Chapter 49

"What did you say?"

"This astonishing phenomenon was caused by Nian'er?"

The voice of Old Master Gu exploded.

His face was full of shock.

Standing there, he seemed unable to accept this fact.

"Reply, Old Master."

"Indeed, it was the Young Master who caused it. Reports from three spies confirm that the Young Master was targeted, causing a commotion in the examination hall, and then wrote a timeless article before leaving. If nothing goes wrong, the Young Master will be back soon."

The steward Wang was also full of shock.

The Young Master, whom he had watched grow up, had such talent, which truly amazed him.

"Hisss."

At this moment, Old Master Gu was thoroughly trembling.

His whole body was shaking.

He couldn't suppress his excitement.

"Ten years to hone a sword, ten years to hone a sword."

"Truly, ten years to hone a sword."

"My grandson truly has the potential of a sage."

"Ha ha ha ha ha."

"Ha ha ha ha ha."

"My grandson has the potential of a sage."

"A timeless article, truly a timeless article. Nian'er actually wrote a timeless article."

Old Master Gu couldn't suppress his excitement at all. When Gu Jinnian wrote this poem, he was already somewhat amazed, thinking that the Gu family would produce a scholar.

Calling Gu Jinnian a prodigy was a bit exaggerated.

But now, learning that such a stunning celestial phenomenon was also caused by Gu Jinnian, how could Old Master Gu not be shocked?

He was excited.

Unbelievably excited.

He was shouting and yelling in the mansion, completely losing his dignity as a Duke.

Now, with the internal stability of the Great Xia and no major external wars, the status of civil officials would inevitably rise.

The military group seemed calm on the surface because these old fellows were still around.

But they wouldn't be around forever, would they?

So, while they might seem to care little about these scholars on the surface, in reality, they were inviting great scholars to educate their descendants, going to great lengths to do so.

Back in the day, when they were on the battlefield, even if the enemy flayed their flesh, they wouldn't show any weakness.

But now?

Not to mention showing weakness, they would kneel if it meant educating their grandsons well.

So, some military officials in the court were already wavering, preparing for the future by having their grandsons study under these scholars.

It seemed like they were forming a group, but each had their own agenda.

Old Master Gu was also worried about this, but he understood that it was a trend.

A trend that couldn't be reversed.

So he didn't care, but rather hoped that his grandson would also have some achievements.

To excel in Confucianism.

But he never expected that his grandson would give him such a great surprise.

Especially when he thought about Gu Jinnian's previous poetry.

Ten years to hone a sword.

This sword was truly sharp, shocking the world.

"Good."

"Good."

"Good."

Old Master Gu couldn't help but shout "good" three times.

He had never been so happy, truly happy from the heart.

"My grandson is just like me."

Old Master Gu was overjoyed.

But when he glanced at Gu Qianzhou, he was a bit annoyed.

"With such achievements by Nian'er, why don't you say a word? Are you mute?"

"Or are you jealous of my grandson?"

Old Master Gu was overjoyed, but when he noticed that his son didn't show a smile, he became somewhat dissatisfied.

"Father."

"Am I dreaming?"

Hearing Old Master Gu's voice, Gu Qianzhou was still in a daze.

He subconsciously thought it was a dream.

Slap.

Old Master Gu slapped Gu Qianzhou on the head.

The latter was stunned and felt some pain.

"Does it hurt?"

Old Master Gu asked, looking at Gu Qianzhou.

"It hurts."

The latter nodded.

"Then it's not a dream."

"Alright, you take care of it. I'm going to call all my friends back."

"Ha ha ha ha ha, Su Ping, get everything ready. Set up a banquet in the Duke's mansion. Go to the treasury and get as much silver as needed. Make it as grand as possible. Also, call all the children back."

"Our Gu family has produced a prodigy."

Old Master Gu was incredibly excited. He was energetic and walked out of the mansion with a vigorous step.

He wanted to notify all his friends, visiting each one and inviting them over.

He wanted everyone in the capital to know that his grandson, Gu Yuan's grandson, had the potential of a sage.

Old Master Gu left.

Gu Qianzhou also came to his senses.

At this moment, Gu Qianzhou's face was flushed, and he clenched his fists, unable to contain his excitement.

"My son has the potential of a sage, ha ha ha ha ha."

"Truly worthy of being my son, well inherited, well inherited."

"Ha ha ha."

"Lady, Lady, great news, great news."

Gu Qianzhou was extremely excited, but he first headed to his residence.

He wanted to inform his wife of this good news immediately.

Gu Qianzhou walked quickly to his residence, entered the room without hesitation, and said excitedly,

"Lady, Nian'er has made it, Nian'er has made it."

Gu Qianzhou was overjoyed, hugging Li Shi tightly, extremely excited.

"What happened?"

"What's going on?"

Li Shi was confused, not knowing what had happened.

The nearby maids were also curious, not understanding what was going on.

"Lady, did you see the celestial phenomenon just now?"

"That was caused by Nian'er. He wrote a timeless article, causing a stunning phenomenon. Our Gu family is about to produce a prodigy."

Gu Qianzhou was incredibly excited.

"Was this phenomenon caused by Nian'er?"

Li Shi was stunned, her eyes full of disbelief.

"Yes."

"Nian'er has been hiding for ten years, and today he revealed his talent, truly giving our Gu family a great boost."

Gu Qianzhou clenched his fists and said firmly.

A military family producing an outstanding scholar, how could they not be excited?

How could they not be thrilled?

"This phenomenon is so terrifying, did Nian'er get hurt?"

Li Shi came to her senses, feeling both joy and worry.

"No, no, Lady, this phenomenon only brings good, no harm."

Gu Qianzhou shook his head, speaking with great certainty.

"That's good, that's good."

"Nian'er has truly suffered these years, always hiding and being scolded for his studies."

"I told you, Nian'er is very smart. You always looked at him unfavorably, now see?"

With the confirmation, Li Shi couldn't help but speak, both feeling sorry for her son who had been scolded for no reason and for Gu Jinnian who had hidden for ten years, but mostly feeling happy.

Who doesn't want their son to be successful?

"Yes, yes, yes."

"Lady, you are right, you are right."

"Lady, I'll go out for a bit. Nian'er will probably be back tonight, and the mansion needs to be prepared. You'll have to work hard."

Gu Qianzhou said excitedly.

Old Master Gu was inviting people, and he also needed to invite people.

His son was so successful, he couldn't keep it to himself.

"Alright."

"But the arrangements in the mansion should be handled by Steward Wang."

"I need to go to the palace to inform the Empress Dowager."

"This is such good news, it must be told to the Empress Dowager."

Li Shi spoke, deciding to go to the palace to report the good news.

"Alright."

"Then you'll be busy."

"I'll leave first."

Gu Qianzhou nodded. He knew the Empress Dowager doted on Gu Jinnian, and if she knew about this, it would be good for Gu Jinnian.

So it was.

Gu Qianzhou left, and Li Shi immediately arranged a carriage and headed to the palace.

The news from Xiaoxi Village spread throughout the capital.

It can be said that when the news came, the capital was in a state of shock and excitement.

Who could have imagined that Gu Jinnian, whom they had always regarded as a spoiled young man, could write a timeless article?

It was simply unbelievable.

Soon, someone recited Gu Jinnian's previous poetry.

Ten years to hone a sword, the blade has never been tested.

Today I show it to you, who has any grievances?

For a moment, many people were enlightened, realizing that Gu Jinnian was not a spoiled young man but had been hiding his talent.

Today, he revealed everything and wrote a timeless article.

This caused great shock among the people.

More importantly, Gu Jinnian's reputation changed dramatically.

What was the biggest controversy about Gu Jinnian?

It was the incident of him teasing the daughter of the Minister of Rites. But this incident was already murky, and now with Gu Jinnian's timeless article,

There was no longer any doubt.

Everyone believed that Yang Hanrou had accidentally pushed Gu Jinnian into the water and, fearing retaliation from the Gu family, blamed Gu Jinnian.

The facts proved that when a person is excellent, no matter what they do, many people will explain it for them.

This was a living example.

A bad reputation can change in an instant.

The entire capital was buzzing.

But the most excited were the various dukes and marquises.

Old Master Gu went to these mansions alone, barged in without a word, explained the celestial phenomenon, and enthusiastically invited these friends to his mansion.

And regardless of whether they agreed, not going would be a loss of face.

This made many dukes and marquises angry but unable to say anything.

Mainly because Old Master Gu spoke a bit arrogantly.

At first, it was fine, but later, he didn't even pretend, clearly showing off.

"Old Three, don't pretend to be sick. If you're not at my mansion by the seventh hour, I'll tear down your mansion."

"Old Five, bring your useless grandson quickly. Why does he always hang out with Old Two and Old Three's grandsons? He should play with Jinnian. Who knows, Jinnian might teach him a thing or two and enlighten him."

"Wang Dian, call all those guys to my mansion tonight for a drink. Listen to Jinnian speak. You guys are so crude, you need to learn from Jinnian, understand?"

The arrogant words didn't stop.

The Duke of Zhen Guo was very dominant, even going to their mansions and dragging them away, giving them no chance.

The group of dukes and marquises was thoroughly intimidated.

But the main reason was that they also wanted to see Gu Jinnian.

They were really curious.

As for the palace.

Emperor Yongsheng was also rushing.

After finishing his official duties, he hurried to the Empress Dowager's palace to tell her the good news.

Not to mention, his nephew wrote a timeless article, as an emperor, how could he not be happy?

Publicly, it was a great thing for the Great Xia to produce a pillar of the nation.

Privately, it was his nephew, and no matter what, it was a good thing.

As for other matters, they could be dealt with later, but for now, it was a good thing.

"Mother."

"Mother."

Emperor Yongsheng was full of joy, shouting before he even arrived to inform her of the good news.

However, when Emperor Yongsheng arrived at the Empress Dowager's palace,

He found that his sister, Princess Ningyue, was already there.

At that moment,

Emperor Yongsheng's expression paused, slightly restraining his joy.

As the emperor, he had to restrain himself a bit.

"Oh, Ningyue is here too?"

Seeing his sister, Emperor Yongsheng spoke, slightly holding back.

"Ningyue greets Your Majesty."

Princess Ningyue stood beside the Empress Dowager and bowed to Emperor Yongsheng.

The latter nodded.

Then, the Empress Dowager's voice rang out.

"Yan'er, there's great news."

"Your nephew has made it. The celestial phenomenon just now was caused by Nian'er."

"The Great Xia has produced a pillar of the nation, and it's one of our own. Good, good, it's a pity Nian'er isn't here, but I'm truly happy, really happy."

"With such a celestial phenomenon, who would dare to say you're not a good emperor."

The Empress Dowager was very excited, extremely happy.

The world said her son was not rightfully on the throne, and whenever there was a disaster, they blamed her son.

Now, with such a great event, and it being one of their own who caused it,

How could she not be happy?

Hearing this, Emperor Yongsheng nodded.

"Mother, you are right."

"I am also deeply gratified."

"It's all Ningyue's merit, for giving birth to Nian'er."

Emperor Yongsheng said.

But the latter shook her head.

"Your Majesty, you don't know."

"Jinnian's talent is actually your merit."

Princess Ningyue said, looking at Emperor Yongsheng.

"Why?"

The latter was curious.

"Jinnian often tells me that he learns a lot every time he comes to the palace, especially from your teachings. Although Jinnian seems mischievous, he remembers everything you say."

Princess Ningyue said with a smile.

At that moment,

Emperor Yongsheng showed a look of surprise.

"Ningyue, is this true?"

"I always wondered why."

"Turns out Jinnian learned from me."

"Like me, indeed like me."

At that moment,

Emperor Yongsheng couldn't help but laugh.

He felt greatly satisfied.

Although he knew this might be a polite statement, at least half of it was true, right?

In other words, Jinnian's achievements, at least half of the credit should go to his uncle, right?

Thinking of this, Emperor Yongsheng was even more joyful, unable to hide it.

"Ningyue."

"I'll give you a gold token, give it to Jinnian, and have him come to the palace often."

"These years, I've been busy with the court, only teaching Jinnian a little, but I'm very satisfied that he remembers everything I said."

"In the future, have him come more often, to keep Mother company and for me to teach him more."

"Don't let him stay at home or hang out with those military men, especially the sixth son of the Gu family, who always corrupts my good nephew."

"Alright."

"Ningyue, I'll leave first, I have some things to handle. You stay in the palace today and keep Mother company."

Emperor Yongsheng was very pleased.

But on the surface, he still had to hold back, but what he said was true.

Jinnian should come to the palace more often and