"Aunt, what are you doing?" Yan Yinyao asked knowingly.
The concubine pointed at the things in the room and said, "I'll ask them to put these away so they don't bump into your cousin's wife."
"Oh, my aunt, my cousin's wife just got pregnant. If you make such a noise, it will scare the baby." Yan Yinyao said anxiously.
"Is there such a saying?" The concubine had never heard of it.
Jiang Changning raised her eyebrows. She had never heard of this saying.
"The more noble the child is, the less he can tolerate noise." Yan Yinyao said seriously.
Seeing that the concubine was still hesitating, Yan Yinyao continued, "Besides, this is where my cousin lives. She knows where the things are. If you move them, they won't be familiar to her anymore. It will be easy to bump into them."
The concubine seemed to be thinking about something. Yan Yinyao continued to work hard. "The paintings hanging on the wall can be changed to pictures of babies playing. The others can be left alone. It is better for pregnant women to stay in familiar places."
"Okay, stop moving and put everything back in place." The toffee said and walked out, "I remember there was a picture of babies playing in the storeroom."
Yan Yinyao supported her and turned back to smile at Jiang Changning.
Jiang Changning also smiled and stood up to see the concubine off.
The concubine turned around and said, "You can take a rest. I don't need you to send me off."
"Don't give it a gift. You will be the greatest contributor if you give mother a big fat grandson." Prince Jin said with a smile.
"Yes," the concubine nodded heavily. She had been looking forward to having a grandson for many years.
Jiang Changning placed her hand on her belly and let out a light breath. She understood that for a man with a title like the Prince of Jin, it would be better to have a son as the first child, but it was not up to her to decide whether to have a son or a daughter.
If she gave birth to a daughter, the concubine would not care whether she liked it or not. She was her own daughter and she would love her.
After the Prince of Jin sent the Concubine away, he came back to see his little princess sitting on the couch with a serious expression, "Ningning, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm not feeling unwell." Jiang Changning smiled. "I was able to keep the things in this room thanks to my cousin. I'll thank her someday."
"You are pregnant, so I asked her to come and accompany you more often. Then you can thank her slowly." King Jin said with a smile.
"Okay." Jiang Changning responded with a smile.
In the afternoon, when she woke up from a nap, the concubine sent someone to bring her a blue and white porcelain water tank with two red goldfish in it.
There is also a picture of babies playing, a picture of two babies sitting on lotus flowers, and a pair of large vases depicting hundreds of children and grandchildren celebrating their new life.
Jiang Changning accepted the gifts and went to Liuxuanyuan to thank the concubine.
As soon as she entered the room, the concubine couldn't sit still, "Why are you here? If you have anything to say, you can ask the maid to come and tell me. It's nothing for me to come over."
"Mother has given me so many good things. I came here to thank you." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"You are too polite, kid. Those things are just placed in the warehouse. I'll give them to you, so just keep them." The toffee said with a smile.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted casually, and the concubine also told Jiang Changning some things to pay attention to during pregnancy.
Jiang Changning listened obediently and asked a few questions from time to time, which aroused the concubine's interest in conversation and made her chatter non-stop.
Until the King of Jin came to look for his wife, "What are you two talking about? You seem to be chatting so enthusiastically."
"Let's talk about children's experiences." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"Then you will have something to talk about." Prince Jin said with a smile.
"You've come at the right time. The maid is accompanying her. I'm worried. Please help her back." The concubine advised.
"Okay, come on, Princess Jin, please take the lead, let's go back to the courtyard." Prince Jin said jokingly.
"Go ahead," the concubine said with a loving smile.
Jiang Changning then lived a comfortable and lazy life during her pregnancy.
At the morning court on the first day of February, the emperor announced the one chief examiner, three deputy examiners, and eight co-examiners for this year's spring examination.
The joint examination was presided over by the Ministry of Rites. The content of the examination was roughly the same as that of the provincial examination. Those who passed the examination were called "Gongshi" and the first one was called "Huaiyuan".
The examination period is in February of spring, so it is called Spring Examination.
The metropolitan examination, like the provincial examination, was held in three sessions, one every three days. The first session was on the ninth day, the second on the twelfth day, and the third on the fifteenth day.
Unlike the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination does not require one to stay in the examination room for nine days. For each examination, one only needs to enter the examination room one day before and leave the room the next day, which makes it much easier than the provincial examination.
The exam was to begin on February 9th, but the examiners were not announced until February 1st. This was simply a one-sided dispute of pride between the Emperor and the Prince of Jin.
In this dynasty, the chief examiner was basically a Grand Secretary who was a Jinshi graduate or a high-ranking official of the third rank or above. He was nominated by the Ministry of Rites and then specially appointed by the emperor.
The Prince of Jin had submitted the list of names long before the New Year, but the Emperor said, "This list is not appropriate. Please draft another one."
As for what was wrong, the Emperor did not say anything and Prince Jin had no way of asking, so he had to go back to the yamen and discuss it again with his subordinates.
When the second list was handed in, the emperor still said, "This list is not appropriate. Make another one."
"I guess His Majesty has a candidate in mind." The Left Vice Minister guessed.
No one else said anything. Trying to guess the emperor's intention was a very awkward task.
After a moment of silence, King Jin said, "Draw up another list."
After the third list was drawn up, Prince Jin held it in his hand and did not present it immediately. He waited until the 30th day of the first lunar month to hand it in, not giving the emperor another chance to reject it.
The emperor held the memorial without looking at it, staring at the Prince of Jin standing at the jade steps, and asked in a reproachful tone: "Prince of Jin, why did you submit the list so late?"
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites submitted two lists, neither of which was to your liking. We are very terrified and have discussed for a long time before coming up with this list. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
The candidates on the first list were all very good. The emperor's disagreement was just a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for Prince Jin.
Prince Jin knew this very well. He was willing to cooperate with the emperor once, but not a second time. It is better not to be too pushy.
"That's it. I will announce it at the court tomorrow morning." The emperor couldn't reject it anymore. If he rejected it again, and if the Prince of Jin dragged it out for a few days, would there be no examiners for this year's spring examination
The emperor was very angry. After Prince Jin left, he smashed the paperweight to the ground and said, "Helian Yu, you are so cruel. I will not forgive you."
Although he shouted that he was fierce, he really couldn't find any fault with Prince Jin for the moment.
On the ninth day of the third lunar month, at the beginning of the Chou hour, Zhou Duxin arrived at the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall under the escort of his servants.
In this dynasty, all candidates from various provinces and eligible students of the Imperial Academy can take the exam. Those candidates who did not pass the exam three years ago can also take the exam.
The Zhou family servant was stunned when he saw the huge crowd outside the Imperial Examination Hall. "Why are there so many people?"
"It is said that there are five thousand candidates taking the exam this year." Zhou Duxin said calmly.
"Third Master, please take a nap in the carriage first, and then go in when it's your turn," said the servant.
The body search in the joint examination was more stringent than that in the provincial examination and took longer, but fortunately all candidates had already received their examination numbers and so they just had to arrive before their numbers were called.
It’s just that the candidates take it too seriously and are afraid of missing their number, so they would rather arrive early than be late.