Tang Xiaobai rembered that it was during the eleventh year of Taixing.
The sumr night was clear, and the wheels rcilessly ran over the shattered dicine bottles scattered on the ground. A tall, skinny boy stood in the darkness, a hint of confusion on his face.
Before that, Yao He was a teenager who was confident in his intelligence and had a rebellious, mischievous streak.
Given his background, entering the Duke Mansion made him seem even more at ease than Xue Shaoqin.
He used so not-so-honorable ans to achieve his goals.
It was not until he really hurt the innocent that he regretted it deeply.
Isn’t this also the price of growth?
Tang Xiaobai shifted his gaze away from the Red Mohe, closed the box lid, and handed it to Cheng Zi: "Send it to the eldest miss, and pass on Xue Seventh Son’s words."
Not long after, Cheng Zi returned and said, "The eldest miss still had it sent to the Xue Family."
Although it wasn’t sent by Xue Shaoqin, the eldest miss couldn’t care less; whoever sent it, it would be returned by the sa path.
When Xue Shaoqin saw Tang Xiaobai again, he spoke about the matter with a bitter expression: "At the ti, I didn’t want to agree with Ah He... but now I don’t know where to find this person."
Tang Xiaobai laughed, "With your friendship of so many years, isn’t he coming to your wedding next year?"
Xue Shaoqin sighed, "Last ti I t him in Shannan, he knew I was getting married and said right then he wouldn’t co to the ceremony."
Tang Xiaobai was a bit surprised, "Last ti when you sent out word to find him, he ca quickly."
Last ti, Xue Shaoqin was forced by her and Tang Ziqian to return books and threatened Xue Shaoqin to bring Yao He back, and Yao He ca back in just a few days.
"Maybe he ca back on purpose because he knew I was in trouble? But I can’t purposely spread information to trick him into coming back," Xue Shaoqin said.
However, these words stirred sothing in Tang Xiaobai’s heart.
Rather than Xue Shaoqin encountering difficulties the last ti Yao He returned to the capital, it would be better to say it was because of an incident with Tang Ziqian.
The last ti she saw Yao He was also when her father and brothers were in trouble.
The intentions within were self-evident.
Tang Xiaobai did not know whether to hope for Yao He’s return to the capital.
"Puzhou Fen Yin Xue Shaoqin!"
"Here!" Xue Shaoqin hurriedly raised his hand to respond, almost jumping up.
"Second Miss, I, Xue, will take my leave first!" He quickly cupped his hands to Tang Xiaobai and hastily lifted the hem of his robe as he hurried toward Xianfu Temple.
Tang Xiaobai watched with laughter.
"I didn’t know Ah Jiao and Xue Seventh were so close?" A cool voice suddenly ca from the side, startling Tang Xiaobai.
She turned and saw a young man in dark robes with a jade-like face and an elegant posture, and couldn’t help but laugh again: "No, I just find Xue Seventh Son’s straightforward nature quite adorable."
Li Mu frowned.
Wasn’t ’adorable’ supposed to be used to describe him?
"Why did you co here yourself?" Tang Xiaobai saw him in casual attire and pulled him to a less conspicuous spot.
"To take a look," Li Mu answered casually, then asked, "And you? Here to see Xue Seventh?"
"How could that be?" Tang Xiaobai responded with a grin, "I’m here to see Chongwen Hall’s first assessnt!"
Only then did the Crown Prince’s face soften.
The East Palace Chongwen Hall had been recruiting talent in astronomy and calendrical science nationwide for over a month now, and Tang Xiaobai had been paying close attention.
The first batch of recruits was not too many nor too few; she had seen so of them and noted their varying quality, making the assessnt necessary.
The first assessnt was held at Xianfu Temple, which had a deep connection with the Crown Prince.
The results of this assessnt were significant for the Eastern Palace’s reputation, so Tang Xiaobai made ti to co and see.
Although her presence wouldn’t really help, but—
Isn’t the Crown Prince here too?
When you’re concerned about sothing, it’s easy to get anxious, and no one is immune to such feelings.
Thinking of this, Tang Xiaobai suddenly felt like sothing was missing.
"What are you looking for?" Li Mu asked, seeing her looking around.
"Did you know Xue Seventh Son is getting married?"
"I didn’t know," Li Mu replied.
How would he know these things?
"But Xue Seventh Son ca to take the exam today, yet his fiancée didn’t co..." Tang Xiaobai muttered.
Li Mu wasn’t interested in these matters, so he changed the topic: "Want to go inside and have a look?"
"Can we?" Tang Xiaobai’s eyes lit up.
With the Crown Prince present, why can’t we?
This assessnt at Xianfu Temple was divided into two parts: theory and practical.
The theory part involved answering a paper, mostly basic fill-ins.
After the papers were collected, Tang Xiaobai glanced at them and found the questions quite well-designed.
There were a total of ten questions, structured from easy to difficult, sequentially, providing a clear distinction in a single paper.
"Did Mr. Lin compose this paper?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
"I did," the Crown Prince replied calmly.
Tang Xiaobai was taken aback, "You understand this?"
Although they both had been at Huntian Academy, they hadn’t specifically studied astronomy!
"Just a little," Li Mu said.
Since he wanted to be involved with the Observatory, he couldn’t afford to be completely ignorant in this field, so he had gathered several Observatory people for separate lessons for a few days.
The exam creator didn’t need to have deep knowledge, as he wasn’t going to mark or evaluate the exams anyway.
However, being able to shock her, Li Mu felt quite pleased internally.
While maintaining an air of indifference on the surface, inside he awaited Tang Xiaobai’s praise.
Yet, he didn’t receive it.
Tang Xiaobai rely said a simple "Wow" and then lowered her head to flip through the exam papers.
Li Mu asked, displeased, "Who are you looking for?"
"Xue Seventh Son," she said, and located it imdiately.
Based on Tang Xiaobai’s experience, the neat and clean appearance of the paper indicated decent grades.
But she dared not evaluate the content, so she handed it to Li Mu: "Have a look at how he answered?"
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince didn’t even glance at the promising candidate’s paper and tossed it back among the files, "There’s a dedicated person for evaluation." He then pulled her to watch the practical assessnt.
...
Tang Xiaobai’s estimation was accurate; students with neat exam papers usually achieved above average scores.
Xue Shaoqin was one of them.
The results ca out on the assessnt day itself.
Out of thirty-seven people, Xue Shaoqin ranked fourth, his performance exceeding Tang Xiaobai’s expectations.
"His mathematics was slightly lacking, but he has clearly read a lot," Lin Xujiji comnted.
"Select the top ten and grant them the rank of Deputy Assistant Lieutenant," the Crown Prince generously decreed.
Although a Deputy Assistant Lieutenant was the lowest grade of an independent position without specific duties, it allowed recipients to receive salaries, marking a formal appointnt.
"At the start of next year, we will draft a new calendar," he continued.
Tang Xiaobai thought of Xue Shaoqin’s upcoming marriage and smiled, "There seem to be quite a few happy events lately!"
For Xue Shaoqin, it’s a joyful fulfillnt of his wishes, and likewise for them.
Moreover, there aren’t just one or two happy events.
This year, twenty Huntian Academy students passed the provincial examination, gaining the qualification for next spring’s imperial examination. According to the academy’s assessnt, approximately ten have a chance to make the list.
Luo Xiong was among them.
At the start of the month, Mr. Zhang received his appointnt and headed to Xingzhou.
A man of high virtue, Mr. Zhang had governed Xingzhou before. Upon his arrival at Xingzhou’s territory, not only did the people welco him with tears of joy, but so bandits even surrendered upon hearing the news, leading to various stories of their own.
The relief supplies escorted by Tang Ziqian also reached Xingzhou, assisted by the Princess Zhen Ding of Zhenzhou, who mobilized the Zhenzhou Army to participate in disaster relief and appeasent of the people.
It seed as though all the good things were happening together.
The edict for appointing the Crown Princess Consort was finally issued on the twenty-seventh of the twelfth lunar month, before all governnt offices sealed their records.
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