“You’re getting more and more presumptuous,” Liang Ye was choked by his words, wanting to retort something, but couldn’t find the right words for a moment. He gritted his teeth and said, “How Zhen thinks of you is naturally beyond your control.”
“Hmm, it’s all my fault,” Wang Dian closed his eyes heavily.
“It was your fault,” Liang Ye glared at him for a while, finally catching the point, “Heh, perfunctory.”
Wang Dian felt like he had fallen asleep, but was abruptly awakened by someone pinching his nose and mouth. He looked at the energetic Liang Ye with tired eyes, “Ancestor, what do you really want to do?”
Liang Ye nibbled at the corner of his mouth, dissatisfied, “Are you thinking of using that sickly seedling?”
“People have names.” Wang Dian had a good first impression of Cui Qi, so he said with a tired effort, “He is not valued by the Cui family, but apart from being physically weak, his character and abilities are not bad.”
“The main thing is that he looks good,” Liang Ye affirmed.
Wang Dian struggled to open his eyes, “You clearly think he looks good too, you have your own intentions but want to frame me.”
Liang Ye was shocked again, “Zhen didn’t.”
Wang Dian closed his eyes and laughed lazily, “Dirty.”
Liang Ye woke him up unhappily, and said gloomily, “No one has ever dared to slander Zhen’s innocence like this.”
“Do you have that thing?” Wang Dian yawned, stretched his arms to hold him, kissed him casually, “Sleep.”
Liang Ye licked his lips with lingering thoughts, staring at him with a predatory gaze. Wang Dian sensed some danger, opened his eyes with difficulty to warn him, “If you do anything to me again, even if you are wrapped in red string, don’t think I will forgive you.”
He closed his eyes and waited for a while without hearing any movement from Liang Ye. It seemed that he had already gotten up and left. Wang Dian wanted to open his eyes to take a look, but he was so sleepy that he fell into a deep sleep.
He didn’t know how long it had been when a slight itch came from his nose. He opened his eyes and saw Liang Ye looking at him enthusiastically under the dim candlelight. His fingers were wrapped with thin red string, like a spider weaving a web, intricately wrapping him on the bed. The intertwined red string was adorned with countless golden bells and leaves. He only moved slightly, and the surroundings rang out with crisp and pleasant bell sounds.
Liang Ye leisurely wound the red string around his leg, kissing it ambiguously and affectionately as he did so, his teeth biting the thin skin, leaving a trail of red marks, “Who do you think is better looking, Zhen or Cui Qi?”
Wang Dian heard the rustling sound of the wind blowing the window, those disturbing red strings in the air and candlelight formed a large blur of halo, the bells and leaves rang in response, the wide sleeves knocked over the candle on the case table, and then he pressed the person who kept teasing him into the overwhelming red…
Wang Dian suddenly opened his eyes, staring at the tassels on the bed curtain that were blown by the wind with lingering fear, and then he breathed a sigh of relief without a trace.
Fortunately, it was just a dream.
“What did you dream about?” A lazy and annoying voice sounded next to his ear, and then the owner of the voice glanced at him with deep meaning.
Wang Dian abruptly bent his body to avoid his weightless claws, wanted to curse, but when the words came to his mouth, the enchanting scene in the dream suddenly emerged, the person who was messed up by him in the dream was propping up his head and teasing him, “You’re really spirited early in the morning.”
“Sick.” Wang Dian cursed without much confidence, uncomfortably moving his gaze away from his face, “Making a fuss.”
“Why don’t you touch it back.” Liang Ye grabbed his hand and put it under his waist, Wang Dian jumped up like electrocuted, angrily said, “Get lost!”
Liang Ye laughed out loud in a good mood.
Because of this dream, Wang Dian was a bit distracted during the morning court, until Zeng Jie spoke up to bring him back to his senses, “Your Majesty, the cheating in the imperial examination is not a trivial matter, this minister asks Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter!”
Wang Dian suddenly woke up, “What did you say?”
“Your Majesty, in this examination, there is a student named Xun Yao from Changlin Academy in Guangyuan County, Hexi Prefecture, who leaked the questions, and three people from the same academy appeared to have identical answers on their exam papers.” Zeng Jie said solemnly, “Xun Yao ranked first, and the other two were second and third. This absurdity is unheard of!”
“Your Majesty, although Changlin Academy has produced top scholars in previous years, there has never been a situation where three people from the same year and the same list have identical answers.” Cui Yun suddenly stepped forward, “Just as Zeng Daren said, this is absurd, even if there is really cheating, these three students would not be so blatant, I’m afraid there is something else going on.”
“Cui Aiqing makes sense.” Wang Dian also felt that this matter was strange, he looked at Cui Yun who rarely spoke, was about to speak, when he saw Yan Ze step forward, “Your Majesty, the current county magistrate of Guangyuan County is Baili Cheng’an Daren, Baili Daren was in charge of the examination papers for a period of time before he was demoted, whether there is something else going on or some people are doing this for their own benefit, begging Your Majesty to discern.”
(t/n: The word 爱卿 “Aiqing” is used by an emperor/empress to address his/her close ministers, which means “my dear/favored minister”)
“Your Majesty, Baili Cheng’an Daren only arranged for the Hanlin Academy to make the papers very early on, and had no chance to touch the papers, let alone the final topic was not determined at that time, Yan Daren’s words are really far-fetched.” Minister Feng Qing, from the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward, “Moreover, Baili Daren’s character is upright and honest, everyone has seen it, this minister dares to guarantee with his life, he would never do such an absurd thing!”
“Feng Daren, you better not speak too full.” Xu Xiude came back from Hexi, suffered a lot, the whole fat old man became thin and had lost a circle, he twisted his beard, “I went to Hexi Prefecture this time, but saw Baili Daren be in low spirits, disrespectful to Your Majesty in his words and deeds, he has been smooth sailing these years and suddenly demoted, it is possible to seek quick success.”
“Xu Daren, you must have forgotten that you were robbed in Hexi, it was Baili Daren who saved you from the disaster without regard for his life!”
“I’m just talking about the matter, and won’t mix other feelings in it…”
“Alright, stop arguing.” Wang Dian raised his hand on the top, and it was suddenly quiet below.
“This matter has not yet been concluded, but cheating in the imperial examination cannot be encouraged.” Wang Dian said solemnly, “The matter of cheating is handed over to Cui Yun for full investigation, and it is necessary to find out where Xun Yao and others got the exam questions from. For the sake of fairness, this imperial examination result is invalidated, and the imperial examination will be reopened in ten days, with Imperial Preceptor Wen, Yan Ze, and Bian Cang setting the questions, and Feng Qing, Zeng Jie, and Xu Xiude invigilating.”
After the morning court, Wang Dian left Bian Cang behind.
Bian Cang was already in his fifties or sixties, but he didn’t show any signs of old age. His figure was slender and elegant like a crane, especially those eyes, calm and clear, as if they could see through everything. Yet, he rarely spoke, only occasionally going with the flow when he was in the mood. Ever since he heard about Bian Xin and Bian Yunxin from Liang Ye, he had taken an interest in Bian Cang and found that he was also a dramatist.
“Bian Aiqing, do you know why Zhen asked you to set the questions?” Wang Dian invited him to sit down.
Bian Cang bowed his head and said, “This minister is of limited talent and learning, this minister is afraid he can’t bear such a heavy responsibility.”
“Ah, Aiqing, you were the top scholar appointed by the previous emperor initially in the first year. The previous emperor said that you have the talent of a general, don’t belittle yourself.” Wang Dian recalled the records he had read before, even though the person who recorded them thought it was Liang Hua’s drunken nonsense, but ever since Liang Ye showed him the cave left by Liang Hua, he didn’t think it was nonsense.
“This minister dares not.” Bian Cang got up and knelt on the ground.
“Bian Aiqing, you mustn’t.” Wang Dian hurriedly went to help him, tentatively saying, “The Empress Dowager is Bian Daren’s adopted daughter, technically Zhen should call grandfather.”
“This minister is unworthy of such honor, and can’t bear Your Majesty’s favor.” Bian Cang’s body turned cold, his gaze at him carried a kind of undisguised disgust, “Please, Your Majesty, don’t joke.”
Wang Dian helped him up with a normal expression, “Aiqing, don’t worry too much. The reason why Zhen asked you to set the questions is because Zhen truly believes that you have the ability. And one more thing, Zhen has looked at the examination questions for nearly thirty years, the questions are vague and impractical. Now that Southern Zhao and Eastern Chen have already started to reform the imperial examination, although it’s not yet time for Liang Country, Zhen still hopes that Bian Daren can start from this time’s question setting, to turn those flashy and gorgeous words towards practical governance, to recruit real talents for the court.”
Bian Cang was slightly surprised, “Your Majesty, you should discuss this matter with Imperial Preceptor Wen and Yan Daren.”
“Imperial Preceptor Wen is getting old, and he has more important things…” Wang Dian stopped there, looking deeply at him, “Who Yan Ze is, you must know better than Zhen. The matter of reform, it’ll cause one to suffer serious injury, it’s not a day’s work, but it can benefit for a thousand autumns, maybe it will take five years, ten years or even longer, but there must be a start…”
Bian Cang’s eyes finally showed some movement, his gaze at Wang Dian carried a scrutinizing meaning, “Does Your Majesty really think so?”
“Truly.” Wang Dian said firmly, “This spark is in Bian Daren’s hands, whether it can become a prairie fire in the future, it all depends on Daren’s ability.”
He remembered the files he had stayed up late to read, Bian Cang’s vigorous reform of the education system in a small county in Hedong Prefecture had shocked him for a long time, he was sure that Bian Cang would respond.
Bian Cang was silent for a long time, “Your Majesty, do you know how difficult the situation is now? Even reform should wait until after stability.”
“Bian Daren,” Wang Dian spoke slowly, but each word was powerful, “Rather than waiting to die, it’s better to fight for survival. Zhen can’t wait, and Liang Country can’t wait either.”
Bian Cang finally raised his head, “Although this minister is not talented, this minister is willing to try for Liang Country.”
Wang Dian chatted with him until dawn before secretly letting Chong Heng send him back to Bian Mansion.
He looked up at the claws hanging from the beam, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, “Your Majesty, is it comfortable to listen in the corner?”
Liang Ye silently fell down, reached over the table to take his teacup, and said with interest, “Can your mouth bring the dead back to life?”
“That’s still a bit difficult.” Bian Cang’s agreement made Wang Dian feel quite good. He picked up the teapot and added half a cup of tea for Liang Ye, saying spiritedly, “Bian Cang is still very clear-headed, he will surely achieve great things in the future.”
Liang Ye chuckled, “He’s an old man who’s half body is already in the grave.”
“Time waits for no one, Your Majesty.” Wang Dian was still in the state of discussing matters with Bian Cang and hadn’t come out. After pacing a circle behind the table, he said, “Now that the imperial army is in our own hands, we can at least sleep peacefully in the future. The next step is to try to take the military power in the south. Compared to Loufan, Southern Zhao and Eastern Chen are the real threats. Once the military power is in hand, you will have the real capital to compete with Cui Yuxian.”
The candle on the table was about to burn out, and with a puff, it went out leaving only two wisps of smoke. The faint light outside the window spilled onto Wang Dian’s face, making him look serious and steady, but also with his inherent tolerance and kindness. The dragon robe on him seemed to have the momentum of a ruler.
Liang Ye leaned back and propped his hand on the desk, still dangling the cup of tea that Wang Dian had drunk from his mouth. Wang Dian probably didn’t hear his response, he looked up at him, his eyes still filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Liang Ye grinned, the teacup in his mouth fell down and landed steadily in his palm.
“If you don’t want to talk, forget it.” Wang Dian seemed to realize his presumption, rubbed his brow hard, “Today’s Xiu Mu, I’ll go to sleep first.”
(t/n: Xiu Mu-According to information, in the past, officials of the imperial court had to take one day off every five days of work, which was called “Xiu Mu”, meaning rest and bathing, also called holiday)
Liang Ye turned the teacup in his hand, staring at the tea inside for a moment, then reached out and grabbed his jade pendant tassel, pulling him back.
At this moment, Wang Dian’s fatigue from staying up all night surged up. He looked at Liang Ye helplessly and somewhat irritably. Just as he was about to speak, Liang Ye pressed the remaining half cup of tea to his lips, holding his chin and feeding it into his mouth.
This guy had no sense of measure, Wang Dian almost choked, the tea overflowed from the corner of his mouth and trickled down his chin into his neck, scalding his skin slightly red.
Liang Ye looked down at it, his fingertips touched it and gently rubbed it. After a long time, he finally said, “Zhen is starting to dislike you being too smart.”
Wang Dian’s expression didn’t change, “So?”
Liang Ye rested his forehead on his shoulder, stretched his arms around his waist, and said in a muffled voice, “If one day you no longer serve Zhen, Zhen will definitely kill you with Zhen’s own hands.”
<3