Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Early the next morning, Xiao Lan and her group set off from Jizhou and arrived in the capital by noon. Xiao Lan had Li Yuan find an inn and booked all four rooms in the west wing on the second floor. She left Li Yuan and the others to watch the luggage, while she, along with Yue'er, Dingding, Dangdang, and four bodyguards, went to Dingxiang Hutong in the north of the city. They found a broker named Huang San and explained their requirements for the house. Huang San happened to have a three-courtyard house for sale. Xiao Lan went to take a look. Upon entering the main gate, there was a screen wall with hibiscus flowers in front of them. To the right were the stables and woodshed. To the left was half a rear building and half a kitchen. Entering through the hanging flower gate, they entered the inner courtyard. The ground was paved with stone slabs. Walking along the stone path, they faced the main building, with the east and west wing rooms on either side. The surrounding covered walkways were filled with flowers, trees, and shrubs, making it feel like a small garden. At the end of the back courtyard was a pond filled with koi of various colors. Xiao Lan was very satisfied after seeing the property. He negotiated the price with the homeowner and finally bought it for five hundred taels of silver. He then signed the property transfer agreement with the original homeowner and had Huang San go to the government office to complete the remaining formalities. When the real estate agent returned, he handed the new property deed to Xiao Lan, who immediately paid Huang San one tael of silver as a service fee. Seeing Xiao Lan's generosity, Huang San said, "Young master, my home is in Furong Lane up ahead. If you need anything in the future, please feel free to come to me. I know this area of ​​the North City like the back of my hand."

Seeing that Huang San was efficient, Xiao Lan said, "To be honest, Brother Huang, a distant relative of mine is coming to the capital to do business and asked me to look at two-courtyard houses for him. If there are any nearby with low prices, please come to my house and let me know. However, he only gave me ten taels as a deposit. If I want to buy it, I'll have to go to the General's Mansion to get the rest of the money." Xiao Lan was going to report to Minglu Academy in a few days. She could only bring one maid with her, so she decided to bring Dingding and leave Yue'er and Dangdang at home. Therefore, for safety's sake, she brought up the General's Mansion first, to avoid being taken advantage of by some people who thought she was an outsider. After telling Huang San today, everyone around would know about her connection to the General's Mansion by tomorrow. Huang San agreed, chatted for a few more minutes about the surrounding area, and then took his leave.

After seeing Huang San off, Xiao Lan began to look around the house. She planned to store some important items in the backyard first, and she would live in the west wing of the inner courtyard. She would leave the east wing for her brother, who would be going to the capital to prepare for the imperial examinations next year.

Leaving Yue'er and Dangdang to tidy up the house, Li Yuan returned to the inn with Dingding and four bodyguards. As they were moving their belongings, Li Yuan said to Xiao Lan, "Young Master, after the move, the rest of them will go straight back to Shaozhou. I'll stay in the capital to protect you. This is what the chief instructed us to do before he left." Xiao Lan then realized that Lin Dayou was worried Xiao Lan wouldn't adapt well to the capital and wanted Li Yuan to find her a place to stay near Minglu Academy for a month, ready to serve her at any time, until she had settled in before returning to Shaozhou.

Although Xiao Lan wanted to tell Li Yuan that the security in the capital was actually quite good, she also knew that Li Yuan would absolutely obey Lin Dayou's orders. Since she needed to find a shop and employees recently, having an experienced hand like Li Yuan around would be even better. So she didn't refuse, "Okay, Uncle Li. Let's move the things first. We'll talk more when we get home."

After loading the goods onto the carriage, and arriving at Dingxiang Alley, Yue'er and Dangdang had already cleaned the east wing and backyard. Once the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) had moved everything into the inner courtyard, the seven bid farewell to Li Yuan and returned to Shaozhou.

After Xiao Lan and the others settled in, they didn't start cooking. Instead, the five of them went to a nearby restaurant and ordered food and drinks. Not long after they sat down, they heard two people dressed as scholars chatting at the next table.

The man in the blue robe said: Brother Li Wei, are you confident about the exam at Minglu Academy in five days?

The man called Li Wei replied, "I heard that more than a hundred people took the exam this year, but the academy only admits five. I don't know if I will be able to pass."

"Why are there so many people taking the exam this year? I remember there were less than fifty people in previous years."

"I heard that Young Master Lan recommended a student. Although it's not Young Master Lan himself, with Young Master Lan as his guarantor, he must be no ordinary person. Moreover, there are rumors that this person is Young Master Lan's disciple, so many students have come from other places to register because of this. Haven't you noticed that there are a lot more carriages in the city lately?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lan was so surprised he could hardly close his mouth. The others were fine, but Yue'er asked Xiao Lan, "Young Master, is that Young Master Lan really that capable? I remember you seem to know him; your aunt asked you to ask him for a favor, right?" Xiao Lan suddenly didn't know how to respond. Of the five people at the table, no one except him knew that Young Master Lan was Xiao Lan. Saying he was capable seemed shameless, while saying he wasn't seemed like blatant lying. However, Xiao Lan thought for a moment; since the poems weren't his own creations, he said, "Very capable, comparable to a great Confucian scholar of our time." He then lowered his head to eat, but in his mind, he kept pondering: In his past life, he had written a recommendation letter in Young Master Lan's name, but in this life, he was admitted directly through his father's official position. The question then arose: who was the person who was recommended? Did someone impersonate Young Master Lan and deceive that student? Or did someone discover that the so-called Young Master Lan couldn't be found and resorted to trickery?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. So he gave Li Yuan a wink, stood up, walked to the table next to him, and bowed to the man named Li Wei, saying, "Brother, I am Xiao Huanzhi from Yuzhou. May I ask your honorable name?" Huanzhi was Xiao Mu'an's courtesy name. Xiao Lan usually used this name when he dressed as a man in public.

Seeing that Xiao Lan was a handsome young man, Li Wei stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Young Master Xiao, you are too kind. My name is Li Wei, from the capital. This is my friend, Lin Yuxuan." He then pointed to the young man in blue. "Young Master Xiao, please have a seat."

After thanking him and sitting down, Xiao Lan quickly asked, "I just heard you two mention Young Master Lan. I also admire Young Master Lan's name, which is why I came here to ask. I hope you two gentlemen won't take offense."

Li Wei and Lin Yuxuan exchanged a glance, and then Li Wei said, "To be honest, Brother Xiao, we're preparing to take the entrance exam for Minglu Academy this year. In previous years, they selected five out of less than fifty applicants. This year, we heard that a student with a recommendation letter from Young Master Lan is going to enroll, so students from all over are coming here. There are already more than a hundred applicants, but the academy is still only admitting five students as usual. I'm really troubled by this, so I invited Brother Lin to the tavern for a drink." After saying that, Li Wei smiled bitterly and sighed.

Lin Yuxuan then spoke up, "I was admitted without examination thanks to my father and brothers' connections. But Brother Li's father abandoned martial arts for business, so he had to take the exam himself. If it were like previous years, with students from the capital and nearby prefectures, Brother Li would have had a chance. But this year, because of Young Master Lan's recommendation letter, students from all over have flocked to the capital, which..." Lin Yuxuan didn't finish, but Xiao Lan understood. With so many people, the admissions would remain the same, and Li Wei's chances were slim. However, Xiao Lan knew that the person with the recommendation letter was definitely an imposter, so she asked Lin and Li, "Do you two know who the recommendation letter is for? As far as I know, this Young Master Lan became famous at a young age, is not very old, and is always elusive, not liking others to find him. Why would he write a recommendation letter for someone?"

"Well, I really don't know who it's for. But Brother Xiao said that Young Master Lan doesn't write recommendation letters, is that reliable?" Li Wei had also had a few drinks, and coupled with the increased number of applicants for Minglu Academy these past two days, he was in a bad mood. He also started gossiping.

"You two know that Young Master Lan's poetry collection was sold in my hometown of Yuzhou, right? To be honest, I also went to queue up to buy the book back then, but none of us who bought the book ever saw Young Master Lan's face. So everyone said that he didn't like to interact with people. Later, many powerful families tried to win him over, but to this day, I haven't heard of any of them finding Young Master Lan. To this day, Young Master Lan's appearance remains a mystery. How could someone like that go back and write a letter of recommendation for someone who is unknown? If he is truly Young Master Lan's disciple, he must have real talent and learning. Let alone five out of a hundred, even five out of a thousand, he could pass the exam."

Upon hearing Xiao Lan's words, Li Wei suddenly understood and said, "Brother Xiao, you've truly enlightened me! How could I not have thought of that? Everyone says he's Young Master Lan's disciple, so if he truly has talent and learning, why would he need a recommendation to enter the academy? If he doesn't have real talent and learning, how could he be Young Master Lan's beloved disciple? Tomorrow I'll go to the academy to inquire. If that person is a fraud, even if I have no hope of passing the exam this year, I will expose him."

Xiao Lan was overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking to herself, "That's exactly what I was waiting for." Otherwise, it would be too conspicuous for someone like her, who was admitted without examination, to be concerned about someone with a recommendation letter. So she said to Li Wei, "Brother Li, that's truly righteous." After chatting with the two for a few more minutes, she bid them farewell and returned to her table. Lin Yuxuan, watching Xiao Lan's retreating figure, whispered to Li Wei, "This young man is no ordinary person."

Li Wei's raised wine glass stopped in mid-air. After a moment of stunned silence, he exchanged a glance with Lin Yuxuan, paid the bill, and left.

At this moment, Xiao Lan returned to her table, and Li Yuan asked, "Is there anything you need, young master? Is there anything I can do for you?" Xiao Lan was afraid that someone might overhear her, so she said, "Nothing," and turned to Yue'er and said, "Let's finish eating, pay the bill, and go."

After they collected their belongings, they left the restaurant and got into the carriage. Xiao Lan said to Li Yuan, "Uncle Li, there are some things I haven't figured out yet. I'll tell you after I've sorted them out. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the General's Mansion to deliver our visiting cards first, and then go to the academy to register."

Li Yuan drove the carriage, and the group returned to the newly purchased three-courtyard house. After a quick wash, Xiao Lan went to sleep. Unbeknownst to her, Ye Yuandong, who was across the street, had seen her talking with Lin Yuxuan and the others at the restaurant. Ye Yuandong even sent someone to follow Xiao Lan's carriage to see where she would stay. The person responsible for the follower didn't even notice that a young man in blue was following him.