CHAPTER 82: BUYING THE EXAM QUESTIONS

Naturally, to steal the questions so he could have a clear plan and aim for the prize.

Once everything was ready, Yue Mingxuan with a painted face crept quietly out of his courtyard.

Using the darkness of the night for cover, he moved without any obstacles and soon arrived outside Concubine Keshun’s bedchamber.

However, looking at the high walls of the palace, he felt troubled.

Suddenly, he noticed a large tree beside the wall and an idea instantly came to him.

He quickly moved to the tree, pressed his back against the wall, placed his feet on the trunk and began to inch upward.

This was a tiny trick he had learned back in his military days, but he hadn’t imagined he’d be using it now to climb the walls of a consort’s palace in the ancient world.

"Prince Yue, what a lively spirit you have."

After he had climbed about a third of the way a male voice suddenly came from nearby.

Yue Mingxuan’s hands and feet went weak, and he slipped, falling down.

Luckily, he hadn’t climbed very high and the ground beneath had a thin layer of soil, so he wasn’t seriously hurt, it’s just a sore butt.

"Who the hell goes out at midnight to scare people like that?" Yue Mingxuan muttered while rubbing his sore backside.

He’s about to curse someone, but when he saw who it was, he froze and immediately tried to play coy: "P-Prince Shang, what a surprise to see you... enjoying the moon too, huh?"

Shang Qinghua sized him up without a word.

He truly couldn’t understand how someone could be this foolish, daring to parade around the palace in a night outfit.

Didn’t Yue Mingxuan fear the guards would catch him thinking he was an assassin?

Did he think palace guards were just sitting around doing nothing?

Seeing that Shang Qinghua didn’t respond, Yue Mingxuan let out a nervous laugh.

"Haha, you know, only at Concubine Keshun’s palace is the moonlight so beautiful."

"Tonight is the first day of the month," Shang Qinghua said calmly.

Ah? Yue Mingxuan felt as if a flock of crows had flown over his head. "The first day? Ah, yes, the first day... it’s good, the first day is good... I can look at the stars." His words tumbled out in confusion. "Then, Prince Shang, you... you go on, I won’t disturb you."

Just as Yue Mingxuan tried to slip away, Shang Qinghua spoke again: "Shangshi Festival."

Yue Mingxuan was frozen in the place while standing awkwardly, he also cursing Shang Qinghua silently in his mind.

This old fox knew exactly why he was here, yet still wouldn’t let him leave easily. "Prince Shang, what do you mean? I... I don’t understand."

Since he had been discovered, Yue Mingxuan decided to play dumb.

After all, he hadn’t been caught in the act yet, so he wasn’t afraid.

"Three thousand taels of gold," Shang Qinghua said, ignoring Yue Mingxuan’s act of ignorance and speaking as if to himself.

Yue Mingxuan forced a laugh while secretly cursing Shang Qinghua as a cunning and black hearted merchant.

Shang Qinghua knew Yue Mingxuan needed the exam questions, so he was driving up the price like a lion’s roar.

"Prince Shang, what are you talking about? I... I don’t understand at all..."

Seeing Yue Mingxuan like that, Shang Qinghua didn’t say a word and turned around to leave.

Watching him walk away, Yue Mingxuan panicked.

If he had to sneak in on his own, he wouldn’t even know how to get to Concubine Keshun’s bedchamber, let alone find the exam questions.

Seeing Shang Qinghua holding the questions in his hand, he gritted his teeth, "One thousand taels."

Shang Qinghua ignored him and keep walking forward at an unhurried pace.

Yue Mingxuan ran to keep up and calling out in a low voice, "One thousand five hundred..."

"Two thousand... two thousand two hundred... I say, Prince Shang, since we know each other, can’t you give me a discount?"

"All right, all right, two thousand five hundred taels then."

"Two thousand seven hundred..." Yue Mingxuan felt as if his heart was bleeding, yet Shang Qinghua didn’t stop walking.

"Three thousand, three thousand is enough," Yue Mingxuan grit his teeth and shouted the price Shang Qinghua wanted.

Shang Qinghua finally stopped, looked at him, and handed him a piece of paper with writing on it.

A black hearted merchant, Yue Mingxuan thought, taking the paper.

Three thousand taels of gold just to buy a piece of paper? This bastard was truly the number one black hearted merchant in the world.

After getting the so-called exam questions, Yue Mingxuan still felt uneasy and asked, "How can I be sure this is real?"

"You don’t have to buy it," Shang Qinghua said, crossing his arms and watching him with a composed look.

"I’ll buy it, I’ll buy it," Yue Mingxuan said, secretly activating the hidden jade bracelet, preparing to smash Shang Qinghua with the gold he had taken from the cave.

But unexpectedly, Shang Qinghua calmly added, "It’s a silver note, not cash."

Sighing, Yue Mingxuan dropped the idea of using gold to hit Shang Qinghua.

He lowered his head in frustration and said, "I haven’t even had time to exchange it for a silver note yet."

Shang Qinghua ignored him and, in a flash, disappeared from sight.

Yue Mingxuan looked around, making sure Shang Qinghua was truly gone.

Frustrated, he began muttering to himself, "This black hearted merchant, he just took away a third of my ten thousand taels of gold. I curse him to choke on water, fall into a pit while walking, choke on his food, and on his wedding night find that the bride is a man..."

With his head hanging low, Yue Mingxuan trudged back to his Courtyard.

Sui He hadn’t expected him to return so quickly. So, she quickly run toward him and said. "Prince, why are you back so soon?"

When she saw the paper in Yue Mingxuan’s hand, she was even more surprised.

"Prince, you really stole the exam questions?"

"Mm," Yue Mingxuan replied listlessly.

Three thousand taels of gold for a single set of exam questions, his heart wasn’t just bleeding, it felt like it was gushing out blood.

By candlelight, Sui He carefully examined the questions and asked with puzzled expression, "But Prince, is this real? What if it’s fake?"

"Absolutely real. There’s no doubt about it," Yue Mingxuan said, collapsing onto the bed and burying his head under a pillow in frustration.

Three thousand taels of gold... Could it get any more real than this?