Chapter 196: A Test

Translator: DragonRider

Some other thoughts occurred to Ling Zhang after he heard Yuwen Jin’s remarks, and with that he couldn’t help but tossed another glance at Jiang Yu. ‘Though this Jiang Yu guy is overweening, he’s quite handsome…’

“That won’t be necessary, Childe Jiang. Mr. Feng here will handle it.” Yuwen Tong looked at Feng Zhangshi who was standing on the side.

With that Jiang Yu also shifted his gaze to Feng Zhangshi, who saw the well-concealed warning in Jiang Yu’s good-looking eyes and immediately replied, “The professor teaching Childe Jiang is the very one I’m taking Childe Yuwen and Childe Ling to meet. The two of them and Childe Jiang will be classmates. If Childe Jiang leads the way, the three of them would be able to get acquainted with each other sooner, which I believe will do them some good.”

“See?” Yuwen Jin immediately whispered indignantly. “That Feng Zhangshi guy doesn’t dare cause even the slightest offence to Jiang Yu. Now Jiang Yu is getting what he wants. I don’t like him, nor the idea of him coming along with us.”

Ling Zhang looked at Feng Zhangshi, who accidentally made eye contact with him. Ling Zhang’s eyes seemed very calm, but Feng Zhangshi involuntarily tensed his back muscles. This pair of eyes were even more frightening than the look that Jiang Yu had given him just now. A layer of fine beads of sweat oozed out of Feng Zhangshi’s back as he came to the realization that he’d pleased Jiang Yu but offended Ling Zhang. He knew what kind of person Jiang Yu was, but Ling Zhang, who had struck him as modest and courteous a few moments ago, suddenly seemed to be in a shroud of uncertainty.

Before Feng Zhangshi could figure out a way to rid himself of this dilemma, Yuwen Tong abruptly observed in a flinty tone of voice, “There’s no need for that. Lead the way, Feng Zhangshi.”

Feng Zhangshi jumped in the knowledge that even Yuwen Tong was displeased with him now. Too afraid to glance at Yuwen Tong’s eyes or use any other finesse, he hastily turned aside and responded, “This way please, Marshal.”

Yuwen Tong took Ling Zhang’s hand and the two of them walked past Jiang Yu. Yuwen Jin hurriedly followed in their wake, throwing Jiang Yu a smug glance in passing.

Jiang Yu’s face abruptly darkened and with that he turned around to look at the receding figure of Yuwen Tong. Seeing him holding Ling Zhang’s hand, he finally shifted his gaze to Ling Zhang.

Originally students looking on nearby had wanted to gather around, but when they saw Jiang Yu rejected by Yuwen Tong, they refrained from doing so, eyes following Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang. After appraising the two of them for a while, they looked at Jiang Yu, a mixed expression in their eyes, all kinds of thoughts flashing across their minds.

Jiang Yu watched Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang hand in hand walk far away and then turned around to inquire of those standing beside him, “So that’s Ling Zhang?”

“Uh… I think so,” replied one of his lackeys beside him. None of them had ever seen Ling Zhang before, so they couldn’t say for certain.

Jiang Yu’s brow briefly corrugated in a frown and then returned to normal.

…

“Fortunately, you rejected it, cousin. Had you let that Jiang Yu guy lead the way, I would definitely have bailed,” said Yuwen Jin, flicking Feng Zhangshi a frosty glance.

Though having been given a dirty look by Yuwen Jin, Feng Zhangshi didn’t dare to utter a word in the knowledge that he had offended not only Yuwen Tong but also Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin.

“It didn’t seem like your first meeting with Jiang Yu. You two have history?” Ling Zhang inquired.

Yuwen Jin replied, “It’s not me who has history with him. It’s my elder brother. On one occasion, my elder brother bandied words with him at a banquet, and he snitched on my elder brother after returning home. Jiang Changfeng, that old bastard, impeached my father at a meeting in the imperial court. Fortunately His Majesty’s wise enough not to fall for Jiang Changfeng’s trick. Since then, there’s been open hostility between our two families.”

Ling Zhang flicked a glance at Feng Zhangshi in the middle of Yuwen Jin’s remarks and had intended to interrupt, but then he found that Yuwen Jin, who had a fairly good sense of propriety, knew how to choose the right expressions when mentioning the emperor, so eventually he didn’t cut him off.

“Just now Jiang Yu was very nice to your cousin and didn’t seem like someone who’d make trouble for you in revenge for a petty quarrel,” commented Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Jin curled his lip. “My cousin was also the only one he bothered to talk with just now. I think he cares about nobody but my cousin.”

Yuwen Tong’s face went cold. “Bullshit. It’ll do you a lot more good if you focus on your study instead of these unsavory characters.”

While saying this, he held Ling Zhang’s wrist tighter, softly rubbing his thumb against it in an effort to fawn on him.

Ling Zhang: ….

Just now he had failed to realize the situation. ‘We are not at home but in the Imperial College. There are students all around. It’s so undignified to be hand in hand like this.’ Ling Zhang instantly made an attempt to free his hand.

He had just moved when Yuwen Tong tightened his grip further and also turned his head aside to look at him in confusion.

“Haha. Cousin, if these words of yours reach Jiang Yu’s ears, he would definitely be angered to death.” Yuwen Jin, instead of being deterred by Yuwen Tong’s rebuke, dissolved into happy laugh.

Feng Zhangshi on the side was trying his best to pretend he hadn’t heard any of their words. ‘Everybody saw how fervent Jiang Yu was a moment ago, but it turns out that in Yuwen Tong’s eyes, he is merely an unsavory character. If this comes to Jiang Yu’s knowledge, he would indeed be infuriated. Many students of this college are children of dignitaries, but only a couple of them are really of noble blood, and Jiang Yu is definitely one of them. Given Jiang family’s position, nobody in this college will dare mess with Jiang Yu, but though Jiang Yu is grandson of Jiang Changfeng who’s the most powerful civil official, Ling Zhang… is the betrothed of Yuwen Tong, the most powerful military commander who wields dominant military power and saved the situation for the Great Yue against overwhelming odds, and Yuwen Tong cares about Ling Zhang so much…’

Thinking of this, Feng Zhangshi raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, feeling that he shouldn’t have succumbed to Jiang Yu’s threatening eyes and said those words, that it was an unwise move resulted from a momentary lapse of judgement.

During the rest of the trip, Feng Zhangshi was noticeably more deferential than he had been previously. He also paid more attention to Ling Zhang’s needs. There were several occasions when he specially paused to tell him what the nearby building or field was for, or to brief him on professors of the Imperial College, etc. Ling Zhang quietly flicked a glance at him, feeling somewhat puzzled as to why Feng Zhangshi suddenly adopted a considerably different attitude towards him.

Yuwen Tong appeared natural, as if there was nothing strange about this at all.

Yuwen Jin briefly curled his lip and didn’t even bother to give another glance at Feng Zhangshi.

After they arrived at the destination, Feng Zhangshi took Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin to see the professor who was going to test them. He was an elegantly-bearded old man with piercing eyes, brimming with energy and vitality. Seeing Yuwen Tong, he simply made a bow with hands folded in front, neither humble nor arrogant, which was very different from the highly servile and deferential way that Feng Zhangshi had behaved.

This was what teachers in the Imperial College were like. No matter what his intention truly was, he was clearly different from people like Feng Zhangshi.

As he stared at Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin, both of them involuntarily straightened themselves and tensed their back muscles.

“Since you’ve enrolled in the Imperial College, you are now students of this school. I don’t care who you are out there. In this place, you have to follow my instructions. If you cannot do that, you may leave right away.”

Of course Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin wouldn’t give up because of this mere remark. Ling Zhang knew very well what kind of person he himself was, and Yuwen Jin had been repeatedly reminded and warned by his elders some time ago. As a result, after hearing these words which had clearly been meant as a deterrent, they just respectfully expressed their willingness to obey him, giving no other reaction.

Yuwen Tong sitting not far away didn’t interpose, and neither was there any change of his countenance in response to the words of the professor. He just sipped his tea in a natural manner.

The old man sneaked a glance at Yuwen Tong out of the corner of his eye. As he saw the bland look on Yuwen Tong’s face, the corners of his mouth involuntarily twitched. ‘The meaning of my words was explicit enough. Why do these people seem so calm?’ he wondered. Other children of officials had reacted very haughtily after hearing similar words of his. This was the first time that he had seen someone who appeared totally unaffected.

After a soft cough, the old man continued, “Now that you’ve heard my words, you should act in accordance with them in the future. Now tell me what the two of you have learned before, and what you are capable of.”

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin in turn told the old man what books they had read, what their perceptions of those books were, what they were capable of, etc.

It took them quite some time to finish all this. The old man also had each of them write an essay on the spot, which was also a time-consuming task.

At first Ling Zhang was somewhat punctilious. Rumors about the chaotic situation in the Imperial College didn’t make him scornful of this professor. He respected and was willing to obey any teacher who was truly learned. What relieved him was that the old man was indeed knowledgeable. He not only commented on the books Ling Zhang had read but also expressed his views on Ling Zhang’s perceptions, some of which were approving, and others critical. All these were pertinent instructions. Ling Zhang, hearing them, unconsciously dismissed all other thoughts from his mind and concentrated on learning knowledge as he used to do in the Tanyang Academy.

Therefore, when he was writing his essay, he was also very intent, taking it seriously.

Yuwen Jin beside him was also focused, but because of his obsession with the idea of learning military strategy and tactics and then applying them on the battlefield, every time he was writing an essay, he frequently felt an urge to stand up to walk around or do something else, which was a somewhat bad habit.

All of a sudden, with a slap, Yuwen Jin was hit by a teacher’s ruler. The old man standing beside Yuwen Jin glared at him. “Your sitting position is very problematic. Are there any nails on your chair? I want you to sit bolt upright!”

After being hit by the ruler, Yuwen Jin not only gasped in pain but also was taken aback. Seeing the stern look of the old man, he immediately behaved himself and didn’t dare fidget any more, as if the old man were his father.

Ling Zhang merely stole a glance in that direction and then resumed writing his essay.

The old man cast a look at him, stroked his beard with satisfaction and then glared at Yuwen Jin again, which frightened Yuwen Jin deterring him from looking sideways again.

Yuwen Jin, in his head, was yelling at the top of his lungs, but he didn’t dare to utter a single word.

‘Why did nobody tell me teachers of the Imperial College punish students with rulers?! I’m not a three-year-old kid! It hurts so much!’

As the old man turned around to walk away, Yuwen Jin hurriedly winked at Yuwen Tong with the intention of having his cousin offer him some help, but Yuwen Tong just leisurely enjoyed his tea without giving any response, as if he hadn’t noticed his distress signal at all.

Yuwen Jin lapsed into despair, gazing at the paper on the desk, teeth gritted. It was not until after quite a while that he wrote a sentence with difficulty.

At this time, Ling Zhang, who had already filled his paper with words, took out another piece of paper and continued writing.

Yuwen Jin sneaked a glance at it and widened his eyes, unable to believe that Ling Zhang had written so many sentences. He himself hadn’t even finished half a page yet. ‘A comparison between people can be so hurtful,’ he thought. Previously, he had believed that he and Ling Zhang were on a level, because Ling Zhang’s admission to the Imperial College had been the result of a sudden decision of the emperor.