"I am free and you can go too. You are the sister of the future queen, so what's wrong with going to watch the ceremony?" Prince Du chased Qin Chan relentlessly, and the two walked away playing and laughing.
Aunt Qi was stunned for a moment. Qin Wan, is she going to be the queen?
It seems like a dream. It seems like Qin Wan got divorced just yesterday. It hasn't been long since then, but the Lu family has been stripped of their title, and Qin Wan is going to be the queen.
Aunt Qi stood there in a daze for a while, then hurried home with the medicine she had gotten. No matter what Qin Wan's identity was, she had no relationship with the Lu family anymore.
Aunt Qi had no time to pay attention to Qin Wan's affairs. Similarly, Qin Wan, who was about to become the queen, had no time to take care of anything related to the Lu family.
Qin Wan and Xie Qing were in the Qianqing Palace, arguing with the emperor. The emperor wanted him to ascend the throne as soon as possible, preferably in the next few days as there was an auspicious day, but they wanted the emperor to delay the abdication for a few years.
The emperor said with a determined face: "I don't want to be the emperor for even a single day. You guys should ascend the throne sooner so I can retire and enjoy my old age."
Xie Qing refused to agree: "Even when I was the crown prince, I didn't have much time to spend with Wanwan. If you let me become the emperor, how would Wanwan and I have time to be affectionate with each other?"
The emperor coughed when he heard this: "Ahem... Look at my health... Ahem... It was not good to begin with, and now I'm poisoned, ahem..."
The abbot was worried and said, "Your Majesty, please stop coughing. Your health is very important."
The emperor waved his hand and said, "You asked me to rest well, but I can't rest here. Alas, I still have to work hard for the Great Zhou. It really is... I can only devote myself to it until my death."
It sounded as if Xie Qing's refusal to ascend the throne meant the emperor's death.
Xie Qing looked at Qin Wan helplessly.
Qin Wan was still worried about the emperor's health. She looked at the court administrator and said, "Coun administrator, I don't know how the emperor's health is. There's no one else here, so you don't have to fool us anymore."
The director subconsciously wanted to look at the emperor, but he knew it was inappropriate to keep this a secret any longer, so he simply told him everything: "Your Majesty's health has long been seriously depleted. He has been struggling to hold on lately, but he has only been using drugs to overdraw his life."
"Fortunately, the poison Li gave Your Majesty didn't take much, and he woke up after being unconscious for a while. However, his body was still damaged. Now, we must be extremely cautious when giving Your Majesty medicine, so Your Majesty should rest and recuperate."
Xie Qing put away his playful smile and looked at the director seriously, "Is my father's health really so bad?"
The director nodded: "That's right."
"Then how do we recuperate?" Qin Wan pressed. "Just by taking medicine? What kind of medicine?"
The court director took out the emperor's pulse diagnosis and the prescriptions he had been using: "The prescriptions are all being adjusted."
Qin Wan opened the pulse record, and Xie Qing also leaned over to take a closer look, hoping that the emperor's health would be better and he could stay in that position for a few more years.
The emperor waited quietly for them to finish reading and asked, "Have you finished reading?"
Xie Qing looked at the emperor. The emperor's health was indeed failing. A hint of worry appeared in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it: "Son, I will ask the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to select an auspicious day."
The emperor pondered for a moment, then finally pulled out the memorial he had hidden. "The Imperial Astronomical Observatory has chosen a few dates. I originally wanted to have you ascend the throne within a few days, but after much deliberation, I think it would be better to hold the imperial examination first. You can ascend the throne after the imperial examination is over."
After the enthronement ceremony was over, it was time to select officials for the newly-appointed Jinshi. Allowing Xie Qing to ascend the throne at this time was also a favor to him. After all, with the entry of new people, those above him could also be promoted.
Xie Qing took the memorial and opened it to see that it even had the date set for the imperial examination. He quickly asked Qin Wan to look at it with him: "The imperial examination will be held in a month and a half, and the emperor will ascend the throne three days after the imperial examination."
Time was so tight that Qin Wan frowned and looked up at the emperor: "Did your father tell Lord Yu and the Imperial Academy?"
The emperor looked at Qin Wan lovingly and smiled, "Since I've entrusted the affairs of the Imperial Examination to you, it's natural that you should be in charge. You should also come up with the questions. I will preside over one more Palace Examination for you, and then I will abdicate."
Qin Wan still felt that one and a half months was a bit tight, but the dates selected by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory were at the earliest a few days later and then one and a half months later. The rest of the auspicious dates would not be until the end of the year or next year.
The emperor's health couldn't be delayed, so Qin Wan could only agree: "My daughter-in-law will go to the Hanlin Academy and discuss with Lord Yu the officials who will supervise the special examination and the officials who will formulate the questions."
The emperor motioned her to get busy. Seeing her get up, he remembered something and said, "Your third uncle should be back soon. Let him help Professor Qin to draft the exam questions."
"Is this...appropriate?" Qin Wan hesitated. Her third uncle was not an official. Although Qin Chan became famous at the palace banquet, he was only an assistant teacher in the Imperial College. Moreover, he had only been in office for a few days. How could he convince the public?
The emperor chuckled and said, "The imperial examination is for selecting talents for our Great Zhou. The questions must be unexpected to test the examinees' adaptability. Moreover, this year's Spring Examination is so close to the Special Examination. It's unknown whether the court officials can come up with good questions in such a short time. Therefore, we can only take an unconventional approach."
Qin Wan thought carefully and nodded, "I understand. I'll go to the Hanlin Academy right away and send someone to notify Assistant Professor Qin."
Naturally, we have to send someone to welcome my third uncle. Nothing is happening in Fengyang, and my third uncle doesn't like fighting, so he will naturally return to Beijing early.
Xie Qing also said goodbye along with Qin Wan. As they walked out of the hall, he looked into the distance thoughtfully. "If the questions in the Enlightenment Examination are going to be unconventional, I think there's one question that's very good."
"What?" Qin Wan looked at him curiously and asked.
Xie Qing smiled and said, "Of course, Assistant Qin answered the question of the chief priest."
Qin Wan looked at Xie Qing, surprised and moved. "Only women and villains are difficult to raise? So what do you think of women participating in politics?"
Xie Qing nodded. "Yes. You have made some achievements in your initial participation in politics, so the court officials didn't say anything. However, it will be very difficult for Captain Qin and Assistant Professor Qin to be promoted in the future. If you can create public opinion now and make achievements, it will give women in the world another way out in the future."
Qin Wan's heart was moved. She took a step forward and stood opposite Xie Qing, looking at him with her head tilted: "Do you support women's participation in politics?"
Xie Qing bent down, their noses lightly touching, their breaths blending together. "I only know that my wife, with her talent and learning, is trapped in the harem, which is a pity. Since I want your path to be smoother, it's inevitable that I have to do more. As for women participating in politics, I'm not that far-sighted. You paved the way for them, and how broad their future will be depends on them. "
Qin Wan couldn't help but step back a little, her cheeks gradually flushed. She couldn't help but move closer to him, tiptoed and gently rubbed his cheek, then turned and left: "Since you think it's a pity for me to be trapped in the harem, then I will go and get busy."
Qin Wan waved back as she walked.
Xie Qing looked at Qin Wan's back in astonishment, touched his cheek, chuckled twice, and went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The emperor was now living in the Palace of Heavenly Purity to recuperate, so he reviewed memorials and discussed state affairs with court officials in the Hall of Mental Cultivation on a daily basis.
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