Just then, an Attendant Student hurriedly approached, and upon entering the door and seeing Minister Fan, paused for a moment before lowering his head and stepping aside.
After Minister Fan had passed, the Attendant Student then said to Minister Qin inside, "Mr. Qin, Jieyuan Gong is here to visit."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Attendant Student felt a blur before his eyes, and suddenly, there was another person in front of him.
Minister Fan, with one foot already across the threshold, immediately retracted it and quickly stepped toward the Attendant Student, moving with a nimbleness that belied his age.
Containing his excitement, he stared at the Attendant Student and asked, "Did you say Lian Mu has come?"
Minister Qin couldn’t help but step forward, waiting for an answer.
The Attendant Student grew nervous and stuttered, "Yes... it’s Lian Mu Jieyuan."
Minister Fan was overjoyed and exclaimed with excitement, "Haha, my disciple; unbidden yet united in thought with me."
It meant that fate blessed their teacher-student relationship. Just as he was about to look for him, the person had arrived; this disciple was now assured!
Minister Qin quietly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking how timely Lian Mu’s arrival was.
He told the Attendant Student, "Please invite him in quickly."
"Yes." Following the order, the Attendant Student dashed out.
Watching the Attendant Student leave, Minister Qin then turned with a smile to look at Minister Fan and was instantly stunned.
The previously excited Minister Fan had, in the space of a few sentences, already resumed his seat.
Now sitting upright, stroking his beard with a distant gaze and a calm expression, there was not a trace of excitement visible. Accompanied by his fully white hair, he wholly embodied the profound visage of an elder statesman, a stark contrast to his earlier reprimanding demeanor.
Minister Qin was taken aback, instantly realizing something, and somewhat lost for words. After reflecting, he couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle.
Minister Fan truly valued the dignity of a mentor before Lian Mu. Now in this state, he actually looked like a seasoned official who had weathered countless storms across three dynasties.
He bowed and said, "Lian Mu has arrived; your student wishes you to fulfill your desire."
"Hmm." Minister Fan, appearing complacent, responded softly with a single word, holding his demeanor perfectly.
Stroking his beard repeatedly, his heart, however, was full of excitement. He had eagerly awaited this meeting for a long time, his hair turning white as he waited, and any further delay was a waste of precious time for an old man like him.
As he stroked, he suddenly felt a prick in his hand.
Looking down, his expression shifted, recalling that his beard was not as magnificent as before due to that stubborn old man pulling out some of it, slightly marring his distinguished image.
Today was his first formal meeting with his future disciple. How could this be?
His brows furrowed deeply as he silently cursed the stubborn old man, considering what should be done.
Minister Qin noted his expression and asked curiously, "Is there something troubling Minister Fan? Is there any way your student can assist?"
Minister Fan waved his hand, furrowing his brows in thought without finding a solution. Hearing the footsteps approaching from outside the corridor, he grew anxious. Suddenly, inspiration struck, and he placed his hand over the most uneven part of his beard, covering the sparse area. By moving his hand back and forth over that spot, he concealed the flaw from sight.
Having resolved the issue, he breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing sounds at the doorway, he adopteda deep, inscrutable expression, looking down at the ground with a wise and serene demeanor.
Lian Musu, accompanied by Wu Sheng, followed the leading Attendant Student to the doorway, where he saw Minister Qin smiling at him.
Minister Qin warmly came forward to greet him, "Lian, my young friend, you’ve finally arrived."
Otherwise, Minister Fan would have come several times to lecture him, turning him, the Libationer, and many teachers and students of the Imperial Academy into great criminals who misled the country and the people.
Having been away for only a day, Lian Musu didn’t quite understand the earnest expectation behind the word ’finally,’ but he didn’t dwell on it.
He smiled, bowed, and said, "In the past days, thanks to Mr. Qin, Minister Jia, and many students of the Imperial Academy, I hurried home yesterday to see my mother and did not stay long. I specially came today to apologize; please accept my bow."
With that, he bowed deeply.
Seeing this, Minister Qin quickly helped him up, "There’s no need for such formalities, Lian. You don’t have to be so polite, please, stand up quickly."
After helping him up and welcoming him inside, he asked while walking, "How is your mother?"
"Thank you for your concern, my mother is much better. Yesterday, she asked about my situation in the Imperial Academy, expressed gratitude for everyone’s care, and scolded me for my lack of manners. She specifically commanded me to come and apologize."
The two chatted amiably as they walked inside.
Minister Fan was sitting inside, and he slightly frowned unnoticed when he saw the two warmly chatting without paying attention to him, then he promptly cleared his throat.
Both of them looked over simultaneously.
Lian Musu’s eyes flashed, and his smile deepened.
He guessed as much; this elderly man, apart from the days when he marked the papers, almost came every day before. Now that the results were out, how could he not come today?
If one came looking for someone at the Imperial Academy, one would surely find them.
Hearing Minister Fan’s reminder, Minister Qin couldn’t help but smile wryly; the line between an old sage and a stubborn child was indeed thin.
Feigning a momentary oversight, he led Lian Musu to Minister Fan, saying, "Minister Fan, this is Lian Mu. The ’Public Opinion’ manuscript was indeed written by him."
After finishing, he said to Lian Musu, "Lian, my young friend, come and pay your respects to Minister Fan."
Without going into much detail about who Minister Fan was, his demeanor alone made it clear that Minister Fan was a highly respected individual, not an ordinary old sage.
Lian Musu looked towards Minister Fan, his eyes filled with respect, and performed a traditional student’s bow, saying, "As a student, I pay my respects to Minister Fan."
Minister Fan, pleased to his core to be acknowledged, thought, although Lian Musu used the self-address ’student’ just as Minister Qin did, it still pleased him immensely.
His internal thoughts did not show on his face; he lifted his eyelids to look at Lian Musu and said indifferently, "So you are Lian Mu? Get up, then. That ’Public Opinion’ manuscript was indeed not bad; I have some impression of it."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if seeing him for the first time, and his words carried an air of casual indifference.
Minister Qin found it amusing, thinking to himself that Minister Fan really played the part well, carrying an air of authority that didn’t fit the anxious elder who had been searching for someone earlier, as if they were not the same person.
"Indeed, I am the student," Lian Musu stood up, slightly bowed his head respectfully, and said, "It is my great fortune to meet Minister Fan. However, I seem to have seen Minister Fan somewhere before; you look very familiar to me."
Their initial exchange was brief and to the point, directly leading into the subject of having seen each other before.
Minister Fan, tacitly understanding, played naive, expressing surprise, "Really? I am old now, I can’t remember clearly, my eyes and ears are not what they were. I lost a few books recently and don’t know where; just an old confused man, I suppose. Well, if they were picked up by someone diligent and studious, that would be a good outcome indeed."
Minister Qin watched the interaction between the elder and the younger, both pretending confusion. He thought to himself that Lian had the ability to play along with Minister Fan and acknowledged his cleverness with newfound respect.
One was an official from the Ministry of Rites who reviewed the examination papers, and the other was a contestant involved in a re-examination. Though the results of the re-examination were out, their status still required some discretion. The matter of Minister Fan purposely dropping a rare book was absolutely not to be mentioned openly; even if it were, Minister Fan would not admit it.