Chapter 169: Take Your Sister! Check Your Sister!
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
"Change my name? That can’t do! That, I can’t ever do!" Tang Liu Feng insisted that he would never ever change his name to Tang Bo Hu. Instead, he started giving a whole load of excuses saying his name was chosen by his parents and it was a special gift from the previous generation and shouldn’t ever be taken lightly.
Xu Que heard this whole tirade and decided not to speak anymore. He just continued eating and drinking. When he was done, he footed the bill and walked to an inn to stay for the night.
Tang Liu Feng had chosen to stay in the room right beside him and the pair of them had agreed to attend Madam Ya’s event together the next day.
Nothing much happened at night except for the fact that some guests in the inn were discussing about the incident of the day. Several Bright Saints College students had been beaten up by some street thugs and suffered severe wounds. One of them even had his appearance scarred. After the thugs had defeated the students, they spat on the ground and fled.
"Chiya!"
When Tang Liu Feng heard this, he pushed opened the door and stood outside in utter astonishment and anxiety.
And yet Xu Que, who was guilty of starting the entire thing was sleeping soundly on his own bed without a single care in the world.
He had dreamt of Xiao Rou. He dreamt that they met within the Soul Pagoda. He also dreamt that he met Su Ling’er and the rest of them. That dream was amazing.
On the morning of the next day. Xu Que was rudely awakened by that irritating rasping and knocking of his door. He jolted awake from his bed in annoyance, "Tang Bo Hu, do you believe me when I say I’ll come out and beat you?!"
Tang Liu Feng paused in shock, "Brother Li, you instructed me to wake you up no matter what, remember? Also, I really don’t wish to change my name…"
"..."
Xu Que paused as he recalled his plans to attend Madam Ya’s event. Realizing that there were going to be many people there, it was also going to be perfect for him to act tough. Immediately, his fatigue and restlessness wore off.
He got changed in simple clothes before opening the door and exiting his room. After Xu Que and Tang Liu Feng had their breakfast, the pair of them headed towards the Great Lake of Imperial City.
"Brother Li, the event hosted by Madam Li will be held by the Great Lake, it’s going to be amazing! With a venue like that, we can allow our poetic talents to express themselves freely and we might even be inspired to compose a poem or two!" Tang Liu Feng was rattling on about how the scenery by the lake was very pretty and introduced the different landscapes to Xu Que as if he was a foreigner to this place.
Xu Que laughed but didn’t speak. His eyes scanned across the familiar yet foreign streets.
Imperial City, the Great Lake, his impression of this place was extremely deep.
According to the memories of this body, Little Xu Que from all those years was playing by the lake when he was noticed by the passing Fire Emperor. He was thus taken in to become the Prince Consort.
And today, he had returned back to this place where it all began. Xu Que was filled with regrets as he sighed out.
Before long, the pair of them had reached the lake.
The water from the lake was clear as sunlight reflected off its the surface. There was a jade bridge adorned with precious rocks in the middle of the lake that led to Madam Ya’s compound.
Xu Que had heard of Madam Ya and knew who she was.
Recalling back to the first time he entered the palace, he had seen Madam Ya around. As the sister of the Fire Emperor, her status was extremely lofty and high. Hence, when Xu Que was married to the Princess, she was present as well. In the entire Palace, she received the second most attention after the Princess.
When it came to his impression of Madam Ya, Xu Que could describe her as a beautiful woman who had aged extremely well. She was very graceful and extremely attractive!
Since this middle aged beauty was the Fire Emperor’s sister, her status in society was very high. Everyone knew that she enjoyed poetry and songs and often held such banquets where she would invite talented students to discuss poetry and lyrics.
However, this event was very different from her usual banquets. There were many more people attending.
The reason was because Flaming Sun Princess would grace the event today. Hence, many students wanted to be there as well to bask in the fame and glory. Most importantly, these students wanted to impress her with their literary talents and leave an impression on her.
When Xu Que arrived with Tang Liu Feng, there was already a long queue by the side of the lake. They were all waiting to cross the bridge which led to the middle of the lake to reach the island that was the venue of Madam Ya’s event.
Xu Que then noticed that each of them were holding onto a golden invitation.
He started to feel slightly uneasy, as if a bad feeling was creeping up on him. Xu Que’s lips curled upwards as he looked towards Tang Liu Feng. He wanted to ask if the golden invitation was necessary to be granted entry.
Right at this point, that kid whipped out an invitation from within his robes. He then looked at Xu Que innocently, "Ai, Brother Li, where’s your golden invitation? Quickly take it out. They will check to see if you have it before letting you in."
"..."
"Take your sister!"
"Check your sister!"
Xu Que’s face turned black as he remained silent.
What a rubbish friend. If a golden invitation was needed, why didn’t he say earlier? What should big brother do without one?
Forget it. Things have already gotten to such a stage. There was nothing he could do anyway.
Xu Que’s expression turned stoic as he asked, "Brother Tang, let me take a look at your golden invitation."
Indeed, it seemed like Tang Liu Feng had finally wised up as he reacted suspiciously and asked, "Brother Li, don’t tell me you came without a golden invitation?"
"Hehe with my status, why would I ever need a golden invitation?" Xu Que replied as his eyebrows twitched. He then thought, "If I were to take out my Prince Consort tile, I’ll show you what use a stupid invitation is."
When Tang Liu Feng heard his reply, he immediately understood that Xu Que didn’t have an invitation.
"Brother Li, without an invitation, it’s going to be very troublesome. You should go to the entrance and answer three questions. After you’re done, you should ask three questions that are difficult to answer. If not, you wouldn’t be granted access." Tang Liu Feng smiled bitterly as he spoke.
When Xu Que heard this, his eyes lit up, "Are you serious? I just have to answer three questions and then ask another three questions to be granted entry?"
"Eh, that’s the rule of Madam Ya’s events. As long as you pass this test, you can automatically become a VIP and can enter without a golden invitation. After that, you would never need an invitation again for all future events! But. . It looks like nobody has succeeded yet today." Tang Liu Feng nodded his head as he spoke.
Xu Que was elated. All he had to do was to get through this easy hurdle in order to become a guest? And nobody has succeeded yet today? Hahaha! With the system around, what question can I not answer?
Sorry, but this is one situation where I’m going to act tough!
"Come, brother Tang, let’s get us in!" Xu Que then started pulling Tang Liu Feng towards the entrance, away from the line.
"Ai, ai, ai, brother Li, stop tugging on me! My pants are dropping…" Tang Liu Feng was struggling against Xu Que’s firm grip. Afterall, he was just a Foundation Building Stage cultivator and had zero resistance against Xu Que. He was just like a chicken to him and was thus dragged away.
The pair of them reached the entrance and were immediately stopped by a pair of students. One male and one female.
"Please join the queue!" A pretty faced student smiled as she told them.
Xu Que smiled as he replied, "Little sister, time is life. This humble subject refuses to waste his life standing in line. Hence, I’ve decided to answer the questions and gain myself permanent VIP status!"
Tang Liu Feng’s eyes opened wide when he heard this. You obviously don’t have an invitation and you don’t wish to queue? But… This reason sounded rather philosophical. Time is life and he didn’t want to waste his life standing in line. In fact, it was hard to argue against this line!
When the few students around heard this, they paused in shock.
The female student then asked in a surprised tone, "Are you sure you wish to attempt the questions? If you fail, even if you have an invitation today, you would never be able to attend all future events!"
"To be perfectly honest, this humble subject enjoys questions that are extremely difficult and challenging. I take these questions as a way of deepening my wisdom and knowledge. In fact, the reason I came here today was to challenge myself, to see if I can answer these questions. Whether or not I would be barred from all future events is no big deal for me!" Xu Que replied formally.
Tang Liu Feng who was standing beside him almost fell backwards in shock as his eyes gaped wide open. He never expected Xu Que was someone like that!
When the few students heard this, their respect for Xu Que rose considerably!
So this young master Bai came here just to pursue wisdom and knowledge and not for social reason. What an admirable person!
This was the hallmark of a true student, to constantly be in pursuit of wisdom!
At this point, the female student started to take a liking towards Xu Que as she nodded her head and laughed, "Young master is such a rare specimen of students, this humble subject is in full admiration! The three questions today was set by Madam Ya herself and are placed on the board over there. Young master can proceed that way to look at the questions. However, each question has a time limit and you have to answer it within ten seconds. If you fail to do that, you would be considered to have failed the test!" As she spoke, she pointed towards a board by the side of the main gate. It was a wooden board which was covered by a red satin cloth!
At this point, a student took out a large gong and hit it.
"Qiang!"
The sound reverberated across the entire lake!
All the students present jumped up in shock as they looked over.