A Person of Talent and Virtue

"This year's Tanhua, Li Huaigu, styled Fang Gui, comes from a family of physicians."

"A renowned talented scholar from Shuzhou City, apprenticed to Mr. Yue Ming of Guiyun Academy. He has been well-versed in classics and history since childhood, gifted by nature."

"At sixteen, he passed the Xiucai examination; at nineteen, the provincial exam for Juren; at twenty, he went to the Capital Prefecture, first winning the Huaiyuan title, then achieving the First Class with His Majesty's grace of 'Jinshi degree with honors,' ranking third as 'Tanhua.'"

"Now returning to Shuzhou for his post—truly enviable to us all..."

Hearing the envious voices around him, Chen Yi watched Li Huaigu riding a white horse and could clearly see his high spirits.

After all, in just four short years, he had consecutively passed the highest exams and been granted the Tanhua—not something an ordinary scholar could accomplish.

Most scholars were like Huang Chao: fail once, fail twice... then give up, left only with the thought, 'When autumn comes on the eighth of September, I will bloom and all flowers perish,' dreaming of taking a blade to those beasts in the Ministry of Rites.

But Li Huaigu was returning to Shuzhou for a post?

Chen Yi thought back carefully, frowning to himself. In a previous letter, First Madam Cui Yu of the Chen family had said: 'Your elder brother Chen Yunfan has won the Zhuangyuan and will soon take a post in Shuzhou.'

Strange.

As far as he knew, in the Great Wei Dynasty's successive imperial exams, the Zhuangyuan was always appointed as a Hanlin Academy compiler, kept in the Capital Prefecture for key training, and only sent out as an official after at least three years.

And for a Hanlin Academy editor like Li Huaigu, even if posted to a prefecture, they would avoid their home region to prevent collusion with local relatives.

"Everyone's flocking to Shuzhou—could those lords in the Imperial Court be planning to play a game of chess here?"

Chen Yi had no way of knowing.

His understanding of the Great Wei Dynasty's current state was limited, relying only on memories and common sense, and some things didn't add up.

After a moment's thought, he lifted the front curtain of the carriage. "Fourth Brother, please pull over to the side."

Liu Si'er didn't question it, directly pulling the reins, but still whispered a reminder: "Young Marquis, Son-in-law, there are many people here—please be careful."

Chen Yi glanced at him, nodded with a smile, stepped down from the carriage first, and lifted Xiao Wuge down.

Xiao Wuge looked up at Li Huaigu. "Brother-in-law, that man looks so impressive."

Once Xiao Die, Wang Lixing, and the others had caught up, Chen Yi smiled. "Among hundreds of thousands of scholars in the Great Wei Dynasty taking the same exam, ranking third—being impressive is only natural."

Xiao Wuge withdrew his gaze and looked at him with certainty. "Brother-in-law, if you had taken this year's exam, your results would definitely be better than his."

Before Chen Yi could respond, a few nearby scholars laughed without turning around.

"What a joke! Who's got such a big mouth to say something like that?"

"Exactly. Brother Huaigu's talent is immense—if not for His Majesty's bias, even the Zhuangyuan title would be his."

"You all..."

The two sneering scholars turned to look, saw the Xiao family's red flag hanging on the carriage, and immediately fell silent, their faces cycling through red and green like raw shrimp dropped into a pot.

Chen Yi found it amusing and patted Xiao Wuge, who was about to speak. "Let's go. If we're late, we won't get a good spot."

Xiao Wuge glared at those scholars, then obediently followed beside Chen Yi.

Xiao Die puffed out her lips, her small face sulky as she trailed behind.

Wang Lixing and the others walked past them with a lofty air, only a cold glint in the corners of their eyes.

"Next time you speak, look carefully before you open your mouths."

The icy voice left the two scholars trembling like cicadas in winter, unable to recover for a long time.

A nearby scholar in a blue robe, with a delicate face, watched Chen Yi and his group walk away before speaking:

"You two, we can't be so reckless with our words next time."

One of them smiled bitterly. "Brother Xu, you'll have to forgive us. Who knew they were from the Xiao family? I thought they were some wild scholars from the mountains."

The other nodded but stubbornly said, "Xu Nian, we weren't wrong. With Brother Huaigu's talent, even someone from a Marquis's house can't match him."

The scholar named Xu Nian shook his head. "Others might not, but that man's reputation is no less than Brother Huaigu's."

"That man?"

"Have you forgotten the birthday poem that shook Shuzhou a few days ago?"

The two quickly looked toward Chen Yi, who had already blended into the crowd, but only saw the backs of a few tall, burly attendants.

Realizing they'd caught on, Xu Nian sighed. "Chen Yi, Chen Qingzhou—still quite famous in Jiangnan Prefecture. If he hadn't married into the Xiao family, he'd likely have secured a spot in this year's exams."

As he spoke, he walked forward, softly reciting: "Why mourn gray hair with sorrow? Stars are the marks of merit... Fine words, fine words."

The other two exchanged awkward glances, stood frozen for a moment, then spoke at once.

"With just that poem, I admit defeat."

"In the end, he's just a son-in-law married into the family—he'll never rise above."

As the words fell, they looked at each other, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes.

"That's not right to say!"

"That's not right to say either..."

On the other side, Chen Yi naturally paid no mind to others' gossip.

But young Xiao Wuge was a bit upset—it was the first time he'd been mocked like this by outsiders.

"Brother-in-law, the way they talk really lacks the grace of a talented scholar."

Chen Yi smiled as he pulled him forward. "Someone who's read a few years of books can't be called a 'talented scholar.' They're just literate."

Xiao Wuge was taken aback. "Then what is a talented scholar?"

"Of course, it's a student with both talent and virtue."

Xiao Wuge caught on and couldn't help grinning. That was a jab at those two for having neither talent nor virtue.

"Brother-in-law, then you must be a talented scholar."

"I'm not. I'm just your second sister's husband."

"And don't go using the excuse of helping me to bother Old Master and your sister again. If you really get me sent to the military camp, who'll go fishing with you?"

"Oh..."

Xiao Die, hearing Chen Yi say this, also put the two Scholars out of her mind and followed along beside them, laughing and joking.

But behind them, Liu Si'er's expression shifted slightly. Was this fledgling really unwilling to go to the military camp, or was he biding his time?

Along the way, Li Huaigu rode his white horse, brimming with springtime pride.

The other students followed behind with lofty bearing, as if sharing in his glory, brimming with inexplicable excitement.

Some girls, whether prepared in advance or acting on impulse, scattered flower petals on both sides, casting shy, longing glances at Li Huaigu.

If not for the Yamen Runners accompanying the procession, they might have rushed straight at him.

But this was only the beginning.

After walking ten li, barely half a circuit around the northern side of Shuzhou City, the gathered talented scholars and beauties weren't so comfortable anymore.

One by one, they struggled to keep their backs straight and maintain their coy, delicate postures, nearly cursing their mothers under their breath.

Fortunately, they remembered their status and managed to follow through the entire journey, still forcing smiles as they congratulated Li Huaigu, who had dismounted from his white horse.

"Brother Huaigu, congratulations."

"Earning the rank of Tanhua—truly worthy of being the Chief Scholar of our Guiyun Academy."

"..."

Li Huaigu's face was stiff from smiling, but he still forced himself to return the greetings.

Yet in the gaps between his courtesies, his gaze drifted intentionally or not toward a willow tree farther away.

There stood a plainly dressed girl, gazing at him with tender affection. Even when their eyes met, she only blushed without looking away.

Chen Yi took all this in, casually taking a handful of melon seeds from Xiao Die.

It was clear that the girl who shared a budding romance with Li Huaigu came from a humble background. No wonder Madam Li was intent on Breaking Up Lovers.

He figured there were only two reasons—mismatched social status and Li Huaigu's future prospects.

"On one side, his parents' command; on the other, his childhood sweetheart, his white moonlight. I wonder which he'll choose."