If one asked who all under heaven was best at cursing people out, it had to be scholars!
A barrage of sharp sarcasm, followed by counter-sarcasm, laid Li Yang bare from top to bottom.
So he was just a watered-down wastrel…
People with roughly equal strength who acted arrogant were called villains; people with no strength but still acted arrogant were ants. Gu Lan naturally would not bother with an ant.
But just then, a sudden commotion broke out in the line!
“Today’s roster is full. Come back tomorrow!”
The yamen runner (a low-ranking law enforcement officer in imperial China who served in the local government office, or yamen) had been writing all day and was exhausted beyond measure. Seeing that it was already late, he simply got off work, and his tone carried a hint of impatience.
The scholars lined up at the front drooped their heads in disappointment, looking very discouraged.
Helpless, they could only stretch their sore legs and feet and prepare to head home.
However.
Li Yang, who had just arrived, was different. He seemed not to have taken the yamen runner’s words to heart at all and still walked right up to the roster table.
“What?”
The yamen runner clearly knew him too.
“Brother yamen runner, do me a favor. I don’t want to have come all this way for nothing. Add one more name.”
Once Li Yang finished speaking, the surrounding scholars all looked annoyed.
They had worked hard and queued all day without saying anything, yet a queue-jumper who had just arrived actually wanted to ignore the rules?
The yamen runner also looked at him like he was an idiot. “No!”
“Brother yamen runner, you may not know who my sister is.”
The corners of Li Yang’s mouth curved into a smile.
“Who is your sister? Isn’t she just one of the Lord’s bedchamber maids? Get lost, get lost!”
The yamen runner was already displeased by his tone of throwing his weight around!
Besides, nobody was stupid. If he pulled strings for him so openly, would everyone else be willing to accept it? You didn’t even offer a bribe…
Li Yang’s smile instantly vanished, and his expression turned ugly!
He thought he was a young master, but everyone else knew that he was merely the younger brother of a bedchamber maid!
“This yamen runner has quite the temperament,” Gu Lan said with a laugh.
The people around them laughed too.
“Heh, isn’t that right!”
“A pheasant is still a pheasant. Even if it flies up onto a branch, it still can’t become a phoenix!”
“…”
Nearby, Lin Lu said nothing.
Hearing the yamen runner say that things were over for the day, he was quite happy inside.
Because he could go back and tell his sister again that he had not managed to get in line today and couldn’t pay the registration fee.
If he could drag it out for one more day, his elder sister would not have to rush so hard to scrape together the money…
“Brother Gu, I’m heading home first. My sister is still waiting for me.”
“Mm.”
Gu Lan waved goodbye.
At that moment, the yamen runner who had gotten up to stretch his legs happened to walk over this way and overheard their conversation.
The yamen runner looked Gu Lan up and down, hesitation flickering in his eyes.
“Young Master, you… your surname is Gu. Are you the Gu Lan Young Master of Gu Teahouse?”
Hm??
This yamen runner had already been the focus of everyone present. The moment he asked that question, all the scholars who had not yet gone home turned to look.
Including Li Yang, who had just been humiliated.
“That’s me. You know me?” Gu Lan raised an eyebrow.
Today was truly strange. Was his surname actually this recognizable?
“I don’t know you, but perhaps…”
Halfway through, the yamen runner still seemed unable to confirm Gu Lan’s identity. He hurriedly said, “Then please wait here for a moment, all right? I’ll go call the prefect lord.”
“All right.”
Gu Lan nodded, feeling somewhat baffled.
At this moment, the looks from the people nearby all changed!
“Brother, do you know the prefect lord of our Langzhou City?”
“I don’t.”
Gu Lan answered lightly.
“Then why did that yamen runner suddenly change his attitude just now, and at such a late hour, he can still go invite the prefect lord for you?”
“Brother, with a connection to the prefect lord and still queuing honestly, you really are hiding your depth!”
“…”
For a moment, everyone spoke over one another, every word carrying flattery!
They also did not forget to sneer at Li Yang, the “fake connected one”!
Left hanging to one side, Li Yang was seething. When he looked at Gu Lan, his eyes were instantly full of jealousy!
“The prefect lord went to sleep long ago. How could he possibly come because of this guy? You fools, didn’t you see that even the yamen runner wasn’t sure?”
For the sake of saving face, Li Yang gave a hollow retort.
But at this moment, before the words had even faded.
The lights in the prefectural yamen, which had all been extinguished, suddenly lit up, and the central gate symbolizing major official proceedings slowly opened!
Two rows of yamen runners ran out in neat formation, and a little old man wearing a blue official robe and a black gauze hat came out from behind them with a broad smile!
Wasn’t this the current prefect lord of Langzhou Prefecture!
When Li Yang saw him, his heart jolted, and he was just about to call out brother-in-law as he usually did.
But then he heard the prefect ask respectfully!
“May I ask… which one is Young Master Gu Lan?”
Li Yang turned to stone on the spot!
“Over here.”
Gu Lan waved helplessly.
Seeing that handsome face of his, the prefect’s mung-bean-sized eyes instantly lit up. It seemed he had confirmed Gu Lan’s identity!
“Aiya, Young Master Gu, what a coincidence!”
“There just happens to be one spot left on today’s roster! Here, autumn provincial examinations… Langzhou Provincial Administration Commission No. 295. This is your imperial examination plate number. Please keep it safe!”
The prefect said ingratiatingly, the wrinkles on his face nearly bunching into a single mass from smiling. He bent over and handed a small iron token to Gu Lan.
The scholars present were all dumbfounded!
Holy shit, didn’t they say the prefect liked putting on stuffy official airs? Why was he so down-to-earth with Gu Lan? So approachable he was practically about to kneel and kowtow!
He truly loved the people like a father!
“Did you mistake me for someone else?” Gu Lan asked in confusion.
“Of course not… and didn’t I say there really was one plate number left? Young Master, just keep it with peace of mind!”
The prefect chuckled and said, “Oh, right, Young Master, this humble official is named Dou Fu. I hope you will give me plenty of guidance in the future!”
Everyone: !!!
A dignified prefect actually used the self-deprecating term “this humble official” toward a mere commoner. This was simply absurd…
Gu Lan also could not make sense of it and still wanted to ask more, but this Dou Fu seemed afraid to say too much. He quickly claimed he had matters to attend to and led his men back into the yamen.
Li Yang still wanted to squeeze over and exchange a few pleasantries, but the prefect ignored him and kicked him into the stone lion beside him!
All the lights in the prefectural yamen went out!
On the long street, everything was silent at this moment!
Gu Lan looked at the number plate in his hand, wondering whether it was some friend of the original host’s ancestors who had happened to become an official at court and, knowing he was taking part in this year’s autumn provincial examinations, had arranged a connection for him?
But how high-ranking would that official have to be to make a regional prefect act like that?
“Haha! Brother Gu, what good fortune. Your rise straight to the top is just around the corner!”
Lin Lu said enviously, but his eyes were very clear, holding only blessings and not the slightest trace of the jealousy that others displayed, more or less.
“If I say I don’t know him, would you believe me?” Gu Lan spread his hands.
“I would. But Brother Gu is usually kind and generous, so perhaps you made some friends without realizing it.”
Lin Lu felt that a good person like Gu Lan deserved such good luck.
“Brother Gu, my elder sister is still waiting for me. Farewell!”
“Hey, then… you should still go take the exam. If you really pass, I can lend you the money!”
“…Okay!”
…
After everything outside finally fell silent.
Inside the pitch-dark prefectural yamen, Dou Fu asked the yamen runner who was recording the roster and crouching by the crack in the door, “Have Young Master Gu and the others left?”
“They’ve left, Lord.”
“Phew! Good, good. This matter is settled at last. I can finally go back and get a good night’s sleep!”
“Surely it isn’t that serious, Lord. Could it be that you haven’t been able to sleep these past few days because of this?” the yamen runner teased.
“You know nothing!”
Dou Fu rolled his eyes and said in a low voice, “Do you know who came to ask this favor for Young Master Gu? If I told you, it’d scare you to death!”
“Who?”
Seeing him so serious, the yamen runner also grew a little timid.
“The capital, the Xuantian Bureau!” the prefect said in a low voice, glaring.
The Xuantian Bureau supervised all officials. Even the many grandees at court feared it like a tiger… In this world, who else could possibly command the Xuantian Bureau?
A moment later.
The little yamen runner’s mouth fell wide open, and he was so shocked he plopped down on the ground!
Holy shit…