Did you really write this?

"Of course!"

Lin Fengshuo nodded slightly, then took the rolled-up rice paper from his sleeve.

At the sight of it, Li Bingzhang immediately rose and approached, accepted it with both hands, and slowly unrolled it at once.

For a moment, the hall fell silent.

Jiang Jingcheng's gaze could not help drifting over as well.

He knew little about literature, so he would leave the judgment to Li Bingzhang.

Shen Yun felt the same way and watched Li Bingzhang with equal curiosity.

A moment later, the expression on Li Bingzhang's face suddenly froze, then gradually turned to surprise.

Then that surprise became utter astonishment, until... disbelief was written all over his face.

"This... this..."

Li Bingzhang's lips moved as his eyes remained fixed on the words on the paper, his breathing growing slightly strained.

Indeed, the further he read, the wider his eyes grew.

Especially when he reached the line, "Neither noble nor lowly, neither old nor young; wherever the Way resides, there resides the teacher," Li Bingzhang finally lost his composure and blurted out.

"What a fine essay!"

"A fine essay!"

"I, Li Bingzhang, have read countless essays, yet this is the first time I have ever encountered one like this!"

"Beautiful, truly beautiful!"

As he spoke, even Li Bingzhang’s hands, gripping the rice paper, visibly trembled.

The essay's opening argument went straight to the foundations of the teacher's role.

From there, it advanced layer by layer. Its language was free of ornate embellishment, yet every word carried force, every sentence cut to the bone.

Above all, the breadth of spirit in "wherever the Way resides, there resides the teacher" sent a tremor through the chest of even the reigning prime minister.

This was certainly not something a youngster showing off his vocabulary could have written.

Nor was it an essay an ordinary scholar could cobble together in a flash of inspiration.

Only someone with true learning, insight, and spirit within him could have set such words to paper!

For a while, Li Bingzhang held the rice paper and could not bear to put it down.

After a long time, Li Bingzhang slowly raised his head and looked at Jiang Xiaobai, the astonishment in his eyes almost entirely undisguised.

"Did... you really write this?"

As Li Bingzhang's question fell.

Li Zhiwei finally could not hold back either. She stepped forward twice, turned her gaze to the essay, and began reading it carefully.

Only a moment passed.

The expression between her brows was likewise replaced by astonishment.

Yes, she had witnessed Jiang Xiaobai's poetic talent yesterday and knew he was far from ordinary.

But talent for poetry and skill in prose were ultimately two different things.

A poem could spring from a moment's inspiration, but an essay was the truest test of one's foundations.

An essay with such lofty intent and sound perspective, yet substance in every word, was especially beyond the reach of ordinary people.

And the "On the Teacher" before her clearly lay far beyond the reach of the word "good."

For a moment, when Li Zhiwei looked at Jiang Xiaobai again, her eyes shone with wonder.

Standing there under so many people's stares, Jiang Xiaobai could not help muttering inwardly, I copied it...

Of course, he could never say such a thing aloud.

So outwardly, Jiang Xiaobai merely nodded slightly, his expression still appearing reasonably calm.

"I wrote it."

With that nod from Jiang Xiaobai.

The atmosphere in the hall subtly shifted again.

Li Bingzhang stared at Jiang Xiaobai for a moment, then took a deep breath and slowly asked, "But if you possess such literary talent, why... did you still buy the title of Top Graduate?"

The moment those words were spoken.

The entire hall fell silent.

Because this was the root of every problem they now faced.

Indeed.

If Jiang Xiaobai truly possessed such talent and such skill with words, he could have competed for the title of Top Graduate openly and honorably.

Why, then, had he insisted on taking the dangerous gamble of buying office?

Under Li Bingzhang's gaze, the smile on Jiang Xiaobai's face slowly faded.

The next moment.

Jiang Xiaobai's expression gradually grew serious.

"Then I will tell you the truth!"

"For generations, our Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate has been loyal and valiant, a household of born generals. Over the years, who knows how many of us have died, how much blood we have shed, defending Great Hua's borders against its enemies."

At this point, Jiang Xiaobai paused briefly, his gaze darkening. "My eldest brother, Jiang Yunce, and my second brother, Jiang Linquan, died in battle on the Northern Frontier three years ago."

"Outsiders know only that they died heroically, that their deaths brought glory to our Jiang Family's generations of loyal service!"

"But to my mind... this matter may not really be so simple!"

As Jiang Xiaobai's words fell, Jiang Jingcheng's face instantly darkened, and his hands involuntarily clenched.

Because he, too, had harbored suspicions!

Meanwhile, Shen Yun, seated to one side, felt her eyes redden slightly. She pressed her lips together gently, but in the end said nothing.

Jiang Xiaobai glanced at his parents, then continued, "After my eldest and second brothers died, I became the only son left in the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate."

"And as it happens, I was a profligate, a useless wretch, a good-for-nothing who spent his days eating, drinking, and amusing himself."

"If I were the one plotting behind the scenes... I would also think a Jiang Family like this would be easiest to manipulate."

At this point, a faint, cold smile even curled Jiang Xiaobai's lips. "But the problem is, if they merely wanted to test our Jiang Family, that would be one thing."

"Yet this time, they even dared to buy me the title of Top Graduate!"

"Then I understood. They weren't trying to test me. They... wanted to drag the entire Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate into the mud along with me!"

As those words fell.

Even the air throughout the hall seemed to grow heavier.

Standing there, Li Bingzhang could not help feeling a violent jolt in his heart.

Yes, he had originally thought this was merely an Official-Purchase Scandal.

But now, after hearing Jiang Xiaobai's account, he suddenly realized that what lay behind this affair might run deeper than he had imagined.

If Jiang Xiaobai was telling the truth, then this scheme targeted more than a single Profligate Heir.

It targeted the entire Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate!

At this thought, a trace of shame could not help rising in Li Bingzhang's heart.

As prime minister and head of the civil officials, he should have seen through the political situation and detected unusual movements.

He had even been considering how to use this affair to conclusively establish the Jiang Family's wrongdoing.

If his daughter had not laid things bare on the day of the Poetry Gathering, then... would he not have unwittingly become someone who gave the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate another shove?

Standing to one side, Lin Fengshuo gently shook his head as well. "Ah, the waters of the Imperial Court have always run deep."

"Some blades can be seen, but others hide inside sleeves, inside smiles. By the time they draw blood, it is often already too late."

After Lin Fengshuo finished speaking, his aged eyes grew considerably more profound.

During his tenure as Grand Tutor, he had seen far too much devilry in human hearts, far too many schemes that appeared calm on the surface while seething underneath.

That was precisely why he had withdrawn from the Imperial Court and returned to the countryside!

He had simply grown too weary!

"Teacher is right!"

Listening to Lin Fengshuo, Jiang Xiaobai nodded gently, then spoke again. "So I can only follow the path they intend for me."

"Since they want me to become Top Graduate, I will. Since they want to use me to thrust the Jiang Family into the teeth of the storm, then I will stand there."

"I want to see just who is behind all this!"