Chapter 73 (1/2)

Just in this moment Ning Que was staring at a man, staring with great seriousness, and staring unscrupulously. He was one of several hundreds of examinees, and that man standing in front of hundreds of examinees was speaking – at first to welcome several hundred with an admiring gaze such that he even had burning eyes, so he wasn’t worried he would be discovered by that man. And just like this staring dead on, as though to consume him with his pupils as inky as the deep night, wanting to consume that man into his memories as inky as the deep night.

That man was wearing cuffs and a lapel that were all red, but the robes were mostly black dark clothes with gold st.i.tch work. With a handsome face, and two eyebrows like swords, thin lips and a straight nose, his smile was very amiable. When he smiled the corners of his eyes would have several wrinkles – towards the view of elders, he could be said to be already forty years old, towards the view of the younger, it could be said he was about to turn thirty. In all, it could be said that this was a very charming man.

He was Li PeiYan, the second most powerful man in the Tang Empire, and His Majesty the Emperor’s sole sibling. His Highness the Prince who always had a good reputation, and it was also he who thirteen years ago, while His Majesty was by chance traveling the Great Lake and combining several important departments and offices, joined with the great general Xiahou, and had the XuanWei General Lin GuangYuan imprisoned for treason, and had all of the accused general’s household executed.

Since the first year of the Sky Opening reign and fleeing ChangAn City, to this year returning back home from Wei City, there were fully thirteen years in between. Ning Que struggled painfully to live in the world, and his hatred never stopped and never weakened. Instead because those blades in the past had split blood flows, his mind and body had suffered from those past life and death confrontations that hid the self-blame and guilt in the depths of his innermost heart, becoming more and more concentrated and more and more distinct.

There were a lot of people he absolutely had to kill in ChangAn City, and Prince PeiYan was without question the first on the list. Today at the Academy was the first time he could see the counterpart he must kill, so he watched with exceptional seriousness, wanting to put this handsome, elegant and graceful Royal Lord’s appearance baked into his brain – memorize his brow, memorize his eyes, memorize the corners of his eyes when he smiles, and memorize the appearance of how his thin lips spread when he spoke; then some time in the future, he would tear up everything.

Prince Li PeiYan smiled gently and advised like a spring breeze, “All of you young folk are the world’s outstanding talents. Today you must bring out your very best to deal with this entrance exam, but please do not be too nervous – entering the Academy requires even more hard study. After you’ve finished studies, my Tang Empire will have countless positions quietly waiting, waiting to have all of you add glory to the Empire.”

Ning Que stared at him. Lightly blinking, his eyelashes severing the spring breeze.

Prince PeiYan turned towards the left side, looking at the differing clothing of the Tang examinees, and opening both arms he brightly smiled, as though br.i.m.m.i.n.g with sunlight, “Even though not everyone is of the Tang people, but my Tang Academy has always taught regardless of background. Please do not worry about the fairness of admission – and if everyone is successful in their schoolwork at the Academy, my Tang Dynasty will still wait quietly for your service.”

Ning Que stared at him, his eyes dark and cold, his pupils darkening the daytime.

The focus could be understood as scorching – enmity only needed two different shades of dilution to be understood as awe. The students waiting outside of the Academy watched His Highness the Prince counseling his subordinates before the exam, and showing this look was very easy for people to understand, so n.o.body else discovered Ning Que’s strangeness. Only Sang Sang raised her little face and glanced at him anxiously, then stretched out her hand, touching and gently holding his slightly trembling and shaking hand.

At that moment an examinee from the Yan Kingdom aroused enough courage to exchange a few words with the Tang Prince. Without knowing what kind of joke His Highness the Prince said, it caused the initially extremely nervous examinees at the scene to laugh. Li PeiYan took the opportunity to say some other interesting stories with a smile, intending to have all the students relax a bit. The crowd of examinees also reciprocated, no longer with the previous quiet somber appearance. The ones who usually rub their hands rubbed, and the ones who usually rub their backs, rubbed their backs; the ones who usually chat chatted, and the ones who usually praise……praised.

“The Tang Dynasty indeed has an honorable prince.”

“His Highness the Honorable Prince, is truly like the rumors, and appears as a bright and sunny amiable person.”

“Honorable.”

The examinees were not necessarily all flattering him, but hearing all the words sounding from nearby were of this kind, Ning Que couldn’t help but to lower his head and slightly knit his brow. Thinking of that t.i.tle for Li Yu, that honorable Tang princess, he whispered in mockery, “Aren’t they not honorable?”

“Yes, with thin porridge and no salt.”

Beside him, an examinee especially seriously replied. Without knowing when, the person standing beside Ning Que had changed into a n.o.ble’s son – this n.o.ble’s son wore an outfit of familiar silk robes – his waist was pressed between a gold belt, which a precious jade ornament hung from. At a glance if he wasn’t rich, he was wealthy, and he was also his acquaintance.

“Chu YouXian? You actually also came to partake in the Academy exam?” Ning Que turned and looked at that person, and with surprise asked, “A few days ago when I went to the Club, why didn’t I hear you mention it?”

This young n.o.ble’s son was East City’s 7th n.o.ble Lord’s most beloved only son, and also that very day Ning Que first set foot into the Red Sleeves Club and was once chosen by everyone to be berated by a few people together, he was this person surnamed Chu and because his name was ‘virtue’, his nature broad and generous, it was best to be friends with similar types. That day they first met he was prepared to invite Ning Que to have dinner with some girls, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. Afterwards when Ning Que went to the Red Sleeves Club to accompany Shui Zhu’er and the other girls in chatting and ran into him a few times, and after drinking several cups of wine, they had become familiar.

Chu YouXian was wholeheartedly looking in front, his gaze was slanting squinted at Ning Que, and with his face br.i.m.m.i.n.g with pain he said, “The old man at home absolutely forced me to come to take this test, saying something about if someone in ChangAn didn’t take the entrance exam, when the time comes to marry, the bride’s family will insist on being a bit more picky, and the bridal dowry will need a bit more things sent. I was really forced by that old man with no choice, and could only come.”

Ning Que turned his head over, looking at His Highness the Prince amidst talking with each examinee and saying words of encouragement, and in a low voice he said, “The primary exam has long pa.s.sed, how did you get through?”

Chu YouXian raised his hand in front of him and gestured two words, looking forward he said, “Went through the military department’s path.”