The General Seized Her by Force - Chapter 16

After the Chuanlu Grand Ceremony concluded, the Jinshi scholars finally embarked on their true official careers.

According to tradition, the first rank (Yi-jia) entered the Hanlin Academy, while the second (Er-jia) and third (San-jia) ranks had to undergo an additional assessment. Based on their results, they would either be stationed in various departments within the capital or sent out to local posts, starting as county magistrates.

Wen Shu was the Tanhua (third-place winner) of the first rank, holding the seventh official rank, and was appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy.

After the official posts for the three of them were finalized this morning, they went to the Ministry of Rites to collect their four sets of official robes for the spring and summer seasons before returning home. They would formally report to the Hanlin Academy tomorrow.

While collecting the clothes, Wen Shu heard the top-ranked Zhuangyuan mention that the Emperor intended to compile a history of famous officials in the near future, allowing meritorious ministers to be remembered for eternity and treacherous officials to be disgraced forever.

For the descendants of those who could be entered into the “Scroll of Meritorious Ministers,” this was the supreme honor.

However, compared to other urgent tasks in the Hanlin Academy, this was not particularly pressing, so it was delegated to the newly appointed Hanlin scholars, such as Wen Shu and the runner-up (Bangyan) Wan Kaile, both of whom were seventh-rank officials.

On the way back, Wen Shu leaned against the carriage wall and chatted softly with Doubai, who was driving. “The Emperor mentioned the compilation of the history of famous officials half a year ago. I suppose that back then, he was already planning to select people from our cohort to compile the book.”

Doubai replied, “Young Master is truly lucky. As soon as you entered the Hanlin Academy, you were entrusted with an important task. When I dropped the Master off at the Ministry of Rites earlier, he was still muttering to himself, worried that after you reached the Hanlin Academy, you would have to start from the chores involving documents.”

Master Wen was incredibly anxious, thinking that since Wen Shu was delicate and fair-skinned, she wouldn’t be able to handle labor like moving books. He thought if all else failed, he would sneak into the Hanlin Academy during his free time and move the books for her.

Wen Shu laughed and sat up straight. “My father is worrying for nothing. Everyone has to go through such training. Even if it is doing chores and moving books, I can do it.”

At most, she would just have to make a few extra trips.

Wen Shu pursed her lips and lowered her eyes, gently stroking the green round-collared official robe on her lap. She was filled with anticipation about reporting to the Hanlin Academy tomorrow, even if it meant doing menial tasks upon entering.

That was the Hanlin Academy, after all.

It was said that Chancellor Chu and Empress Pei had both started their paths from the Hanlin Academy.

For scholars throughout the land, entering the Hanlin Academy meant there was a possibility of being enfeoffed as a marquis or becoming a chancellor.

However, Wen Shu did not have such lofty and magnificent ambitions; she only hoped to do her duty well and be able to return to her hometown smoothly when the time came for her to retire.

When she was calm, Wen Shu could even lull herself to sleep inside the swaying carriage.

It wasn’t until Doubai let out an “ah” that Wen Shu’s right eyelid began to twitch wildly.

Before Doubai could even speak, she sensed something amiss. She quietly got up, leaned toward the carriage curtain, and secretly lifted a corner to peek outside.

Sure enough!

She saw that sturdy, heavy, oily-black horse blocking the steps in front of her house again.

Her family had a small house, and it wasn’t necessary to install the ferocious stone lions to guard the gate just to show off. But now, Wen Shu was racking her brain to think of what Li Chu was afraid of; even if it cost a fortune, she would be willing to hire them and place them on both sides of the gate!

The black horse was alert. She had only stared at it for a couple of seconds when the horse, as if it possessed human intuition, turned its head to look at her.

Wen Shu gasped in fright and quickly lowered the curtain, even subconsciously using the official robe in her arms to cover the gap in the curtain tightly.

Her heart was thumping, almost jumping out of her throat.

Wen Shu swallowed hard, clutched the official uniform in her arms tightly, opened her eyes wide, and slumped back. After regaining her composure, she turned to the side and urged Doubai repeatedly, “Quick, quick, quick, take a detour! Go around twice, wait until she leaves, and then come back.”

Doubai hesitated. “Ah, Young Master, you are too late.”

Wen Shu: “?”

What was too late? They hadn’t reached the front door yet.

Before Wen Shu’s brain could catch up, the back of the carriage sank slightly. Then, the curtain was lifted, and Li Chu, dressed in a rouge-colored slim-waisted, narrow-sleeved long dress, jumped onto the carriage while it was still moving and ducked into the cabin.

When Wen Shu looked over, dumbfounded, she met Li Chu’s eyes directly as she looked up.

Doubai was still asking, “Young Master, should we still take a detour now?”

Wen Shu: “…”

Li Chu raised her eyebrows slightly, brushed off her skirt, sat down carelessly by Wen Shu’s side, and tilted her head to look at her. “Hmm?”

Wen Shu wanted to find a crack in the ground to bury herself. Facing Li Chu’s direct and intense gaze, Wen Shu’s ears turned red, and she retorted with a stiff face, pretending to be rough and gruff: “No need.”

People were already on board; what was the use of a detour now?

Wen Shu glared at Li Chu and tried hard to shift her bottom toward the corner diagonally opposite her, attempting to stay further and further away from her in the restricted space. “The General has trespassed into someone else’s carriage without permission; this is not in accordance with propriety.”

She moved to the corner of the cabin, leaving vacant the exact spot she had been sitting in.

Li Chu sat down on it without hesitation and asked back, holding a grudge: “I am not a Confucian general, so why would I care about propriety?”

Wen Shu: “…”

How shameless!

She couldn’t find words to refute this “soldier ruffian.”

Now, Wen Shu’s face was flushed red.

She couldn’t reason with her, and she couldn’t beat her in a fight, so Wen Shu could only stare at Li Chu with wide eyes.

Unfortunately, Li Chu was thick-skinned. Not only did she sit straight and let her stare, but she also started talking on her own. “Is the color of the clothes good today? This is rouge color—red but not ostentatious. It’s different from yesterday’s deep red.”

Wen Shu thought to herself: Where would Li Chu’s ostentatious and aggressive nature ever need a red dress to be displayed?

Even if she wasn’t wearing anything, she was still so ostentatious and aggressive that one would be left helpless.

Just as Wen Shu was secretly criticizing her, Li Chu happened to turn her head and look over. When their eyes met, and she saw Wen Shu’s beautiful, inquisitive phoenix eyes, Wen Shu’s face heated up. She looked away guiltily, pretending to study her own carriage wall.

How could she have thought about Li Chu not wearing clothes?

She was clearly not that kind of person.

It was all Li Chu’s fault for making her so angry.

Li Chu followed Wen Shu’s gaze to the wall of the Wen family’s carriage and asked, “Or do you think that my little poem from this morning was good, and you acknowledge that I am a Confucian general?”

This cabin must have been in use since Master Wen was still a county magistrate in Pingjiang, at least eight or nine years old. As they sat inside, the swaying of the cabin caused a loose, rattling sound; she figured some wooden board or hidden nail had aged and loosened over the years.

Li Chu knocked on the carriage wood, checking one by one.

Wen Shu blinked. After realizing that the “little poem” she was referring to was “Little sheep, little sheep,” she immediately retorted: “How can that count as a poem?”

Li Chu was righteous and bold. “Is a doggerel poem not a poem?”

She shifted the blame back, swept her eyes over the green official robe in Wen Shu’s arms, and let out a light hum: “That’s true, Scholar Wen is from the Hanlin Academy, so it’s normal for you to look down on doggerel.”

Wen Shu was truly unable to defend herself.

It wasn’t that she looked down on doggerel; she just looked down on General Li’s “nonsense poems.”

Just as Wen Shu wanted to take Li Chu’s bait and argue with her about “what a poem is,” she saw out of the corner of her eye that Li Chu was knocking and tapping, and her eyes lit up. She seized the opportunity to say: “The carriage is dilapidated; I dare not let the General demean herself by enduring it. I ask the General to please get off the carriage.”

Li Chu had already found the key to the problem; this piece of wood had a sound that indicated something was wrong.

It was just that she didn’t have any tools on hand, so she couldn’t fix it now.

Li Chu smiled, withdrew her hand, turned around, and leaned close to Wen Shu’s face. She rested one hand on the seat cushion beside Wen Shu’s leg, and looked at her from the bottom up:

“We are going to the Yang family house now. You have two options: either you let me demean myself and sit with you in the carriage, or you let me get off and run behind your carriage. You can pick one.”

Li Chu looked at her with great anticipation, raised her hand, bent her finger, and tapped lightly on Wen Shu’s stubborn head as if knocking on the carriage wall:

“Either one is fine. Being kicked out of a carriage by one’s spouse is nothing to be ashamed of.”