The next day, Wen Ying returned to the Imperial Academy. He had been called back by Director Lin to help him check for omissions and make corrections, and Director Lin ended up giving him some pointers.

There were still a few days until the Autumn Imperial Examination. Wen Ying himself wasn't too concerned, but all the academic officials at the Imperial Academy were very much so on his behalf.

Since he was a student of the Imperial Academy, he could take the exam directly in the capital without needing to return to his hometown. With Wen Ying's talent and learning, as long as nothing went wrong during the exam, he was expected to achieve a good ranking. Winning the title of Jieyuan* was also a strong possibility.

*T/N: Provincial Exam First Place

Director Lin instructed him on all sorts of matters to be aware of upon entering the examination hall. At the end, he earnestly advised him, "After you pass the examination this time, leave Prince Yu's Manor. Being a retainer to a powerful noble will ultimately be detrimental to your reputation in the future."

Wen Ying thanked him but did not commit to leaving Prince Yu's Manor.

He had entered Prince Yu's Manor to investigate the death of Zhao Xi, but by now, his state of mind had already changed.

It was just that there was no need to tell anyone about these matters.

After leaving Director Lin's place, he unfortunately ran into his former roommate, Pan You'an. Wen Ying had nothing to say to him and simply pretended not to see him.

As they passed each other, the other man called out to stop him, saying sarcastically, "Truly, one must see a scholar in a new light after a three-day absence. You've only been in Prince Yu's Manor for a few months, and your nose is already in the air. We were roommates, after all; how can you not even greet me when we meet?"

Wen Ying glanced at him indifferently and walked straight on.

That Pan You'an was provoked by his glance into a state of shame and anger. 'What does this poor brat think he is! How dare he look at me with the same disdainful expression as those children of powerful nobles!'

The man was incredibly jealous of Wen Ying. After all this time in Prince Yu's Manor, Wen Ying had not been despised by Prince Yu as he had wished. He himself, however, had already been kicked away by the powerful noble he had previously latched onto. He was certain to fail this provincial exam, yet all the academic officials of the Imperial Academy held high hopes for Wen Ying. On what grounds?!

Pan You'an strode after him and grabbed Wen Ying's sleeve. "Why are you running! I haven't finished speaking! What is this attitude of yours!"

Wen Ying forcefully raised his arm. Pan You'an was thrown back, stumbling a step before falling to the ground. He looked up to meet Wen Ying's indifferent eyes looking down on him. "You and I have never had any grievances. Whether you are jealous or resentful, it has nothing to do with me. Don't come and bother me."

"You—!"

"This ends here."

After Wen Ying had walked far away, Pan You'an raised his scraped and bleeding palm and shook it, his face twisted with ferocious anger and resentment.

After leaving the Imperial Academy, Wen Ying did not hurry back to the manor, instead going to a nearby street to buy some things.

On the side of the street was a rather famous candied fruit shop. As he passed its door, he recalled that Prince Yu seemed quite fond of sweets. Wen Ying paused in his steps and went inside.

When he came out with the snacks he had bought, he saw Ling Qiyan's carriage parked on the other side of the street, as if it was waiting for him specifically.

Wen Ying walked over. Ling Qiyan pushed open the carriage window, propped his head on his hand, and leaned against the sill, grinning at him. "Poor scholar, you lied to this prince saying you were going to the academy, but instead you ran off to the street to buy snacks. Is the manor not feeding you enough?"

Wen Ying got into the carriage, opened the paper-wrapped package of candied fruit he had just bought, and offered it to Ling Qiyan.

Ling Qiyan raised an eyebrow. "Bought for this prince?"

"Mm," Wen Ying's voice was faint as he carefully studied the man before him. Ling Qiyan had gone out drinking again at noon. Right now, his face was flushed the color of a hibiscus flower, as if he were drunk again. "Why is Your Highness here?"

"I was just returning to the manor, passed by here, and saw you loitering, poor scholar, so I had the carriage stop."

Ling Qiyan yawned. He was indeed drunk, and now he was also feeling a little sleepy and wanted to go to bed.

Wen Ying fed a piece of candied fruit into his mouth. "The sweetness can suppress the intoxication. Please bear with it for a moment, Your Highness. You can sleep when we return to the manor."

The tip of Ling Qiyan's tongue brushed against the pad of Wen Ying's finger, and he licked it with a smile. Wen Ying's gaze faltered for a moment before he fed him another piece.

Ling Qiyan smacked his lips. "This candied fruit is quite tasty, different from the ones at my manor. Poor scholar, you're finally learning how to put in the effort to please this prince."

"The shop owner is from Jiangnan. This is the southern method for making candied fruit, so it is indeed a bit different from the ones made in the manor. The students at the Imperial Academy all like to buy it." Seeing that Ling Qiyan liked it, Wen Ying fed him another piece.

With the taste of alcohol no longer overwhelming in his mouth, Ling Qiyan's mind did indeed clear up a bit. He asked, "You still haven't told this prince, why did you come wandering out on the street?"

"This student just came from the Imperial Academy. I came here to buy some things needed for the examination."

"What things do you need to come out and buy specifically? Doesn't the manor have everything? If there's something we don't have, can't you just ask someone to run the errand for you?"

Hearing this, Ling Qiyan began to lecture him unhappily. Wen Ying had been in his Prince Yu's Manor for quite some time now, and he had never been short-changed on food, clothing, or daily necessities. He always picked out the best things for the young man and had even bestowed many treasures upon him. But it seemed he had never seen the boy use any of them. He even rarely wore the clothes given to him by the manor, choosing instead to wander around in front of him all day in his Imperial Academy uniform.

Was he looking down on the things from his, Prince Yu's, manor?

Wen Ying explained in a low voice, "This student feels more at ease preparing things myself, and that way I don't have to trouble others to run errands for me."

Ling Qiyan couldn't be bothered to lecture him further and ordered the carriage to stop. "Since you're here to buy things and you haven't bought them yet, what's the hurry to return? Come on, this prince will go take a look with you."

The two of them got out of the carriage and entered a shop on the street. They first bought writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Seeing this made Ling Qiyan even unhappier. How could the things sold in these outside shops compare to the ones in his manor? This poor scholar, Wen Ying, actually refused to use the things from his manor.

"Do you have the silver to buy these?"

Hearing Ling Qiyan's indignant question, Wen Ying, who was in the middle of choosing a writing brush, looked up and explained, "This student is a government-sponsored scholar and receives a stipend. The Imperial Academy also distributes a monthly allowance to the tribute students from various regions. This student has saved it all up."

"How much silver could that be," Ling Qiyan said dismissively. "This brush doesn't look like much."

"As long as it's usable, it's fine. This student would feel uncomfortable using too precious a brush. Whether one can write a good essay doesn't depend on how good the brush is."

Ling Qiyan huffed, "You're just full of excuses. You were simply not destined for wealth and nobility."

"Mm."

Wen Ying casually agreed and continued to pick out other things.

Ling Qiyan was still unhappy. With his hands behind his back, he followed Wen Ying around, nitpicking about how this and that weren't good enough. Wen Ying placated him with perfunctory replies and bought everything he needed anyway.

Ling Qiyan was furious.

'Stubborn, stinking scholar!'

Afterward, Wen Ying bought a variety of other items, and only then did Ling Qiyan realize just how many things one needed to prepare for a single imperial examination.

Not to mention things like brushes, ink, inkstones, paperweights, and a water dropper, there were also cloth wraps for scrolls, an oiled-cloth door curtain, a roof cover for the examination cell, a candlestick and candles, a small stool, a footrest, a pillow, a washbasin, a clothes pole, bamboo nails, a hammer, a water bucket, a stove... all sorts of miscellaneous items.

Ling Qiyan was dumbfounded. "Are you going to take an exam or move house? Can your examination basket even fit all this stuff?"

Wen Ying said calmly, "This is just how it is for the exams. There's no need for Your Highness to make such a fuss."

Ling Qiyan felt he had been thoroughly mocked by this poor scholar. Not wanting to deal with him anymore, he turned and got into the carriage first.

Wen Ying followed him and sat inside the carriage. Ling Qiyan kicked him irritably. "Do you have to draw such a clear line between us? You won't even use a washbasin from my manor?"

Wen Ying asked calmly, "Everything in the manor is inlaid with gold and jade. Does Your Highness think it would be appropriate for this student to bring such items into the examination hall?"

Ling Qiyan was speechless.

Wen Ying patted the back of his hand. "Your Highness is drunk."

Ling Qiyan swatted his hand away. "Get lost."

By the time they returned to the manor, it was nearly the hour of Shen. Ling Qiyan was yawning nonstop and collapsed onto the daybed, about to fall asleep. Wen Ying helped him take off his outer robe and shoes. Ling Qiyan waved a hand. "You're not needed here. Go and study."

Wen Ying reminded him in a low voice, "Your Highness, don't sleep for too long, or you won't be able to sleep again tonight. This student will come again in the evening to pay my respects."

Ling Qiyan's eyelids were already too heavy to lift. Half-asleep, he hummed in acknowledgement. Wen Ying's fingers lightly brushed the hair at his temples, and Ling Qiyan unconsciously nuzzled against him.

Wen Ying sat by the daybed for another moment, then picked up a blanket that was draped nearby and covered Ling Qiyan with it.

At the end of the hour of Shen, when Wen Ying came over again, Ling Qiyan was already awake and having tea and snacks. He had already eaten half of the candied fruit Wen Ying had bought at noon.

Seeing Wen Ying, Ling Qiyan gestured with his chin for him to sit. "Tomorrow, if you have time, go with Chief Clerk Liu to the Examination Hall. Let the officials there get a look at your face so that on the day of the exam, they can assign you a good cell and take extra care of you."

Wen Ying hadn't expected Ling Qiyan to bring this up, let alone specially dispatch the manor's chief clerk to take him. He hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

The imperial examinations relied on genuine talent and learning, but within the examination hall, interference from external factors was unavoidable. Being assigned a good cell was especially important. If one didn't make arrangements beforehand and was unlucky enough to draw a "stinking cell" next to the latrines, the experience would be unimaginable.

Furthermore, during the nine days of the three exam sessions, if one could receive a little extra care from the proctors and guards—having them be more attentive when heating up meals or delivering tea and water—life would be much more pleasant.

Of course, this wasn't considered cheating. Any examinee with a bit of power or money would make these arrangements in advance, to say nothing of Wen Ying, who was a retainer of Prince Yu's Manor. Ling Qiyan treated him as one of his own and naturally wouldn't let him suffer any grievances in the Examination Hall.

However, Ling Qiyan was usually careless and thoughtless, so for him to consider such minor details on Wen Ying's behalf was actually quite rare.

Having pleased the beauty, the frustration that had been building in Ling Qiyan all afternoon finally dissipated. Wen Ying didn't want to use the fine things from his manor, but didn't he still need his help to arrange these important matters? Tsk, this kid was just so contrary.

"No need to be too moved. It's merely a small favor from this prince."

Wen Ying thanked him again, this time with genuine sincerity.

Pleased, Ling Qiyan had Wen Ying stay to have dinner with him and called for wine. Wen Ying reminded him, "Your Highness, you were just drunk at noon. Please don't drink again right now."

"You're really no fun. This prince asks you to have a drink with him, and you make all sorts of excuses. If you won't drink, then forget it. This prince will find someone else to drink with me."

Wen Ying's gaze paused for a moment. He picked up the wine pot and poured a drink. "This student will drink with Your Highness."

Ling Qiyan's lips curled into a smile. "Now that's more like it."