Chapter 101 If you love her, let her be the most...
Chu Yannuo did not agree to Wei Minzhao's request, only saying that he would consider it.
Not long after Wei Minzhao left, Sun Qingzhao came to visit.
Chu Yannuo later investigated and found that his cousin had met this man not long after leaving, and they had a very good relationship.
Even Sun Qingzhao's entry into the imperial court as an official was due to his cousin's recommendation.
He was both hostile and curious about Sun Qingzhao.
What kind of man could win my cousin's favor?
My cousin has mental health issues. How did she get along with him?
The two met in the guest room. Chu Yannuo didn't even serve tea before sitting in the main seat and staring at Sun Qingzhao.
From the moment he stepped through the door until he finished bowing and sat down, he didn't say a word or look away.
He's good-looking, with a decent build, and his height is at least above average for a man. As for his talent...
There should be some points.
After the emperor regained consciousness, he suspended almost all the officials who had been promoted through the imperial examinations, but Sun Qingzhao remained as stable as Mount Tai.
At least the emperor recognized his talent.
Sun Qingzhao's every move was being watched, yet he felt no discomfort whatsoever.
After bowing, he sat down in the chair next to Chu Yannuo. Noticing that Chu Yannuo was holding a teacup, he casually got up and poured himself a cup, then slowly savored the West Lake Longjing tea.
Chu Yannuo finished one cup and poured another.
Sun Qingzhao didn't stand on ceremony and refilled his tea when it got cold.
No one spoke from beginning to end, for at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
It was only when Chu Yannuo, finding the night too chilly and intending to go back to her room to sleep, that she spoke with a hint of exasperation: "Such a beautiful night, why doesn't Minister Sun stay at home with his wife and children, but instead has the leisure to come here for tea?"
Minister Sun sighed, “I am a single man with no one to keep me company, unlike the Crown Prince of Chu, who has a beautiful wife and concubines and a full household.”
These words touched a nerve with Chu Yannuo.
No matter how many beauties he has in his household, there is only one he truly desires.
Besides, he had no other women besides his wife.
“Minister Sun, please be careful with your words. If you have come to my door in the middle of the night just to admire me, please leave as soon as possible.”
Vice Minister Sun was thick-skinned and showed no discomfort when reprimanded.
He continued to sip his tea slowly and leisurely.
"I dare to ask Your Highness, do you truly love Miss Cousin?"
Chu Yannuo's expression changed drastically. He gripped his teacup tightly, suppressing his anger, and said, "How dare you!"
Sun Qingzhao is here to act recklessly.
"I think that the Crown Prince of Chu doesn't love Miss Biao at all."
These words infuriated Chu Yannuo. From the first time he met his cousin, he knew he would give her the best love for the rest of his life.
For so many years, he has always cherished, protected, and pampered her, never uttering a single harsh word.
If this isn't love, then what is?
"What do you know, you're just a single dog!"
Sun Qingzhao is not afraid of personal attacks. He has his own reasons: "I believe that if you love someone, you should give her the best, make her happy, do everything she likes to do, and present her with the most precious things in the world, including status, position, and reputation."
"Young Master Chu, which of these has been accomplished?"
Chu Yannuo frowned: "What haven't I given her? Isn't what I've given her enough?"
Sun Qingzhao scoffed: "Did you give her the position of legal wife? The Tang family was wronged for fifteen years, did you help to clear her name? Do you even know what Miss Tang likes, or what kind of life she truly wants?"
You didn't even know she had a talent for mathematics.
This year, more than half of the students have heard her lecture on mathematics.
She set the arithmetic questions for the imperial examinations.
She was the one who led the team to review it afterwards.
"Young Master Chu, such a talented individual only began to shine after escaping the Marquis's mansion. What were you doing for the first fourteen years?"
Sun Qingzhao's words were like daggers to the heart: "You despise her for being stupid, unable to be a proper wife, unable to manage the messy accounts of the Marquis's mansion, and unable to give birth to a healthy child. You confine her to this small world of the Marquis's mansion, forbidding her to contact outsiders and not teaching her how to integrate into the world."
She's not stupid; you're the one who wants to make her stupid, so she can only live by completely depending on you.
That last sentence was truly enlightening.
It was as if a sharp blade had cleaved open Chu Yannuo's head, exposing his most despicable thoughts to the world.
He complained that his cousin wasn't as smart as a normal person.
On the one hand, they want to keep people by their side.
In the end, he lost his cousin completely.
Chu Yannuo wiped her face hard, tears welling up in her eyes.
Sun Qingzhao hadn't finished speaking: "On the other hand, the King of Qin taught Miss Tang how to conduct herself in society, taught her poetry, literature, etiquette, and music, taught her to distinguish between good and evil, and encouraged her to develop her strengths, letting her do whatever she liked."
Recently, the Prince's Mansion was converted into an academy, and many teachers were hired to teach students from the very beginning.
Gradually, I instilled the right things in her.
This is the normal behavior when you love someone.
"Your Highness, which of these conditions have you met?"
If Chu Yannuo had done just one of these things, he wouldn't have lost his cousin.
Sun Qingzhao seemed to cleave through the fog in front of him with an axe. He stared at Sun Qingzhao with utter confusion, "Then tell me, what can I do now? I'm not reconciled!"
Sun Qingzhao didn't come to his door today to help him pursue love.
"Young Master Chu, now that things have come to this, what else are you unwilling to accept? Do you still want to bring him back and lock him up in your little marquis's mansion!"
Chu Yannuo suddenly came to her senses, "Then what are you doing here?"
Sun Qingzhao: "If I were you, and I loved her so much, I would make her the most honorable woman in the world!"
Chu Yannuo didn't understand his meaning for a moment, and murmured, "The most noble woman in the world?"
Sun Qingzhao: "Of course, it's the Empress."
Chu Yannuo subconsciously asked, "You want me to rebel?"
Sun Qingzhao looked at him like he was an idiot.
Chu Yannuo made a good point: "My father is the savior of the King of Qin, the King of Duan, and Princess Chaoli. As long as I don't rebel, I can enjoy wealth and honor for generations. You want me to rebel, but you're not going to kill my entire Chu family."
Sun Qingzhao took a sip of her cold tea. "What qualifications do you have to be emperor? Of course, you should help Prince Qin ascend the throne."
Chu Yannuo: "...So you're here as a lobbyist!"
Sun Qingzhao: "Don't you want her to be empress? In this lifetime, you can forget about having anything to do with her again. But as long as you help her, she will definitely remember it."
At that time, it wouldn't be impossible for the Marquis's mansion to advance further.
The next rank after Marquis is Duke.
Chu Yannuo is a more clear-headed person than anyone else.
His cousin had completely given up on him; with the King of Qin around, he couldn't possibly take anything from him.
Moreover, after seeing a wider world, my cousin would no longer be content to live in his small manor.
He originally married Wei Minxian with the intention of having children, then abandoning her and never paying attention to her again.
But she had saved his life.
Even if he were a beast, he couldn't abandon her.
If we could recommend my cousin to become empress...
This also fulfilled his love for her.
What do you want me to do?
Sun Qingzhao only had four words: "Enter the game yourself."
After the New Year, Chu Yannuo personally met with Prince Rui, and the two reached an agreement to jointly bring down the King of Qin.
He had only one request: that his cousin be handed over to him after the deed was done.
Starting on the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Qin Prince's Mansion's mini-classes began again.
It was cold, and Tang Xinuan refused to get out of bed.
"You big bad guy, who needs to study during the New Year?"
Zhou Chuanxing ordered his men to add two more basins of charcoal fire to the bedroom.
It made the room warm and cozy.
He took the dress and personally put it on the little girl, saying, "Alright, then she won't study. We'll talk about it after the fifth day of the new year."
After the New Year, members of the Zhou family came to pay their respects one after another. Starting today, even court officials have begun to send out invitations.
Many people previously thought that Prince Rui had a good chance of inheriting the throne, and apart from a few who were waiting to see what would happen, most people sided with Prince Rui.
After all, the palace had the support of Consort De and the Empress, and the court had been cultivating the situation for many years.
Although the King of Qin wielded great power, he rarely returned to the capital in recent years, and almost none of the civil and military officials in the court were promoted by him.
He was punished by the emperor again.
On New Year's Eve, the Emperor summoned Prince Qin to the palace. Amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of toasts, their extraordinary brotherly bond was evident in every aspect.
Anyone with eyes can see that the Emperor still favors the Prince of Qin.
Therefore, after the New Year, invitations were sent to the Prince of Qin's residence in an endless stream.
However, most of them were rejected by the King of Qin.
Sun Qingzhao was also among those rejected.
However, he was able to climb over the wall, and Prince Duan saw him. Prince Duan generously took him into his residence.
Zhou Chuanxing disliked Sun Qingzhao from head to toe, but tolerated her somewhat due to her abilities.
"If you ever climb over the walls of my manor again, I'll throw you to the frontier."
Sun Qingzhao didn't care. "Your Highness is too kind. I only acted strangely because I missed Your Highness so much."
Zhou Chuanxing wanted nothing more than to throw the person out, "If you dare to bewitch the princess again, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs."
Sun Qingzhao felt ashamed; he had come specifically to "bewitch" the princess.
Tang Xinuan, dressed neatly, arrived at the front hall surrounded by a group of maids.
After performing the salutation, Sun Qingzhao cautiously said, "Your Highness, during the New Year period, I have been idle and have been thinking about some things."
Tang Xinuan noticed Erlang's murderous intent and gave Sun Qingzhao a wink.
The two, accompanied by their maids, went to the study for a private conversation.
Zhou Chuanxing sighed helplessly.
Should he find a husband to teach his wife the traditional virtues of obedience, submission, and chastity?
Sun Qingzhao has been thinking about the academy these past few days.
"Your Highness, the academy you previously established was a temporary place for teaching students. I wonder what your future plans are? Do you intend to continue operating the academy?"
Tang Xinuan certainly wanted to continue, as she enjoyed teaching her mathematical knowledge to students.
However, the King of Qin has been punished and is currently under house arrest.
They even had difficulty leaving the palace.
Judging from Sun Qingzhao's words, it seems that she can freely enter and leave the Prince's mansion.
"Of course I'll arrange it, but I only know arithmetic. Your Highness will have to hire tutors to teach me other subjects. Except for the time of the imperial examinations, no one will enroll me in the academy."
Sun Qingzhao already had an idea.
"The Great Zhou Dynasty has not held any imperial examinations for more than ten years, and last year's one was not considered a formal one either."
Firstly, all candidates participating in the imperial examinations were recommended by their respective localities, which greatly affected the source of candidates.
Secondly, the addition of mathematics as a temporary subject meant that many students lacked the necessary foundation, which would inevitably lead to omissions in the selection process.
Third, the procedures are not standardized.
Fourth, there are also problems with the post-examination screening process.
..."
Sun Qingzhao listed more than a dozen problems, all of which were the drawbacks of the imperial examination system that he had summarized.
Tang Xinuan kept it all in mind. "Then what should I do?"
Sun Qingzhao: "The best course of action now is to quickly reorganize the Imperial Academy and order the establishment of academies throughout the country."
For more than a decade, there were no imperial examinations, and many academies in various places were abandoned and had not enrolled students for many years.
The importance of these academies to the imperial court's desire for a continuous stream of talented individuals is self-evident.
Tang Xinuan was thinking to herself that Zhou Chuanxing had said he would hand over the Imperial Academy to her in the future.
But now that Zhou Chuanxing's power as regent has been stripped away, he may be powerless to act even if he wants to.
"Do you want me to become a female teacher at the Imperial Academy?"
Sun Qingzhao praised, "Your Highness is becoming more and more intelligent."
Tang Xinuan said worriedly, "But Erlang is no longer regent, and it's difficult for him to even leave the palace. How can he possibly manage the Imperial Academy?"
Sun Qingzhao pretended not to understand the meaning behind Tang Xinuan's words, "Right now, we just can't leave the palace. But once Prince Rui becomes emperor, Prince Qin might not even be able to save his life."
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Author's note: There are two or three more chapters to go. I'll release them as soon as they're finished.
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