14. Mother

The results of the imperial examination came out, and gongs and drums were beating everywhere in the capital, especially in the palace where Yun Zhihe lived, where visiting cards arrived every day.

The reason is simple. She is the top scorer in this exam. Since ancient times, the top one has always had a promising future. Even though there has been a wave of fans chasing her before, it has become even crazier in recent days.

Even Xuanyuan Ying's memorial contained many words praising her, along with a subtle proposal of marriage. Xuanyuan Ying just frowned and skipped over it, and even scolded her a few words in displeasure at the morning court.

Yun Zhihe declined all the visiting invitations that she could, and had to say a few polite words to those that she couldn't, which was really tiring.

Just as she was about to take a break, she heard Azhi come over and whisper in her ear, "Miss... Queen Mother Cheng is here to visit."

Yun Zhihe paused.

There were two queen mothers in the Ling Dynasty, one was the queen mother of Zhao and the other was the queen mother of Cheng.

The mother of the Cheng Kingdom was named Xuanyuan Ming. She was the biological mother of the current emperor, but she declined the title of "Grand Emperor" and was named the Mother of the Cheng Kingdom because of her hard work and great achievements. She was appointed as the Minister of War.

In fact, if you think about it, this world is monopolized by the Xuanyuan family.

She concealed her thoughts and realized that Mother Cheng had asked her to come for only one reason, to test and win her over.

She is the daughter of a loyal minister and grew up in the palace. She has a special status and won the first place in the imperial examination. She might also be the top scorer in the palace examination. Every day, people come to win her over, openly or covertly.

Mother Cheng walked in with a smile on her face, exempting her from the formalities, and murmured, "I haven't seen you for a few months. Jinniang has grown into such a remarkable lady. She is truly a graceful lady."

Yun Zhihe smiled modestly and lowered his head, saying politely, "Mother Cheng, thank you for your kind words."

Xuanyuan Ming carefully looked at Yun Zhihe and sighed softly, "You look just like your mother. I was distracted just now and thought that girl Yun Qianli was here."

Yun Qianli is Yun Zhihe's mother. She was a fifth-rank official and died young. It is said that Xuanyuan Ming and her mother were very good friends, but over the years she was not very familiar with the queen mother who was of a different generation from her.

She picked up the teacup unsteadily, her face filled with sadness.

"The couple just... well, they left behind such a little girl."

"The Shen family is a scourge to the nation and its people, disrupting the government..." Queen Mother Cheng snorted coldly, "They sent people to assassinate the late emperor, but they never intended to harm your parents..."

At that time, the political situation was extremely chaotic. The Shen family, which was also a century-old family, sent people to assassinate the previous emperor. After the previous emperor died, the Shen family attempted to rebel, but was suppressed by the Xuanyuan family and ended up with the entire family being executed.

Yun Zhihe was still young at that time. He only vaguely remembered that his father and mother would not come back, the floor of the capital was red, and there were crying and screaming every day.

Mother Cheng changed the subject, looked at Yun Zhihe's face with satisfaction, and said.

"Fortunately, you have lived up to their expectations and your talent has spread far and wide."

"Back then, your mother and I were sworn sisters. She was honest and upright, and she suffered a lot in the officialdom."

Her well-maintained fingers caressed Yun Zhihe's hand, and she earnestly exhorted, "I will never mistreat Qianli's child. If you ever enter officialdom and suffer injustice in the future, feel free to tell your aunt."

Yun Zhihe paused. Although he knew that this was a tactic to win people over, he was confused for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Xuanyuan Ming smiled and said, "Do your best in the palace examination. Auntie believes you will definitely bring back the title of top scholar."

After a few polite words and a gift, they left while talking.

Yun Zhihe sat in a chair, staring at the tea leaves floating in the teacup, in a daze.

Azhi beside her was a little puzzled, "Miss, Chengguo's mother came to visit in person, what a great honor, why are you not happy?"

She paused, looked up at Azhi, and said in a light voice, "It's not that I'm unhappy."

"It's just that my mother passed away many years ago, and I haven't been very close to her in these years. Now she's using the pretext of being my mother's sworn brother and sister to come look for me..."

Yun Zhihe pursed his lips. Mother Cheng's expression was kind yet strangely profound. "...I just feel strange."

"It's clear that they're trying to win me over, but... it's still strange."

Ah Zhi murmured nonchalantly, "Looking like the young lady is about to get admitted, she must be here to try to win over me." Then she leaned closer to Yun Zhihe's ear and said, "Perhaps she's someone who's trying to curry favor with the powerful."

Yun Zhihe sneered. No matter how high the status of Queen Mother Cheng was, she would not look for a mere Huiyuan like her. The palace exam was still undecided. After thinking about it, the word "not so" always came to mind.

She grabbed Ah Zhi's ear and scolded him, "I told you to study but you refused. How can you find a husband with such a brain?"

Azhi quickly begged for mercy.

"Oh, oh, miss, don't pull it..."

She sighed slowly, lowered her eyes, took a sip of tea, and murmured softly.

"If they come to win you over, that's easy to deal with..."

In two days it will be the anniversary of her mother and father's death. Yun Zhihe was a little dazed. She had heard a lot about Yun Qianli's youth from Mother Cheng.

They are all stories of waving sleeves to refuse gold, drinking ice cups under the autumn moon, and being fair and honest. Just a few sentences can outline the image of a lady who is upright and upright, and beautiful as the moon.

She actually couldn't quite remember what her parents looked like.

Entering the officialdom is nothing more than following in the footsteps of his mother.

Perhaps seeing her dazed expression, Xuanyuan Ying raised his hand to stop her playing the zither and asked, "Why are you so upset?"

Yun Zhihe bowed her head and apologized, then said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was thinking about my mother."

Xuanyuan Ying paused, lowering his brows. "In a few days it will be the anniversary of the couple's death. I will go out of the palace with you to offer sacrifices."

"Your Majesty, this..." She was about to refuse, but met Xuanyuan Ying's cold eyes.

"I have made up my mind, no need to persuade me."

Yun Zhihe stopped talking and looked at Xuanyuan Ying sitting on the seat with a complicated look.

Xuanyuan Ying had just finished reviewing the memorials. He tapped the table with his fingertips, turned to look at Yun Zhihe, and spoke in a deep voice.

"...The eldest prince is coming back."

"...Ah?" Yun Zhihe's originally calm expression suddenly turned into one of joy, but he restrained himself and then concealed his expression.

Xuanyuan Ying took it all in, his expression turned cold before he continued.

"After the palace examination, I returned with the General of Cavalry."

He only said this and stopped talking, leaving Yun Zhihe with a pounding heart.

The eldest prince's name was Qin Duan. He grew up with her. If there was anyone in the palace who took care of her the most, it was this eldest prince.

She had always considered him an older brother.

Her brother is gentle and strong.

It was a snowy day when he left. She was obviously still young, so he held her tenderly in his arms and resolutely got on the carriage, leaving Yun Zhihe standing in the snow, staring at the back of the carriage in a daze.

He held in his hand half of a tiger talisman left by the previous emperor. He had left the palace years ago and gone to the frontier to work with the General of Cavalry. So, they had not seen each other for several years.

He had a lot of thoughts in his mind, but he still looked respectful on the surface.

But Xuanyuan Ying's expression did not look very good. He really hated the eldest prince.

One reason was that he held the tiger talisman given by the previous emperor, and the other was that these two people never got along and they disliked each other.

Yun Zhihe couldn't explain the conflict between them, but he vaguely remembered that Qin Duan had disliked Xuanyuan Ying since he was a child.

Two days passed like this, and on the anniversary of my parents' death, an inconspicuous carriage arrived at the Yun Mansion from the palace.

Xuanyuan Ying told Yun Zhihe not to reveal his identity, and he didn't bring many guards with him. When they arrived at the gate of the Yun Mansion, Yun Zhihe walked forward and stretched out his hand to support the noble emperor.

The slender, jade-white hand placed on Yun Zhihe's hand, exerted some pressure, and then got off the carriage.

He was not dressed ostentatiously, just like an ordinary rich young man, with a veil that left only his cold and stern eyes visible.

He wore a black silk crane cloak and a waist belt embroidered with gold brocade patterns, which wrapped around his waist, making him look tall and straight, with a slender waist and outstanding temperament.

Yun Zhihe helped him to the main hall, and Qingzhu came over to pour tea, but when he saw Xuanyuan Ying's eyes, he paused for a moment, lowered his head, and retreated with some trembling.

Xuanyuan Ying frowned and looked at Qingzhu who was pouring tea.

She is quite pretty, but unfortunately her eyes are evasive and too petty to be presentable.

He made a merciless assessment, lifting his veil and taking a sip of tea.

Just a whore.

Incense had been burned inside and outside the house. Yun Zhihe did not invite his mother's old friends or anything like that. His mother was too upright and had few friends, so it would be impossible to invite them even if he wanted to.

Father Wang also came to serve and looked at the man carefully from the side.

In all these years, this is the first person that Yun Zhihe brought in personally. Qingzhu doesn't count. He was sent here by Yun Zhihe and brought in by Azhi.

He has sharp eyebrows and eyes, and even with the veil covering his face, one can still see his handsome face and outstanding temperament. He has broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with a thin waist and long legs. He looks like he is the material for having a daughter and becoming the head of the family.

Father Wang’s eyes lit up.

Yun Zhihe thought he was just an ordinary friend and never mentioned his noble status, so after seeing Yun Zhihe leave, Father Wang walked over to the young man with a teapot in hand.

He poured tea for people and looked a little happy.

"What is your name, sir? Are you married?"

Xuanyuan Ying paused, his fingertips holding the teacup trembling slightly. He raised his eyes to see a middle-aged man looking at him kindly. After thinking for a moment, he remembered that this man should be... Yun Zhihe's wet dad.

It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him in such a tone. He felt a little uncomfortable, but he still spoke, "...never married."

As a widower... he has no wife, so he can be considered as having never been married.

He spoke nonsense with an expressionless face.

Father Wang's expression became more vivid. He sat beside him, holding Xuanyuan Ying's hand, and spoke every word sincerely.

"Sir, you are the man Zhihe brought back personally. This boy is a bookworm and has never married at such an old age, let alone bringing someone home."

Xuanyuan Ying paused and did not comment.

Father Wang has lived for so long, so he is naturally familiar with the love between men and women. Although the young man in front of him has a dull expression, his beautiful eyes are only looking at Yun Zhihe, and there seems to be some unusual feelings in them.

He smiled kindly and held the hand of the young man in front of him with pity, "I wonder what you think of this child Zhihe?"

"She followed her mother's path and insisted on telling me that we would be together for the rest of our lives. If I married her, I would definitely live a happy life."

Xuanyuan Ying paused, with a hint of surprise in his eyes and his fingertips curled up a little.

He deliberately suppressed her from having a concubine, but he never thought that what she longed for was to be alone.