Chapter 77: Jiangnan’s Talented Scholar

Taking advantage? Hah! Am I that kind of person? This Young Lord is charming but not cheap, okay?

At heart, even though Fang Jifan felt a bit of love at first sight, he truly could not accept actually taking advantage of someone. In the past, taking liberties with Xiaoxiangxiang was forced upon him, and although such behavior had clearly become a habit, and habit had become second nature, deep down, Fang Jifan looked down on such actions. A man should be upright and honorable!

He walked out of the Bedchamber, then left the palace. Outside the Chongwen Gate, he saw the Zhang Brothers, Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, waiting there with bruised and swollen faces.

Seeing his two older brother figures in such a state, Fang Jifan realized that Empress Zhang had a ruthless side. This was actually understandable; if others bullied her brothers, as their elder sister, she would naturally be protective, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t beat them up herself.

Zhang Heling looked deeply sorrowful, though his swollen cheeks diluted some of that melancholy, making him appear more comical instead. Fang Jifan greeted them from afar: “Hello there, my two older brother figures.”

As he approached, Zhang Heling glared at Fang Jifan with a mix of anger and speechlessness: “Elder sister ordered us, her two brothers, to apologize to you.”

“It’s fine, this junior forgives you two older brother figures.”

“…”

Both Zhang Yanling and Zhang Heling were speechless.

Their hearts felt as if cut by a knife.

Zhang Heling pondered for a long while: “There’s something… could we discuss it?”

“Please speak.” Fang Jifan struggled to hold back his laughter.

Zhang Heling said mournfully: “Look at us, beaten up like this. Could you pay some medical expenses?”

“…” This time, it was Fang Jifan’s turn to be speechless.

These two older brother figures had uniquely clear bone structures; they were truly divine beings, the kind that should only exist in heaven.

Fang Jifan shook his head: “No compensation.”

Zhang Heling was tongue-tied.

Zhang Yanling couldn’t help but say: “Can you be a little reasonable?”

Fang Jifan shook his head: “No.”

“Actually… giving three to five hundred coins would be acceptable too. Just to save face. Or even one hundred coins would be okay.” Zhang Heling was unwilling to give up. It was said the Zhang Brothers would pluck feathers from a passing goose, but recently, they seemed to have encountered some terrible luck, facing one misfortune after another. This gave him a deep sense of failure, as if not making Fang Jifan pay some medical or settlement fees would mean completely losing the character and personal bottom line they had upheld for years.

Fang Jifan shook his head: “Nothing.”

This was utterly unreasonable.

The bruised and swollen Zhang Yanling and Zhang Heling exchanged a glance. Both Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling bared their teeth and complained in unison: “Stingy!”

They shot Fang Jifan a look of contempt. The two brothers seemed afraid of stirring up more trouble and turned to leave. Zhang Yanling muttered under his breath: “Brother, why does it feel like this guy isn’t stupid at all?”

Zhang Heling’s face was expressionless. He lifted his eyes to look at the long-unseen setting sun. The chilly street seemed to be mourning for them. The remaining snow on the rooftops dotted the majestic palace walls. His eyes actually grew a bit moist. What sin had they committed to deserve this? He tried his best to stay calm: “We must be calm. Don’t get angry. Anger attacks the heart. If the heart is damaged, we’ll need medicine!”

“Brother makes a lot of sense.” Zhang Yanling forced a smile: “Hearing that, I should be happy. At least we can save on medicine money. Ha… haha… we should smile more…”

The calm that Zhang Heling had managed to achieve was completely ruined by his idiot brother. He felt his intelligence was being rubbed repeatedly on the ground. Suddenly, he felt his heart stop. With a ‘pfft’ sound, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Enraged, he grabbed Zhang Yanling and started beating him: “We lost our land, you fool! We tried to be clever but ended up worse off, you fool! How can you still laugh? Heavens, how could the Zhang Family produce such an unworthy son like you? If our ancestors knew, they would climb out of their graves and beat you to death, you fool!”

After a flurry of punches and kicks, Zhang Yanling, in excruciating pain, held his head and let out a wail!

…

There were too many things in life that Fang Jifan could not predict.

For example, he became the Crown Prince’s study companion.

This study companion role, not sure if it counted as an official position, but clearly, Fang Jifan had formally joined the core circle of the House of the Crown Prince.

The House of the Crown Prince wasn’t just the Crown Prince’s palace; in fact, it was also an institution. Within this institution, there were both a group of lackeys led by Liu Jin, and a group of Hanlin Academicians and Great Scholars led by Yang Tinghe. This was essentially the future Crown Prince’s main team, similar to the Six Ministries in Nanjing, all considered reserve officials of the imperial court.

Apart from having no real power, everyone’s official ranks weren’t high either. Everything seemed quite good, at least… it gave people hope.

Fang Jifan felt very hopeful now. Besides accompanying Zhu Houzhao to study, whenever Yang Tinghe started sitting and expounding on doctrines, Fang Jifan would yawn and feel sleepy, his head growing heavy. But then, Zhu Houzhao’s thunderous snoring would start. Well, no chance to sleep then.

Yang Tinghe’s self-restraint was surprisingly good; he didn’t get angry anymore. No matter what Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan did, he still held his book, shaking his head as he read. A Crown Prince’s teacher had his own difficulties; he could only hope to influence the Crown Prince with sincerity, hoping that one day, the Crown Prince would turn back to the right path.

Hmm… it shared a similar essence with generating electricity through love.

Soon, the year’s end approached. Back at the Fang Family residence, Deng Jian was pulled aside by the gatekeeper, then hurried excitedly to Fang Jifan and whispered: “Young Lord, we’ve found out about the person you asked us to inquire about. This Tang Yin, he’s staying at the Laifu Inn, not far from our family home.”

Earlier, Fang Jifan had instructed Deng Jian to find out Tang Bohu’s whereabouts. Because the Spring Imperial Examination was after the new year, scholars from Jiangnan coming to take the Metropolitan Examination often arrived in the Capital early. After all, the journey was over a thousand miles. Travel was difficult in these times; it could take months to arrive. Moreover, once encountered flooding or falling ill on the way could cause delays. So, no one dared to cut it close for such an important exam.

Actually, by the end of the year, candidates from various places had almost all arrived in the Capital, gathering together. Each was sharpening their tools, eagerly waiting for the exam to begin.

Tang Bohu should have arrived in the Capital around this time too.

Fang Jifan didn’t know about others, but he always felt that, having experienced countless film and television dramas, the charming and elegant Tang Bohu seen on screen was half his idol. Now that Tang Bohu was facing great disaster, Fang Jifan could ignore others’ lives or deaths, but for Brother Bohu, this Young Lord must save you!

What Fang Jifan worried most about now was whether Tang Bohu was already hanging out with people like Xu Jing. Whether Xu Jing was actually innocent, or truly involved in cheating, Fang Jifan didn’t know. But Tang Bohu, the prestigious Jieyuan from Yingtian Prefecture, absolutely could not have participated.

Since he was framed, the most likely reason was that he got too close to the involved Right Vice Minister of Rites, one of the examiners for this Metropolitan Examination, Cheng Minzheng, and the candidate Xu Jing, among others. Moreover, Tang Bohu had a carefree personality and spoke without much restraint. Once involved, it would be hard to avoid suspicion, and clearing his name would be difficult.

So… the only way was to prevent Tang Bohu from associating with Xu Jing and others during their time in the Capital. However… this wasn’t easy. They were, after all, half-fellow townsmen, and they were all in the Capital. Tang Bohu, being a Jieyuan, was already famous. Even if he didn’t seek out others, others would likely gather around him.

“Laifu Inn? Who else is staying there with him?”

Deng Jian didn’t know why the Young Lord was so interested in someone named Tang Yin. But the Young Lord’s thoughts were always hard to guess. Although he found it somewhat puzzling, he still obediently said: “Because many candidates have arrived in the Capital recently, all the inns are fully booked. It’s said he came with many fellow townsmen, but in that inn, he’s alone, not staying with his fellow townsmen.”

Fang Jifan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Tang Bohu traveled north with Xu Jing to take the exam. He was worried they stayed together. Now that they weren’t sharing lodging, it was much better.

The current problem was to cut off the connection between Tang Bohu and Xu Jing.

Fang Jifan immediately said: “Let’s go, to the Laifu Inn.”

“Ah…” Deng Jian said in surprise: “Won’t the Young Lord eat?”

“No.” Fang Jifan was swift and decisive; this Young Lord intended to do good deeds.

Deng Jian pitifully rubbed his own belly. He was hungry.

Without delay, Fang Jifan ordered the coachman to prepare the carriage and hurried to the Laifu Inn with Deng Jian. It was already evening. Although it hadn’t snowed these past few days, the night weather was still bitterly cold. The Laifu Inn was just a few streets away from the Fang Family. The lanterns were just lit, and the area was quite lively. Fang Jifan got off the carriage. Just as he was about to enter the inn, someone unexpectedly walked out and nearly collided with him.

This was a Scholar, tall and thin, wearing a Confucian Robe and Silk Scarf. His appearance wasn’t particularly outstanding, but he carried an air of carefree elegance.

Deng Jian murmured quietly: “Young Lord, this is Tang Yin.”