Huo Fenglie knew they were coming to the Peach Blossom Banquet and originally wanted to pick them up, but the students still had duties to carry out, and he missed them.

While walking toward Huo Fenglie’s dormitory, Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “Lao Chen rolled his eyes just now, but I saw that our achievements and deeds are on the list of outstanding people outside. It’s obvious that he actually likes us, but the old man is stubborn.”

Li Xingruo said: “It would be strange for him to like you. The old man had high hopes for you to become the next number one scholar back then, but you kept delaying year after year, and in the end, you took seventh place. I heard that he was so angry that he couldn’t eat for several days, and lost a lot of weight. When he saw you just now, he couldn’t help but reach for a ruler. If there weren’t so many people around, he probably would have beaten you on sight.”

Liu Zhenqing’s lips curved as he said: “How do you have the nerve to say that to me? I heard that you went to treat him after he couldn’t eat for several days, saying that you had invented a new acupuncture method to stimulate the appetite, but you ended up causing the old man to vomit and have diarrhea.”

Li Xingruo immediately retorted: “Didn’t he eventually have an appetite? This proves that the direction of my experimentation was effective.”

“If you can’t eat, you’ll starve to death, okay?” Liu Zhenqing retorted.

As he spoke, he heard Huo Feihan behind him burst into laughter.

The two immediately turned around and leveled fierce looks at him.

Huo Feihan was frightened, and quickly said: “I didn’t do anything back then.”

As a result, their eyes narrowed dangerously.

Huo Feihan came to a realization and clapped his hands in annoyance: “How could I have done nothing?”

The three of them were one. Since the old man held a grudge against two of them, how could Huo Feihan be left out? Being hated together was the heroic spirit of loyalty.

This was not the first time they had come to Er-gou’s dorms. As soon as they entered, they found that there were many more martial arts poles in the courtyard, many of which had been shattered to pieces.

“It seems Er-gou’s interest in martial arts has grown,” Liu Zhenqing said. These things were present in the courtyard when he and Huo Feihan lived there, and Huo Feihan would train hard after classes.

“En, though studying is fine, he still prefers martial arts.” Huo Feihan stepped forward to inspect a pole. “It’s new, but it broke so quickly? It looks like he’s been working particularly hard lately.”

“Of course. Only when there is competition will there be urgency,” Li Xingruo said with a sly smile.

Something also occurred to Huo Feihan, and his mouth twitched.

Liu Zhenqing considered this and said: “Because of Liu Qiao? The two are about the same age, and Er-gou is also quite talented in martial arts, but Liu Qiao’s talent is extraordinary. There’s little point in competing with such a talented person.”

“Don’t say that in front of Er-gou, or these poles will be broken even faster,” Li Xingruo said with a smile.

The three of them approached the house and knocked on the door. It was Bai Su who opened it.

Bai Su was naturally familiar with them, and was quick to greet them nervously: “Are the three of you here for Fenglie? He was called away by a teacher to take care of something, but he’ll be back in a while. Please come in first.”

“Sorry to bother you. By the way, congratulations,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

Bai Su was stunned, then said shyly: “Thank you on behalf of my brother.”

Bai Su’s elder brother had just passed the Imperial Examinations and had a promising future. However, Liu Zhenqing had read his essays in the East Palace and felt that Bai Yu’s writing exuded a sense of freedom and innocence, which wasn’t suitable for officialdom. And although he wasn’t as talented as Bai Yu, the essays of the runner up, Ji Qinglin, contained hidden profundity. Such a person was most suited to officialdom.

But he’d heard that Ji Qinglin didn’t have any background. He had been born in the Imperial Academy, and the dean took pity on him for his talent and allowed him to study while working part-time. To be ranked second in the Imperial Examinations was a great honor for him.

Bai Su was of a different generation than them, and was under some pressure because of it, but he still entertained them enthusiastically.

As the older brother, Huo Feihan was naturally concerned over whether his didi had enough daily necessities. Li Xingruo wasn’t as concerned as him, so she just sat and read a book.

Seeing that Bai Su was busily pouring tea for them, Liu Zhenqing immediately told him to stop working. The boy had attractive features, and looked to be a perfect match for Huo Fenglie. Although it would be called puppy love in modern times, it was not so in ancient times, so he said: “Second Young Master Bai has a good relationship with Fenglie, right?”

Bai Su nodded, taken aback.

Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo immediately pricked up their ears to listen.

Liu Zhenqing said: “Then does he have other good friends?”

Bai Su thought for a moment before saying: “Fenglie is quite popular, even though he doesn’t like to talk. But speaking of who he gets along with, other than me, there’s another young man named He Lan who often comes to visit him.”

“He Lan?” Liu Zhenqing turned to look at Huo Feihan.

“The child of the commander of the Jinyiwei,” Huo Feihan said after some thought.

Liu Zhenqing seemed to have some impression of him as a naughty little devil. Feeling that the possibility was slim, he just smiled and beckoned to Bai Su.

With Liu Zhenqing’s looks, he could make a person blush with only a smile. Bai Su indeed blushed as he moved closer: “What is it?”

“Come on, tell gege, does Fenglie have someone he likes here?” Liu Zhenqing asked coaxingly.

As Huo Fenglie’s big brother, it was natural for him to gossip about him. If Bai Su blushed at this question, it would prove that it was Bai Su whom he liked, and if he didn’t blush, he at least wasn’t disgusted. If he looked confused, it meant he didn’t know anything, and it was useless to ask. And if he looked resistant, that was the worst situation.

But Bai Su didn’t have any of the aforementioned reactions. He was stunned for a moment, and his cheeks did turn slightly red, but he looked at Liu Zhenqing awkwardly and hesitantly, as if he had something to say but was holding it back.

What kind of reaction was this?

Liu Zhenqing peered at him curiously.

Bai Su started to feel guilty, and dared not look Liu Zhenqing in the eye. What should he say when he knew his good brother’s secret and was being asked by the person in question, ah? Could he say that Huo Fenglie was calling out for Qing-ge in his dreams last night because he was excited that he was coming here?

In the end, Bai Su didn’t have the mind of an adult, and with guilty eyes, he glanced toward the place where the secret was most likely to be exposed – a framed scroll. But he said: “I don’t know.”

Liu Zhenqing was shrewd, and understood instantly. Bai Su knew, but was unwilling to betray his good brother and tell him. Liu Zhenqing immediately felt even more itchy. He had originally thought that Huo Fenglie was unwilling to tell anyone and wanted to keep it a secret, so Liu Zhenqing would have to be even more careful when spying on him. But now, someone else knew about it when Huo Fenglie wouldn’t even tell the people closest to him. Liu Zhenqing was absolutely unwilling to accept this.

Seeing Bai Su’s eyes drifting toward the frame, he wondered if that scroll contained a portrait of his sweetheart, or if it was a painting drawn by them.

Liu Zhenqing got the gist of it and let Bai Su off. As if fearing that he would be interrogated again, Bai Su simply fled.

“You’re amazing. You just asked directly?” Li Xingruo made a gesture of admiration toward him.

“Didn’t it get us a clue?” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo looked at him in surprise.

They watched as Liu Zhenqing approached a frame where many scrolls had been collected. Liu Zhenqing chose one at random and began to take a look.

At this moment, Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo couldn’t help but exchange glances, their hearts suspended. They had thought there wouldn’t be anything here. Should they stop him?

But neither of them took any action, just watching on nervously.

As the scroll opened, a familiar figure came into view. Liu Zhenqing stared blankly for a moment before showing the scroll to the two people behind him. 

The two of them immediately stopped breathing.

Liu Zhenqing said in astonishment: “It’s me. This…..”

The two nodded uncomfortably. After all, it was impossible to deny the two obvious moles under that person’s eye.

“How can it be me?” Liu Zhenqing asked in a daze.

At this moment, he didn’t think about such a profound question as ‘why does Huo Fenglie like me?’ He simply wondered why he was in the portrait and who painted it. Why was it him? His brain was sluggish in responding.

His body automatically moved to unroll all of the paintings. They were all of him.

But the painting techniques were all different, and were not from Huo Fenglie’s hand.

Liu Zhenqing was struck dumb. Before his brain could start to function, he heard a wavering voice sound from the door: “Qing-ge?”

Liu Zhenqing’s hand holding a scroll trembled, and he looked at the new arrival with some bewilderment.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to react. He just held the scroll and watched with a blank face as Huo Fenglie rushed over. 

Huo Fenglie’s expression suddenly changed, and he stared blankly for a moment. 

Li Xingruo and Huo Feihan hadn’t expected things to develop like this, and watched anxiously. 

They heard Liu Zhenqing ask with no fluctuations to his voice: “Why are all these portraits of me?”

Caught off guard, Huo Fenglie said reflexively: “Because some people in the Imperial Academy were hiding your portraits without permission. I found out and I…..found a way to get them…..”

Huo Fenglie was telling the truth.

Liu Zhenqing was like a drowning person who was suddenly rescued. He took a deep breath, his mind blank. He had thought it was…..

He was scared to death!

How could it be possible!

Liu Zhenqing immediately laughed: “It seems there are many discerning students in this school collecting my portraits. I was wondering why they were all made by different people. Why not just collect them and burn them? Why keep them all here?”

In fact, this was a very common occurrence. In the capital’s underground painting market, the most popular portraits of beauties were Liu Zhenqing and Jian Shuang, but Jian Shuang rarely appeared in public. And now that she was a concubine in the East Palace, people didn’t dare circulate her portraits. Liu Zhenqing, however, was a public figure, so there were many portraits of him. Some people collected them out of adoration, some collected them to appreciate them, some collected them to practice copying, and others used them as a template for painting other beauties. They were even spread to other countries. In short, Liu Zhenqing was used to this, and it didn’t offend him.

Huo Fenglie stared blankly for a moment, then said bluntly: “Because…..the portraits are of you, ah, how could I…..burn them?”

Liu Zhenqing was momentarily speechless: “Burn them, burn them. Keeping them is too embarrassing, ah.”

Having said this, Liu Zhenqing told Huo Fenglie to bring a brazier to burn the portraits.

Li Xingruo and Huo Feihan watched the entire process in amazement. He’d missed the truth again. Wasn’t Liu Zhenqing supposed to be very intelligent?

He could guess others’ thoughts toward him accurately, but why was he so slow to guess Huo Fenglie’s? Was it because he’d watched him grow up that he never thought about him that way?

But the two of them had grown up with Liu Zhenqing, and they felt that his handling of this matter was rather hasty.

Naturally, they didn’t dare ask questions. After spending some time with Er-gou in his room, it was time for the highlight of the evening – the Peach Blossom Banquet.

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