The carriage swayed, causing Ji Chengjue’s body to sway along with it.
"She says that once she becos my sister-in-law, she wants to kill ."
Ji Chengjue shook his head in resignation and muttered to himself, "No matter how smart she is, she’s still just a girl spoiled by her family."
To borrow a phrase Zheng Fan once used, their family upbringing and environnts were different.
"TSK, TSK..."
Ji Chengjue contemplated. He realized that many of the things Zheng Fan had said before, upon reflection, seed to carry a different flavor.
The carriage driver, Master Zhang, asked, "Master, shall we go directly?"
"Yes, directly. From now on, let’s be a bit tougher."
"Master, you’re joking," Master Zhang imdiately replied. "This servant can’t ’get hard’, even if I wished to be tough."
"HAHAHA."
"Master, I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince has been incredibly busy these days with the Chu State envoy’s submission of their credentials and discussions with the various ministers."
"Let him waste his ti with pointless busywork."
The carriage stopped at the entrance of a restaurant. This was a high-class establishnt in the capital called the "Top Scholar Restaurant."
It had been open for six years. But at that ti, Yan was still a state where powerful clans abounded, and there were no imperial civil service examinations, so naturally, there were no Top Scholars. Therefore, in the eyes of the capital’s citizens, the Top Scholar Restaurant was seen as emulating the fashion of the Qian State people. On ordinary days, its business was average; one could even say it was operating at a loss just for the publicity.
But as Yan State began to hold civil service examinations, things changed. Last year, Yan State even had its own Top Scholar, as well as second and third place laureates. Suddenly, this restaurant, which had been open for several years, beca wildly popular and was constantly packed with guests.
Ji Chengjue alighted from the carriage and walked inside.
"Oh, sir, are you here for lodging or for a al?" a waiter asked.
"My friend is upstairs. It’s fine, you can go about your business. No need to attend to ."
Having dismissed the waiter, Ji Chengjue ascended the stairs by himself.
The upper floor consisted entirely of private rooms. Among them, the three most centrally located rooms had, since the restaurant’s opening, borne signs stating they could only be opened by "scholars." Back then, when the Top Scholar Restaurant’s business was poor, word of this rule spread, and many people said the owner was muddle-headed for such antics. But with the comncent of the civil service examinations and the announcent of the first batch of new scholars, these three private rooms in the Top Scholar Restaurant were virtually never empty.
In the first two months after the examination results were released, these rooms were often occupied by these scholars. Afterward, whenever rchants or nobles sought to network with them, they would also specifically choose to co to the Top Scholar Restaurant to book a room.
Ji Chengjue walked to the door of the Grade A private room but didn’t hurry inside. Instead, he listened to the voices from within.
Perhaps because Ji Chengjue had been lingering there for too long, a group of n, likely servants or attendants, who were waiting in a corner of the second floor, began to walk towards him. Master Zhang, who had been following Ji Chengjue all along, proactively walked towards them. Lowering his voice, he said, "I’d like to see which blind fool dares to ruin my master’s good mood."
In this capital, what kind of people could afford to employ eunuchs? The servants exchanged glances and, truly, none dared to step forward any further.
At this mont, an argunt had broken out in the private room.
"Hu Zhengfang, wasn’t it you who sent an invitation? You said today was your thirtieth birthday banquet and specifically invited to gather."
"Not . Besides, my thirtieth birthday banquet was over two months ago. The situation at the front lines was unclear then; how would I dare to hold such celebrations? I received an invitation from Liu Chucai. It said he’d just taken a concubine the day before yesterday and invited for a get-together."
"You’re the one who just took a concubine! How could my fierce wife at ho possibly let take a concubine? I received an invitation from Old Qin; he said he’d gotten so good wine and asked to co over and try it."
Everyone in the room was a scholar from last year’s cohort. Since they were Yan State’s first cohort of examination scholars and mostly ca from humble families, their relationships with each other were quite close. Not to ntion those stationed outside the capital, even those among them who were assigned to various governnt offices in the capital would instinctively band together.
The scholar-bureaucrats of Qian State had a hundred years of established tradition behind them; those here in Yan State were just beginning. Especially now, when they were still very new and relatively weak in the official circles, they had an even greater need for solidarity.
"So, what’s going on? It wasn’t you, nor you, and not you either. Then who on earth invited us all here?"
"Yeah, who was it?"
Having stood at the door listening for a while, Ji Chengjue now pushed it open and walked in.
Instantly, the gazes of more than a dozen scholars inside all fell on him. Unsurprisingly, no one recognized him.
The first reason was that the Sixth Prince was notoriously frivolous, uninterested in matters of state or the military. Secondly, for the past six months or so, he had been staying in Nan’an county town and had no opportunity to make himself known.
Ji Chengjue didn’t act like an outsider. He pointed to the spread on the table and said, "The food is served, and the wine is warm. What’s wrong, no one’s touching it?"
Ji Chengjue walked to the head seat but didn’t imdiately sit down. Instead, he gently tapped the back of the chair.
"May I ask where Your Excellency hails from?"
"Were you the one who tricked us into coming here?"
"This young master, what exactly is your intention?"
A barrage of questions was thrown at him. Everyone understood: it was clearly this young-looking gentleman before them who had deceived them into coming here.
They weren’t afraid; after all, each of them held an official position, and it wasn’t as if they hadn’t encountered various nobles and powerful figures before.
Ji Chengjue didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he pointed at a thin, tall man standing opposite him.
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