Xie Yuan had indeed lost weight, and it pained Su Rong to see this.
She spoke to the Nanchu King, "Father, you must visit the Cui Residence again tomorrow and persuade Mister Cui to come forward. It seems you can’t help Uncle Xie, only Mister Cui can."
The Nanchu King, dismissed by his daughter, didn’t have much to say. Even his abilities fell short of Xie Yuan’s. Offering total control of the Imperial Examination to Xie Yuan, he himself was not quite able to intervene and lend assistance. This indeed made him appear somewhat incapable.
Grumbling, Su Rong said, "You’re so stupid, I really wonder how my mother fell in love with you?"
The Nanchu King glared at her, "Your mother had sharp eyes."
Su Rong snorted, "Or maybe it’s that my mother is one who keeps her promises."
The Nanchu King was taken aback.
"You took advantage of her vulnerability," Su Rong continued.
The Nanchu King was irritated. After all, she was raised by Xie Yuan, this daughter of his– although she had meals with him every day, she always took Xie Yuan’s side in her heart. It was truly like having a ragged cotton-padded jacket.
Angry, he put down his chopsticks, and didn’t want to eat anymore.
Zhou Gu quickly picked up the chopsticks for him, coaxing him, "Father-in-law, Father-in-law, Xiaoqi is wrong. You have your own charm too. It is the most difficult and uncontrollable thing in the world– the human heart. That my mother-in-law fell in love with you, is your own unique quality, it has nothing to do with anyone else. My mother-in-law had even been married to Dawei, why didn’t she fall in love with any of Dawei’s princes? Why did she fall for you? Don’t listen to her, she’s just trying to make you angry."
The Nanchu King was greatly comforted by these words and took back the chopsticks. "Good son-in-law, I think this brat still needs to be scolded by Master Xie more. Please arrange for Master Xie to scold her a few more times one of these days."
Su Rong: "..."
Is this matter still not resolved?
Now the story is circulating all over the court and the country that she got scolded by Uncle Xie. Hence, the old officials who found the Princess too hard to manage, all decided to run to Uncle Xie. There were those whose advice she didn’t adopt, and they simply stopped trying to persuade her directly. They turned instead to Uncle Xie.
Uncle Xie was recently overwhelmed by troubles.
Zhou Gu saw that Su Rong was silent, and he quietly squeezed her hand under the table, smiling at her.
Su Rong cast a glance at Zhou Gu. After a while, she couldn’t help but laugh too. She handed a chicken leg to the Nanchu King, "You have a good appetite, eat more. Anyway, you must invite Mister Cui tomorrow."
"Why didn’t you go today?" The Nanchu King, appeased by the chicken leg personally handed to him by his daughter, had let go of his anger. Looking back on it, he really wasn’t able to help Xie Yuan much as King, and adding the female candidates to the examination, he had been running around like a headless chicken, and was indeed quite exhausted.
"I was embarrassed to mention it, after all, Mister Cui just arrived." Su Rong said matter-of-factly: "I’m quite bashful."
The Nanchu King laughed in spite of himself, "So, do you think I have a thick skin?"
"If your skin wasn’t thick, how could you have won my mother’s heart? Don’t think I don’t know, back then you must have pestered my mother a lot." Su Rong looked at him.
The Nanchu King, recalling the past, was at a loss for words, "Alright."
So, the next day, the Nanchu King went to see Xie Yuan first. On learning that Xie Yuan had gone to the Cui Residence, he hurried there himself.
Inside the Cui Residence, Xie Yuan was paying a visit to Mister Cui, and was trying to persuade him to join the civil service.
Mister Cui repeatedly shook his head. The reason he gave was, "Master Xie, all the Cui Family members will participate in the Golden Autumn Examination. If this old man joins in, and becomes an examiner, it wouldn’t be fair to other young scholars of Nanchu."
Xie Yuan replied: "Mister Cui, you’re overthinking it. With me as the principal examiner, I won’t let you be criticized by others. Furthermore, there’s no such thing as absolute fairness. If it really bothers you, why don’t you move into my residence as a guest from today until the examination? You and I can take care of matters together, and you won’t have to see your Cui Family members. This way, since you won’t be tutoring your descendants before the examination, who can say you’re being unfair?"
"This....." Mister Cui was left without an argument.
Xie Yuan let out a sigh, "Mister Cui, to tell you the truth, the Imperial Court is really short of people. Look at me, since I arrived in Nanchu, I’ve lost a good ten kilos. When Xiaoqi saw me the other day, her eyes turned red. She was worried she would have to patricide for the King not lifting a finger, but in truth, the King has already assigned all the tasks within his capacity, and there are some tasks that he, as a King, simply can’t handle personally."
Seeing that Mister Cui was considering, he continued to say, "Both Xiaoqi and Zhou Gu are two kids who are on their own, pushing themselves to their limits. They’ve given themselves ten years, within which they plan to revive Nanchu. From military affairs to the livelihood of the people, it is no easy task. After all, following the chaos of the Nangong Family rebellion and then the invasion by Dawei, Nanchu was in a state of anarchy. When Dawei was initially repelled, Nanchu was almost paralyzed in most of its provinces. Now it has recovered by half, thanks to their tireless hard work day and night."
Mister Cui let out a sigh, "Master Xie, I agree. Starting from today, I’ll be staying at the Xie Residence with you."
Xie Yuan immediately smiled, "Mister Cui is indeed honorable. On behalf of Xiaoqi, I express my gratitude to you."
"Oh, dear, Master Xie, please don’t do that." Mister Cui hurriedly stopped Xie Yuan, "You are a nobleman, and also the tutor of the Princess. This old man is not worthy of your formalities. I have been ashamed and apprehensive ever since the Princess started calling me a grandfather."
Xie Yuan shook his head, "Mister Cui, you’re not wrong for considering this. After all, there’s only me, while you have many descendants in the Cui Family. You have to think of them too. Your decision to send your most treasured grandson to assist Nanchu during tough times was indeed admirable."
Mister Cui laughed, "In the past, I too gambled half for my grandson and half for the Cui Family. It was, after all, out of self-interest."
Xie Yuan also laughed, "Who in this world doesn’t have selfish intentions? I taught and supported Xiaoqi because of the trust bestowed on me by an old friend, wishing for her welfare."
Mister Cui nodded, smiling as he ordered his servants to pack up. He would be leaving with Master Xie shortly.
When the Nanchu King arrived, he saw the servants loading the carriages. He immediately asked, "What is going on? Is the Cui Family moving house? It doesn’t seem so as there is only one carriage."
The housekeeper hastily responded, "Your Majesty, we are not moving. Upon the invitation of Master Xie, our Master will be staying at the Xie Residence starting today."
The Nanchu King was stunned. He was ready to ask further when he saw two people emerge from inside the house– Xie Yuan and Mister Cui, both chatting and laughing. After seeing the King, they simultaneously greeted him. The King quickly gestured for them to stop and hesitantly asked, "What is going on, gentlemen?"
Xie Yuan responded: "From today on, Mister Cui will be assisting me in running the Imperial Examination."
Ever since he had arrived in the Royal Capital, he had never professed allegiance to the King.
The Nanchu King was overjoyed, "That is exactly why I am here. It’s wonderful that Mister Cui has agreed. Are you all heading to the Xie Residence now? Allow me to escort you there."
Xie Yuan declined, "Your Majesty, please go about your duties! Don’t push all your tasks onto Xiaoqi."
This indirectly meant that the Nanchu King had too much spare time, which was unreasonable, as he relied on his daughter for everything.
The Nanchu King sighed, "Alright then, I won’t add to the chaos. Master Xie, Mister Cui, you both are working hard."
Mister Cui chuckled. He hadn’t expected these two people, who were once rivals for love, to be able to get along so well now. All he could say was, "Since I am going to leave with Master Xie, I won’t be able to host Your Majesty."
The Nanchu King waved his hand, "You just go about your business, I will return to the palace too."
He was thinking, ’Oh, Xiaoqi will say I always miss out on the hot soup. If I had known that Xie Yuan would be here, I wouldn’t have come.’
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