Chapter 173 Shen Xi leaves Beijing

If we only talk about appearance, among these new Jinshi this year, I am afraid that no one can compare to this Tanhua Lang. Even Princess Zhaoyang's eyes lit up when she saw him. She kept an eye on him and planned to ask her father later.

After the Qionglin Banquet, Princess Zhaoyang couldn't wait to ask the emperor what the third place winner thought of him.

Emperor Zhaoming understood his daughter's thoughts immediately. "His name is Xu Heng. He is well educated. But I know you just like him because he is good-looking, right? Your mother told me that she is satisfied with the child from the Kuang family. Why don't you like him? I think the boy from General Kuang's family is not bad looking either."

"He's not bad looking, but he's not as good looking as Xu Heng."

"When you're looking for a consort, you can't just look at how he looks, right?"

Princess Zhaoyang was not happy when she heard this. "You were the one who said it at the beginning, and asked me to read it myself. Now you are not satisfied with what I said. Besides, he got fourth place in the examination. There are not many people who are better than him, right?"

The emperor didn't have any intention of choosing anyone. Since his daughter liked Xu Heng, he didn't mind. "Okay, okay, let's have someone check him out. As long as his character is acceptable, I'll agree."

When she returned to her mother's palace, Princess Zhaoyang said the same thing. The queen advised her daughter not to just look at the appearance when marrying a man. Princess Zhaoyang said, "That's just an ordinary family. I'm a princess, so why can't I look at the appearance? If you want to find a man, of course I will find the most beautiful one. If I'm not satisfied in the future, I can just divorce him."

The Queen was speechless after hearing these words. Her daughter's words seemed outrageous to her, but when she thought about it carefully, they did make sense. She didn't know what to say for a moment.

Princess Zhaoyang thought more and more that she was right. "When my father chose a concubine, he didn't care about her family background or talent. When he selected concubines, didn't he just take her into the palace based on her good looks? And when my aunt chose Uncle Xie, wasn't it because he was good-looking?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the empress slapped him and said, "Don't spread this nonsense outside. It's not right for a young person to slander an elder." It would be fine if he said it to the emperor, but Xie Yuan was the apple of Princess Kangle's eye, so he couldn't say anything nonsense.

"Of course I understand, mother. I am not stupid."

When the news that Lu Ne had won the second place in the exam reached the Shen family, Old Lady Shen and the First Lady also breathed a sigh of relief and felt reassured. As a Jinshi, even if he was appointed to an official post outside the capital in the future, it would not be to some remote place.

After the Qionglin Banquet, the matter of the imperial examination was settled, which meant that Shen Xi's marriage should be put on the agenda. Originally, the two families had agreed that after Lu Ne finished the exam, they would start discussing the wedding date.

This time, Shen Xi, her grandmother and her mother were going back to Jinling together. Lu Ne was also going with them. Shen Yuan was reluctant to let Shen Xi go back, and in the last few days he would go to Shen Xi's room and sleep with her.

Shen Yun knew what his brother and sister-in-law were thinking, so he said to Madam Shen: "If there is a shortage of people in the capital, I will mention Minsi if I meet someone suitable."

"Whether he can become an official still depends on his own luck. You, my uncle, have helped him a lot with the imperial examinations. Don't let this affect you."

"This is nothing. I just mentioned it. Whether it works or not depends on his own luck. There are many such cases in the officialdom, but the officials are not very high."

Shen Yun doesn't help everyone. He has been observing these days that Lu Ne is a good kid and is worth helping. They are family now, so he would help if he can. Besides, he is ultimately thinking about his niece.

The day before leaving, Lu Ne also came to the Shen family to say goodbye to the other members of the Shen family. In the evening, the whole family, including Lu Ne, had dinner together. The next morning, Shen Yuan was at the door with his brother, sister-in-law, and father to see off his grandmother, aunt, and elder sister as they left the capital and returned to Jinling.

Shen Yuan originally wanted to see his elder sister off for a while, but Shen Xi was determined not to let her get on the carriage. She still remembered what happened last time, and she refused to let him see her off no matter what.

Outside the Shen family's door, Shen Yuan hugged his elder sister and was reluctant to let go. He said reluctantly: "Sister, if the wedding date is set, you must write to me immediately and tell me, and I will go there as soon as possible."

Shen Xi and Lu Ne's wedding must be held in Jinling, so Shen Yuan will return to Jinling in advance to see his elder sister off to get married.

"I know. No matter who I forget, I will never forget you."

Influenced by his sister these days, Shen Xi is now much more generous when talking about getting married.

Mrs. Shen originally felt uncomfortable staying in the capital, but now she is leaving and feels reluctant to leave. This time they have been here for half a year.

"Alright, alright, if we continue, we won't be able to make it to the post station before dark. The Lu family's kid is still waiting at the city gate. Second brother, don't send him off, or you'll be late for duty."

Among the group of people, it was the old lady who didn't look reluctant at all, and kept urging them to get in the car and hurry on their way.

Shen Yuan rubbed his eyes and said, "Grandma, why can't you bear to leave me?"

"What's there to be reluctant about? We'll see each other again in a few months. Come in, don't say goodbye." The old lady waved her hand and asked the nanny to help her get into the carriage.

If they delayed any further, they would not be able to reach their residence before dark, so Shen Xi and Madam Shen also got into the car one after another.

After the carriage started moving, Mrs. Shen took out her handkerchief and wiped her eyes.

When the nanny at the side saw this, she reached out and poured her a cup of tea. The old lady was always like this. She was obviously reluctant in her heart, but she just refused to say a few soft words.

Lune's carriage was waiting at the city gate. His two classmates had failed the exam this time and had gone back after the results were announced. Now he was the only one left.

Lu Ne was afraid that Shen Xi and the others couldn't see it, so he stood outside the carriage and waited. When Shen Xi and the others' carriage arrived at the city gate, people from Jingzhao Prefecture happened to be coming in from outside the city with someone they had captured.

The leader was Zhou Zhongan. Last night they received a tip-off that someone had set up a private casino in the woods outside the city. It was quite large, with people playing mahjong and pai gow. He and his men staked out the area for several hours last night. When it was almost dawn and they were sure that no one had come, they arrested everyone.

When they arrived at the city gate, Shen Xi opened the car window and happened to meet Zhou Zhongan's eyes.

Lu Ne saw Shen Xi and took a few steps forward and said, "Xi Xi, you're here! Your carriage goes first, I'll have someone follow behind."

"good."

After Shen Xi finished talking to Lu Ne, they saw Zhou Zhongan still there, so they nodded slightly to him and closed the car window.

"Take care of yourself……"

"My Lord, my Lord?"

Zhou Zhongan came to his senses and continued walking forward. "Thank you for your hard work this time, brothers. I will treat everyone to a meal at Tianyuelou after I hand over the person."

…