Inside Qionglin Garden, everyone was completely stunned by the two bombs Gu Fangchen had just dropped in succession.
The amount of information was overwhelming.
All eyes turned to the two items in his hands, on one side, the Grandmaster's invitation; on the other, her divination scroll.
The old minister who had been rendered speechless earlier hurried forward to inspect the invitation carefully, and then his face contorted as if he had swallowed a fly. With difficulty, he said, "That truly is the Grandmaster's invitation..."
Though his official rank wasn't high, his age was great, and his reputation on the literary stage was one of deep respect. With his experience and discernment, there was no chance he could have mistaken it.
Now, it wasn't only him who felt as though they had swallowed flies, everyone else was equally shocked, equally unable to accept it.
How could such an aloof and noble Grandmaster possibly send this foppish wastrel to attend a banquet in her stead?!
If it had been any ordinary banquet, they could have comforted themselves, saying that perhaps the Grandmaster had casually sent someone to represent her.
But the Qionglin Banquet was not an ordinary banquet. For someone to appear here on her behalf meant that everything Gu Fangchen said and did today carried the Grandmaster's approval!
Li Qingguang was even more astonished. Turning toward Gu Youren, she asked,
"Mr. Gu, what is going on here?"
What else could it be?
Gu Youren's face was expressionless; she had already gone completely numb.
At this point, could this situation still be explained purely by "influence"?
Even when her personally transcribed scripture had been destroyed, in such a disrespectful manner at that, the Master had not been angry. Instead, she had allowed Gu Fangchen to attend the Qionglin Banquet in her place.
Gu Youren couldn't help but wonder, just how much did the Master like Gu Fangchen, to break precedent again and again for him?
But soon her gaze dropped to the scroll in Gu Fangchen's other hand, and her brow began to twitch violently.
That truly was her Master's usual type of scroll.
Though not of the highest grade, normally used for matters concerning national fate, it was not something she would casually hand out.
If her Master had personally performed the divination, then the result inside could not possibly be wrong.
Once it was unrolled, the truth would be plain to see. There would be no need to wait for Master Juehui to arrive.
However...
Meeting Gu Fangchen's half-smiling, half-taunting gaze, Gu Youren's once-certain conviction began to waver.
Others didn't know, but they did.
Gu Fangchen had been summoned by the Yong'an Emperor last night, and afterward had entered the Grandmaster's residence. He must have already obtained the result.
And yet today, he dared to reveal it publicly before everyone.
That meant there could be only one possible outcome within that scroll...
Gu Fangchen, smiling lazily, extended the scroll forward.
No one but he knew that inside it were only five words: "Tear it up, is that fun?", meaningless to anyone else.
He muttered inwardly to himself.
The Grandmaster must still have been angry after all. Otherwise, according to the Yong'an Emperor's intent, the words "Gu Fangchen is the bloodline of the Northern Garrison Prince" would have been written clearly.
Then he wouldn't have had to go through all this effort, to use the invitation first as a declaration of authority, to make everyone's attention focus on him.
First, he had to let Gu Yuandao understand that he and the Grandmaster were truly on the same side.
Then, by taking out the scroll, the intimidation would reach its peak.
Gu Yuandao, of course, understood all of this. He knew for certain that Gu Fangchen could not be Gu Yuye's son, but he dared not gamble.
As long as the Grandmaster endorsed Gu Fangchen, then in the eyes of everyone present, he effectively was.
Under so many watching eyes, all of Gu Yuye's previous plans were ruined. Gu Yuandao couldn't afford to take that risk.
If he accepted the scroll, it would almost certainly be a dead end.
If he didn't, he could at least buy some time, and once he completed his Heart Inquiry, the situation could yet be reversed.
Thus, Gu Yuandao chose silence.
The moment he fell silent, all those officials who had believed the outcome already settled, and had been ready to mock Gu Fangchen's self-destruction, suddenly stared wide-eyed.
Wasn't the matter of the false heir already long confirmed?
Since Gu Yuandao had reunited with Gu Yuye, and the Princess Consort had only ever borne one son, then naturally Gu Yuandao was genuine and Gu Fangchen false.
Now that even the Grandmaster had provided a result, shouldn't that be a great thing...?
Why then did Gu Yuandao not dare to look?
Zhao Wenyuan stepped out from behind, asking in confusion,
"Top Scholar Gu, why not look?"
"These past few days, the princely manor has been in chaos over this very issue. Now that the Grandmaster herself has acted, the result cannot possibly be mistaken."
He truly couldn't understand, why not simply look and end the stalemate?
And moreover, why was Gu Fangchen so sure he wouldn't dare...
Could it be that Gu Fangchen truly was Gu Yuye's son?
If that were true, then things were about to get very interesting.
It wasn't just Zhao Wenyuan thinking this way. Everyone present was either a seasoned official or a sharp-minded scholar, their imagination each more vivid than the last.
They all gasped softly, drawing the same connection: perhaps Gu Fangchen was Gu Yuye's illegitimate child!
Then that War Saint of a Prince must have stumbled into his own pit, dug by his own hand!
He had dug the hole, only to bury himself in it... How could that possibly end well?
Gu Yuandao turned a cold gaze toward Zhao Wenyuan, cupped his hands in the direction of Purple Extremity Hall, and said sternly,
"This matter is private, but this banquet is not. His Majesty arranged this feast to reward all Hanlin scholars, not merely for me alone."
"How could I turn the Qionglin Banquet, an event meant to honor scholars across the realm, into a venue for settling private affairs?"
"Would that not be the height of selfishness?"
Though the reasoning was stretched, the logic held.
Several students friendly with Gu Yuandao immediately raised their voices in support:
"Indeed! Since it's a private matter, it should naturally be resolved in private."
"To blur public and private is the beginning of chaos!"
Hearing this, Gu Fangchen arched a brow and glanced sideways, suddenly feeling an impulse to give them a thumbs-up.
These Yaoshan Academy students... were rather adorable.
Their eyes still held the untainted innocence of those uncorrupted by the world.
Gu Yuandao's face twitched, yet he could not quite maintain his composure.
Everyone knew that Gu Yuye and Gu Yuandao had recognized each other on the imperial court floor itself, a textbook example of turning private matters into public spectacle.
That line of reasoning seemed to be aimed squarely at Gu Yuye.
At last, Gu Youren stepped forward, her tone solemn.
"Yuandao is right. Since everyone is here already, let us begin the feast. We must not delay the appointed time."
And then, another problem arose.
The seating arrangement at the Qionglin Banquet was based on rank.
At this very moment, the highest-ranking person in the entire Qionglin Garden was the one holding the Grandmaster's invitation, Gu Fangchen.
Putting away both invitation and scroll, Gu Fangchen fanned himself lazily, swaggered forward past Gu Youren, and plopped himself right into the second seat from the top.
The first was reserved for the Yong'an Emperor.
Gu Youren: "..."
She turned away, took several deep breaths, and steadied her mood.
Below, the crowd whispered among themselves; the atmosphere was somewhat awkward, neither tense nor relaxed.
She drew in another deep breath and, as the representative teacher of the academy, offered the first congratulatory gift from the institution to the top scholar.
The cold and elegant woman in white extended her finger, and a scroll instantly unfurled in midair.
On it were written four characters: "Literature Carries the Dao."
Gu Youren rose, looked at Gu Yuandao, and said softly,
"These words were written by the Master himself. They are meant to remind all scholars that their words must hold substance, and not be empty talk."
"He already knows the essay you wrote in the Palace Examination, and thus he chose these four words as your congratulatory gift."
Gu Yuandao was visibly moved and replied earnestly,
"Your disciple shall not disappoint!"
Compliments filled the air once again, the mood returning to its earlier liveliness.
Gu Youren, intent on helping Gu Yuandao recover some face, quickly thought of something and continued,
"Since today brings together so many talented youths and esteemed elders of the literary world, why not play a drinking game to add some merriment? Let us take the lotus flower as our theme, and each compose a poem."
The hall immediately erupted in cheers.
Li Qingguang's eyes lit up. This was their "poetic vein's" moment to shine!
Surely her senior brother would outshine them all!
She turned her head, only to see Liu Xuan staring blankly, wearing an indescribable expression, eyes flicking between Gu Youren, the box in his hands, and finally Gu Fangchen. His face twitched.
This heir apparent...
Did he even know what a poem was?