On the day the results were announced, Ye Chen originally only wanted Mu Qing to go and see, but Chen Qiu was very excited and wanted to see what place her husband got.
Seeing that she was so happy, Ye Chen took his men with him and went with her.
Chen Qiu didn't look like a pregnant woman at all. She was not like those people who kept vomiting. She was very energetic and couldn't sit still. She rushed to the front with Mingyue and Xing'er.
Shen Qiu saw Ye Chen's name at a glance and shouted excitedly: "My husband, my husband is there, he passed the exam, he passed the exam, first place!"
The men around looked at the young woman and thought it was inappropriate for her to speak so loudly in public, which was not the behavior of a woman from the inner house.
The women who came to see their men's achievements like Chen Qiu were very jealous, but they tidied themselves up to make themselves look more decent, as if this would make them better than Chen Qiu.
In a carriage far away, Princess An Ning drank tea and snorted coldly, "How vulgar! For such a person to stand beside my cousin is like cow dung covering a beautiful flower!"
A maidservant beside her sneered and said, "Only the princess can match a man as rare as the Duke. It's only a matter of time before the Duke becomes the princess's lover!"
Princess An Ning looked outside and said, "Let's go back. I don't need a moment to do that. It's mine. I'll take it back sooner or later!"
Ye Chen looked at the happy Chen Qiu, the tenderness and smile in his eyes overflowing. Then he walked to Chen Qiu's side, lowered his head and looked at Chen Qiu gently and said: "Husband, you are amazing, right? Can we go back now? Taohuazhai has released osmanthus cakes, made with the freshest osmanthus this year. Why don't you buy some?"
Chen Qiu smiled and said, "Well, let's buy some other things. We want to celebrate today. My husband is the top scorer this year!"
Ye Chen took Shen Qiu's hand and walked towards Taohuazhai together. Because Shen Qiu wanted to take a walk and it was not far, he did not get on the carriage.
At Taohuazhai, Chen Qiu originally wanted to buy ten kinds of dim sum, but Ye Chen said, "The moon is full and then it will wane, and the water is full and then it will overflow. Nine is a number that only the emperor can use. Let's just buy eight!"
Chen Qiu thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but I want to buy more of each for the little girls."
Ye Chen said: "Okay, I'll listen to you!"
Then, eight kinds of dim sum, ten portions of each, were loaded onto the carriage, but people had to walk back.
When they arrived at the Duke's Mansion, Ye Chen and Shen Qiu wanted to go directly to Rongwei Hall, but a servant said, "Master, someone from the palace has arrived and has been waiting for a while!"
Chen Qiu and Ye Chen looked at each other and knew why the people from the palace came at this time.
When the two of them arrived at the main hall, it was Eunuch Gao, who was by the emperor's side. Upon seeing them, he hurried forward and bowed, saying, "Duke, we've been waiting for you. The emperor has sent me to invite you into the palace. He has prepared a family banquet in the Yikun Palace to celebrate for you!"
Shen Qiu looked at Ye Chen and said, “It seems that we can only stay at home at night!”
Ye Chen sent someone to tell the old Duke and the old Dowager, and then followed Eunuch Gao into the palace. Because Xing'er was steady and knew how to read people's expressions, Chen Qiu usually took her with him when he entered the palace.
They still headed straight for the Yiku Palace, but this time not only the emperor and empress were there, but also the imperial concubine and Princess An Ning.
Chen Qiu subconsciously glanced at Ye Chen, only to see Ye Chen looking at them coldly. Chen Qiu knew why Ye Chen was like this, so he reached out and held Ye Chen's hand, then tightened it.
Ye Chen looked at Chen Qiu and signaled Chen Qiu not to worry.
The two men walked forward and saluted the four together. This time, unlike the previous times, Ye Chen no longer called the emperor uncle, but called him Your Majesty.
The Queen said with a smile: "The Imperial Concubine and An Ning also heard that you had the Lunar New Year celebration and that the Emperor was celebrating for you, so they came over to join in the fun!"
Ye Chen snorted coldly and said, "The Imperial Concubine is as well-informed as ever. I only just found out about it myself!"
The imperial concubine laughed and said, "An Ning went to check the list. She had been waiting there since dawn for it to be announced, so I knew about it a little early!"
Ye Chen glanced at An Ning, and An Ning took a step back unconsciously. She saw it clearly, the disgust in Ye Chen's eyes was so obvious, and there was also a strong murderous intent!
How could this happen? Why? She'd known him first, she'd been there for him in his most painful moments, so why would he want to kill her? Just for that woman? That woman with no looks, no literary talent, nothing to her?
An Ning couldn't understand. She looked at Ye Chen and wanted to ask him why, but her feet unconsciously stepped towards Ye Chen. The imperial concubine saw her and hurriedly pulled her back, and An Ning finally reacted.
Ye Chen and Shen Qiu also saw it. Ye Chen's mouth curled up, but An Ning shivered in fear. Was he mocking her? An Ning had never felt so cold before!
The emperor said, "Well, this is good news. Come, serve the meal!"
After everyone sat down, the emperor said, "Chen'er, you really didn't let me down. You're doing very well. Go back and burn some incense for my sister!"
The imperial concubine smiled and said, "Yes, the eldest princess only has Chen'er as her descendant, and the Ye family is small. Mrs. Chen'er is pregnant, and there is no one around her. Mrs. Chen'er, you have to think about Chen'er and not let him suffer all the time, right?"
Can't you wait for the meal to start? Chen Qiu looked at Ye Chen. Ye Chen didn't care whether the emperor had touched his chopsticks or not. He just picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it in Chen Qiu's bowl. He said, "I don't know what spices were used in the cooking. Eat less and don't eat anything unclean. You are pregnant now, so you must be careful about what you put in your mouth!"
Ye Chen then turned to the Imperial Concubine and said, "Your Highness, are you interfering in my family affairs? How deep is your hatred towards me that you want to make my family live in turmoil?"
"Could it be that if my family is not at peace, the Imperial Concubine will be at ease?"
The imperial concubine's face froze for a moment, then she calmly said, "I'm thinking of you too. Your Madam is pregnant and can't serve the Duke well. It wouldn't be a bad thing to have another close and trustworthy person!"
Chen Qiu sneered and was about to speak, but was interrupted by Princess An Ning. Princess An Ning said, "Cousin, my mother is doing this for your own good. Wouldn't it be nice to have one more person to serve you?"
Ye Chen removed the fish bones from the fish and put it in the bowl for Chen Qiu. Without even looking up, he just looked at Chen Qiu and said, "Qiu'er, this isn't good to eat. Let's go back first."
Then he said to the emperor: "Uncle, since this is a family dinner, I won't be polite with you. Qiu'er doesn't eat well, I have to take her back. Otherwise, why don't you come with me back to the Duke's Mansion to eat? There are too many people here and it's too noisy."
The emperor sighed helplessly and said, "Go back. We can celebrate together after you take the imperial examination next year."
Ye Chen stood up and bowed, saying, "Yes, thank you, uncle!"
Then he pulled Chen Qiu and was about to leave.
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