Sisi clenched her fingers, her voice weak, "It was Mother who told me that before Third Brother and Fourth Brother left, Mother went to town to pay the fees to enroll them in school."

As a result, the town mayor said that poor people were not worthy of studying, and that if they wanted to study, it would cost one hundred taels of silver per person. So, the third and fourth sons went to do hard labor to support their families.

"That town mayor was just caught. He stole a lot of jewelry from the palace. Your Majesty, may someone bring him here?" Xu Zhenzhen said.

"bring."

Soon, Yu Qing was brought in.

He knelt on the ground and cried loudly, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent! Those things were given to me by Princess Zhao'an, I did not steal them."

"really?"

"It's true, it's true! May I be struck by lightning if I'm lying!"

Sui Jin nodded, "I will trust you this once."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty." Yu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

But Sui Jin's words the next second plunged him into an icy abyss.

"I heard that you once said that poor people didn't deserve to study? And that if someone wanted to study, they had to pay one hundred taels of silver?"

Yu Qing felt as if his throat was being choked. He only remembered when he saw Qin Shi's angry face that Qin Shi had brought twenty taels of silver to register her two children.

That's what he said to her.

Damn it, Yu Qing was filled with remorse.

"Your silence means you're admitting it?"

Yu Qing trembled, not daring to lie, and kept kowtowing, "Your Majesty, I was out of my mind, Your Majesty, spare my life, Your Majesty, please spare my worthless life."

Sui Jin sneered, "Take him out, mark him as a lowly person, and for three generations his family will be forbidden from studying or participating in the imperial examinations."

Yu Qing, despite his advanced age, still hopes to become the top scholar in the imperial examination.

His Majesty's words were more cruel than taking his life.

He cried out, "Your Majesty, I was wrong! Please punish me! The child is innocent! Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Yu Qing was dragged out, and Sui Jin looked at Sisi.

"I agree."

"yeah!"

The little guy jumped up excitedly, grabbed Yu Chen's sleeve, and said excitedly, "Fourth Brother, you can go to school! You can go to school to study!"

Her eyes were a little red.

He didn't know Sisi would say these things.

I don't even know if my mother really enrolled him and my third brother back then.

It's just because we don't have money; it's not my mother's fault, nor is it Sisi's.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Yu Chen looked at Qin Shi and saw the tears in her eyes. His heart ached. He shouldn't have stubbornly left home, and he shouldn't have left his mother.

But it's too late to say anything now.

He became a demon, destined not to stay by her side for long.

Suppressing the sadness in my heart, I forced myself to turn my gaze away.

Sui Jin looked around. "Is anyone else going to say anything?"

"What will happen to those beggars and refugees after the war?" The little guy suddenly thought of beggars. "Your Majesty, what will happen to those beggars who have no land and no food, and starve to death?"

With the Xiongnu campaign underway, Qing'an now has no shortage of refugees.

Sui Jin thought for a moment, "I understand, I will find a way."

As Sui Jin was writing calligraphy in the hall, Sisi secretly tugged at Yu Chen's sleeve and whispered, "Fourth Brother, you can go to study now, why aren't you happy?"

With a stern face, he said, "Don't talk to me."

Sisi pouted, "Fourth Brother is so annoying."

"Ignore him." Xie Yan patted her head.

"Fourth Brother must be so happy he's gone crazy."

Sisi felt that this must be the case.

"The Zhou family, heed my decree." Sui Jin put down his pen.

Qin led the group to kneel down. Seeing that the princess was about to kneel again in a daze, Sui Jin quickly coughed and said, "The little girl is too young, she doesn't need to kneel."

Sisi chuckled, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Zhou Jia Sisi is kind-hearted. She brought rain to the people, drove away locusts, and resisted the Xiongnu. She is hereby granted the title of Princess Chang Le of the Qing'an Dynasty, with a thousand acres of fertile land and ten cities including Wuzhou as her fief."

He wouldn't dare have a princess as his daughter, but he could have her as his sister.

At least when the Dragon King beats him, he'll be a little gentler.

Madam Qin covered her mouth in disbelief. Her...her...her daughter had become the eldest princess?

"Mother, am I dreaming?" She tugged at the old lady's sleeve. "Sisi has grown into a princess, and I'm the princess's mother now?"

The old lady pinched her, and Qin cried out in pain.

She covered her face with joy, "It's not a dream! Sisi is a princess now, with thousands of acres of fertile land and more than ten cities. Sisi has become a great landowner!"

“Sun Changjing has rendered meritorious service in protecting the city and is hereby appointed as the Grand General Protector of the Nation, with Xu Zhenzhen as his deputy.”

"Tuesday 1000".

Zhou Erqian looked up in surprise, "What about me?"

“That’s right.” Sui Jin smiled. He had heard from Sun Changjing that if Zhou Erqian hadn’t risked his life to poison the Imperial Guards, they wouldn’t have been able to win.

What reward do you desire?

Zhou Erqian was very excited, "I want to be a great general like Lord Sun."

Sui Jin smiled and said, "You can't be a Grand General, but you can be a Junior General. So I'll appoint you as the Junior General of Wuzhou, leading 5,000 troops. How about that?"

"Your subject receives the decree!" Zhou Erqian kowtowed in a very proper manner.

He never dreamed that he would one day lead troops.

He will definitely work hard and become a great general who protects the country, just like Lord Sun.

Everyone received a reward, even the child in Yo-yong's womb was given a name.

Sui Jin drafted two imperial edicts, one for bestowing titles and the other for the benefit of the people. Sun Changjing gathered the people together in the very center of Wuzhou City before reading them aloud.

"First, schools will be set up all over the country, charging only one tael of silver. Anyone, regardless of their background, can participate in the imperial examinations. The examinations will be transparent and fair. Anyone found to have cheated or bribed will be executed."

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