Do You Know?: Rule the World.

Chapter 111 Questioning Gu Yankai, Changbai is on the list

Ningyuan Hou Mansion.

The eunuch had just stepped out of the mansion after reading out the imperial edict that required Gu Tingye and Yang Wuduan to take the imperial examination only when they were over fifty years old.

Gu Yankai's face was gloomy, and he could hardly suppress his anger. He pointed at Gu Tingye and cursed, "You evil creature, what nonsense are you talking about! Why are you speaking up for Yang Wuduan for no reason?"

Xiao Qin's eyes flashed, and she hurried forward to help Gu Yan calm down.

"Lord, calm down. Erlang was just confused for a moment. Who would have thought that this would reach the ears of the Imperial Censor?"

Gu Tingye came back to his senses from his shock, and quickly stepped forward to grab Gu Tingyu by the collar.

"I mentioned this unintentionally when I was twelve years old, practicing calligraphy with you in the study. No one else was around at the time, so you were the only one who knew it!"

"How dare you hurt me like this? There is no brother like you in the world!"

Gu Tingyu was already weak, and he staggered and almost fell to the ground when he was pulled by him.

"Ahem... Erlang, as a fellow descendant of the Gu family, how could I harm you like this?"

"Maybe you let it slip when you were out drinking and drunk."

Seeing Gu Tingyu's face turn pale and he was almost fainting, Gu Yankai angrily said, "I don't think this has anything to do with your brother!"

"Even if he spread it out, you were the one who spoke so brazenly first!"

After saying this, Gu Tingye slowly loosened Gu Tingyu's collar and asked, "Father, are you so biased towards him?"

"From childhood to adulthood, whenever I have a dispute with him, I am always the one who gets punished!"

"When I was ten, it was clearly him who accidentally broke the inkstone. No matter how I explained, you refused to believe me. Just based on a few words from him, you beat me up!"

"Is it simply because my mother's family background is not as noble as that of the Marquis of Dongchang?"

Gu Yankai frowned, "Why are you bringing up these old things for no reason?!"

Gu Tingye knelt down in front of him with a plop.

"Father, I take responsibility for what happened to Yang Wuduan."

"I only want to ask you one question today: have you ever loved my mother all these years?"

"Erlang..." Xiao Qin called softly, still like a loving mother.

Gu Tingyu, who was standing aside, swayed and had to hold on to the table to avoid falling down. An indescribable complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

Faced with Gu Tingye's questioning, Gu Yankai really didn't know how to answer.

It is true that his marriage to Bai was a deal at first, but after Bai's death, he felt guilty day and night and could not sleep or eat.

He was strict with Gu Tingye and forced him to study and practice martial arts, not only to bring honor to the Gu family, but also to give an explanation to the Bai family and the Bai family in the afterlife.

As for favoring Gu Tingyu, it was true that he was thinking of the Daqin family, but it was also because Gu Tingyu had been weak and sickly since childhood and had been on the verge of death many times.

Seeing that his father was unwilling to answer his question, Gu Tingye felt a chill in his heart. He stood up and resolutely left the Gu family with the stone.

Gu Yankai remained frozen in place, staring at his receding figure.

"My Lord, Erlang..." Xiao Qin took a step forward.

"Shut up!" Gu Yankai shouted angrily, and Xiao Qinshi pulled the corner of her mouth imperceptibly.

After leaving the main hall, Xiao Qin took Xiang's mother to walk along the winding bluestone path in the backyard.

"Da Lang's move was truly extraordinary. This has completely destroyed Er Lang's future."

He whispered to his mother, "After all, my second brother is on good terms with the Crown Prince. Will he..."

"Let's take it one step at a time. I wonder what's so special about Erlang that the prince treats him so well."

"How's the matter that I asked you to secretly send someone to investigate?"

Xiang Ma pondered for a moment, "When my second brother was in the academy, he did have an affair with a singing girl from the opera garden, but later on, for some reason, he drove her away."

"We have to find a way to find this person. Maybe he can be of great use in the future."

Xiao Qin's mouth curled up slightly. According to her understanding of Gu Tingye, he would never come back easily after he left.

Then, she sighed softly, "If Tingwei could be more motivated, I wouldn't have to work so hard."

"Third brother is still young, given time..."

Xiao Qin snorted coldly, "Erlang, at his age, can already write strategic essays and draw a double-crossbow."

As the saying goes, good bamboo shoots come out of bad bamboo. Under the education of Xiao Qinshi, Gu Tingwei not only has a deep friendship with Gu Tingye and protects him in every way, but also has never thought of competing for the title.

His biggest wish is that his mother and Gu Tingye can live in harmony and the family can be happy.

He would just be a carefree dandy who spent his days drinking and having fun. When he reached a certain age, he would get a high-ranking official position and marry a few wives and concubines. That would be enough for his life.

-

The next day, early in the morning, Jiying Lane, Sheng Mansion.

In Weiruixuan, Wang Ruofu was dressed in new clothes and kneeling in front of the portraits of the gods of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, praying non-stop.

She carefully inserted three incense sticks into the incense burner.

After a while, I saw three incense sticks, two on the left and two on the right, moving forward in unison, with the middle one slightly lower, and three wisps of green smoke swirling in the air.

"Mother Liu!" Wang Ruofu exclaimed, "Look! This incense is burning so beautifully, it looks like a lotus flower!"

"This is a very auspicious sign. Bai'er will definitely pass the imperial examination!"

Mother Liu came over to take a look and said with a smile, "My second brother has been studying hard since he was young and has never slacked off. How could he not get into high school?"

"Yes, yes!" "Go and urge Ru'er on. That lazy girl is so slow; it's already this late and she's still nowhere to be seen!"

Mother Liu responded and went to urge Rulan.

Wang Ruofu held the hem of her skirt and walked out impatiently, muttering to herself.

"Success or failure depends on this one move. Bai'er has to fight for his mother's reputation. It would be best if my son gets admitted, and that little bastard from Lin Qi Pavilion fails. Then we'll see..."

"what--"

Before she could finish her words, Wang Ruofu accidentally stepped on empty air.

He grabbed at the air with his hands a few times and fell heavily on the bluestone steps.

"Madam! Madam!"

Several maids in the yard ran over in a panic and helped her up.

Wang Ruofu sat on the couch with a look of pain on her face, gasping in pain.

"It must be those little bitches from Linqi Pavilion who are cursing me and don't want me to see Bai'er's list."

Wang Ruofu injured her leg and needed a doctor to apply medicine, so she couldn't go out to check the list.

Sheng Hong had no choice but to take Lin Qinshuang and others with him. The carriage had just stopped outside the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.

Rulan pulled Minglan and squeezed into the crowd impatiently, her eyes constantly scanning the list.

Sheng Hong stood beside the carriage, his fingers constantly stroking the corners of his clothes. He really wanted to go and see the list in person, but because of his identity as an official of the Ministry of Personnel, he couldn't squeeze into the crowd.

After a moment, Minglan stood on tiptoe, her eyes gleaming with a brilliant light, "Fifth sister, look, look!"

"Second brother won!"

"Where is it? Show it to me!" Rulan urged impatiently while searching.

Minglan said in a clear voice, "Thirteenth place, Second Brother is thirteenth place!"

"I saw it!" Rulan cheered, turned around and pulled Sheng Changbai over from the side.

Sheng Changbai stared at the names on the list, and his tense heart finally relaxed.

He looked around and asked softly, "Have you two seen Gu Erlang?"

Minglan and Rulan shook their heads at the same time.

"Please help me find out if his name is on the list." Sheng Changbai said with a smile.

Although they have not known each other for long, they have become close friends.

Rulan snorted softly, "Second brother, just look at it yourself. Xiaoliu and I are going to find Daddy!"

Lin Qinshuang and Molan's expressions became increasingly ugly.

Sheng Changfeng was even more anxious, with beads of sweat on his forehead, and his eyes scanned the list again and again.

When he confirmed that his name was not on the list, he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. "This is impossible! How could I fail the exam?!"

"Third brother, what's wrong with you? Didn't you vow to pass the exam before entering the examination room?"

Molan frowned, looking unhappy, feeling that her brother was not living up to her expectations at all.

Lin Qinshuang grabbed Changfeng's sleeve and gritted her teeth, "Hurry up and keep looking. Maybe we're just dazzled!"

When Sheng Hong learned of Changbai's ranking, he was naturally overjoyed.

After a moment, he asked gently, "Where's Chang Feng? Is his name on the list?"

Rulan curled her lips and said, "If Third Brother's name was mentioned, Fourth Sister would have come running to announce the good news long ago. How come he's still nowhere to be seen?"

Upon hearing this, Sheng Hong's joy faded a bit, and he instructed Dong Rong beside him, "Since they didn't win, let them return home quickly. What are they still crowding here for?"

At the Duke of Qi's Mansion, Qi Heng took Buwei for a look around and then came to the carriage in a daze.

Princess Pingning did not give up. She stood in front of the list and searched for Qi Heng's name over and over again.

Finally, she entered the carriage with her maid with a gloomy expression.

Qi Heng lowered his eyes, "Mother, it's my fault..."

Duke Qi consoled him, "It's rare to succeed in one go. There haven't been many since the founding of this dynasty."

"I'll ask Master Hai about it in a few days to see where you made the mistake. You'll need to pay more attention to it next time you take the test."

Princess Pingning took a deep breath and remained silent.

She just thought that it was the concubine of the Sheng family who made her son uneasy, which was why he failed the exam.

At the same time, in the East Palace, Mingde Hall.

Gu Yankai sighed softly, looked at Zhao Han with a worried look on his face, and asked in a deep voice, "Does Your Highness know the whereabouts of Erlang?"

"After he packed up and left yesterday, there's been no trace of him. I sent people to search every brothel and hotel, but there's no sign of him."

Zhao Han looked calm and waved his hand, saying, "Don't worry, Lord Gu. If I'm not mistaken, Zhong Huai is with his childhood wet nurse, Nanny Chang."

"Chang?" Gu Yan's heart tightened.

"Yes, Zhong Huai has already brought her to the capital."

Gu Yankai frowned, and then he understood why Gu Tingye suddenly asked him that question.

(End of this chapter)