Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Xiao Lan didn't say a word on the way, just kept walking. Luo You thought that even a minor official's daughter dared to give him attitude, so he didn't talk to Xiao Lan anymore. After walking for about an incense stick's time, they arrived at Dean Tan's study. Luo You gave his name to the servant boy and was then led inside. Dean Tan was making tea when he looked up and saw Xiao Lan had come along. He was surprised, but Xiao Lan shook her head at him, so he didn't say anything. Luo You was quite anxious. After finishing, he said to Teacher Tan, "Dean Tan, my daughter took the academy's inner court exam three days ago, but her name is not on the list today." "Lord Luo, please calm down," Dean Tan gestured for Luo You to sit down and said, "Lord Luo, if you hadn't come to see me today, I would have visited your residence tomorrow." He then took out Luo Yuanyuan's admission form and said, "Your daughter was not originally qualified to study at my Minglu Academy, but she gave us a recommendation letter from Young Master Lan half a month ago, and that's how she gained admission. I wonder if Lord Luo is aware of this?" Xiao Lan smiled. This old teacher was quite shrewd; only the Luo father and daughter were probably clueless. She didn't sit next to them, thinking she should let them speak first. She had been worried about how to openly listen to Teacher Tan "discuss prices," but Luo You, this impetuous fellow, insisted on having her come along. Although I really dislike his attitude of forcing me to come, it doesn't stop me from openly listening now and seeing how much my wallet can grow.

After listening to Master Tan's words, Luo You didn't even bother to ponder their deeper meaning. Without a second thought, she replied, "Of course I know that! However, despite having a letter of recommendation, she ultimately failed the exam and her name is nowhere to be found on the list. More importantly, the master in charge of this matter personally told my daughter that all of this was at your behest." As she spoke, Luo You became increasingly agitated, and her voice unconsciously rose in pitch.

Seeing this, Master Tan frowned slightly, gently stroking his ear with a hint of displeasure. He stared directly at Luo You and said, "Lord Luo, there's no need for such a loud noise. Although I am quite old, my ears are still quite sharp. Otherwise, how could His Majesty entrust the education of all the princes to me?" In the past, Master Tan would never have dared to speak so directly to someone like Luo You. Unfortunately, this year was different. Except for the eldest prince, who was far away, all the other adult princes had transferred from the Imperial Academy to Minglu Academy. Therefore, Master Tan, now practically a half-Imperial Tutor, was naturally filled with displeasure at Luo You's audacity in raising his voice so loudly.

Luo You was a clever man, and he instantly understood the meaning behind Master Tan's words. He quickly put on a smiling face and explained, "Dean, please don't blame me. I am just a rough person, and sometimes I have a habit of shouting. I didn't mean to be disrespectful to you! I hope you can forgive my rudeness." Seeing that Luo You had so quickly admitted his mistake, Dean Tan didn't press the matter any further. She continued, “Actually, having Young Master Lan’s recommendation letter wouldn’t have been a problem for me studying at this academy. However, three days ago I received the real letter from Young Master Lan and a recommendation letter. Only then did I realize that the Vice Minister’s residence dared to use a fake letter to deceive people into giving me admission.” Luo Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment, then said, “You’re saying my letter is fake?” She pointed at Xiao Lan, “The real letter you’re talking about is hers?” Seeing that Teacher Tan was about to speak, Xiao Lan panicked and rushed to the group, her expression slightly flustered but still maintaining proper politeness. She quickly said, “Greetings, Teacher! I was taking a nap in my room this afternoon when this Miss Luo, leading this Lord Luo, barged into my courtyard without a word or permission. They insist that I only got this opportunity to study here because of Young Master Lan’s recommendation letter, but that’s not true at all! I was able to study at Minglu Academy entirely according to the standards for children of officials sent to other posts.”

As she spoke, Xiao Lan took out her admission certificate from her bosom and carefully handed it to Master Tan, adding, "Master, please look, this is my proof of admission." Master Tan took the certificate unhurriedly, glanced at it seemingly seriously but actually casually, then nodded slightly and said slowly, "Hmm, not bad, you were indeed admitted based on your father's official rank." Before he finished speaking, he held the certificate high, deliberately showing it to Luo Yuanyuan and Luo You. Then, he casually returned it to Xiao Lan.

After quickly glancing at the documents in Xiao Lan's hand, Luo You's eyes widened suddenly, and he glared fiercely at Luo Yuanyuan standing to the side. He inwardly regretted his actions; how could he have given birth to such a foolish and incompetent daughter! She was so impulsive and thoughtless, not even bothering to understand the most basic facts before dragging him to confront this so-called minor official's daughter. Fortunately, after some investigation, he discovered that she didn't come from any powerful or influential families, which relieved him somewhat.

Immediately, Luo You suppressed his anger and put on a relatively polite expression, saying to Xiao Lan, "Miss Xiao, there were indeed many misunderstandings in today's matter. Now that the truth has come out and there is no major problem, please go back first." After saying that, he secretly planned that as long as Xiao Lan left, he would ask her more about the ins and outs of the so-called true and false letters.

To his surprise, Xiao Lan showed no intention of leaving. She smiled slightly and replied firmly, "I'm sorry, Minister Luo, this matter is far from over, so I cannot leave for the time being." Without waiting for Dean Tan's reaction, she reached for a cup of fragrant tea on the table and gracefully walked to a nearby stool, sitting down slowly. Then, with a smile on her face, she stared intently at Luo You and Luo Yuanyuan, seemingly awaiting their next reaction.

Luo You was furious, feeling that Xiao Lan was being incredibly unreasonable. However, he couldn't afford to fight with a young lady like Xiao, so he suppressed his anger and said, "Miss Xiao, your matter has been investigated; it was just a misunderstanding. The rest is my daughter's business and has nothing to do with you. Please go back now." Xiao Lan, after hearing his words, wasn't angry. She continued to smile at the father and daughter, saying, "Excuse me, Minister Luo, you trespassed into the courtyard of an unmarried woman like myself and verbally coerced me to come to Dean Tan's place with you. You don't think letting me leave now is a favor to me, do you?" Then, she changed her expression and looked at Luo You, saying, "Let me tell you, that's impossible. You can talk all you want; I'm not leaving." She then ignored Luo You and the others and continued drinking her tea. Luo You really wanted to punch someone, but this was the academy, and the dean was there too. So he said to Master Tan, "Dean, aren't you going to discipline the students?" Master Tan glanced at Xiao Lan and replied directly to Luo You, "This student wasn't invited by me, how can I discipline her?" Hearing this, Luo You knew that Dean Tan didn't want to get involved either. He thought she was just the daughter of a minor official; he could deal with her later if necessary. So he ignored Xiao Lan and glared at her fiercely. Then he said to Dean Tan, "What did you mean by fake letter? How can you be sure ours is fake? And whose is the other one?"

"Minister Luo, I dare say this with evidence, and I will show you the proof." He took out two letters, blocking Luo You's hand from taking them, and said to Luo You and Luo Yuanyuan, "You two just need to watch, don't touch them, otherwise I won't be afraid even if it's reported to His Majesty." Hearing Dean Tan's words, Luo You felt embarrassed, but still said, "Dean Tan, you're exaggerating. Please begin." Hearing this, Dean Tan, following Xiao Lan's demonstration, sprinkled some tea on the two letters one by one. When Wu Yuyu's letter showed its seal, Luo You's face turned pale. However, Luo Yuanyuan shouted, "My letter already has a seal, how can you say it's fake? That's not fair!" Dean Tan looked at Luo Yuanyuan, shook his head, thinking it was fortunate that this person wasn't a student of his academy, and said, "Wait a moment." He went to the bookshelf, took out Lan Gongzi's poetry collection, and then demonstrated it to the two of them again using the poetry collection. Seeing this, Luo You's last hope vanished. His daughter had probably encountered a swindler. But if this got out, people wouldn't think it was the swindler's fault. Even if the swindler could be found, if the censors found out and impeached him before the Emperor, his career would be over. Thinking of this, Luo You slapped Luo Yuanyuan hard across the face, the sound startling Xiao Lan and Master Tan. Luo Yuanyuan's left cheek visibly swelled up, and she continued to cry, covering her face. Luo You, annoyed, yelled, "Go away and wail!" Then, ignoring Luo Yuanyuan, he bowed to Dean Tan and said, "Dean, my daughter brought this letter back. My wife and I don't know the details. I'll take her back now, and I beg you to keep this a secret."

“Minister Luo, do you think my Minglu Academy is a marketplace? When you came in, I asked you if you knew anything about it, and you said you did. Now that things have been exposed, you’re telling me you don’t know. Do you think I’m easy to bully?” Master Tan said as he put away the letter and poetry collection.

"This?" Seeing Dean Tan's actions, Luo You knew that things wouldn't end well today, so he asked, "Then what should we do, Dean Tan?" Hearing this, Master Tan didn't mince words and said directly, "I've already spoken with Young Master Lan in our correspondence, and after discussing it together, we have two points..." He paused, and seeing that Luo You had no objections, continued, "First, our academy will post a notice expelling Luo Yuanyuan and explaining the whole story. This will restore Young Master Lan's reputation." Luo You thought, "Let them post it. At worst, I'll hire a few people to tear it down right after they're posted. As long as the princes don't see it." So he nodded in agreement.

"Secondly, because Young Master Lan is going to publish his second poetry collection in the capital next year, the Luo family must compensate for the negative impact of this incident." Upon hearing this, Luo You was surprised that money was required. However, he thought to himself, "Young Master Lan is someone even the Emperor has praised. A little compensation is fine. What if he needs something from him in the capital later? I'm a military officer; it's best not to antagonize the civil officials." So he asked Dean Tan, "How much do you need?" Dean Tan held up two fingers. Luo You felt a pang of pain, thinking that these scholars were heartless. He was also a victim, yet they demanded 20,000 taels. Oh well, it's all that wretched daughter's fault for causing him trouble. So he said to Master Tan, "I left in a hurry today; I'll have someone bring the money over in a few days." Master Tan hadn't expected that he had only wanted to curry favor with Young Master Lan by unilaterally raising the amount to 200,000 taels, thinking that Luo You could bargain down to a few hundred thousand taels. He hadn't expected him to be so agreeable. He immediately beamed with joy, but unexpectedly, Xiao Lan, who had been sitting on the other side, spoke up: "The Vice Minister's mansion is indeed wealthy and powerful, giving away 20,000 taels of gold so easily. Now that you've finished talking, it's probably my turn."

Her words surprised the other three present. Master Tan wondered what trouble Xiao Xueyou was causing this time. Luo You and Luo Yuanyuan were astonished; they had assumed giving Young Master Lan 20,000 taels of silver was an astronomical sum, but she had made it sound like gold. (Don't worry about exchange rates; the exchange rate in this article is one tael of gold for ten taels of silver.)

Luo You quickly asked, "Dean Tan, didn't you say 20,000 taels of silver?" Master Tan realized he hadn't been clear, and thankfully Xiao Lan reminded him at the last minute. He quickly replied, "I meant 20,000 taels of gold. 200,000 taels of silver would also be fine." He then gave Xiao Lan a grateful look. At this moment, Luo You started cursing inwardly. He could grit his teeth and pay 20,000 taels of silver, but 20,000 taels of gold? That would be the death of him! So, he resorted to shamelessness, saying, "This was all the work of this wicked beast." He then pulled Luo Yuanyuan in front of Dean Tan and said, "If it's 20,000 taels of silver, I can scrape together the money. If it's 200,000 taels, even if I sold my entire mansion, I wouldn't have enough. If you don't like it, just beat this wretched girl to death to apologize to Young Master Lan." Others might not know if he was telling the truth, but Xiao Lan certainly did. Even a fourth-rank official like Lian Wude could easily produce 50,000 taels of silver, while this third-rank vice minister, working in the Ministry of War—a place lucrative with its own resources—had to plead poverty and scrape together 20,000 taels. Isn't this just like burning newspapers on Qingming Festival to fool the ghosts?