The Prime Minister’s Darling

Chapter 19: Genius

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

After dinner, Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun returned to the academy and were informed that their dormitory had collapsed.

“When did it collapse?” Xiao Liulang asked.

The student said, “Not long after you left. Many people saw you going to the dormitory and were worried that you would be buried inside.”

We wanted to go there first, but…

Xiao Liulang paused.

Gu Xiaoshun ran to the collapsed dormitory; the ground was covered in broken walls, the floor cracked by fallen beams. Thinking about what would happen if those hit a person on the head, he patted his chest in fear. “It’s fortunate that my sister came to eat with us! Otherwise, we would have been buried alive!”

Including the time at the medical center, this was the second time. Both times, it was because of her that they avoided a sudden disaster.

Xiao Liulang looked in the direction where Gu Jiao had left, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The Divine Academy had always been relatively tight on their dormitory space, and this time they had admitted a total of 101 students, their largest batch of students yet. Therefore, the academy really did not have any extra dormitories, so they could only let the two of them continue their studies without any accommodations.

As the accommodation fees were included in the tuition fees, they were usually not refunded. However, considering that this was not a problem stemming from the students, the academy took the initiative to bear Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun’s daily fare.

Gu Xiaoshun did not care. He did not like the Gu family, but he did not really love the Academy either. It was the same for him either way.

“Brother-in-law, aren’t you glad?” Gu Xiaoshun whispered to Xiao Liulang on the way back to the classroom.

“Why would I be glad?” Xiao Liulang returned the question.

“Now you can go back and sleep with my sister!” Gu Xiaoshun did not actually understand what he was saying. He was 13 years old this year; while he was not exactly ignorant about certain topics, he was not exactly knowledgeable about them either. He had this idea in his head that a man had to hug his wife to sleep—as for what they would do afterwards, he actually did not know.

Therefore, he was not embarrassed at all when he said this.

Xiao Liulang choked. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Oh.” But I’m not spouting nonsense, now Brother-in-law can go back and sleep with Sister!

The two of them entered the classroom; it was mathematics in the afternoon. The examinations only tested candidates on the eight-segmented essay, and mathematics was not included, so the imperial court did not pay much attention to it. This subject was taught only because the dean wanted it to be so, as he hoped to nurture future talents for the nation.

As soon as Xiao Liulang sat down, Teacher Zhang called him out. “The dean is looking for you.”

Xiao Liulang went to the Impartial Hall to find the dean.

As soon as he reached the door, he bumped into Gu Dashun coming out from the Impartial Hall.

There was a smug look on Gu Dashun’s face that had yet to fade. As soon as he saw Xiao Liulang, he frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Xiao Liulang ignored him and walked past him on his walking stick.

Gu Dashun scowled.

Is Xiao Liulang also here to look for the dean?

On the first day of Gu Dashun’s enrollment, Teacher Chen told him that the dean admired him very much, and then secretly hinted to him that the dean had plans to choose a personal disciple from this batch of students and told him to work hard.

Of course he had to work hard.

He was talented. On top of that, if he also had the guidance of a literary magnate like the dean, he would not have to worry about not being able to pass the imperial examination.

He had barely slept the night before as he was writing a piece, and he had brought it to Teacher Chen in the morning. At noon, Teacher Chen showed it to the dean, and thereafter the dean had called him in to ask him a few questions about the piece, and he answered them well.

He could see that the dean was very satisfied.

He thought that his disciple’s matter should be in the bag, but for some reason, Xiao Liulang was also here.

Is it because of their dormitory?

He had heard that Xiao Liulang and Gu Xiaoshun’s dormitory had collapsed at noon. For him to encounter something so unlucky, it was obvious that fate did not favor him.

At this thought, Gu Dashun sneered arrogantly and returned to his classroom.

In the Impartial Hall, the dean pointed at the eight-segmented essay on the desk and asked Xiao Liulang, “Did you write this yourself?”

“Yes.” Xiao Liulang said.

The dean’s sharp gaze landed on Xiao Liulang. This young man is only 17 years old, and his face still bears the marks of inexperience, but there’s a calm and coolness in his demeanor unbefitting one of his age.

He’s also crippled, yet he carries himself with more nobility than any healthy student.

“Why didn’t you answer the first two questions?” the dean asked.

Everyone knew that he scored bottom-place in the examinations; however, what they did not know was that he had handed in two blank papers for three questions.

He should not have been accepted, but this piece was simply too astonishing.

The essay from the student named Gu Dashun was not bad either, but only relative to a freshman’s standard. Compared to Xiao Liulang’s, his certainly paled in comparison.

Xiao Liulang did not answer the dean’s question.

What a stubborn child. The dean sighed in his heart and waved his hand. “Alright, go back to class.”

Xiao Liulang gave a student’s salutations and turned to leave.

An old man in cloth clothes walked out from behind a curtain.

“Master.” The dean immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

The old man picked up Xiao Liulang’s article and shook his head after reading it. “This student of yours bears a lot of hostility.”

After Gu Jiao bade farewell to Xiao Liulang, she went to the marketplace nearby.

The marketplace in the eastern part of town was similar to the market in the west, but it was more high-end and the prices were correspondingly more expensive. However, the western market was closed now, so if she wanted to buy something she could only go to the shops or this marketplace.

Gu Jiao bought five catties of white flour, two catties of high-quality pork belly, and two catties of salt. In total, it cost more than a hundred copper coins.

When she passed by a clothier, she remembered that when she was keeping Xiao Liulang’s clothes a few days ago, she noticed some of his garments were torn.

She went in and bought a new set of inner wear. Then, she asked the boss for some rags; she would patch up those that could still be mended.

Although she had never mended her clothes before, she had once sutured a heart. If she treated fabric as she did human skin, it should be easy to sew!

After Gu Jiao put all the things she had bought away into the basket on her back, she prepared to return to the village. When she walked out of the shop, she realized that there were suddenly a lot of soldiers on the street.

The commoners were whispering at the side.

“What happened?”

“I heard that a patient escaped from Leper Mountain, and the soldiers are searching the streets for them!”

“Oh dear, a leper? Isn’t that terrible?”

“Indeed! Don’t go out too much these few days, lest you accidentally bump into them! Once you contract this illness, there’s no curing it!”

In ancient times, leprosy was an incurable disease. After being infected, one could only be sent to the leprosy colony to await their death.

Gu Jiao suddenly remembered something; Xiao Liulang’s brother seemed to have passed away because of leprosy.

After the soldiers finished searching this street, they went to the next street over.

Gu Jiao returned to the village.

Gu Jiao did not take the matters on the street to heart. After returning to her room, she went to make Yangchun noodles.

Just as she was kneading the dough, there was a loud bang outside the door, as if something had hit against the door to her house.

Gu Jiao wiped her hands with a dry cloth and walked over to take a look. She saw an old lady collapsed in front of her house.

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