Dress up as a sickly person to capture the villain princess!

I heard the teacher calling me.

Xia Zhisong hurriedly straightened the hem of his robe, turned around and glanced disdainfully at several classmates standing in front of the teacher, and bowed respectfully with both hands.

"Yes, Master."

He raised his foot and followed the teacher in with a swagger.

The remaining few people stood there gritting their teeth and rolling their eyes in anger.

"What's so cool about him? He's just being so good because his sister is so successful."

"What does it have to do with him!"

"Why is the teacher so snobbish and eager to curry favor with that ignorant boy from the Xia family?"

"That's right. If this happens in the future, His Highness will lose his power and he will still be so arrogant!"

The sound of these sour words was neither small nor loud, and just fell into the ears of a dark shadow on a tree branch in the distance. The dark shadow was wearing plain clothes, but with a special belt around his waist, on which were pinned many strange and bizarre hidden weapons.

He was wearing a black iron mask on his face, but the shape of the shadow was almost invisible under the shade of the trees.

Holding a thin ink-colored pen in his hand, the man in black wearing a black iron mask recorded what happened at the entrance of the academy with just a few strokes.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop arguing, stop arguing."

"Didn't the Master say that we shouldn't discuss today's events anymore?"

"You think the situation isn't tense enough lately, don't you?"

One of them couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he stretched out his hands, stood among the crowd, and interrupted everyone's words.

"After school, we all go back to our own homes and our own mothers... prepare for the exam, and study."

His words were indeed a dampener, but everyone heard them and dispersed.

They returned in groups of three or four.

Seeing the scholars gathered at the entrance of the academy and starting to walk down the steps one after another, the man in black glanced at the stone lions and felt a little doubtful.

He put away the brush in his hand, slowly closed the small iron book in his hand, and finally jumped down from the tree silently.

This matter must be reported to His Highness.

……

Pushing open the door of the study, the gray-haired teacher stepped in.

Xia Zhisong also hurried in, and then the teacher glanced outside and slowly closed the wooden door.

The study was a little dim and filled with the smell of ink. Countless huge bookshelves were piled with books, some of which were books by sages used for teaching, while others were the bookshop tales that the master loved to read on a daily basis.

"Teacher, what do you want me to do?"

Could it be that he wanted to give himself some special training and tell himself the questions of the imperial examinations in previous years? You know, the master was born into a scholarly family, so naturally he had contacts with those university scholars for many years.

Xia Zhisong had already started to imagine beautiful things in his mind, but he saw that the teacher had a sullen face and was hesitant in his words.

"Zhisong... I know that as a teacher, I shouldn't ask these questions, but... I am also a father, and I should consider my family."

Xia Zhisong was stunned when he heard the hidden meaning in the teacher's words. He didn't know what this had to do with him.

"Zhisong, sit down."

"I have some excellent Wuyi rock tea here. Have a drink. It's still hot. It was just made."

Xia Zhisong moved the chair away and sat down properly. He obediently picked up the purple clay teapot on the table and poured two cups of tea.

Watch the heat rising.

Xia Zhisong finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Teacher, what do you want to ask me?"

There was surprise and doubt in his eyes. He slowly picked up the purple teacup, put it to his lips, and took a sip.

"In this case, there is no need for me to hide it."

"The current situation is turbulent, and the world can change hands overnight. I want to know if Master Xia knows when the remaining followers of King Wen will arrive at the Yong River outside Jinzhou City."

Who will become the king or emperor is not the most important thing to him. What is more important is that Jinzhou City may suffer a disaster. Considering his wife and children, he has to temporarily close the academy and consider seeking refuge in other provinces.

To become polite, the teacher even changed his address.

Xia Zhisong held the teacup tightly in his fingers, not knowing what to say for a moment. It was not that he didn't want to say it, but he was not aware of these things.

My sister is now doing very well in the palace. What does that have to do with me? She doesn't even want to see her father, let alone me, her insignificant brother.

The Master saw Xia Zhisong's hesitation and knew that this involved court secrets. He was not a member of the court and if he mentioned it casually, Xia Zhisong might worry that it would bring him trouble.

So, he was already prepared. He turned around, took out a brown file from under a pile of blue books, and placed it on the table.

"Zhisong, the master won't let you come here in vain."

"As long as you say so, this thing belongs to you."

"I have always had some friendship with those people. Although I can't guess everything correctly, I can definitely get 70% to 80% right."

The moment he saw the brown cowhide bag again, Xia Zhisong's eyes almost popped out. You know, since he was twelve years old, he had participated in the imperial examinations every year, but failed every year. He didn't know how many times he had been scolded by his father.

Now, this great opportunity is right in front of me, how can I miss it!

If I had the topic that the teacher revealed to me, then in next year's imperial examination, I would surely... be able to make a splash.

It is not difficult to obtain the status of a Jinshi.

Although Xia Zhisong did not know when the remaining followers of King Wen would arrive at the border of Jinzhou City, he had heard a lot of rumors.

Naturally, I have some guesses in my mind.

"Don't worry, Master. When I get back, I will discuss this with my sister and will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

There was a smile between his eyebrows and he agreed readily.

……

Cining Palace.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, slanting down into the courtyard. A breeze blew by, and only crisp sounds could be heard from the chessboard.

"Queen Mother, I win this round again."

Concubine De was in a lazy posture, holding a small cat in her arms. Her fingertips fell on the top of the cat's head, teasing the little cat very happily.

The snoring gradually became louder.

"Yes, yes, but today, there is no reward for winning, and I am still busy dealing with the errands given by His Highness."

After saying this, the graceful woman opposite Concubine De raised her eyes and looked at the palace maid who was walking hurriedly with an anxious look on her face.

"Qinghe, why are you so anxious?"

"Disrupt the leisure time between me and the Queen Mother."

Concubine De seemed a little dissatisfied. She threw the chess pieces in her hand back into the chess bowl, withdrew her hand angrily, and looked at the young and immature palace maid.

"Reply...Reply to the Empress Dowager Defei's words, reply to the Empress Dowager...Yes, the Miss Xia that His Highness asked has already arrived at the Cining Palace."

Qinghe was suddenly called by Concubine Defei and felt a little timid. She was only transferred here in the past few days to serve the Empress Dowager.

Therefore, I am still a little unfamiliar with the things in the Cining Palace, but fortunately, Sister Qiutong is willing to teach me.