Chapter 99: Examination
The east wind overcame the north wind, and the sound of crickets spread to the distant mountains.
Spring was late, and the moat of the capital gradually became clear.
The Martial Hall had been open for more than a month, and today was the day of the examination.
The Emperor attached great importance to this and came to the scene in person to supervise.
Most of the students were seeing the Holy Majesty for the first time and were extremely nervous. Zhong Wan went to the latrine three times and still felt the urge to go when she came back.
“What’s the big deal?” Shen Zhishu smiled. “The Emperor won’t eat people.”
This was said in a loud voice, and Jiang Chu heard it from afar. She walked over and added, “That’s right,” “I’m wearing my casual clothes today so that you won’t be so awkward. You can just treat me as an ordinary teacher.”
Jiang Yu said in a faint voice from the side, “I advised my Imperial Sister not to come early. This group of children will definitely be nervous when she comes, but my Imperial Sister still doesn’t believe it.”
Jiang Chu smiled, “Then what should I do? Shall I leave now?”
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Shen Zhishu hurriedly patted Zhong Wan on the back. This child was on the right track and immediately said in a crisp voice, “To be watched by the Holy Majesty and to be bathed in the imperial grace, we are suddenly filled with heroic spirit, and our bones will surely become stronger, and our qi and blood will become more vigorous, and we will show our true colors of bravery!”
Jiang Chu clapped her hands and laughed, then turned to ask Shen Zhishu, “This child is good. Is she in your class?”
“Indeed,” Shen Zhishu said. “Her surname is Zhong and her given name is Wan. She is willing to work hard and learn on a normal day. I don’t know if Your Majesty knows her mother. She is the manager of the Banquet Again Pavilion.”
The Emperor nodded, “The Banquet Again Pavilion is the number one restaurant in the capital. That manager is a character, and her daughter also has her style.”
As she spoke, she smiled at Zhong Wan and said, “I’ll see what place you get in the competition today. If you get first place, I will reward you heavily. If you get a low place, you won’t have dinner today.”
Zhong Wan’s small face was flushed, and she said in a loud voice, “This student will definitely not disappoint the Holy Majesty’s expectations!”
**
The examination was divided into martial arts and military strategy. The martial arts examination tested horsemanship, archery, and foot archery, while the military strategy examination was set by the Holy Majesty, and the five teachers would mark the papers together.
Jiang Yu had a rare day of leisure and followed Shen Zhishu closely, becoming a veritable little tail.
Shen Zhishu was patrolling the field, watching the attendants record the scores. Her peripheral vision caught a mistake in the scoring somewhere, and she suddenly turned around, but she almost bumped into Jiang Yu, who was stepping on her shadow.
She hurriedly reached out to support that person, squeezed Jiang Yu’s arm, and then said with a light laugh, “It’s quite sunny. The spring sun is already a little strong. What are you doing in the sun? Isn’t it better to rest under the canopy? It looks like we can finish school early today. What does Your Highness want to eat? I’ll have someone tell the small kitchen in the manor to make it.”
But Jiang Yu shook her head.
Shen Zhishu said, “Mm,” “What does this shake of the head mean?”
Jiang Yu then said, “This sun is fine, it’s not strong. It’s good for the body to get more sun.”
Shen Zhishu thought for a while, beckoned for someone to bring an oil-paper umbrella, and was about to have that attendant hold it for the Eldest Princess, but Jiang Yu said it was not necessary, “I have my own hands, why trouble them?”
That attendant said hurriedly, “This is what we servants should do.”
Shen Zhishu casually handed over a piece of broken silver and smiled, “Forget it, you can go and see if there’s a mistake in the scoring over there. If there’s any mistake, have them correct it quickly.”
The attendant ran off to check with great joy, and after a careful calculation, she found that the score was indeed wrong.
She changed the score and hurried back to report to Shen Zhishu, and by the way, to show her face in front of the General and the Eldest Princess. But when she turned her head, Shen Zhishu was already gone.
Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu were walking quite fast and had already walked from the middle of the martial arts field to the west.
The umbrella was now in Shen Zhishu’s hand.
The umbrella was not large, and it was a little difficult to cover two people. A small half of Jiang Yu’s shoulder was exposed to the sun.
So Shen Zhishu tilted the umbrella a little towards Jiang Yu.
As she walked, she carefully inspected the examination field and suddenly heard Jiang Yu call out, “General.”
“Hmm?” Shen Zhishu replied casually.
Jiang Yu asked in a faint voice, “Is the General not tired of holding the umbrella all the time?”
Shen Zhishu turned her head and met Jiang Yu’s consistent and emotionless eyes.
The east wind suddenly stopped, and everything was silent.
…It was strange. They had been married for so long, but every time their eyes met, her heart would still pound.
Shen Zhishu took a breath impassively, shook her head, and said with a teasing smile, “Your Highness is afraid that I’m tired now, but you didn’t let that attendant help you hold it just now? You’re not embarrassed to order others around, but you’re quite natural when you order me around.”
“They all have their own work, and I’m afraid of causing trouble,” Jiang Yu said. “As for ordering the General around… I’ll treat the General to dinner tonight to comfort you for your hard work, alright?”
Shen Zhishu thought for a moment and asked, “What are we having?”
“What does the General want to have?”
Shen Zhishu blurted out, “I want to eat you.”
Jiang Yu: ?
Jiang Yu immediately said, “Alright, the General can eat however you want. It’s fine even if it’s seven times a night. Anyway, it’s the General’s hands that will be tired.”
Shen Zhishu: …
Damn it, she shouldn’t have been so quick with her words in front of a certain person.
…After all, it wasn’t the first or second time that Jiang Yu had spoken outrageously. Her action was no different from showing off in front of an expert.
**
After the martial arts examination was the literary examination, which tested military strategy.
By the time the marking was finished, the sun was already setting in the west.
Zhong Wan did not disappoint and, although she did not get first place, she was among the top.
She received an imperial gift of a jade ruyi and two small gold ingots, and her whole body was filled with a happy aura. She specially passed through the crowd and solemnly thanked Shen Zhishu.
Shen Zhishu patted her on the head, encouraged her to keep up the good work, and then said, “You should also thank Her Highness Huai’an. Your esteemed father often asks Her Highness how you are, and Her Highness will come and ask me. I dare not be careless.”
Zhong Wan hurriedly said thank you, and Jiang Yu said in a faint voice, “The credit of others is secondary. It is you who have worked hard. There is one more thing to tell you. I want to treat General Shen at the Banquet Again Pavilion today. You can go back and tell your esteemed father to tidy up a room.”
Zhong Wan said, “Yes, yes,” and smiled, wrinkling her nose. After she went home, she told her mother the whole story with embellishments.
So when Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu arrived at the Banquet Again Pavilion, the manager hurriedly led them to a guest room on the third floor—the Happy Mandarin Duck Pavilion.
Shen Zhishu had a bad premonition when she heard this name. After she stepped in, she saw… the table was covered with a red cloth, the curtains were swaying with a red shadow, and even the bed curtains in the corner were red!
Shen Zhishu: …
Shen Zhishu turned to talk to the manager, but she saw that this person was already gone. Before she left, she had even thoughtfully closed the door for them.
Shen Zhishu: …
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, “Why is it decorated like a bridal chamber?”
“The people under you did this, and you’re asking me?” Shen Zhishu said with a smile. “So what should we do now? Is Your Highness going to treat me to a meal here?”
“Sister Lan is really something, she didn’t even bring the menu…” Jiang Yu muttered and patted the bronze bell on the wall.
A few breaths later, Zhong Wan ran up, but she did not knock on the door. She paced back and forth at the door for a moment and asked carefully, “Can I come in?”
Shen Zhishu: “…What’s wrong with that?”
Only then did Zhong Wan push open the door and enter. She scratched her head and said with a hehe smile, “I was afraid of disturbing the General and Her Highness Huai’an’s pleasure. What can I do for you?”
Jiang Yu was holding a white jade wine cup that she had just picked up and said in a faint voice, “I said before that I was treating General Shen. May I ask how I can treat her without ordering any food?”
Zhong Wan blushed and stammered, “I thought the word ‘treat’ had another meaning… please wait a moment, you two. I’ll go and get the menu right away.”
Shen Zhishu hissed and finally understood where this inexplicable arrangement came from—so the simple invitation of “I want to treat General Shen at the Banquet Again Pavilion” from Jiang Yu’s mouth had been understood by the little girl as a boudoir pleasure…
She sent Zhong Wan away and leaned against the door lazily, her gaze on the huanghuali wood Eight Immortals table, and happened to meet Jiang Yu’s.
Jiang Yu was holding a wine cup and took a small sip. Shen Zhishu’s gaze swept from her slightly lowered starry eyes to her cherry-red lips, which were still stained with wine, and her throat moved unconsciously.
After a moment, she straightened up from the door, walked to the table, and suddenly leaned over, propping herself up on the table. She took the white jade wine cup from Jiang Yu’s hand and drank it in one gulp.
Jiang Yu looked up at her, her voice without a ripple, “There are other cups here. Why is the General stealing my wine?”
Shen Zhishu savored it for a moment and answered irrelevantly, “This wine is not strong.”
Jiang Yu looked at her without blinking, and after a moment, she repeated her previous question, “Why is the General stealing my wine?”
Shen Zhishu finally answered, “The people under Your Highness are not doing their job properly and have decorated a perfectly good private room like a bridal chamber. Is Your Highness still questioning me now?”
“Is that so?” Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow. “I see that it is clearly the General’s student who has ‘falsely transmitted the imperial edict’.”
“That’s also because Your Highness did not explain clearly, so you can’t blame her for overthinking.”
After Shen Zhishu had spoken, she picked up another cup and played with it in her hand.
Jiang Yu’s eyes were on the wine cup, but her mouth said, “Is the General being protective?”
“Protective? Who is the ‘short’?” Shen Zhishu suddenly gripped the wine cup, held up the wine pot and poured the wine, and then gracefully handed it to Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu paused, raised her hand to take it, and said with a blank expression, “Your student.”
Shen Zhishu sat down beside Jiang Yu with a plop, put her arm on Jiang Yu’s shoulder, and said in a low voice, “Is Your Highness jealous?”
“No,” Jiang Yu said. “Is there a need to be jealous about this? The General is looking down on me too much.”
Shen Zhishu did not answer, and watched as Jiang Yu took small sips of the Huiquan wine. She suddenly smiled, and a warm breath spread on Jiang Yu’s ear.
Jiang Yu shivered and glanced at her, “What is the General laughing at?”
“It’s not that I’m looking down on Your Highness. It’s that I am such a narrow-minded person myself,” Shen Zhishu said. “If Your Highness were to refute me because of someone else, I would definitely be jealous.”
“Then if the General were to put yourself in my shoes, you shouldn’t have spoken up for your student and refuted me.”
“That’s right,” Shen Zhishu said with a suppressed smile. “I know I was wrong, please punish me, Your Highness.”
“Can I punish you however I want?”
“You can punish me however you want.”
Jiang Yu pretended to think for a moment and said, “Then… I’ll punish the General to work a little harder tonight.”
Shen Zhishu looked down at her, and after a moment, she said in a deep voice, “I would be disrespectful to refuse.”
