Chapter 65
"Just as the newly crowned number one scholar was about to meet His Majesty and express his wish for nothing, the Emperor interrupted him and said, 'There are countless beauties in the capital, why choose just one?' The number one scholar bowed respectfully again and said, 'We've been childhood sweethearts, and we've made a promise that won't change!'"
In the carriage, Prince Shou heavily lowered the curtain. Wang Xuan knelt beside him and couldn't help thinking that if the curtain made a sound, it would let the whole city know that he was dissatisfied with the number one scholar.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but want to vent Prince Shou's anger, so he spoke cautiously.
"Slave, go down and tell these storytellers to shut up?"
Prince Shou opened his mouth, as if he was about to say the word "go", but after a while, he closed his mouth without saying anything, knocked on the car board to signal him to leave quickly and stay away from the tavern that made him angry.
But although the person is gone, the words are still lingering in my mind.
He had endured it for five days, but he didn't expect that this incident would have such a great impact on him. Now he even dared not to see Qingning again.
When he saw her, he intuitively felt that some of his feelings would be rekindled, and he didn't want to cause trouble for himself at this critical juncture.
The carriage passed through the streets and stopped at the gate of the Princess's Mansion.
My aunt has been feeling unwell since the New Year. She has summoned Doctor Teng several times, but her condition has not improved.
Doctor Teng also said that the disease was caused by accumulated depression, and if the knot in his heart was not resolved, the disease would probably get worse.
Prince Shou didn't dare ask her to wait any longer, fearing that she wouldn't see the day when her wish came true. But he was also afraid that if her wish really came true, the old lady would forget about everything and pass away. Who would be left by his side then?
It was not until he entered the warm room and saw her haggard but slightly radiant face that Prince Shou felt a little relieved.
When the old lady saw him rushing in, she started joking again.
"What? I just asked you to come over and sit with me. It's not something serious. Why are you so anxious? Are you afraid that you won't be able to see your aunt for the last time?"
Prince Shou replied, "I dare not! It's just that I haven't seen my aunt for a long time, and I have lost my composure for a moment."
Seeing him like this, the eldest princess knew that he had failed in love again and laughed at him.
"I told you to talk more on a daily basis, but you're like a wooden man, only talking about politics. Now look what you're going to do! Someone else has gotten there first. Let's see what you're going to do!"
"Nothing to do, just let her go!"
He let her go, but one of his hands was still stroking the engagement ring, rubbing the tiger stripes so hard that they were almost invisible.
The eldest princess saw it all and knew that he felt regretful, but she didn't know how to help him.
Not to mention that her words had no weight in front of the emperor, even Qingning couldn't persuade her to turn back! She had already cried for that man a long time ago, and the karma she had planted in her heart was much heavier than Ah Heng's. Ah Heng came later, how could she compare with him!
Thinking of this, the eldest princess sighed heavily again and asked the nanny to call Qingning over.
Upon hearing that she was coming, Prince Shou tried to avoid her and immediately stood up to leave.
The eldest princess did not stop him when she saw him like this, but just whispered behind him.
"If we don't meet this time, I don't know if the next time we meet will be at someone else's wedding. By then, the bride will be covered with a red veil, and we won't even be able to see her face!"
Upon hearing this, Prince Shou paused for a long moment before stepping out of the door.
However, when Yue Qingning arrived at the mansion, the eldest princess had not yet met him, and he met Prince Shou at the door.
He hesitated, not knowing what to mean. When he saw her coming, he invited her to the backyard with a very bad look to discuss things.
"You asked me to investigate earlier, and I've gotten some clues. I heard that a prince of Shuhu was lost in a war twenty years ago, and the treasure he was transporting also vanished, and their whereabouts are unknown."
Yu Qingning's brows furrowed when he heard this. "Isn't that Gong Heyuan? He suddenly appeared in the capital with a large amount of treasure twenty years ago. He turned out to be Prince Shuhu. Then the queen must be Princess Shuhu? What's their purpose in going to such great lengths to conceal their identities?"
Prince Shou said, "Perhaps he intends to use Shu Hu's bloodline to usurp the throne and make Da Sheng his puppet."
Yue Qingning was shocked. "How is that possible? He's a small, remote country surrounded by wolves and tigers. Besides, the Crown Prince is only half-foreign, and the Crown Princess is still a member of the Yao family. The blood relationship is not a big deal."
Prince Shou couldn't figure out the reason behind this. He had previously found out that Marquis Qingyuan had been sending some foreign women to the palace for the prince to look at, but he suddenly stopped doing so not long after. It didn't seem like he took this matter seriously.
Is there any other reason behind this?
Could it be that he, the Marquis of Qingyuan, intends to usurp the throne?
The two of them thought of this at the same time and dispelled their doubts at the same time. This was not their Shu Hu's territory. Even if he really rebelled, the people alone could drown him, a foreigner, with just a few spit.
The two were trying hard to think, and they didn't hear Nanny Yang, who was beside the eldest princess, coming over and serving them some Panax notoginseng lotus root powder soup. The Panax notoginseng powder was bitter, and the two of them put it in their mouths without even looking at it, only to frown at the bitterness.
Seeing that they had indeed fallen for it, Nanny Yang laughed and said, "Just as the Princess said, you can't taste it without rock sugar. I think you two still have a trace of the spirit left in the world!"
They talked and laughed for a long time before they left. After they left, both sides came back to their senses from their previous deep thoughts. Prince Shou put down the bowl first, pinched the white porcelain wall with two fingers and placed it on the table, his eyes moving around for a long time.
"I haven't congratulated you yet. It must be a great honor for you to have the top scholar of the dynasty ask for your hand in marriage."
Yue Qingning didn't hear the hidden meaning in his words, and just kept responding, "Yeah! I didn't expect that either."
What did you not expect? Did you not expect that he has you in his heart, waiting for the opportunity to fly to the branch and win the first prize?
A fawning servant, not even as good as Cui Hu.
He concealed the deep disgust in his eyes and did not reveal too much of his attention to him. Since Qingning hoped that he would not ask, then he would not ask. According to the old rules, in fact, a person with so many secrets like him would be exposed without anyone else's help.
The two of them once again expressed insincere congratulations on the marriage and agreed to it. When Yue Qingning came back from the eldest princess, he ran into Que Ming who had just returned from his duty, and they happened to be riding in the same carriage home.
Xu Lianzhou is still temporarily living in the hometown association hall. He thought he could have a companion with his brother Ling Shuang, but who would have thought that after an imperial decree of marriage, he would no longer live in the association hall, but would move into his father-in-law's house.
In the carriage, Yue Qingning couldn't help laughing when she heard him describe Mr. Xu's only son in this way, with her eyes curved with laughter.
"The Hanlin Academy is a prestigious government office in the capital. His salary is not high, so it is unlikely that he will be able to buy property in the capital for the time being. If you don't mind, why not invite Master Xu to live with us?"
Que Ming originally just wanted to make her laugh, but he didn't expect that she would actually consider him.
He hurriedly said, "Don't bother with that! The Xu family has a simple tradition. Even if we force him to live here temporarily, he won't be willing to do so."
After saying that, he added in her ear, "I'm afraid his old man will find out and break his legs!"
As he spoke, it felt like he was blowing into her ear. Yue Qingning felt very uncomfortable with the itch and was about to turn her head to avoid it, but he grabbed her arm and kept her in place.
The subtle warmth on her upper arm continued to spread from the center, and she felt an extremely subtle caress slowly moving up from under her sleeve.
With each breath, her cheeks seemed to be getting hot. She couldn't help but pursed her lips, and then she heard a gurgling sound in Que Ming's throat.
It seemed as if it should be like this. There had been countless times between them that they had been more intimate than this, but never as intense as the atmosphere at this moment when he was twisting her sleeve with two fingers.
Her already beautiful face was now sharpened and straightened by the years. Her green official uniform was tied upright by the belt. She had broad shoulders, a wasp waist and a sloping back. At this moment, she looked like a tough willow pressing down on her, which was really tempting.
Yue Qingning felt that he was trapped in a small space and could hardly breathe. He was so anxious that he didn't know what he was thinking. He raised his hand to hold his official hat and helped him take it off.
Que Ming was also stunned by this.
He hadn't meant to ask her to take off her hat; he had meant to...
But now, there’s no point in thinking about it anymore!
So he tugged at his collar to hide his embarrassment, and followed her, "It's been pressing on my head for so long, it's really a little inconvenient."
Even though she was given a way out, Yue Qingning breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing whether she felt relieved or regretful. Her mind was in a mess, and the intelligence that she was usually proud of was gone. She couldn't even make a sound, which made the atmosphere stagnant.
When they finally got back to the door of their home, someone came up and lifted the curtain to invite them down.
Yue Qingning turned around and only saw the irritation that flashed across Que Ming's face, but when he saw her looking at him, he immediately relaxed his brows and smiled at her easily.
As soon as she met his eyes, she would regret it.
Yue Qingning thought that the aura of keeping strangers away from him had dissipated a lot because of her, but she was still so ungrateful.
So when she got off the car, she pretended to get something, turned around and approached Que Ming quickly.
He didn't try to dodge, and even though he knew he might get hit, he turned towards her with his neck stiff and asked her if she wanted anything else.
What can I take?
She quickly kissed him on the cheek, then quickly shrank back, avoiding his burning gaze and got off the carriage.
The person in the car was still in shock. When Lao Sun came over to help him, he only saw Que Ming standing in a daze and stroking the side of his face. He immediately guessed what the young lady had just done.
As early as when he won the first place in the imperial examination and entered the mansion, the master had repeatedly reminded the servants that this was the first place in the imperial examination and had nothing to do with the Que Ming of the past.
But in his opinion, this kid is still the same even after becoming the top scholar. As soon as he sees a young lady, he will immediately turn into a fool.
Old Sun coughed heavily and reached out to help him.
Que Ming got out of the car and was still immersed in the sweet atmosphere until he returned to the yard, even with a smile on his lips while eating.
When Mrs. Zhong saw this, she immediately understood the atmosphere between the two. After all, she and her husband had been there in the same way. She knew at a glance that it was her daughter teasing the silly boy again.
She glanced at her husband inconspicuously, and when Minister Yue saw this, he could only sigh.
The good students he taught were smart enough to get the top score in the imperial examination, but in other aspects, they were so confused by a maid that he didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether he should sigh for the students or be happy for his daughter.
On the day of meeting the emperor, when he walked through the crowd to explain the matter to him, Minister Yue thought that this guy had gone crazy after passing the imperial examination and dared to marry a woman who had stabbed him in the past.
But he later thought about it and realized that if it weren't for Qingning, no one else would be able to get close to him. Being hurt by her just proved that the two of them were in a complicated relationship.
I am old now and I can’t figure out what the younger generations are thinking!
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