Chapter 313: Eight miles of fireworks (1/2)

Chapter 313: Eight miles of fireworks

Translator: Sparrow TranslationsEditor: Sparrow Translations

The next day, before the break of dawn, many of the officials were gathered, wining and dining as they waited for dawn.

”You may all leave, the Emperor is not coming today.” A crisp voice rang out throughout the hall. Then, a figure in palace robes came through the door.

”The Emperor is not coming?”

”How does Eunuch Wei know about this?”

All of the officials were stunned by what Eunuch Wei just announced.

Ever since he took the throne, Emperor Lin Mubai had rarely been absent from court. This caused all the officials to wonder if something major had happened.

”I have no idea.” Eunuch Wei shook his head, but showed no intention to leave.

”Eunuch Wei is the Emperor’s personal aide. Even if you do not know what happened, you should know where the Emperor is currently right? Could you enlighten us?” One of the officials asked when he saw Eunuch Wei stay.

”Since Official Li has asked, I will tell all of you the truth. The Emperor spent the night in the Imperial Decree Hall. He is still there, but I really do not know why he is not coming today.”

”I see, thank you Eunuch Wei!” Official Li shook Eunuch Wei’s arm, then discreetly dropped a tael of silver into his sleeve.

”Official Li need not be so courteous. The Emperor still required my presence. I will make my move first.” Eunuch Wei said flatly as he bowed to the officials and took his leave.

Very quickly, the hall became rather chaotic.

”The Emperor is in the Imperial Decree Hall?”

”But, this is not the memorial period, what is the Emperor doing there?”

”Could he be marking the scripts there? After all, this is the first time the Emperor has not given us the scripts to read.”

”Official Sun does make sense. But why would the Emperor read the scripts there and not in the imperial library?”

”I am afraid that the Emperor values this court examination more than we can guess. The fact that he is personally marking all 200 scripts is testament to this fact.”

”What does Left Prime Minister Yu think of this?”

All of the officials finished their discussions and looked in unison towards the silent, red robed, Yu Yiping.

”Guessing the Emperor’s intentions is not something we should do. The results will be announced in four days. Usually, the Emperor will meet with the top ten candidates before the results are announced. All we have to do is wait.” Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping sipped his tea and replied flatly.

”What Left Prime Minister Yu says is right!”

”Since that is the case, we should leave.”

”Official Wang, I hear that you managed to get an exquisite blood jade. Under sunlight it looks like blood flows within. Could you let us take a look?”

”This exquisite blood jade is one of the rarest jades. There is barely one every century. Official Wang should not be too selfish about it!”

”Hahaha... I got this exquisite blood jade by chance as well. It is my honor for Official Qin and all of you other valued officials to take a look at it. I will prepare some drinks at my place later. I hope you will all drop by.”

”We will definitely be there.”

”Hahaha...”

All of the officials left the hall in groups.

At this point, Left Prime MInister Yu Yiping stood up and looked towards the Imperial Decree Hall. He frowned, ”Imperial Decree Hall?”

...

Winter was coming. The fallen leaves covered the capital like a golden armor. They formed a soft carpet for people to tread on.

Time continued to pass.

It had been three days. It was only one more day to the results for the court examination. Everyone was engaged in heated discussions and guesses about the results.

The capital was the gathering place for everyone. There were businessmen coming to trade, and commoners coming to look for work.

If one did not do anything whilst they were young, then their youth was wasted.

The younger one was, the more risks they could take.

To the youths of the capital, this was great news to them! They were simply going to enjoy as much as they could whilst they were young.

Wen Dabao had a keen nose for such fireworks. Even though he enjoyed living the high life, he was not talented in any way.

However, this did not stop him from wanting the luxuries in life.

He decided to find himself a talent. That way, with a talented buddy, he could truly become someone admirable.

The talent in this case was naturally Fang Zhengzhi.

Other than Fang Zhengzhi, Wen Dabao could not find a second person who would be willing to join him on his escapades.

Fang Zhengzhi was getting rather bored nowadays. He had basically finished all of the delicacies in the capital. He had also seen virtually all the sights there were to see.

His life was basically wining, dining and having fun.

Fang Zhengzhi felt that he had done everything except for having fun. He had read that the ‘fireworks’ in the past were quite different from the ‘fireworks’ that he had experienced in his previous world.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was the ten mile long Qinhuai River. On one of its banks was the examination grounds for the metropolitan examination. On the other bank was the gathering point for everyone looking for some fun.

The beauties of Qinhuai were famous throughout history.

They sold their arts and not their bodies. That was the beauty of the ancient ‘fireworks’.

Fang Zhengzhi was still a minor, so he still had some boundaries. He would not let himself go too far. All he wanted to do was admire and enjoy. After he looked at Wen Dabao, he turned to look at Yan Xiu, who was still enjoying his tea.

He was surprised that Yan Xiu agreed to come without hesitation.

Indeed, one should not judge a book by its cover. The wants and desires of the people here were not that much different from those of his previous world.

”You’re going to see fireworks? How can you leave me out?” Ping Yang appeared just as they were about to leave.

”These... fireworks are not actually fireworks!” Fang Zhengzhi blushed. He felt so embarrassed, almost as if he had just been caught in bed with another woman.

”Duh... I know that you are going to drink and listen to music. Do you really think that I am a stranger to such places? I know them better than you do!” Ping Yang glanced at Fang Zhengzhi scornfully, her head raised.