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Ning Zhiyuan"s close relationship with Xiao Liulang was not well-known to outsiders.
Old Second Wu, the coachman, had accidentally encountered them a few times and only then learned that Ning Zhiyuan and Xiao Liulang were very close in private.
He was tight-lipped and didn"t blabber about it.
However, now that Ning Zhiyuan was in trouble, Old Second Wu couldn"t care about that anymore.
"What happened to Ning Zhiyuan?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Old Second Wu looked anxious as he replied worriedly, "He broke an antique inkstone in the Literary Splendor Pavilion. I heard it belonged to the late Emperor... What should we do? If he"s held accountable, Junior Compiler Ning"s career will be in jeopardy!"
Damaging a possession of the imperial family was indeed a serious offense, and even Chancellor Han wouldn"t be able to protect Ning Zhiyuan.
The Literary Splendor Pavilion wasn’t far from the examination compound. Xiao Liulang instructed the people from the examination compound to go ahead while he dealt with some matters and would join them later.
Shortly after, Xiao Liulang and Old Second Wu headed to the Literary Splendor Pavilion.
Every detail of the Literary Splendor Pavilion, from its plants and trees to its bricks and tiles, remained the same as in the past, and the fragrant scent of osmanthus easily awakened people"s memories.
Xiao Liulang"s expression became trance-like for a moment.
"Senior Compiler Xiao, Senior Compiler Xiao?" Old Second Wu called out to him.
Xiao Liulang snapped out of his thoughts, looked at Old Second Wu, and said, "I"m fine. Where is he?"
But without waiting for Old Second Wu to show him the way, Xiao Liulang nodded and added, "I got it, at the Yinfeng Courtyard."
With that, he strode towards the Yinfeng Courtyard.
Old Second Wu was perplexed, "I don"t remember telling Senior Compiler Xiao he"s at the Yinfeng Courtyard... And has he been here before? How does he know where the Yinfeng Courtyard is?"
The Literary Splendor Pavilion consisted of one pavilion building and three courtyards. The pavilion building was called the Literary Splendor Pavilion, which was used to house books. The Yinlan Courtyard was Princess Xinyang"s private courtyard, while the Yintao Courtyard served as a guest residence. Only the Yinfeng Courtyard housed antique treasures and some cla.s.sical books in need of restoration.
Chancellor Han had come here today because Princess Xinyang had brought back a large box of renowned paintings from Mount Fengdu, as well as the two books "Mencius" and "Doctrine of the Mean" with annotations by the esteemed Scholar Zhuge from the previous dynasty.
Princess Xinyang intended to present these two books as gifts to the Hanlin Academy.
Since these books had just been brought back and were to be immediately given away, they were not placed in the book repository but temporarily stored in the Yinfeng Courtyard.
Xiao Liulang arrived at the Yinfeng Courtyard as if he knew the way by heart.
He realized that it wasn’t that nothing had changed here, at least none of the current people in here were familiar faces.
Nowadays, the person in charge of the Literary Splendor Pavilion shared the same surname as Old Second Wu. He was nearing fifty years old but looked like he was only in his early forties.
The incident had caused quite a commotion. Not only Xiao Liulang, but even several a.s.sistant managers of the Literary Splendor Pavilion had also come.
Ning Zhiyuan was brought here by Chancellor Han, and if something went wrong, he couldn"t escape responsibility. He was currently pleading with the managers, asking if he could take the inkstone with him. The Hanlin Academy had a Five Cla.s.sics Scholar skilled in restoring antiques, and perhaps they could give it a try at fixing it.
However, the managers did not give Chancellor Han that face and insisted on detaining Ning Zhiyuan until Princess Xinyang made a decision.
"Lord Han." Xiao Liulang walked over, bowing to Chancellor Han and then glancing at Ning Zhiyuan beside him.
Upon seeing him, Ning Zhiyuan reacted as if he had found a lifesaver, "Liulang!"
Chancellor Han frowned and said, "Didn"t you go to the examination compound? Why are you here? This is not something you should meddle in. Leave quickly."
Xiao Liulang replied, "Cla.s.ses at the examination compound don’t start this early. I heard there was an incident here, and Ning Zhiyuan is someone I recommended. If it weren"t for me, he wouldn"t have gotten into this situation."
"Liulang..." Ning Zhiyuan corrected his address of him, "Senior Compiler Xiao, don"t say that. It was my own carelessness that caused the inkstone to fall. It has nothing to do with you."
Xiao Liulang didn"t rush to rea.s.sure Ning Zhiyuan but instead looked at the managers in front of him, "Can I have a look at the inkstone?"
Seeing Xiao Liulang dressed in the official attire of the Hanlin Academy, Manager Wu recognized him as a Hanlin official. He didn"t refuse his request, however... Looking at Xiao Liulang"s lame leg and crutch, there was a strange look within Manager Wu"s eyes.
Xiao Liulang was already accustomed to such scrutiny and stood there calmly, neither submissive nor arrogant. He waited as one of the staff members of the Literary Splendor Pavilion carefully brought the broken inkstone on a tray.
It was an imperial inkstone used by the third-generation monarch of the Daxi Dynasty, an antique from the previous dynasty.
No wonder the managers of the Literary Splendor Pavilion were so nervous.
However, this inkstone wasn"t broken by Ning Zhiyuan; it had been broken long ago by the young Xiao Heng.
Fearing Princess Xinyang spanking his bottom as punishment, he had asked Long Yi to bring some fishing float glue, and he haphazardly repaired it himself.
In other words, Ning Zhiyuan had indeed been implicated by him.
Xiao Liulang calmly said, "This inkstone was originally already broken."
"You"re talking nonsense!" Manager Wu raised his voice, "How could it be already broken? Are you insinuating that we broke the inkstone and blamed it on your Hanlin Academy?"
Ning Zhiyuan was also somewhat doubtful at first, but since n.o.body believed him, he didn"t dare voice his doubts. Now that Xiao Liulang spoke up, he gained some confidence, "I don"t think I broke it either. The floor underneath is made of wood, and the inkstone was not placed high. Who knows how it broke into two pieces with just a light knock..."
Chancellor Han looked at Xiao Liulang and asked, "Do you have any evidence?"
Although he didn"t want Ning Zhiyuan to be guilty, he also didn"t want others to take the blame just to exonerate Ning Zhiyuan.
Princess Xinyang wasn"t someone with a good temper, and falsely accusing her subordinates would have severe consequences.
Xiao Liulang handed the inkstone to Chancellor Han, "This crack has been there for some years, and there are traces of fishing float glue used to repair it. If the managers don"t believe me, they can invite Erudite Nie, the Five Cla.s.sics Scholar at our Hanlin Academy, as well as the Chief of the Imperial Academy. They will confirm it."
Erudite Nie was the Five Cla.s.sics Scholar skilled in restoring antiques.
As for the Imperial Academy Chief, not only could he identify antiques, he could also create their counterfeits.
Upon hearing this, Chancellor Han immediately sent someone to the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Academy to invite the two professionals.
After careful examination, the two professionals confirmed that Xiao Liulang"s words were true. The inkstone had indeed been damaged for quite some time.
However, the managers still seemed skeptical.
Chancellor Han smiled faintly, "I understand if the managers don"t trust our Hanlin Academy, but do you also distrust the Imperial Academy? Our Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Academy have no relationship whatsoever!"
It was the truth. Who didn’t know that the Hanlin Academy belonged to the camp of Grand Preceptor Zhuang, and that Grand Preceptor Zhuang and the Chief of the Imperial Academy each did things in their own ways.
Old Chief: What about my disciple being in the Hanlin Academy?Raz P."s Thoughts
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