snort!
Ji Wushang walked in, water dripping from the ground. Wearing wet clothes, he shivered, but he had to endure it! Ji Wushang told himself to bear it! He would remember this debt!
Granny Wang nodded and pointed to an empty seat. At this moment, many daughters of officials were busy making embroidery in the hall. However, some of them looked up when they heard the noise and burst out laughing when they saw Ji Wushang looking so dejected and soaked.
Ji Wushang glared at them coldly, then sat down in the empty seat without a care.
The examiner, a man in his thirties or forties, was surprised to see Ji Wushang sitting there soaking wet. He immediately pulled Wang Mama aside and asked what had happened.
Granny Wang then recounted what had just happened, before glancing at Ji Wushang. Ji Wushang was completely focused on her work, quickly threading a needle. Although she was shivering from the cold, her hands trembled as she hurried to embroider.
Ji Wushang's lips were a little pale from the cold, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered.
Just then, two men dressed in fine clothes and wearing jade crowns passed by the palace. They overheard the women on the other side discussing how Miss Ji had been accidentally splashed with water by Gao Fengfen.
Huangfu Yu frowned immediately. He hadn't seen Ji Wushang when he arrived, and now that he had finally come, he heard that Ji Wushang had been splashed with water? What happened?
Seeing him stop, Huangfu Ting asked, "Sixth Brother, what are you thinking about?"
"Second brother, I just heard that Miss Ji came, but was she splashed with water by Miss Gao?"
“It should be this water.” Huangfu Ting then put away his silver fan and pointed to the ground in front of him.
Huangfu Yu indeed saw a large puddle of water, which meant that Ji Wushang was really soaking wet? And what about her?
Huangfu Ting gestured towards the main hall, and Huangfu Yu nodded.
At that moment, one of the young ladies, with sharp eyes, spotted Huangfu Ting and Huangfu Yu and immediately exclaimed, "Look, it's the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince!"
"Ah, how handsome!" a young lady exclaimed, then immediately covered her blushing face with her sleeve.
"Look, they're coming!"
"Ah, I... I can't breathe! The Second Prince is laughing!"
...
Huangfu Ting smiled and approached them with Huangfu Yu.
"Greetings, Second Prince; greetings, Sixth Prince." The young ladies immediately bowed to the two of them.
The two nodded, and Huangfu Ting said, "Get up, both of you!"
The young ladies bowed again before rising. Neither of these princes was married; if they could catch the eye of either of them, they would surely rise to prominence and become phoenixes on a branch of a tree!
"I want to know what's going on with that puddle of water, and don't try to hide anything from me!" Huangfu Ting said seriously.
Upon hearing that Ji Wushang had been splashed with water, the young ladies exchanged glances, wondering whether they should tell the story.
"Hurry up and tell me?" Huangfu Yu said coldly, without any of the playful and carefree expression he had shown before.
They immediately stopped hesitating. After all, this was a matter between Ji Wushang and Gao Fengfen, and had nothing to do with them! What harm was there in telling them?
With that in mind, I recounted everything that had just happened.
Huangfu Yu grew increasingly angry as she listened, then turned and walked out. Huangfu Ting nodded and smiled, "Then I won't disturb you ladies any longer. If you've finished your competitions, please return to your residences and rest early!"
"Second Prince, we will be competing for three days. Only after the top three are determined can we return to our residences!" a bold young lady replied.
Huangfu Ting nodded, then bowed and followed Huangfu Yu inside. However, Huangfu Yu could only stand at the door and look inside. It was clearly stipulated that no one could enter the hall to watch the competition without permission, and no one could make loud noises; otherwise, disturbing the young lady's competition would be punished!
Huangfu Yu finally spotted Ji Wushang. She was facing away from him, her clothes dripping wet. She looked even thinner and more frail, a sight that seemed to cause her pain. Damn it, doing needlework in this freezing weather in wet clothes—wasn't that going to kill her?
"Achoo!" Ji Wushang suddenly sneezed and immediately covered her mouth. People around her looked at her strangely. Ji Wushang looked at them and immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." At least she could take care of herself and quickly went back to doing her needlework.
Huangfu Ting looked at Ji Wushang, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected her to be so stubborn. Looking at the funnel on the examiner's table, he knew there wasn't much time left.
A gust of wind blew in from outside, and Ji Wushang shivered from the cold. "I will never let you get away with this!" Ji Wushang thought coldly.
Huangfuyu was angry. "Second brother, how can this be allowed? Miss Ji is shivering from the cold!"
“I don’t know either,” Huangfu Ting said calmly. “Let’s not make too much noise, so as not to disturb them.”
"Hmm." Huangfu Yu nodded. Huangfu Ting pulled him away, and after a long while, he let go of him. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he said, "Sixth brother, could it be that you have feelings for Miss Ji...?"
"Second Brother, what are you thinking?" Huangfu Yu glared at him and said with disdain, "I know she's going to marry Prince Nan, why would I compete with him for her? Besides, this is an imperial decree from Father, I'd risk my life to provoke her!"
"It's good that you know." Huangfu Ting's lips curled up.
Just then, an eunuch walked over. Upon seeing Huangfu Yu and Huangfu Ting, he immediately beamed with joy, "Second Prince, Sixth Prince, the Empress Dowager invites you."
Huangfu Yu and Huangfu Ting nodded. "Let's go."
Upon arriving at the Empress Dowager's Hall of Mental Cultivation, the two could see from a distance that someone was already inside, presumably speaking with the Empress Dowager. Huangfu Yu and the other exchanged a glance, then silently followed inside.
Upon entering the hall, they discovered it was Nan Xuzong, who was chatting and laughing with the Empress Dowager.
The two were taken aback, but immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "Ting (Yu) greets the Empress Dowager, wishing her a long and healthy life!"
Why is Nan Xuzong here? Even though he has his grandmother's support, he doesn't usually come to the inner palace this often!
"It's Yu'er and Ting'er, get up! Please sit down." The Empress Dowager waved to the eunuchs and maids beside her with a kind and gentle expression.
Someone quickly came forward and brought a chair.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The two stood up before sitting down in the chair.
Nan Xuzong then turned his wheelchair around and said to the two of them, "Nan Xuzong greets the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince."
Huangfu Ting nodded and smiled.
Huangfu Yu looked Nan Xuzong up and down before saying, "I've long heard of your great name, and seeing you today, you are indeed extraordinary!"
"Your Highness flatters me too much," Nan Xuzong said with a smile.
"Hmph." Huangfu Yu snorted lightly, then sat down in the chair without saying a word.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Yu'er, you're still the same as always, you haven't changed at all."
"Grandmother, you know Yu'er's temperament."
The Empress Dowager gently shook her head. "I invited you two brothers here today so that you could get to know Cong'er. Although Cong'er grew up in a marquis's mansion and has difficulty walking, he possesses a wealth of talent and ability that is truly admirable!"
Nan Xuzong blushed slightly as he listened, thinking that this self-praise was a bit exaggerated.
Huangfu Yu snorted coldly, while Huangfu Ting smiled in a half-smile.
——
Ji Wushang looked up and saw that there wasn't much sand left in the funnel. Time was almost up, so Ji Wushang quickly gathered up the last bit of sand. Finally, all the sand in the funnel was gone, and Ji Wushang finished the last thread.
"The time has come, stop," the examiner said, then looked at Ji Wushang, who was sitting peacefully in her seat, waiting quietly. Several young ladies had not finished their embroidery and had to put down their needlework, sulking.
Several maids came forward to collect the embroidery made by the young ladies, and it took them a while to collect all the embroidery.
"Alright, ladies, please leave now! A matron will take you to Jinyuan Garden shortly. You will stay there for the next three days!" the examiner said.
Ji Wushang sneezed again and shivered as he walked out. Although he was weak and tired, he had heard that all the young ladies lived in Jinyuan Garden, so he had a chance to crush them all! Three days would be enough!
Whoever blocks my path, I'll destroy their path!
Ji Wushang went outside, not knowing which way to go. He didn't recognize any of the places or the people around him. If he went to the wrong place, he could be beheaded!
Several young ladies went off to play and fool around, and just as Ji Wushang was feeling a bit lost, she heard a voice behind her, "Sister Wushang?"
Ji Wushang turned around and was surprised to see Shangguan Feiyan. Ji Wushang smiled and said, "Third Miss."
"What's wrong with you? How did you end up like this?" Shangguan Feiyan frowned, then pulled her aside. "Come on, let's go to Jinyuan Garden and change your clothes. If you keep looking like this, you'll easily get sick."
"Achoo." Just as she finished speaking, Ji Wushang sneezed again. Ji Wushang covered his mouth and nose embarrassedly, "Sorry."
"What do you mean, sorry? It was really an accident. How did you get like this?" Shangguan Feiyan was very enthusiastic. After asking a few nannies and palace maids, she immediately headed towards Jinyuan Garden.
Ji Wushang said, "It was an accident, it's nothing serious, I'll be fine in a little while."
"I heard that many things have happened in your household. Fourth Miss, you're actually dead?" Shangguan Feiyan turned her head and asked with some sadness.
Ji Wushang shook his head. This third young lady was probably fooled by Ji Yinxue's innocent appearance, and was worried about her now. Oh well. Ji Wushang said, "Fourth sister is married. I don't know if she can come to participate in the Wenge embroidery." Just as he finished speaking, he heard a voice coming from the courtyard.
"Fourth Miss, do you know? Your eldest sister is soaked to the bone today!"
"I don't know. Do you know where she is?"
Isn't that Ji Yinxue's voice? Ji Wushang trembled all over.
"Oh, you're still thinking about her? Save it! You're married now, you're no longer a member of the General's Mansion, why are you still worried about your older sister?"
Ji Wushang sneered, and Shangguan Feiyan looked embarrassed upon hearing this. She looked at Ji Wushang, who then said, "Thank you, Third Miss."
"It's what I should do." Shangguan Feiyan stopped in her tracks as she watched Ji Wushang go inside.
As soon as Ji Wushang entered, everyone stopped in their tracks. Ji Yinxue turned around and saw Ji Wushang completely soaked, clearly having gone from wet to dry—how pitiful! "Big sister, I was just wondering where you were going!" Ji Yinxue stepped forward to help Ji Wushang, but Ji Wushang turned her hand away, refusing her help. She hadn't expected that person to be so amazing, having saved Ji Yinxue from near death and now so full of energy.
"Fourth Sister, how are you? Are you all better?" Ji Wushang asked, looking at her.
"Yes, everything is fine now. I never expected that the doctor my husband hired would be so skilled, bringing me back from the brink of death," Ji Yinxue said with a smile.
"That's good, I'll go in first." Ji Wushang immediately went into the house, closed and locked the door, and then searched through each of the small rooms. Finally, he saw the room with his name on it, went in, locked the door, found a suitable outfit in the wardrobe, and changed.
The clothes in this room are all kept in a large wardrobe, with different styles and colors for the young ladies to choose from.
Ji Wushang felt his body slowly warming up as he sat on the bed. Although the place was a bit small, it was still quite warm.
Just then, someone threw something in through the window. Ji Wushang quickly looked out, but saw no one. He had no choice but to close the window, pick up the crumpled paper from the ground, and unfold it. It read:
We met in the Imperial Garden at 9 PM.
However, there was no signature, and Ji Wushang had some doubts. Who was this person? It wasn't Nan Xuzong's handwriting; he had seen his writing and drawings before, but this wasn't it. He knew he had to be careful and definitely wouldn't go out easily! This place wasn't like his own General's Mansion!
The outer door had been opened, and the young ladies came in, some of them grumbling and cursing. Ji Wushang ignored them and lay down on the bed to rest.
Dinner was served in the main hall. Ji Wushang saw so many people together, while he was used to quiet, so he sat to the side without saying a word.
"Who cares about such a small thing!" Li Yuanyang said angrily.
“Miss Li, you’re used to eating delicacies at home, so why not come here and try some simple, elegant food?” said Gao Fengfen.
Ji Wushang immediately perked up.
"What highbrow stuff? Miss Gao is very refined!" Li Yuanyang sneered.
"Enough, Yuanyang, don't argue with her!" a somewhat timid young lady said, pulling Li Yuanyang along.
Li Yuanyang scoffed, "So what if her father is the Left Prime Minister! What's with all the arrogance!"
"Who do you think you are? You're just the daughter of a lowly Vice Minister of Rites. What makes you think you can compare to me?" Gao Fengfen retorted coldly.