"It's alright..." Xiao Jin Yu gently massaged his throbbing forehead. "Send the others back, you stay... And while you're at it, find out which room Grand Tutor Xue is staying in."
"Yes."
Not long after Wu Jiang left, Xiao Jin Yu felt his body growing feverish. The pain in his joints intensified, his back stiffened, and he drifted into a hazy sleep leaning in his wheelchair.
When he woke, it was already dark. The room was lit by lamps, and he found himself lying in a warm bed with a cool cloth on his forehead. His throat was painfully dry, his body weak and sore, though the joint pain had somewhat subsided.
Someone was sitting by his bedside. With his head still aching and vision blurred, Xiao Jin Yu assumed it was Wu Jiang. "Some water..."
The person by the bed brought a cup of warm water, removed the cool cloth from his forehead, and sat down to help him up. The moment a hand touched Xiao Jin Yu's shoulder, he stiffened slightly.
It wasn't because of pain, but because Xiao Jin Yu clearly sensed this wasn't Wu Jiang's hand.
When he saw clearly who was sitting by his bedside holding the water, Xiao Jin Yu started in surprise and hurriedly tried to sit up. "S-Sir..."
Sitting there was the person he respected most, and now felt most ashamed to face.
Xue Rucheng remained as calm as the depths of a deep lake, his slightly aged face showing no emotion. Only his red-rimmed eyes betrayed his deep concern. Carefully supporting Xiao Jin Yu against his chest, Xue Rucheng brought the cup to his pale lips. "Drink quickly, it's getting cold."
Looking at Xue Rucheng, Xiao Jin Yu drank the entire cup sip by sip. On the last sip, he drank too hastily and suddenly choked, coughing violently.
Xue Rucheng set down the empty cup and gently patted Xiao Jin Yu's heaving chest. Seeing how weakly he coughed, Xue Rucheng frowned slightly. "How did you exhaust yourself like this?"
As soon as the coughing subsided, Xiao Jin Yu replied before catching his breath properly, "It's nothing serious..."
Xue Rucheng's expression turned stern as he helped him lie down and tucked in the blankets. "You've been asleep for four days, running such a high fever you were calling for Chu Chu in your delirium, and you say it's nothing serious?"
Xiao Jin Yu's face flushed with warmth. "Jin Yu has been discourteous..."
Xue Rucheng slowly stood up. "Rest a while longer. Later, I'll have someone bring food to your room. Try to eat a little."
"Sir... Jin Yu has failed your guidance... Xue Yue and Xue Qin..."
"Wang Ye," Xue Rucheng frowned slightly, his voice lowering. "You must not let emotions interfere with cases. A case is a case, the deceased are the deceased, the murderer is the murderer... After all these years of reminding you, you still haven't remembered. When you can get out of bed, write that three hundred times."
"Yes, Sir..."
"I'm staying next door. Bring it to me yourself when you're done."
"Yes, Sir..."
☆ 89 Braised Pork Knuckle with Rock Sugar (III)
After Xue Rucheng left the room, Wu Jiang slipped in.
"Wang Ye."
Xiao Jin Yu struggled to prop himself up halfway. "I've been asleep for four days..."
"Yes..." Wu Jiang bowed his head. "You had a high fever the whole time. Grand Tutor Xue checked your pulse and said it was from exhaustion, compounded by catching a chill... It's all my fault for not taking proper care of you."
Xiao Jin Yu shook his head slightly. "I hadn't been resting well before... When did Grand Tutor Xue arrive?"
"He's been here all four days, taking care of you the entire time."Xiao Jinyu found himself asking as if possessed, "Where is Chu Chu..."
Wu Jiang was taken aback. "The Imperial Concubine is at the Royal Mansion."
Xiao Jinyu froze for a moment, then rubbed his forehead with a bitter smile, feeling an emptiness in his heart. "It's good that she's at the Royal Mansion... Have the memorials previously sent to the palace all been approved by His Majesty?"
"They were approved the same day... The eighteen assistant examiners originally selected by the Ministry of Personnel have all been withdrawn from the Imperial Examination Hall. His Majesty will personally appoint replacements on the eve of the examination. The candidates' writing materials and daily necessities will be uniformly provided through funding from the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Rites has already posted official notices informing all candidates that no personal items are allowed in the examination hall. The Ministry of Works has dispatched a thousand craftsmen to replace all nine thousand examination cells' thatched roofs with tiled ones, repaint the interior walls, and replace the desks, chairs, and beds. A hundred imperial guards have also been assigned to specifically supervise officials of all levels within the examination compound."
Xiao Jinyu nodded slightly.
Wu Jiang smiled wryly. "Your Highness, you've managed to offend most of the officials in the capital with this."
"It doesn't matter..." Xiao Jinyu slowly closed his eyes. "It's not like they're the ones paying my salary..."
"..."
The metropolitan examination was scheduled to begin on the ninth day of the second month, consisting of three sessions over nine days, with each session lasting three days. The questions for these three sessions should have been set by the chief examiner, but as punishment for keeping Xiao Jinyu in the dark, the questions were jointly decided by the Emperor and Xue Rucheng this time. By the time Xiao Jinyu received the Imperial Decree, the questions had already been sealed and stored away. Therefore, from when he woke from his coma until the day before the examination, the only examination-related task Xiao Jinyu completed was writing out three hundred copies of a warning phrase - punishment assigned by the other chief examiner of this year's examination.
On the evening before the examination, Xiao Jinyu finally gathered the three hundred carefully handwritten copies and went to knock on the neighboring room's door. His wheelchair paused outside the brightly lit doorway as he hesitated for quite some time before raising his hand to knock.
Though he had been shouldering major responsibilities at the Three Law Divisions for years, every time he faced Xue Rucheng he still felt as anxious as he did in childhood, always feeling as if he hadn't finished some homework assignment...
Before his knuckles could touch the red-lacquered wooden door, he heard a dry cough beside him. "Wrong one."
Startled, Xiao Jinyu turned his head to find Xue Rucheng standing stern-faced beside him. Seeing Xiao Jinyu's stunned expression, Xue Rucheng pointed toward the room on the other side of Xiao Jinyu's quarters. "That one."
Looking at the unlit room, Xiao Jinyu felt thoroughly embarrassed. In his nervousness when leaving his room, he had instinctively headed toward the illuminated one... But Wu Jiang stayed in the outer chamber of his suite - aside from Xue Rucheng, who else would be lodged next to a Prince serving as chief examiner?
"Teacher... who lives in this room?"
"That's the..." Xue Rucheng hesitated, frowning in thought. "Flowery General?"
A window suddenly flew open, revealing a dark head, accompanied by a thunderous roar: "I'm the Cloud-Awe General!"
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