After leaving the palace, Li Yaonan remembered his appointment with Li Mingzhang, and walked forward in two steps, calling out, "Brother Li."
Li Mingzhang was stunned, his eyes were blank, and after a pause he responded: "Brother Li, what's the matter?"
Li Yaonan looked at him in surprise. Li Mingzhang did not look at all surprised at winning the first prize. Instead, he looked a little lost. Hiding his puzzlement, Li Yaonan bowed and said, "I made an appointment with Brother Li a few days ago to visit Brother Zhou together. I wonder when Brother Li will be free."
Li Mingzhang finally came to his senses at this time, thought for a while, and said with embarrassment: "Brother Li, please forgive me, I am afraid I will not be able to spare any free time these days."
Seeing that he was frowning, Li Yaonan was curious, but he didn't have the habit of prying into other people's privacy, so he said, "Brother Zhou's house is..."
Li Mingzhang sighed and said, "Brother Zhou lives in Yonghua Street, Xicheng District. It's not easy to get along with the censor. If Brother Li goes there, I hope you can bear with me and apologize to A Qian for me."
Li Yaonan nodded in agreement. Seeing that Li Mingzhang was absent-minded, he did not chat with him. He smiled and said goodbye, then turned around and went home. No wonder the ancients said that they would get up and dance when they heard the cock crow. The early morning court was not a job for humans. They got up earlier than the cock.
After returning home, Li Yaonan took a nap first. When she woke up, she saw her husband sitting at the head of the bed reading a book. She couldn't help feeling warm in her heart and a little itchy.
Li Yaonan always did what he wanted to do. He hugged his husband and had sex with him vigorously. Then he felt a little hungry, so he got up contentedly to eat.
Lin Yixuan's cheeks flushed, she felt ashamed and annoyed. How could her husband indulge in lust in broad daylight? He had no self-control at all. But what about the sweetness in her heart? Lin Yixuan felt that she was being led astray by her husband.
The next day, Li Yaonan asked someone and prepared some small gifts, intending to go to Zhou's house.
Among the nobles in the capital, the Zhou family is not considered a high-ranking family. Although Lord Zhou comes from a famous family, he is extremely rigid. Most ministers in the court are unwilling to deal with him. He is like a piece of stone, smelly and hard. But despite this, Lord Zhou has gained a lot of good reputations. First, he does not form cliques or keep secrets; second, he is impartial and just; third, he is upright. He is truly a model of our generation of literati, who are noble, aloof, loyal, and a pure minister.
After hearing this, Li Yaonan twitched his lips but did not say anything. He felt that Lord Zhou was actually very smart and he might be able to learn from him in some aspects.
While he was thinking about something, he arrived at Zhou's house. The secretary went to knock on the door and handed over a note.
The Zhou family didn't take a mere third place winner seriously. The guard at the door only glanced at the note and said loudly and confidently, "My master is honest and upright. Third place winner, please go back. My master will not see you and will not agree to anything."
Three black lines appeared on Li Yaonan's forehead. Could it be that this is how Lord Zhou gained his reputation? West City is no quieter than East City. There are people everywhere. As soon as the guard finished speaking, the people around who were unaware of the situation began to whisper that Lord Zhou was a good official who never gave anything to anyone privately and even refused to admit the third place in the imperial examination.
Li Yaonan felt speechless. No wonder Li Mingzhang asked him to be more tolerant before. This Mr. Zhou was really a weirdo. But he couldn't accept this basin of dirty water. If he didn't explain it clearly today, who knew what rumors would be spread tomorrow.
Li Yaonan slowly stepped down from the sedan chair with an indifferent look. Whether the guard did it intentionally or unintentionally, he would not allow anyone to climb up on his reputation. He said indifferently, "Lord Zhou is an honest man, so I dare not disturb him. However, I am a fellow examinee of your family's son. I heard that Brother Zhou was unable to participate in the imperial examination due to some reasons, so I came to visit him today. Could you please pass on his message?"
"Our young master doesn't want to see you." The guard raised his eyebrows and his tone became more contemptuous.
Li Yaonan frowned. He didn't expect Zhou Qian's situation at home to be so difficult. A mere guard could climb over his head. But when he thought back to the time when he was in the Li Mansion, wasn't it the same for him? Fortunately, this body was taken over by him. Otherwise, the original owner, who looked sick, would probably not live long.
Li Yaonan looked at the guard coldly. Since he was here, he would be a good person to the end. It was not that he suddenly became kind-hearted, nor was it that he had a good relationship with Zhou Qian. If he was refused entry today with such an excuse, the dignity of the Tanhua Lang would be destroyed. How could he gain a foothold in the court in the future
Li Yaonan gently rebuked, "You are such a rude guard. You said the master was gone before the announcement was made. Although Brother Zhou is a bastard, he is also the master of your house. I thought that Brother Zhou was beaten because of a rumor. Now it seems that the truth is probably more than that. It's a pity that Brother Zhou is so talented in writing that he even missed the imperial examination. Well, the Zhou family is too high for me to marry. Brother Zhou and I should have been in the same class. In this case, I will take my leave!"
Li Yaonan's words were vague, but to the people around him, it was just an after-dinner chat. They started to discuss it and speculated about the inside story with great interest.
Li Yaonan was about to get on the sedan chair when a voice suddenly shouted angrily from inside the Zhou residence: "Wait—"
A middle-aged man in his forties came out with a sullen face, looked at Li Yaonan with scrutiny, and said sternly, "Are you the third place winner of this year's exam?"
Li Yaonan bowed and said, "Yes."
Censor Zhou spoke harshly and looked contemptuously, "My Zhou family has a long tradition of scholarship and strict rules. The third place winner is the son-in-law of the Marquis's brother. It's best if you don't visit us as much in the future. My son doesn't dare to marry into a family of his own."
Li Yaonan's eyes darkened. The censor's mouth was indeed powerful. With a few words, he immediately changed the subject and turned defeat into victory. Not only did he belittle himself, but he also completely dismissed the fact that he suppressed the bastard's son. "I dare not. It was Brother Li from Beiwei Marquis' Mansion who invited me, so I came here. If I had known that Lord Zhou would not allow it, I would not have acted rashly."
Censor Zhou opened his eyes wide and sneered, "I've heard that the third place winner is very eloquent, and today I see that it's true." He scolded Li Yaonan for being the son-in-law of the Marquisate, but Li Yaonan replied that he was trying to climb the social ladder. Not only did he downplay his status as the son-in-law, he also distorted his meaning to make it seem like he looked down on the Marquisate of Jingyang, otherwise why would he be willing to associate with the Marquisate of Beiwei.
Li Yaonan bowed and saluted, and said modestly: "Your Excellency the Censor, thank you for your praise. I am not even one tenth as eloquent as you."
"It is not the place for outsiders to interfere in the affairs of my Zhou family. Since the top scholar wants to see my son, please make a clear decision. My son is stubborn and out of his league." After saying this, Censor Zhou turned around and left, but he allowed Li Yaonan to come into the mansion to visit him.
"I will keep it in mind." Li Yaonan was quite surprised. He did not expect him to give in so easily. He turned around and looked at the people around him. Li Yaonan immediately understood that they were in front of the Zhou residence. No matter how they argued, it would only be the Zhou family that would be embarrassed. Censor Zhou seemed to be a smart man, so why did he treat his offspring so...
Li Yaonan was puzzled. Before he could figure it out, the servants had already taken him to Wenjingyuan. The empty yard looked like no one had cleaned it. The environment was even worse than when he first lived in Li Mansion.
Zhou Qian looked thin and melancholy, standing in a daze under a peach tree. He seemed to be fine. If Li Mingzhang hadn't mentioned it earlier, he wouldn't look like he had been beaten. But then again, the imperial examination was more than half a month away, so even the most serious injuries would have been healed.
Hearing someone coming outside the yard, Zhou Qian had no intention of turning back. He looked very depressed, staring blankly at the front, with a bit of indifference between his brows.
Li Yaonan was surprised. Zhou Qian was only one year older than him, but he looked like he wanted to become a monk.
"Brother Zhou." Li Yaonan called out.
Zhou Qian's body trembled, as if he thought he was hallucinating. He turned around suddenly, opened his eyes wide in disbelief, and asked tentatively: "Brother Li?"
Li Yaonan stepped forward with a smile and joked, "It's really not easy to meet Brother Zhou."
Zhou Qian's face was gloomy, and he forced a smile: "Brother Li is thoughtful."
Li Yaonan smiled gently and said, "Brother Li can't come over. He asked me to apologize to you."
Zhou Qian nodded, a trace of worry flashed across his melancholy face: "Thank you, Brother Li."
Li Yaonan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Why are you so polite today?" He would not sympathize with Zhou Qian, nor would he feel pity for him. His situation at the beginning was exactly the same as Zhou Qian's. Feelings such as sympathy and pity would make him look down on Zhou Qian.
Zhou Qian couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing what he said. He had to admit that Li Yaonan's usual attitude made him feel much better. He bowed and said, "I haven't congratulated Brother Li for being the top three in the imperial examination yet."
Li Yaonan sneered and said with a smile, "Brother Zhou, you are too polite. Brother Li is the top scholar. I am still far from being the third scholar." The premise is to ignore Li Mingzhang's ugly expression. Li Yaonan firmly refused to admit that he wanted to gossip. It was not easy to ask in front of Li Mingzhang, but he did not have so many concerns when facing Zhou Qian.
As expected, Zhou Qian's face darkened, and his voice became low and cynical: "I'm afraid this number one scholar is not what Wen Yuan wants at all."
Wenyuan is Li Mingzhang's pen name.
"Oh?" Li Yaonan raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"
Zhou Qian pondered for a while, and thought that Brother Li would know about this sooner or later, so he simply did not hide it and said lightly: "Wen Yuan will be recruited as a son-in-law."
"Ah?" Li Yaonan was really stunned. One has to know that the prince consort of the Jin Dynasty had no right to be involved in politics. If Brother Li was really recruited as a prince consort, his future in this life would be nothing more than a third-rank sinecure.
Zhou Qian sneered, his voice so cold that no emotion could be heard, and continued: "This is the decision of Beiwei Marquisate. Wen Yuan cannot resist at all, just like..." I didn't say these three words.
Li Yaonan frowned, "Brother Li is a man of outstanding literary talent and has a bright future. Beiwei Marquis's actions are tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. How could they do that?"
Zhou Qian showed a mocking look on his face: "If Brother Li wants to make a name for himself, it will take at least ten years. It's not as quick as becoming a royal consort."
Li Yaonan was silent. Every family has its own problems, and he didn't know what to say at the moment.
Zhou Qian seemed to realize that he had talked too much just now, and quickly changed the subject: "I didn't expect Brother Li to come. Zhou Qian is very grateful."
Li Yaonan smiled. In fact, if Li Mingzhang hadn't reminded him, he would have forgotten about it. Hearing Zhou Qian's gratitude, he felt a little ashamed. Of course, this was only a momentary thing, so don't expect him to have a big conscience. He accepted Zhou Qian's gratitude without hesitation and said with a smile: "What are you polite about? But your family has strict rules. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to come to your house next time."
Zhou Qian was silent. How could he not know the implication of Li Yaonan's words? The strict rules at home were just a courtesy. What did he mean by "it's difficult to visit"? It was probably another good thing done by his father.
Zhou Qian's expression relaxed, and he began to feel some affection for Li Yaonan.
Li Yaonan smiled slightly, since he came to visit and was greeted at the door, he had to get his money back no matter what and make this visit worthwhile. Otherwise, it would be a big loss. He was very satisfied with Zhou Qian's response.
Of course, what satisfied him most was Zhou Qian’s next words.
"Brother Li, be careful on the day of the Qionglin Banquet."
Zhou Qian's father is the Censor. Although he was not very nice to him, Zhou Qian knew a lot of gossip. The Censor's favorite thing was to gossip about everyone and everything. If he didn't do that, he wouldn't be famous enough.
Li Yaonan's heart tightened, and his expression became serious: "Brother Zhou, please explain in detail."
"I heard that you have never visited your grandmother and mother since you came to Beijing. I'm afraid your in-laws have some complaints. The current emperor governs the country with filial piety. You should keep this in mind."
Some things should be said at the right time. Li Yaonan thanked him and said that he had been too quiet in recent days. It turned out that he was waiting for the Qionglin Banquet. The emperor wanted to embarrass him in front of the emperor and accuse him of being unfilial. Even if he was the third place in the imperial examination, he would never be able to make a name for himself.