Zhou Gu noticed Su Rong’s face stiffen and her loss for words. He laughed and then held her, looking gloomy, for a kiss. He took out a key and handed it to her, "Here you go, don’t be mad. It’s not a big deal."
Su Rong accepted the key, laughed and rolled her eyes at him, "You are something else. My father favours you, Uncle Xie favours you... I bet when my maternal grandfather comes, he’ll favour you too."
"My grandfather is coming too, and he’ll definitely favour you," Zhou Gu said seriously.
Su Rong pouted, but after a while she hugged him and laughed again, saying, "I also favor you."
Zhou Gu laughed, his gaze gentle. "Mm-hmm, you favour me the most."
That day, he didn’t intentionally make her get scolded. He had proposed that she let him tease her without fighting back so he could give her the key to play with for a day. However, she refused, asserting it was impossible for her not to fight back. Hence, he told her she could forget about the key. Annoyed, she pinched his face hard and punched him. Although she looked fierce, she didn’t actually use much force, so it didn’t hurt. The two of them often horsed around like that in private. However, this time, because they weren’t laughing, and they were caught by Ye Xiang and Uncle Xie, it got awkward. Everyone thought Su Rong was bullying him. Since Su Rong couldn’t explain herself, she had no choice but to take the scolding.
Remembering it now, Zhou Gu found it funny. Ever since Uncle Xie had a private talk with him on another matter, he seems to have realized that Su Rong is the one who needs controlling between the two of them, right? Especially after he saw her physically attack Zhou Gu.
"You’re still laughing." Su Rong reached out to pinch him.
Zhou Gu held her waist, "No more laughing."
After a few days, Qin Ruo found an opportunity. After reporting on some matters to Su Rong, he said, "Princess, I have a personal matter."
Su Rong looked at him and said, "Speak."
Qin Ruo began, "It’s about my younger sister."
Su Rong nodded, "Go ahead."
Qin Ruo tentatively said, "My younger sister wants to work at the court, and she asked me to beg you, Princess."
Su Rong was not surprised. Duanhua had already told her in a letter about why Qin Luan had not married Xie Lin, why she was not able to stay in the Eastern Palace, and why she had come to Nanchu. Su Rong asked Qin Ruo, "How did Miss Qin explain it to you? Why does she want to enter the court?"
Qin Ruo pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, but did not hide anything. He repeated to Su Rong what Qin Luan had said to him. Su Rong had been kind to him, and when he decided to follow her away from the miserable place of exile, he had made up his mind to remain loyal to her. The matter of his sister entering the court was significant, he felt, so he couldn’t hide it from Su Rong, so she could make the right decision.
Surprised at Qin Ruo’s honesty, Su Rong was relieved. She had not chosen the wrong person, and she had not misunderstood him. After listening, she pondered for a moment and said, "Since Miss Qin has this intention, I once blocked her because of my personal feelings, so naturally I will not block her a second time. After all, she hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s not a big deal to like Zhou Gu. When we were in Daliang, there were indeed many people who liked him, and Duanhua was one of them. I didn’t treat her badly, and we even became close friends. My impression of your sister is not bad, and she even ate snacks from me several times in the Eastern Palace."
After she finished speaking, she noticed Qin Ruo’s tense face finally relaxing. She laughed and said, "However, as you know, there are currently no women working in the court. Even if women were allowed to work in the court, it would only be when the court situation is stable and I could manage to push for it. But now that things have come to this point, let’s do this! I will give her a chance. This autumn, the court will have another round of imperial examinations, which will be entirely supervised by my father and Uncle Xie, as you know. At tomorrow’s court meeting, I will discuss with the officials whether women can take part in the autumn examination. If Miss Qin can pass the examination on her own, I will employ her. But if she can’t, she currently has no merit in the court, and even if I am the princess, I can’t arbitrarily grant her a posting."
Qin Ruo thanked her, "I thank you, Princess, on behalf of my sister."
He knew that Su Rong didn’t currently consider women studying or entering the court in her busy schedule. This indeed seemed to be done for his sister, advancing the matter in this regard. Perhaps there might be many court officials obstructing the matter in tomorrow’s court meeting, however, since the Princess had said this, it was likely to be just like Cui Yanjin’s matter of entering the court -- just like the imperial examination happening again this year -- she would definitely be able to achieve it conclusively.
Su Rong waved her hand and laughed, "It’s nothing to thank me for. It’s just something that was going to be done one or two years from now getting done slightly earlier. It isn’t a big deal, it’ll just make Uncle Xie a bit busier."
Qin Ruo thanked her again, knowing that although the words were like this, it was indeed another busy matter.
In the evening, when Qin Ruo returned to his house, he saw how tidily everything was arranged by Qin Luan and he sighed secretly. He went to meet Qin Luan and told her about the matter.
Qin Luan was startled, "The Princess is promoting the autumn examination for women because of me?"
"Yes," Qin Ruo looked at her and said, "Do you have the confidence in it?"
"I always read books when I was in the Eastern Palace, but I still don’t have a lot of confidence," Qin Luan said, "I have read the books you used to read in the past, but I didn’t delve deeply into them because there was no teacher to explain them to me."
Qin Ruo nodded, "There are still a few months to go. Starting tomorrow, I will teach you for an hour each night after I return from work. Also, I will go and ask Master Xie, to see if it’s possible to ask him for some test questions and books. Although Master Xie is cordial, he will be the chief examiner, he might not agree. Even if he does, it could only be practice test papers, it’s unlikely to go too easy."
Qin Luan nodded, "Thank you, Big Brother."
Qin Ruo said, "As a princess, she probably can’t arbitrarily grant someone a position. Now, those of us following her who have not entered the court through the examination, all have credit on the battlefield or during the period of restitution, and we all received our official positions due to achievements. And you’re a woman, in the current Nanchu, without achievement or contribution, it’s impossible to recommend you. Now you can enter through a normal examination. This is already exceptional thanks to the Princess."
Qin Luan nodded, "Don’t worry, Big Brother. I understand, I am not ungrateful, I was just a little surprised. I thought the Princess would just give me a not-so- important role in the Imperial Clothing Bureau or somewhere else."
Qin Ruo shook his head, "You are ambitious, and being a woman herself, she understands. If it’s a road you want to take, naturally it won’t be an easy one. It won’t be possible for her to let you have it so easily. She’s giving you the opportunity, so it’s up to you to fight for it. It’s a perfect match."
Qin Luan, showing a smile, "Hmm. I’ll have to bother you a lot in the future then, Big Brother. You are already very tired every day."
Qin Ruo shook his head and smiled, "You’re ambitious, and as an older brother, how could I stand in your way, letting you be disappointed."
Qin Luan was surprised, "Big brother, how did you know that I was troubled?"
Qin Ruo stopped smiling and sighed, "The doctor who came to give you a health check said, you’ve been troubled and you need to vent and clear your mind. Otherwise, if this continues, it will harm your health."
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