tallest building

Chapter 361 The Banquet Begins
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Feng Tianzhu, Qiao Ziyu, and others indeed entered the palace.

Several people found Gong Chang'an and rolled around together, arms around each other's shoulders.

It's like a few puppies frolicking around.

“Good brother, I’ve missed you so much! It’s been months since we last met,” Feng Tianzhu said. “You’ve sent us things from the palace several times, but the palace doesn’t allow just anything to be sent in, so I’ve had to save them all together.”

He brought in a big package, which contained a jumbled mess of toys and food.

Qiao Ziyu and the others also brought things for Gong Chang'an, but they only brought one or two carefully selected items. Only Feng Tianzhu brought the most.

"Brother, how much did you bring me? Is it heavy?" Gong Chang'an asked with a grin.

"Don't worry about it, it's all my way of showing my affection for you," Feng Tianzhu said. "If only you could leave the palace and stay at our residence for a few days. Back then, you would stay at our house for ten days or half a month at a time. Ah! Those were the good old days!"

“I’ll go too,” Xu Mang said hurriedly, “The more people, the more lively it will be.”

"Yes, yes, yes, let's bring the Kunlun slaves from the Qiao family and play football like crazy!" Feng Tianzhu perked up immediately. "We'll play until the world turns upside down!"

"I'm telling you guys, stop thinking about having fun," Qiao Ziyu said helplessly. "Didn't you say you were going to get into the Imperial Academy? Why don't you take this opportunity to get Chang'an to prepare some essays for the exam? Are you going to start scrambling at the last minute?"

One sentence reminded the other two: "Yes, yes, this is a serious matter, we can't delay it."

It turns out that the Imperial Academy has established a new Imperial School this year, which will enroll children aged eight to fourteen from families of officials of the seventh rank or above.

The school only plans to recruit 200 people, but over a thousand have already applied. Because there are so many applicants, a preliminary selection process has to be conducted to choose the best candidates.

“Going to the Imperial Academy is like having one foot in the Imperial College. Although it’s not as good as the Imperial University, it has more subjects. Someone like me can choose a martial arts major, and as long as I get excellent grades in the three private exams and one public exam, I can be directly appointed as a patrol inspector. Firstly, I don’t have to study so hard that I have to hang my head from the rafters and prick my thigh with an awl, and secondly, it’s based on my own ability, which is more respectable than relying on family connections,” Xu Mang said. “Besides, I’m just not cut out for studying. Even if I studied for another hundred years, I still wouldn’t pass the exam.”

“That’s true. We all have our own plans. The Imperial Academy is really too difficult, and the examinations are too rigorous. Unlike the Imperial College, which has many subjects and allows us to choose according to our personal preferences,” Qiao Ziyu said. “I plan to study law. If I do well, I can enter the Ministry of Justice. It’s a matter of specializing in one’s field.”

“This plan makes sense. Whether one pursues a career in literature or martial arts depends on one’s own aptitude. Brother Xu will become a great general in the future, how prestigious that would be! Brother Qiao will become the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, in charge of all criminal matters in the country.” Gong Chang’an also thought that Xu and his group’s plan was good.

"That's why we'll have to rely on you a lot, brother." Qiao Ziyu put his arm around Gong Chang'an. "They said everyone has to write an article, and that's your specialty."

"No problem, no problem at all," Gong Chang'an readily agreed. "I'll write it down and have someone take it out of the palace for you later."

Feng Tianzhu didn't care much. His only reason for entering the Imperial Academy was to keep his good friends company. He hadn't thought about his future, and neither had his family. He was ill and didn't know how long he would live. Making long-term plans sometimes inevitably brought sadness. For him, enjoying life while he could was the right thing to do.

"Chang'an, have you learned any new skills these days?" Xu Mang asked.

“I don’t have any new skills, it’s all the same old stuff. My teacher wants me to improve, and he’s been pushing me hard every day,” Gong Chang’an said. “Actually, the palace is quite boring, far less comfortable than being outside.”

“We understand, it’s certainly boring for you to keep that kid Ying Shan company,” Xu Mang said. “But Ziyu is right. If you become his study companion now, you’ll naturally be able to leverage his influence when he becomes more important in the future.” These children all come from extraordinary backgrounds, so they are more adept at assessing situations than children from ordinary families. They already know about future prospects and power at a young age, even though they say it jokingly, it is the result of being influenced by what they have seen and heard.

"People over there are starting to take their seats. Shall we go over there too?" Qiao Ziyu glanced in the direction of the banquet.

"What's the rush? It's no fun sitting there all morning." Xu Mang disagreed. "Let's play outside first, and go over when someone calls us."

The group then started playing under the shade of the tree, kicking and tossing a ball around to see who could score the most points.

"Who made this dress for you?" Feng Tianzhu asked, staring at the brocade blue robe with antique patterns on Gong Chang'an's sleeves while they rested. "It's much more impressive than mine. Madam insisted that I wear a wide-sleeved robe today, saying it would make me look more refined, but I don't like it."

Gong Chang'an's clothes were always very particular. They weren't necessarily made of luxurious materials, but they were always well-tailored and neatly stitched, making them pleasing to the eye and comfortable to wear.

"The clothes I'm wearing were made by my mother. She spent a whole half month making them." Gong Chang'an's clothes were always made by Wen Mingqian and Zhang Ma. Now that Zhang Ma is too busy in the palace to make clothes for him, Wen Mingqian makes them for him.

"These clothes are really beautiful," Feng Tianzhu said with envy.

"If you like, we can switch places," Gong Chang'an said with a smile. "It's not worth much."

"That would be great, let's switch right away." Feng Tianzhu and Gong Chang'an often swapped clothes before, so they were used to it.

The robe he was wearing was a fine gold brocade robe with floral patterns, no less exquisite than the one worn by Gong Chang'an.

Feng Tianzhu just always felt that Gong Chang'an was good in every way, which is a common mindset among children.

After the two changed their clothes, someone came over to invite them to take their seats.

"I heard the palace hired a variety show troupe today. I wonder if it's fun?" Xu Mang asked, peeking out curiously.

“Those who can enter the palace must all have some real skills,” Gong Chang’an said. “To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen these things.”

"The palace has really been generous this year, even hiring a variety show troupe. It wasn't this lively in previous years," Qiao Ziyu said. "I went to a banquet at the Wang family's house a few days ago, and they hired a monkey show troupe. It was quite interesting."

"Then forget it. The palace would never hire a monkey show," Feng Tianzhu shook his head. "What if they had lice in them?"

The acrobatic troupe was already waiting there. The troupe leader raised his old eyes and scanned the children.

When he came over, someone told him—the child in the blue robe with antique patterns—to be quick and efficient when he was working.

He doesn't know who's who; he's just doing things for money.

Besides, the other party was too powerful, so he had no choice but to accept.