The results of the imperial examination cheating case came out quickly, and both the Crown Prince and Prince Jing were involved. The Emperor was furious and reprimanded both of them. Not only them, but also the Queen and the always favored Concubine He were reprimanded. For a while, everyone was in danger.
The Crown Prince and Prince Jing were also punished to stay at home these days to make them reflect on themselves. Both of them were given a slap in the face, and both the Crown Prince's people and Prince Jing's people became much more honest all of a sudden. The court also became much quieter, and no one argued over trivial matters anymore.
The whole atmosphere in the court has improved a lot, and the efficiency of work has also increased a lot.
Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was best to resolve the matter now. If it was really discovered that it was the crown prince, or King Jing himself, who did it, it would cause a shock to the entire Zhou Dynasty. No matter who it was, it would be no small matter. At least most officials did not want to take sides now.
They wanted to wait and see. The emperor's will was difficult to determine, so the officials had to respond cautiously.
On the other hand, all matters related to the scientific examination fell on the shoulders of the King of England.
The palace examination that was re-prepared went very smoothly this time. The top three were selected. The emperor praised the top three and the first place in the second list, and then they were paraded through the streets on horseback.
The big issue had just been resolved and there was nothing else to do at this time. After the emperor ordered the court to adjourn, the court officials left the hall one by one.
Qu Zhizhen walked very fast. He was standing closer to the front, closer to the emperor. Also, as the Minister of Works, he couldn't really rush to squeeze in with the others to leave.
No matter how urgent you are, you have to walk slowly and steadily out.
After walking a few steps, I heard a voice behind me calling out, "Minister Qu!"
Qu Zhizhen was startled, but had to stop and look at Pei Yuanjun who was walking behind him with his hands behind his back, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty!"
"I heard that your second son has to leave Beijing for something?" Pei Yuanjun looked at him deeply, with a smile in his eyes that Qu Zhizhen couldn't see clearly.
It is said that
"It's... it's about Prince Jing. Prince Jing is not very convenient recently, so he asked my second daughter to come and talk to me to see if I can help." Qu Zhizhen didn't believe the so-called rumors and hurriedly lowered his head.
They talked here and did not stop, but continued to walk out slowly.
There were several important officials behind them. After looking at each other, they also slowed down. No one was in a hurry at this moment. Instead, they wanted to see what happened to the future father-in-law and son-in-law and help King Jing do something.
One of King Jing’s concubines must also be Qu Zhizhen’s daughter!
"What are you worried about? Do you need my help?" Pei Yuanjun had an elegant smile on his beautiful face.
"I dare not, I dare not." Qu Zhizhen said hurriedly.
"Is it about Princess Jing's dowry?" Pei Yuanjun asked with a smile, looking handsome and unrestrained in his brocade robe and jade belt.
"Yes, these are some important dowries of Princess Jing, and they need to be well protected. Mingcheng happened to fail the exam, and was originally going to leave the capital to travel outside for a few days to broaden his horizons. So he happened to help His Royal Highness Prince Jing." Qu Zhizhen said with his head down.
"I heard that he can't attend my wedding? Prince Jing is indeed more important than me! As a brother, I don't plan to carry my princess out of the house!" Pei Yuanjun sighed, smiled lightly, and his voice was slightly cold.
Qu Zhizhen's forehead began to sweat, and he hurriedly explained: "It was originally decided that Minghui would carry Ying on his back when he went out. There is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and Ying'er is a legitimate daughter, so she must be carried out by the eldest legitimate son's brother.
Yes, we have discussed it with the government, and decided to let Minghui carry Ying'er on the bridal sedan."
"Is there a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children?" Pei Yuanjun played with these two words thoughtfully, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.
"Yes, there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and we cannot let Ying'er down." Qu Zhizhen said stiffly.
"Now that Minister Qu has said this, I can understand his good intentions. Since he is just a concubine's son, there is no point in keeping him in the capital. If he is sent out, he can also help King Jing, which is a win-win situation. Minister Qu is able to sit on the position of Minister at such a young age. He is indeed very thoughtful."
Pei Yuanjun glanced at Qu Zhizhen with a faint smile.
“Your humble servant… I just feel that there is no point in him staying in the capital…” Qu Zhizhen felt increasingly uneasy.
"Minister Qu has thought of everything. I didn't expect the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children. Thank you, Minister Qu." Pei Yuanjun chuckled, narrowed his eyes, looked at Qu Zhizhen, laughed and walked away.
Qu Zhizhen's face flushed red as he looked at Pei Yuanjun's back. He wanted to explain but didn't know how. He didn't want to help King Ying, he wanted to help King Jing. His previous words were just excuses.
"Minister Qu really cares about the King of England!" Minister Liu's voice sounded at the side, making Qu Zhizhen even more embarrassed.
After Minister Liu and he swapped positions, the relationship between the two became very unharmonious. Although Minister Liu's position was a bit lower, no one dared to look down on him because he was the biological father of the Crown Princess.
"Lord Liu, you are joking. This is something that should be explained." Qu Zhizhen was not an ordinary person after all. After being embarrassed for a while, he calmed down and said, "Jingyu County Lord will be getting married in a few days. He invited my daughter to the banquet despite his busy schedule. Thank you!"
"Mr. Qu, you are too polite. My daughter has invited many guests to the banquet. I will have to ask Miss Qu Si to come to the banquet."
Minister Liu smiled.
The two men walked out together, and several court officials on both sides continued to walk out without making any noise, each of them seemed to be thinking about something. Qu Zhizhen was openly helping King Jing, but in fact he was afraid that King Ying would be unhappy, so he drove the illegitimate son out of the house, and even made a difference between the legitimate and illegitimate sons.
The matter of Qu Zhizhen had caused such a big stir before, and everyone knew it. The one who was going to marry into Prince Ying's Palace now was his only legitimate daughter, the daughter of his murdered wife. The one in Prince Jing's Palace and his son were both born to Yu. Yu Sheng was just a concubine now, and a vicious one at that.
The biological mother of the legitimate daughter died at the hands of this concubine, so how could she be close to the daughter born to the concubine
Now that things have gotten to this point, even Qu Zhizhen had to drive away his illegitimate son, which shows that the situation is even bigger and more inappropriate in the mansion.
With a legitimate daughter, a concubine's daughter and a concubine's son, the Qu Mansion seemed very uneasy, and Qu Zhizhen was not as comfortable as others imagined.
The two daughters are destined to have a bad relationship, so what about the relationship between King Jing and King Ying
Will it affect the dispute between the Crown Prince and King Jing
After weighing the pros and cons, I even feel that the relationship between the two sides will not only not improve because of marrying the daughter of the Qu family, but may even be worse...
After saying something to the lady dowager, Qu Moying and Qi Xiangyu left the Qu Mansion. Today was the day for the top four candidates in the imperial examination to ride horses in a parade through the streets. Qi Xiangyu repeatedly invited them, and the lady dowager finally let them go, but she also asked Qu Moying to go early and come back early, and not to waste too much time outside.
Qu Moying agreed to everything and left with Qi Xiangyu.
At the teahouse, Qi Xiang had booked a private room early. When the two of them went there, it hadn't started yet, but there were quite a few people in the teahouse. It was said that all the private rooms had been booked. This grand event that happens once every three years is the favorite time for young girls. Who wouldn't want to see how the top three and the examiner look like, and whether they are young and handsome.
It is the most enviable thing to become famous at a young age and have many talents.
"I heard that many families have already chosen their sons-in-law based on the list, and they are all looking for young and talented men. Your elder brother got engaged early, otherwise he would have chosen a better marriage this time." Qi Xiangyu said with a smile as she looked down.
Qu Mingcheng also won this time, but his ranking was not high. He was in a position neither high nor low. Not only him, but also the nephew of the lady's mother's family, cousin Xiao, won.
Qu Moying also knew that the man named Gao had also passed the imperial examination.
"Big brother is already engaged, Miss Zhou Er is very good!" Qu Moying smiled slightly, his eyes fell on a carriage below. The woman who got out of the carriage raised her face, with a somewhat heroic face, looking somewhat familiar, her watery eyes narrowed slightly. What a coincidence, this Miss Liu also came to watch the fun.
I looked at her a few more times out of curiosity.
Seeing her standing downstairs and not in a hurry to go in, someone came over from the side. He looked familiar, as if he had seen him before. When he came to Liu Lanxin, he seemed to accidentally squeeze Liu Lanxin. Liu Lanxin took a step back and almost fell.
The man hurried forward and politely gave her a little support. A maid hurried forward to support Liu Lanxin.
The two stood still and talked for a few words. Then Liu Lanxin came in with her maid, leaving the man alone. He looked around and then merged into the crowd.
It's gone in the blink of an eye.
Qu Moying frowned slightly and looked thoughtfully at the place where the two people had bumped into each other just now. There were indeed a lot of people at the door of the teahouse, but with the maids protecting them, most people would not bump into them. When Qu Moying was with Qi Xiangyu just now, the place was still quite spacious, and it was not crowded before the parade of the three top masters.
As for the man just now, he looked young, with a strong build, and obviously a skilled fighter. Yet he bumped into Liu Lanxin just like that. It was weird no matter how you looked at it. At that time, when Qu Moying was looking down curiously, there was actually no one else crowding around.
It was really a feat for such a young man to be walking safely and bump into Liu Lanxin who was being protected by a maid.
"What did you see?" Seeing that she was looking down intently, Qi Xiangyu walked over to her side curiously and looked over there.
I looked down and saw a crowd of people, but couldn't see anything.
"I think I saw Miss Liu." Qu Moying said.
"Princess Jing?" Qi Xiangyu was stunned for a moment, then immediately remembered and asked in surprise, "Doesn't Miss Liu dislike joining in the fun? I heard that she didn't attend many banquets before. After coming to Beijing, she usually stayed in the mansion unless she was summoned by the palace. Does she also like to watch this kind of fun?"
The temperament of the future Princess Jing makes people feel that she is very calm. She is usually very pure and has few desires. She is also very indifferent in her dealings with people. She doesn't seem like someone who would like to watch the parade of the three top girls like other girls.
"Maybe... I've never seen it before, so I just want to try something new!" Qu Moying said thoughtfully.
Is it for the sake of novelty, or for the convenience of meeting someone