Chapter 4: A Familiar Feeling

Since Han Ranzhi had just taken them to the Jing Yi Pavilion via a shorter, time-saving route, despite reducing some time, they missed out on quite a few beautiful sights of the academy.

After leaving the Jing Yi Pavilion, Han Ranzhi planned to take Lu Yuner to the Scholars’ Hall[1] a bit later. First, she wanted to show her around and casually mention the general situation of the Imperial Academy.

The Imperial Academy was vast in area, with ancient towering trees, lush green shade, and a serene and elegant atmosphere. From time to time, the sound of clear recitations could be heard from the nearby pavilions.

As the two were conversing pleasantly, they occasionally encountered male and female students returning to their dormitories[2] along the way. They all wore white academy robes and greeted Han Ranzhi, while sneaking glances at Lu Yuner with curious eyes.

Lu Yuner and Han Ranzhi had only walked a few steps when they were interrupted by a young female voice behind them, “Judicial Officer!”

The two turned to look and saw three young ladies, around fifteen or sixteen years old, at the prime of their youth and full of vitality.

During their greetings, the students all cast an inquiring glance at Lu Yuner, “Judicial Officer, is this a new female student?”

Han Ranzhi and Lu Yuner looked at each other and smiled. Han Ranzhi explained, “This is a new scholar. You can address her as Scholar Lu.”

Upon hearing this, the students all showed surprise and greeted her one by one, “Scholar Lu.”

Lu Yuner nodded and responded with a smile.

“Scholar Lu, let’s continue.” Han Ranzhi gestured for her to proceed.

As Lu Yuner had just taken a step to leave, one of the female students called out to her, “Scholar Lu, we are all students of the Chengxin Hall! We welcome you to come and give lectures!”

The Imperial Academy was divided into three levels and six halls. The students were assigned to different levels and halls based on their depth of knowledge. To be promoted from lower-level halls to higher-level halls, students had to follow a credit system, where their ability to advance or graduate was determined by accumulating credits through exams.

The primary level consisted of three halls: Zhengyi Hall, Chongzhi Hall, and Guangye Hall; the intermediate level had two halls: Xiudao Hall and Chengxin Hall; the advanced level only had Luixing Hall.

Han Ranzhi looked at the departing figures of the students with great satisfaction, “I didn’t expect our Scholar Lu to be quite popular among the students. Along the way, there were far more students coming up to greet her than I usually encounter.”

“Is that so? But I feel that these students are so respectful towards their teachers and have such good manners, which must be inseparable from the excellent educational influence of the Imperial Academy!” Lu Yuner’s gentle gaze rippled with a hint of a smile in her eyes.

Han Ranzhi said with a smile, “I can tell, you’re praising my effective teaching!”

In the distance, two male students were secretly observing the two chatting and laughing.

“No wonder many male students said they saw an exceptionally beautiful woman outside the Jixian Gate today. It turns out to be true. That Scholar Lu beside the Judicial Officer looks extremely good-looking and has such an otherworldly demeanor. If only she could come and teach in the male academy?”

“Really? I also think Scholar Lu’s smile is so beautiful, especially those enchanting peach blossom eyes. I feel like I could get lost in them. I really want to know if Scholar Lu has already married and had children. If…”

Before he could finish speaking.

“Shameless!” A cold voice suddenly sounded behind the two male students.

The two male students turned around in displeasure and saw the person behind them. They immediately showed a startled expression and said, “Young Master.”

They had also heard that this Young Master would come to study at the Imperial Academy, but they found it hard to believe.

Logically speaking, imperial relatives would have special arrangements for senior scholars from the Hanlin Academy to teach them at home, and there was no need to come to the Imperial Academy at all. Now seeing the person arrive, they had no choice but to believe it.

Su Qingwan didn’t want to stay at Yun Qinwang Mansion, so he went to the dormitory with Xiao Yuan, only to find that the dormitory was not only simple and plain but also shared by four people.

Although there were individual dormitories available next to the East Garden, and servants were not allowed, requiring one to handle all aspects of living on their own, after weighing the pros and cons, Su Qingwan decided to return to Yun Qinwang Mansion. He didn’t want to suffer like this.

Just as he was leaving the dormitory, he heard people gossiping. He was originally going to ignore it, but when he heard the word “Lu,” his moving footsteps suddenly stopped.

Su Qingwan pretended to casually follow the gaze of the two people talking and saw the gradually receding figure chatting and laughing with someone. Just from her graceful and stunning posture, one could vaguely glimpse her charm and elegance.

That woman called “Lu Yuner.”

As his eyes flickered, the clear peach blossom eyes unexpectedly appeared in his mind again. Thinking that someone was complimenting and laughing about how good they looked, he felt inexplicably irritated for some reason.

Su Qingwan swept a cold gaze over them, his eyes full of disdain, “To think that you two are students of the Imperial Academy, it seems you have completely forgotten about propriety, justice, integrity, and shame. If you have nothing better to do, I suggest you go back and carefully review the virtues of men again, don’t you think?”

“Yes, yes, the Young Master is right.” The two male students hurriedly responded and hastily left.

Xiao Yuan, standing on the side, could see that the Young Master was a bit unusual today. Ever since leaving the Jing Yi Pavilion, he seemed lost in thought, only coming back to his senses when there was some noise.

Xiao Yuan asked with concern, “Young Master, what’s wrong with you today? Is it because you’re not used to the Imperial Academy?”

Su Qingwan lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable, and asked softly, “Xiao Yuan, I’m fine. Any news on the matter I asked you to handle?”

Xiao Yuan replied seriously, “Young Master, there hasn’t been any news in the past few days. Based on the clothing worn by the person who saved you, the fabric is extremely simple and plain, and the price is also cheap, typical of ordinary commoner women. However, according to the white magnolia embroidered on the clothing, I took the embroidery sample to all the clothing and embroidery shops in the capital, but they all said it wasn’t embroidered by them.”

Thinking of the white magnolia, Xiao Yuan became more and more excited as he spoke, “Instead, they praised the lifelike embroidery of the white magnolia, saying it looked real. They speculated that the woman must have married a highly skilled male embroiderer. They all asked me for the embroidery sample, saying that in my entire life, I…”

Before Xiao Yuan could finish, he was interrupted by a deep voice.

“You mean, that woman is already married?” The light in Su Qingwan’s eyes suddenly extinguished, and his tone was disappointed.

Xiao Yuan looked up and saw the Young Master’s dejected appearance, realizing the Young Master’s thoughts. He had taken that woman to heart.

He quickly consoled, “I don’t know for sure. Those are just speculations from the male embroiderers, not necessarily accurate.”

Su Qingwan remained silent for a moment, a hint of perseverance flashing in his eyes. He secretly gritted his teeth, “I don’t care about anything else. I must find her no matter what!”

Even if she was already married, so what? He just wished to see her once and know that she was safe and healthy.

In the Scholars’ Hall.

The three scholars said in unison, “Judicial Officer!”

Han Ranzhi introduced, “This is Lu Yuner, the new Scholar Lu.”

Lu Yuner directed her gentle gaze at the three of them and greeted with a smile, “Hello everyone! It’s our first meeting, please take care of me!”

The three scholars also nodded in response, but their expressions varied, quite in line with their individual personalities.

Along the way, Han Ranzhi had already explained the entire situation to her in detail. The Scholars’ Hall had four scholars, one of whom was a male scholar.

The slightly thin woman standing on the left, although plain-looking, maintained a cold expression from start to finish. True to her name, this should be Liu Bing.

The one on the right, dignified and good-natured, seemed to be Wen Qing.

Only the one in the middle, with a slightly plump figure and a lively appearance, must be Zhu Miaomiao.

Han Ranzhi noticed one person missing and asked curiously, “Where is Scholar Sheng?”

Wen Qing explained, “Scholar Sheng had something to attend to in the East Garden. She will be here soon.”

“Alright, since that’s the case, you all get acquainted first.” Han Ranzhi glanced at Lu Yuner and indicated, “Scholar Lu, I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll be going first.”

After all, everything had already been clearly explained.

“Okay!” Lu Yuner responded.

As soon as Han Ranzhi left, Liu Bing, expressionless, was the first to turn around and leave, returning to her own desk to start reviewing schoolwork.

Only Lu Yuner, Wen Qing, and Zhu Miaomiao were left looking at each other, with a slightly awkward atmosphere in the quiet room.

Instead, Zhu Miaomiao enthusiastically came over, grabbed Lu Yuner’s arm, and exclaimed excitedly, “Scholar Lu, come, come! Let me show you around and familiarize you with the environment.”

Zhu Miaomiao led Lu Yuner to her desk, “This is where you will handle your affairs from now on.”

She pointed to the side, “Mine is right next to yours. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Zhu Miaomiao, and the one beside me is Wen Qing.” Then she slightly lifted her chin, “That cold-hearted one is Liu Bing.”

Lu Yuner smiled and nodded to Wen Qing, intending to greet Liu Bing as well, but the other party simply didn’t respond. Quite a personality.

Lu Yuner didn’t mind at all and instead asked, “By the way, isn’t there a male scholar too?”

Wen Qing spoke up, “Yes! The only male scholar in our Imperial Academy, Sheng Qingzi.”

Lu Yuner knew that the Imperial Academy had a female academy and a male academy, with separate classes.

Usually, the Imperial Academy taught the Six Arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. The martial arts portion could be taken as an elective by male students, replaced by learning embroidery and male virtues.

Zhu Miaomiao subconsciously glanced around, turned her head back, and whispered, “Let me warn you in advance, although Sheng Qingzi is not bad-looking, he’s a fiery old… Ouch! My ear!” Zhu Miaomiao cried out in pain, “Sheng Qingzi, let go! It hurts!”

It turned out that Sheng Qingzi had silently stood behind Zhu Miaomiao and grabbed her ear, angrily saying, “That’s what you get for badmouthing me behind my back! Apologize now.”

Lu Yuner observed Sheng Qingzi, with his picturesque features, graceful posture, and peach blossom-like beauty. Indeed, he was extraordinary.

Seeing the current situation, she looked at Wen Qing helplessly, but Wen Qing smiled and indicated for her not to interfere. Apparently, these two bickering was a common occurrence.

Zhu Miaomiao, her face twisted in pain, had specifically looked around before opening her mouth. How could this happen!

She immediately pleaded obediently, “My dear brother-in-law, I was wrong, okay? At least let me save some face in front of Scholar Lu!”

“Scholar Lu?” Sheng Qingzi paused and turned his gaze. Only then did he notice a woman with pure and flawless features beside Wen Qing, looking at him with bright eyes containing a hint of a smile.

Sheng Qingzi felt slightly uneasy, his face turning red. His eyes flickered, revealing a trace of undisguisable shyness.

He immediately let go, his hands fidgeting together, while Zhu Miaomiao ran to the side as if escaping, rubbing her ear pitifully.

Lu Yuner chuckled. Perhaps this was the legendary “love at first sight” scene. She spoke, “I am Lu Yuner.”

Although a bit uncomfortable, Sheng Qingzi immediately responded, “Sheng Qingzi.”

[1] Scholars’ Hall: The office and workplace of the scholars in charge of teaching in the Imperial Academy.

[2] Dormitories: The living quarters for students in the Imperial Academy.