CH 51.2

Chapter 51.2 – She Said She Missed You (2)

The small competition that Liang held was very lowkey, maybe because even the Emperor didn’t pay much attention to it. Only the Crown Prince took the time to see it and give some words of encouragement, so the situation didn’t look too perfunctory.

Because the opponent was only a child thirteen or fourteen years old, Liang State didn’t want to seem like they were bullying the young, so they also chose some of the younger people among those in the banquet that day.

Not surprisingly, almost all of them belong to the royal family – only officials of the third rank and above were qualified to attend the banquet. Most of the officials who could climb to this level were no longer young, and also didn’t have the time to be distracted with other things, so they had long abandoned the Six Arts.

The only exception was Lu Qipei, who was the opponent called out by Xie Hongyi and the youngest among the people chosen.

Rites, Music, Archery, Equestrianism, Calligraphy and Mathematics. The competition for the Six Arts were held over three days. Most people had their own specialties, and very few of them were proficient in all six.

Lu Qipei was the only exception. Even those who thought that she looked weak and would not be good in archery found that she also performed well in it without fail!

The Crown Prince took the initiative to handle the small competition matter, so even if he didn’t see the whole process, he still looked at everyone’s achievements afterwards.

His feelings about Lu Qipei were rather complicated, but he couldn’t help but feel a little gratified to see her past the test all the way – after all, this was the person that his royal sister chose herself. As long as she didn’t have secretly have nefarious intentions, her talent and looks really were worthy of his royal sister’s adoration.

Thinking of this, the Crown Prince suddenly became very interested in the competition. He even especially summoned Lu Qipei to the East Palace to tell her, “This competition is very important, and you are also Qi Yang’s Prince Consort. I hope you will do your best, and uphold the dignity of Great Liang.”

The Crown Prince said that looking very serious, but his real attitude towards the contest was very clear to Qi Yang. The reason he said that to Lu Qipei was a test – no matter how confident Qi Yang was, if there really as a problem with Lu Qipei, he didn’t want his sister to fall deeper into a trap.

Lu Qipei did not say anything towards the Crown Prince’s words. She wasn’t like the Crown Prince who was just sitting back and watching the whole situation unfold, but looking at it from another perspective, she also had a different insight towards this competition.

But in front of the Crown Prince, especially since Qi Yang’s name was also mentioned, she naturally wouldn’t show weakness. She bowed down and solemnly said, “Your Highness, please be at ease. I will certainly do my best.”

The Crown Prince seemed to nod in relief, but his eyes didn’t move away from Lu Qipei.

Lu Qipei was aware of this, but didn’t do anything to show it. In fact, after she met Xie Hongyi, she felt that it was normal for the Crown Prince and other people to be suspicious. If he didn’t say anything, she would instead be worried about what he was thinking deep inside.

But there was no way around it – even if her conscience was clear, the circumstances brought about by her birth was not something she could do anything about. In fact, she hadn’t even fully figured out the circumstances of her birth.

The two of them had their own thoughts.

The Crown Prince stared at the person in front of him for a moment, then finally retracted his gaze. He said lightly, “You are very good at the Six Arts. Even many descendants of the royal family can’t compare with you.”

Right now, the kingdom of Liang had only been inherited for three generations. It was a time of prosperity, and the children of the royal family had not become so corrupt that they became useless silkpants. The royal family of Liang originally came from an aristocratic background, and they had their own inheritance of the Six Arts, so the descendants of the royal family also learned them since childhood.

Even so, they couldn’t compare to Lu Qipei. Her brilliance once again overshadowed everyone.

Lu Qipei didn’t know why the Crown Prince suddenly mentioned this, but she instinctively became vigilant and replied carefully, “Your Highness is praising me too much. Ever since I’m young, I’ve never thought of taking the imperial examination and becoming an official, so I spent all my time learning the Six Arts and became a little better at it.”

The Crown Prince fell into thought when he heard this, but he concealed it very well from Lu Qipei. He immediately smiled and said, “Qi Yang is too mischievous. When you two just met, she already tricked you into answering the Spring Exam questions. Both I and Royal Father read the answer sheet, and it really was amazing.” He paused for a while, then added, “You have never prepared for the imperial exam, but you did better than the other scholars who studied so hard. It really is amazing.”

When those words came out of the Crown Prince’s mouth, she finally realized what was wrong – the knowledge needed for the imperial exam was different than the Six Arts. Even before talking about anything else, just writing about policies alone needed countless polishing!

When she first followed Lu Qicheng in his studies, she didn’t know what it was for, but it turned out to be preparing for the imperial exam. But now she said that she had not prepared for the imperial exam… The Crown Prince wasn’t blind. After reading her writing about policy, how could he not tell that things didn’t add up!?

Inexplicably, she felt as if she had been caught by someone. Lu Qipei frowned imperceptibly, but her face remained calm. “I’m not completely unprepared. My younger brother started studying since he was young, and I more or less learned from being around him.”

The Crown Prince only mentioned it lightly and didn’t dwell on it. After all, Lu Qicheng’s name was on the reference list of the scholars that took this year’s exam, so it was very easy to check. He didn’t pursue Lu Qipei and just chatted a bit with her, then finally said, “Qi Yang asked me to deliver a message to you.”

Lu Qipei didn’t dare to relax her tense heartstrings, but she also became spirited when she heard those words. Her eyes were burning as she stared at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince coughed dryly and looked away, looking as if he felt uncomfortable. He said, “Qi Yang said that she hasn’t seen you for several days and that she misses you.”

Lu Qipei did not expect that the Crown Prince would even deliver such a message. She stood still for a while, feeling very embarrassed.

From the corner of his eyes, the Crown Prince saw the youth’s face flushed red. His look was no longer as deep as before, and he couldn’t help but feel happy. At this moment, he suddenly believed Qi Yang’s confident words from before a little bit more.