Chapter 29.2 – The Gossipmongers of Hanlin (2)

This gathering of people from Hanlin Academy was actually pretty down to earth. Unlike what outsiders might think, when they get together they didn’t talk about those stuff that cultivates the temperament like poems and songs.

On the contrary, everyone had gossip to talk about, and that was what they preferred to talk about when they gathered together. For example, this was how that gossip about Lu Qipei and Princess Qi Yang spread around. Some people were already talking about it before Lu Qipei and Qi Yang came there.

But now that Lu Qipei and her little fiancée had appeared, it was difficult to talk about this topic. It was obviously awkward and thoughtless to talk about someone in front of them, and looking at the two being so lovey-dovey, there was no need to speculate anymore either.

As soon as the topic shifted, it turned towards the number one and number two scholars who were still on their way back to visit their relatives, and the shujishi1 examination that will take place after a while.

Lu Qipei was not interested in participating in the topic. She minded her own business and took care of Qi Yang’s food and drinks, and no one bothered them.

When lunch was over, Lu Qipei and Qi Yang finally got out of that atmosphere like they were in their own world. The two of them didn’t want to leave, but also didn’t want to participate in the topic, so they just held their tea cups and listened to the gossips.

Right now, the topic was no longer the number one and two scholar. The topic moved fast and somehow reached the border…

The moustached Lord Tang started by saying, “As you all know, the court received a war report from the northern border a few days ago. It said that the movements of the barbarians had changed again, and they’ve already deployed troops at the border.”

Lord Zhou, whose face was full of wrinkles, continued, “How many days ago was this already, who doesn’t know by now? And since when has the northern border been stable? Fights occur frequently there, what’s so strange about it.”

Then, he added in a low voice. “The war a few years ago wasn’t won easily, and the condition hasn’t been stable for years. It is said that General Ji let the enemies stay around to maintain the importance of his position. How could he not fight?”

Some people nodded when they heard that, while the others refrained from commenting. Anyways, it was just a rumor.

However, someone still said a fair word, “No matter what, General Ji has worked hard to defend the northern border. And it’s different this time. It was usually just small fights in the past, but this time they’re deploying troops on the border. I’m afraid there will be some chaos.”

The topic of the talk turned to war, but for the literati of Hanlin Academy, this was just a discussion on paper. Plus, no one had ever been to the northern border, so talking about the war there always felt a bit empty. So soon, the topic returned to gossip.

This time, they were talking about the barbarians. “I heard that a hero appeared in the north within the past two years. He has gathered a lot of forces, and now it seems that he’s going to establish a country?”

Someone sneered, “What kind of hero is he? He’s just someone lucky. He found himself a strategist and got himself a place among the barbarians in the grasslands by relying on someone else’s planning.” Then he said again, “I heard that he wants to establish a country and become Khan, and appoint that strategist as the prime minister. Who knows who will wield the real power in the grasslands in the future, would it be the Khan, or the prime minister?”

As soon as this statement was said, a lot of people laughed. Perhaps the erudite scholars of Hanlin Academy looked down on that so-called strategist from the northern plains. They would admit that the people of the grasslands were physically strong and good at fighting, but there was really nothing to say about their intelligence.

He wasn’t taken seriously, and the gossip continued. They said that the strategist was roped in by the Khan, possibly by giving him his daughter, etc.

Lu Qipei and Qi Yang listened for a while and found it boring. Plus, they had stayed there for a long time, so they finally stood up and said goodbye to everyone. This time, no one continued tactlessly interrupting the youths’ date. Not to mention that the two just stayed to borrow a place to eat and wasn’t participating in the topic, so they sent them off warmly.

This party was really a bit… ridiculous!

Fortunately, their date wasn’t disturbed much, and they managed to smoothly take advantage of it to have their lunch. Both Lu Qipei and Qi Yang were still in good spirits.

The two went down to the river whose water was filled with pink petals, drifting with the waves. Lu Qipei tried to break off a branch of peach blossom and give it to Qi Yang.

However, the flowers were in full bloom right now. It was fine to just look, but when she touched them, the flower petals fell off leaving only a few blooms on the branch.

Qi Yang couldn’t help but smile when she saw her being discouraged. She raised her hand to take off a fallen peach blossom from her beloved’s shoulder, then kept it as a souvenir from today’s outing. Then, she leaned slightly on Lu Qipei, resting her chin on her shoulder. “Ah Pei is so handsome and elegant, there’s always someone thinking about you out there. What am I to do with you?”

Lu Qipei stood straight only to feel a breath brushing past her ears, and her heart missed a beat. After hearing Qi Yang’s words, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Your Highness, it was a joke. How could you take it seriously!?”

Qi Yang looked at her earlobes turning red and moved a little, muttering, “What if I took it seriously?”

The little princess had the right to be willful. Lu Qipei turned her head to look at her with a little helplessness and doting in her eyes. “Then what does Your Highness want from me? I will listen to you.”

Qi Yang didn’t tell her what to do, because she took the opportunity to kiss her instead. Unfortunately, her positioning was a bit off, and the kiss fell on the corner of Lu Qipei’s lips.