Zhong Song stood in front of Lang Yuan's work and pondered. There is nobody around aside from the usual royal servants and the five judges that remained to tally the scores. Somehow, the hermit boy, Kun Shao, walked pass behind him carrying piles of wooden boxes with unused contents. The Scholar suddenly grabbed the gardener without looking, pulling the surprised man beside him. If only Kun Shao did not have his dragon prowess, the boxes could have fallen to the ground.

"...?!" Kun Shao questioned the scholar with looks.

Still, Zhong Song is thinking, his one hand touching his chin. This is the famous pose of the Imperial Scholar... Kun Shao thought that everyone would want to witness it. Zhong Song is no doubt good-looking. That is due to his genetics and as a person. His intelligence could be said the greatest amongst the court officials and his combat skills is not far behind. With pleasing looks, a good heart and mind, Zhong Song is famous among the people.

Kun Shao took time to look at himself and thought that he's only dirt compared to Zhong Song's untainted character.

But still, Zhong Song did not hesitate to grab him as if they are close friends. Or do friends do that? For a hermit like him, such things are irrelevant to know.

"Do you think that something is wrong?" Zhong Song asked, his eyes still focused on the display.

"E-eh? W-wrong...?" Kun Shao was a bit surprised when Zhong Song spoke.

He stared at the perfect figure of the man... On his vision, the scholar seems to be dazzling and blinding. Zhong Song noticed the hermit staring at him so he just slapped his shoulders lightly.

"Where are you looking?" He asked.

"E... eh?"

"Don't look at me. Look at this," Zhong Song pointed Lang Yuan's work.

"Ah... ah, sure... sure," Kun Shao tried hiding his embarrassment and looked at the display.

When he saw the broken pot and the plants arranged in a different manner, he could not help but to feel amazed. This is new to him. He has never seen such thing as using a broken object to create a new form. Also, the use of plants is rather fascinating. The succulents are said to be inferior to flowers. Actually, it might not be considered as a flower. But the way Lang Yuan arranged it, the thick shrub shone perfectly as if its main purpose is to become beautiful.

Though, Zhong Song is not pertaining about that. Kun Shao also noticed the abnormality and walked a bit closer to the display. He only needed to look at it to know the problem the scholar is pointing out.

"Isn't this the poorest quality of plant?" Zhong Song voiced out what was in his mind. "The color and the size... Different from the Harem Ladies' quality."

Kun Shao nodded. He can see flowers but they almost look bleak due to the pale color of because they are still buds. The succulents, despite looking beautiful, seem to be dry and ready to wilt. Petals that should be shining red or bright yellow looks like a damaged banana peel. If not being careful, the flowers could have received more damage. Thanks to Lang Yuan's careful handling, the plants retained a good look.

Zhong Song finally found his answer and looks at Kun Shao seriously for the first time. He noticed the pile of boxes the gardener is holding and frowned. Is he carrying these stuffs earlier? And yet he just grabbed him carelessly?

"What are those?" Zhong Song inadequately asked.

"H-huh? O-oh... These are the u-unused flowers the Ladies wa-wasn't able to use," Kun Shao stammered. Zhong Song is still a high official in the court. Anyone with a lower status will normally get nervous.

"Really?" Zhong Song muttered. "Then, can you remember which table you get the boxes from?"

"U-un," Kun Shao nodded. "W-would you like t-to see?"

"Let's check them," Zhong Song nodded.

The two figures retreated to the back and checked the contents of each boxes carefully. Zhong Song arranged them in the same way the concubines are sitting. He also retrieved Lang Yuan's boxes. When they opened the boxes, they are surprised by the differences each holds.

The concubines' boxes carry the most robust flowers. Despite being exposed to air for so long, the petals and stalks remained firmed as if they are just freshly cut. Even the creeping vines and ferns looks very green and healthy complimenting the various colors of the smaller flowers.

On the other hand, Lang Yuan's boxes did not only carry the budding flowers, but also some are already rotten. The sour scent of decay is also evident, creeping to the other plants that seem to be affected with the foul state. And since the competition lasted for hours, the plants that remained looking good is also starting to decompose. Zhong Song frowned upon seeing this set-up.

"What is this? Why is it different?" The scholar asked to the air, then to the gardener. Kun Shao quickly shook his head while raising his arms in defense.

"I-I d-don't know! I-I might b-be one w-who picked t-the flo-flowers up b-but t-they are t-the best of q-quality," Kun Shao stammered. "I-I chec-cked them t-twice. They a-are all g-good!"

"I'm not doubting you, silly," Zhong Song smirked. "I'm just asking your opinion."

"M-my opin-nion?"

"Hmmh. Well?" Zhong Song nodded.

Kun Shao gulped. He is not really good in speaking. He spent a thousand years of seclusion inside the small hut of the royal garden. His residence was approved by the current emperor in exchange of taking good care of the quality herbs. Kun Shao's ability to make any plants grow to the best quality despite the external and internal hindrances made him a special person thus the emperor recruited him. The persons whom he only interacted are the few members of the Royal gardeners and the Emperor.

He's even terrified with the emperor. What's more with his brother?

"W-well..." Kun Shao tried to look down on the floor. There's only one answer to this question. "... S-somebody c-could have e-ex-exchanged the c-contents of the b-boxes."

"Un." Zhong Song agreed.

Kun Shao, with the help of the other Royal Gardeners, collected the plants. There's no way that they will get such unhealthy plants. Plus, Kun Shao is there as the caretaker. How can they collect plants with a bad state if from the first place there's none? The only answer could be that somebody exchanged the good plants with the defective ones.

"And there's no coincidence that it was sent to the Empress Candidate." Zhong Song added.

Somebody must be trying to sabotage Lang Yuan in this contest. Even though the person is a human and said to be stupid, no one can tell if he has the talent to perform. His skills might be hidden. This is due to the reason of Lang Yuan's unknown past. Nobody was able to collect any information about the mystery man. Just being cautious, the concubines tried to make Lang Yuan surrender by giving him the disadvantage of the contest.

"That must be the reason. If there's anything else..." Zhong Song continued the thoughts inside his mind.

"Th-then what sh-should we d-do? W-will we t-tell Hi-his Highn-ness about i-it?" Kun Shao is worried. He might be called out if this problem reaches the court. He's only a spectator but he is part of the team who is responsible of collecting the flowers. His involvement is crucial.

"There's no need. Even though we tell the emperor, we have no evidence. Even though your existence holds a great factor, there is no telling if the plants are from the royal garden. We can't also blame the concubines about this," Zhong Song explained.

Kun Shao noticed the scholar frowning.

"W-what's t-the problem?" He asked.

The scholar crossed his arms with a hiss, scratching his cheek impatiently.

"The exchange of the contents is very clean. There are no traces left by the perpetrator... I can see a third party doing this. However..."

What if there was no exchange of contents from the first place? What if by giving the Candidate Empress defective goods was intentional? If that is to test the Candidate Empress's skills...

"No, we will keep it, at least," he decided.

After all, Lang Yuan performed great in this contest. Despite receiving the defective goods, he managed to pull a good presentation. A good talent will always show even handicapped. This only shows how formidable Lang Yuan is.

Zhong Song clapped his hands to close the discussion. If somebody will notice the problem then it is up to them on how to assess it. If the issue reaches the Emperor then Yu XueQin will handle it. The emperor is a sharp man, he will realize the problem the moment he hears it.

He noticed the hermit gardener fidgeting beside him and the boxes. It should be the time to return these things. he carried over a few to his arms. When Kun Shao noticed it, the hermit quickly stopped the scholar.

"Y-you m-musn't! I... I w-will do it," Kun Shao quickly collected the boxes on the scholar's hand. Zhong Song frowned.

"What are you saying? You can't carry it all. At least it will take you two more rounds to gather all these boxes," Zhong Song said.

"I-It's okay... I-it's m-my job a-after all," the hermit lowered his head while speaking.

"No, i'm taking them," and Zhong Song still insisted.

Kun Shao was about to take the boxes when Zhong Song caught his wrist. The hermit looked up to complain but he was crossed with Zhong Song's adorable face. The scholar inched closer to his face as if examining him. Kun Shao's face was almost hidden by his gloomy character and the long bangs covering half of his face. It might be a scholar's curiosity that made Zhong Song invade his personal space.

It only took one touch and Zhong Song found a pair of pleasant green eyes watching him. Also, without his bangs hindering his sight, Kun Shao also witnessed the dazzling image of Zhong Song that seems to be thrice the brilliance that he had seen earlier. The two men locked eyes for a while, Zhong Song's lips curving up.

"Not bad ah. You look good. You should cut your bangs short," the scholar honestly commented.

"Eh...e...h... EH?!" Kun Shao hastily took a step back to cover his head again with the reason that he is shy and also because his face is red right now. Zhong Song only laughed from the reaction.

"Brother, I'll help you," Zhong Song carried his share. "And this is my order. No more complains!"

Kun Shao could not help but to follow. If it's an order then he should obey. He carried the half of the share and walked behind Zhong Song. The scholar did not want it this way so he stopped walking. The hermit also stopped. Heaving a sigh, Zhong Song walked to Kun Shao's side and nudged his shoulders. The boxes almost fell from his grasp.

"What a tease," Zhong Song crackled. "C'mon, let's go!"

The image of the laughing scholar looks very dazzling. Kun Shao could not help but to stare. They walk side by side. This is Kun Shao's first interaction to the other people. And it seems that this will work good too. His lips curved up a bit as the two walked on the same path forward.

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Yay! I updated! Are they not cute?

Here's a pic to kill you all. Ha ha ha ha!