Before he was granted the title of Jinshi, the wealthy families and minor officials in the town had extended olive branches to him, but Wang Haoze was so obsessed with passing the imperial examination that he was born with a lack of emotional connection and remained single.
Other students with similar backgrounds can only envy and be jealous. Since ancient times, marriage has been for the purpose of providing support.
Didn’t this newly arrived fellow Jinshi stay in the capital through marriage?
He only regretted that he did not have enough self-control at the beginning. He was moved by the mere money and got married early, thus losing the support of his powerful father-in-law.
Outsiders watch the fun, but to see what’s going on inside, one can only focus on Wang Haoze’s married life.
Li Yahan, the daughter of the Shangshu Lord's family, married an unknown fellow Jinshi, and became the talk of the town's noble ladies for most of half a year.
On the first night of her marriage, Li Yahan made three rules with Wang Haoze.
Husband and wife do not share a room.
Wang Haoze is not allowed to take in a concubine.
The Wang family is not allowed to come to Beijing.
Why could Wang Haoze tolerate such unreasonable demands?
This is because the woman is very powerful, while he is just an insignificant fellow Jinshi, a large number of whom are selected every three years.
Even though he has shown his face in front of the powerful, it is still as easy for the real powerful to kill him as it is to kill an ant.
What's more, he knew how much his family had suffered so that he could pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi.
He couldn't bear to see his family's efforts go to waste, nor could he bear to see the Wang family destroyed.
He reported for work on time every day and thanks to his influence in the Shangshu Mansion, almost no one in the Hanlin Academy bothered him.
The main reason is that his colleagues think he is too boring. No matter how sarcastic you are to him, he remains indifferent and may even give you a smile that is uglier than crying. It will become boring if you do it a few more times.
It was not until three months after his wedding that he ran into his nominal wife who was strolling in the garden in the house purchased by the Li family.
Who else could that woman with a big belly that can't be covered up be but the high and mighty Li Yahan?
Wang Haoze pointed at Li Yahan's stomach with one hand and covered his heart with the other. He spat out a mouthful of blood and his body went limp.
"This is too much! This is too much!" He sounded a little weak.
Li Yahan was a little scared at first that her secret was discovered, but later, seeing that Wang Haoze was so useless, she became more fearless.
This entire house was purchased by her Li family, and the indentures of the servants inside were in her hands. Even the servant who served Wang Haoze personally was arranged by her father. What did she have to be afraid of?
"You are just a peasant, yet you dream of marrying a lady from an official family like me? You are a dirty fellow who is not even worthy of carrying my shoes." Li Yahan had long wanted to humiliate this countryman who had taken her husband's place.
"You, you, you have fallen into depravity... Does your father-in-law know about it?" Wang Haoze accused.
Li Yahan waved away the servants serving in the garden and wanted to say that you are not worthy to call my father-in-law, but after all, she was now the daughter-in-law of the Wang family.
"You were carefully selected by my father. Do you think my father knows this?" Li Yahan said sarcastically, holding her belly.
Wang Haoze recalled the miscellaneous information he had heard from the Hanlin Academy, combined with the information he had read with his teacher in the past, to discern the situation in the palace.
He had a hunch that this child could not be kept!
If this illegitimate child could be born, why didn't Li Yahan just marry the biological father of the illegitimate child?
Given Minister Li's rank, there are very few people in the court whose family cannot hold a proper wedding.
Even if he is a royal prince and has a principal wife, it is also possible for her to marry into the family as a concubine.
unless……
Wang Haoze was covered in cold sweat, and at this moment he particularly regretted why he didn't wait three more years before taking part in the Spring Examination.
When I was analyzing the current situation with the Master, I anticipated that there would most likely be a struggle for the throne in the capital.
The previous emperor was over 70 years old when he passed away. Although the successor Emperor Jing of Xia was not the eldest son, he was also over 50 years old.
The reason why Emperor Jing was able to ascend the throne at the age of over fifty was not only because he was well-respected among his brothers, but also because he had many descendants, so he did not have to worry about the instability of the throne and the lack of successors.
Emperor Jingdi had been on the throne for just over nine years when he began to suffer from a series of illnesses, both major and minor. There were many princes under him, and the factions were chaotic and the fighting was even more brutal. Emperor Jingdi could only barely maintain his balance with his frail body.
Wang Haoze's teacher intends to take on a class of disciples, and maybe he can wait until the new emperor ascends the throne and opens a special examination.
But there are many experts in the palace, and who knows how much truth there is in the news coming from the court. How can ordinary people like them who live at the bottom of society get first-hand information?
Wang Haoze is limited by his family background and knowledge.
The Master was able to obtain the court bulletin and a number of reference resources by using all his connections.
The alternation of the old and the new is a risk for some big families, but for ordinary people like them, it may be an opportunity.
If the truly gifted ones give up taking this subject, the chances of these poor people making the list will be even greater.
After weighing various factors, the two decided to ignore the advice and take part in the Spring Examination.
Even if he passed the imperial examination, a powerless little boy like him would hardly be noticed by those in power.
Li Yahan looked at Wang Haoze, who was sitting on the ground in a state of disgrace, and looked down upon this peasant even more from the bottom of her heart.
She slowly lowered her body, leaned close to Wang Haoze's ear and whispered, "My belly is precious. It contains someone you can't afford to offend. Remember, it's someone you can't afford to offend. Do you think you are worthy of the child in my belly calling you father? Pah!"
Wang Haoze was shocked by Li Yahan's words. He was so angry that he wanted to push Li Yahan down, but his hand unconsciously retracted.
Although I have less communication with my colleagues in the Hanlin Academy these days, I can always hear something.
The seventh son of Emperor Jing was named Prince Shun and granted the land of Yunzhou. All the military power in his hands was also taken back.
Emperor Jing originally wanted Prince Shun to go directly to his fiefdom after being conferred the title, but the newly appointed crown prince advised him that his father had not yet recovered and his sons should take turns serving him.
So all the princes, big and small, were stranded in Beijing because of the crown prince's words.
Who knows which prince or noble’s illegitimate child is in Li Yahan’s belly?
The olive branch from the Minister of Personnel and Li Yahan's pregnancy reminded Wang Haoze that Emperor Jing was really in trouble.
And the prince could never have had an affair with Li Yahan, because the Li family sent their concubine's daughter into the backyard of the Eastern Palace.
So even if Wang Haoze wanted to surrender to the Eastern Palace, he couldn't touch Li Yahan's belly for the time being.
Compared with the Minister of Personnel, the Eastern Palace naturally looked down on the sincerity of this small Hanlin.
He secretly hated it, but he could do nothing about it.
After ten months of pregnancy, Li Yahan gave birth to a son.
Wang Haoze still lived in the outer courtyard, and they did not interfere with each other, and on the surface, everything seemed to be at peace.
Another spring.
After Emperor Jing died, the crown prince succeeded to the throne. Prince Shun contacted his old subordinates to rebel under the pretext of leaving the capital.
In the summer of the same year, Prince Shun's heirs were all killed in the chaos. The new emperor, out of great mercy, allowed the remaining Prince Shun and many of his female relatives to be imprisoned in the imperial mausoleum and not allowed to leave for life.
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