The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 888 - 888 409 Breakthrough (First Update)

Chapter 888: 409 Breakthrough (First Update) Chapter 888: 409 Breakthrough (First Update) Ning Zhiyuan had a close friendship with Xiao Liulang, though outsiders were not too aware of this fact. It was only because this coachman, Old Wu the second, had stumbled upon them a few times that he knew Ning Zhiyuan and Xiao Liulang were quite close in private.

He was tight-lipped and didn’t blab about it.

However, now that Ning Zhiyuan had an accident, Old Wu the second couldn’t care less about keeping things to himself.

“What happened to Compiler Ning?” Xiao Liulang asked.

In an anxious and worried tone, Old Wu the second said, “He broke an antique inkstone in the Wenhua Pavilion, and they say it belonged to the late Emperor… What should we do? If they really start blaming, Compiler Ning’s career won’t survive this!”

Damaging the imperial family’s possessions was indeed a serious taboo; not even Scholar Han could save Ning Zhiyuan.

The Wenhua Pavilion was not far from the Imperial College, so Xiao Liulang asked someone from the College to head over first while he dealt with something and said he would arrive shortly afterward.

Soon after, Xiao Liulang and Old Wu the second went to the Wenhua Pavilion.

The grass and trees, bricks and tiles of the Wenhua Pavilion remained the same as before, the scent of osmanthus that greeted the nose was all too easy to stir one’s memories.

Xiao Liulang’s expression turned distant for a moment.

“Compiler Xiao, Compiler Xiao?” Old Wu the second called out to him.

Xiao Liulang came back to his senses, looked at Old Wu the second, and said, “I’m fine. Where is everyone?” Without waiting for Old Wu the second to direct him, he nodded and said, “I know, in Tingfeng Courtyard.”

With that, he strode toward Tingfeng Courtyard.

Old Wu the second was confused: “I don’t think I told you they were in Tingfeng Courtyard… Have you been here before? How do you know where Tingfeng Courtyard is?”

The Wenhua Pavilion in total comprises one pavilion and three courtyards; the main pavilion is the Wenhua Pavilion, which is used to store books. Tinglan Courtyard is Princess Xinyang’s private courtyard, Tingtao Courtyard is used to entertain guests, but only Tingfeng Courtyard is used for storing antiques and classical books that need repairing.

Scholar Han came here today because Princess Xinyang brought back a large box of paintings by famous artists from Fengdu Mountain, among which were two volumes of “Mencius” and “Doctrine of the Mean” annotated by the esteemed Mr. Zhuge from the previous dynasty.

Princess Xinyang planned to gift these two books to the Hanlin Academy.

Since the books were moved here and were to be given away shortly, they were temporarily placed in Tingfeng Courtyard instead of the Book Pavilion.

Xiao Liulang made his way to Tingfeng Courtyard, familiar with the path.

He found that not everything was the same here; at least, all the faces he saw were no longer familiar.

The current caretaker of the Wenhua Pavilion shared the same surname as Old Wu the second and was nearly fifty years old, though he looked only in his early forties.

The matter had caused quite a stir; not only he but several deputy caretakers from the Wenhua Pavilion also came along.

Ning Zhiyuan was brought here by Scholar Han, and if there were an issue, he wouldn’t be able to escape responsibility, either. He was pleading with the caretakers, asking if he could take the inkstone with him, claiming that there was a Doctor of Classics in the Hanlin Academy proficient in antique restoration who might be able to fix it.

However, the caretakers wouldn’t give Scholar Han this face and insisted on detaining Ning Zhiyuan to be dealt with by Princess Xinyang later on.

“Scholar Han,” Xiao Liulang approached and saluted Scholar Han, then glanced at Ning Zhiyuan beside him.

Upon seeing him, Ning Zhiyuan grasped at him like a life-saving straw, “Liulang!”

Scholar Han frowned and said, “Weren’t you at the Imperial College? Why did you come here? This isn’t your business to meddle in; you better leave right now.”

Xiao Liulang replied, “The Imperial College doesn’t start classes this early. I heard there was trouble here, and Compiler Ning came here on my recommendation. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Liulang…” Ning Zhiyuan corrected himself, “Compiler Xiao, don’t say such things. It was my own carelessness that caused the inkstone to fall; it has nothing to do with you.”

Xiao Liulang was not in a hurry to comfort Ning Zhiyuan but looked at the caretakers opposite him: “May I take a look at that inkstone?”

Seeing that he wore the official garb of the Hanlin Academy, Careers Manager Wu knew he was a Hanlin officer and didn’t refuse his request, but… Careers Manager Wu looked at his lame leg and cane with a rather odd expression in his eyes.

Xiao Liulang, accustomed to such scrutiny, stood there with dignity, waiting for the servants of the Wenhua Pavilion to carefully bring the broken inkstone on a tray.

This was an imperial inkstone used by the third emperor of the Great West Dynasty, an antique from two dynasties ago. No wonder the caretakers of the Wenhua Pavilion were so nervous.

However, this inkstone was not broken by Ning Zhiyuan; it had been broken a long time ago by the young Xiao Hen.

Fearing Princess Xinyang would spank him, he had Long Yi find some fish bladder glue and hastily stuck it together.

So it turned out that Ning Zhiyuan really was trapped by him.

Without changing his expression, Xiao Liulang said, “This inkstone was originally broken.”

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