Chapter 59 Rescue

Chapter 59: Getting Out of a Tight Spot

Yin Yuxie's single utterance of "Lord Lu" threw all three present for a loop.

Wen Tongpu wondered where this "Lord Lu" had come from. Huan Zixiao thought to himself, *What an idiot, has no filter at all.* Lu Jiming, for his part, felt relieved. *At least Yin Yuxie remembered to call me 'Lord Lu' in public instead of 'Your Highness,' otherwise it would be even harder to explain.*

Huan Zixiao's quick mind raced. Suddenly, he grinned, turned to Yin Yuxie, and said, "Didn't I tell you? On an occasion like today, don't call me 'Lord Lu.'"

Yin Yuxie was completely baffled. He looked at Lu Jiming, then at Huan Zixiao, wondering what kind of double act these two were putting on.

"What...?" Yin Yuxie was utterly confused and wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Afraid he'd let something else slip, Huan Zixiao directly covered his mouth. Turning to Lu Jiming and Wen Tongpu, he said, "My apologies, I must excuse myself for now." With that, he half-dragged Yin Yuxie away.

Yin Yuxie wanted to struggle, but his hands were full of ginkgo nuts. He simply shoved a handful into Wen Tongpu's hands, but unfortunately, he still couldn't escape being hauled off by Huan Zixiao.

Wen Tongpu bent down to pick up the few nuts he hadn't caught that had fallen to the ground. Suddenly, it clicked. He turned to Lu Jiming and asked, "Brother Hu, that person just now called him 'Lord Lu.' Could he be... an imperial official traveling incognito to observe us?"

Lu Jiming feigned surprise. "Really? But he looks very young."

"Those types are all young masters from great families, raised without ever lifting a finger, of course they appear youthful," Wen Tongpu said. "Tell me, do you think my answer just now satisfied him? Would he think I'm too stubborn and difficult to get along with?"

"Don't overthink it," Lu Jiming reassured him. "Perhaps those two were in cahoots, just playing a joke on us?"

"No, no, no, I must have stumbled upon some great opportunity!" Wen Tongpu bit into a ginkgo shell, his eyes shining. "A Taoist seer once told my fortune, saying this year I'd face a pivotal point—it could be a hurdle or a blessing. But if I get past it, my future will be limitless!"

Lu Jiming nodded, thinking to himself, *Probably a hurdle, since I didn't see you having a limitless future in your previous life.*

Compared to the previous small-scale poetry gatherings, the Pre-Exam Banquet was far more varied. It included not only linked verse but also couplet matching, policy discussions, refined conversation, and the *feihualing* drinking game. Each activity had a chief and a deputy judge. The entire gingko grove was packed to the brim.

"Making couplets sounds fun, Brother Hu! Let's go try that!" Wen Tongpu suggested.

Lu Jiming shook his head, pointing to another area. "If I were you, I'd go to the policy discussion section. Think about it yourself: today is the final gathering before the exams. If any high-ranking officials from the court attend, their primary interest would surely be in hearing opinions and debates."

It hit him. He and Lu Jiming began searching for the policy discussion area. Sure enough, it was crowded with people, several times busier than the other venues.

"You go ahead. It's too crowded; I'll skip the crowd," Lu Jiming said, still wary of the throng potentially jostling A-Luan. There was an area nearby for exchanging name cards. Lu Jiming planned to take another look to see if there was anyone else worth noting.

Wen Tongpu nodded and handed the ginkgo nuts he was holding to Lu Jiming. "Then, Brother Hu, you can crack these ginkgo nuts to snack on?"

Lu Jiming smiled and took them. After Wen Tongpu left, he immediately passed the nuts to Ning Zhifei. Ginkgo nuts were delicious to begin with, and since Yin Yuxie had roasted them himself, they probably tasted quite good. However, these things were toxic and couldn't be eaten in large quantities. In his current state, Lu Jiming knew better than to try any.

Ning Zhifei stared curiously at the nuts in his hand.

"Haven't seen these before?" Lu Jiming asked casually.

Ning Zhifei shook his head. "Father, what kind of fruit is this?"

Lu Jiming's eyes flickered with surprise. In the Great Qi, the ginkgo tree was revered as a gentleman's tree, highly esteemed and commonly seen everywhere. The people of Qi also enjoyed eating ginkgo nuts.

Ning Jia had also mentioned that when the Xiao couple lived in seclusion within Qi territory, they had planted a ginkgo tree in their courtyard. Ning Jia had known what they were. This also served as evidence that the Xiao couple were familiar with ginkgo trees.

As their younger brother, Ning Zhifei, born and raised in the Great Qi, couldn't possibly not know what ginkgo nuts were.

Yet Ning Zhifei seemed genuinely curious... For the first time, Lu Jiming felt a flicker of doubt about Ning Zhifei's identity.

"These are ginkgo nuts, the fruit of the ginkgo tree. Hasn't Yan Huai eaten them with you before?" Lu Jiming asked casually, as if making conversation.

Ning Zhifei shook his head. "The Marquis of Cheng'an's residence doesn't have any ginkgo trees planted. Usually, even if I see ginkgo trees, they're by the roadside. I never paid attention to what their fruit looked like." His daily life involved martial arts training, and his diet strictly followed Feng Qingyue's requirements; he wasn't allowed to eat just anything.

Back when he first arrived at the Marquis's residence, Yan Huai had given him a piece of pastry. After eating it, Ning Zhifei was punished by Feng Qingyue. Since then, he had been even more afraid of disobeying Feng Qingyue over such matters. Thus, he had never seen or eaten ginkgo nuts before.

"They're tasty. Try one," Lu Jiming said. "But just a couple of bites. These things are poisonous; you can't eat them raw, and definitely not in large quantities."

Ning Zhifei peeled one and put it in his mouth. It had a unique aroma with a faint bitterness—a flavor he had never tasted before.

"Hmph, you're here again?" Chi Mengsheng appeared out of nowhere once more, standing before Lu Jiming and Ning Zhifei with his arms crossed, seemingly not having learned his lesson.

Lu Jiming offered him a fake smile. "Young Master Chi truly has a broad mind. I thought I had offended you last time and that you'd never speak to me again."

Chi Mengsheng's face flushed with anger. "I have more important matters to attend to now; I can't be bothered with you. Just you wait until after the imperial exams."

"After the exams, I'll have an official position. Young Master Chi will find it even less appropriate to offend me casually then."

Chi Mengsheng was infuriated by Lu Jiming's infuriatingly stubborn attitude. If he didn't genuinely have important business to handle and couldn't afford complications, he would have long since brought men to give Lu Jiming a thorough beating to vent his anger.

Lu Jiming wasn't bad-looking either. After beating him up, he could deign to sleep with him, then keep him in a separate courtyard like a stray cat he picked up. Even the most unruly temperament could be softened into submission.

But for now, Chi Mengsheng was only entertaining these thoughts. He had no time to waste on Lu Jiming. Impatiently, he said, "Enough nonsense. Where's Wen Qingze?"

"I don't know. I didn't come with him today," Lu Jiming replied, brushing him off, not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble for Wen Tongpu and having other urgent matters.

"What, had a falling out?" Chi Mengsheng laughed, reaching out to grab Lu Jiming. "I'd treat you much better than that Wen fellow. Why don't you come with me..."

Lu Jiming didn't even bother to dodge, knowing Ning Zhifei's hand would be faster than Chi Mengsheng's.

Sure enough, Ning Zhifei seized Chi Mengsheng's wrist and twisted it aside.

As Chi Mengsheng winced in pain and begged for mercy, he thought to himself, *Ning Zhifei isn't bad-looking either. When the time comes, I'll bring more men, subdue him too, and lock him up. I'll keep them both in a separate estate, one as the primary, one as the secondary—enjoy the blessings of having both.*

*But I'll have to cripple Ning Zhifei's martial arts first. Otherwise, his tendency to lash out and scratch people hurts too much.*

On the other side of the crowd, Wei Yan arrived at the venue with Yan Huai. Accompanying them was the official, Minister Sun, who was privately responsible for organizing this year's Pre-Exam Banquet.

"Young Master, the outstanding scholars are all gathered here. This year is different from before; there are many talented individuals with both ability and appearance. They will all be pillars of the Great Qi in the future." Since Wei Yan was traveling incognito, and Minister Sun wasn't officially organizing the gathering in his court capacity, the two walked side-by-side like ordinary friends.

Wei Yan responded absentmindedly, his gaze searching for Lu Jiming.

Lu Jiming always dressed simply, making him hard to spot in a sea of dark-clad figures. However, he stood out enough not to be completely obscured. After scanning the area a few times, Wei Yan spotted his empress in a corner... along with the scoundrel reaching out towards him.

The pleasant look instantly vanished from Wei Yan's face, his brows furrowing deeply. Only when he saw Ning Zhifei intercept the man did his expression soften slightly.

With Ning Zhifei gripping the man's wrist, it was now Yan Huai's turn to look displeased.

"What is that thing?" Yan Huai asked woodenly, turning to Minister Sun beside him.

Minister Sun hadn't grasped what Yan Huai was asking about and was about to inquire further when he heard Wei Yan speak to an Imperial Guard officer following on the other side: "Find a pretext to expel him. That person is not to appear near Xuping again."

The Imperial Guard officer accepted the order and, without another word, pushed through the crowd to drag away one of the imperial examination candidates.

Minister Sun's rank wasn't high enough to know that the empress was also present at today's gathering. He was completely baffled about why the emperor had suddenly become angry, and could only sigh inwardly about the inscrutability of the imperial mind.

Wei Yan had originally wanted to play the game of pretending not to know Lu Jiming, to have a serendipitous encounter at the Pre-Exam Banquet. Now, all that interest was gone. He strode directly towards Lu Jiming.

Then Minister Sun witnessed the emperor inexplicably approach a strikingly handsome candidate and strike up a conversation with him.

That person said something to the emperor in return.

Whereupon the emperor, beaming with delight, took the other's hand, his smile as radiant as could be.

Sun Daren stared, dumbfounded. He turned to Yan Huai beside him and asked, “Young Master Yan, you’re close to His Majesty and must understand his intentions best. Could it be… His Majesty is planning to take a consort?”

Yan Huai replied expressionlessly, “Consort? That’s the Empress.”

Sun Daren immediately clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Who was that man just now?” Wei Yan asked. “Don’t let him near you again.”

“Just someone I happened to meet these past few days. He’s unimportant.” Lu Jiming didn’t care. Just a Chi Mengsheng couldn’t stir up any real trouble—hardly worth special attention.

Wei Yan nodded and leaned closer to Lu Jiming. “After the Ranking Banquet, come home with me.”

Lu Jiming had already planned to return to the palace after the banquet, though he still needed an excuse to bid farewell to Wen Tongpu. After all, the imperial exams were about to begin. If he disappeared without a word and Wen Tongpu went looking for him, it might affect his exam performance—and that would be Lu Jiming’s fault.

“I have matters to attend to once I’m back. Could you send someone to fetch me tomorrow morning instead?” Lu Jiming glanced around. Aside from Yan Huai and a few others, no one was paying attention to them. He quickly leaned in and kissed Wei Yan on the cheek.

This was the first time Lu Jiming had taken the initiative to kiss him in front of so many people. Wei Yan, startled and overjoyed, agreed immediately to whatever Lu Jiming said.

But it was precisely this decision that Wei Yan would come to regret bitterly—because of it, he and Lu Jiming almost lost A-Luan for good.

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Author’s note: *Why is the ginkgo tree considered a “gentleman’s tree” in Great Qi? Because a gentleman is like the wind hiding a sword by West Lake—a little private tribute from this ten-year veteran of Hidden Sword Pavilion.