Chapter 253: Tanhualang

After seeing off Luo Chengguan, Jiang Chenyan arrived.

Jiang Muyu looked at the tall man standing in front of her. He was still dressed in white clothes as white as snow, with bright eyes and white teeth, but his facial features had obviously become much more stern, and his temperament had changed from romantic to steady.

"Sixth brother has become much more mature in the past two years."

Jiang Chenyan smiled with his eyes tilted, unable to hide his childishness, which made her feel his temper from before.

"Seeing that Fourth Sister is doing well now, we are all relieved. Mother asked me to bring you something. It is inconvenient to bring it with you when you enter the palace today. I will have someone send it to you tomorrow."

"It's okay, sit down first and let sister take a good look at you." She gestured to the seat next to her.

Jiang Chenyan did not sit down, but said: "Fourth sister is now the queen of Xuan Cang. If I sit on the same level with you, I will inevitably be criticized if others see it."

Since he said so, Jiang Muyu did not force him and said, "I don't understand one thing."

"Excuse me, sister."

"You have no power and no official position. Why would it be your turn when Tian Qian sent an envoy?"

Jiang Chenyan smiled brightly and said, "Sister, you are looking down on me. I participated in the imperial examination and made it into the top three based on my ability."

Jiang Muyu looked at him, blinked, and blinked again, and asked in disbelief: "When did you participate in the imperial examination?"

"Before you came to Xuancang, you only paid attention to Mr. Lin. How could you care about me? Moreover, I went to the imperial examination without telling my family. Even my father didn't know about it until I won the first place in the Spring Examination."

She almost forgot that the autumn examination had just been held in the capital before she went to the border to look for Liang Qingchen. At that time, Lin Hanzhi won the title of Liyuan. She had no idea about the subsequent spring examination.

"Is Lin Han on the list?"

"Look, you don't care about me at all." Jiang Chenyan curled his lips and complained but answered truthfully: "Of course he made the list and passed the palace examination."

"Mr. Lin is indeed extraordinary." Jiang Muyu couldn't help but sigh at his unique vision, but in order to appease him, he reluctantly expressed his concern: "Since you have entered the top three, what place did you get?"

Jiang Chenyan sighed helplessly: "I think I should be the top scholar based on my talent, but the emperor thought I was too beautiful and gave me the title of third place."

"Who is the number one scholar?"

"Although I don't really want to admit it, it's Lin Hanzhi."

Jiang Muyu was delighted from the bottom of her heart, she was really happy for him. But then she changed her mind and realized that this person did not exist in the original novel she had read. Then, didn't the fate of Shen Mofeng, who was supposed to be the top scholar, have been changed?

"What about Shen Mofeng?"

"You also know Shen Mofeng?" Jiang Chenyan raised his eyebrows and said, "He is just the runner-up."

Unexpectedly, despite facing so many obstacles, Shen Mofeng was still able to get the second place, which shows that he has some real skills.

Jiang Muyu glanced at him and said, "Why do you look so disdainful? Hey, I'm the runner-up, one place higher than you."

"I admit that Shen Mofeng is indeed a talented person, but I don't like his style of doing things."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"He is from a merchant family, and his sister is only the second wife of the Prime Minister's Mansion, but he is so arrogant and arrogant. Before, you were the Princess of Rui in Tiangan, and our mansion is ranked as a high-ranking family in the capital, but we are all low-key in life and work. He really has no scruples at all. People who don't know him would think he is a royal relative."

Jiang Chenyan gave a long lecture, and his words were full of contempt for Shen Mofeng.

Jiang Muyu couldn't help but hold his forehead. What would Jiang Chenyan think if he knew that Shen Mofeng later married his sister?

She almost forgot that in the original novel, Shen Mofeng's wife was Jiang Muqing, the least noticeable concubine in Marquis Jing'an's mansion and her ninth sister.

However, the original story mainly revolves around the male and female protagonists, and not much is devoted to the heroine's sister-in-law.

In fact, at first glance, she couldn't even remember what Jiang Muqing looked like. The truth was that she had hardly ever dealt with this ninth sister.

Thinking of this, she asked casually, "Ninth sister is about to reach the age of marriage, has her family started looking for a boyfriend for her?"

"Ah?" Jiang Chenyan was stunned for a moment, not understanding why she suddenly asked about this inconspicuous concubine sister. He shook his head and said, "Probably not yet..."

Jiang Muyu pursed her lips and said, "Let mother pay more attention to Ninth Sister's marriage. Don't forget to send me a message to discuss it before it's settled."

"Why does Fourth Sister suddenly miss Ninth Sister?"

"Don't worry about it. I have my own plans."

After she said this, Jiang Chenyan did not ask any more questions and just nodded: "I understand."

As the two were chatting, a man suddenly came over and bowed to Jiang Muyu: "Greetings to the Queen."

Then he turned to Jiang Chenyan and said, "Master Jiang has been away for a long time. It's time to go back."

The brother and sister looked at him at the same time. Jiang Chenyan was the first to speak: "Why bother you to come out and look for me in person?"

Xie Cheng said, "I just happened to come out to relieve myself, and when I saw you, I came to let you know so that Lord Jiang wouldn't be impolite. After all, this is the imperial palace of Xuan Cang Country."

He was hinting at something. Jiang Muyu said, "Sixth brother has been away for a long time. It is time for you to go back. The palace will summon you to discuss the matter in detail tomorrow."

Jiang Chenyan glanced at her, pursed his lips, and left without saying anything else.

Xie Cheng stood a few steps away from her, looking at her elegant and luxurious palace dress. The intricate patterns and gold threads all showed her noble status at that time.

She was clearly right in front of him, only a few steps away, yet he felt like he was thousands of miles away from her.

"Her Majesty... Her Majesty."

Jiang Muyu stood up and smiled: "Why don't you return to your seat, Mr. Xie?"

"I... I just want to ask if the Queen is doing well recently."

“It’s obvious.”

He was speechless for a moment, smiled bitterly, and said: "Seeing that you are doing well, I feel relieved."

She raised her eyebrows and said, "I thought Master Xie would be disappointed to see that I am now rising step by step and not falling into the dust as you wished."

Xie Cheng frowned slightly, puzzled: "Why do you think so? I never thought of letting you fall into the dust, I just..."

"You just want to take advantage of me and use me as a stepping stone to rise to the top? Sorry, I've long stopped being a sucker."

"Zhao Zhao, that's not what I meant, I..."

Jiang Muyu interrupted him and said, "I don't care what you mean, nor do I care how you are doing now, and I don't want to know why you became an envoy to Xuancang. Today, we will pretend that we have never met before. Thank you for respecting yourself."

She said that and turned away.

Xie Cheng subconsciously stretched out his hand, but retracted it halfway, clenched his fists at his sides, and stared at her back in a daze until she disappeared from his sight.

He didn't know why Jiang Muyu guessed his thoughts. In fact, he really wanted to marry her back then, but he had no power to resist the emperor's marriage and could only watch her get married.

He felt that he did not have the power and status to compete with King Rui, so he tried every possible way to climb up over the years, even if it meant taking advantage of her feelings for him.

But he never wished her a bad life...