After being appointed, officials of the Hanlin Academy would take another examination every few years, which was called the Grand Examination. After the examination, they would be divided into four grades according to their scores. The first grade would be given special positions, the second grade would be promoted, and the third and fourth grades would be punished separately.
A few months later, the exam was over. This time, two miracles happened in the Hanlin Academy. First, the runner-up, Owen You, scored first while the champion, Miles Ling, only scored second. Second, although Owen You scored better, it was Miles Ling who was promoted three levels.
Imperial Garden. The emperor sat on a yellow chair, and Ethan Ji stood beside him in a proper manner. The maid brought a yellow jacket, and the emperor stretched out his hand to put it on while saying: "Ethan Ji, this exam is really not fake." Ethan Ji smiled and said: "Lord Yang is the head scholar, and the emperor asked about Ethan Ji." The emperor pointed at him and trembled: "You~~you." Ethan Ji still just smiled.
The emperor thought for a moment and then asked, "Are you still blaming me for demoting you?"
Ethan Ji shook his head: "Ethan Ji doesn't care about those things, please don't worry about it, Your Majesty." The emperor glanced at him and smiled: "You are so honest, I am still a little uncomfortable."
At this time, a eunuch came and said, "Your Majesty, Lord You has arrived." The emperor said, "Send him in." The eunuch went out. After a while, Owen You came in with a smile on his face. Ethan Ji noticed that the emperor didn't notice him, so he winked at him. Owen You still just smiled and nodded, and bowed to the emperor.
He gave him a seat, and when he saw Owen You's expression, he turned around and saw that it was indeed Ethan Ji who was making faces. The emperor scolded: "Ethan Ji, you better behave yourself!" Ethan Ji pouted: "It was the emperor who said that Ethan Ji was too honest and he was not used to it."
The emperor took a deep breath and held it for a long time before saying, "If Dylan Qi hadn't died, you wouldn't have become like this." As soon as he said this, even the emperor himself realized that something was wrong. Ethan Ji just smiled and bowed, saying, "Then I will withdraw first."
The emperor wanted to say something but hesitated, so he just waved his hand and asked him to leave.
Ethan Ji walked past Owen You, and at first glance, his eyes seemed to be red. Owen You thought he was dazzled and shook his head, but Ethan Ji had already walked away.
The emperor looked at Ethan Ji's back and shook his head, sighed, and said to Owen You: "The foreign troops will come in a few days. I plan to ask Ethan Ji to receive them. You can go with him."
On the day when Fanzi came, several officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Academy tutors, tutors, and tutors from the Mongolian Hall stood in front of the White Tiger Gate. Ethan Ji asked Owen You if the people from the Mongolian Hall were called by the Emperor, but Owen You just smiled and shook his head. Ethan Ji asked who they were, and Owen You took a step closer and lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Chang called them to be interpreters." Ethan Ji said, "What about him?"
Owen You said: "I'm sick and recuperating at home." Then he took a step back.
Seeing that they were chatting happily, Liam Gui came over and interjected: "When Lord You stands at the door like this, it really charms a lot of girls. It also helps to put a stop to the arrogance of those barbarians." Owen You pointed at Liam Gui's patched clothes: "In terms of clothes, girls like cranes. In terms of temperament, it's better not to be too restrained." He smiled at Ethan Ji meaningfully.
Ethan Ji opened his collar and fanned himself with his hands: "I say, Ziwang, aren't you tired of carrying both ends of a pole?"
Owen You's smile deepened, and his pupils curved, and he said nothing more. Liam Gui carefully looked at the crane on his clothes, and his eyes also curved, shook, and stood straight.
After a while, the sound of horse hooves and trumpets rang out.
Many people in the city came out, chattering non-stop, and were all driven to the side of the road by the guards. The Mongolian envoys brought dozens of carts of tribute treasures and rode their horses into the city gate in a hurry, almost leaving the ministers at the gate aside.
The Mongolian envoys dismounted, and the leader was a bearded man. He walked up to the group, smiled heartily, gave them a thumbs-up, and spoke a lot in Mongolian. The Mongolian scholar said, "He said his name is Dashimanhajibu, and he asked where our emperor is."
Owen You said: "Your Majesty will not be able to spare time until tomorrow, so we will receive him today."
The bachelor of the imperial court translated the words and then paraphrased what Dashimanhajibu said: "He said they only wanted to see the emperor, not others." Ethan Ji raised an eyebrow when he heard this: "Tell him that our emperor will only receive the Mongolian king."
The scholar was about to speak, but was stopped by Owen You: "Tell him that if he wants to see the emperor, please wait until tomorrow." He turned to Ethan Ji and said: "Master Ji, don't you even know how to save face?" Ethan Ji stared at him for a long time before smiling: "Okay, Zi Wang is very capable, whatever you say is fine."
Owen You stared at him for a long time, and for the first time he didn't show his signature smile.
While the attendant scholar was talking to Dashimanhajibu, Owen You asked again: "What dishes did the imperial kitchen prepare for the envoy?" Ethan Ji glanced at him and yawned. Liam Gui said: "I didn't ask that, it's nothing more than chicken, duck, fish, meat, and delicacies from the mountains and the sea."
Owen You said, "Please tell the imperial chef not to prepare seafood such as shrimp, crab, and fish, as the Mongolians don't like eating these. Also, they hate the color black, so don't step over their clothes or point anything at their heads." He leaned over and whispered, "The barbarians have a bad temper and are not easy to mess with."
The messengers were still talking to the bachelor of studies, and the bachelor of studies turned around and looked at Owen You.
Liam Gui was surprised and said: "Master You is really amazing, he is worthy of being the second place in the imperial examination." Owen You waved his hand: "Where does Zi Wang have so much time to learn about foreign things? These are just temporary studies."
After a while, several people escorted Dashimanhajibu and others into the city. Owen You and the Hanlin Academy tutor who came with him said they had to go to the toilet and arrived later. When he came back, only Ethan Ji was left in front of the White Tiger Gate. Owen You quickened his pace and walked over: "Why didn't Lord Ji go with us?" Ethan Ji said: "What about the tutor?"
Owen You smiled and said, "I guess he's going to the bathroom."
***
Classmates, Shenlan's review is so great... I was very inspired after reading it, so I must fill this hole! Roar~~~
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