"Why can't I keep a duck as a pet?" Shi Mingyue asked, "No one says ducks can't be pets."
Gao Siqi laughed and said, "Okay, okay, then what's its name?"
"Le Le." Shi Mingyue comforted Le Le in her arms and looked at Gao Siqi helplessly.
Gao Siqi looked at Lele with a smile, touched its feathers gently, and said, "I'm sorry, I scared you just now."
Lele groaned in grievance, and Shi Mingyue touched it and said, "Don't be afraid."
Gao Siqi's attention shifted to Pipi in Fu Yueli's hand. "What a beautiful parrot."
Pippi said bluntly: "You are the ugliest! You are the ugliest!"
The smile on Gao Siqi's face froze. "What's going on?"
Lu Lingyan laughed: "I taught you that!"
Shi Mingyue said helplessly, "Because Lele is its good friend. When you grabbed Lele like that just now, you also offended Pipi."
Gao Siqi scratched her head in confusion. She was obviously very popular with animals in Yunzhou, so why did she become disgusted with animals when she came to Shi Mingyue?
Gao Siyuan spoke less and looked at his sister from the side, smiling and shaking his head helplessly.
The Gao brothers and sisters stayed in Shangjing for two days, and returned to Yunzhou after finishing their work report.
With the arrival of early spring, it is time for the highlight of the imperial examination, the Imperial Examination.
This provincial examination was followed by the palace examination, which lasted for several months. Fu Yueli almost left home early and returned late every day.
It had been agreed that if Lu Lingjing hadn't found her ideal husband by the end of the year, she would return to Lingzhou. Because Lu Lingyan and Fu Yueli were both busy, and Shi Mingyue, fearing further mishaps after the previous attack, had asked her to stay put for now. Lu Lingjing was naturally happy, but she was still overwhelmed by a wave of sadness that she couldn't quite resolve.
Soon, the results of the palace examination came in. Ren Xianyang of Xinzhou, a man of extraordinary talent, passed the joint examination and took second place in the palace examination. The top scorer was Yuan Xingzhi, a renowned scholar of talent and romance from Jiangzhou, while the third place winner was Jin Xuanlin, the son of the prefect of Lingzhou.
Fu Yueli saw the clues just from everyone's behavior at the banquet. Yuan Xingzhi was undoubtedly Fu Baiheng's man, and Jin Xuanlin also had a close relationship with Fu Fenglin. Ren Xianyang had previously been under Fu Yueli's care, and even though Fu Yueli was now the crown prince, he still refused to flatter him and acted independently.
Fu Yueli came back and told Shi Mingyue that he was not angry, but instead admired Ren Xianyang, a man of strong character.
All successful candidates were awarded official positions, but a rumor was spreading among the people: a failed scholar named Zhang Fang repeatedly went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to beat drums and protest his injustice, arguing that his failure wasn't due to poor writing skills, but rather to someone switching his test paper.
At first, Jingzhao Prefecture Governor Shi Yuanshan thought Zhang Fang's remarks were absurd. He had witnessed countless candidates suffer emotional breakdowns over failure, unable to accept the fact that they had studied for decades only to be rejected. Some even went mad. Knowing the rigorous nature of the imperial examinations and the impossibility of swapping papers, Shi Yuanshan initially rejected Zhang Fang's request.
However, Zhang Fang insisted that someone had switched his paper, and he even wrote a long poem that circulated in the streets of Shangjing, causing a sensation in the city and denouncing the corruption of the court. As a result, the news of this incident reached higher-level officials, and the emperor ordered Fu Yueli to investigate the matter thoroughly and ensure the integrity of the imperial examinations.
Fu Yueli first strictly restricted the personal freedom of the examiners at Zhang Fang's examination room, then retrieved Zhang Fang's test paper and compared the handwriting. The results showed that there was no such thing as a paper change. Zhang Fang simply overestimated his own ability and could not accept the fact that he had failed.
In the end, Zhang Fang was imprisoned for three months for spreading rumors and disturbing public sentiment.
Fu Yueli thought the matter was settled, but then another failed candidate, Li Gou, came forward and said he had paid a fortune to buy a fake exam paper from an examiner. He lost a large sum of money because of it. He asked the examiner to return the money, but the examiner refused, saying that the money was paid in full and that he should report the case to the authorities.
Everyone knew cheating in the imperial examination was a capital offense, and the examiner assumed Li Gou wouldn't dare speak up. Unexpectedly, Li Gou, driven to a sudden success, ruthlessly invested his entire fortune in buying fake exam papers. Not only did he fail the exam, but his entire fortune was gone. He then went to the Jingzhao Prefecture, presenting evidence and determined to perish alongside the examiner.
Scandals have frequently broken out in the imperial examinations, and the people have long been discussing the matter. Some people even brought up the previously established case of Zhang Fang, asking whether court officials were protecting each other and that Zhang Fang was innocent.
The case of the fake test papers was handled by Fu Yueli. After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that the examiner named Huang Jiang sold more than one fake test paper. In addition to Li Gou, there were five other candidates who bought it, one of whom was a Jinshi.
Fu Yueli then acted decisively and immediately imprisoned Huang Jiang, Li Gou and other seven people who bought and sold examination papers. They were all sentenced to death in order to rectify the examination discipline and serve as a warning to future generations.
After dealing with this series of things, Fu Yueli was finally able to return home and be alone with Shi Mingyue.
"You've worked hard these days." Shi Mingyue saw that Fu Yueli had become visibly haggard, and she felt sorry for him. As soon as it got dark, she urged him to wash up and go to bed.
Although Fu Yueli was helpless, he listened to her and washed up to rest.
The departure date for the inspection in Yunzhou was set for five days later, so these five days were considered a holiday for Fu Yueli.
Shi Mingyue thought about his trip to Yunzhou, and how he might be gone for several months. Ever since the Emperor's incident, she had been dreading the days when he was not around, so she said, "I'll go to Yunzhou with you."
Fu Yueli certainly wanted to accompany her, but he was going to Yunzhou on official business, and it would probably be inappropriate if he brought his wife with him.
Shi Mingyue knew what he was thinking, so she went back to her room, dressed up, and then went to the yard. Fu Yueli was stunned when she saw her current outfit, but then she smiled and said, "It's not impossible for you to look like this."
Shi Mingyue walked up to him and said with a smile, "Then you agree."
Fu Yueli looked at her with eyes full of doting: "I agree, but you have to follow me closely."
Shi Mingyue assured him, "Of course, don't worry." She had deliberately changed into men's clothing, combed her hair, shaped her eyebrows, and covered her earlobes with powder. She looked so much like Shi Mingji that if she went out and said she was Shi Mingji's brother, no one would doubt it.
On the day of departure, besides Fu Baiheng, there was another person who surprised both Shi Mingyue and Fu Yueli immensely. Especially when Shi Mingyue, dressed as a man, met the other person, after a moment of surprise, they both smiled at the same time.
Because the person who came was Xu Ziling in men's clothing. Why was she here and following Fu Baiheng to Yunzhou? What was she going to do?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
