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Hu Miaomiao meandered his way, marveling that he had not expected a single examinee to cause such a stir.

The street was always crowded, but aside from the celebration of top scholars and the Emperor’s personal visits, it had never seen such a throng of people, increasing the difficulty of their tasks as Shadow Guards significantly.

Several defense lines were arranged along the way, and as he patrolled up to the entrance of the Imperial Academy, he saw the crowd encircling it.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Hu Miaomiao thought that with so many people, they were really giving him a headache, hoping His Majesty would go to the location he had arranged.

He had ordered someone to reserve a teahouse next to the studios where the officials frequented.

The second floor of the teahouse had a wider view than the studios, though it was still some distance from Shanxue Square.

It was not as clear as the outer layer of the crowd in Shanxue Square, but it had the advantage of being quieter.

Listening to the people discussing all the way, they said the examinee was very handsome, and even he was curious what the examinee looked like. He thought to himself, could the examinee’s looks be better than His Majesty’s?

After making the rounds in the teahouse to ensure there were no issues, he looked outside. Despite his small eyes, his vision was extraordinary, allowing him to see the people under the examination tents clearly.

He immediately understood why so many young ladies, young wives, and matrons were pushing forward, and why many Scholars were speaking highly—the examinee was exceptionally graceful, with looks that could almost challenge the Emperor’s. Ahem, almost, of course, the Emperor was somewhat better.

People always tend to judge by appearance at first glance; those who are good-looking naturally tend to have some advantages.

Contemplating this, he took a few more glances at the examinee, only to involuntarily exclaim in his mind. Those eyebrows, that bone structure, why did they seem familiar?

No, no, no, he was certain he had never seen this Scholar before. Hu Miaomiao remembered very clearly, yet why did he seem so familiar, as if others felt at first sight just as they did when they saw him?

Feeling puzzled, Hu Miaomiao could not help but take a closer look, when from the corner of his eye, he saw someone from his group gesturing to him from a corner downstairs. His gaze shifted toward the corner, discerning the meaning of the gesture: His Majesty was coming.

With a slight nod, he turned and descended the stairs.

On the Emperor’s side, after leaving the palace and riding in a carriage towards the Imperial Academy, the carriage slowed down as it approached the street outside the Academy.

Voices were abuzz outside the carriage. Lifting the curtain to look, Zhang Qing hurried to take over, holding the curtain up for him.

The crowd outside was endless.

Vendors on both sides of the road continued their sales pitches, the common folk were brimming with enthusiasm for shopping; some argued with vendors in heated exchanges, others settled their accounts with satisfaction, and there were also groups of people dressed as Scholars passing by, discussing current affairs and citing classics, all adding to the bustling scene.

The Emperor watched with delight, though somewhat puzzled, remembering that this street didn’t use to be so crowded. Today, however, it resembled a busy market.

He looked at Zhang Qing.

Zhang Qing, not understanding the reason for his gaze, tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, would you like your servant to go and check?"

The Emperor stared at Zhang Qing for a moment, and then laughed inwardly at his overthinking. How could such a scene, with so many people, be arranged just for him?

Hu Miaomiao and Zhang Qing, even if they wanted to please him, were not that foolish to attempt such a silly prank.

Zhang Qing, perplexed by the gaze, tried again, "This street outside the Imperial Academy is particularly crowded, probably because of the examinee. It has turned into a marketplace. Does Your Majesty find it too noisy?"

The Emperor ignored his words and looked outside again, feeling greatly comforted.

Seeing his reign thriving with such prosperity, no emperor would be displeased.

A sense of joy rose in his heart and after a while, he couldn’t help sighing, "It’s good to have some noise. If every place were as noisy as this, that would be wonderful."

If every corner of the land was as lively as Capital City, as this street, that would be a true golden age.

This puzzled Zhang Qing greatly, but he wisely chose not to speak.

The Emperor looked around, noticing that along the road, many vendors had laid out all sorts of trinkets and some well-crafted mud figurines.

A thought struck him these were things that his Little Concubine liked, and he couldn’t help becoming interested.

After all, the carriage was moving at such a slow pace that it was even slower than walking, so he might as well get off to take a stroll and experience the common people’s interests.

He commanded, "Stop the carriage, let’s walk."

Zhang Qing exclaimed in alarm, "Your Majesty, with so many people outside, if you’re jostled..."

The Emperor raised his hand to interrupt, "One can’t govern the land from high above alone, let’s go down."

Zhang Qing dared not persuade him further and could only comply, first getting down to give some instructions to those who had followed them, then he lifted the carriage curtain and prepared the step stool.

The Emperor deliberately subdued his imposing aura, stepped onto the stool, and descended from the carriage. The surrounding circle of onlookers, who had just been lively, couldn’t help but turn to look at him, and for a moment, there was silence.

Sensing the strange atmosphere around him, the Emperor couldn’t help but look over. The crowd averted their eyes, no one daring to meet his gaze, feeling immense pressure from being watched.

After a while, the once quiet crowd gradually returned to normal, pretending to be busy with what they were doing before, yet some still couldn’t get enough and stole glances from time to time.

Observing the crowd’s peculiar behavior, the Emperor slightly furrowed his brows and looked at Zhang Qing with questioning eyes.

Zhang Qing thought to himself, although His Majesty had toned down his imposing manner somewhat and was more amiable than usual, his natural majestic presence, which came with every move he made, was not something ordinary people could withstand.

And with his good looks, his charm was lethal, making him the focus of attention wherever he went.

Who wouldn’t want to take another look at an attractive person? In the court, those lower ranked didn’t dare, but among the folks who were unaware of his identity, the common people had no such scruples, so being watched was not unusual.

He thought to himself that Hu the Fatty was indeed experienced and savvy, having made adjustments to His Majesty’s appearance the last time he left the palace, otherwise, he couldn’t imagine how many sidelong glances would have come his way.

And now, without any adjustments made, coupled with his royal bearing, it was normal for the people to react this way!

However, these words he did not dare say outright, so he could only suggest vaguely, "I suppose everyone has a heart that cherishes beauty."

The Emperor was puzzled and was about to ask what he meant.

Just then, he heard a woman who had been sneaking glances whisper to a stall vendor, "Which family’s young master is this, looking so noble and handsome, seemingly unapproachable?"

The vendor whispered back, "Seems like a Noble Young Master from some distinguished family, very handsome indeed, especially that innate nobility, how should I put it, ah, can’t quite describe it, anyway, he’s very striking, makes you want to look but also afraid to."

So that was it.

The Emperor understood, gave Zhang Qing a glare, and turned to walk back to the mud figurine stall they had passed earlier.

It wasn’t his first time leaving the palace incognito, but he nearly always galloped by, rarely lingering long, and strolling around a marketplace like this was even rarer.

There were many around stealing glances at him. Although it felt odd, there was no hostility, and sensing that, the Emperor no longer paid any mind to it and calmly walked up to the mud figurine stall to take a look.

The old man at the mud figurine stall was instantly overwhelmed and stammered, "Young master, which one would you like to buy?"