-si-you.”
Young Shen Zheng blinked. The righteous confidence drained from him at once, and he even stammered as he added, “Mi-si-you… too.”
The moment the words left his mouth, his own face reddened slightly. Young Wen Zhuo assumed it was merely a playful secret code, but Young Shen Zheng knew it carried another meaning.
The two attendants finished tying up the horses and lifted the curtain to enter. Seeing that the prince had given his cloak to someone else and was now dressed only in fitted riding clothes, they instinctively began to call out, “Fifth—”
Young Shen Zheng shot them a warning glance, and both immediately fell silent.
“Go to the innkeeper. Have him bring over the warmest padded clothes he has, and tell the kitchen to prepare several hot dishes,” Young Shen Zheng ordered.
The attendants accepted the order and left.
He turned to Young Wen Zhuo, his expression solemn. “Gather your things. I’ll take you to the capital. Until the metropolitan examination, you’ll stay at the Yongning Marquis’s residence.”
The aristocratic young man’s expression changed drastically. His hand, which had been clutching the fur-lined robe, fell limply to his side.
He had assumed the person before him was merely a poor scholar. He had never imagined that the young man had close ties to the capital’s most powerful families.
From a few scattered words, he had already guessed Young Shen Zheng’s identity. The household of the Chief Minister—a family he himself could only look up to—was, in this person’s presence, not worth mentioning at all.
He withdrew dejectedly to his private booth. From beginning to end, not a single person noticed him leave.
After eating a hot meal at the inn, Young Wen Zhuo’s body was thoroughly warmed through. He went to the servants’ shared quarters to gather his few belongings.
The innkeeper brought over a brand-new set of padded clothes. Young Wen Zhuo murmured his thanks, then, right in front of Young Shen Zheng, undid his sash and slipped out of his thin, worn garments.
Young Shen Zheng hastily turned his gaze away, his heart pounding.
Once Young Wen Zhuo had changed into the padded clothes, the pallor had finally left his face, replaced by a touch of color.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” he said softly.
Only then did Young Shen Zheng turn back. Pretending to be composed, he fanned himself at the neck.
“Are you hot, Your Highness?” Young Wen Zhuo asked, tilting his head.
Young Shen Zheng said, “Hot! No, no… I mean, not hot! Ahem. Can you ride a horse?”
Young Wen Zhuo nodded. “A little. When I was young, Consort Liang took me riding a few times. In time, I stopped being afraid. Later, Qinghe taught me as well.”
Shen Zheng, listening nearby, shook his head repeatedly. “What a pity.”
Teaching one’s beloved to ride was an extraordinary privilege. Whenever Wen Zhuo was frightened, he would squeeze his eyes shut and shrink back into Shen Zheng’s arms, pressing himself against him so tightly that it could easily awaken a man’s protective instincts. But Young Shen Zheng had somehow lost that opportunity without even realizing it.
Wen Zhuo looked puzzled. “A pity about what?”
Shen Zheng lied through his teeth. “It’s a pity Ta Baisha never got to eat carrots personally fed to him by Wanshan.”
Young Shen Zheng spurred his horse onward with Young Wen Zhuo, racing through the snow and sending up clouds of dust until the Yue Lai Inn was left far behind.
The wind and snow swept through the crack in the door. A few flakes landed on the wooden floorboards and melted instantly into damp spots.
A waiter came over to wipe away the traces, then turned and returned to the rear courtyard. The inn remained as ordinary as ever, as though that slender, graceful figure had never stopped there at all.
After Young Wen Zhuo moved into the Yongning Marquis’s residence and paid his respects to everyone in the household, he learned that Consort Liang had a younger brother who was currently serving and gaining experience in the army on the southern frontier.
The nation’s enemies had yet to be vanquished. As the son of a military family, he naturally ought to don armor and take up a spear.
Young Wen Zhuo’s heart surged with emotion, and his eyes grew hot.
In the days before the examination, the capital was bustling and noisy, but Young Wen Zhuo shut himself away to study. He often held a book until well past midnight.
By then, all the inns in the capital were packed with scholars who had come for the examination. Some were busy forming connections with fellow candidates, some hurried about currying favor with influential families, and others, eager for quick success, were cheated by unscrupulous booksellers into buying fake examination questions, only to celebrate in vain.
Such were the countless faces of the world.
The metropolitan examination arrived as scheduled. Dressed in clean cloth robes, Young Wen Zhuo entered the examination compound with calm composure.
Scholars streamed past in an endless flow. The aristocratic young man from the inn was among them as well. Seeing that the person he admired possessed extraordinary looks and came from an illustrious family, he felt painfully inferior and ultimately did not dare approach him.
The metropolitan examination was grueling. The scholars bent over their desks in their individual cubicles, wielding their brushes until, after handing in their papers and leaving the compound, they were finally able to release the stale breath trapped in their chests.
On the day the results were posted, the sky was clear and bright. Outside the Ministry of Rites, the imperial ranking list hung high on the yellow board, while crowds of commoners and students pressed around it, filling the air with excited voices.
“First place... Wen Zhuo! Where is this Wen Zhuo from?”
“Liangping County, Mianzhou! He’s the first Metropolitan Graduate from Mianzhou!”
“Look again—he also came first in the provincial examination. He’s the Provincial Graduate! That makes two consecutive first places!”
“A prodigy like this is rarely seen in a hundred years. Truly a heaven-blessed genius!”
...
By convention, before the palace examination, the Metropolitan Graduate would inevitably be caught up in a whirlwind of social obligations, leaving him exhausted in both body and mind.
There were banquets hosted by teachers, banquets hosted by fellow examinees, banquets hosted by natives of the same region. On top of that, powerful officials at court and local gentry would vie to win him over, seeking marriage alliances and friendly ties. One careless step could easily offend someone.
But Young Wen Zhuo had the Yongning Marquis Manor behind him. Anyone who wanted to scheme against or harass him had to weigh their own standing first.
Half a month later, the palace examination began. Dressed in blue silk court robes, Young Wen Zhuo entered the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
The emperor ascended his throne. Bells and drums rang out, and three cracks of the imperial whip resounded through the hall. Emperor Shunyuan asked in a gentle voice, “How should the foundations of scholarship be strengthened? How should the burdens on the people be eased? How should the regulations governing officials be enforced?”
Young Wen Zhuo answered each question in turn, addressing the scholarly ethos, the people’s livelihood, and the administration of officials. He cited the classics with ease, and his response stood far above those of all the other candidates.
Seeing his sweeping literary talent and his jade-like beauty, Emperor Shunyuan was delighted. He personally named him the top scholar of the examination.
After a hundred years, Great Qian had finally produced another prodigy who had taken first place in all three examinations. The news shook both court and country.
At the grand ceremony announcing the results, princes, nobles, and civil and military officials stood solemnly on either side. Young Wen Zhuo changed into a bright crimson gauze robe, fastened a gleaming silver belt around his waist, and held a locust-wood tablet in his hand. His elegance was unmatched.
Shen Zheng watched, deeply moved, his eyes stinging with tears. “It really is you. It really is you.”
Without Consort Chen, Emperor Shunyuan no longer clung to his old obsession. At last, he was able to judge impartially and have Wen Zhuo’s name carved into the Temple of Literature’s forest of steles as the top scholar.
Wen Zhuo said softly, “The title of top scholar may sound impressive, but it is only an empty name. Over the course of a thousand years, there have been hundreds upon hundreds of top scholars. I have seen the reputation I would have in later generations, and I have seen Lord Wen Shrine. I no longer care about it.”
After the ceremony came the flower-strewn procession down Chang’an Street and the banquet that followed. The young top scholar rode a handsome horse in splendid robes, his countenance dazzling as the sun. The people lined both sides of the street, tossing flowers and cheering.
Yet after completing the procession with an air of indifference to honor or disgrace, the top scholar immediately spurred his horse toward the Yongning Marquis Manor.
The young prince had been waiting for him for a long time. As soon as the manor gates opened, a familiar smiling face came into view.
Young Wen Zhuo forgot all about propriety. Gathering up his robes, he hurried into the courtyard. Young Shen Zheng came to meet him, opened his arms, and pulled him into a tight embrace.
Young Wen Zhuo’s cheeks flushed crimson. His voice trembled as he choked out, “Wen Zhuo has not failed you. Now that I have become the top scholar, I have not disappointed Your Highness or Her Ladyship. I only wish to devote my whole life in repayment, to remain at Your Highness’s side and serve you, steadfast and unwavering!”
The young prince took several deep breaths before finally steadying himself. He rubbed his cheek hard against Young Wen Zhuo’s. “Now that you’ve made this promise, you’re not allowed to regret it!”
Shen Zheng felt a sour ache in his heart, as though his teeth hurt from sheer jealousy.
“So without The Late Mountain Rhapsody, you would make a promise like this to me.”
Wen Zhuo secretly glanced at him. Seeing that he was genuinely jealous, he lowered his lashes and said quietly, “I wrote one too. I simply never showed it to His Majesty.”
Shen Zheng turned his head sharply, his eyes lighting up. “When did you write it? What did you write? And why didn’t you show it to me?”
Remembering it, Wen Zhuo became unbearably embarrassed and instinctively tried to retreat.
Shen Zheng set his schoolkid self aside and effortlessly caught Wen Zhuo around the waist. With a teasing smile, he said, “Then come to bed and recite Wanshan’s poem to me slowly.”
Wen Zhuo’s ears turned scarlet. He hurriedly covered Shen Zheng’s mouth in indignation. “Absolutely not!”
“Yes.”
“We still haven’t carried out the seven-times-to-compose-a-rhapsody arrangement from last time. It’s all because I was too soft-hearted.” Shen Zheng spoke with leisurely composure.
“...Your Majesty, stop talking.” Wen Zhuo was mortified.
“But with Wanshan’s talent, perhaps six times will be enough for him to compose a rhapsody.” Shen Zheng began pondering aloud.
“Who said that? I can do it in one!” Wen Zhuo turned his head and retorted.
Shen Zheng’s eyes lit up with delight. “Excellent. Then Wanshan can compose seven pieces in one night!”
Wen Zhuo: “?”
