Recently, all the officials of the Privy Council had been so busy they barely touched the ground. Xu Zhengning had already departed northward, while the remaining departments were all busy with affairs under their jurisdiction, working day and night without rest. As the head of the Privy Council, Qi Ying was naturally the busiest, not only coordinating all affairs within the Privy Council but also needing to liaise with the Military Department.

The head of the Military Department was naturally General Han Shouye. This man had always been autocratic and domineering. Although the Battle of Stone City three years ago had changed his opinion of Qi Ying, the Jiang Yong affair still left an impression in his heart. Moreover, in this recent metropolitan examination, Qi Ying had eliminated quite a few children and nephews of the Han family, making him even less willing to cooperate with Young Master Qi. Each time he came to the Privy Council, his attitude was quite arrogant.

The subordinate officials of the Privy Council had always been extremely devoted to Qi Ying. Since they operated independently without being under various departments’ jurisdiction, they naturally considered themselves superior and didn’t think much of Military Department personnel. Now seeing that these Military Department people they looked down upon dared to be disrespectful to Young Master Qi whom they respected most, they all felt indignant and secretly harbored thoughts of teaching the other party a lesson. Unfortunately, their superior firmly suppressed these impulses.

Although Han Shouye was domineering and autocratic by nature, he became hesitant and timid when facing major events. After all, he had nearly lost his head to the young general of the Gu family. Now that talk of Northern Expedition arose, although he was initially hot-blooded, when he thought carefully later, the shadows of the past surfaced. Remembering the cunning military tactics and cold steel of the Gu family, his nervousness turned him into a paper tiger—appearing tough but with his passion already half-cooled.

Qi Ying naturally knew this uncle’s temperament. Initially, he was modest and didn’t engage in verbal disputes with him. Only when the panic arose in his heart did he begin truly discussing Northern Expedition matters with him. By that time, Han Shouye rarely contradicted him.

Daytime official duties went relatively smoothly, but recently, every evening, the Left Prime Minister would imperatively require his second son to return to the main house to discuss in detail the progress of Northern Expedition arrangements. This was probably a lingering ailment from the metropolitan examination aftermath—the Left Prime Minister had also been frightened by his second son’s occasional arbitrary decisions and deeply feared he might do something inappropriate in such a major matter as the Northern Expedition. Thus, he insisted on examining every detail, reviewing everything repeatedly before feeling at ease.

Qi Ying naturally couldn’t disobey. This meant another half month without being able to return to Fenghe Garden.

The young lady had been sending frequent letters recently. At first, they contained teasing jokes like calling him a “liar,” but later, probably missing him extremely, the letters gradually became tender. She apparently dug out all the poetry and books he had taught her years ago, occasionally adding lines like “Though heaven and earth have their limits, only lovesickness knows no bounds.” Later, they became even more improper as she began writing boudoir lament poetry, things like “Suddenly seeing the willow’s color by the roadside, I regret urging my husband to seek titles and honors.”

The more Qi Ying read, the more helpless he felt, especially when reading the later letters with boudoir lament poetry—he even found them somewhat amusing. Sigh, didn’t she know that he was also having a difficult time…

Human hearts were probably truly never satisfied. Before having her, he had clearly lived many years alone and had long grown accustomed to the monotonous life of attending court during the day and working at his desk at night. With no expectations in his heart, naturally there were no waves.

But once he had tasted the joy of being with her, those former days seemed unbearable. He too missed her more and more through these daily small separations, his desire to see her growing stronger and stronger, making it somewhat difficult for him to endure.

Yet at the same time, he felt a certain contentment—even though they weren’t in the same place, his heart knew there was someone somewhere. She didn’t need to do anything; just knowing she was there made him feel at ease. Those accumulated documents and the noisy arguments from Military Department personnel seemed bearable again.

It was quite magical.

Under the lamplight, Qi Ying picked up his brush and replied to Shen Xiling’s letter. Besides briefly mentioning his recent situation and instructing her to take good care of herself, he also included a line of poetry at the end: “If two hearts remain constant through long separation, why must they be together morning and evening?”

As he finished the last stroke of the character “evening,” Qi Ying felt his own hypocrisy: What “why must they be together morning and evening?” It was nothing but empty words.

He wanted longevity with her, and he also wanted mornings and evenings with her.

He wanted to see her.

Young Master Qi had originally planned to forcibly carve out a few hours the next day to return to Fenghe Garden, but that morning several unexpected guests appeared, causing his plans to fall through.

The visitors were none other than this year’s top three metropolitan examination graduates: the first-place scholar Li Wei, second-place scholar Zheng Xi, and third-place scholar Zhang Deci.

The newly successful top three should indeed pay respects to their examination supervisor. Moreover, their supervisor had paid such a price to promote the three of them—by both reason and emotion, they should make a special trip to visit.

It was just unfortunate timing. When they had just passed the examinations and received official appointments, their supervisor had been away from court recovering from injuries. After their supervisor returned to court, the Northern Expedition matter followed immediately. Although none of the three had been assigned to work in the Privy Council, they knew that with such a momentous event occurring, their supervisor must be extremely busy. Naturally, they didn’t dare disturb him and only came respectfully together after waiting half a month.

Qi Ying had been busy with many affairs recently and hadn’t found time to meet these three. Seeing them suddenly arrive at his door was somewhat unexpected. Moreover, he had never met the three new graduates before. Li Wei and the others had only caught a distant glimpse of their supervisor’s figure below Mingyuan Tower on the day the metropolitan examinations began and had never spoken with him. This was truly the first time both parties had actually met face to face.

All three new graduates were extremely respectful toward their supervisor.

First-place scholar Li Wei was twenty-six this year. Second-place scholar Zheng Xi was younger, one year junior to Qi Ying at twenty-three. Third-place scholar Zhang Deci was considerably older, already thirty-five this year. But regardless of age, all respectfully addressed Qi Ying as “Teacher,” which made Young Master Qi feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He coughed and waved his hand to excuse the three graduates from formal bows, intending for them to address him as “Superior” instead. But the three were quite persistent, smoothly calling him “Teacher” with every breath. Qi Ying remembered that after his own success, he had also begun addressing his examination supervisor Mr. Wang Qing as “Teacher,” so he stopped trying to correct them.

The three graduates offered tea to Qi Ying. Then, probably feeling that this cold and imposing Privy Council wasn’t a place for conversation, and since it was approaching noon and time for the midday meal, they anxiously asked whether Teacher would honor them by sharing a meal.

Since the three had come, Qi Ying couldn’t very well send them away. He nodded, and the three were delighted, saying they had already reserved seats at a restaurant near the Privy Council and were just waiting for Teacher to move there. Upon hearing “restaurant,” Qi Ying’s heart stirred, remembering that his young lady had also opened a restaurant and had been hinting openly and subtly for him to visit and patronize her business.

Thinking of her, Qi Ying’s eyes took on a smile he himself didn’t notice, causing the new graduates to stare in bewilderment.

However, Teacher’s smile was fleeting. They had just glimpsed it when it disappeared, and they heard Teacher say, “The nearby restaurants have poor flavor. Why don’t we go to Yilou instead?”

Young Master Qi was speaking complete nonsense: he had neither eaten at nearby restaurants nor ever visited Shen Xiling’s Yilou, so how would he know about the flavors of these places? Speaking this way now was simply because he missed her and wanted to go there to try his luck, to see if she might be there. Even if she wasn’t, going to a place connected with her was better than other places and more appealing to his heart.

Although the new graduates weren’t from Jiankang and weren’t familiar with Jiankang restaurant flavors, in their few days at court they had already heard of Yilou’s reputation. Many high officials and nobles in court liked to host banquets and gatherings there—it was clearly a place where celebrities congregated.

But they had heard that seats at such a prestigious establishment were extremely hard to get, and even booking half a month in advance might not guarantee a table. Fearing they might have nowhere to sit when they arrived, they began subtly reminding Teacher of this situation.

But Teacher didn’t seem worried, just smiled faintly and said, “No matter, let’s go.”

Yilou was indeed bustling with activity.

Carved eaves reflected sunlight, painted beams reached toward clouds. Upon entering the main gate, one could see an impressive courtyard, and all the furnishings revealed refinement—screens, flowers, porcelain vases, and such—elegant everywhere. All three floors were filled with notable nobles and celebrities from Jiankang City, all raising cups and drinking merrily, like a celestial banquet at the Jade Pool.

The three new graduates weren’t from aristocratic families to begin with and were all from outer provinces. Where had they seen such incredibly prestigious scenes? Though they maintained composure on the surface, their hearts were deeply shaken.

Qi Ying was actually visiting here for the first time too. Although Shen Xiling had mentioned it several times in his ear, he had never found time to come. Visiting today, he saw many things beyond his expectations: while Li Wei and the others saw carved beams and painted pillars, his eyes saw her dedication.

He had always known this young lady liked earning money and had thought that commerce was merely a means for her, that she wasn’t necessarily truly fond of it. But seeing this today, he could tell from every detail of the restaurant that she had put her heart into it. Every corner had been carefully considered—only someone truly focused could achieve this level.

She had done it with care and joy.

Besides this, he also noticed details related to him, such as a small pond in the building raising lotus flowers, calligraphy and paintings by Master Baopu hanging on the walls, and carved railings with patterns similar to those at Fenghe Garden…

Qi Ying smiled, understanding her unspoken message.

Meanwhile, as soon as Young Master Qi stepped into the restaurant, sharp-eyed servants went to fetch the manager. The manager hurried over, and seeing this rare guest arrive, he was quite flustered. Knowing his relationship with their proprietress, he knew that the private room with the best location on the second floor was kept vacant year-round specifically for this person’s use. He immediately personally escorted them to the second floor.

Seeing this scene, the three new graduates thought Teacher was a regular customer here and felt even more admiration in their hearts, all following along.

Walking from the first to the second floor, they encountered many people along the way. Naturally, every noble and official in Jiankang recognized Young Master Qi. Seeing him, they all rose to greet and pay respects. Qi Ying nodded and exchanged pleasantries all the way. Sharp-eyed officials also noticed that following Young Master Qi were this year’s top three graduates. These three and Young Master Qi…

Though no one spoke, everyone’s minds were working quickly.

Qi Ying acted as if unaware, simply greeting colleagues all the way before going upstairs to sit in the private room. After some courteous exchanges with Li Wei and the others, he ordered several dishes supposedly of good reputation. After the manager and other servants withdrew, they began to speak.

Qi Ying accepted tea poured by Li Wei and casually asked, “How are you adapting to everything at court recently?”

First-tier graduates received official appointments according to Great Liang court customs, generally being appointed to the Hanlin Academy. The first-place scholar became a sixth-rank Compiler at Hanlin Academy, while second and third-place scholars became seventh-rank Editors at Hanlin Academy. Though the positions weren’t very high and had no real power, they could remain in Jiankang rather than being posted to outer regions like second and third-tier graduates.

Staying at Hanlin Academy was just a transition. Where they would be transferred later depended partly on court arrangements and partly on the new graduates’ own connections. In previous years, aristocratic family children mostly followed family elders in appointments, with very few like Qi Ying being transferred to offices completely unrelated to their families.

Since this year’s top three graduates were all from humble backgrounds, they naturally had no fathers or brothers to guide and promote them. Where they would be transferred later would depend on their own fortune.

When Qi Ying asked this question, the three looked at each other without answering, all with somewhat subtle expressions. After a long while, Li Wei finally said, “…Thank you for Teacher’s concern, everything is well.”

Author’s Note:

When you go there’s no seats available, when your teacher goes there are seats—don’t ask, just know there’s someone in the family