The Emperor bestows a marriage
Before leaving, Li Xi was appointing new officials for Pingwu City.
Wu Qi, who was standing obediently to the side, looked at the dark circles under Li Xi's eyes and secretly admired him.
In just three days, Li Xi transformed Pingwu City. First, she arrested Zhao Lang and his entourage, ordering women to remove their veils and to stop drawing lines symbolizing many children and good fortune. At the same time, she sent troops to garrison Pingwu Mountain to investigate Liu Ge's whereabouts, but the records in the logbook were disorganized and haphazard, failing to record where Liu Ge had actually gone.
Li Xi was furious and imprisoned the men who had previously guarded Pingwu Mountain. He interrogated them one by one, but after a whole night of interrogation, he still couldn't get any answers. So he simply took them back to the capital and left the matter to the emperor to decide.
Although Wu Qi did not participate, in her opinion, Li Xi should not stop here.
For Li Xi, the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was a waste of his potential.
Everyone waited for Li Xi for only a quarter of an hour before Li Xi had arranged everything.
A group of people emerged from the Zhao residence, with four daughters of prominent families riding together in a carriage. As they passed through the main street, cheers erupted. Curious, Wu Qi lifted the carriage curtain and saw women standing on both sides of the main street, beaming with joy, throwing flowers and handkerchiefs into the procession, just like on the day of the Fire Festival.
but……
Wu Qi reached out and caught the handkerchief tossed to her. Looking at the countless handkerchiefs in the air, he said, "Why do I feel like there are more handkerchiefs today than at the Fire Festival?"
When the women threw handkerchiefs at Zhou Lang's golden statue during the Fire Festival, they were relatively restrained; probably only one out of a dozen or so women would throw a handkerchief with a blush. But today it was so different. It was as if each woman had three, four, or five handkerchiefs in her hand, ready to throw them at them as they passed by.
Wu Qi reached out and caught several handkerchiefs in time, saying worriedly, "Is Lord Li Xi already soaked by the rain of handkerchiefs?!"
Lin Kuo said helplessly, "Xiao Qi, you should worry about yourself first!"
Was it only Lord Li Xi who was flooded by the handkerchief rain?
I'm afraid Wu Qi has been almost completely submerged as well!
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Wu Qi reached out and took several more handkerchiefs, which caused the women to cheer and insist on throwing their handkerchiefs into the carriage. As a result, handkerchiefs kept pouring into the carriage as if they were free.
"What's there to worry about?!" Wu Qi put down the handkerchief in his hand. "She just likes me!"
The carriage was traveling down the main street. Wu Qi didn't dare to call for it to stop. She leaned out of the window, half of her body sticking out. Yi Shen was so frightened that he grabbed her hand, afraid she would fall out of the carriage. But she stood steadily, surrounded by a shower of flowers and handkerchiefs.
Wu Qi smiled and waved to the people lining both sides of the main street, shouting, "We're leaving!! Live well from now on!!"
She didn't want the farewell to be filled with tears and reluctance. She liked farewells like today's, and she wished the clouds in the sky would be shaped like flowers.
Today we part ways, and I wonder when we will meet again.
In the crowd, Wu Qi saw Chang Ying, Sun Qi, Chen Ping Le, and Li Xing Ge, who were waving to him across the crowd, as well as Zhou Liu Hu.
What is Zhou Liuhu doing with his head down?
Wu Qi narrowed his eyes and then saw clearly that Zhou Liuhu was holding a book and reading it.
Wu Qi guessed that Zhou Liuhu probably wanted to follow Li Shuying's path and take the Longmen Examination.
It's great, really great.
Hopefully, there won't be another Zhao Xiwei.
After the carriage passed through the city gate, Wu Qi lowered the curtain and sat back in the carriage, only then noticing that there were quite a few handkerchiefs in the carriage.
Given the distance and the limited size of the car windows, how did they manage to throw it in?
"Amazing! Amazing!" Wu Qi exclaimed.
Lin Kuo picked up a few handkerchiefs and said as he folded them, "Stop talking about how great you are, hurry up and fold these handkerchiefs so we can get some sleep."
Wu Qi said, "Very well, I will collect these handkerchiefs!"
The group folded the handkerchiefs from the carriage and placed them inside, each falling asleep nestled against their beloved. When they awoke again, they heard Pianpian say, "The cat is dead."
A tongueless black cat died on the road.
Not wanting to delay everyone, Pianpian hastily buried it and found a piece of wood to erect a tombstone for it.
“This cat is mine. I felt sorry for it because it had no tongue, so I kept it by my side. In the first few days after it arrived, it would run away from time to time, and I had to look for it five, six, seven or eight times a day,” Pianpian said. “I forget which day it was, but I went to look for the cat, followed its meows, and went out of the house. When I saw it, it was sleeping on the feet of a rich young man. The rich young man stood there, letting it sleep on his feet.”
"Later, I learned that the wealthy young man was Zhao Lang."
"If I met him because of cats, then it should have ended at this point."
Pianpian spoke of these things with a normal expression, and although her tone was no different from usual, Wu Qi felt that she was still a little sad as she watched her leave.
For the cat, for Zhao Lang, and for herself.
Similarly, it was also a fleeting, breathtaking glimpse.
But this sadness is so insignificant in the face of so many deaths, like a grain of sand sinking into the ocean, clinging to countless other grains of sand.
People generally say that love between men and women is the most important thing. Women are most easily infatuated with love. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They throw morality and ethics to the back of their minds and seek true love regardless of everything.
But Pianpian is not that kind of person.
She was just sad, but too many people had already lost their families and lives.
She could tell which was more important and which was less important.
On her way back to the capital, Wu Qi thought about the cat and what to say when she met the emperor. She also wondered what to do if the emperor knew that she and Yi Shen knew swordsmanship.
What is usually considered nonsense is a crime of deceiving the emperor.
After entering the capital, the group did not linger elsewhere but went straight to the palace. Upon reaching a gate, they disembarked and walked inside, where they were also subjected to a full body search.
Song Yinxing and Lin Kuo had visited the palace once before, but Wu Qi and Yi Shen were entering the palace for the first time.
The magnificent palaces and pavilions cannot conceal the painted beams and flying eaves. Just a few steps away, one can see dozens of palaces with green tiles and flying eaves, resplendent in gold and jade.
The mansions of noble families are mostly characterized by small bridges and flowing water, with blue stones and black tiles. Suddenly entering the Divine Palace of Crimson Clouds, Wu Qi could only think to himself, "The palace is truly magnificent."
A palace attendant went to announce the arrival of the emperor, and Li Xi stepped into the inner hall to meet him.
The crowd waited in the outer hall.
Upon first meeting the emperor, Wu Qi carefully adjusted her clothes, paying particular attention to whether her sleeves were rolled up.
She also wanted to remind Yi Shen to tidy his clothes, but when she turned around, she found that he was dressed neatly with his sleeves hanging down naturally, and there was not a single wrinkle in his clothes.
How could I forget? Yi Shenke is a model among the young masters of noble families. His words and deeds were once drawn up and printed into "The Etiquette Book of Young Master Yi the Third" and sold throughout the capital.
Back then, it was extremely rare to find a copy; even if you had the money, you couldn't buy it.
At least Wu Qi couldn't buy it.
Even more surprisingly, some people auctioned off their copies of "The Etiquette Book of Young Master Yi San," with the highest bidder winning. Unfortunately, Yi Shen happened to be passing by and happened to see it. Our Young Master Yi San then spent a full two hundred taels of silver to buy the "Etiquette Book of Young Master Yi San," which featured him as the protagonist.
After taking the booklet, he said, "Don't print it again."
However, as far as Wu Qi knew, at this very moment, there must be parents in the capital who regarded the "Etiquette Book of the Third Young Master Yi" as a parenting bible, studying it word by word to teach their reckless sons.
The palace was magnificent, with exquisite carvings everywhere. Yi Shen, dressed in a dark cloud pattern, stood there like a celestial being who had mistakenly entered a temple.
The celestial being sighed and looked helplessly at Wu Qi.
Just by looking into her eyes, which were brimming with laughter, he knew that her mind was already wandering far away. He asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Wu Qi said, "I want to see the 'Etiquette Manual of Young Master Yi'!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Kuo couldn't help but laugh and said, "I had to pull a lot of strings, treat a lot of people to a meal, and spend a lot of money to buy this booklet!"
Others thought this was a glorious thing for Yi Shen, but Lin Kuo didn't think so. After buying the "Etiquette Book of Young Master Yi," he deliberately flipped through it in front of Yi Shen and even read aloud sentences from it, especially the long passages of praise.
Whenever Lin Kuo begins to do this, Yi Shen will leave.
Even now, when Yi Shen hears the words "Yi San Gongzi's Etiquette Manual" from Lin Kuo, he still wants to leave.
"Alright, alright! Don't talk about Yi Shen!!" Wu Qi said.
Just then, a palace servant came to announce that the four noble children were invited to enter the inner palace to meet the emperor.
The four men composed themselves, abandoning their earlier teasing, and followed the palace attendants into the inner hall to meet the emperor.
The inner hall was not as grand and solemn as the main hall. The four of them were students of Cizige Middle School, so they naturally had met the Emperor. Upon seeing the man on the jade steps, the four of them respectfully bowed.
The man, dressed in purple robes with dragon patterns, laughed and said, "Get up."
The four men bowed and said in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Don't be so formal, this isn't the main hall."
The Emperor, holding a pen in one hand and resting his chin on the other, smiled at the four of them and said with great satisfaction, "You have all worked hard. The rewards have arrived at your residences. You will see them when you return home."
You've arrived at the manor so quickly?
The four men, receiving a reward for the first time, were surprised that the gift had come so quickly. They exchanged glances and said in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"It's just some gold and silver jewelry, nothing to mention." The Emperor chuckled, put down his pen, and continued, "I heard from Lord Li that Yaoling and Weichong made great contributions this time, especially Yaoling, who is brave, resourceful, and chivalrous."
"Let me think about what reward would be best for Yaoling."
To be honest, Wu Qi was nervous at this moment. The gold and silver treasures she had been given as a reward were already enough. If she were to give more or something else, she would feel uneasy.
Not only would she be worried, but the entire aristocratic family would probably be worried too.
Wu Qi's heart was pounding wildly when suddenly, he heard the Emperor say, "I have heard that Yao Ling and Weichong grew up together since childhood, are childhood sweethearts, and have a deep affection for each other. Now that you two have reached the age of marriage, how about I bestow a marriage upon you two?"
A marriage decreed by imperial decree!?
What was the Emperor's intention in bestowing this marriage upon the two of them at this time?
Wu Qi slightly raised his eyes and saw the person sitting high on the platform smile. He then heard the Emperor ask, "What do you two think?"
What do you think?
What was the Emperor's intention in bestowing this marriage upon the two of them at this time?
A moment of silence fell over the hall, and the Emperor did not urge them on.
After a long silence, Wu Qi said, "Your Majesty, I do not wish to."
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