Chapter 47.2

The blue-clad scholar was still well-spoken, “Since Brother Hu treated you like that, why don’t you treat them back in the same way? The reason Brother Hu held back the story about vomiting blood was that when he had gone to the exam room, I had offered him the food but he didn’t want it, however, he hated me after the exam for not giving him any; If that spreads, even if I would be affected in some way, Brother Hu would inevitably have a reputation for being narrow-minded and ungrateful.”

“If Brother Zhao wants to vent some anger, just like this…”

Lin Shiheng called Zhao He to come closer, and he whispered a few words in his ear. Zhao He listened and his expression seemed more and more enlightened.

***

“Great!”

“Still, Brother Lin, you’re amazing! I’m going to go wash up and we can go out soon!”

He just stood up before he suddenly remembered something and sat back, “Brother Lin, we have been together for so long, and I also know that you have always been tolerant and generous. Your gentleman’s bearing doesn’t seem to be faked at all… Why did you use such a sly trick to deal with Hu Chuan this time?”

After saying this, Zhao He was afraid that Lin Shiheng might misunderstand that he was disdaining him, so he waved his hand to explain, “I’m not saying that I don’t agree with it, I just think… With Hu Chuan being how he is, if you make a move, aren’t you just getting your hands dirty?”

“From beginning to end, I never touched Brother Hu with my own hands, so how could my hands get dirty?”

Lin Shiheng looked up slightly and continued earnestly, “Since I met Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao has always taken care of me. I’m ill, so I can’t help Brother Zhao much with other matters, but I heard a few book boys mention the old grievances between Brother Zhao and Brother Hu in the past few days, so I made my move.”

Zhao He opened his eyes wide, “It was actually for me?”

The blue-clad scholar nodded reservedly, “Didn’t Brother Zhao say that we are best friends?”

“You have taken care of me a lot, so I would naturally want to reciprocate. How can one just take advantage but not contribute?”

Having said that, he coughed a few times with a pale face and a pair of long, light, elegant brows knitted together with a hand pressing on his chest.

“Just a few days in the examination room, in the end, it still injured me a bit. Unfortunately, it is hard to find a doctor now, otherwise, it would be good to ask how to make up for it…”

“It’s okay! No problem! I’ll find someone to take your pulse. Although we might not be able to get an accurate reading, prescribing a tonic recipe or making a medicinal meal will still work!”

Zhao He was almost moved to tears by what Lin Shiheng said before. Seeing that Brother Lin was so sincere and uncomfortable at the moment, he hurriedly patted his chest and stood up without hesitation.

“Brother Lin, don’t worry! Even if my family has nothing else, we would still have enough supplements! You haven’t eaten yet. Wait here. I’ll have someone cook something delicious!”

Lin Shiheng frowned and stood up slowly with an embarrassed expression, “How can I allow this? I already shamelessly stayed at Brother Zhao’s house because I had nowhere else to go for the upcoming exams, but now that I’ve finished the exams, I should leave. How can I continue to shamelessly bother you?”

The blue-clad scholar just stood up weakly but was pressed to sit down by Zhao He.

“What do you mean by bothering? You and I are best friends! My home is your home! What’s more, as Brother Lin has said, it’s a return favor! Brother Lin helped me vent my anger, so I will naturally repay Brother Lin as well!”

“Go ahead and sit down, I’m going to call someone to prepare.”

Lin Shiheng coughed twice in a low voice with some helplessness, “Brother Zhao warmly invited me, so I can’t refuse again, but the food should not be too good. Especially that steamed fish from Wei County, it was too much work to make last time, so don’t do it anymore.”

Zhao He, who hadn’t thought of steamed fish at first, was reminded and immediately said, “Yes, I almost forgot! Brother Lin likes steamed fish, so I’ll tell them to make it. Ok, Brother Lin, you can rest, I’ll tell them first. Then we’ll go out together after eating.”

Lin Shiheng nodded with a gentle smile and picked up the teapot on the table, “Then I will make tea, it just so happens that the tea is almost ready.”

“Eh… No! You don’t need to!”

Zhao He quickly took the teapot and looked up and down at his good-looking friend who was in poor health but was unable to help himself, “Brother Lin, you are weak, how can you do this kind of work? I’ll just go out and let them brew it.”

He walked out after saying that, thinking quite emphatically as he went out, Brother Lin was really too polite.

After helping him so much, he still doesn’t want anything…

Ah, a friend like him should be treasured…

Watching as Zhao He left, Lin Shiheng stood up and casually took a book from the shelf to look at.

When he sat back on the bench, he found that the bench had moved slightly.

He was still pale and with his eyes still looking at the book that he held in his left hand, then with just a slight effort from his right hand, he lifted the solid stone bench that had shifted and moved it back to its original position.

Although the hot pot base tasted delicious, the steamed fish from Wei county had the best taste in terms of delicacy.

If you wanted to talk about what nourishes your body the best, naturally, you have to love what you eat.

After convincing himself, the blue-clad scholar nodded satisfactorily and read the book with peace of mind.

***

The meal at Zhao’s house was just as delicious as Zhao He ordered it to be, without affecting at all its medicinal properties to nourish the body.

They ate to their hearts’ content, and when they had finished, they got up and went out together.

According to the little book boy who was the best with gossip, Hu Chuan finally invited a doctor to see him, but he only said it was because he was short of breath. Because there were so many people at that time that everyone heard it and thought it was Hu Chuan who didn’t do well in the exam before he got angry and so vomited blood. Although it was a shame to say it so frankly, it was not their own shame anyway, so the rumors were spread around quite merrily.

Spitting up blood in a fit of rage sounds pretty serious, but in fact all it only required one prescription. The book boy had heard the news that recently, Hu Chuan probably felt that his reputation has taken a hit and so started to frequent the Scholars’ Pavilion to discuss with other same-ranked scholars every day.

From what Zhao He knew about this guy, he was just trying to use the title of ‘gentle and polite’ for himself again.

Zhao He used to hide whenever he saw Hu Chuan, but now, it was different.

Now, he is backed by Brother Lin!

Even if he couldn’t win against Hu Chuan by himself, wasn’t there still Brother Lin, a man with a brilliant mind?

Zhao He, who thought he had great momentum, took Lin Shiheng to a very imposing restaurant.

“Brother Lin, take a look. This is the capital city’s Scholars’ Pavilion; this place is close to where the rankings will be posted. Although it would be hard to see the rankings itself, it is a good place to wait for the release. Plus there have been many Juren waiting for the list and learned that they have passed the exam here, so this place became even more popular among the educated.”

It was just for luck.

Lin Shiheng nodded and stood at the bottom to look up at the three words inscribed on it.

The Scholars’ Pavilion… To be able to give such a name, but also to occupy such a large area in the capital as a restaurant, it was impossible for them not to have an official backing them.

He raised his eyebrows and stepped in with Zhao He.

***

In the middle of the building, some people dressed as scholars were gathering on the first floor to discuss, while some who liked quiet would choose a private room, and those that didn’t like to discuss but only wanted to watch the fun, they could look down on the railing of the second floor. Looking around, it was indeed an elegant atmosphere, very much in line with the pursuit of the four gentlemen’s scholarly aesthetic.

(TNote: the four gentlemen’s scholarly aesthetic = Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum; every flower/plan symbolizes a few things in this. Please google for more info.)

At the moment, Hu Chuan was sitting at a table talking with a few Jurens, while he would from time to time glance at the people who were gathered in a discussion.

It was about to get dark, but there were still a lot of people in the building. After all, they had studied hard for many years to get to this Juren position. If they succeeded in the exam, they would be officials in the future. And the exams had just finished, so how could they not come and relax for a bit?

The reason why Hu Chuan, who had just lost face, came out, was because of all the Jurens sitting in the Scholars’ Pavilion, some who must have passed. After finishing the exam, he knew that he was absolutely hopeless, but this didn’t prevent him from making a few successful friends. In the future, they will become officials, they could correspond with each other and lay a good foundation for their later life as an official.

Unlike his bloodshot eyes when he had just finished the exam, Hu Chuan was extremely energetic at the moment and spoke with the other people he met with a lot of energy.

When the others saw him, they only assumed he had done well on the exam, which was why he was in such a good mood, so they were more than envious.

***

The two splendidly dressed gentlemen with their attendants were led in by the servant boy as they made their way up to the second floor, choosing an unoccupied spot near the railing to gaze down at the view below.

“So that’s who Third Brother chose?”

Shen Huyang frowned slightly and looked while being a little puzzled, at the plain-faced person beneath them. From head to toe, she couldn’t see anything good about Hu Chuan.

“Is it really him? Why does it look like he doesn’t have the air of a scholar in the slightest?”

The one who stood a little taller than her, Shen Hu’an, laughed somewhat helplessly, “If it wasn’t for the fact that as soon as he was contacted by Third Brother, he immediately got excited and went looking to meet the Jurens to drag them into Third Brother’s house together, I wouldn’t have known his identity so quickly.”

“Third Elder Brother’s eyes are getting worse and worse. I thought it was some remarkable person and wasted an opportunity to get out of the palace in vain.”

“In fact, it’s not bad. My people have found out that his grades are fair and he is young. He has a good reputation in Wei County. Although his character is a bit poor, at least he is usable. What’s more… Isn’t he recruiting Jurens everywhere? He is also a good subordinate.”

Shen Huyang fixed her gaze at Hu Chuan, who had no gentlemanly appearance at all, and withdrew her eyes, “He can only be called a subordinate, not a scholar.”

“Sister, there you go again. Then you tell me, what kind of person can be regarded as a scholar?”

Shen Huyang replied without hesitation: “Naturally, like Grandfather, someone with talents that others cannot match.”

“Yes, yes… The scholar three years ago was quite talented, but unfortunately, he was an old scholar in his fifties, who was already a grandfather.”

Shen Hu’an looked even more helpless, “Father said, Sister’s flowering period has arrived, he knows you love talented scholars most, so this time he’s planning to choose one of the talented among the top rankings to bestow marriage.”

“I know.”