In a blink of an eye, the results of the provincial examination came out. Changzhong did not go to look at the results, but instead took out the article he had written a few days ago and reflected on it again.
Minghui looked towards the door from time to time, wanting to know if his uncle was on the top of the list.
The servant ran in, "Congratulations, sir, for winning the top spot."
Minghui was delighted and asked hurriedly, "What about me? What about me?"
The servant said cheerfully, "Mr. Minghui is third."
Minghui was satisfied, "Congratulations, uncle."
Changzhong was very confident and happy to get the confirmation. "Congratulations, let's celebrate today."
The servants in the yard all received reward money, and the young men from other clans came to congratulate them. All the children of the Zhou clan passed the provincial examination, and the whole yard was filled with joy.
After a while, the gift-giver arrived, and Changzhong refused without any polite words.
Changzhong doesn't need to put himself in a difficult position. He didn't meet any outsiders today, but he accepted the invitations that were sent to him. He selected the one from the prefect's son and will go for the appointment tomorrow.
Minghui played with the post in his hand, "Uncle is really going to the appointment!"
"Well, I sent him the invitation twice. The first time I was busy with the prefectural examination and didn't accept it. Now that the examination is over, I want to meet him. No matter what the prefect is thinking, the Zhou family has to give him face in Pingzhou."
Minghui: "I'll go tomorrow too."
"Of course I will."
In the government office, the prefect was flipping through the article and said to his son, "Take a look at Master Zhou's article."
Cheng Xiang pouted, "Dad, I have passed the imperial examination."
The prefect glared angrily, "Don't think that you are great just because you passed the exam. You passed the exam by a narrow margin. I want to ask you, are you sure about passing the autumn exam?"
Cheng Xiang said dryly, "Half."
The prefect became even angrier, "I won't be angry if you are stupid, but why can't you just study hard?"
Cheng Xiang wanted to cover his ears. He had heard these words too many times. "Dad, Mr. Zhou has accepted the invitation. I will go back to prepare first."
The prefect watched his son run away, and then became even angrier. If he had not only one son, he would have wanted to ignore him. He looked at Wen Zhang and felt even more sad.
In the capital, at Zhou Hou Mansion, Xue Han returned to her parents' home. Zhu Lan asked, "Did you see the Queen when you entered the palace yesterday?"
Xue Han nodded, "Yes, this illness has taken away most of her energy and spirit. My daughter has seen the Queen's hair turn white."
Zhulan, "White hair?"
Xue Han nodded. She thought she was seeing things at first, but she looked a few more times before making sure she was not mistaken. The Queen had obviously aged a lot after this illness.
Xue Han felt a little flustered, "My daughter feels a little unwell."
Especially when chatting with the queen, her feelings about the queen's affection and attitude became more obvious.
Zhulan, "Is the queen feeling better?"
Xue Han was silent for a moment, "The Queen said she is much better."
Zhulan got the point. Did the Queen say it herself
Xue Han sighed, "The second prince is about to get married, and then the third prince will get married."
Her intuition told her that the Queen might not survive this time.
Zhu Lan said, "This time the Queen did not hide her serious illness. Now the one who should be worried is the Second Prince."
As the wedding is about to take place, the Liu family and the second prince are the most anxious. The second prince has been hanging around in the Ministry of Rites since he got married. Now the second prince sincerely hopes that the queen will be fine.
Xue Han thought so too, "Princess Jingxuan is taking care of the queen."
Zhulan, "The princess is a good child."
Xue Han liked Jing Xuan very much, but she was still worried. Only when she saw that the Queen and Jing Xuan got along well did she feel completely relieved.
When they were about to go to bed at night, Zhulan and Shuren talked about the queen. Shuren said, "It's not just the second prince who is anxious."
"What do you mean?"
Zhou Shuren said, "There are many people watching the Crown Prince's backyard. Because of the mourning for the retired emperor, no one has come in. The anniversary is finally coming, and if something happens to the Queen, it will be delayed again. Do you think it's urgent?"
Bamboo orchid, "... "
We should be anxious indeed. In ancient times, girls’ best years were only a few years, and we cannot afford to delay it any longer. A girl that a noble family has spent so much effort to train should not be wasted like this.
Zhou Shuren continued: "The emperor is in a bad mood."
Zhu Lan sighed, "After all, the first wife is different. The emperor is not a womanizer. He has always respected his first wife over the years. If something goes wrong with the queen, the emperor will naturally be sad."
The Emperor was indeed sad. The imperial physician had changed the prescription several times but the effect was not obvious. The Empress's body could not retain the effects of the medicine and now she had to take the medicine every day and could not even skip a meal.
The Crown Prince finally finished reviewing today's memorials. He had been the one reviewing memorials in recent days, as his father's mind was always on his mother.
The prince saw his father sitting in silence, "Father, it's getting late, you should rest."
The emperor came back to his senses, "Is it done?"
"Some sons who were unsure were left alone."
The emperor stood up and walked over to look through it, frowning and relaxing his brows. He picked up the pen to re-mark it, and then pointed out the inappropriate parts. "You have been in the Ministry of Justice for some time. You should go to the Ministry of Personnel after a while."
Prince, "Yes."
The emperor said, "Go and have a rest."
The prince did not move, "Father, it's time for you to rest."
The emperor said he understood, and after his son left he returned to his bedroom. People like to reminisce, and these days he likes to recall the days when he just got married. Unfortunately, memories are just memories after all.
The next day, at the morning court, Zhou Shuren smiled at everyone. If anyone wanted to know the news, they would feel embarrassed. He didn't say a word and smiled the whole time.
After several people failed to find out anything, they gave up one after another. Zhou Hou didn't want to say that he couldn't get any information.
Some people also wanted to inquire from the Wen family, but unfortunately the queen was seriously ill and had never met anyone from the Wen family. That's right, she had never met anyone. All the invitations from the Wen family that were sent to the palace were rejected.
The old man of the Wen family had an extremely sour face and snorted heavily when he passed by Zhou Shuren.
Zhou Shuren pretended not to hear. The old man was very angry. He understood very well that the Wen family was embarrassed that the Queen did not meet with her family members.
Lord Li moved the corners of his mouth, and finally sighed and did not step forward. He was not that shameless.
Although he was also anxious, as the Second Prince had not been seen recently, he was also afraid that the marriage would be postponed and all his efforts in planning for his daughter would be in vain.
In Chuanzhou, Chang Zhi arrived at the right time rather than early. As soon as he entered Xiaoxi Village, he encountered debt collectors. Five or six burly men with ferocious looks were blocking the yard. Well, they were the family that Chang Zhi wanted to visit.
The villagers were probably used to it, and although they were afraid they watched from a distance.
Changzhi got off the carriage and just walked to the side of the villagers, he heard crying in the yard.
The old man in the village muttered, "What a sin."
Changzhi asked, "Uncle, what happened here?"
The old man looked back, with a look of alertness on his face, "You look unfamiliar."
Changzhi smiled and said, "I am a scholar who travels around to study. I passed by the village and saw something happened, so I asked."
When the old man heard that it was a scholar, the vigilance in his eyes disappeared. "The one who got into trouble is the Ding family. They also had a scholar, but unfortunately he lost his fame and his family borrowed money at interest. Is this interest easy to borrow? Interest compounded is deadly. They come here every day to make trouble without money. Oh, something bad is going to happen."
As the old man spoke, he and the villagers quickly walked towards Ding's house. Chang Zhi also heard the crying.