Chapter 74 The Imperial Examination Concludes (Bug Fixes)
Although she had Lou Bai investigate the three people the Empress Dowager mentioned, Zhao Xian did not want to place her hopes on others.
He started attending banquets with Cui Tingyue, and during the banquets, he would mingle with families who had sons, subtly inquiring about their whereabouts.
Zhao Xian attended several banquets and discovered that there were quite a few families who wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Jiang family.
But many people were asking her about Jiang Liangxu's health, and Zhao Xian could only gloss over the topic.
After all, the one lying down is fake.
Ever since Jiang Heng angered Jiang Liangxu, causing him to fall from his horse and get injured, the imperial physician has been coming to the mansion to examine him every month or two.
The Office of Transmission was taken over by the Left and Right Transmission Officials, and one of their daughters was even designated as a concubine of the Sixth Prince.
It's been several months now. If Jiang Liangxu had shown even the slightest improvement, these people probably wouldn't be asking so directly.
Zhao Xian clearly felt that she was being ostracized, and some people didn't like to chat in private.
"Is Lord Jiang still able to stand up?"
"I'm afraid it will be difficult."
"This kind of stagnation is just a waste of time. People who should be going up can't go up, and they won't come down."
"Mother." Cui Tingyue reached out and took Zhao Xian's arm, her expression worried.
Some ladies say really harsh things.
Zhao Xian patted her hand, "It's nothing."
Knowing that Jiang Liangxu was not in Jin'an, Zhao Xian's best course of action, even if she heard these words, was to pretend not to know, so as to avoid making a scene and drawing attention to 'Jiang Liangxu'.
After a day of feasting, the two returned to the Jiang family home.
On the way, Zhao Xian and Cui Tingyue analyzed the sons of each family. "This guy heard there's a favored concubine in the house, and he's just waiting for the mistress to come in and elevate him to a concubine. He's so emotionally detached; we can't get involved. Cross that out. This one..."
The carriage returned to the Jiang family home. Zhao Xian looked at the list with only a few names left, hesitated, and said, "Was I too harsh?"
Cui Tingyue shook her head. "No."
If anyone else were to be so picky, Cui Tingyue would think they were doing it on purpose, but her godmother wouldn't, because she was choosing according to the principles of her godfather and eldest brother.
But looking across the entire Jin'an, how many men can do what their adoptive father and elder brother did, keeping their backyards so clean and tidy, without even a maidservant?
Zhao Xian felt that this approach wouldn't work. "Tell me the truth, is there anyone you like? Someone who's more pleasing to the eye."
Cui Tingyue thought about it carefully and shook her head.
Before the sedan chair could even enter the Haitang Residence, Yingchun stepped forward, stood beside the sedan chair, and whispered, "Madam, this afternoon, the young mistress's brother went to Yunzhu Garden. I don't know what he said, but it caused the young mistress to have a miscarriage, alarming the family physician. You should go and take a look."
Zhao Xian was in no hurry to get out of the sedan chair and directly ordered, "Go to Yunzhu Garden."
Danruo came out carrying the empty medicine bowl and just saw the sedan chair enter Yunzhu Garden. She handed the medicine bowl to a maidservant and went to greet her, lifting the curtain as she spoke, "Madam, Miss Cui."
Stepping out of the sedan chair, Zhao Xian asked Danruo, "How are Lianniang and the child?"
Danruo truthfully replied, "The physician prescribed medicine to prevent miscarriage. The young mistress has taken the medicine and is lying down. However, the physician is still unsure about the situation and only instructed her to take the medicine first, avoid anger and movement, and rest more."
Zhao Xian was helped into the house by Dan Ruo: "I heard that it was because of Lian Niang's brother's visit that she had a miscarriage. What exactly happened?"
Danruo shook her head: "This servant doesn't know either. After Young Master Li entered the room, he kicked all of us servants out."
As she spoke, Zhao Xian entered the inner room of Li Lianniang's house.
After taking the medicine, Li Lianniang lay on the bed. She looked alright and wasn't so haggard as to be unsightly.
Seeing Zhao Xian enter, Li Lianniang pursed her lips, her eyes filled with grievance: "Mother."
Zhao Xian sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to tuck the blanket around her. "What could have made you so angry?"
After Li Lianniang took over the household management, she gradually became more composed in dealing with matters, but this time...
“Mother, the incident from that flower charity sale has been brought up again. They say… they say I’m Yu…”
Zhao Xian blurted out a curse: "Bullshit, isn't that nonsense? How long has the Prince of Yu been gone?"
Li Lianniang also realized that she had overreacted. In fact, she was not angry that she had been falsely accused of spreading rumors again.
What truly saddened Li Lianniang was that her own brother didn't believe her.
They came to ask her if the matter was true or false, and what the baby's month of gestation was.
Although she learned it was all fabricated after hearing it, his attitude chilled Li Lianniang's heart.
Zhao Xian paused as she tucked the blanket around her, sensing something was amiss.
In order to obscure the rumors, she dug up all of the scandalous affairs of the Crown Prince of Yu, which covered up the original rumors.
But now it's being singled out again.
Zhao Xian turned to look at Shaoyao: "Go ask Young Master Li where he heard about this. Also, arrange for someone to inquire about it."
The medicine had a calming effect, and Li Lianniang soon fell into a drowsy state.
Zhao Xian did not leave; she played with Jiang Shuxiu on the soft couch in the outer room.
The person who went to ask questions returned first. "Young Master Li said that he heard it when he went to a poetry gathering. The venue for the poetry gathering happened to be Bailian Garden in the western suburbs, so someone brought up that matter."
Upon hearing about the Hundred Lotus Garden in the western suburbs, Zhao Xian was ninety percent certain that someone had deliberately orchestrated this, even choosing such a subtle location.
The person who went outside the mansion to inquire returned slowly. "Reporting to Madam, the news about the young mistress's pregnancy spread suddenly. Someone deliberately spread rumors about the matter between the heir of the Prince of Yu and the young mistress, and even said that the eldest son has a tortoise shell on his back and that his wife is having an affair... The rumors are very unpleasant."
He waved for them to leave.
Zhao Xian didn't leave until it got dark, when she was so sleepy she kept yawning.
However, she was told by the servants that the eldest young master had returned and had gone directly to Haitang Residence to find her.
Zhao Xian: "??"
What is the point of her waiting here?
The mother and son finally met in the garden.
After dismissing the servants, the mother and son sat down in the pavilion.
Jiang Wei looked directly at Zhao Xian: "Mother doesn't believe me."
Zhao Xian yawned again. "What nonsense are you talking about? You're my son, of course I believe you."
“But my son heard from the servants that you stayed at Yunzhu Garden for two hours.”
Zhao Xian gave an awkward smile: "Isn't this because I was waiting for you to come back?"
She felt somewhat guilty. After hearing what the servants had inquired about, she felt that this was a staged act deliberately targeting Jiang Wei.
Men cannot tolerate being cuckolded, especially since the reason why Li Lianniang miscarried her second child in the book was related to the prince of Yu.
Although the plot was moved forward and the villain was no longer in Jin'an, rumors about him still managed to spread.
The plot is forced.
The reason she stayed at Yunzhu Garden was to prevent Jiang Wei from being manipulated and acting impulsively.
Li Lianniang had just been angered once; if this happened again, the child might really be lost.
Jiang Wei asked coldly, "In your mother's eyes, is her son so unreliable?"
Zhao Xian yawned, wiping away her tears as she said, "You're so calm, which means you're not swayed by this rumor. Let's not talk about anything else and get down to business."
She was really sleepy.
Jiang Wei obediently stopped arguing, "Mother, do you still remember your suggestion regarding the grading of the papers?"
Suddenly, a cool breeze swept by, jolting Zhao Xian awake. After thinking for a while, she realized what he was talking about.
He shook his head repeatedly: "I didn't, don't talk nonsense, you figured it out yourself."
“This method is excellent. The people selected in this year’s spring examination are, how should I put it, quite unexpected.” Jiang Wei’s tone seemed to contain a hint of a smile. “It’s just that I didn’t expect someone to resort to desperate measures to silence them.”
Starting with that scholar Zhao, four scholars have already died.
He had just discovered the involvement of a minister in the Ministry of Rites when that minister suddenly died at home.
The Emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation.
After listening to Jiang Wei's brief explanation, Zhao Xian rubbed her temples: "You mean, someone released this outdated information to interfere with your investigation and prevent you from continuing?"
Jiang Wei nodded. "I suspect they won't give up so easily, so I came back today to tell you, Mother, not to go out for the next few days."
I won't go out, and I won't attend any banquets either; my life is more important.
“Okay.” Zhao Xian, now fully awake, hesitated and said, “The news came out suddenly, which means they weren’t panicked at first. Now that they’re panicking and spreading rumors, it must be because you found out something, and someone’s getting anxious.”
When transing exam papers for review, not only are the names missing, but the reviewers also can't even recognize the handwriting, unless they know the person's writing very well.
However, students come from all over the country to take the exam, and it's difficult to find the one or a few papers that you want to grade from among so many.
The sudden spread of rumors must have affected the interests of some people, leading to a hasty and foolish move.
Zhao Xian now regrets her loose tongue back then.
He couldn't help but glare at Jiang Wei in front of him. "He's so impulsive! Why is he so hasty?"
Zhao Xian couldn't help but remind you, "To prevent anyone from resorting to desperate measures, take more people with you when you go out. We're all fine here in the manor, but it's more dangerous for you outside."
"good."
It was too dark, but he seemed quite happy to respond.
After that, Zhao Xian and Cui Tingyue stayed at home and didn't go anywhere.
Zhao Xian also secretly investigated and found out the servant who had been bribed to spread the news that Li Lianniang was pregnant.
By mid-to-late April, a month had passed since the last results were released.
The palace examination was held one month after the results of the spring imperial examination were announced.
The cases of the scholar who came to Jin'an to take the imperial examination being killed, as well as the case of the murder of an official from the Ministry of Rites, have also made progress.
Jiang Wei discovered that, starting from the annual spring examinations, officials had been accepting bribes and replacing other people's exam papers, causing many people to fail the exams every time they took them every three years.
It turned out to be a favor done for someone else.
The murder case has uncovered cheating in the imperial examinations, a matter of great importance...
Before the palace examination, the emperor ordered the arrest of a group of ministers and the beheading of many.
Among these incidents was a prince who was reprimanded and forced to reflect on his actions behind closed doors.
Upon hearing the result, Zhao Xian remained silent for a long time. Had this matter been brought to light just like that? The reason was simply that Jiang Wei had overheard one of her casual complaints.
However, it must be said that the emperor has a strong ability to execute orders; when Jiang Wei reports something, he lets him do it.
...
After the palace examination, the top three candidates in each year's examination would be assigned to the Hanlin Academy, with the top scholar holding the highest official position among those in the same year.
Those who passed the imperial examination in the second class were assigned very minor official positions.
As for the top three candidates who passed the imperial examination, they had to wait even longer.
Many people, unable to leverage their connections, end up being assigned to remote areas. If they're lucky, they start as county magistrates; if they're unlucky, they become registrars.
However, because the emperor was angry this year and executed a number of people, the vacant positions need to be filled.
First, those holding high-ranking official positions would be transferred from other equivalent positions; those holding intermediate positions would be promoted step by step; thus, the vacant positions at the lower levels would be filled by the newly selected batch of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).
Langmingxuan ranked only in the middle of the third class in the palace examination, but was assigned a position as a principal officer in the Ministry of Personnel, a seventh-rank official.
He did indeed reap the benefits brought to him by the poetry collection.
Li Linsu did not stay in Jin'an.
It was only much later that Zhao Xian learned that Jiang Wei had tampered with things and gotten rid of him.
When Li Linsu left Jin'an to take up his post, Li Lianniang did not come out to see him off.
Li Lianniang's drowsiness and dry heaving have improved a lot, and she is now able to visit Haitang Residence.
Jiang Wei accomplished something and was rewarded by the emperor with a three-day rest. The young couple came together.
Zhao Xian shoved a stack of portraits into Jiang Wei's arms and said, "Come on, you're a man, what kind of person do you think is reliable? Help your sister make a decision."
Zhao Xian raised her hand and rubbed her temples. She used to think that when it came to matchmaking, as long as the person was pleasing to the eye, of suitable status, and not ugly, that was enough.
But after choosing and choosing, I found it exhausting. This one doesn't work out because she has a concubine, that one has a cousin, and another one has some weird fetishes...
Most importantly, in ancient times, it was most common for men to marry at the age of seventeen or eighteen, which was the same age as Li Lianniang.
She didn't think there was anything wrong with being the same age, but the man's side wasn't willing.
They only target the young ones. Ugh, Cui Tingyue isn't that old either; she hasn't even graduated high school yet.
Ugh, this wicked feudal society!
Jiang Wei glanced at Cui Tingyue, his expression calm and without a trace of ulterior motive. After sitting down, he carefully examined the portraits.
After quickly reviewing the portraits, Jiang Wei tossed a stack of portraits onto the table. “I have one person here who was recently assigned to me. He is good-looking and talented.”
Zhao Xian became interested: "What about their family background and character?"
Jiang Wei thought for a moment and said, "This young master from a prominent family is of good character. He is humble, never complains, and is also quite skilled in martial arts. He was the top-ranked student in the second class of this year's imperial examination."
He was accomplished in both literary and martial arts.
A hint of interest flashed in Zhao Xian's eyes: "Sounds very good. What's his name? Invite him to our house another day so Tingyue can see his face, and you can also find out about his family."
Working alongside Jiang Wei, one must have a thorough understanding of his background so that he wouldn't dare to bully Cui Tingyue.
"His surname is Han, his given name is Mu, and his courtesy name is Yaoqi."
Cui Tingyue slightly raised her eyes: "..."
Zhao Xian: "The Empress's nephew?"
"Does Mother know him?"
"Hehe, he not only knows you, he's even been set up with your sister."
This time, it was Jiang Wei's turn to be speechless.
Zhao Xian felt it necessary to tell them about the Han family's shady dealings. "Although he is a pitiful person, he and Tingyue are destined to be apart, so let it go."
Jiang Wei nodded and said no more.
As night fell, Zhao Xian was still worrying about Cui Tingyue's marriage.
Could it be that Jiang Liangxu had anticipated this situation, which is why he asked her to handle Cui Tingyue's marriage first?
My hand unconsciously went to touch the bracelet on my wrist.
When Zhao Xian woke up early in the morning, she always felt that she could smell a faint fragrance.
When I see a blooming peony beside my pillow, I think of a red plum blossom.
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Author's Note: The male lead's story is in the next chapter... the next chapter... and it still hasn't happened. So sleepy, my eyes are blurry.
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