Watching Shen Yunting's departing figure, the Emperor felt a sense of powerlessness.
We've known each other since childhood, how did we become so estranged?
The Emperor seemed to have almost forgotten the last time they chatted so freely and uninhibitedly like close friends.
And all of this seems to have been driven by his own hands.
Having thought of this, the emperor shook his head, putting all his thoughts out of his mind.
As an emperor, being alone is the norm, and he shouldn't let these things affect his mind.
As night fell, Qu Jingyun lay alone in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
She looked up at the full moon outside the window and sat up abruptly.
She had only one thought in her mind: she wanted to see Shen Yunting.
And that's exactly what she did.
He stood directly outside the door and shouted, "Qu Jiu, take me to the General's Mansion."
Half an incense stick's time later, she appeared at the door of Shen Yunting's bedroom and pushed the door open without hesitation.
Shen Yunting was fast asleep when he heard the door open. His eyes snapped open, a cold glint flashing across them.
His hand touched the dagger beside his pillow, his eyes turning cold and sharp.
But when their eyes met, he froze on the spot and softly called out, "Jingyun? What brings you here?"
Qu Jingyun didn't answer his question. Instead, she got into bed, covered herself with the blanket, snuggled into his arms, and mumbled, "I missed you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunting chuckled and teased, "Are you being this clingy now?"
"Is that not allowed?" Qu Jingyun asked back with a light snort.
"Of course." Shen Yunting silently hugged the person tighter, a cheerful laugh escaping his lips.
Qu Jingyun's dissatisfied voice rang out again from her arms: "Why didn't you come to see me tonight?"
Shen Yunting sighed silently. He was injured, indirectly because of Qu Jingyun.
If Qu Jingyun saw this, she would definitely blame herself again.
He could only explain, "I have some things to take care of. It will be late when I finish, so I thought I'd just go to sleep and not bother you."
Qu Jingyun was not satisfied with this explanation, but she didn't say anything more.
She simply said in a low voice, "It's alright, if you don't come looking for me, I'll come looking for you."
"The entire Zhang family has been imprisoned, but unfortunately there is not enough evidence that Zhang Hu was also involved. Zhang Hu has already separated from the family, and given his military achievements, this matter has no impact on him."
Shen Yunting said this with some disappointment, and couldn't help but think of the time he ran into Zhang Hu when he left the palace, and the other party threatened him.
He said he would fight him to the death, but Shen Yunting didn't take it to heart.
After all, this was the situation between him and Zhang Hu all along.
Qu Jingyun secretly felt sorry upon hearing this. Zhang Hu was already a madman, and now that the Zhang family had encountered such a thing, he would probably cause a lot of trouble for Shen Yunting in the future.
He then spoke up to remind them, "It's better to stay away from them in the future; they're capable of anything."
Shen Yunting responded and then said, "Although this matter has nothing to do with them, they are not entirely innocent either. I'm sure their dirty deeds will be uncovered in the future."
Qu Jingyun nodded knowingly, buried her head in Shen Yunting's chest, and sleepiness immediately overcame her.
Seeing her like this, Shen Yunting didn't say anything more, but just gently patted her back.
Only after Qu Jingyun fell asleep did he hold her tightly and slowly close his eyes.
The scandal of cheating in the imperial examinations finally came to an end, and the emperor personally issued an imperial edict to hold the examinations again.
This time, the Shen family was clearly no longer worried about Shen Cong, since the last imperial examination had already shown everyone just how talented Shen Cong was.
As expected, Shen Cong once again topped the list.
Upon seeing his name on the list, he turned around with a beaming smile, meeting the gaze of his family.
He finally did not disappoint everyone.
"Congratulations, Young Master Shen." Yun Xiujin, who happened to be next to Shen Cong, cupped his hands in greeting, looking delighted.
He was genuinely happy for Shen Cong.
Seeing him like this, Shen Cong couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
He said apologetically, "I only succeeded because my mother collected ancient books from all over the world for me and because of my teacher's teachings."
"If Brother Yun had the same educational environment as me, I'm afraid I couldn't even catch up."
It should be noted that Yun Xiujin's tuition fees were all raised by the villagers.
The master was also a scholar in the village.
In such circumstances, it is already quite an achievement to have made it this far.
Unexpectedly, after hearing Shen Cong's words, Yun Xiujin hurriedly said, "You can't say that. I should thank your mother for her generosity."
"After arriving in Beijing, I felt that I was different from the students in the capital. When I learned about the gathering of students at Tingzhixuan, I couldn't wait to join it and was inspired a lot during the discussions."
"Furthermore, I read Ting Zhixuan's books for free. If it weren't for that, I'm afraid I would have returned empty-handed from this imperial examination. If I were in a different place, I'm afraid I would find it difficult to be as magnanimous as Brother Shen and his mother."
The two kept complimenting each other, and a blush crept onto Shen Cong's face.
He quickly interjected, "You'd better not praise me like that. These are all my mother's ideas, and have nothing to do with me. My mother is holding a celebration banquet and has invited you to attend. I wonder if Brother Yun would be interested?"
Yun Xiujin looked conflicted and said in a low voice, "This is a celebration banquet for your family. I'm an outsider, so I won't bother you any longer. Please thank your aunt for me. I have other things to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
Seeing this, Shen Cong didn't make things difficult for him. He simply said, "Our family greatly admires Brother Yun's character of not associating with the Zhang family. We are willing to befriend Brother Yun. If you need anything in the capital, you can come to the Shen family or the Qu family."
After thanking him, Yun Xiujin left.
He knew perfectly well that these were just polite words from Shen Cong's family, and he couldn't push his luck.
What right does someone of his background, a commoner, have to be friends with General Shen's son?
The family held another celebration banquet, and this time everyone's mood was noticeably better than last time.
Qu Jingyun reminded her, "The palace examination is in a few days, so you should prepare in advance."
"Of course," Shen Cong said proudly.
Seeing this, Shen Yue couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
Just a year ago, she and her brother were living hand to mouth in the general's mansion.
At that time, she could never have imagined that the three of them would be so successful today.
Thinking of this, Shen Yue quickly said with emotion, "I just wonder how my elder brother is doing now?"
“Your elder brother has sent a letter home. There is no war now. He is just practicing martial arts in the military camp. Although it is tiring, he is very content.”
Qu Jingyun chimed in, "You don't need to worry. After the palace examination, I will write to him to inform him of Cong'er's results, so that he won't have to worry about Cong'er at the border."
Everyone responded, deciding to put these worries behind them and stop thinking about them.
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