Nightfall

Seeing Xie Chengyun getting off the carriage, Ning Que couldn’t help being a little disappointed. He noticed that Xie Chengyun had no intention of defending him though Xie Chengyun, obviously, had heard the rumors. In this situation, Ning Que, unwilling to explain more, just shook his head and said to them, "If you think I’m mean, you could just persuade Xie Chengyun not to go upstairs, instead of quarreling with a mean person."

Zhong Dajun, noticing that Ning Que wasn’t irritated by his words at all, stopped the lad on the way and sullenly said, "You can’t go upstairs today anyway."

After a stunned moment, Ning Que laughed. He lowered his head, slowly rolled up his sleeves, and gently asked, "Is the Academy your personal property? No. The old library? Neither. And could you beat me up?"

He then looked at Zhong Dajun and said, "Don’t forget that I got A+ in both the archery and riding courses. If you insist on being a rabid mongrel in my way today, I will beat you into a gimp."

Listening to this strange exchange, Situ Yilan, who was very anxious before, suddenly couldn’t help bursting into laughter with a ’Puchi’ sound. But later she realized that she had laughed at the wrong time and immediately lowered her head, after seeing the sad and worried expression on her companion’s expression.

Jin Wucai, with slightly-moist eyes, looked at Ning Que and said, "Zhong Dajun just made those impolite and tactless comments due to his anxious protection for his friend. I apologize for him, but...you really had better give up going upstairs. I have a suggestion: you give it up, and we also persuade Xie Chengyun not to go upstairs again. This way, it’s a tie for you both."

Situ Yilan, stood beside Jin Wucai applausively clapped her hands and praised him, "It’s a good way! Very good! A friendly solution."

Smilingly looking at the two girls in front of him, Ning Que couldn’t help recalling those innocent and child-like junior middle school girls from some old time and place, those witless young girls who kept offering suggestions to their companions. He, actually, clearly knew that they were just some innocent and ignorant girls from noble families in Chang’an, and then said, "I have my own reasons to go upstairs, nothing to do with so-called bravery-and-resolution of battle. If you guys are really worried about Xie Chengyun’s health, I advise you to persuade him more."

Jin Wucai, gently sobbing, said, "But Xie Chengyun is too proud to be persuaded..."

Peacefully looking at her, Ning Que said, "I am just a young soldier from a frontier fortress who shouldn’t have an equivalent pride, so you came to persuade me instead of him?"

Raising her face and wiping her tears with her sleeves, Jin Wucai hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, I don’t mean that. Hope you can forgive my inappropriate words."

"It doesn’t matter," Ning Que, passed by the sobbing girl and walked towards the upstairs, and said, "I insist on going upstairs not because of pride, but some more important reasons than pride."

Looking at his back in astonishment, Situ Yilan confusedly asked, "What other things could be more important than pride?"

Without replying to her question, Ning Que just silently thought in his heart that there certainly was something much more important than pride, life and death.

"Ning Que, you had better think about the potential outcome before you go upstairs this morning."

Zhong Dajun, also noticing the arrival of Xie Chengyun, said coldly. As Xie Chengyun kept silent, Zhong Dajun thought he clearly knew what he should do and his voice became sterner.

"Haotian offers his people many things, and all you need to do, naturally, is accept! Most of the people here are lacking in talent and ability for cultivation, but we are not as persistent as you. You’re jealous! I clearly know what you want to do! Knowing that you can’t enter the Second floor, so you just, by some crooked and dishonest methods, try to prevent Xie Chengyun from going into the Second floor! But have you ever thought about how evil and shameless this kind of harming-others-but-without-benefiting yourself behavior is!"

Hearing the noun ’’Second floor’ again, Ning Que recalled the hard fighting at the entrance to the Northern Mountain Road. At that battle, both Lyu Qingchen and that Great Sword Master assassin had mentioned it during their conversations. Such recalling spontaneously made his body stiff. He thought that an abandoned Academy student who just learned on the Second floor for a few days could become a Seethrough State Great Sword Master. The Second floor of the Academy...what on earth was it?

His silence and stiff body delivered a mistaken signal to the students right then. They thought Ning Que felt embarrassed and indefensible because Zhong Dajun had correctly guessed his mind and pointed it out.

As the discussion began, Ning Que at the entrance to the stairs, slowly turned around with a sort of extremely strong sarcastic expression appearing on his pale and thin face. He looked around at the people and said, "In the past, I didn’t know what the Second floor was, so I never thought about entering the place. But now, since I have already known it, I definitely must make it. I hope none of you will be surprised if that moment comes."

Being irritated, Zhong Dajun sneered, "You still don’t admit that you are jealous of Xie Chengyun?"

There were two horse carriages outside the old library. One had just been sent for Xie Chengyun, who vomited blood in front of the old library this morning and asked to leave. Another normal carriage with an indigo curtain, however, just stood there, with no one getting off and the curtain being absolutely still.

Just then, a cold voice suddenly came from the carriage with indigo curtain, "I just know the hothouse flowers will be jealous of the height and purity of the lotus in high mounts, but I don’t realize that the goshawk in the sky will envy the hen on the ground."

The sound was neither bitterly nor very strongly sarcastic. It directly, however, caused the students inside and outside the old library to fall into total silence. The facial expression of Zhong Dajun was extremely embarrassed, and an impulsive, even angry and blood-red complexion vaguely appeared on Xie Chengyun’s snow-white face.

The sentence uttered from the person in the carriage put Ning Que in a high position, which was regarded as the lotus in high mounts and goshawk in the sky. In addition, it directly viewed Xie Chengyun, who was well-known in the South Jin Kingdom, as the protected hothouse flower and the idle hen on the ground.

Such a simple sentence returned back all the sarcasm that Ning Que had got before, with much stronger force. Looking at the horse carriage in shock, all the people wondered who it was that dared satirize Zhong Dajun and the talent of the South Jin Kingdom, Xie Chengyun?

As Zhong Dajun got ready to satirize in response, and as some people were prepared to make indignant comments, the person in the carriage with the indigo curtain continued rebuking the two girls from noble families in Chang’an, who were somehow very nervous, "If you lag behind others in skill and willpower, just keep improving yourself so as to seek the final victory. How could you let a girl plead for you? Wucai, you were a clever and sensitive girl in childhood, how could you become so stupid these years!?"

"And Yilan, I can’t believe you’d help a person from the South Jin Kingdom laugh at a Tang person. Where is that Yilan who rode a horse along a Chang’an street and cried out to your father to take you to the war with the South Jin Kingdom? Power wasn’t proved by taunt. The Tang, anyway, earns its position by swords, archery, and riding. Go home to introspect yourself!"

The secret person in the carriage firstly taunted Xie Chengyun and then severely reprimanded the two noble girls, with sort of peaceful but unmistakable words. In particular, Situ Yilan and Jin Wucai hadn’t any emotion of anger and fury after being rebuked. Instead, Both of them blushingly lowered their heads. The students inside and outside the old library who had felt awkward were all very curious about who the figure was in the carriage.

A voice resounded from the carriage with the indigo curtain again, "Ning Que, come meet Your Majesty."

Upon hearing the two words ’Your Majesty’, a total silence fell on the old library. Especially, from the cautious expression of Situ Yilan, the students, could eventually divine the identity of the female in the carriage, and then subconsciously bent down.

The facial expression of Zhong Dajun turned from angry into fearful embarrassment. He was born in an influential family, yet the figure in the carriage could easily terminate his official career with a simple word. Meanwhile, Xie Chengyun’s face became more snow-white than before. He hadn’t the same worry as Zhong Dajun’s because he was not a Tang man. However, as a South Jin man, how could he dare offend the figure in the carriage?

According to Tang’s ritual system, only the empress dowager, and royal empress princess could call themselves ’Your Majesty’. At the present time of Tianqi era, there weren’t any empress dowager or royal empress princess in the court, so of course, only the empress could call herself ’Your Majesty’. It was impossible, however, for the empress to come to the Academy alone...Thus, there was only one possibility.

In Tianqi era, there was a princess who, with the court’s special permission, was allowed to call herself ’Your Majesty’ due to her virtue.

So, sitting in the carriage with the indigo curtain was the fourth princess, whom the Tang’s emperor favored most, Tang’s people respected most and all young men and women adored most. Who dares rebel?

Being a little surprised, Ning Que walked out of the old library under the awkward attention of other students. Not until he walked slowly in front of the carriage did he find that the groom in a farmer’s hat was unexpectedly Peng Yutao.

Peng Yutao smilingly nodded as a greeting and then said, "Her Highness wants to talk with you."

Ning Que, also smilingly nodding, went beside the carriage, gently bent down as a courtesy, and then peacefully said, "Your Highness, Ning Que is here."

Lifting a corner of the curtain, Lee Yu silently looked at the lad whom she hadn’t seen for some days. She then suddenly said, "Since you have been admitted as a student of the Academy, you can call yourself ’student’ when you meet me in the future."

Ning Que, looking at the beautiful and amiable face through the corner of the curtain, somehow suddenly recalled the bonfire at the entrance to the Northern Mountain Road. He then slightly laughed and said in a low voice, "Since you aren’t a teacher in the Academy, why would I be your student?"

Lee Yu was a little astonished and didn’t expect that the lazy lad still kept his previous indolence from their second encounter when she had already recovered her dignity as a princess. Naturally, she heavily slammed the curtain and coldly said, "Your Majesty has come here for some affairs today. I remembered that you’re here, so just came to see you. Actually, I mainly want to tell you that I kind of miss...Sangsang. You bring her to the princess’ mansion tomorrow."

He was calmer now with the indigo curtain blocking the beautiful and amiable face, which could easily remind Ning Que of the maidservant’s face beside the bonfire. He, in a well-mannered way, deeply bowed as a courtesy and peacefully said, "Her Highness is thoughtful."

The indigo curtain was lifted again. Quietly looking at his pale face through the seam, Lee Yu slightly frowned and, after a short silence, said, "I heard that you go upstairs every day. I suggest you take care of your health, instead of risking your life in this kind of unnecessary battle with these thoughtless people. Comparatively, it would be a right choice to serve your country with your life."

As Ning Que straightened up his body intending to explain, the carriage with the indigo curtain just unexpectedly left.

...