Chapter 82 Panting

"Has something happened?" Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Song Luoning frowned slightly.

How could that be?

Could it be that I guessed wrong, and the Grand Princess didn't want to get involved?

"No, things went smoothly, and Xiao Qinya agreed."

Could it be...?

"Did the Grand Princess make unreasonable demands?" Song Luoning asked again.

Seeing that the other party shook his head, Song Luoning was surprised, and her brows furrowed even more tightly.

"No." Xiao Yu buried his face in her neck, and after a long while, a muffled, somewhat aggrieved voice came out.

No, then why?

Song Luoning endured the tickling sensation on her neck and gently nudged her, saying, "Get up first."

"No," Xiao Yu said stubbornly.

Song Luoning felt the arm around her waist tighten, and her lips pressed even closer to the skin of her neck, as if trying to draw more from her. Her mischievous lips, little by little, inch by inch, followed their instincts to find the other half of her lips. Their lips and teeth intertwined, and the familiar scent filled her entire mouth.

The eager permission to bite and tear was like that of a wild beast that had been starving for a long time and had finally caught its prey, and was eager to devour it.

"Mmm~" Song Luoning felt a sharp pain on her lips. Before she could react, Fang had already changed his position and continued to nibble at her.

Their lips met, their breaths mingled.

It never feels enough; it's as if only by merging the other person into my body can I achieve the greatest satisfaction.

"Your Majesty..." What on earth has happened?

Before Song Luoning could ask, she was lifted up and carried to the dragon bed.

Urgent, delicate kisses rained down upon her, more forceful than ever before. The person beneath her trembled slightly, instinctively clinging to her arms and letting her do as she pleased.

"My wife," Xiao Yu called softly.

"Mmm~" Song Luoning's body tensed up, then slowly softened with a soft tremor. She felt the trembling of the person beneath her after being satisfied. But with their hands outside, the young lady couldn't take it anymore. Xiao Yu wasn't satisfied, so he leaned down and continued, pulling her into the vortex once again.

After an unknown amount of time, palace servants came and went from Funing Palace.

"You can all leave. We don't need you to serve us here."

After the palace servants left, Xiao Yu looked at the sweaty person on the bed, kissed her cheeks that were still flushed, and coaxed her softly, "Wife, don't sleep yet, I'll carry you to wash up."

"Hmm~"

The young lady didn't even have the strength to open her eyes. She whimpered and struggled for a moment, then stopped moving. Xiao Yu quickly wrapped her in a brocade quilt, hugged her and comforted her for a while. Then he picked her up and carried her to the bathing hall.

"Wife, how about you go to sleep later..." Xiao Yu coaxed gently.

The young lady closed her eyes, her body limp and powerless, lying on her body, making soft, gentle "mmm" sounds.

The young lady was truly exhausted. Xiao Yu felt a little guilty and originally wanted to change the subject, but in the end, the kisses went too far and she couldn't stop herself. And that wasn't all; her snow-white skin under the quilt was...

Xiao Yu didn't dare to watch any longer and sped up the cleaning. After washing her clean, she returned to the bed, where Song Luoning had already fallen into a deep sleep.

The cat, usually so gentle, now had its eyes closed, its long, raven-feather-like eyelashes trembling slightly, casting a small shadow under its eyes. Its delicate eyebrows and small, cherry-like lips pleased Xiao Yu immensely.

"My wife, don't worry, I will definitely investigate and find out the truth," Xiao Yu whispered.

This matter... Xiao Yu's eyes showed a hint of confusion. Since coming to the capital, she had been constantly troubled. Every time, it was her father-in-law's family who helped her. How could she suspect her father-in-law's family just because Song Yanyu took the person away?

Is there a type of person whom Song Yanyu took away, but after releasing them, they encountered the same murderer, or...?

Or what?

Xiao Yu sighed softly and hugged him tightly with heartache.

What reason would they have to harm themselves?

It was getting late, and Xiao Yu was concerned about the matters she had discussed with the Grand Princess earlier that day. So she got up and went to the Imperial Study again to study the plans in detail.

The palace examination was to be held in two days. For safety reasons, a team of guards was transferred from the Imperial Guard to the palace, in addition to the existing guards.

At the same time, a royal secret guard trained by Xiao Qinya also secretly infiltrated the palace.

After the morning court assembly, the thirty candidates were escorted by armored soldiers into the palace and entered the Zichen Hall in a grand procession.

The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, with all the officials on either side offered seats. The original examination papers of the thirty candidates were presented by the invigilators, and then the emperor personally unveiled them.

Xiao Yu recognized each of the candidates one by one, and to his surprise, there were two women among the thirty candidates. One was Shi Zining, the young lady from the Shi family whom he had met at Mingpinlou. The other, dressed in coarse scholar's robes, had a delicate appearance and was named Lin Qingyue, a student from a poor family.

“All of you students are talented individuals from Baisheng. The palace examination questions are very simple; we will use the entrance examination for women as the test questions,” Xiao Yu said.

"this......"

What kind of exam question is this?

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. It was already absurd for women to participate in the imperial examinations; to allow women to enroll in school would surely lead to chaos.

Not only were the ministers dissatisfied, but all but two of the thirty candidates hesitated.

Before the palace examination began, palace servants brought in tables and chairs and placed them in the main hall. The thirty candidates took their seats in order. The examination lasted for one hour. Even though the palace servants brought in ice during the hottest days of summer, the candidates were still drenched in sweat.

An hour passed quickly. The examinees left their desks, and the palace servants collected all the exam papers and presented them to the emperor. The thirty exam papers were neatly arranged.

Xiao Yu flipped open the first sheet, glanced at its owner, and casually placed it aside. Then came the second, the third...

Twenty out of thirty test takers opposed the admission of women.

Of course, regardless of the academic level of these twenty candidates, they directly lost their qualification for the top ten. Since their ideas differed from hers, they would only become obstacles in the future.

With the remaining ten candidates, Xiao Yu passed the exam papers to the ministers. The ministers were all shrewd and astute; they all understood that His Majesty was clearly planning to admit women to the academy.

However, this was extremely unfair to those candidates who held different opinions. Their knowledge and writing skills were no less than others, but they were eliminated simply because they did not follow the emperor's wishes.

“Your Majesty, this old minister believes that there is no need to rush the matter of girls entering school.” Song Yunzhou stood up, walked into the hall, and bowed.

"I second that proposal."

"I second that proposal."

Heh~

Here we go again. What else can these people do besides this?

Xiao Yu ignored him and instead asked, "What do you all think of these articles?"

The court fell silent for a moment.

"I think this one is quite good; it has unique insights and is beautifully written," Xiao Qinya said with a smile, pointing out one of the pieces.

Everyone's eyes followed the sound.

"Oh?" Xiao Yu cleared his throat.

Xiao Qinya raised an eyebrow, handed the exam paper in her hand to a palace maid, who then presented it to the emperor.

Xiao Yu unfolded the paper, overjoyed. This was indeed the one she liked best. She smiled and said, "Good, the Grand Princess is right. It is indeed a fine piece of writing. Pass it on to all the officials so they can take a look."

"..."

The emperor has said so, how can they say it's not good?

The Minister of Rites looked at Prime Minister Song, who remained silent. He gritted his teeth and took the exam paper. Upon closer inspection, he almost threw it away. It was clearly an absurd article that violated ethics and morality. What was so good about it? If women could go to school and study like men, wouldn't the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues be completely disrupted?

this......

How should we evaluate him?

He turned his gaze to Prime Minister Song again, hoping he would say something, but this time, no matter how much he blinked, Prime Minister Song did not react, and finally closed his eyes under his gaze.

What does this mean?

Does it mean I should turn a blind eye?

He forced a smile and agreed, "It is indeed a good article." After saying that, he nodded to Zhang Ge Lao beside him and handed the exam paper out.

"......" This exam paper...

Grand Secretary Zhang twitched his lips, glancing at the Minister of Rites out of the corner of his eye, thinking to himself: Since this old fellow said that, he must have been influenced by Prime Minister Song. The emperor is also Prime Minister Song's son-in-law, so it's sure to be right for him to go along with what he says.

"This old minister also believes it is a rare and excellent article."

After walking around the room, the exam paper was returned to Xiao Yu's hands: "Since all of you think it's good, I hereby announce that this year's top scholar is Shi Zining."

"......"

woman?

The crowd erupted in uproar.

Xiao Yu did not act dictatorially, but directly distributed the remaining exam papers: "Our dynasty is full of talented people, and I really do not know how to choose. Why don't you gentlemen help me make a selection?"

The top three were Shi Zining, Li Jun, and Cui Ming, while another woman, Lin Qingyue, only came in eighth place.

Xiao Yu was not in a hurry to bestow rewards; after the palace examination, he sent people back to await news.

Right now, she needs to place people in many places. Qingzhou needs a governor, she needs an imperial tutor, she needs capable people to open a girls' school, and she also needs people in the court to support her.

These are not problems that can be solved in a short time.

Moreover, there is now a mastermind lurking behind the scenes. Xiao Yu was filled with melancholy, but hardship never gives people a chance to catch their breath. Before she could react, she received a report from a local official that there had been continuous heavy rain in Jiangnan, and many counties had been flooded, leaving people homeless.

The imperial court needed officials to provide disaster relief when it opened granaries to distribute grain, and it also needed someone to manage floods.

"Your Majesty, it's time for your meal. Some things cannot be rushed."

Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Yu looked up and saw her climbing the steps. She sighed softly, her delicate features filled with heartache as she gazed tenderly at her.

"My lady, I can't eat. I've been studying flood control plans these past few days. There are many mountains in Jiangnan, and every year the rains flow downstream. If the waterways aren't dredged in time, they will destroy the people's farmland and villages. Opening up waterways is inevitable. The problem is that the national treasury is empty. Where am I going to get the money to open up the waterways? Opening up waterways is not something that can be done overnight. Who should I send?"

Song Luoning put down the tray in her hand: "Opening up the waterway cannot be completed overnight. Your Majesty would be better to send people to provide disaster relief first, and then have people draw up the distribution of the Jiangnan region for detailed study."

"My lady, is there anyone you'd like to ask?" Xiao Yu naturally took her hand, drawing them closer.

The only essay in the water management exam that analyzed the topography of Jiangnan was written by Lin Qingyue. Should we send her?

That's not a good idea either. She comes from a poor family. If we send her now, the local officials will not listen to her and it may even affect the flood control efforts. So who should we send?

Xiao Yu finally set her sights on Li Jun. Firstly, he was the Empress Dowager's nephew and came from a prominent family, so local officials would definitely have to be considerate of him. Secondly, although the Empress Dowager hadn't asked her to take care of her nephew, her words from that day still echoed in her ears.