AWB Chapter 232 How did you get back to the capital!
Chapter 232 How did you get back to the capital!
Today marks the complete end of the written exam.
The results will be announced soon after the palace examination ends.
Shangguan Qingqi appeared at the painting pavilion looking refreshed. When he got to the third floor, he found that Su Mowan was not there. He asked Manager Liu of the second route and learned that Su Mowan had not been to the painting pavilion for two days.
This is so unusual.
Shangguan Qingqi thought for a moment and said to Manager Liu, "If she comes, tell her to come to Wanhua Tower tonight."
Manager Liu could only smile and agree, but he was not very happy about it.
Su Mowan was married after all, and Shangguan Qingqi was always hanging around her. Although Manager Liu could tell that there was nothing illicit going on, he still felt it was inappropriate.
As Shangguan Qingqi left the painted pavilion, he encountered Tang Minzhi and his two companions who were coming towards him.
It was past noon, a time when there were relatively few pedestrians on the street.
The people on both sides paused when they saw each other, staring at each other from a distance of three meters, neither of them wanting to speak first, creating a very strange atmosphere.
In the end, Xue Ting made the first move.
He cupped his hands in greeting to Shangguan Qingqi opposite him and said with a smile, "What a coincidence! I can't believe I've run into Young Master Shangguan here. Are you here to see Young Master Mo? Oh, by the way, I haven't congratulated you on winning the martial arts championship yet."
His words sounded quite sincere, and there was nothing wrong with them.
Shangguan Qingqi wore a faint smile, still not very polite, or rather, arrogant.
He raised his chin slightly: "Then I will accept it. Although Young Master Xue has been defeated this time, do not be discouraged. You will be a hero again in three years."
Xue Ting was somewhat displeased, but he didn't show it on his face and only replied with another polite remark.
Chi Xuan, standing nearby, became restless.
He had made a wasted trip last night and was in a bad mood. Although he knew that Shangguan Qingqi's identity was not someone he could afford to offend, he still couldn't help but ask, "You've won the martial arts championship, but I wonder how Young Master Shangguan's academic performance will be?"
After Chi Xuan finished speaking, he glanced at Tang Minzhi, his provocative intent obvious.
Shangguan Qingqi glanced at him, and seeing that Tang Minzhi across from him hadn't said a word from beginning to end, he smiled again.
"Don't worry about that. You should think more about Young Master Tang. Perhaps he will rise to the top this time and achieve great success."
Tang Minzhi knew that Shangguan Qingqi was deliberately steering the conversation toward him, but it was indeed Chi Xuan who provoked first, and they were in the wrong.
He smiled modestly and said, "Young Master Shangguan may also achieve great success in the imperial examinations. My teacher values Young Master Shangguan highly."
The "teacher" that Tang Minzhi mentioned refers to Gu Taifu, the teacher that Shangguan Qingqi and Tang Minzhi shared after Shangguan Qingqi transferred to the school.
Grand Tutor Gu is the Crown Prince's tutor. To be valued by Grand Tutor Gu means that one must have some real ability.
However, Tang Minzhi's words were a compliment to Shangguan Qingqi, giving him face.
Shangguan Qingqi was very pleased.
Chi Xuan and Xue Ting were unaware of this; if they had, they would have certainly refuted it, because Grand Tutor Gu did not value Shangguan Qingqi, but instead frequently found fault with him and presented him with all sorts of tricky problems.
Of course, in the eyes of a good student like Tang Minzhi, this was something to be valued.
Shangguan Qingqi raised his chin, glanced at Chi Xuan who looked incredulous, and uttered a humble word for the first time.
He said, "Not at all, Grand Tutor Gu clearly values you more, Young Master Tang. In any case, we'll know the results tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to seeing Young Master Tang's name on the list tomorrow. It's getting late, I need to go find my friends to hang out with. You three enjoy your time, farewell."
After saying this, without waiting for the others' reactions, Shangguan Qingqi turned around and left, showing complete freedom of movement.
Tang Minzhi didn't think much of it, but Chi Xuan spat at Shangguan Qingqi's back and said disdainfully, "Damn it, a dead homosexual dares to be so arrogant! So what if he's a little good-looking and comes from a good family! What's there to be proud of!"
The fact that Shangguan Qingqi was gay has become common knowledge.
Chi Xuan had only been in the capital for less than two months since arriving from Youzhou, but he had already heard about it countless times, and each time he felt a chill run down his spine.
Thinking of this, he added, "I really don't know how the Right Chancellor disciplined him. He looks like a respectable person, yet he's taken such a crooked path. Who knows how many people are gossiping about him behind his back?"
"What advice do you have?"
Tang Minzhi chuckled, thinking that Chi Xuan was making a fuss over nothing, and said, "Whether someone likes men or women is none of our business, and it doesn't bother you, so why are you so concerned?"
Chi Xuan was taken aback by Tang Minzhi's unexpected attitude.
He then said, "How can it be unrelated! People like that are disgusting! I feel nauseous every time I see them; I almost threw up my lunch!"
Suddenly, Xue Ting patted Tang Minzhi on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Minzhi, I've noticed you've been acting a bit strange lately. You may be sad, but don't let it make you dislike women!"
"..."
Tang Minzhi glared at Xue Ting in annoyance, about to rebuke him for "talking nonsense," but Chi Xuan beat her to it.
Tang Minzhi has indeed been much more sullen lately compared to before, and they all know that Minzhi is heartbroken this time.
Chi Xuan knew that Xue Ting was joking.
Following Xue Ting's lead, he said, "I also feel that Minzhi has been acting strangely lately! We've been to this painting gallery several times, but Minzhi hasn't shown any interest in buying any calligraphy or paintings. Could it be... that Minzhi has ulterior motives?"
"Then where do you think it is?"
Xue Ting accepted it with a smile.
Just as Chi Xuan was about to continue his witty banter, he noticed that Tang Minzhi's face was actually turning slightly red.
Chi Xuan looked as if she had seen a ghost and exclaimed in shock, "No way, Minzhi! Why are you making that face?! You haven't really changed your mind and started liking men?!"
"..."
Tang Minzhi didn't want to pay any more attention to the two of them and went inside the building first.
Chi Xuan and Xue Ting, who remained where they were, looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Really? I was just joking..." Xue Ting was a little taken aback.
You're such a jinx!
Chi Xuan quickly spat out a curse, then said, "Oh no! Could it be that Minzhi has fallen for that Young Master Mo in the painting studio? Ever since we last met him, Minzhi has been coming here from time to time, but he hasn't shown any interest in buying any calligraphy or paintings. Could we have been right?!"
"……cough."
Xue Ting then remembered that on the first day of the civil service exam, he and his group of brothers treated Tang Minzhi to a relaxing meal at Zui Jinzhao, and it was then that Tang Minzhi met that Young Master Mo again.
If he hadn't gone out of the private room to check, he wouldn't have known that Tang Minzhi had run into Young Master Mo.
Since ancient times, we have heard a lot about homosexuality and homosexuality, and we have seen some of them, but Tang Minzhi clearly liked women before!
Besides, it's impossible for Minzhi to have fallen for someone so quickly, right?
Xue Ting was unable to describe her current feelings.
He had a vague, bad feeling: Minzhi seemed to really have feelings for that Young Master Mo!
Seeing him standing there in a daze, not saying a word, Chi Xuan nudged him with her elbow and whispered, "What should we do?"
"What do you mean?"
Seeing Chi Xuan's unpleasant expression, Xue Ting couldn't help but laugh again: "You're not the Minister of Personnel, so this matter is neither necessary nor your responsibility."
Without waiting for Chi Xuan, he chased after her into the painting pavilion.
After entering the painting pavilion, Tang Minzhi went straight to the third floor.
He was in a bit of a mess right now, all because of what Xue Ting and Chi Xuan had said.
He simply thought that Young Master Mo was a nice person and wanted to make his acquaintance with him. Before making his acquaintance, he naturally wanted to linger in front of him a few more times, so he ended up wandering into Wanggui Tower without realizing it.
Now, after hearing what Chi Xuan and Xue Ting said, even he began to wonder what was wrong with him lately.
After carefully considering what the two people said, I became increasingly alarmed.
Without realizing it, he became so concerned about someone he had only met twice!
The last one was Su Mowan. He was certain that he admired Su Mowan, and now the situation was exactly the same with Young Master Mo.
Could it be that I...
Tang Minzhi was frightened, so he abandoned the two of them and hid in the painting building. Just now, because he was feeling guilty, he was stunned and missed the best opportunity to explain. Seeing the two of them looking at him like that, Tang Minzhi felt ashamed.
He slowly climbed to the third floor, hoping to see Young Master Mo, but also feeling guilty and thinking it was better if he wasn't there.
As it turned out, the person was indeed not there.
Tang Minzhi felt a sense of loss, but then unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning my head, I saw two eye-catching paintings hanging at the entrance of the stairs. The people in the paintings were all exceptionally beautiful and very lifelike.
He had already seen it when he came last time, but this time he noticed something different.
After staring at Shangguan Qingqi's portrait for a while, Tang Minzhi felt a little strange. He seemed to suddenly dislike Shangguan Qingqi.
Tang Minzhi was startled by her own thought.
This was the first time in his life he had ever disliked someone, and that person was none other than Shangguan Qingqi.
And the reason he disliked Shangguan Qingqi...
He still remembered that two days ago, when he was drunk today, Xue Ting asked Mo Gongzi in front of him if he was very familiar with Shangguan Qingqi. At that time, the person next to Mo Gongzi explained that the two were only in a monetary transaction relationship, and that Mo Gongzi had only painted a picture for Shangguan Qingqi.
However, after Young Master Mo entered the private room, Xue Ting told him that on the day of the martial arts exam, he personally saw Young Master Mo and Shangguan Qingqi go to the training ground.
The two even put their arms around each other's shoulders, appearing very familiar with each other.
At the time, Tang Minzhi was a little confused as to why Young Master Mo would lie.
Now, looking at Shangguan Qingqi's portrait again, he realized that Young Master Mo had painted Shangguan Qingqi even more stunningly than the real person; this was a masterpiece.
He felt uncomfortable.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Tang Minzhi quickly composed herself and moved to another painting three steps away, pretending to look at it intently.
The footsteps reached the third floor, stopped behind him, and remained still.
It's not Xue Ting and Chi Xuan.
Tang Minzhi had just finished making his judgment when he turned around, but was so startled by the person looking at him with a half-smile that he almost took a step back.
He steadied himself and looked at the person in front of him in disbelief, a mixture of surprise and confusion.
"Why did you come back to the capital?!"