The literary assessment was just a small test and did not determine the winner. Since he could not see Su Xiaoning, Su Qingcai sat for a while and then left without making any comment on the top-ranked person.
Meng Ruqiao's moment in the spotlight was short-lived; soon after, Feng Jiu resumed his regular lessons with the girls. Everyone behaved themselves and didn't say anything unnecessary, and the mini-test quickly came to an end.
After Su Qingcai returned to the mansion, Ding Yi greeted him and presented him with a gift list.
"Your Highness, more people have come to deliver gifts. You told me not to refuse them, so I accepted them all. Here is the detailed list."
Su Qingcai took the gift list and looked at it. It was densely filled with records of who had sent gifts on which month and day, and what they had sent. All the officials who sent gifts were relatives of the girls participating in the selection of imperial concubines. The gifts were varied and included many rare and precious items, which were not commensurate with their official positions.
"I'll take them all. These people think they've found the key. Now that the fish have been caught enough, it's time to haul in the net." Su Qingcai sneered, and as soon as he stepped into the Prince's mansion, he turned and left. "Get ready, I'm going to the palace to see the Emperor."
...
A quarter of an hour later, in the Imperial Study.
The emperor carefully read through the list of gifts presented by Su Qingcai. With each name he read, his face darkened, until finally, a dark cloud hung over him, and his whole body was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.
"My beloved ministers are truly skilled at interpersonal relationships!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Su Qingcai lowered his head, his tone very calm.
“Since the selection of the imperial concubines began, I have been receiving gifts from others. After accepting them, I have observed that some of the rare and precious items should not have been in the hands of those officials. I suspect it is due to embezzlement and bribery. If Your Majesty wishes to investigate, you will have to put in a lot of effort.”
"I had anticipated this situation, but I never imagined there would be so many officials who wouldn't follow the proper path!" The emperor flicked his sleeve, a sense of sorrow welling up within him. "Among such a distinguished minister, is there not a single one who doesn't take those crooked and unethical ways?"
“Well… that’s true.” Su Qingcai thought for a moment, “The Prime Minister’s family and the General’s Mansion did not send any gifts.”
Needless to say, the General's Mansion was a place of great importance. The Emperor also knew that General Jiang Fang, the Cavalry General, had a stubborn temper. When Prime Minister Meng was mentioned, he suddenly remembered something.
"Is Prime Minister Meng's daughter, Meng Ruqiao, among those being selected as imperial concubines?"
"Yes," Su Qingcai replied simply, his expression as still as a pool of water, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
The emperor stared intently at Su Qingcai for a long time, trying to discern any emotion from his face, but he couldn't see anything. He sighed softly and asked in a deep voice, "You should understand what I mean. You can marry Meng Ruqiao and let her become your ally. The Prime Minister's family is trustworthy."
Su Qingcai shook his head and said seriously, "Your Majesty, we have already reached a consensus on this matter. Have you forgotten?"
"Little Jiu, you're a good person in every way, except you're too stubborn." The emperor waved his hand helplessly and didn't mention the matter again.
The emperor remained silent, but Shen Jun, standing beside him, looked dejected.
Shen Jun, the leader of the Dragon Guard, always presented himself as cold-blooded and ruthless, but he never lost his composure in front of outsiders.
Su Qingcai sensed something was amiss. He turned his head slightly and happened to see Ding Yi, who had come with him, give Shen Jun a wink. Shen Jun barely managed to pull himself together and returned to his normal self.
That's strange, what exactly do these two mean?
Su Qingcai didn't say much. After leaving the palace, he asked Ding Yi, "Do you know what Shen Jun was thinking just now?"
“This…” Ding Yi didn’t expect Su Qingcai to notice these things. He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
Su Qingcai gave him a half-smile, half-smile, "Is it related to Meng Ruqiao?"
"How did Your Highness know?" Ding Yi was startled and looked up abruptly, only to see Su Qingcai looking calm. He knew he had been tricked into revealing the truth.
Ding Yi hung his head dejectedly, knowing that this matter could not be hidden, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, I shouldn't have told you this. Actually... Shen Jun and Miss Meng once had a relationship, but Shen Jun's status was too different from hers, and the two ultimately could not be together. Now that Miss Meng has come to participate in the selection of concubines, the Prime Minister's family is an important force. How to decide is naturally up to Your Highness."
"What's there to see from me about this?" To Ding Yi's surprise, Su Qingcai seemed completely unconcerned that her candidate for princess had been involved with other people.
"The only person I want is Su Xiaoning. I will ensure she wins all the tests in the future and secures her position as the Ninth Prince's consort. As for Meng Ruqiao, whether she wants to be with Shen Jun or someone else is none of my business."
Su Qingcai had never hidden his feelings for Su Xiaoning from others. His open expression of his thoughts left Ding Yi speechless and filled him with admiration for his master's character.
Su Qingcai is truly extraordinary for remaining completely unmoved by temptation.
"Alright, let's go." Su Qingcai didn't ask anything more, and they returned to the Prince's Mansion without incident.
Upon returning home, Su Qingcai immediately wrote a letter, just as he had done before, and gave it to Ding Yi to deliver to Su Xiaoning.
Last night, Su Xiaoning said she could reply to his letter by drawing, and he was really curious to see what she could draw.
Recalling the simple drawing he saw during the assessment, a smile unconsciously appeared on Su Qingcai's face, and he felt that Su Xiaoning was extremely cute.
...
Ding Yi was very quick and efficient. After receiving the order, he quickly sneaked into the outer residence and handed the letter to Su Xiaoning.
"You saw me yesterday, why are you writing to me today?"
Su Xiaoning scolded him playfully, but quickly took the letter and held it to her chest like a treasure.
Ding Yi thought about what Su Qingcai had said when she handed him the play, and suddenly he got goosebumps all over his body. But facing Su Xiaoning's probing gaze, he still forced himself to say it.
"The prince said... he misses you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Xiaoning burst out laughing. "He really does say these things. Go back and tell him that I do too."
"I understand." Ding nodded, feeling that the two were too cloying, and turned to run away as if fleeing.
He was restless and made a lot of noise when he left. At that moment, A-Lian was walking on the road, trying to get closer to Su Xiaoning, when suddenly a dark figure darted out, startling her.
The shadowy figure seemed to be coming from the direction of Su Xiaoning's house. A-Lian, keeping a watchful eye on things, quietly walked to the side of the house, poked a hole in the paper door, and peered inside.
Inside the room, Su Xiaoning was holding the letter Su Qingcai had written to her. As always, she couldn't understand it, so she could only read it quietly as she looked at it, trying to understand the contents of the letter in this way.
Ah Lian listened to every word Su Xiaoning whispered. Hearing these words of love, she was startled, and a dark glint flashed in her eyes as she stared at Su Xiaoning.
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