If such an elegant person had been my male favorite, he should harbor resentment, yet looking at his attitude, it seemed quite kind. Moreover, he said… a year since we met? Didn’t that mean I had seen him before my disappearance?
Seeing me standing there dumbly, Wei Qingheng smiled: “Why are you standing there stupidly? With all that commotion outside just now, don’t tell me you caused it?”
His tone really… didn’t seem like that of a minister speaking to a regent princess.
I found a nearby rosewood stool to sit on and asked: “Did I cause you trouble again?”
Wei Qingheng nodded matter-of-factly, straightforwardly: “This time, what do you need me to help you with? Might as well tell me.”
This time? So I used to often seek his help—he must be someone trustworthy. I said: “I want to investigate some matters at the Imperial Academy.”
Wei Qingheng looked at me with interest: “State affairs or private matters? I don’t take sides in private matters, but state affairs require caution.”
I was slightly surprised, then said: “It’s about Fang Yachen.”
Wei Qingheng made an “oh” sound: “Then it should be state affairs.”
I was stunned again.
Fang Yachen had been my male favorite—no matter how you looked at it, it was a private, secretive matter. How did he conclude this was state business?
Wei Qingheng lowered his eyes: “The issue between him and Han Fei should indeed be resolved.”
Eh? Could it be he knows about some past grievance between Han and Fang? Speaking of which, can I ask him directly?
Wei Qingheng said: “In that case, the Princess can temporarily stay under the name of a Guangwen Academy student. Except for Fang Yachen, the other doctors have never seen the Princess, so there’s no great problem. Director Wang, who was most disapproving of the Princess, has retired to his hometown. I’ll give instructions tomorrow that anyone who recognizes the Princess should simply ignore it. This isn’t the Princess’s first time experiencing Imperial Academy life—the room in the east wing is still kept for you. Everything as usual. How about it?”
He rattled off a comprehensive plan that left me speechless. Wei Qingheng lifted his eyelids slightly: “What?”
“Nothing, just feel like there’s nothing left for me to worry about.”
Wei Qingheng showed a trace of a smile: “However, this session’s Guangwen Academy students are all outstanding jinshi from various regions, with quite a few talented individuals. The Princess might want to pay some attention.”
I said: “Ah?” Speaking of which, is he hinting that I… could pick a few to be male favorites?
He said: “If several of them make it onto the examination lists and enter the court, they’ll be new pillars of the honest governance faction. It would be beneficial and harmless for the Princess to select and cultivate them for the Crown Prince.”
Me: “…”
Ever since becoming this princess, I’ve encountered too many bewildering situations. Now when I rarely meet a proper person, it makes me, the princess, seem like my mind is full of improper thoughts.
I went over his previous words and actions in my mind, brewing a casual tone: “Thinking about it, we haven’t seen each other for so long. What was the situation when we last met? Haha, you still remember, right?”
Wei Qingheng smiled: “That day, to make a birthday gift for the Prince Consort, the Princess studied ink wash painting with me for three months. Did the Prince Consort like it afterward?”
I said: “Ah… that, that’s natural.”
How could I have once been so thoughtful in preparing birthday gifts for the Prince Consort? This… just how much did I have to like him?
Wei Qingheng continued: “Although the Princess’s brushwork wasn’t quite solid, the artistic conception was there. It was much better than many years ago when you drew that portrait and had me help find some ‘big brother.'”
My heart jumped: “Many years ago?” Big brother?
Wei Qingheng said: “Mm, speaking of which, that painting has been kept here all along. After the Princess married, she never mentioned it again…”
“It’s here now?” I excitedly slapped the table: “Could you take it out for me to see?”
Seeing my reaction, Wei Qingheng was startled, then got up and rummaged through the scroll paintings in the ceramic jar behind the desk. Soon he picked out a roll of paper and handed it to me, smiling: “The Princess couldn’t have forgotten this painting was kept here all along, could you?”
I eagerly took it and unrolled the painting, then couldn’t help but gasp at what was depicted—
Second Update Dividing Line—
“Is this painting of a person or a ghost?”
Wei Qingheng said: “It barely counts as a person drawing a talisman.”
I looked despondently at that terrifying painting. If Big Brother really looked like this, it could only mean I was someone who greatly valued inner qualities as a child…
Wei Qingheng smiled faintly: “The Princess took this and insisted I must find this person. I even considered packing up and fleeing the capital in the middle of the night…”
I awkwardly scratched my head: “That really was hard on you.”
Wei Qingheng nodded: “Fortunately, the Princess was a good student who respected her teachers.”
He took out a student’s Confucian robe from the wardrobe and hung it on the chair back: “Rest here tonight. I need to go out and clean up your mess now. I’ll return later to stay in the adjacent room for the night. If there’s any urgent matter, you’re permitted to enter without knocking. Tomorrow, change into these clothes and you’ll officially be an Imperial Academy student.”
I bowed with my sleeves: “I obey Chancellor’s command.”
Wei Qingheng chuckled and said “You, oh you” before putting on his outer robe and leaving. Looking at his upright departing figure, I couldn’t help but sigh that this person was truly easy to get along with. His speech and conduct were proper and generous—he must be someone with great depth. Of course, I could also put down a big stone in my heart. He had indeed been a genuine princess tutor in the past. Placing the absurd notion of male favorite on him would truly be an insult.
The painting was still spread on the table. I was about to roll it up as a keepsake when I suddenly paused.
I say, why do the eyes of the person in this painting look so familiar? The more I look, the more they resemble someone…
I tilted my head and pondered for quite a while but couldn’t figure it out, so I simply tidied up, extinguished the lamp, and went to sleep.
The Imperial Academy was the highest institution of learning in the current dynasty. There wasn’t a scholar under heaven who didn’t wish to attend. It governed the Imperial College, Grand Academy, Guangwen Academy, Four Liberal Arts Academy, and others. Among these, the Imperial College was most prestigious—only children and grandchildren of dukes of third rank and above could enroll. Guangwen and the Four Liberal Arts were generally talented scholars from common families around the country. If they could pass the higher examinations, they would naturally have bright official careers with unlimited prospects.
Simply put, the Imperial College and Grand Academy were full of officials’ second-generation children, while Guangwen housed commoners. There were also Law and Mathematics schools with plenty of donation students. Naturally, under these circumstances, the entire academy was full of open and covert struggles, with internal conflicts, causing trouble every few days.
Naturally, the Imperial Academy’s discipline was extremely strict.
Anyone harboring ill intentions, resisting authority, causing trouble, or violating imperial edicts would be lightly punished with fifty bamboo strikes. Slightly more serious offenses could result in military service or clerical work—anyway, once Chancellor issued an order, you could only head to those miasmatic frontier regions. However, for serious crimes, execution wasn’t unprecedented, such as insulting the princess. Well, this example is just my imagination.
Back to the main point.
When Wei Qingheng led me to Guangye Hall, the students were listening to lectures in the hall. An old doctor was holding a scroll book, wandering around the hall and speaking eloquently: “Duke Li was about to cause trouble. Xu Tong said: ‘He must first target the three Xi families—their clan is large and has many grievances. Removing large clans won’t be pressing, but having many enemies with grievances is useful.’ The Duke said: ‘Indeed.'” He seemed to be teaching the Chenggong section of the “Zuo Commentary.”