Chang Youzhong brought the things over quickly, but it was too hasty to conclude that the maid was sent by the empress dowager based solely on a sign from the Fushou Palace.
But the Queen Mother was also a suspect, so Prince Jin did not allow Qiu Shou to continue the interrogation. Instead, he asked Chang Youzhong to find a way to take the man to the dungeon of the Huaibei Palace to have him interrogated by the people there.
Everyone has his specialties and strengths, and Qiu Shou is lacking in the area of judging people.
King Jin did not tell Jiang Changning the truth about this matter. He only said, "I'll take care of everything. Just rest assured and take care of your baby."
Jiang Changning listened to him and did not ask any more questions about the matter, focusing on her pregnancy.
March 3rd, Shangsi Festival.
The concubine thought that Jiang Changning was able to get pregnant successfully because she ate red eggs that day, and she wanted to go to Hongluo Temple to fulfill her wish.
Jiang Changning muttered quietly: "Your Majesty, this is obviously your contribution. What does it have to do with eating red eggs?"
King Jin also muttered quietly: "It's our credit."
Jiang Changning glanced at him coquettishly, and Prince Jin explained seriously: "I'm not wrong. I can't accomplish anything by myself."
"Oh, just shut up." Jiang Changning said angrily.
"Your Excellency, you set the fire first."
"I told you, I can set fire, but you can't light a lamp."
“The people are dissatisfied.”
"If you don't agree, just hold it in."
"I'm holding it in." Prince Jin said meaningfully.
This person
Jiang Changning turned her head away and ignored him. She was not as thick-skinned as him and she couldn't beat him.
Prince Jin looked at her red ears and smiled happily. It was so funny to tease his shy little princess whenever he had time!
The couple failed to persuade the concubine, so they asked Yan Yinyao to accompany the concubine to Hongluo Temple.
Jiang Changning stayed in the mansion and took care of little Zeng Mi.
Yan Yinyao specifically told her daughter, "Don't bump into your cousin's mother, do you understand?"
"I know, my cousin has a little brother." Zeng Mi said in a baby voice.
The concubine was overjoyed when she heard this, "Mi'er, your cousin's mother has a little brother, right?"
Rumor has it that children have clear eyes and smart mouths.
Jiang Changning didn't believe it. Her belly was only three months old. According to medical theory, the gender of the baby can only be known after four months.
Zeng Mi said this most likely because Yan Yinyao taught him to do so in order to please the Concubine Dowager.
"It's my little brother." Zeng Mi clapped her hands and smiled, "My little brother calls me sister and plays with me."
"Mi'er is right." The concubine hugged Zeng Mi into her arms, smiling so hard that her teeth were showing.
Jiang Changning stroked her forehead. Seeing the concubine dowager like this, she was really worried that if she gave birth to a daughter, the concubine dowager would collapse.
After the concubine teased Zeng Mi for a while, the aunt and nephew went out.
Jiang Changning ordered people to invite Princess Kang Ren as well. The older children took care of the younger children, so she had nothing to do.
This would save Zeng Mi from running over after a while and asking, "Aunt, is my little brother behaving well?"
"Aunt, when can my little brother call me sister?"
This made her very troubled and unable to live in peace.
Princess Kang Ren hadn't arrived yet, so Jiang Changning had a small toy made for her delivered.
There was a whole box full of toys, and not only Zeng Mi cheered, but Jiang Changning also liked it.
Zeng Mi took a wooden wheelbarrow and pushed it around for fun.
Jiang Changning sat on the kang, fiddling with the brain-nourishing tower.
Brain Tower is a level-breaking board game with three difficulty levels. Because it is for children, Jiang Changning asked the carpenter to make the simplest one, which consists of two building block bases and five building blocks.
Although it is the simplest, there is more than one possible way to assemble the building blocks. After assembling them according to the drawn picture, there should be no protrusions or spaces.
Jiang Changning said several times that family members did not need to be so polite when they met, but Princess Kang Ren had promised her well but still did not change her mind, so Jiang Changning had no choice but to go along with her.
"Kang Ren, come on up to the kang, let's play a game of guessing who is who."
"What guessing game?" Princess Kang Ren took off her shoes and got on the kang.
After Jiang Changning explained, the aunt and nephew started playing.
After playing rock-paper-scissors, Jiang Changning won. "Is it the one with white hair?"
"No." Princess Kang Ren shook her head.
Jiang Changning covered the person with white hair on the card, and Princess Kang Ren asked, "Is it black hair?"
"No." Jiang Changning answered her question and then asked, "Wearing flowery clothes?"
"Yes." Princess Kang Ren nodded.
It was Princess Kang Ren's turn to ask. She saw that there were only three cards in front of Jiang Changning. If she asked one more question, Jiang Changning would probably find the card he was looking for.
What question should she ask to turn defeat into victory
"Are there pockmarks on your face?" asked Princess Kang Ren.
"No." Jiang Changning replied.
Princess Kang Ren knew that she had lost the bet. Among the cards in front of her, there was only one person with pockmarks.
"Is it a long beard?" Jiang Changning asked.
Princess Kangren replied, "Yes."
Jiang Changning smiled, "Let's play another round."
"Okay." Princess Kang Ren thought this was quite interesting.
Looking at Jiang Changning who was having fun with her niece, Xiulan silently turned her head to look at the lamp stand in the corner. Is this toy really made for the little prince
Jiang Changning didn't care what Xiulan thought. She and Princess Kang Ren took out various toys and played with them once or several times.
"Mi'er, this doll is for you."
"Thank you, aunt." Zeng Mi hugged a lady doll that was the same size as her, and her big eyes turned into crescent shapes when she smiled.
The game given to Princess Kang Ren was a set of chess. Jiang Changning told her how to play it. "In order of size, they are elephant, lion, tiger, leopard, wolf, dog, cat and mouse. However, mouse can eat elephant, but elephant cannot eat mouse. The same chess pieces can eat each other."
Princess Kangren returned to the yard happily, holding the chess piece.
In the evening, Prince Jin came back, and Jiang Changning asked him and four maids to play Kill of Three Kingdoms together.
"How do I play this?" King Jin looked at the cards with exquisite patterns on them and found them quite interesting.
Jiang Changning explained the gameplay in detail, "First, you draw an identity card. There are four types of identity cards: Lord, Loyal Minister, Rebel, and Traitor.
". Killing a traitorous general will allow you to draw three extra cards. If the lord kills a loyal minister by mistake, he will lose all the cards in his hand. Okay, let's play. I don't know much about it, but we can learn it by playing."
Several people drew cards. Jiang Changning drew the traitor, Prince Jin drew the lord, and the couple were enemies.
Looking at the cards in her hand, Xiulan once again doubted Jiang Changning's intention in making this toy. Was it really made for the young master to play with
No matter what Xiulan thinks, with these toys, Jiang Changning's life will become more enjoyable.
On March 20th, the results of the Spring Examination were announced, and as expected, Zhou Duxin was on the list, ranking seventh.
Zhuang Jike's performance in the exam was not too bad, ranking 183rd.
Those who passed the imperial examination were called "Gongshi" and the first one was called "Huaiyuan".
The number of admissions is not fixed, ranging from over a hundred to three or four hundred. This time, there were as many as five thousand people taking the exam, and a total of four hundred and twelve were admitted. Zhuang Jike's ranking was quite good.
After the results of the joint examination are announced, those who pass the examination will take part in the palace examination the next month.
Note: Xiulan looked doubtful: Was this really made for the young master to play with
Jiang Changning said seriously: Young Master, his mother must first become familiar with the game before she can teach him how to play.
(End of this chapter)