frightfiction Chapter 515 Imperial Examination Official
Chapter 515 Imperial Examination Official
Time flies by so fast that Yu Qingli feels like it's unreal. During the past six months, the entire palace has been extremely peaceful.
After the Chinese New Year, the Crown Princess gave birth to a baby boy, a boy weighing more than seven kilograms. Murong Shiling was suddenly promoted to the Emperor's grandfather. Naturally, he was in a good mood and even gave the boy a name himself. The birth of this eldest grandson of the Emperor also temporarily calmed down the various forces in the palace. The most angry among them was Queen Li. She even specially called Yu Qingli to the palace and gave her a good scolding, all for complaining about how her pregnancy was not going well.
Of course, Yu Zhenzhen, who was also a concubine, was called over as well. For this, Yu Qingli felt that she should be grateful to Yu Zhenzhen. At least the queen's eyes would not be focused only on her, which allowed her to have relatively free time.
During these few months, many things happened that made Yu Qingli feel relieved, such as moving out of the palace.
After the birth of the emperor's eldest grandson, a minister in the court suggested that the eldest prince and the crown prince were both adults and married, and should have their own residences. In addition, the day of the selection was approaching, and it would not be appropriate for the eldest prince, the crown prince and others to continue living in the palace until a new batch of beauties entered the palace.
Perhaps Murong Shiling was really in a good mood. After someone brought up this matter, he directly issued an edict to reward Murong Cheng and Murong Feng with mansions respectively. Even Murong Yanhui was pardoned and returned to live in the palace.
This is definitely the best news for Yu Qingli. At least from now on, it will be much more convenient and free for her to do anything she wants.
However, this also brought some troubles. Murong Feng has been cultivating himself these days, but it is not known whether he is really at peace. At least Yu Qingli feels that it is not that simple.
In the early hours of the morning, the rain that had fallen all night finally stopped, but the sky was still gloomy. In the distance, leaden clouds were hanging slightly, and the accumulated water was dripping down the eaves of the ditch. On the blue brick ground in the nearby yard, the newly grown moss was topped with water droplets, which looked very lovely in the faint morning light. Everything seemed so safe and comfortable. In such a safe and comfortable environment, Yu Qingli no longer felt sleepy. She put on a shirt and slowly walked to the window.
The wind, carrying the intoxicating fragrance of grass and trees, lingered around her nose. Yu Qingli gently pushed open the half-closed window, and suddenly a bright light appeared in front of her eyes. She dodged to the side without thinking, and a string of water droplets fell to the ground, splashing her skirt and socks.
When he looked up again, Murong Yanhui was holding a large banana leaf and standing by his window with a smile of success on her lips.
Yu Qingli felt a headache. She had been married into Murong Feng's family for a few days, but Murong Yanhui was still the same. Regardless of the time or place, he always gave her some "surprises", although most of them were more shocking than happy.
However, Yu Qingli knew Murong Yanhui's personality very well. Since he had come today, there was no way to drive him away. Yu Qingli calmly sat back on the bed, lowered her head to fiddle with her wet skirt and socks, and said lazily, "Little uncle is really in a good mood. Did he climb over the same courtyard wall again this time?"
Murong Yan replied with a "hehe" smile, poked the window frame with her right hand, flew into the room like a swallow, and sat down beside Yu Qingli's bed.
"Lili, you really hurt my heart. I was afraid you might be 'on a rainy night, unaware of the spring grass', so I picked some spring grass just to show you."
Yu Qingli glanced at Murong Yan and thought, are banana leaves spring grass? Could the heavy rain last night be considered a light rain?
Yu Qingli thought so in her heart, but she said: "I feel that this rain has a taste of 'endless fine rain like sorrow'."
Murong Yanhui's expression was slightly startled, and then his brows relaxed, "Lili, nothing can escape your discerning eyes."
Yu Qingli fiddled with her wet socks, hesitating whether to change them in front of Murong Yanhui. She asked calmly, "Tell me, are we going to court today for the imperial examination?"
Murong Yan returned her gaze with a fiery smile, and curled the corners of her lips. "Since Lili has guessed it, how about we guess again?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Qingli tilted her head and looked at Murong Yanhui. Under the flickering light in the room, his outline became more and more clear, like a sculpture. His eyes were as bright as stars, and it seemed as if he could see into her heart with just one glance.
Yu Qingli's heart suddenly gave a start, and she quickly looked away. "The Imperial Examination is the foundation of the court, and Your Majesty attaches great importance to it. Although it is a routine event every year, it has always been mainly responsible for by the Minister of Personnel, and the Crown Prince is in charge."
By this point, Yu Qingli had already adjusted her mood. She raised her head again to meet Murong Yanhui's gaze. Seeing the smile on his lips gradually turn colder, Yu Qingli raised her eyebrows slightly, "Could it be that the Crown Prince is not in charge this time?"
Looking at Yu Qingli, who bravely met his gaze once again, Murong Yanhui felt a mixture of emotions. He wondered if the anxiety she had inadvertently revealed was for Murong Cheng or Murong Feng. Thinking of this, Murong Yanhui suddenly lost interest. No longer in the mood to play around with Yu Qingli, he got straight to the point.
"The imperial examination is not only a major event, but also an annual indicator for civil and military officials to gauge the emperor's intentions. Furthermore, being the examiner is a lucrative position. Not only do scholars from all over the country and the children of ministers pay donations, but it also provides a great opportunity to curry favor with one's own forces." Murong Yanhui sat up. "However, I heard news last night that Murong Feng wants to take on the examiner position this year."
"Him?" Yu Qingli was surprised. No wonder Murong Feng had been avoiding her for a while. Was he secretly planning this?
After coming out of the Heavenly Prison, Murong Feng had been staying indoors to cultivate his body and mind. She thought that he had suffered a blow before and was temporarily depressed. It seemed that she was too naive. Murong Feng was ambitious, so how could he be depressed?
However, these things did not happen in her previous life, so she needs to think carefully about how to deal with them in this life.
Murong Cheng is a good person, and he has a relationship with Liu Caiyi. She can't just watch Murong Cheng being taken away by Murong Feng like this. Most importantly, if Murong Feng gets what he wants so easily, how can he know how important he is?
Murong Yanhui stared at the woman in front of him, who was looking down in thought. Seeing her beautiful eyebrows wrinkle up little by little, he felt as if a stone was blocking his heart. He unconsciously reached out and touched Yu Qingli's forehead, pressing his thumb firmly between her eyebrows. "Why? If your husband gets this job, there will definitely be a group of people leaning towards him again. Why are you so unhappy?"
Yu Qingli wanted to hide, but Murong Yan's warm kiss made her feel more at ease. She was a little greedy, and finally just shrank her neck symbolically. Then she realized that Murong Yan's angry words in return were funny.
"It's not up to me to decide whether you are happy or not. It depends on your Majesty's decision." Yu Qingli glanced at Murong Yanhui and only then realized that his shoulders were a little damp. The drizzle soaked the fine blue fabric, leaving some marks.
Yu Qingli knew that he had come here so early in the morning not just to enjoy the rain, and she suddenly felt a little grateful in her heart, "I'll have to rely on my little uncle for the morning court later."
"No, everyone in Canghe knows that I, King Yan, am the most unreliable." Murong Yan said this, but his heart was as sweet as eating honey. He was always happy to help Yu Qingli.
Just as I watched Murong Yan leave the yard, there was a slight cough outside the door.
Yu Qingli then took off her wet socks and asked, "How long has he been standing there? You didn't even tell him."
Although Yu Qingli had exposed her more than once or twice, Xiluo still smiled awkwardly, "It wasn't long, only about half an hour. It went back and forth, and I don't know what the prince wanted to say to the young lady in private. Xiluo didn't dare to interfere."
Xiluo sighed deliberately after finishing her words. "Come to think of it, the prince is also a man of military background, but he is always so indecisive when it comes to matters concerning the young lady. I really don't know what he owed the young lady in his past life."
In the previous life?
Yu Qingli smiled bitterly upon hearing this. Weren't there so many people who owed her in her past life? However, among these people, Murong Yanhui was not one of them. She didn't know how this man, who was supposed to be a stranger to her, could occupy her heart so deeply.
It was as if she owed him!
……
The majestic hall was reflected in the morning light, and the bluestone slabs washed by rain were crowded with people.
As soon as the morning court bell rang, the crowd that had gathered together to chat slowly dispersed and entered the hall in two orderly lines.
"If you have something to report, report it early. If not, leave the court." The eunuch swept his whisk, and his sharp voice echoed in the hall as usual.
Murong Shiling seemed to be in a very good mood today, having swept away the gloomy look of the past few days. He sat upright on the dragon throne and glanced at his ministers. Seeing that no one started a conversation, he spoke first: "The annual imperial examination is approaching. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them with us."
Murong Yanhui stood aside, full of amusement, watching the ministers exchange opinions quickly with lowered brows. One of them, a short and fat man, stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty, talent is the foundation of a country, and the imperial examination is a major event for selecting talent. I believe that this is a matter of great importance and that someone with exceptional ability and who can represent the majesty of heaven should be appointed to lead it. This will reflect the importance Your Majesty attaches to this matter."
Murong Shileng's eyebrows moved slightly, and he said "Oh". The long tail sound was very meaningful, and the ministers couldn't help but ponder it again.
"Then who do you think is the most capable and represents the power of heaven?" Murong Shiling's eyes were as sharp as torches as he scanned the crowd, and his gaze finally stopped on Murong Feng.
"I believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the most worthy of the title..."
"Father!"
Before the short and fat minister could finish his words, Murong Feng interrupted him with a loud shout. Before he finished speaking, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily.