Last night.
Tong Fengye couldn't fall asleep. He turned over, his head facing the window, and suddenly saw a shadow on the window, quietly raising two fingers at him.
Tong Fengye: "..."
He got up and went over, opened the window, and sure enough, he saw Feng Chu lurking outside.
What are you doing here, sneaking around like that?
"Who's being sneaky? I'm doing it openly and honestly, okay?"
Tong Fengye: "How did you get in?"
Feng Chu: "... climb out the window."
Tong Fengye, arms crossed, leaned against the window and asked leisurely, "What are you doing?"
Seeing his calm and composed demeanor, Feng Chu felt a strange itch in her palms for some reason. The two exchanged a few blows through the window, which ended with Tong Fengye striking the wine jar in Feng Chu's hand with a single palm strike.
The two went up to the roof, and Feng Chu poured wine for Tong Fengye.
Tong Fengye frowned. " Aning said that the earlier you drink, the dumber you'll become."
Feng Chu scoffed, filled both glasses, and shoved them directly into Tong Fengye's mouth.
Tong Fengye smacked his lips twice. "Water?"
Feng Chu nodded.
Are you crazy?
Feng Chu chuckled twice, "My sister won't let me drink either."
Tong Fengye: "..."
He said disdainfully, "You didn't pick up this wine jar, did you? Did you even wash it properly?"
"Not washed."
Tong Fengye: "..."
What should I do? I really want to hit him.
Tong Fengye hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What do you plan to do in the future? You really aren't going back to the Marquis's residence?"
Feng Chu propped himself up on his legs, leaning against the roof tiles. He gazed at the moon in the sky. "I'm not going back."
"Then you'll live with your sister?" Tong Fengye paused, then said softly, "You can also come and live in our mansion."
Feng Chu looked at Tong Fengye Tong Fengye said, "I'm not trying to help you out; you'd better serve me tea and water."
"Dream on! I'm not going anywhere; I'm joining the army."
Tong Fengye tripped and lost his footing, sending a few tiles tumbling down and startling a cat with a meow. Tong Fengye regained his balance and asked, "What did you just say?"
"I don't want to rely on my sister. I want to make a name for myself. I want to shatter the pride that Feng Bo values most. I want him to know that he was wrong and that he lost."
Looking at Feng Chu's face, Tong Fengye suddenly felt that Feng Chu, who had made up his mind like this, was somewhat unfamiliar, as if he had grown up overnight.
"Did you already have this plan in mind?"
"No, I was so angry with Feng Bo that I actually still had some illusions about him. That old scoundrel."
Feng Chu cursed through gritted teeth, as if she wanted to vent all the neglect and injustice she had suffered over the years.
Tong Fengye hesitated, "But..."
" Fengye, I know this is the result of my careful consideration; I'm thinking of myself."
Tong Fengye fell silent.
He remembered what his older brother had told him that afternoon.
The elder brother asked him if he knew why their father had gone to the palace.
He had intended to crack a joke and get away with it, but his older brother looked serious, which made him nervous as well.
He gave two answers, but neither was correct.
His elder brother told him that His Majesty intended to send Aning to court.
Yes, Aning is so capable, how could she possibly succeed just by staying in the Marquis's mansion?
Tong Fengye instinctively felt unconvinced; that was her younger sister, not a tool for His Majesty to consolidate his power.
But...
Even his elder brother and father couldn't do anything about it, so what could he do?
Their resources are insufficient.
Her father and eldest brother were navigating the court, her mother was managing the household, her second sister was working in the shop, and little Yi'an had already learned to use an abacus.
What about him?
Everyone was working hard to protect Aning and the Marquis's mansion, but he seemed to be doing nothing all the time.
Tong Fengye arrived at the Marquis Yongning's Residence in a gloomy mood, only to be disturbed by Feng Bo, causing him to forget that feeling altogether.
And now, that feeling of helplessness is starting to haunt him again.
But suddenly he seemed to see the direction.
His grades weren't good, but his martial arts skills were personally taught by his mother and maternal grandfather, perhaps...
Tong Fengye's eyes lit up, " Feng Chu."
"You don't need to try to persuade me anymore..."
Tong Fengye grasped his hand. "I want to go with you."
Feng Chu: "Huh?"
*
When Tong Aobai returned from court, he called Tong Fengye and Feng Chu into his study.
In the study, Su Zhouyue sat upright at the table, with a newly written letter in front of her, the ink still wet.
Tong Fengye had never seen anything like this before. He tentatively asked, "You two aren't going to gang up on me, are you?"
Su Zhouyue scolded him, "You're spineless."
Tong Fengye: "..."
Tong Aobai then asked, "If we really hit you, would you give up the idea?"
Tong Fengye shook his head. "No."
He has made up his mind.
Tong Aobai and Su Zhouyue exchanged a glance, Su Zhouyue said, "You two come forward."
Tong Fengye and Feng Chu stepped forward as instructed.
Su Zhouyue pointed to the letter and said, "Most of the soldiers in the army are my and Fengye's maternal grandfather's former subordinates. This letter will clarify your identities. With this letter, you will have no worries in the army, but..."
Su Zhouyue glanced at Tong Fengye and Feng Chu, "When you decide to take out this letter is entirely up to you."
Su Zhouyue sealed the letter. She wrote two copies, one for Tong Fengye and one for Feng Chu.
Feng Chu and Tong Fengye gripped the letter tightly.
"Also, Feng Chu, you can't just leave like this. You either need to find a way to move your mother's dowry with your sister, or you need to arrange for someone to keep watch over it."
When Feng Chu returns having achieved fame and success, his mother's dowry will likely be completely gone.
This letter didn't have to be given to him.
But Su Zhouyue still went to the trouble of arranging it for him.
Feng Chu was deeply grateful and nodded, "Yes."
*
When I received the message, I thought you would be very upset, but now it seems...
Tong Aning shook her head. "I'm not sad. Everyone has their own place to go."
Lou Yingyu whispered, "But that's going to the battlefield, where there's a high chance of dying."
Tong Aning contracted. She grabbed Lou Yingyu and Azhu's hands and said, "After school, you two come with me to the temple to get amulets for good luck."
Azhu said, "Miss, don't scare her."
Lou Yingyu pursed her lips, "What I said was the truth."
Joining the army is really dangerous, especially now. Feng Chu and Tong Fengye are really brave.
A large crowd had gathered in the courtyard.
Lou Yingyu was confused, so Azhu asked, "Wasn't it today time to announce the list of people who can directly enter the court?"
As Azhu said this, she saw Lou Yingyu and Tong Aning standing still, showing no intention of going forward to check.
Lou Yingyu: "..."
"Among the three of us, isn't there even one who came in first place?"
Tong Aning: "It's too difficult. There are even questions about ethnic minorities in it, which I don't know how to answer."
Lou Yingyu looked at Azhu.
"I did memorize it, but I couldn't answer the last question, and I think..."
What do you think?
Azhu lowered her voice and said, "I think only outsiders could answer that."
Lou Yingyu and Tong Aning both widened their eyes, their four hands hurriedly covering Azhu's lips, almost making Azhu choke. "How could you say such things!"
"Don't worry," Azhu smiled innocently, "I'm only telling the two of you about this."
Lou Yingyu: "You actually trust us quite a bit."
"Of course I believe Miss and Aning."
"Here he comes, here he comes, Eunuch Wang is here."
The crowd immediately parted to make way for Eunuch Wang, allowing him to enter unimpeded.
" Eunuch Wang, has he already come out?"
"Your Majesty won't go back on your word, will you?"
"Your Majesty's word is as good as gold; how could you possibly go back on your word?"
Eunuch Wang coughed lightly, and everyone quieted down. Eunuch Wang said, "The result is in; it's right here on the imperial edict in my hand."
Everyone looked at the imperial edict with pious expressions, as if the edict were shining with golden light.
The Eunuch Wang opened the imperial edict, and there was one person on each side of the male and female schools.
"Gentlemen," Eunuch Wang smiled meaningfully, "Come with me."
The two men followed Eunuch Wang out, basking in the envious gazes of the crowd.
"Strange, these two are usually so quiet, why have they suddenly become so famous?"
This illustrates the principle of accumulating knowledge and experience before making a significant breakthrough.
"Hey, weren't you three always good students?"
Lou Yingyu looked over and exclaimed, "Oh, isn't this the good son of my father's political enemy?"
Lou Yingyu said, "Aren't you a good student too? Why aren't you going? Don't you like it?"
Lou Yingyu, you...
"Are you getting angry out of embarrassment?"
How did you become so eloquent?
You should know that Lou Yingyu is arrogant and domineering, and she's known for hitting people. Deng Qingji was prepared to be beaten by her.
" Deng Qingji, I've spent several months at the Imperial Academy. As the saying goes, 'One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black.' I've been influenced by the Imperial Academy, unlike you."
She couldn't very well say that she was just following Tong Aning and her system around, picking up all the gossip they said.
Xie Zhilin had just arrived when he heard such a beautiful voice. When he looked up, he was even more astonished to see that it was Lou Yingyu who was speaking.
It seems that teaching diligently is worthwhile.
Xie Zhilin said loudly, " Eunuch Wang has already left, so everyone should disperse quickly."
Deng Qingji persisted, " Lou Yingyu, if you've really been influenced by this, how come you haven't become number one yet?"
"Is being number one some kind of coveted prize?" Lou Yingyu said irritably, "You got it, and now you're all so arrogant?"
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Xie Zhilin shouted, her face stern, "What's going on between you two?"
"I know," Lou Yingyu suddenly realized, "It must be because your father got a severe scolding from my father, and you're holding a grudge."
" Lou Yingyu, it's clear your father was ostracized by my father."
"Yes, yes, your father is isolated from the whole world."
"Who doesn't know that Chancellor Lou is being targeted now?"
"Who's targeting my dad? Your house must be deserted by now. Oh dear, two more people came looking for my dad the other day. Has anyone gone to see your dad?"
Deng Qingji: "..."
"Oh? "Lou Yingyu raised an eyebrow. "So you can't win an argument with me?"
Lou Yingyu was about to launch into a triumphant song when Tong Aning pulled her hand back, saying, "Don't argue with him."
[The first-place winners were all handcuffed and imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review Prison.]
Lou Yingyu and Deng Qingji both fell silent, handcuffed?
Isn't it supposed to be soaring to the top? Who goes straight to jail when they soar to the top?