Chapter 288: Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!

Time flies, and half a month has passed quietly.

Cao's short life in the palace has come to an end, and she has to return to Xun Mansion.

At this moment, Cao's figure was obviously rounder than before, her cheeks were white with a rosy glow, and she looked pampered. It was obvious that she had enjoyed a lot of comfort in the palace.

At the palace gate, Bai Wutong came to see her off in person, with a concerned look on his face, "Mother, take care on your journey."

Cao's eyes were red, and her acting skills were superb. She responded with reluctance, "Wutong, then I will go back first. You must take good care of yourself in the palace."

"Don't worry, mother." Bai Wutong leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and spoke with some deep meaning, "I'll trouble you to take care of me outside the palace in the future. There will be many good days like this in the future. The Zhenguo Mansion has been rich for decades. If you do as I say, you can live such a life in the future."

Cao nodded heavily and left the palace, looking back every few steps.

After getting on the carriage, she would look back at the majestic palace through the window from time to time with reluctance.

The past half month in the palace was like a luxurious dream, but now, the dream is about to end.

Returning to the Xun Mansion, the home where she had lived for decades, everything seemed to be the same.

However, in Cao's eyes, the once familiar mansion now seemed extremely shabby.

As soon as she stepped into the gate, Xun Mingzhi came to meet her. Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but say, "It seems that you are living well in the palace."

"Of course!" Cao responded as she sat down on the chair.

But as soon as I sat down, I felt like something was missing and I felt uncomfortable all over.

She immediately called the servants over at the top of her voice and ordered them in a bossy manner, "Next time I sit down, you must be quick and put the cushions in place immediately. Have some tact! Also, tea and cakes, don't leave anything behind."

"Yes, ma'am." The servant responded quickly.

Xun Mingzhi frowned and said, "Don't bring the palace's habits back home. We can't compare with the palace here!"

"I understand." Cao replied perfunctorily. Feeling exhausted all over, she went back to her room to rest.

Lying on that familiar bed, she couldn't fall asleep.

The bed was hard and far less comfortable than the soft silk quilt in Bai Wutong Palace.

Looking at the furnishings in the room again, which seemed quite exquisite in the past, now seem too ordinary and not worthy of being in a formal room.

She stood up and walked to the dressing table, and immediately saw the hairpin that Xun Zhiyuan had given her.

It was a hairpin made of silver, very plain in style, with only one simple carving on it.

In the past, she treasured this hairpin very much. Although it seemed a bit shabby to wear it outside and she was afraid of being laughed at, she still often took it out to look at it, feeling very happy.

But when I saw it again today, I no longer felt the same excitement as before.

Compared with the dazzling jewels Bai Wutong gave her, this hairpin is far superior.

Any piece of jewelry given by Bai Wutong, when worn, would attract admiration and flattery from others.

But this silver hairpin made her feel embarrassed to show it off.

Cao couldn't help but think of what Bai Wutong said again.

If you think about it carefully, the only one who can truly make the Xun family prosperous and wealthy is Bai Wutong.

As for Xun Mingzhi, if he really had great talent, why would he still be lingering in a low position in the officialdom?

If it weren't for Bai Wutong, he would probably still be just a scholar in the Hanlin Academy with no real power.

And there is Xun Zhiyuan... Cao tried hard to recall the kindness Xun Zhiyuan had shown her, but after thinking about it, there seemed to be nothing else except this hairpin.

But in just half a month, Bai Wutong allowed her to experience an unprecedented luxurious life.

At this moment, voices were suddenly heard outside.

"Uncle San, we heard that Aunt San is back, so we came here to say hello."

Xun Yuanliang didn't want to deal with the Cao family, but due to the rules, Cao had just returned after being away for many days, so they should come to greet him.

Cao took a deep breath, adjusted her mood, and pushed open the door with a smile on her face. "Oh, Yuanliang, Yuanshan, you are so thoughtful! Third Aunt is fine! You must be exhausted from studying today, right? Come on, hurry up and prepare some nourishing soup for the two young masters!"

Xun Yuanliang and Xun Yuanshan were both stunned and looked at each other.

Why does Cao seem like a different person?

Xun Mingzhi was also puzzled, but did not say anything on the spot.

Until the evening, when the two of them were lying on the same bed, Xun Mingzhi finally couldn't help asking, "Why did you suddenly change your temper today? Did Bai Wutong say something to you in the palace?"

"I didn't say anything. It's just that my son is not around, and it's more lively with two more people at home. Anyway, our family doesn't need them to make a living. Go to sleep."

Cao turned over and faced away from Xun Mingzhi, but she still felt disgusted by the simplicity of the bed.

But I can only bear it for now.

At this moment, she couldn't help but fantasize about the good days in the future.

But the most urgent thing is to go out more often, interact with those noble ladies, and show off the treasures that I brought back from the palace. It's so glorious!

…

The scientific expedition, which was forced to be postponed due to the epidemic, was finally scheduled for early May.

Many ambitious students rushed to the capital early, thinking that they could take the exam quickly. However, they waited and waited, and their money was exhausted, and they could not even afford to stay in an inn.

In order to ensure that every student coming from afar could participate smoothly in this imperial examination, Zhang Chengyan made a prompt decision and ordered the distribution of silver to these students with a wave of his hand.

Especially those from poor families are taken care of and given more.

This selection is of great significance, and people with real talents and knowledge must be selected to enter the court.

In this way, he can not only build his own power base and prevent the rise of the next force similar to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, but also inject fresh blood into the court and make it younger.

There were many old ministers in the court and their ideas were too conservative. Many of the new policies that Zhang Chengyan wanted to implement were rejected by the ministers as soon as they were proposed.

He was eager to make some achievements, so he had to ensure that most of the voices in the court were in line with his own ideas!

Seeing that Zhang Chengyan was fully devoted to court affairs, Bai Wutong just stayed by his side silently without disturbing him.

During this period, he was busy with state affairs and had not entered the harem for a long time.

The concubines were extremely anxious, but there was nothing they could do.

Wen Chuyun was filled with resentment. He threw the teacup in his hand to the ground and cursed, "This Concubine Zhao has been occupying the emperor all day long and not letting the emperor pay attention to us!"

A palace maid came in hurriedly, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Emperor has made Concubine Zhao a noble concubine!"

Wen Chuyun stood up suddenly, his face full of shock, "What? Why was she suddenly promoted to a higher position?"

The maid hurriedly reported everything, "The epidemic has been resolved completely, and it was found that the Zhou family was behind it. After the emperor dealt with the Zhou family, he began to reward the meritorious officials. The emperor said that Concubine Zhao played a great role in this matter, so he promoted her to a noble concubine. Now the people are beginning to discuss building a temple for Concubine Zhao! Lord Jin and his men also received generous rewards. But if you count carefully, Concubine Zhao still received the most generous rewards!"