As if not daring to be certain, Pei Yan quickly stepped forward a few steps and looked closely.
He confirmed it.
It was Lin Zhaoru!
In his past life, he was the Prime Minister Lin who harmed him and falsely accused him of corruption.
Pei Yan’s mouth was tightly pressed into a line, and his gaze was fixed unblinkingly on Lin Zhaoru.
He wished he could hack this person into pieces with his eyes.
At the same time, he secretly muttered, “How could I have forgotten that this person also studied at the Imperial College.”
Pei Yan thought complexly and resentfully in his heart.
Lin Zhaoru, walking out from the Imperial College, seemed to sense that Pei Yan was looking at him, and cast his gaze over.
Pei Yan did not avoid it and met his gaze.
Lin Zhaoru locked gazes with him for a moment, then walked over and stopped in front of Pei Yan.
“Have we met before? You are looking at me like that!”
Pei Yan sized up Lin Zhaoru. Perhaps because he did not suffer from wind and sun or work as a laborer, the person he saw after rebirth did not change much compared to twenty years ago.
The person before him was about twenty years old, similar in build to himself, with a fair face and regular facial features. Especially those eyes, black and white, very clear and completely harmless, making it really hard to connect him with a sinister villain.
At this moment, Pei Yan tidied up his emotions and said with a relaxed expression, “I have long heard of Young Master Lin’s great name. Indeed, hearing it a hundred times is not as good as seeing it once. Your elegant demeanor at a glance shows that you are someone capable of accomplishing great things.”
No one dislikes being praised.
Lin Zhaoru politely said, “Young Master flatters me. Although I have some literary talent, I am merely an unknown figure at the Imperial College.”
A lingering smile always hung on Pei Yan’s handsome face.
“You are too modest. Your poems and prose are still displayed in the Wenxuan Pavilion.”
In his past life, his father was poisoned and unable to take the imperial examination, and that year he won the second place in the palace examination.
Although it was not first place, it was equivalent to first place because the top scholar of that year passed away due to illness shortly after.
A sharp glint flashed across the depths of Pei Yan’s eyes.
Meeting an enemy so unexpectedly meant he could not simply take a knife and kill the person.
If he did so, he would suffer imprisonment. In this life, his most important matter was to guard by little dad’s side, protect his safety for a lifetime, help him win first place in the imperial examination, and fulfill a major regret of little dad from his past life.
At this moment, Lin Zhaoru spoke up, “I still do not know Young Master’s esteemed name or where you are from.”
His words were simply out of politeness.
Pei Yan: “My humble surname is Pei, with the single given name Yan, courtesy name Yanyan, from the imperial capital. Soon I will also enter the Imperial College to study, and at that time, I kindly request Young Master Lin to look after me more.”
Lin Zhaoru’s clear eyes were filled with friendliness toward Pei Yan, “That is only natural.”
As the two chatted, Pei Yuning walked over.
He knew clearly that Pei Yan was waiting for him.
“You know each other?” Lin Zhaoru asked.
Pei Yan nodded, “We have a very good relationship.”
Pei Yuning pressed his lips together and did not refute, after all, he did not want to attract attention.
“You know each other too?”
Pei Yuning asked Lin Zhaoru politely in a gentle and elegant voice.
“We just became acquainted,” Lin Zhaoru said, then turned to Pei Yan, “The person with the most outstanding literary talent in the Imperial College is Brother Yuning.”
He paused for a moment and added, “Every time we are tested on creating poetry and prose, Brother Yuning is always the first person praised by the tutor.”
Lin Zhaoru’s words made Pei Yan’s eyelashes suddenly lift, and astonishment surged like a rising tide in his pupils.
“You are classmates!”
“Yes, we study in the same classroom, and Brother Yuning is the tutor’s most prized student.”
Saying this, Lin Zhaoru looked at Pei Yuning with a kind smile in his eyes.
“Brother Yuning always keeps a low profile. If he had picked up his brush to leave poems in the Wenxuan Pavilion, the poetry and prose currently displayed there wouldn’t be mine.”
“The tutor appreciates you greatly as well.” After exchanging polite remarks with Lin Zhaoru, Pei Yuning glanced at the sky. Pei Yan immediately caught the hint and cupped his hands toward Lin Zhaoru, “Apologies, we still have important matters to attend to, so we will take our leave first.”
Lin Zhaoru also cupped his hands toward him, “Until we meet again.”
Pei Yuning also politely cupped his hands toward him and then turned to leave.
Pei Yan followed behind his little dad.
Of course, with great situational awareness, he carried his little dad’s knapsack.
Lin Zhaoru stared at the figures of the two, the clear depths of his eyes gradually turning gloomy.
At the same time, Sheng Dong and Sheng Nan, hiding in the trees, wrote down everything they saw in a small booklet.
“Little dad actually went to school with Lin Zhaoru!”
Pei Yuning hurriedly glanced around, making sure no one was listening, before setting his heart at ease. Then he frowned and said to Pei Yan, “Do not let people hear you calling me that.”
Clearly, Pei Yuning had already compromised on being called little dad by Pei Yan, but not when others were around.
Pei Yuning’s temperament was gentle, soft, and easy to bully. For some matters, he would not split hairs and easily compromised.
However, Pei Yan showed not the slightest trace of bullying.
He only wanted to respect him and protect him by his side.
“Little dad, rest assured, I will not call you that indiscriminately in front of people.”
Pei Yuning did not continue this topic, “Although I am classmates with Prime Minister Lin, I know very little about him. If you wish to associate with him, I cannot help you.”
He was actually misunderstood.
Pei Yan suppressed his hatred for Lin Zhaoru and said gently, “I certainly will not associate with such a two-faced villain.”
He glanced at the sugar figure stall by the street.
“I only want to remind little dad to be on guard against such people.”
After speaking, he turned and stepped toward the sugar figure stall on the street, picked a sugar figure shaped like an immortal in white and another shaped like a big white rabbit from the display rack, paid for them, and hurried to catch up.
He handed the sugar figure shaped like the white immortal in white to Pei Yuning’s hand.
“The sugar figures from this place are very delicious, sweet without being greasy, and carry a fresh fruity fragrance.”
Pei Yuning lowered his gaze to look at the sugar figure in his hand.
“I am not a child, I am already seventeen, and I still eat these little snacks.”
Pei Yan’s mouth curved slightly upward, revealing a simple and honest, endearing smile.
“A friend of mine, no matter how old he is, eats these sugar figures, and his father always buys them for him.”
When he was studying at the Imperial College back then, his father had free time and would come to pick him up. Knowing he had a sweet tooth and loved sugary foods, his father bought him sugar figures endlessly.
The stall owner at the stall just now happened to be the same elderly man from back then, except the stall owner had changed from an elderly man in his sixties to a robust man in his thirties.
Time flies and things change drastically over twenty hurried years, but fortunately, he was favored by the heavens and given a chance to live his life anew.
After listening to his words, Pei Yuning said, “Your friend’s father dotes on him a lot. He must be a very good father, right?”
Pei Yan nodded heavily, his eye sockets heating up, “He is the best father, exhausting his whole life to love and protect his child.”
Before Pei Yuning could speak, he added, “In the future, I will buy little dad a lot of snacks.”
He would repay him just like little dad treated him in his past life.
Pei Yuning seemed to recall something, bit the corner of his lip, and instead asked Pei Yan, “How much longer do you intend to follow me?”
Pei Yan thickened his skin and replied, “For a lifetime.”
A crack instantly appeared on Pei Yuning’s fair face.
“No, you are not coming to my house tonight. Let’s part ways right now.”
Pei Yan’s skin was thicker than usual; he responded with a cheeky smile while continuing to follow him.
“Little dad, eat the sugar figure.”
As he spoke, Pei Yan took the first bite, biting off the rabbit’s ears. “Mmm, it has the sweet fragrance of apples, it’s so delicious!” Then he enthusiastically urged Pei Yuning, “Little dad, eat.”
Pei Yuning looked at the big white rabbit sugar figure with its ears bitten off, then lowered his gaze to look at the white immortal sugar figure in his own hand, wearing an expression that was hard to put into words.
“I don’t dare to eat it.”
Seeing that he dared not eat it, Pei Yan bought him crispy fried chicken strips, candied haws, cotton candy, preserved fruits, and meat jerky from the snack stalls along the street.
Along the way, he fed Pei Yuning so much that he wouldn’t even want breakfast tomorrow.
At the same time, taking people’s food makes one soft, and taking people’s things makes one’s hands tied.
Pei Yuning no longer chased Pei Yan away.
Of course, Pei Yuning also felt Pei Yan’s goodwill toward him and understood that Pei Yan was not a bad person.
Thus, this person successfully stayed at the Pei residence for another night.
Early the next morning, the two finished the delicious breakfast cooked by Pei Mother and went out.
However, today Pei Yan did not follow Pei Yuning to the Imperial College.
He needed to deliver his response essay to Xiao Jing’an.
Today was the day Xiao Jing’an would review the essay he drafted and decide whether to recommend him for admission to the Imperial College.
Even though Pei Yan was full of confidence, when the crucial moment arrived, he could not help but feel a bit nervous.
After all, the events that occurred after his rebirth had already deviated somewhat from his past life.
For example, the younger Xiao Jing’an gave him a feeling somewhat different from the middle-aged Xiao Jing’an.
As for what specific differences there were, he couldn’t quite figure it out for a moment.
The carriage stopped in front of the Prince’s Mansion.
Pei Yan held the scroll in one hand, lifted his robe with the other, and got down from the carriage.
The gate of Xiao Jing’an’s residence formed a sharp contrast with the gate of the Pei residence.
Pei Yan raised his eyes to look.
The vermilion gates stood over three zhang high, resembling a giant beast lying horizontally. Nine rows by nine columns of gilded bronze studs shone like stars, and the beast door knockers struck awe into petty villains.
The white jade steps reflected the sun seven times over, the coiled-dragon patterned stone platform vaguely revealed clouds and lightning, the corridors crossed with five-clawed python-patterned beams, glazed tile roof ornaments swallowed the rosy clouds, and stone lions with mane like flames crouched on cloud-patterned sumeru pedestals, fully displaying the luxurious imperial atmosphere.
The two gates were tightly shut, as if isolating the hustle and bustle and disturbance of the world, waiting only for a fated person to knock open this entrance leading to the center of power.
The two guards in martial attire and carrying sabers waiting in front of the gate saw that Pei Yan matched the appearance of their master’s description of this morning’s visitor, exceptionally handsome, with a special pink mole of a unique color on his chin.
“You must be Young Master Yan?”
Pei Yan nodded.
The guard pushed the gate open and made a gesture of invitation.
Pei Yan politely offered a conventional pleasantry of “troubling you,” then lifted his robe and stepped through the gates.
The architecture inside the residence was naturally grand and magnificent as well; merely the Taihu stone rockery in the courtyard occupied half an mu, layered like miniature peaks, comparable to a wealthy household’s estate.
As soon as Pei Yan walked into the residence, a middle-aged man came forward to greet him.
With a warm expression, he stepped forward and said, “I am the steward of the residence. Young Master Yan, this way please.”
Pei Yan nodded politely to him and followed him toward a grand hall ahead.
The bluestone bricks paved underfoot resembled a quiet blue ocean.
The lotus-carved pathway was flanked by stone lamps, leading deeply into the halls.
In his past life, Pei Yan had seen plenty of grand scenes, yet for some reason, walking here, his heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
Especially when passing by a tree, Pei Yan’s mind felt chaotic for a split second.
Fortunately, he immediately regained his clarity.
He sniffed lightly; there was a medicinal scent nearby, and this herbal medicine seemed to be mixed with a faint trace of bloody odor.
Pei Yan’s gaze involuntarily fell upon that tree.
He had never seen this type of tree in the imperial capital; the center of every fan-shaped green leaf had a tiny dot of red.
That dot of red involuntarily reminded him of the cinnabar mole between the muddle-headed emperor’s brows.
However, this thought vanished in an instant.
He withdrew his gaze and continued walking with the steward.
Meanwhile, in the shaded area of that tree out of Pei Yan’s sight, a sealed mysterious pottery jar was placed.
The servant waiting by the hall door saw Pei Yan approaching and pushed open the hall doors.
Pei Yan took a deep breath, stepped forward, and walked inside.
Xiao Jing’an sat upright upon an amber jade chair. Today he had changed into a black and gold Kesi silk python robe, bound at the waist with a golden swirl-patterned embroidered belt, the patterns on the belt intricate and complex.
He wore a high crown of the same color, with the crown ribbons on both sides hanging down fluttering like a waterfall, adding a sense of ethereal elegance.
His handsome face seemed meticulously sculpted, and his night-sky-like black eyes were mysterious and unfathomable, making it impossible to see through the true emotions hidden within.
His temperament was as cold and detached as an isolated pine on a snow mountain, yet he also carried a touch of suave and elegant charm.
When he slightly raised his eyes, that aura of ruling over the world naturally revealed itself.
[Damn, this little enchanting guy, he’s really alluring!]
Xiao Jing’an was amused almost to the point of being unable to keep a straight face by Pei Yan’s inner voice, suppressing his smile over and over again.
How could Pei Yan know that his inner voice had already been heard by the person before him? Putting on a deadpan expression, he cupped his hands in a scholarly bow and said, “C… I pay my respects to B… You.”
This single sentence gave Pei Yan a tremendously difficult and aggrieved time.
The person on the seat would not allow him to address himself as a “commoner,” nor would he allow him to address him as the “Eighth Prince,” yet failed to clarify how he should address him.
[This turtle, he really doesn’t do human things.]
On the surface, Pei Yan wore a respectful expression, but inside he was cursing madly.
Xiao Jing’an’s exterior remained calm and waveless, but how he felt inside was known only to himself.
“Why are you standing there in a daze? Why don’t you quickly present your completed essay.”
Being so unfriendly right from the first sentence, Pei Yan thought to himself [Did this muddle-headed emperor eat gunpowder today? His temper flares up the moment he starts.]
“Yes.” Pei Yan respectfully stepped forward and presented the scroll in his hand to Xiao Jing’an.