After his daughter acted coquettishly and naughtily for a while, Zhou Beichen calmed down a lot. When he looked at the Juren again, his expression became much more normal.
He thought about it and realized that if everyone was scared, who would he find to work for him?
So he gave some instructions to the two examiners, picked up his daughter, and left.
Finally, he instructed that after the exam was over, he should get a pair of pants for the frightened candidate.
Looking at the scholar who was so scared that he peed his pants, his face turned as red as a monkey's butt due to embarrassment.
Shen Zishan: “…”
Your Majesty, you are a very nice person!
Zhou Beichen carried Zhou Zhaonuan out and unknowingly walked to the Pepper Room. He hadn't been to this place for a long time.
Stopping in front of the gate, Zhou Beichen felt like he couldn't go in or back out. It wasn't for any other reason, but since the last time, he really didn't know what his feelings were towards the woman inside.
He was a little reluctant to kill her, after all, from now on, no one would dare to scold her like that; but he felt sorry for himself if he spoiled her, after all, no one dared to be so rude to him, and he couldn't swallow that.
"Dad, aren't we going in?"
Zhou Zhaonuan grabbed his clothes tightly, stared at him with wide eyes, as if to ask, "What's wrong with you?"
"Dad hasn't visited Mom for nearly a month."
Zhou Beichen: “…”
The girl blamed him and raised her eyelids. His daughter said this, maybe that woman missed him.
Zhou Beichen lowered his eyes and head, standing on the same level as his daughter, and said seriously.
"Nuannuan said so, but your mother has been talking about me during this period."
Blinking her big eyes, Zhou Zhaonuan's look became more innocent.
"Mother didn't say anything, but she hasn't been in a good mood lately. Every time I come, she seems lifeless and not happy at all."
His mood suddenly became very good, inexplicably good. Zhou Beichen only felt that Shen Nian'an's sudden low mood must be because he had not set foot in the Pepper Palace for some time.
He felt a little regretful about threatening her that day.
"I'm going in to see Concubine Hui. For a moment, please don't say anything. Let's see what your mother is doing."
Yuantuanzi blinked her big eyes excitedly and nodded obediently. Subconsciously, she hoped that her father and mother were well.
He was in a good mood and suddenly wanted to see what Shen Nian'an was doing. Zhou Beichen didn't let anyone know. The whole Pepper Room was quiet, and he could vaguely hear someone talking.
However, the further you go inside, the clearer the voice becomes.
"Sister Huifei, let me tell you, if you really think there's something wrong with the medicine the Empress gave us, why don't you just take it to the Emperor? Why are you beating around the bush like this?"
Xian Fei held a cup of tea in her hand and looked at Shen Nian’an with a serious expression.
With a wry smile, Shen Nian'an looked left and right, as if to make sure that there was no one around before he spoke slowly.
"What Sister Xianfei said is true. I also want to tell the Emperor directly, but you don't know, sister, since the last time the Emperor was furious and left me, it has been nearly a month since I came to this Pepper Room. Thinking of the Emperor's rage that day, I am also afraid. So, although I want to tell the Emperor, what if he doesn't believe me and suspects me of framing the Empress? Then, I will be in trouble and will have to bear the consequences."
Shen Nian'an looked listless, completely lacking the energy he usually had to curse.
Zhou Beichen was listening behind the door, his expression changing. Could it be that this woman was really frightened by him strangling her that day?
Just as Nuannuan was about to speak, Zhou Beichen's heartbeat quickened. He immediately covered his daughter's mouth and glared at her fiercely. He whispered.
"Nuannuan, be good. I'll give you a day off tomorrow. You don't have to go to the Shangshufang."
His eyes lit up and Zhou Zhaonuan nodded excitedly.
Zhou Beichen: “…”
He reached out and tapped his daughter's forehead, scolding her in a low voice.
"You're quite smart about not having to go to the Shangshufang. Next time you're so happy about not having to go to the Shangshufang, I'll beat you up first, and then you won't have to go anymore."
Zhou Zhaonuan's excited expression froze, he lowered his head and stopped talking.
Another voice was heard in the hall.
"Before, I really treated the emperor as my husband, even though he locked me up in the cold palace for five years. But when I thought about the fact that I already had two children and that the emperor was a wise ruler, I decided to treat him as my husband. Others were afraid of him, so I mustered up the courage not to be afraid of him and gave him a little ordinary warmth. But I didn't expect..."
Shen Nian'an's voice was choked with sobs when she said this. "The emperor only wants to be high and mighty and to have everyone submit to him. I am not worthy of being his real wife. So, being a concubine is also good. But the emperor is the emperor, unattainable. How can I experience the warmth of the world of the living?"
"younger sister......"
Xian Fei listened, took the initiative to hold Shen Nian'an's hand, and spoke emotionally.
"Some time ago, you became my father's daughter, and we were truly sisters. Since you fell out of favor, you've been sullen and unwilling to come out. I was so worried. Now, after advising you for so long, seeing that you've come to terms with it, I've finally let go of my worry."
Be open-minded? What kind of open-mindedness is this?
Zhou Beichen's face turned extremely ugly. Before, he really never knew that this damn woman thought this way. If he knew that she thought this way, and thought about the time when she was unruly in front of him, although he was angry in words, his body felt very comfortable. He even ate more than usual. Didn't he not pinch her that day?
This damn woman, she had a long mouth but she didn't tell him what it was for. She even asked him to guess. He was not a worm in her stomach, how could he guess it?
Besides, he couldn't guess the whole story with his brain.
"That's right. Now that I've thought it through and understood it, I feel relieved."
Shen Nian'an sighed a bit as he spoke, and then said unhappily, "It's about this matter of the Queen. I really don't know what to do. That's why I want my sister to help me with some advice."
Xian Fei secretly glanced outside the door, and when the two looked at each other, they patted Shen Nian’an’s hand.
"In my opinion, why don't we just report this to the Emperor directly? For so many years, none of us sisters in the harem have been able to conceive, and it's all thanks to the Empress. The Emperor is wise and powerful. Even if he doesn't believe you, the seed of suspicion has been planted, and he will get to the bottom of it."
The virtuous concubine spoke with gritted teeth, her jaws grinding against each other.
"If it weren't for that old woman, the Queen, I would have three or four children by now."
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