Chapter 3: Imperial Academy

The horse passed by the window, three days later, it happened to be the fifteenth.

The Imperial Academy faced south with its back to the north, in a rectangular shape stretching from north to south. It had a three-courtyard layout, centered around the Biyong Hall, with buildings symmetrically arranged on the left and right.

The main gate of the Imperial Academy was called the Jixian Gate. Opposite the Jixian Gate was Jixian Street, lined with various shops on both sides. On this particular day, the students of the Imperial Academy were on holiday and allowed to go out to the streets.

Lu Yuner had originally arrived by carriage, but seeing the many students on Jixian Street, she got off the carriage halfway and instructed Qiu Yi to wait there while she walked the rest of the way.

At this moment, Lu Yuner was standing under a thousand-year-old locust tree outside the Jixian Gate, waiting for the Director of Studies, unaware that she had caught the attention of many male and female students who were quietly discussing her.

Today, Lu Yuner was dressed in white clothes as pure as snow, a color that made her skin appear even fairer. A red sash tied around her waist accentuated her slender figure. She exuded an elegant and otherworldly aura from head to toe.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, shining on her delicate profile, perfectly capturing a moment of tranquil beauty.

“Has the Director of Studies not arrived yet?” Liu Lan approached Lu Yuner with an innocent smile, while her gaze kept surveying the young students on Jixian Street.

Lu Yuner looked up at Liu Lan and smiled, “Perhaps she’s been delayed by something.”

Liu Lan’s lips curled into an intriguing smile as she drawled, “I suppose her young husband must be clinging to her tightly!”

“General Liu, stop talking nonsense!” Han Ranzhi came running up, her face serious. “This is the Imperial Academy, behave yourself!”

As expected of Han Ranzhi, a role model for others, she never compromised on matters of principle.

Liu Lan immediately apologized, “Yes, Director.”

Han Ranzhi turned to Lu Yuner and said, “There was a small matter at home, so I’m a bit late. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long, Sister Yuner.”

Lu Yuner smiled and politely replied, “It’s no problem.”

“Please, follow me, both of you.”

Inside the Jingyi Pavilion[1].

“Crash!” A crisp sound.

Immediately after, the Chancellor’s distressed cry could be heard from inside, “Oh no! My blue and white openwork porcelain…”

Over fifty years old with graying hair, Chancellor Hu Lanzhen sat slumped on the floor, her eyes full of distress as she looked at the blue and white porcelain shattered into numerous small pieces on the ground. Her heart was bleeding.

This was her prized collection, a companion for half her life!

A tall and elegant figure moved away from Hu Lanzhen’s side, turning to the pear wood desk. That slender white hand took the stack of white paper on the desk, crumpled it unceremoniously into a ball, and then threw it away.

Hu Lanzhen immediately scurried over, bent down to pick up the crumpled paper ball from the ground, and said with a woeful expression, “The Xuan paper I specially ordered from Huizhou…”

This Xuan paper was known for its soft yet tough texture, smooth as jade. When used for writing or painting, it produced clear ink strokes, and was resistant to insects with a long lifespan.

It had long been renowned as the “King of Papers” and “Thousand-Year Paper.”

Hu Lanzhen’s heart seemed about to shatter into pieces again, but faced with such willful behavior from the visitor, she could only swallow her anger.

Seeing the person walk towards the cloisonné, Hu Lanzhen hurriedly pleaded, “Young Prince, if you have any requests, please just tell me directly. This humble official will comply!”

The person before her was none other than the young prince of the Yun Qinwang’s mansion, of extremely noble status. How could she dare to offend someone above her station?

Su Qingwan smiled mischievously and said in a light tone, “This prince has always been accustomed to freedom and cannot tolerate any constraints.”

Hu Lanzhen, speaking in a submissive tone, quickly tried to placate him, “Don’t worry, Young Prince. The Imperial Academy is just like your home at Yun Qinwang’s mansion. Please feel free to do as you wish.”

Su Qingwan glanced at her and said flatly, “What else?”

His low voice carried an indescribable pressure, causing Hu Lanzhen to immediately straighten her back.

She rolled her eyes and had to say reluctantly, “Young Prince, please don’t worry about Yun Qinwang. This humble official knows what to do.”

“Good that you understand! Xiao Yuan, let’s go.” Su Qingwan smiled with satisfaction.

Watching the departing figure, Hu Lanzhen finally let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead and muttering, “Finally, that troublemaker is gone.”

But turning back to see the scattered pieces of her treasures on the ground, the Chancellor’s heart shattered once again.

“Oh, my precious treasures!”

Xiao Yuan, following behind the young prince, quietly reminded, “Young Prince, although you’ve spoken with the Chancellor, you should still be more… otherwise, if the master finds out, Xiao Yuan might truly be unable to stay by your side anymore.”

Just last night, Yun Qinwang had already spoken to him.

Su Qingwan frowned, stopped walking, and looked at Xiao Yuan. “What did she say to you?”

Seeing Xiao Yuan remain silent, Su Qingwan understood. Knowing that she always meant what she said, he suppressed the anger in his heart and softened his tone, “Alright, I’ll try my best.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as Su Qingwan turned around, he came face to face with Lu Yuner and her group at the corner of the corridor.

Due to the suddenness of the encounter, neither party noticed, and Su Qingwan collided with Liu Lan, who was walking backwards at the front. Liu Lan hadn’t noticed the person behind her, and given the disparity in strength between men and women, Su Qingwan was bound to fall.

In this critical moment, Lu Yuner, quick-witted and agile, immediately stepped forward past Liu Lan, grabbing Su Qingwan’s arm with one hand and supporting his waist with the other, helping him regain his balance and preventing him from falling to the ground.

Lu Yuner was slightly stunned when she saw the person before her. Wasn’t this the young gentleman she had rescued at Liusu River that day?

His face was beautiful, with red lips and white teeth, untouched by powder or rouge. The entire person was as beautiful as a flawless jade.

Now dressed in fine ice-blue brocade with light green willow leaf patterns on the borders, his black hair was tied up with a high-quality white jade hairpin. The bright eyes under the bangs on his forehead showed that he was clearly a young master of extraordinary temperament, untainted by worldly dust.

Su Qingwan, having just come to his senses, realized he was being held by someone and showed displeasure on his face.

He raised his eyes to look at the person before him and was stunned. Her appearance was exquisite, with a pair of enchanting peach blossom eyes, her gaze gentle and clear, without a hint of impurity.

These were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, but why did those shimmering peach blossom eyes seem to be missing something?

Suddenly, Su Qingwan unconsciously caught a whiff of a rich, cool fragrance. His gaze immediately filled with confusion. This scent? Just as he wanted to investigate further, he was interrupted by Xiao Yuan’s voice.

“How dare you! Release the Young Prince at once!” Xiao Yuan, seeing that Lu Yuner was still holding the Young Prince, immediately shouted a reprimand.

Han Ranzhi, seeing the situation, was the first to step aside and make way, cupping her hands in salute: “This one is Han Ranzhi, greetings to the Young Prince.”

Lu Yuner immediately withdrew her hands: “This one is Lu Yuner, greetings to the Young Prince.”

Liu Lan: “This one is Liu Lan, greetings to the Young Prince.”

However, upon hearing the words “Young Prince,” Lu Yuner’s eyes rippled slightly. To be honest, she had been in this world for a year already, and with the limited entertainment activities here, her life was basically confined to two points and one line. She truly didn’t know that the person she had saved was a Young Prince.

But it was good to see that his complexion was rosy, indicating that his health had been well taken care of.

Su Qingwan, with his delicate and fair chin slightly raised, briefly swept his gaze over the three people before him. Without uttering a word of blame, he let his gaze linger briefly on Lu Yuner before leaving.

“Fortunately, the Young Prince didn’t punish us,” Han Ranzhi looked at Liu Lan in surprise and said, “Strange! It’s rare to see General Liu so well-mannered.”

“Well, the Young Prince’s mother is Yun Qinwang, after all! I’m a loyal supporter of Yun Qinwang,” Liu Lan’s lips curled into a smile. “Besides, it seems this Young Prince is studying at the Imperial Academy. Maybe we can get closer to him later, and who knows, we might even get a chance to interact with Yun Qinwang, that would be thrilling. But looking at how arrogant this Young Prince is, it might be a bit difficult!”

After all, having been a supporter of Yun Qinwang for so many years, if there was really a chance to spar with her, it would be a dream come true.

Han Ranzhi noticed that Lu Yuner had been silent all this time, “What’s wrong, Lady Lu?”

Liu Lan came back to her senses and also looked at Lu Yuner.

Lu Yuner smiled gently and said, “It’s nothing. Let’s go see the Chancellor quickly! Otherwise, we’ll be late.”

She took the lead, with Han Ranzhi following. Liu Lan, however, walked at a leisurely pace, as if deep in thought.

Han Ranzhi saw that the Chancellor’s door was open, with her sitting on the ground with her back to them. She knocked on the door, “Chancellor, Lady Lu and General Liu have arrived.”

Hearing someone call from behind, the Chancellor immediately stood up. She didn’t respond to Han Ranzhi, but instead turned with a fawning smile to greet Liu Lan, “General Liu, what brings you here!”

Han Ranzhi gave Lu Yuner a helpless look, signaling her not to take it to heart.

Lu Yuner smiled faintly without speaking, naturally understanding why the Chancellor had such an attitude.

The position of Minister of Revenue was responsible for managing the country’s finances, including national land, taxes, household registration, military supplies, and salaries.

During her tenure as Minister of Revenue, there was a fund allocated from the Imperial Academy that didn’t clearly state its purpose. She didn’t approve it due to non-compliance with conditions.

Later, even when someone was sent to speak on their behalf, she adhered to her principles and ignored it, thus making quite a few enemies.

But no one knew that she was actually a wandering soul from another world, with no deep attachments to this world, having already put life and death aside.

She didn’t want to form too deep connections with anyone.

The Chancellor must have taken this to heart, and now that she was no longer the Minister of Revenue but working under her, she certainly wouldn’t give her a pleasant face.

Liu Lan also noticed something and said in a cold tone, “Oh! Chancellor, you’re not that old, but your eyes seem to be failing you! Didn’t you see Lady Lu beside me?”

Hu Lanzhen thought to herself, now that she’s working under me, how is she still a ‘Lady’!

But for the sake of General Liu’s face, she put on a fake smile and said to Lu Yuner, “Lady Lu.”

Lu Yuner, understanding the situation, promptly replied, “Chancellor, you’re too kind. I’m no longer any ‘Lady’, I’m now working as a professor under you, and I should be the one listening to your teachings.”

Seeing Lu Yuner’s humble attitude, Hu Lanzhen thought to herself, at least you know your place. She then put on her leadership air and instructed, “Director of Studies, take Professor Lu to familiarize herself with the environment and understand the situation. As for the course arrangements, that’s up to you to decide.”

“Yes, Chancellor,” Han Ranzhi turned to Lu Yuner and said, “Professor Lu, please follow me.”

After they left, Hu Lanzhen immediately put on a fawning expression and approached Liu Lan, “General Liu, what brings you here today?”

There was no choice, this was another difficult young master to serve!

Author’s Note:

[1] Jingyi Pavilion: The office of the Chancellor, the highest official of the Imperial Academy, and their deputy, the Director of Studies.

The romantic plotline will develop slowly.