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Chapter 119 : The Promise of a Drink for Failing the Exam
"Time passes so quickly... it's almost the New Year..."
The weather was gloomy, and the north wind howled.
Ming Chen, wrapped in a silver fox fur cloak, lounged in a yellow sandalwood chair, gently stroking the cat in his arms. He quietly watched the child practicing her sword in the distance and sighed softly.
He felt like he was sixteen going on sixty, living a retired life.
If only this world had mobile phones...
Е̇n̂ũḿǎ . іd́
The child's figure moved, turning and leaping in the courtyard. The wooden sword was like a fluttering butterfly, agile and elegant.
Xiu Die was very diligent. She had already mastered everything Ling Yu had taught her and continued to practice tirelessly, a stark contrast to the lazy Ming Chen.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The official document requesting leave from court had already been sent.
The cat lay quietly in his arms, while Shushu was engrossed in digging holes and planting in the courtyard.
The chattering little bird was not by his side; he had sent her out to deliver a letter home.
After all, he had been away for nearly half a year. He should report back to his family, or else his parents would probably think they had raised their son for nothing.
Е n uṁ а
In this era, the common people lived in poverty and hardship, but after climbing to the top, life became very comfortable.
The prosperity of the capital was dazzling, and everything was quiet and peaceful.
A month and a half had passed since he returned to the capital and was promoted.
He now lived in his own mansion and rarely went to the tavern.
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His fame made it inconvenient to live there. The tavern could now run on its own. Xiu Die would go to check on the shop from time to time, and that was enough.
As a high-ranking civil servant, the state would always assign him a house. In addition to his promotion, Xiao Yu had rewarded him with a mansion, gold, silver, cloth... all these material things.
W ě b n.о.v̈ėľ Е ṅ úm̌а̊
Compared to the small house assigned to him as a Compiler, this place was much more spacious and grand.
Ming Chen didn't know how long he would live here, so he didn't pay much attention to it. The name was simply 'Ming Mansion'.
Although he had been promoted, he was still very lazy, often calling in sick to skip court and not attending cabinet meetings.
He didn't care about the affairs of the Ministry of Rites either; there was still a Minister of Rites above him to handle the work.
He was so young, what was wrong with slacking off?!
He did nothing all day, either teasing the little bird or petting the little cat...
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Yet, both the old emperor and the Crown Prince had a high tolerance for him. Some court officials would impeach him, but to no avail.
During this time, many ministers had also visited him one after another. They greeted him with smiles, and all kinds of gifts were sent to the mansion, with a lot of gold, silver, and treasures mixed in, both openly and secretly.
Ming Chen, the new court favorite who had risen meteorically, had great ability, had ascended to the heavens in a single step, and was deeply appreciated by His Majesty. His rise was unstoppable.
For such an official, if you didn't try to win him over or show goodwill, wouldn't you be a fool?
When a newcomer emerged, they would be obstructed by various forces from all directions. This was how the classes worked. The middle and upper classes would not allow the lower classes to rise. They would set up various barriers to test, to stop, to destroy...
But if the newcomer broke through the obstacles with brute force, then he would become the new nobleman. Everything would open up, and he would receive unprecedented respect.
Е̄ n ũm а
Now, Ming Chen was such a person. Before people could even target him, he had already rushed up.
He had rushed to an unstoppable position, so all the obstruction would turn into flattery and attempts to win him over.
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This was the taste, this was the taste. Drifting in a chaotic world, this was Ming Chen's original intention.
A little bit of graft, didn't it just arrive?
He didn't care who the visitor was or what they sent; he accepted everything.
His brain would automatically generate words to deal with the visitors' conversations. As for what was discussed, he didn't let it enter his mind.
W̆ е̊b̈n̄о́_v е̄l̀ Е́ nú m̆ а
He didn't remember who had sent gifts, but he would know who hadn't.
"Report~"
"My lord, there is a visitor outside the mansion."
"He says he is an old acquaintance of yours, and that you owe him a drink."
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Suddenly, a shout came from outside the courtyard, startling the cat in his arms, which opened its heterochromatic eyes.
'Old acquaintance? A drink?'
Е n um̀ а̀
If it were Ling Yu, she wouldn't need a guard to announce her; she would just barge in directly.
Ming Chen pondered for a moment, seemed to have thought of something, and said, "Let him in."
Xiu Die, at the side, also stopped what she was doing upon hearing this, came over, and said to Ming Chen, "Brother, when you were away, someone came to Xiang Man Lou and also said you owed him a drink."
"Mmm."
Before long, the guard led a scholar in a green robe in.
He looked to be under thirty, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, a square jaw, and a very energetic appearance.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Brother, no... I should address you as Lord Ming now."
"Lord Ming, long time no see!"
He cupped his hands and said to Ming Chen with a smile, "Do you still remember our promise of a drink for failing the exam?"
This fiendish talent, Ming Chen, had appeared out of nowhere. He hadn't taken the palace examination, but his fame was unparalleled, stealing the limelight from everyone of his generation.
And among them, the most awkward was probably this top scholar.
Ming Chen remembered this person's appearance.
Ẁе̂ b̂ n ǒ v̇.е l Е̃ňům̂ ӑ
It was the chatterbox 'E-person' candidate from the end of the line on the day of the imperial examination, the one who had discussed the whale-shark theory with him.
Liu Wang.
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...
In a room with elegant decoration, smoke from an incense burner curled up. On the sandalwood table, wine rippled. Two scholars sat opposite each other.
"Ha~ Good wine, good wine~"
"Lord Ming, you really tricked me~"
Е́n̊um а̂ .і̀ d̊
Ming Chen no longer needed to serve people with green bamboo wine. There were all kinds of wine in the mansion. He just casually took out a jar to deal with it.
Liu Wang was not at all reserved, nor did he care that Ming Chen's official rank was much higher than his.
He took a sip of wine, looked at the fiendish talent before him who was even younger than him, and complained to him.
After all, this person had been suppressing him from the beginning, stealing a lot of his thunder.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'Didn't we agree to fail together?'
'How did you end up in first place?'
Е̄nu m â. і̃ d
'Mom, I feel like I've been living in his shadow.'
Ming Chen shrugged and said sarcastically, "Didn't Brother Liu also say he was going to fail? Didn't you say you couldn't even remember the Four Books and Five Classics? How come the top scholar is also named Liu Wang? It must be someone with the same name as you, right?"
"That's still not as good as Lord Ming~"
'Oh, so I lied too~'
'Then it's fine.'
It was just the insidious self-deprecation of top students.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Liu Wang gave a dry laugh. "Luck, luck~"
The two seemed not to have changed at all, just like the two strange candidates at the end of the line for the imperial examination that day. Even though one was now a shining new court favorite, and the other was the top scholar who had passed the golden list.
Both had lied, which was equivalent to neither of them having lied.
"I wonder why Brother Liu has come to find me?"
A newcomer who hadn't been corrupted by officialdom was actually quite interesting.
At least much more interesting than the ministers who had come to send gifts earlier. His speech wasn't a template that made one drowsy.
En̄ um̌å .ї d.
"Why have I come?"
"Hahaha, Lord Ming has risen to the heavens and his name shakes the world."
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"I, Wang, was fortunate enough to have met Lord Ming once. I must seize this opportunity. If there is a chance in the future, Lord Ming must promote me more."
"It's a good thing there was the promise of a drink, otherwise I really wouldn't know what reason to find to see you~"
Liu Wang drank the wine in his cup in one gulp and said with a hearty laugh.
He seemed to have no intention of hiding his intentions, frankly stating his desire to latch onto a powerful figure.
Е́ num̊ а̊
The essence of officialdom was a bond of interests.
And the first thing to do was to find a reason to connect.
Coming from the same hometown, having the same surname, being classmates... these were the best reasons.
Liu Wang's reason now was actually not bad either.
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A friend with whom he had a pleasant conversation before he became successful.
Ming Chen smiled. "Brother Liu is quite honest."
Ŵ е b n o v̇ е l̃ Е̊ n̄ u mа
Liu Wang said quite proudly, "After all, others don't have my discerning eye~"
"I hope Lord Ming will promote me more. Let's be loyal to the monarch and serve the country together, dedicating ourselves to Great Qian!"
'Loyal to the monarch and serve the country?'
'Dedicate ourselves to Great Qian?'
'I don't think I'm that kind of person, and I don't think you are either.'
Ming Chen gave him another look.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"I didn't expect it! I was quite confident in the metropolitan examination, but I was still suppressed by Lord Ming..."
"Why didn't Lord Ming participate in the palace examination? Oh... you had to go on a mission!"
"Hahaha, I have to thank Lord Ming for not taking the exam for me to get this top scholar title! Let me tell you, the topic of the palace examination..."
Liu Wang still seemed to be that carefree, chattering 'E-person' candidate at the examination hall entrance.
He talked a lot. He said he came to latch onto Ming Chen's thigh, but he showed no signs of being reserved or humble. He spoke like a gossipy customer in a restaurant.
This was only their second meeting, but the atmosphere never became stiff.
Е̌.n u m̀а
Ming Chen smiled and chatted with him, while Liu Wang drank his wine and observed Ming Chen.
Suddenly, Liu Wang leaned closer to Ming Chen, his voice lowered. "I heard... Lord Ming is very close to the Northern Emperor?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
A person like Ming Chen didn't seem like a loyal subject.
He needed to probe, to throw out sensitive questions to observe what Ming Chen was really thinking.
Ming Chen's expression turned serious upon hearing this. "Brother Liu, please don't speak nonsense. We who eat the monarch's food are loyal to the monarch's affairs. As an official of Great Qian, how can I associate with the monarch of an enemy country?"
"Hahaha~"
Еnû.mа̂ .ìd̃
Taking in Ming Chen's reaction, Liu Wang couldn't help but laugh heartily. "What Lord Ming says is reasonable. It must be a rumor from the streets."
However, what followed was,
"I heard... Brother Liu is like a brother to the leader of the Blood-Clothed Army?"
The same sentence structure sounded in his ear, but Liu Wang's pupils suddenly shrank. His hearty smile instantly vanished, and his whole body stiffened on the spot.
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He seemed to have been stunned by the shock.
The same probing, but his reaction was not as perfect as Ming Chen's.
Е̄ nú m а
Ming Chen narrowed his eyes, looking with great interest at the shocked top scholar before him.
He never suffered a loss.
This unlucky fellow tried to probe him, so he returned the favor.
'We both know each other's secrets. Neither of us is a good person. Let's just be frank and stop with the hypocritical empty talk.'
In the next instant,
"Swish!"
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A fierce wind blew, lifting a few strands of Ming Chen's hair.
A sleeve sword from his wrist was pointed directly at the most honored person in this mansion.
"Who are you?"
Liu Wang's face changed drastically. He no longer had the appearance of that carefree, chattering scholar.
He just looked at this strange and fiendish courtier who was even younger than him and couldn't help but question sternly.
This person was too strange!
Wе̄ b̂ n̆ó v̌ ёl̀ Е̄n̂u ma
It was as if he could see through flesh and into people's hearts. How did he know?
A jade-green rod had, at some point, been pressed against his throat.
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No matter how he brandished his claws, he couldn't advance another half-inch.
Before his sleeve sword could pierce Ming Chen, this jade rod would surely pierce his throat.
(End of Chapter)
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