Chapter 114 Spring Fiber
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the imperial examination. A team of soldiers from the Imperial City Bureau set up a cordon at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall. No one was allowed to approach except the candidates who came to take the exam.
The street in front of the door was full of horse-drawn carriages, all of which were the families of the candidates who came to see them off.
Jiang Lan lifted the car curtain and looked out, her expression showing a bit of anxiety. She murmured to herself, "Why hasn't Big Brother come yet?" Qi Wuhan pointed in a direction for her and said with a smile, "He's coming."
He saw the carriage just as it came from the intersection, and his insight was extremely sharp.
After the carriage came over, Ling Feng went over to say hello first, then Jiang Cheng and Jiang Shen got out of the carriage. Qi Wuhan and Jiang Lan also came over. They both wished him success in the exam in advance. Jiang Cheng also gave him some advice, asking him to be modest and calm, to examine the questions carefully, and to think carefully before answering, and not to be impatient.
Jiang Shen wrote them down one by one, looked around, and asked, "Isn't cousin Yun here yet?"
Jiang Lan looked around but didn't see anyone. Instead, she met Cui Jingshu's gaze, earning her a sinister glare. Jiang Lan pretended not to notice and continued searching for Xie Yun. It was Qi Wuhan who first spotted the carriage approaching from the intersection. When it was almost in front of them, he calmly asked, "Is that Brother Xie's carriage?"
"It's cousin Yun." Jiang Lan said happily. She recognized the servant following the carriage. He was Xie Yun's servant named Hequan. The name was very elegant, meaning idle clouds and wild cranes, and clear spring on the stone.
Qi Wuhan slightly turned his gaze to the side, as if he was a little jealous.
Xie Yun lifted the carriage curtain and saw a group of people. He asked the coachman to drive the carriage over, then got off the carriage and bowed to his uncle Jiang Cheng first, then greeted Jiang Shen and Qi Wuhan in turn. When he came to Jiang Lan, he smiled and nodded. Jiang Lan also wished him success in the imperial examination in advance and gave him a pair of knee pads and food that she had prepared. Jiang Shen also received the same. She also reminded the two of them that it would be cold at night, so they should take care of their health and not catch a cold.
"It's time to go in." Qi Wuhan reminded.
The gate of the Imperial Examination Hall opened and candidates entered one after another.
Ji Quan took two of his men to personally check the luggage and parcels to prevent cheating.
The first person to enter was Cui Yan. In addition to Cui Jingshu who came to see him off, Princess Pingyang and Cui Hai were also there.
Because Ji Quan brought people to the General's Mansion to interrogate him last time and took him to the Imperial City Bureau, Cui Yan had a cold face and was not in a good mood towards Ji Quan.
"Is the eldest master still holding a grudge against me for what happened last time?" Ji Quan asked while checking the package.
Cui Yan snorted coldly and did not answer.
When Ji Quan opened his pen case and prepared to pick up the purple-hair brush to examine it, Cui Yan snatched the pen case from him and coldly warned him, "Don't touch it with your dirty hands!"
Ji Quan curled his lips and sneered, "It is my duty. If you don't cooperate, then I can only ask you to go back." After saying that, he made a gesture of invitation.
Cui Yan was so angry that his face turned ashen and his fists were clenched so tightly that they made a crackling sound.
Ji Quan glanced towards Cui Hai and Princess Pingyang, then withdrew his hand and said, "I was just joking with you, sir. Please come in."
Seeing Cui Yan come in, Princess Pingyang's sullen expression improved a little.
"When a villain succeeds, he should be taught a lesson!" Cui Jingshu also hated Ji Quan and was a little afraid of him, especially his eyes, which were sinister and like knives.
Cui Hai said: "It is better to offend a gentleman than a villain."
Princess Pingyang said unhappily, "Are you afraid of him?"
Cui Hai advised: "Madam, don't be angry. The emperor values him now."
Before he could finish his words, Princess Pingyang sneered, "I think you are becoming more and more cowardly."
Cui Hai frowned, looking somewhat unhappy.
"How are you and His Highness doing lately?" asked Princess Pingyang.
Cui Jingshu lowered her head and said aggrievedly, "All he does all day is mess with his flowers and plants. He doesn't care about me at all."
Although she doesn't like Prince Fu, she will never allow him to look down on her and treat her like air!
Princess Pingyang asked Cui Hai to talk to her son-in-law, Prince Fu, and ask him to stop being angry with Cui Jingshu.
When it was Jiang Shen's turn, Ji Quan said to his two subordinates, "Young Master Jiang is an upright person and would not do such sneaky things." The two subordinates briefly checked the package and let it go.
"Please check it carefully again, sir." Jiang Shen bowed.
"The eldest young master is truly upright." Ji Quan curled the corners of his lips and personally checked everything one by one. After opening the box of pastries, he took out a piece of pastry and broke it open to take a look.
One candidate panicked upon seeing this and quickly stepped back. He hurriedly opened the package and just as he took out a box of snacks, he was caught red-handed by two officers from the Imperial City Bureau.
The two men brought him to Ji Quan, who opened the box of snacks and found a cheat sheet with densely written words on it.
"Take him away."
The two men dragged the candidate, who was so scared that he was paralyzed, away. The others were all panicked when they saw this.
"Next." Ji Quan said while eating the snacks he took from Jiang Shen.
Jiang Lan muttered something, clearly taking advantage of her elder brother.
The next one was Xie Yun. While the two men were checking the package, Ji Quan took another piece of dessert.
Jiang Lan muttered again, taking advantage of her cousin again.
Qi Wuhan's face was a little gloomy, not because the other party took two pieces of snacks, but because of a man's sixth sense that the other party was deliberately teasing his Xiaolaner.
"Go back." He said gently.
Jiang Lan nodded and they both went in. If they stayed any longer, someone would probably come and cause trouble for her.
Sure enough, she was stopped the next moment.
"Stop!" Qiu Tong shouted, "Why don't you come and pay your respects to the princess when you see her?"
When Jiang Lan was about to bow politely, Qi Wuhan helped her up. He gently shook her hand, indicating that he would take care of everything.
Qi Wuhan's eyes flashed, and Qiu Tong felt a chill on her back and retreated behind Cui Jingshu in fear.
"You useless thing." Cui Jingshu scolded her, and when she looked at Jiang Lan, she raised her chin with an arrogant look, "Why don't you bow to me when you see me? Could it be that you, a wife of a marquis, have a higher status than me?" At this point, she sneered and glanced at Qi Wuhan, "No wonder, your marquis never takes anyone seriously, even the Crown Prince has to give way to him."
"Which eye did you see that my Marquis was disrespectful to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? The Marquis fought bravely and was loyal to the emperor and the country. He was not like some people who only know how to talk nonsense and frame others." Jiang Lan shot back.
"You!" Cui Jingshu raised her hand in anger, but when Qi Wuhan gave her a sharp look, she stepped back in fear and put down her hand unwillingly.
"Let's go." He said gently to Jiang Lan, holding her hand and walking towards the carriage. Cui Jingshu wanted to catch up, but was stopped by his gaze.
After the carriage left, Cui Jingshu still stood there, staring at the carriage with a look of resentment as if she wanted to eat its flesh and drink its blood.
When the carriage turned the intersection, a maid hurried over and stopped it.
"My aunt wants to see the lady."
Jiang Lan parted the curtain and saw that the maid was unfamiliar. She asked who her concubine was. At this time, a slender woman came over with another maid. After kneeling and bowing to Jiang Lan, she introduced her family in a clear and delicate voice, "My concubine Chunxian greets the madam."
Jiang Lan was slightly surprised. She didn't expect the other party to come to her.
"Madam, could you please go to the teahouse next door to talk?" Chun Xian said with lowered eyebrows.
Jiang Lan first lowered the curtain and said something to Qi Wuhan, then got off the carriage and took Qing'er and Gui'er to the teahouse next to her.
After entering, Jiang Lan chose a seat by the window and sat down, while Chun Xian stood beside her with her head lowered.
"Please sit down." Jiang Lan said, and Chun Xian sat down opposite her.
"What do you want to tell me?" Jiang Lan asked straight to the point.
Chunxian took out a small paper bag from her sleeve and handed it to Jiang Lan, "Madam, do you know what's in this?" When Jiang Lan saw the small paper bag, she thought of the small medicine bags that Tan Xiang had given her before. She guessed that this bag also contained medicine.
"Did my third sister ask someone to drug you?"
Chun Xian was surprised, her delicate body trembling. She hadn't expected Jiang Lan to explain the whole story so directly. She nodded slightly, "I asked someone to secretly see a doctor, and the doctor said it was a contraceptive..." She pursed her lips and said with tears in her eyes, "I don't want to argue about anything. I just hope to live a peaceful life."
"So you came to me to ask me to help you persuade your third sister not to make things difficult for you?" Jiang Lan said.
Chunxian stood up and was about to kneel down before her. Jiang Lan gestured, and Qing'er quickly stepped forward to help her up, saying, "It's in public, my aunt. It's inappropriate for you to do this." She then helped her back to her seat. A little embarrassed, Chunxian apologized, "It's my fault for being so rude. Please forgive me, my lady."
"If you really don't want to fight for anything, then just live your life peacefully." Jiang Lan took the small paper bag and left with Qing'er and Gui'er.
"Thank you, ma'am." Chun Xian stood up and saw her off respectfully.
Jiang Lan looked away, a clever woman indeed. After returning to the carriage, she took out the small paper bag and showed it to Qi Wuhan, telling him that it contained contraceptive medicine. His face darkened and he took the small paper bag from her, not wanting her to touch it.
"Burn it." He threw the small paper bag to Ling Feng.
"Don't get a fever. Let Brother Ye see how effective the medicine is first." Jiang Lan said hurriedly.
Ling Feng answered yes, then handed the thing to a black-armored guard, who then went towards the medicine house.
"You want to help her?" Qi Wuhan was a little confused.
Jiang Lan shook her head. "If she feels resentful, she might hit the child." She turned to look at him and saw that his brows were slightly furrowed. She raised her hand to smooth his brows. "I just like to worry too much. I have to change that in the future." He smiled dotingly, and said with a hint of helplessness, "It would be better if you worried about me more."
"I care about you the most." Jiang Lan raised her head and kissed him on the cheek, then buried her head in his arms and raised her hands to hug him, enjoying the sense of security and satisfaction in his arms. He also raised his hands to hug her, and hugged her into his arms again, holding her tighter.
"When we are old, you must hold me like this." She said softly.
"Yeah." He agreed gently.
......
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