Volume 12
Chapter 11: The Six Arts of a Gentleman
Under Lu Li’s lead, the seven men introduced their surnames, given names, and courtesy names in turn. Every time they mentioned their courtesy name, they would even improvise a line of poetry, each one more elegant than the last. Lu Li felt sparks flying from the eyes of these seven men; they saw each other as the greatest enemies of their lives. He was a little unsure of the origins of these seven men.
By the time they had all introduced themselves, Lu Li had already drained his third cup of tea. His bladder was full, and he looked left and right, wanting to relieve himself. At this moment, one of the candidates snapped his folding fan shut. “Everyone is truly a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger. I never thought that the candidates so carefully selected by Her Royal Highness the Fourteenth Princess would be similar not only in appearance, but also in talent! …Er, except for a certain person!”
Lu Li was a little annoyed by this person’s sly little gaze. He knew that he was once again being excluded from the main group. This was a very normal thing for him. Saint Lu was not a particularly gregarious person, especially not in a group of men. In elementary school, he had always gotten along better with girls.
“Hehe, Brother Luo is absolutely right.” Another person clasped his hands and said in a scholarly manner. Lu Li thought they were acting in a period drama. “And our similar appearances are probably not a coincidence either, but rather that Her Royal Highness the Fourteenth Princess has a particular fondness for men of such appearance! Hehe… This is also our opportunity…”
When they spoke of the princess having a particular fondness for men of such appearance, these men proudly puffed out their chests, as if they had already been chosen by Zhu Xi.
Lu Li asked curiously, “Where are you all from? Why have I never heard of you before…?” There was no ill will in his words. After all, he had come into contact with many people from the upper circles of Shenzhou, but he had never heard from anyone that such a group of ancient people existed.
The moment he said this, the faces of the seven men stiffened slightly. They successively reported a long string of place names and also some cultural allusions from their hometowns. Lu Li listened silently but still couldn’t figure out which province the city of Jiechuan was in, or whether Muxiu was a county town or a village. Perhaps this was the truth: these seven people were all from obscure little places, not even from aristocratic families. That was why they took this husband selection more seriously than anything else…
And they, on the other hand, had probably prepared for this husband selection far more thoroughly than he had imagined, so thoroughly that long before Lu Li was even aware of the husband selection, they had already been eagerly trying…
It was no wonder they could speak in prose, their speech as scholarly as that of the ancients. They had probably deliberately studied ancient texts and rites, specifically to show off to Zhu Xi at the hall.
At this thought, a sense of guilt arose in Lu Li’s heart. In distant, remote cities, there were these small-town youths who were exhausting all means for this husband selection, yet he had already colluded with Zhu Xi and predetermined the result… Did this count as a kind of oppression of the common people?
Just as Lu Li was feeling a sense of guilt, the servant from the tea room walked in and bowed slightly. “Gentlemen, the princess sends word. She says that this talent selection has already begun the moment you stepped into the Red Ocean Hall. The first round of competition is ‘propriety’ from the six arts of a gentleman. Your every move has already been graded by Her Highness. Now, please follow me to meet Her Highness and await the final result.”
The other seven men suddenly stood up, their expressions tense. Lu Li was still a little confused. What six arts of a gentleman? What kind of test question was this? How did he not know? Among this batch of candidates, Lu Li was the one who had come in a daze and would leave in a daze. They followed the tea-serving girl from the tea room, winding through the narrow wooden corridors of the hall, and finally arrived at the reception hall. On a high platform sat a woman with a cold and beautiful appearance. Her lips were vermilion, her face was a cold white, the corners of her eyes were upturned, and her eyes were long and narrow. Who else could it be but Zhu Xi?
To be honest, Lu Li had almost forgotten what the public Zhu Xi looked like. He only remembered how crazed and wanton this bad woman was in bed. Seeing this princess with a cold and stern aura again now, a strange thought actually surfaced in his heart.
Zhu Xi looked at the eight of them indifferently, her gaze sweeping over each one without revealing the slightest flaw. “Candidates, please be seated. Without me needing to introduce it, you should all know what this talent selection program is for, right? There is only one goal for this talent selection: to select a husband with the most superior genes for the princess of Shenzhou.”
The candidates took a deep breath, their eyes full of hope.
“And the first test question for this talent selection is propriety. So-called propriety refers to nothing more than etiquette and appearance. As a future imperial son-in-law, you must have a good posture and etiquette, and not disgrace the royal family in public.” It was unclear if it was an illusion, but when she said this, Zhu Xi emphasized her tone and shot a faint glare at Lu Li. “And since you all stepped into the hall, your attitude toward the servants, your attitude toward the other candidates, and your own posture have all been recorded and presented to me. Now, I will grade your performance.”
“Incidentally, this talent selection uses a point system. The one with the highest score will be selected, and the rest will be eliminated.” Zhu Xi said pointedly, “So, don’t be overconfident just because you’ve prepared in advance, thinking you have victory in your grasp. You must maintain a humble heart like an apprentice.”
The other seven men deeply agreed and took a deep breath. “Your Highness’s lesson is well-received.”
Lu Li, belatedly, bowed with them. Was Zhu Xi lecturing them? Why did it sound like she was pointing at his, Lu Li’s, nose and scolding him?
“Chen Shimei, from Lidu. Appearance is in line with royal etiquette, and speech has the style of ancient heritage. Total score of ten, graded six points.”
Hearing that he had only received six points, that Chen Shimei didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. He kowtowed and said, “Thank you, Your Highness!”
“…Luo Zhixiang… graded six points…”
“…graded six points…”
“…graded six points…”
Zhu Xi reported seven names in a row, all with six points, and even the comments were more or less the same. The seven of them quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It was just as they had expected. In the propriety section, no one could pull away. They had all crammed the process of selecting a husband from before the constitutional monarchy was established. They were just copying, so they wouldn’t be too outstanding, but they wouldn’t make any mistakes either.
“Lu Li, from Chuanhai. Hmm… acts on impulse, neither overjoyed by fortune nor saddened by sorrow, has the demeanor of an ancient sage, graded nine points…” Zhu Xi herself stammered as she read it. The young girl who had handed her the scoring sheet had her mouth wide open in surprise—why wasn’t Her Royal Highness reading from the script?
Suddenly, Lu Li felt seven pairs of eyes fall on him like arrows. The seven men looked at Lu Li in disbelief. They couldn’t understand how a man who had been so carefree and had been drinking water like a cow could have the demeanor of an ancient sage. How could he get nine points?
Could it be? A flash of inspiration dawned in everyone’s mind.
Could it be that the Fourteenth Princess, having seen enough of self-restraint and propriety, actually preferred a more worldly style? Just as the legendary young misses are always tricked by down-and-out young scholars, could Zhu Xi also have this kind of curiosity for the unusual?
In any case, amidst the various strange speculations, Lu Li still bowed slightly. “Thank you, Prin… Your Highness…” He didn’t like the ritual of kowtowing, so he just bowed perfunctorily, unable to even say the word “princess” completely.
The corner of Zhu Xi’s mouth twitched slightly. It was clear that she was holding back a fire in her belly.
After the results were announced and the candidates were leaving one by one, Lu Li, who was the last to leave, was called to a halt by the high and mighty Zhu Xi.
“You with the surname Lu, stay behind,” she said out of the blue. The surrounding servants immediately understood something and tactfully withdrew, leaving the two of them alone.
No wonder. So this Lu Li is an old flame of Her Highness…
