Transmigrated into a vicious female supporting role, reborn as a hostage to the paranoid male protag

The Royal Villa was naturally more heavily guarded. Every thirty steps or so, a small group of guards would be present. At the south pier, a special attendant would verify the invitation and then lead the way in via a servant.

Entering from the south pier, a winding path leads to a secluded island. The entrance to the island is a quiet stone staircase that ascends a mountain range. Although it is winter, the rocks are precipitous and strange, and mist pines, green bamboo, and various other plants grow tall and low in the cracks of the rocks.

Today's gathering of talented people was held in several suspended halls on the mountainside. When Mo Yunsheng entered, the talented people from various academies had already arrived and were seated in their respective elegant seats.

"Junior Brother Mo, you were the first one to board the boat today, but why are you the last one to reach the shore?"

"But what happened on the ship that delayed you?"

Five people came to Dongli Academy this time. To conceal his presence, Qin Dong did not come this time. Su Yingxue knew that with Chu Xingchen's methods, if Qin Dong made a move, he would definitely follow.

So this time, Su Yingxue sent Qin Dong out of the city to visit another county. Qin Dong was apparently close to her and loyal to her. If Qin Dong behaved in such a strange way, Chu Xingchen would definitely send someone to pursue him.

Although Qin Dong was not present at the venue, there was the work of the Internal Affairs Supervisor, and there were spies from the Princess's Palace.

"Brother, the boatman's oar broke, so we were delayed." Mo Yunsheng confessed honestly, but omitted the part about Qin Xue.

"In that case, it's good that you're here." The senior brother said with a smile. At least he arrived before the banquet, which was a good thing.

As they were talking, music began to play. This was the music played by the Royal Music Supervisor arranged by the Internal Affairs Supervisor to entertain the distinguished guests before the Juxian Banquet began.

Halfway through the music, footsteps were heard at the entrance to the hall. Everyone looked up and saw a gorgeous, graceful, pure white figure, followed by a group of maids and attendants, appear in the hall.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Changle has arrived." The servant's loud voice made everyone look at Su Liyue with even more enthusiasm.

"Could this be Princess Changle, the role model for women in the Great Qi? I never thought that alongside her reputation for virtue, she would also be so stunningly beautiful."

"I heard that Princess Changle is one of the most talented women in the Juxian Yashe. Her talent is well-known and she loves talented people very much, so she holds a banquet to celebrate talented people every year."

"In previous years, most of them were set up elsewhere. I didn't expect that this year it would be set up in Sanxian Mountain, the Royal Courtyard."

"Yes, it shows how much Her Royal Highness Princess Changle values ​​talented people like us."

Whispers and quiet discussions filled the air. Besides being absorbed in the study of sages, these talented scholars from various academies occasionally heard of some of the nobles of the Grand Capital. Naturally, meeting a noble of the caliber of Princess Changle for the first time was a source of anticipation and surprise.

After Su Liyue sat down, she looked at the young talents in the room who stood up and bowed. She smiled gently. This smile was like the sun and the moon losing their brilliance. Nothing in the world could compare to her beauty.

"Teachers, please take your seats," Su Liyue said softly. "This is just an ordinary banquet. These talented scholars are now the most admired by the top academies. They may even become pillars of the nation in the future."

"Liyue is honored to invite everyone to gather together. It is a great honor for the talented scholars to come and Liyue will be grateful." Su Liyue is indeed beautiful and eloquent. Her words made the talented scholars present feel extremely happy.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. The gathering banquet is about to begin." Just as Su Liyue finished speaking, servants came out one after another holding scrolls.

"These are three different exam questions set by His Highness Changle. Since each academy is divided into ten groups, one representative from each group will come forward to select the exam questions."

The leading father-in-law briefly repeated the rules.

Soon, ten representatives reported which set of questions they would like to take. This round of blind selection was quite unexpected.

"Now that you have chosen your exam questions, each set of questions will be divided into three parts. Volume one corresponds to statecraft. Volume two corresponds to poetry. Volume three corresponds to calligraphy and painting."

"Each candidate in each group must complete three exam questions. The maximum time to answer each paper is one incense stick."

"The school entrance examination area is on this side." As soon as the father-in-law finished speaking, the servant removed the screen that was blocking the front, and soon there were separate desks and seats arranged, with all the four treasures of the study available.

"Dear talented students, this exam will be conducted on a free-seating basis. Time will start from the moment you take your seat, and your answer sheet will be collected once you leave your seat."

"The talented students can decide how to allocate their studies to the three subjects. We will have the attendants collect the papers by 3:00 pm at the latest."

"In the meantime, you can enjoy your meals and tea in the side halls, led by the servants. So, from now on."

"As soon as everyone takes their seats, the assessment will begin."

After the eunuch finished explaining the rules, all the talented people began to open the scrolls in their hands, and three test questions appeared on the paper.

This is an individual competition. After completing three papers, the total score will be calculated based on the total score. The final result will be calculated and the top three will be reported to Her Royal Highness Princess Changle to receive the prepared prizes.

Seeing this, Mo Yunsheng thought to himself that he would have to finish three sets of papers before noon before he could leave.

Therefore, as soon as his father-in-law finished speaking, he stood up, sat down in the examination area, picked up his pen and began to answer.

Mo Yunsheng, clutching a jade wolf-hair brush, wrote lines of vigorous, powerful small characters that practically pierced through the paper. He was the first person to take a seat, quickly becoming the focus of all the talented scholars in the academy.

He was dressed in white, gentle and elegant, and the way he held the pen was extremely graceful. People looked at him because they thought he was the first one to enter the examination room and was too anxious.

But Mo Yunsheng was feeling a bit anxious. It would take some effort to finish the three exam papers within the time limit of an incense stick.

He promised Sister Axue that he would appear at noon, so he went to find her at noon.

After a stick of incense was over, Mo Yunsheng handed in all three answer sheets. At that time, there were still many talented people in the academy writing books or painting in the examination room.

But Mo Yunsheng didn't really care about the outcome of this gathering of talents. He knew it was a good opportunity to show off in front of the royal family, but he still had many questions for Qin Xue.

If he couldn't clarify these doubts with her face to face, he would feel very conflicted.

Therefore, the gathering of talents banquet will be held every year, but Qin Xue, if he doesn’t go at noon, will she still wait for him there?

After handing in the answer sheet, Mo Yunsheng asked the servant to leave a letter for his senior brother, then quietly stood up and walked out of the hall.

He was dressed in white and walked alone through the quiet bluestone path in the mountains.

It's called a small path, but it's actually quite large. After all, this is the royal residence of the royal family, so the path is wide enough for more than a dozen people to walk side by side.

However, the mountains on both sides are lush with forests, including pines, cypresses and evergreen trees. In winter, there is no desolation at all, but rather lush greenery.

Finally they arrived at the dock. He looked at the sun and saw that it was indeed the time they had agreed to meet. He smiled gently and looked out at the clear lake.

For some reason, he felt filled with joy at being able to see her and wait for her to meet him.