Looking at the scroll presented by Pei Yan with both hands, Xiao Jing’an wanted to make things difficult for him and refused to take it.
He wanted to let him stay bent over like that for a while.
However, the moment Pei Yan handed the scroll to Xiao Jing’an, a burst of inner voice drifted leisurely over.
And smashed right onto someone’s face.
[Muddle-headed emperor, you wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for me and refuse to take the scroll, right?]
[Hmph, if he does that, he is a turtle and a bastard.]
Suddenly, a pair of well-articulated hands, carrying a bit of wildness, took the scroll from his hand.
Pei Yan raised his eyes and quickly glanced at the person in front of him who seemed to be frozen with a layer of ice crystals.
[Why has the muddle-headed emperor developed an extra bad habit of being moody!]
Xiao Jing’an knitted his brows tightly, swept a glance at Pei Yan with his eyes, and then lowered his gaze to open the scroll in his hand and look at it.
However, his brows knitted even tighter.
The corners of his lips also tightened up.
The steward who came in to deliver tea saw this scene and couldn’t help shaking his head.
It seemed that the young master’s essay failed to catch the master’s eye.
His request was probably going to fall through completely.
The steward poured a cup of tea and placed it on the side table next to Xiao Jing’an, then poured another cup of tea and brought it over to Pei Yan, “Young Master Yan, please have some tea.”
“Sorry to trouble you.”
Pei Yan politely took the tea cup.
He loved drinking tea, and under normal circumstances, he would definitely savor the fragrant tea in his hand properly.
But right now he had no such mood at all.
Pei Yan’s gaze lingered vaguely and intermittently on Xiao Jing’an.
Waiting for his review result.
“Weren’t you quite conceited?”
Xiao Jing’an raised his eyes, evidently noticing that Pei Yan’s attention was entirely focused on him.
“Why are you getting nervous now!”
Pei Yan held the tea cup in his hand, his handsome face gentle: “I am not conceited, I am fully confident.”
He paused for a moment, lowering his gaze to look at the gold-traced tea cup in his hand: “However, although I am fully confident, it seems you harbor prejudices against me, and I am afraid you might not find this article of mine entirely satisfactory.”
Having said that, Pei Yan bowed slightly, showing a devout and apologetic posture: “My words lacked propriety, and I am willing to accept punishment.”
The previous sentence was indeed a bit unbridled, but the next sentence immediately made up for it.
If Xiao Jing’an punished him, it would make him appear narrow-minded and lacking in magnanimity.
“I will not punish your impudence for this.”
“But let this be an example.”
As he spoke, Xiao Jing’an’s gaze fell once again upon the article written by Pei Yan that he held in his hand.
“The words contain wind and thunder, and the reasoning runs through mountains and rivers, it should be passed down alongside famous literary works!”
A simple sentence, yet it gave extremely high praise.
“Only.”
Xiao Jing’an hesitated slightly for a moment.
“Why do I have a vague sense of deja vu regarding this article drafted by Yanqing?”
Pei Yan’s expression was resolute: “Please rest assured, this article of mine has absolutely no plagiarism whatsoever.”
[It is simply an article you drafted on a whim during your fortieth birthday, copied word for word without missing a single character.]
Xiao Jing’an’s eyebrow twitched fiercely.
[When you read your own article, naturally you will have a sense of deja vu.]
Xiao Jing’an’s eyebrow twitched again.
[Hehe, I guessed that you, this conceited muddle-headed emperor, would give extremely high praise to the article you drafted yourself, which is why I was so fully confident.]
Xiao Jing’an’s eyebrow twitched yet again.
Even the space between his eyebrows turned dark.
“What is wrong with the space between your eyebrows?”
[Twitching and twitching and twitching!]
Pei Yan’s sharp eyes noticed the subtle change between Xiao Jing’an’s eyebrows.
“Your complexion doesn’t look too good either!”
Xiao Jing’an pinched the scroll in his hand until his knuckles turned white, while using his other hand to massage the space between his eyebrows: “My head suddenly hurts.”
Pei Yan expressed concern for him: “You must pay more attention to your health and find a physician to thoroughly examine and treat you.”
“It’s nothing.”
[I was just being hypocritical, I don’t really want you to go see a doctor. You’re wasting my time.]
“You still need to rest more, so I will no longer disturb your precious time.” Pei Yan held the tea cup for a moment, then feigned hesitation and asked: “If you feel this article of mine is acceptable, then may I go to the Imperial College.”
“You can, you can go tomorrow.”
Pei Yan hurriedly placed the tea cup onto the small table beside him, bowed gratefully with cupped hands, and made a deep bow toward Xiao Jing’an.
“Thank you for your generosity, which allows me to realize my dream of entering the Imperial College to study.”
“A dream?” Xiao Jing’an gave a light sneer: “Pei Yan, do not treat me like a three-year-old child and try to fool me. You are entering the Imperial College because of Pei Yuning.”
This “Pei Yan” addressed by Xiao Jing’an made Pei Yan confirm his own suspicion.
“You sent someone to track me.”
Pei Yan said these words very politely.
Xiao Jing’an neither confirmed nor denied it.
However, no matter how Pei Yan guessed, he could never figure out that Xiao Jing’an knew his real name not by sending someone to track him.
Pei Yan continued unhurriedly: “My surname is ‘Pei’, with the single given name ‘Yan’, and courtesy name ‘Yanqing’, so Yanqing is also my given name, and I did not deceive you.”
He added: “If you do not believe what I say, you can send someone to ask the Imperial College student Lin Zhaoru.”
[Yesterday I introduced myself to him just like that, that treacherous fellow is my witness.]
It turned out Pei Yan had been prepared all along.
In his past life, after all, he had stayed by Xiao Jing’an’s side for eight years and knew his style of doing things, sending secret guards to tail people was a common occurrence.
[This old fellow is a match made in heaven for Lin Zhaoru, a pair of jackals colluding together.]
With a loud “bang”.
Xiao Jing’an put back the tea cup he had just picked up, and he did it with great force.
Startled by this sudden movement, Pei Yan’s body even shivered slightly.
With a hint of caution, he said, “This commoner has not uttered a single falsehood.”
Xiao Jing’an’s gaze suddenly turned fierce: “If you make a slip of the tongue again, I will definitely cut out your tongue.”
Pei Yan subconsciously covered his mouth.
He shook his head like a rattling drum.
It seemed he was really frightened this time.
Xiao Jing’an’s expression eased slightly.
Yet his voice was as cold as ice.
“What is your relationship with Pei Yuning?”
“Answer honestly, you should be a sensible person and know the consequences of lying to me.”