This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

Shangdu, the capital of the Great Zhao Kingdom.

As the most magnificent city in the Great Zhao Dynasty, its grandeur and prosperity need no further explanation.

Deep within a main street just outside the imperial city, right next to the palace walls, lies a series of interconnected halls and pavilions—the Imperial Academy, a sacred place in the hearts of all scholars in the Great Zhao Kingdom.

Anyone who can enter this gate is considered to have entered the Dragon Gate.

Even if they are not guaranteed to rise to prominence and achieve great success in the future, they have at least already established a clear class distinction from ordinary scholars.

The Imperial College was divided into four halls and six rooms, which were used for daily management and academic study.

The six halls are the Hall of Justice, the Hall of Lofty Aspirations, the Hall of Broad Learning, the Hall of Sincerity, the Hall of Cultivating the Way, and the Hall of Following One's Nature.

Newly admitted students to the Imperial Academy would briefly stay at the Hall of Justice to take an examination, and after passing it, they would ascend to the next hall in turn.

Finally, they arrived at the Hall of Determination, where they were either granted official positions or allowed to continue participating in the imperial examinations based on their performance.

For many years, the Imperial Academy has provided the Great Zhao with a large number of grassroots officials, as well as many successful candidates in the imperial examinations.

But this year, the Imperial College seems to be doing something unusual.

Even the palace has begun to turn its attention here.

This year, a young man arrived at the Imperial Academy, a young man who was only sixteen years old at most, but who made the other students in the Imperial Academy look up to him.

His name was Wang Yangming. The first thing he did after arriving at the Imperial College was break the college's record for the fastest court examination in over two hundred years.

In less than three months, Wang Yangming rose from the Justice Hall to the Free Spirit Hall.

At the annual Dharma discussion and debate at Shuaixingtang, he single-handedly debated twelve Shuaixingtang students and ultimately won the title of the top debater.

Such a brilliant performance successfully attracted the attention of the palace.

On the afternoon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Wang Yangming changed into a new set of clothes with the help of his page.

The outfit features a blue and white color scheme, with a jade belt around the waist. It is simple and elegant without any unnecessary embellishments or decorations.

But it perfectly highlighted Wang Yangming's scholarly demeanor.

The reason Wang Yangming made a special effort to dress up was because a few days ago he received an imperial decree from the palace, ordering him to enter the palace this afternoon to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet hosted by the emperor.

This is naturally an immense favor; among all the tribute students in the Imperial Academy, only three or four receive such an invitation.

As for why they went to the banquet in the afternoon when it was clearly an evening event, Wang Yangming had no idea.

He followed the people who came to pick him up through the palace gate, and then wandered through countless palaces and corridors.

Just as Wang Yangming began to feel dizzy and lightheaded, the eunuch who had led the way finally stopped and said softly:

"Young Master Wang, we've arrived..."

Wang Yangming was stunned for a moment, then looked up and saw that what was in front of him was not a palace, but a courtyard.

A plaque hangs above the courtyard gate, bearing the three characters "Fanghua Garden".

"This is..."

Wang Yangming was puzzled and asked in confusion.

The eunuch explained:

"His Majesty has decreed that all the talented young men who have entered the palace should first gather at Fanghua Garden, and then go to Qianqing Palace to pay homage before the banquet begins."

Wang Yangming nodded thoughtfully, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to the eunuch and said:

Thank you for your trouble.

The eunuch smiled and said:

"Young Master Wang, you are too kind. Someone will greet you once you go inside."

At this point, the eunuch paused for a moment, then leaned closer and whispered:

"The palace is not like the outside world; Young Master Wang should be more cautious..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yangming paused for a moment, then quickly clasped his hands in thanks.

"Thank you for the reminder, Father-in-law."

The eunuch nodded, turned, and left.

Although it was just a trivial reminder, Wang Yangming was still quite grateful.

After all, this was completely unnecessary for that eunuch.

Although Wang Yangming is currently enjoying great popularity, he is not yet of any particular interest to the eunuchs who have been living in the inner palace for many years.

Therefore, this reminder most likely came from the kindness of this eunuch who was also quite young.

After a moment of reflection, Wang Yangming straightened his clothes and stepped into the courtyard.

Not long after we entered, a palace maid came to lead the way.

It was already mid-autumn, but Fanghua Garden was still full of flowers, showing no signs of withering.

Along the way, Wang Yangming couldn't even recognize the origins of several of the flowers and plants.

Not far along, after passing an exquisitely designed artificial rockery, the first thing that catches the eye is a pool of shimmering lake water.

Then I saw groups of people gathered in twos and threes inside a three-story building by the lake.

Wang Yangming stood there and looked around. He didn't recognize most of them. He only recognized a few of them from his time at the Imperial College, and they were actually competitors.

Apart from these people, the rest were clearly sons of powerful and wealthy families in Beijing.

Wang Yangming sighed softly. He didn't actually like such occasions. In comparison, he preferred to read books in his study, or at the very least, practice the internal energy cultivation methods his teacher had given him.

He could only obey the emperor's decree.

Trying to adjust his mood, Wang Yangming followed the palace maid directly to the front of the pavilion.

The first floor of this attic has no walls and is open on all sides.

So as soon as he got close, someone recognized him.

"Yo...isn't this our leader? Come, come...Brother Yangming, we've been waiting for you..."

The speaker was a young man two or three years older than Wang Yangming, named Zhou Shiren, who was also a tribute student of the Imperial Academy.

Wang Yangming smiled and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Brother Shiren, you jest..."

Zhou Shiren jogged out from inside, grabbed Wang Yangming's arm, and laughed:

"Why are you so late, Yangming? Besides the princes, you're the only one missing. Hurry up..."

Wang Yangming wasn't actually very familiar with him; they'd only exchanged a few words. So Zhou Shiren's enthusiasm made him feel somewhat uneasy...

As soon as he was led into the building, Wang Yangming immediately became the focus of attention.

Although Wang Yangming didn't know them, most of the people present recognized him.

Half a month ago, the lecture and discussion at the Shuaixing Hall attracted almost all the young scholars in the capital city.

Wang Yangming was so dazzling that day that anyone who witnessed the debate would probably never forget him.

So when Wang Yangming entered the attic, the group immediately swarmed around him, greeting him warmly and introducing themselves.

Although Wang Yangming is steady and mature, he is still only a sixteen-year-old boy.

Experiencing such adoration for the first time in his life, even he found it difficult to remain calm.

Wang Yangming tried his best to suppress his vanity while struggling to deal with the compliments and pleasantries.

For a moment I felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if I were walking on clouds.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out:

"His Highness Prince Jin, Princess Wenrui, and Princess Ping'an have arrived..."

The noise fell silent almost instantly.

Everyone turned around at the same time, facing the same direction, and stood with their hands at their sides.

Wang Yangming quickly composed himself and stood quietly with the others.

Shortly after, a man and two women entered one after another.

Everyone bowed down and respectfully shouted.

After straightening up, Wang Yangming suddenly felt a strange sensation.

He subconsciously looked up and met a pair of eyes.

The source of that gaze was the second prince, who was dressed in a golden-patterned divine bird royal robe and wore a seven-bead crown.