Chapter 74: Friends
It was regretful they met so late, yet their conversation was delightful. These eight words perfectly described the experience of two people on that day at the Imperial Academy. Though some were nervous, some resentful, some cautious, and some indifferent… the person who naturally didn’t need to worry about others’ thoughts continued to stroll, give guidance, and talk freely, while the other person skillfully responded, adding the perfect touches—his confident and unflinching demeanor immediately won even more goodwill.
By the time they had explored every room and area of the Imperial Academy and said goodbye at the main gate, the young man’s face showed clear satisfaction; he was clearly pleased with the day’s outing. Nonchalantly, he waved at his attendants to release Fangling, who had been under strict supervision, before giving Zhang Yue a slight nod.
“Your witty remarks today were truly remarkable—I heard many interesting things. If fate allows, let’s have another thorough conversation tomorrow! It’s getting late. Though I’d like to stay a bit longer, I must return. So, I’ll take my leave here!”
Zhang Yue quickly offered humble apologies with a smile, saying things like hoping to meet again the next day. At that moment, one of the sturdy attendants brought over a fine horse. After helping the young man mount, the other attendants also climbed onto their horses, forming an orderly guard around their master. With a loud shout, the group rushed off at top speed and soon disappeared around the corner of Chengxian Street.
As soon as they left, Fangling went from extremely quiet to highly agitated. He stepped forward in a few strides, grabbed Zhang Yue’s shoulders, and said fiercely, “Do you know who that was just now? How dare you talk to him so boldly! I and Xiao Sun kept giving you signals, but you didn’t even see! That was the Crown Prince! Do you understand? Good heavens, you almost hugged the Crown Prince—what should I even say about you?”
Sun Han had only seen that person from afar and wasn’t entirely sure. Hearing Fangling’s words, he immediately jumped up, asking nervously and stammeringly, “Brother Fang, are you… sure that was the Crown Prince?”
“Nonsense. Otherwise, would I be sweating like this?” Fangling wiped his forehead fiercely with his sleeve and let out a long sigh. Seeing that Zhang Yue was merely lost in thought and silent, he reluctantly dropped his hands and then said earnestly, “Zhang… uh, I’ll just call you Yuanjie. Now that the crown prince’s position is secure, the crown prince heir will become the emperor the very next day. Though you two had a pleasant conversation today, the master-subordinate relationship still exists. Don’t have any foolish illusions.”
Hearing the words “foolish illusions,” Zhang Yue was both amused and exasperated. If it had been a stunningly beautiful woman, perhaps he might have indulged in such fantasies. But what could he possibly want from a man? Still, since he had run into him, he had to pretend to be calm and test this future emperor’s temperament. By now, his back was also drenched in sweat.
Regardless of the fact that Zhu Zhanji was only the crown prince heir and not the crown prince, even if he were the emperor, he surely wouldn’t grant Zhang Yue a high position just because of today’s encounter. As long as he could leave a good first impression, that would be enough.
After visiting the Imperial Academy today and encountering all these events, Fangling and Sun Han were not only terrified but also somewhat excited. They immediately began discussing these situations. When it came to Xiao Wei, the head of the Imperial Academy who left early, Sun Han took pleasure in his misfortune.
“No wonder that Yuan Qianhu said he offered Lord Xiao some benefit, but he refused—it turned out the crown prince heir suddenly came to visit the Imperial Academy. Although Lord Xiao has always been noble, he isn’t a minister of any department nor a cabinet member. It’s a rare opportunity like this, and he missed it! Back when he scolded us, he was full of energy, but once he finds out what happened today, I bet he’ll be devastated!”
“Exactly! Though he’s also a fourth-rank official, he’s still far from the emperor. He’s been the head of the Imperial Academy for at least seven or eight years and only knows how to tyrannize us students!” Fangling glanced at Zhang Yue as he spoke, then suddenly remembered something and asked urgently, “Yuanjie, are you really planning to go back and take the imperial examinations to become a scholar-official? Why not just become a student here?”
Faced with these two overly kind-hearted guys, Zhang Yue couldn’t come up with any more excuses. He could only force a smile and wave his hands, saying, “Lord Xiao has already met me today, so he must already have an opinion about me. If I go to the Imperial Academy now, there’s a risk he’ll make things difficult for me. You two, don’t deny it—although descendants of heroes can act recklessly elsewhere, the Imperial Academy is a domain of civil officials. Why should I go through that trouble? Besides…”
Realizing that his relationship with Du Zhen was no secret and that the Fang and Sun brothers were people worth associating with, he explained frankly, “Actually, my mentor is none other than Lord Du, the Hanlin Academician recently appointed by the emperor. My courtesy name was given to me with the help of Grand Secretary Yang and the two Shen scholars, so…”
As soon as he said this, Fang Ling almost jumped up and punched Zhang Yue’s shoulder hard without hesitation. “Well done, Yuan Jie! So you’ve been hiding such a remarkable background all along! With such a mentor, why do you still need to attend the Imperial Academy? And there’s no need to pay attention to those hypocritical scholars who act differently in public and in private!”
Sun Han also complained repeatedly, “If we had known you had such connections, Fang and I wouldn’t have brought you to that prison-like place called the Imperial Academy! But we won’t be polite with you—if we ever need your help in the future, don’t dare treat us coldly! If you dare turn your back on us…”
At that moment, Zhang Yue pretended to be angry. “What kind of talk is this? True friends stick together through life and death, but we’ve only known each other for a few days, yet we’ve already become close friends. Do Fang and Sun think I’m the kind of person who becomes arrogant once successful?”
The three of them exchanged glances for a while before bursting into laughter. After leaving the Imperial Academy and joining their attendants who had been waiting outside, Fang Ling and Sun Han warmly invited Zhang Yue to visit their home at a convenient time. Zhang Yue agreed to all of them before they parted ways.
Sitting on his horse, despite the biting cold wind blowing in, Zhang Yue was filled with mixed emotions. He almost wanted to head straight to Xu’s residence to discuss things with Du Zhen, but it took him some time to suppress this foolish impulse. Since today was originally a “coincidental encounter,” the best way to maintain that sense of coincidence was to do nothing.
With his uncle Zhang Xin’s situation looking much better now, he really no longer needed to act as clueless and flounder around like a headless fly when he first arrived in the capital.