Away from Chongsheng Street, there are few pedestrians at night and the streets become quiet.
In the carriage, Fang Yun and Zhao Hongzhuang sat side by side.
"King Kang has always been ambitious. It is naturally a good thing for me that you have a conflict with the young Duke, but isn't it too aggressive?" Zhao Hongzhuang said.
Fang Yun looked at Zhao Hongzhuang in surprise. He didn't expect that Zhao Hongzhuang hated Prince Kang's family to this extent. According to seniority, she should call Prince Kang the Imperial Uncle and the Little Duke brother, but she called Prince Kang and the Little Duke the same as everyone else. If she didn't hate them to the extreme, she would never do so.
"Is the conflict between King Kang and the late emperor deeper than the rumors?" Fang Yun asked.
Zhao Hongzhuang was dressed like a handsome young scholar. After listening to Fang Yun's question, the hatred in her eyes was enough to burn the whole carriage. She said, "King Kang tried to win over the royal family in front of his sick brother. It's more than just a contradiction! He even wanted to make peace with the Nuzhi barbarians and marry me to a barbarian king!"
"Asshole!" Fang Yun was furious.
The Nuzhi barbarian tribe is located on the border of the Wu State and is directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy Academy. All of them are naturalized barbarians who work for the human race to conquer other barbarians. However, letting a princess of a dignified country marry into the tribe is simply a loss of power and humiliation for the country.
"From then on, I hated the Kang Palace. Unfortunately, the Kang Princess is the daughter of a semi-saint family, and there is a Wu Kingdom behind her. We have never been able to deal with the Kang King. Fortunately, the left prime minister and the Kang King are not on good terms, so we were able to stand firm when the emperor brother passed away. The Kang King is powerful, and if you did not let Guan Changyu go that day, I am afraid it would sow the seeds of disaster."
Fang Yun smiled carefreely and said, "If I let Guan Changyu go, will King Kang no longer regard me as an enemy?"
"That's true. You are loyal to the country and are highly valued by Lord Jianmei and Minister Wen. King Kang and the Kingdom of Wu will certainly do their best to win you over. If they fail to win you over, they will not show any mercy. You are doing this to show your determination. It's difficult for you."
"Some things are better done decisively." Fang Yun said.
"You are different from when I first met you." Zhao Hongzhuang looked at Fang Yun with bright eyes.
"What's the difference?"
"More decisive and more direct. You used to be full of concerns, but now your horizons seem to be broader." Zhao Hongzhuang said.
"I used to be a scholar, but now I am a juren, so naturally I am different."
"This is different." Zhao Hongzhuang said.
"maybe."
Zhao Hongzhuang asked cautiously, "You have a bad relationship with the Lei family?"
"But the Longshang Lei family?"
"yes."
"No, I have no conflict with the Lei family." Fang Yun said.
Zhao Hongzhuang said: "The Lei family said that you once harmed a dragon person in their family, and the Lei family and the Xun family have a good relationship. There are even more unreliable rumors that you want to compete with the Lei family for the dragon girl."
"This... where do I start? The Lei family somehow got such great benefits, intermarrying with the dragon clan for generations, and their family power is no less than that of the weaker semi-saint families. How could I offend them?"
"Think carefully, where did you offend the dragon man?"
Fang Yun thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something and said, "On the Qixi Festival, we went to Yinlong Pavilion and encountered a few dragon people who wanted to capture my neighbor. They were killed by the Whale King. This incident is indeed related to me."
"That's for sure. That dragon man should be related to the Lei family. The whale king in Yinlong Pavilion always has a smiling face, but he kills without blinking an eye. With this incident, plus your deep hatred with the Xun family, the Lei family does have reason to deal with you."
"But what about the dragon girl?" Fang Yun asked.
Zhao Hongzhuang smiled slightly and said, "It's really not your fault. The dragon race has always liked human poetry. After your poetry was introduced to the Dragon Palace, it was loved by the dragon race. Some young dragon girls were originally betrothed to the children of the Lei family or a few saintly families, but after reading your poetry, they refused to marry and said that they would marry a talented man like you."
"This..." Fang Yun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He didn't expect this to happen.
"Now you know how much the Lei family disciples hate you." Zhao Hongzhuang said with a smile.
Fang Yun asked in confusion: "The Lei family has never produced a semi-saint, and even had no great scholar before they met the Dragon Clan. Why is it that the Dragon Clan values them so much?"
"I don't know either. So far, no one knows the specific reason. I just heard that it is related to a mysterious person named Lei, who seems to be a great benefactor of the dragon clan. The Lei family is very united. There are Lei clans in all ninety states, and it is said that they are also related to the dragon clan. 'It is better to offend a noble family than the Lei family.' You and the Kang Palace are incompatible, but don't make enemies with the Lei family."
Fang Yun said: "How close is the relationship between the Lei family and the Dragon Clan?"
Zhao Hongzhuang stared at Fang Yun and said slowly, "During the battle at Liangjie Mountain several decades ago, among the four Dragon Saints, only the Dragon Saint of the East Sea was willing to help. The Dragon Saints of the West Sea, South Sea, and North Sea originally did not want to come, but the previous head of the Lei family went there in person and finally invited the three of them."
"This... I didn't expect that the world would underestimate the Lei family! Apart from the Saint Kong himself, no one in the human race could possibly invite the three Dragon Saints."
"Yes. Since then, the status of the Lei family in the human race has risen sharply. In ten years at most, they will be listed as a 'virtual saint family', but they have already obtained the privileges that a semi-saint family deserves, and can be called the most powerful family in the world. When the old patriarch was alive, the Lei family was strict in family management and had a good reputation. But after the old patriarch passed away, the current Lei family is arrogant and more and more domineering. Many Lei family disciples even want to promote the Lei family to a semi-saint family."
“Although the Lei family has made great contributions, there is still some distance between them and a semi-saint family.”
"People's hearts will never be satisfied, there is nothing we can do about it. You have a lot of friends, you can ask them to help you lobby when you have time, but you must not offend the Lei family. King Kang was cut off from the Dragon Palace because of a minor conflict with the Lei family. Your relationship with the Lei family is now ten times worse, so you should be careful."
"Thank you, Hongzhuang. I've made a note of it." While speaking, Fang Yun recalled the ancient demon heritage and the contents of the book, but he did not find any clues. He still did not understand the relationship between the Lei family and the dragon clan.
Fang Yun secretly kept the Lei family in mind. Ten King Kangs were not as important as one Lei family!
Zhao Hongzhuang said: "However, since the Dragon Clan values you so much and has written a poem about a soaring dragon, the Lei Family will not act rashly, but I am afraid that they will continue to make small moves."
"The Tenglong Poem has a great effect?" Fang Yun felt a little regretful. What he got was the inheritance of the ancient demon instead of the dragon clan, so he didn't know much about the dragon clan.
“I heard that every time a poem is successful, the Dragon Saints from all over the world will gather together, so we all guessed that it is very important.” Zhao Hongzhuang said.
"How's things going with the Left Prime Minister?" Fang Yun asked.
"The Left Prime Minister is still the same, always looking like a scholar, but full of conspiracy and intrigue." Zhao Hongzhuang smiled helplessly, "You should be most concerned about yourself now. On the first day of entering the capital, you have three enemies: Prince Kang, the Lei family, and the Left Prime Minister. I don't know what will happen in the future. Fortunately, you are smart and accepted the invitation from the Wei family. If you didn't accept it, you would have offended the Wei family too."
"It doesn't matter. We, Fang Yun, only lack friends, not enemies." Fang Yun said.
"That's true. At least the Chen family is very grateful to you. With the support of the Chen family, those small fry dare not embarrass you, which saves you a lot of trouble."
"It's not easy to live in the capital." Fang Yun sighed.
"By the way, there are students from various countries in the academy, and the atmosphere there is relatively relaxed, so you have to be careful."
"I also have some understanding of the academy, I will pay attention to this."
Zhao Hongzhuang said helplessly, "You also know that the academy is divided into outer quarters, inner quarters and upper quarters. I have discussed with the Queen Mother and originally wanted to let you enter the inner quarters, and then enter the upper quarters after you pass the imperial examination. But the Minister of Literature said that young people should hone their skills, so he sent you to the upper quarters. The Minister of Literature is also the acting master of the academy, and the literary academy of Jingguo is under the charge of the acting master, so the Queen Mother and I can't refute him."
"I know Shangshe is the best, but is there anything else you think?" Fang Yun asked.
"In order to encourage students, the academy divides the residence into three levels. There are only ten upper dormitories in the entire academy. Not long ago, a Jinshi went to the Holy Academy, leaving one upper dormitories vacant. Other students were eager to compete for the status of an upper dormitories, but the Minister of Literature directly ordered you to move in."
"Alas, Lord Wen Xiang looks kind, but it turns out he is not a kind person. He deliberately put me on the fire." Fang Yun sighed.
"Go and tell him if you have the guts!"
"Ahem, let's get back to business." Fang Yun said.
"Those Juren probably won't have any objections. After all, your achievements in all aspects are in front of everyone. But those Jinshi may not think you are qualified to occupy the upper house. Merits are merits, but after all, they were not obtained through proper channels. Some people are bound to be dissatisfied, especially Jinshi from other countries." Zhao Hongzhuang said.
"This is indeed something we should pay attention to. The academy is different from other places. It is said that "there are many literary gatherings every day" and the atmosphere of seeking knowledge is very strong. I like to read alone, and it may take some time for me to integrate into this place." Fang Yun said.
Zhao Hongzhuang pondered for a moment and said, "You don't have to force yourself. For you, most literary gatherings are useless. You can gain more from reading. Only when teachers at or above the Hanlin level give lectures are it worth listening to. Some people in the capital have said that your poems, classics, and policy essays have reached the level of Jinshi. After the publication of "Shang Zhongyong", your articles have also been recognized, so you don't have to care too much about those ordinary literary gatherings."
"Hmm." Fang Yun decided to take a look at the academy before making a decision.
Zhao Hongzhuang said as she took out a book and handed it to Fang Yun. There was no words on the cover and she said, “This is the relationship between the various noble families in the capital that I copied by hand. There are also some characters that you should pay special attention to. Maybe it will be useful to you.”
Fang Yun opened the first page and saw that it was Zhao Hongzhuang's handwriting. It was beautiful yet strong, and her pen strokes were as sharp as a knife. It didn't look like it was written by a woman at all.
"Thank you, Hongzhuang. This book is very useful to me."
"Why are you being so polite? You have helped my Zhao family a lot. If I wasn't afraid of gossip, I would bring you directly to the palace to meet the Queen Mother and have a candlelight chat with her at night. By the way, I will bring Yuhuan to the palace tomorrow. The Queen Mother has always wanted to meet her. She wants to know what kind of extraordinary woman can make you so devoted."
"You haven't seen Sister Yuhuan for many days, so go meet her today."
"Okay. How's the little fox?" Zhao Hongzhuang said with a smile.
"He's becoming more and more naughty, but he's very well-behaved in front of me. He should be there soon." Fang Yun glanced out the window to confirm his current location. Suddenly he heard a noise coming from the front, so he stuck his head out of the window to look.
Fang Yun saw dozens of scholars standing outside his house, and they actually split into three groups and started arguing. (To be continued...)