"Wait... Wait a minute... this child!"
Mrs. Su-Hua called out twice, but Su Ke ran even faster ahead. She couldn’t help shaking her head, then suddenly rembered the question she had earlier, "You still haven’t told , what is going on between you and Qin Shuan’er!"
But Su Ke had already run far away and wasn’t going to answer her.
Mrs. Su-Hua sighed to herself.
Speaking of Qin Shuan’er, she had watched her grow up from a young age. At one point, she even considered having Shuan’er as her daughter-in-law, but when she ntioned it to Su Lao Si, he rebuked her severely. There was no other reason; the ssy familial generations between them were just too incompatible. After that, she set the idea aside.
But as Qin Shuan’er grew up and beca more beautiful, the once-settled heart of Mrs. Su-Hua began to flutter again.
When she brought it up with Su Lao Si once more, he beca outright angry.
"Forget about the ssed-up family hierarchy between them, just consider her grandmother... Doesn’t she just rub you the wrong way? Moreover, Ke’er has high aspirations. If he doesn’t fancy Shuan’er, can you force him to marry her? Once Ke’er starts his career in the court, would marrying Shuan’er benefit him in any way? I’ve recently heard that Ke’er’s ntor intends to match his own granddaughter with him, and that would help him advance further in the court. Such a fine marriage proposal—would you really be willing to turn it down?"
Su Lao Si’s words left Mrs. Su-Hua speechless.
A mother knows her son best!
Although she didn’t know what Ke’er thought of Shuan’er, she could clearly see that at least the two children had mutual affection.
"What’s wrong, what are you doing here? What’s the matter?"
Su Lao Si ca over, looking at her curiously.
Mrs. Su-Hua snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at him, but refused to share her concerns, "It’s nothing, I was just reminding that boy to be more polite when he sees his ntor later on. But he ran off as fast as he could, as if he were afraid ’Frankly speaking’ was chasing after him..."
Su Ke had made a trip to the Imperial Palace first.
As he expected, neither His Majesty nor the Empress saw him; they rely sent word to encourage him.
Su Ke once again hurried to his ntor’s residence.
Yesterday he had also co here, only to see remnants of firework debris all over the ground, which filled him with sha, and he did not go in.
Now knowing that he had passed the Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination, he naturally sped over, his spirits as high as a galloping horse’s hooves.
From afar, off by the second entrance, he had his page boy go ahead to announce his arrival. The gatekeeper, upon seeing Su Ke, broke into a wide smile and opened the door, nodding and bowing incessantly to curry favor.
"It turns out to be Master Su arriving. Young Master Xue just ntioned you. The old man has been waiting in the hall for a long ti, please follow inside."
These words made Su Ke feel rather embarrassed.
"Brother Xue is already here?"
"That’s right, he ca early this morning, had lunch with my master, and is now having tea in the hall."
"It seems Brother Xue has beaten to it."
Su Ke joked, thinking about how his ntor had been waiting for him to visit since yesterday, but he didn’t go until today. He must have disappointed his ntor.
Thinking of this, he dismounted and strode into the hall, following the servant quickly. Indeed, the ntor was already waiting there, and Xue Qian was sitting at the lower end, making faces at him.
Su Ke pretended not to see and went down on his knees before the ntor.
"Frankly speaking, your disciple drank too much yesterday and only woke up from a drunken stupor now. As a result, I arrived late today. Please punish severely."
"Get up, quickly get up."
The ntor was all smiles, helping him to his feet with a laugh.
"Good! Very good, truly worthy to be my student. This ti you have really made proud! To capture the fifth place among the Tribute Scholars in one fell swoop, you truly have the air of your teacher back in the day. Well done!"
It was then that Su Ke learned that this academician from the Yingtian Academy had also once placed fifth among the Tribute Scholars.
"Your disciple is ashad! I dare not compare myself with Frankly speaking."
Uncle Lei laughed heartily and reached out to straighten his already neatly arranged collar.
He turned and glanced at Xue Qian with a mix of pride and frustration: "And why not? Both of you are my students. Rember always to be steadfast and daring, never rash, and always consider the consequences of your actions... As the saying goes, ’Green cos from blue, but it is better than blue.’ This academician is waiting for the day when you surpass your teacher!"
Su Ke, not daring to be overly confident, quickly bowed with a fist held to his chest in embarrassnt: "Your disciple’s learning is not thorough, and I failed to achieve a higher ranking, truly I have not lived up to Frankly speaking’s teaching."
"Ha ha... Your achievents are already very good." Uncle Lei laughed heartily: "What’s most admirable is your character. Humble and calm, and you understand the importance of respecting your teacher and the way. Good, excellent! Compared to so others, you are streets ahead." As he finished, he humd at that certain soone.
Xue Qian’s face turned red at these words.
He wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words, so he just muttered: "Frankly speaking, at least I managed to place high, you don’t have to keep putting down..."
"Humph! You still have the nerve to talk! If your skills were not lacking, would you have veered off-topic to the ends of the earth? A simple topic about a spring scene, and you had the ’talent’ to turn it into autumn! Look at yourself..."
Uncle Lei sighed repeatedly as if lanting his unfulfilled expectations, shakingly pointing at him: "What am I to do with you? By age, you are a few years older than Su Ke; in terms of kinship, you are a nephew to ; and as for the educational legacy, your Xue family cos from a line of scholars, serving the emperor generation after generation, with an ancestor who was a State Duke, a father who was the Hanlin Imperial Academy’s Grand Scholar, and an elder brother, the Hanlin Imperial Academy’s Historian. You had every advantage—ti, location, and kin—and yet when the results of the Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination ca out, your na was next to the date. Tell ... Ah, how can I face Brother Xue Xian!"
The more Uncle Lei spoke, the more Xue Qian’s sha intensified.
His head drooped lower and lower until it nearly buried in his chest, and he didn’t dare raise it.
It was only after hearing Uncle Lei’s final remark that he dryly argued: "Uncle Lei, this has nothing to do with you. It’s my own lack of talent, a disgrace to the many years of teaching you bestowed upon . I’ve already made this clear to my father, and he will not bla you for it."
"You... you rascal, can you even listen to the nonsense you’re speaking?"
Uncle Lei trembled all over with anger: "Do you think I’m afraid that Brother Xue Xian will bla ? I am ashad to face your father! Ashad, do you understand?"
With those words, he scolded Xue Qian so harshly that the latter shrank his head back in.
"Cough cough..."
Seeing Uncle Lei about to launch into another tirade, Su Ke, who was being sowhat ignored, didn’t know whether to laugh or not.
He could see that the ntor’s attitude towards him was different from his attitude towards Xue Qian.
"Frankly speaking, in all fairness, we cannot bla Brother Xue. The line ’Yellow flowers are all over the ground’ cos from a lesser-known source, not within the ’Four Books’ and ’Five Classics’ which were part of the examination. Brother Xue, focusing all his efforts on his studies, naturally wouldn’t spend ti on so extracurricular books. Not having read those lines is hardly Brother Xue’s fault."
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