Starting with Intercepting and Marrying the Eldest Princess - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: “Studying Under Pei Shujing”

Regarding the Grand Princess’s demand, Xie Ning somehow recalled a TV series from her hometown.

It was about the character Qi Tongwei, who knelt and proposed to his teacher, Liang Lu, who was ten years older than him, on the Han University sports field in front of all the students and faculty, thus securing his political career advancement.

And she, Xie Ning, similarly had to use a comparable method to gain the Grand Princess’s satisfaction.

Only by satisfying Pei Shujing could she receive some protection from the Grand Princess when the Xie family sought revenge.

Xie Ning returned to her residence. The back garden of the Princess’s Residence was a restricted area, so to the other maids, the Grand Princess and the Imperial Son-in-Law were extremely affectionate. If they weren’t, why would they stay indoors together all day?

But they didn’t know that Xie Ning’s current living space was a tiny partitioned room in a study in the back garden.

As for the extreme affection, how could being beaten not be considered a form of love?

Xie Ning neatly folded Pei Shujing’s two socks, tucked them into her small purse, and placed them close to her chest.

That’s right, Pei Shujing had paid the reward in advance, acting as if she wasn’t afraid at all that Xie Ning would fail the task.

A Literary Gathering, is not only a meeting for scholars to network, exchange knowledge, and showcase talent, but also a utilitarian and political banquet.

The number of cultured scholars and gentlemen in Daxia was countless, but the number of successful candidates in the imperial exams was sparse. What should those who were hopeless about the exams do? At this point, they needed a place to compose poetry, write fu (a literary genre), and display their scholarship to promote their reputation and attach themselves to the powerful elite.

As the center of Daxia, the capital naturally did not lack such political gatherings.

The most famous among them was the private banquet held by the current Grand Secretary Wang.

The Wang of Grand Secretary Wang corresponded to the Wang in the famous line “Swallows of the Wang and Xie halls of old”.

However, the Wang family was currently at its peak; one of the three Grand Secretaries in the Daxia court was from the Wang family.

In contrast, the Xie family was in decline; their highest-ranking official in the court was only a Vice Minister of Revenue.

Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, the position of Vice Minister of Revenue was the lifelong pursuit of many, being a high-ranking third-grade official.

Returning to the Wang family, Grand Secretary Wang would genuinely show up at the literary banquets he hosted, sometimes even pulling along other Grand Secretaries. Which scholar could resist such a temptation?

Gaining the favor of a Grand Secretary there could be a major step toward instant promotion.

The next day, Xie Ning woke up early. She slowly washed up, ate the meal Xiao Zhu brought her, and the two of them walked out of the Princess’s Residence together. She had become immune and accustomed to Xiao Zhu following her at all times.

Along the way, the shouts of street vendors were endless. Xie Ning found it novel, as this was the first time since her transmigration that she had the leisure to truly observe this world.

But observing was all she did. Xie Ning didn’t buy anything. The most enduring form of frugality is truly having no money. She didn’t harbor any other thoughts and walked directly through the bustle to her destination.

The largest gambling house in the capital was called the Mingyu Gambling House.

The main reason it became the largest was that it was run by the Xie family.

Consequently, it also became the exclusive betting agent for this literary gathering.

For this gathering, the Xie family had thoughtfully rented a small storefront directly opposite the venue to serve as a betting point.

Upon hearing this, Xie Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The Wang family was holding banquets, enjoying music, discussing power, and showcasing refinement, while the Xie family could only stand outside watching over a gambling house. You yourselves aren’t competitive, so it’s no wonder the Wang family doesn’t want to play with you and even feels ashamed to be associated with you.

It must be said that the gambling house’s customer service was absolutely top-notch in the world, especially before the money on you was transferred into their pocket and your smile was transferred to their face.

Inside the small storefront, two accountants were busy accepting bets from gamblers and issuing certificates.

Outside the door, a stern-faced man in brocade clothes walked slowly over.

The strong man on guard at the door saw the two and quickly scurried over to greet him, “Master.”

The man in brocade clothes said faintly: “Carry on with your work. I’ll just look around.”

The guard retreated. The man in brocade clothes stood aside, watching the gamblers place their bets, when he was suddenly attracted by a voice from behind.

“Besides betting on the top scholar (Wen Kui), what else can I bet on?”

“You can bet on who will receive extra attention from the Grand Secretaries.”

“What do you mean?”

“This must be your first time, sir. There can only be one top scholar in this literary gathering, but the person who gains the Grand Secretaries’ attention isn’t necessarily the top scholar. After all, everyone knows who the top scholar will be—it’s those few individuals. But if a dark horse emerges, wouldn’t they be more likely to gain the Grand Secretaries’ attention?”

“I see. You mean betting on a dark horse.”

“Sir, you are brilliant.”

“Then I’ll bet on this one.”

“Who do you wish to bet on, sir?”

“I’ll bet on myself, Xie Jing.”

The man in brocade clothes was stunned. He immediately turned around, pointed at Xie Ning, and said incredulously: “Xie Jing?”

Xie Ning sized him up: “Who are you?”

The man in brocade clothes’ expression instantly turned ugly: “Xie Jing, how dare you come to my territory?”

Xie Ning replied casually and dismissively: “What do you mean ‘your territory’? Under the heavens, every inch is the King’s land. Is there any inch of Daxia that doesn’t belong to the current Emperor? Are you planning a rebellion?”

The man’s face turned green. His Xie family was already becoming the laughingstock of the capital, and the instigator was this ingrate in front of him, who had seized a loophole in Xie Yunhao’s words at the pleasure boat and aggressively escalated the matter. He hadn’t expected to experience the same thing himself.

“Xie Jing, stop trying to win with words. You’ll see, my Xie family, and I, Xie Yunfeng, will surely teach you a lesson!”

Xie Ning shook her head, not recognizing him.

“I wondered who it was. Turns out it’s a little shrimp!”

“You!”

Xie Ning didn’t want to bother with him anymore. She turned and asked Xiao Zhu to borrow ten taels of silver, but Xiao Zhu hadn’t brought any money either.

A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Xie Yunfeng’s mouth. Xie Jing actually wanted to participate in the literary gathering. He was simply overestimating himself.

His eyes darted around: “How about I lend the Imperial Son-in-Law some silver?”

Xie Ning was surprised. She hadn’t expected such a person who would throw themselves into her arms. She immediately grabbed Xie Yunfeng’s hands, saying with great emotion: “You’re a good person, truly a good person!”

Xie Yunfeng disdainfully shook off Xie Ning’s hands and took out a handkerchief to wipe them: “How much does the Imperial Son-in-Law wish to borrow?”

Under normal circumstances, Xie Ning would definitely have mocked Xie Yunfeng for this gesture, but right now, she had no mind for these trivialities: “How much can you lend me?”

Xie Yunfeng said proudly: “This gambling house belongs to me, Xie Yunfeng, alone. Naturally, I have as much as you want to borrow!”

Xie Ning calculated the odds: “Then one thousand taels.”

After all, she couldn’t bear to take too much more.

Xie Yunfeng was also secretly pleased: “Of course. But the Imperial Son-in-Law must sign a promissory note. If you can’t pay it back, I can take the note and demand payment from the Grand Princess, can’t I?”

“That’s proper, that’s proper.”

Both Xie Ning and Xie Yunfeng were eager for this.

After the promissory note was signed and she received the betting certificate, Xie Ning asked again: “How much will I get for betting one thousand taels on myself?”

The accountant calculated: “At least one hundred thousand taels.”

Xie Ning was almost moved to tears. She immediately stuffed the betting certificate into her purse, placing it with Pei Shujing’s socks, showing how much she valued it.

This purse holds her life!

As she left, Xie Ning still reluctantly waved goodbye to Xie Yunfeng, who completely dropped the pretense and mocked directly: “Then I await the descent of the Imperial Son-in-Law’s masterpiece!”

Xie Ning nodded: “Alright, alright. Don’t be scared away when that happens, or I’ll have to block the entrance of your Xie family to collect the debt.”

Xie Yunfeng scoffed, his gaze extremely cold: “I am more afraid that the Grand Princess will break a certain person’s legs. If that happens, my thousand taels will just be the Imperial Son-in-Law’s medical fee!”

Xiao Zhu observed the entire process from the side. She sighed. Could it be that Xie Jing will destroy the Xie family before Her Highness even makes a move?

Xie Ning left the gambling house delighted and entered the literary gathering venue. She saw a tall platform erected at one end, covered with red silk, displaying festivity and dignity.

On the platform were several small tables and chairs, presumably for the court Grand Secretaries and esteemed scholars to sit and preside over the gathering, judging the quality of the works.

On both sides of the venue were viewing platforms with rows of chairs, which must have been reserved for the attending dignitaries.

The center of the venue was left as a large open space, and at the front of this space, directly opposite the high platform, were rows of long benches. Needless to say, these were for the students and scholars participating in the gathering, as quite a few of them were already standing in small groups.

When Xie Ning and Xiao Zhu entered, the people inside noticed the unfamiliar face. An outgoing person immediately came forward to strike up a conversation: “Brother, I am Zhou Xiang, courtesy name Zhanyi. Greetings.”

Xie Ning was still somewhat unfamiliar with this kind of greeting, and she also didn’t know Xie Jing’s courtesy name. She hesitated: “Xie Jing. I’ve met Brother Xu.”

Zhou Xiang found the name very familiar but couldn’t recall where he had heard it. So he asked again: “Brother Xie, under which great scholar are you currently studying?”

Xie Ning thought for a moment: “Studying under… Pei Shujing.”

Xiao Zhu’s mouth twitched upon hearing this.

Zhou Xiang thought the name was strange, and why did it sound like a woman’s name?

He figured this person was just here to make up the numbers for the gathering, and immediately lost interest in chatting. He excused himself and left Xie Ning.

Many students in the venue had been secretly observing the movement there. Seeing Zhou Xiang shake his head slightly, they naturally guessed the situation, so no one else bothered Xie Ning, who was happy for the peace.

After waiting for a while, the atmosphere in the venue started to stir. Grand Secretary Wang, along with the esteemed scholars and some attending dignitaries, began to enter one after another.

The esteemed scholars all looked solemn, while Grand Secretary Wang was all smiles. They ascended the high platform, and with just a look, the venue immediately fell silent.

Then began the inevitable segment of leadership speeches.

The great scholars began to sing praises, eloquently commending the current Emperor’s sagacious rule, the peace and prosperity of the nation, and the clarity of the land and sea.

After the few scholars finished their formalities, Grand Secretary Wang, who was in the center, stood up. After a long discourse, he announced loudly.

“I declare that this Literary Gathering officially begins!”

A loud gong sounded, reverberating throughout the venue.

Support Starting with Intercepting and Marrying the Eldest Princess