The Farm Girl's Charismatic Fortune-Chapter 310 - 306: Knocking on the Door

Xuanyuan Que had someone transport the palace lantern out and send it to the Princess Residence.

Ruo Xuan said cheerily, "Before sending it to the Princess Residence, let’s take it around the main streets of the Capital City so that everyone can admire this beautiful lantern!"

Xuanyuan Que: "..."

It wasn’t about showing off the lantern to the public— rather it was about showing off her own beauty, right?

Such a vain flower!

Xuanyuan Que nodded expressionlessly.

Ruo Xuan: "Brother Xuanyuan, I want to sit atop the lantern and parade it through the street."

In truth, she longed to stand on top of the lantern, but given its height, she guessed her parents would not approve, fearing it was too dangerous.

Xuanyuan Que: "..."

"Suit yourself!"

"Brother Xuanyuan, come and parade through the streets with me!"

"I do not want to!" Xuanyuan Que flatly refused.

"Really don’t want to?"

"No!"

"Alright! How unfortunate. If Brother Xuanyuan paraded with me, wouldn’t we look like a pair of deities descending to the mortal realm?"

Xuanyuan Que: "..."

Ruo Xuan didn’t press him. When the eunuchs had hoisted the lantern onto the cart, she scurried over and clambered aboard.

Xuanyuan Que approached her, climbed up, and sat beside her.

Ruo Xuan: "Didn’t Brother Xuanyuan say he didn’t want to?"

Xuanyuan Que: "Tonight, many scholars will be out on the streets to see the lanterns. It will be a good opportunity for that person to make a move."

Ruo Xuan had a sudden realization: "Oh, right!"

So, on the Lantern Festival that night, Ruo Xuan, along with the lantern, made her way down the main streets, garnering a wave of praise.

Some praised the beauty of the lantern; others praised her beauty.

To Ruo Xuan, whether the praise was for the lantern or for her, it all felt like praise for her.

Of all the lanterns in the Capital City, hers was the most beautiful!

Xuanyuan Que watched with a cold face as she merrily waved and charmed the crowd.

It was unbelievable—how could he have done something so foolish?

Seeing the amazed looks in people’s eyes, she felt that the human world’s Lantern Festival was truly beautiful!

"Brother Xuanyuan, from now on, gift me a ’Lantern King’ every year! I want to ride the lantern cart in the parade every year."

Xuanyuan Que: "..."

He suddenly felt as if he was masochistically looking for trouble. Why on earth had he facilitated such a lantern spectacle?

Ruo Xuan: "Brother Xuanyuan, did you notice anything?"

Just now, she was so occupied with listening to everyone’s compliments that she hadn’t paid attention to the people around her.

Xuanyuan Que: "..."

Neither had he, so irritated that he’d forgotten everything else.

"Hmm," he murmured noncommittally.

Ruo Xuan felt reassured!

~

After the Lantern Festival passed, the spring imperial examinations drew gradually nearer, and the entire Capital City fell under a pall of tense anxiety.

More unfamiliar faces showed up on the streets; the guesthouses in the city became busier with each passing day, with prices soaring by the day as well.

Inns, tea houses, restaurants, and pleasure quarters were filled with people dressed as scholars, all engaging in lively discussions about learning, or exchanging news they had gathered.

When someone from the family is participating in the spring imperial examinations, the house is so quiet you can hear a needle drop; there’s not even the sound of footsteps.

The people from the Princess Residence nevertheless carried on as usual, Ruo Shui and Ruo Shan went out to visit the bookstore every day.

The bookstores in Capital City were much larger than those in Shaxi County, and they had many more books. The two brothers would buy several books every day to take home.

They were thinking of printing them later and selling them in their own bookstore.

By the sixth day of the second month, there were only two days left until the start of the imperial examinations. The scholars increased in numbers in every tavern, teahouse, and bookstore, and every inn in Capital City was fully booked.

In the evening, Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang spent half a day in the bookstore, bought a few books, and then headed back to the Residence.

They had hardly reached the gates of the Princess Residence when they heard an excited voice: "Brother-in-law! I’ve finally found you!"

Ruo Shui looked over and saw Jia Shijie, accompanied by several men, running towards them excitedly.

Jia Shijie reached the Ruo brothers, looked up at the imposing gate of the Princess Residence, touched the stone lions in front of the gate, and his eyes were filled with unstoppable envy.

Having such a large mansion in Capital City was such a fortunate thing!

Several scholars following Jia Shijie were also observing the magnificent Princess Residence with its red walls and green tiles.

The compound’s wall alone took up half the street; how big was it inside?

"Brother Jia, is this your brother-in-law’s home?"

"How many courtyards does this residence have? It looks so large! There must be plenty of rooms inside, right?"

"Brother Jia, your brother-in-law is?"

Living in the Princess Residence, what kind of status did his brother-in-law hold?

It surely couldn’t be a prince consort, right?

Ruo Shui watched them calmly and asked indifferently, "Is there anything Brother Jia needs?"

Jia Shijie replied with a smile, "My sister and brother-in-law sent me to bring you some items."

Ruo Shui was slightly surprised inside but still said, "Brother Jia has worked hard; I will write a thank-you letter to my brother-in-law later. May I know what items my sister and brother-in-law have brought for me?"

Ruo Shui looked at him, waiting for him to bring out the items.

Jia Shijie said, "The items are in my bundle; it’s inconvenient to take them out here. Shall we enter the residence to sit, and then I’ll take them out?"

Jia Shijie didn’t give Ruo Shui a chance to respond and then said to his companions: "Gentlemen, this is Ruo Jiang, and this is Ruo Shui. The two brothers are Shaxi County’s Jieyuan and Second Top Scholar. Fellow scholars, I met these people along the way, and they come from various places. This is He Yao, a scholar from Yonghe County, this one is from...."

The scholars greeted the Ruo brothers with clasped fists and salutations one after another.

"Ruo brothers, I am He Yao from Yonghe County, I have long admired you, truly a pleasure to meet!"

"Ruo brothers, I hail from Zhangzhou County, Panxi; I have long admired the great names of the Ruo brothers; meeting you today is indeed extraordinary!"

"Ruo brothers...."

.....

After they finished introducing themselves, Jia Shijie said, "Ruo brothers, shall we go inside first, and then I will give you the items?"

Once inside, he had ways to linger and not leave.

In reality, their group had entered the city at noon today, but they had arrived too late and searched the whole city without finding a single empty room at the inns.

Later, Jia Shijie thought of the Ruo party, which had already arrived in the capital, and remembered that Ruo Xuan was a Commandery Princess and the Emperor had even bestowed a mansion upon her, so he asked around and finally found his way here. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

At this moment, he was both tired and hungry, wishing only to get inside the residence and rest.

As for the claim in his excuse that Liu Wenyao had sent them items, it was pure nonsense, a pretext for his visit.

Later, he would just take out a purse, put a hundred coins in it, and present it directly, claiming it to be a gift from Zhang Chengye and his wife, hoping for their success in the examination.

Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang returned the greetings to the few men.

Even though Ruo Jiang could see Jia Shijie’s purpose, as Jia Shijie was a relative from his younger sister’s mother’s side, it wasn’t his place to say anything; besides, the Princess Residence belonged to Xuanbao, so he didn’t have the right to interject, leaving it to Ruo Shui to handle.

Ruo Shui said to Jia Shijie, "Today we have honored guests at home, and it’s not convenient to host Brother Jia. Let’s meet tomorrow at Guming Teahouse at noon. Brother Jia, you must have just arrived in the Capital City, right? While there’s still light, you had better find an inn to settle down early!"

After finishing his words, Ruo Shui then said to Ruo Jiang, "Second brother, let’s go inside!"

Jia Shijie, getting anxious, hurried forward to pull Ruo Shui, "Brother Ruo, wait a moment!"