Quick Transmigration: After Fake Death, All the Protagonists I Flirted With Went Crazy

In the 22nd year of the Tianqian reign, the imperial examination was re-enacted in July.

In mid-August, the results of the imperial examination were announced, and Gu Yao emerged victorious, becoming the top scholar of the year.

To ensure fairness, Gu Yao's answer sheet was posted. His essay criticized current malpractices and observed the people's livelihood in the smallest details, which was highly praised by the Emperor.

Upon its publication, the article drew widespread admiration.

Gu Yao was also revered by students as "the greatest talent".

In the subsequent palace examination, Gu Yao once again became the top scholar.

This firmly established his identity as a leader among students across the country.

Including his previous top score in the provincial examination, Gu Yao can be considered to have achieved the "Triple Crown" (winning the top score in all three levels of the imperial examinations).

Emperor Xuan recognized his talent and once privately summoned him. The second son of the Gu family was not afraid at all and spoke eloquently in the Taihe Hall.

When discussing the people's livelihood, he was moved to tears.

After this conversation, Gu Yao was exceptionally granted the title of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a third-rank official.

From this point on, Gu Yao officially entered the power struggle.

Late August marks Gu Yao's twentieth birthday, which is also the time when Gu Yao comes of age.

The imperial edict bestowing the title was sent to the Prime Minister's residence along with the coming-of-age ceremony, demonstrating Emperor Xuan's high regard for Gu Yao.

After the coming-of-age banquet ended and the guests left, Gu Yao finally had time to rest.

That day, his face was so stiff from smiling.

Gu Yao also had to deal with various people inquiring about his marriage, both openly and secretly, which made him feel extremely tired.

He pulled out a box that had been sitting in his sleeve for a day; it was something Mu Chun had secretly given to Gu Yao.

"The coming-of-age ceremony given to the Gu family steward is the formal one; this is a special gift from the Prince to the young master."

Gu Yao knew what was inside as soon as Mu Chun handed the box over.

After all, the active 0529 immediately detected that it contained a sachet.

Looking at the exquisite sachet in the box, the fine Hunan embroidery, which would require a skilled embroiderer to work on for a long time, and the lifelike bamboo, it was clear that the person who prepared the gift had put a lot of thought into it.

Gu Yao gently stroked the sachet, as if he was thinking of someone.

Ever since the last near-disaster, Gu Yao has been raising his standards. Now that he's on this journey, he's Gu Le'an.

Sachet, symbolizing longing.

Is it a token of love?

Gu Yao appeared gentle, but inwardly he was sneer.

The green bamboo stained with blood must look quite beautiful.

The autumn hunt must be coming soon.

*

With the crisp autumn air, the annual autumn hunt has arrived as scheduled.

Just then, an envoy from Xiling arrived, and officials from both countries went to the hunting grounds together.

During the banquet, the Xiling envoy presented a gift and clapped his hands to have a horse brought in.

The people of Xiling are brave and warlike, and Xiling is also famous for its warhorses. Throughout the country, except for the young, weak, sick, and disabled, even women and children can ride horses across the grasslands.

When the Xiling envoy heard during the banquet that most scholars in the Xuan Dynasty could not ride horses, he looked at them with disdain.

The Xiling envoy was tall and imposing. He placed his hands on his chest and bowed to the emperor.

When the spirited horse was led onto the hunting ground, Gu Yao knew that the envoy was up to something.

As expected, after the Xiling envoy finished his greetings, he turned to the civil officials' seats and said loudly, "I have long heard that the Great Xuan Dynasty is full of talented people. In our Xiling, women can ride across the grasslands, and men can ride horses as young as five."

At this point, the Xiling envoy, with a proud expression, paused and continued, "We do not require five-year-old children to be able to ride horses. If any of the civil officials present today can ride one of our horses and run two laps around this hunting ground, Xiling is willing to offer a thousand of its best warhorses."

The Xiling envoy looked arrogant and surveyed the surroundings.

Upon hearing this, the officials present held their breath.

Xiling was founded on the grasslands and was originally a nomadic people, so the warhorses they raised were of the finest quality.

Every year when they bought warhorses from Xiling, they were inevitably ripped off, but there was nothing they could do about it.

A thousand warhorses is no small number.

The envoy looked around and scoffed, "The Great Xuan is a great nation. Surely you are not just good at talking big, but are even inferior to the women and children of Xiling?"

Upon hearing this, a burst of laughter erupted from the Xiling banquet. Even the third prince of Xiling, who was sitting at the very front, had a mocking smile in his eyes and brows. He swirled his wine glass with a lazy expression and did not say anything to stop his own envoy from being so offensive and provocative, as if he was deliberately watching the joke.

These words caused the faces of the civil officials at the banquet to turn pale and then red, but none of them responded.

If this task is done well, it will bring honor, not only effectively dampen the arrogance of the Xiling people, but also win a thousand warhorses.

However, if it is not handled well, it will be a diplomatic incident, and may even lead to the emperor's dislike and hinder one's career.

Gu Yao sighed; what was bound to happen had finally happened.

The people of Xiling had long been seething with resentment over the fact that the eldest son of the Gu family had been wreaking havoc on the border.

Gu Yao knew that it was time for the Third Prince of Xiling to make his appearance.

Speaking of which, this is an old acquaintance.

As expected, Wanyan Jue, who had been keeping his head down and remaining silent, slowly spoke.

"I've heard that our top scholar this year is General Gu Cheng's younger brother. General Gu Cheng is extremely brave on the border and has a lot of prestige in the army. I suppose his brother must also be a hero who can ride on horseback."

Gu Yao's eyes darkened, and he looked up at Wanyan Jue.

This is such a subtle provocation.

He is quite prestigious, which is quite a story.

Just how prestigious is he?

This is quite concerning; does it threaten the safety of military power?

These are all questionable.

Ideally, it would be best if it could incite Emperor Xuan's suspicion towards Gu Cheng and the Gu family; if not, it could at least trap Gu Yao.

Neither of the two Xiling is losing out.

Everyone in the capital knows that the second son of the Gu family has been sickly since childhood, panting after every three steps, and almost died when he was young. He really is a weak scholar, or rather, a weak scholar with poor health.

Gu Yao smiled. "A frail scholar?"

He simply couldn't let them have their way.

He can ride a horse.

I could feel everyone's eyes gradually gathering around me.

Gu Yao slowly put down his teacup and rose from the ranks of the civil officials.

As he walked slowly down the aisle, the young man's steps were steady. He was slender, yet his back was ramrod straight, exuding an air of arrogance.

He resolutely mounted the horse, cracked the whip, and rode a few steps, but Gu Yao noticed that something was wrong with the horse.

The horse was extremely agitated, galloping around like a maniac, circling in the center of the hunting grounds, as if trying to throw its rider off.

Gu Yao was startled and quickly calmed himself down.

He knew that Xi Yue was there and would definitely save him, so he would also shine brightly.

Although it's quite different from the storyline, it ultimately leads to the same goal.

Holding tightly to the reins, Gu Yao's face was pale as he did his best to keep himself from falling.

As long as you finish two laps, you'll have saved face!

All the old wounds seemed to erupt at this moment, making Gu Yao even more unsteady.

Looking at Gu Yao's pale face, covered in large beads of sweat, 0529 gripped his code and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Host, would you like me to block out pain for you? This feature is free."

Gu Yao was dizzy and disoriented from being jostled around by the mad horse.

"No need, pain is what makes it real."

As soon as Gu Yao stepped out of the room and was exposed to everyone in Xiling, Wanyan Jue wanted to stop him.

He never imagined that Gu Yao would be the person he had been longing for.

When Gu Yao silently and resolutely stepped onto the horse, Wanyan Jue began to regret it.

If he had known that Gu Yao was him, he would never have chosen Gu Yao as his scapegoat.

The Xiling people laughed and sneered, and someone even shouted, "If you can't handle it, then hurry up and come down!"

"That's right, if you get hurt, don't blame us later."

"Look at those skinny arms and legs. Be careful not to fall and get trampled to death by a horse. That would be a real joke."

"I heard this is the most outstanding civil official this year, and a top scholar at that! Aren't they supposed to parade through the streets on horseback? How come he can't even ride a horse now? Maybe he's riding a mule, hahaha!"

"Ah, you're wrong about that. What kind of horse can a scholar ride? They're just led around by someone. There's a saying in the Great Xuan Dynasty, oh, 'A scholar is useless in a hundred ways!'"

"Nonsense, how can you say that? As long as the scholars of Xiling aren't crippled, they're quite skilled at riding horses..."

"I made a mistake."

"It should be 'The scholar of Xuan is utterly useless'."

"Hahahaha, that makes sense, that makes sense."

......

As Wanyan Jue listened to these words, the veins on his forehead throbbed, and he wanted to strangle these good-for-nothing bastards at any moment.

A sharp glance swept across the group, and the Xiling delegation fell silent.

Emperor Xuan's face was grim, and the courtiers of the Great Xuan looked at each other, their faces as if a palette had been overturned, their expressions complex.

These sarcastic remarks are provocative, trampling on the dignity of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Unfortunately, they had no way to solve the problem.

Seeing Gu Yao's pale face, Wanyan Jue took a deep breath, wanting to get Gu Yao down quickly.

He knew that Le'an was in poor health, and if something happened to him later, he would want to kill himself.