Chapter 367 Past Life: Cesarean Section
Xu Jinnian has been in a good mood these past few days.
He received his first month's salary and rented a small courtyard in a corner of the south of the city.
The courtyard is really small, with only two large rooms, one used as a bedroom and the other as a main room. Next to the main room are a small kitchen and a storage room.
Xu Jinnian had just started working at the Hanlin Academy, and his monthly salary was only four taels of silver. This small courtyard was the best one he could find within his means.
Although the courtyard was small, he kept it very clean. Yesterday, he took advantage of his day off to move his things over to the Jiang residence.
The thought of his wife receiving the letter and being on her way to reunite with him in the capital brought a smile to Xu Jinnian's lips.
Originally, the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) would have a three-month vacation after the spring examinations. However, just one day before he was about to return to Qingzhou, the Hanlin Academy urgently needed manpower to assist the historians in revising an important historical book, so he was temporarily pulled away to help.
Xu Jinnian had no choice but to write a letter overnight, asking his classmate Fang Qingzhou to deliver it to Sheng An, and also arranged for people to escort her to the capital.
During the waiting period, Xu Jinnian kept adding new items to the small courtyard, and his colleagues all knew that his wife was coming to the capital to reunite with him.
On this day, Xu Jinnian had just arrived at the Hanlin Academy when someone from the palace summoned him to the palace to lecture Emperor Jinghe.
He was not a lecturer, but was suddenly summoned by Emperor Jinghe to give a lecture. He was surprised for a moment, and then, amidst the envious gazes of his colleagues, he went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation with the palace servants.
Emperor Jinghe clearly remembered Xu Jinnian. After expressing his regret about Master Jiang, the emperor changed the subject and asked:
"Minister Xu is in the prime of his life. Several people have mentioned you to me, and even my niece has feelings for you. I wish to make you and Princess Shanmin a perfect match and bestow a marriage upon you."
Xu Jinnian's expression changed slightly, and he immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, I already have a wife, how could I be worthy to covet Princess Shanmin!"
He didn't know this woman at all, and didn't even know where she came from. Why would His Majesty suddenly think of bestowing a marriage upon him?
Xu Jinnian's mind raced as she pondered Emperor Jinghe's intentions. Risking the emperor's wrath, she decisively rejected the marriage proposal.
Emperor Jinghe's face darkened, and his tone changed from gentle to mild: "It's perfectly normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. What, is the only precious daughter of the dignified Princess Pingyuan not good enough for Minister Xu?"
Upon hearing the title "Princess Pingyuan," Xu Jinnian's tense mind relaxed slightly.
He was new to officialdom, but he already knew from his teacher that His Majesty and Princess Pingyuan were outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds.
The power of Princess Pingyuan's faction has already threatened His Majesty's authority.
His Majesty is not a foolish and incompetent ruler; he cannot tolerate Princess Pingyuan indefinitely.
So, is His Majesty using the marriage as a pretext to test his attitude and see if he is capable?
Xu Jinnian made up his mind and bowed deeply to Emperor Jinghe on the dragon throne:
"Your Majesty, my humble servant and my wife made a vow to grow old together when we were young. At that time, my father was seriously ill and bedridden, and my wife took care of him day and night at his bedside."
To support my studies and to pay for my father's medical treatment and medicine, my wife, a woman, has shouldered the heavy responsibility of supporting the family. Every day before dawn, she sets up a stall on the street to sell wontons, without a single day of rest, regardless of the harsh cold or scorching heat..."
At this point, Xu Jinnian's eyes reddened, and his voice became dry and choked with emotion: "Later, my father was beyond medical help. Before he died, he repeatedly instructed me to treat my wife well, otherwise he would not be able to die in peace."
Before my father's grave, I swear that I will hold my wife's hand for the rest of my life, until we grow old together. If I break this vow, may I suffer all the hardships of the world and die a miserable death in my old age.
My father's instructions were true, but the oath I made at his grave was false.
He and An'an don't need vows; they only need to show their feelings through actions.
Xu Jinnian bowed deeply again and apologized to Emperor Jinghe: "Your Majesty, I have failed to live up to your good intentions. Please punish me."
Emperor Jinghe on the dragon throne did not speak, but stared at him with his eyes slightly narrowed.
Inside the hall, the sound of a compass needle could be heard, and the palace servants standing on either side dared not even breathe, each burying their heads as if they did not exist.
After a long while, Emperor Jinghe's majestic voice came from above Xu Jinnian's head:
"You have already sworn a solemn oath at your father's grave. If I insist on granting you this marriage, it may implicate Shanmin. Go home and reflect on your actions for a month. I do not wish to see you for the time being."
Xu Jinnian breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"
As a seventh-rank compiler, he was not qualified to attend court and participate in government affairs.
A month of confinement for reflection was less of a punishment and more of a long vacation for him.
That's perfect, An'an is almost in the capital, he can spend some quality time with her.
Xu Jinnian was secretly pleased, but returned to the Hanlin Academy with a dejected look on his face. Amidst the strange looks from his colleagues, he explained the situation to his superior and went home under his superior's sympathetic gaze.
While he waited expectantly at home for Sheng'an, one evening there was a knock on the small courtyard gate.
Xu Jinnian thought the person she was waiting for had arrived, and could no longer contain her excitement as she went to open the door.
Upon seeing his two classmates standing before him, their expressions filled with grief and remorse, but not the person he longed for day and night, Xu Jinnian's face instantly turned deathly pale...
Sheng An died, along with her unborn child, at the hands of the assassin.
Zhang Daikui also died; he was killed by an assassin while protecting Sheng An.
Overnight, my lover, child, and cousin were all gone!
Xu Jinnian's hair turned white overnight. After the funeral, he bid farewell to his mentor and relatives and friends like a normal person, and returned to the capital with a death wish.
Driven by a desire for revenge, he became Emperor Jinghe's sharpest weapon, using every means to climb the ranks and leveraging the manpower entrusted to him by Master Jiang to gradually drive Princess Pingyuan into a corner.
The innocent people he dragged into the mess became cannon fodder for his revenge, his hands were stained with blood, and his humanity was extinguished by the hatred that accumulated day by day.
In just three years, Xu Jinnian rose to a high position at a speed that left all officials speechless, and ultimately dealt the most fatal blow to Princess Pingyuan, making her faction pay the price for his tragically murdered wife and daughters.
However, he spared Mu Yuanzhen, letting a death row inmate drink the poisoned wine for her, and secretly kept her outside the prison.
Mu Yuanzhen thought Xu Jinnian had feelings for her. After losing all her support, she clung to him as if grasping at the last straw, but she didn't notice the intense hatred in Xu Jinnian's eyes.
Just as Mu Yuanzhen fell completely in love with Xu Jinnian, to the point of losing his own personality, she was diagnosed with pregnancy.
Xu Jinnian looked tenderly at Mu Yuanzhen's flat stomach and said to her flattered gaze, "Take good care of yourself during your pregnancy. I'm really looking forward to this child."
Mu Yuanzhen believed it. Even though Xu Jinnian was very cold to her and never stayed overnight in the courtyard, she still firmly believed that Xu Jinnian loved her and the child in her womb.
When the child was seven months old, Xu Jinnian, under Mu Yuanzhen's horrified and incredulous gaze, raised a knife and mercilessly cut open her stomach, personally digging out the already formed female fetus.
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