In an instant, Qian Shengyan broke out in a sweat.
Oh no! There's no such thing as the Examination Hall yet. How did she... how did she bring it up?!
How can I cover it up... no, how can I explain it?
As for Yinzhen, he was even more shocked.
The idea of establishing an examination office to review and approve each allocation of funds was something he had only come up with in the last six months, but it had been delayed due to various issues. He had some free time recently, but his preferred supervisor, Thirteen, was still in the south dealing with water conservancy matters, so he had no one to discuss it with and thus put it on hold.
Yinzhen always liked to make plans in detail, then revise them into documents and issue them out. In particular, he thought that next year's selection of concubines might be forced by the pressure from his ministers to bring in new concubines. In order to protect Qian Shengyan's dignity, he specially wrote a set of rules for the morning and evening greetings in the harem, including the earliest time to arrive, the latest time to finish, what rank and above had seats, and what rank and below could only stand, etc.
Therefore, Yinzhen also wrote down the specific rules for the establishment, rules, introduction, emergency affairs, etc. of the examination hall, but these things were all in the West Warm Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and he never brought them out.
The memorial was written just last month, but Qian Shengyan's last visit to the West Warm Pavilion was last year.
Did someone else leak it to her?
However, regarding the matter of the Imperial Examination Office, Yinzhen has been thinking about it on his own and has not consulted anyone else. Apart from him and the plans on his desk, no one else knows about it.
Did someone sneak a peek and tell her? What was the motive? To take such a big risk?
Besides, not everyone can understand those things. Even Su Peisheng, who has served him the longest, only knows a few common characters and can't understand anything slightly more complicated.
Was it Qian Shengyan who secretly sneaked into the West Warm Pavilion to see it?
However... apart from handling state affairs in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Yinzhen spent almost all his time with Qian Shengyan. Moreover, countless palace servants knew what Qian Shengyan did and where she went every day. Sometimes when Yinzhen thought of asking, Su Peisheng could answer immediately, which showed that more than one pair of eyes were watching her.
Moreover, it comes down to the same question: what is she after by looking at the plans he wrote? If she is interested, she can ask him openly and honestly, and he will answer her openly and honestly.
Looking at how naturally she said it today, she didn't seem guilty at all.
Even if Yinzhen didn't believe it, there was only one guess left: "Did you come up with this yourself?"
What a coincidence! They're so perfectly in sync!
Qian Shengyan: ...
She didn't know what kind of mental journey Yinzhen had gone through, but his expression went from shock to confusion to frowning and silence, and finally, somehow, he managed to turn into surprise.
Seeing his bright, sparkling eyes, Qian Shengyan chuckled twice, deciding to shift the blame without hesitation: "Perhaps Your Majesty has forgotten? You mentioned the Imperial Examination Hall to me before, but you weren't very clear about it; it was just my guess..."
Seeing that Yinzhen's expression had turned to confusion again, Qian Shengyan immediately laughed it off: "Perhaps I remembered it wrong... or perhaps I was dreaming."
As she said this, Yinzhen found his own reason—perhaps one day he was thinking too much about the examination hall and accidentally uttered it in his sleep, which was overheard by the sleeping Qian Shengyan, who vaguely remembered it and treated it as something that had already happened, which is why she casually mentioned it today.
Having figured all this out, Yinzhen gasped in shock—he actually had a habit of talking in his sleep?!
If it weren't Qian Shengyan sleeping next to him, but someone else, then...
Yinzhen dared not think about that outcome.
If asked who in the entire palace he trusted the most, it wasn't Su Peisheng, who had been by his side the longest, but Qian Shengyan.
She was an orphan with no family, and everything she had was given to her by him. Moreover, he gave her the highest honor a woman could have. Apart from not having the title of Empress, Yinzhen believed that she was no different from an Empress. In fact, Qian Shengyan's background was too poor, and it might not be a good thing to force her to sit on the Empress's throne.
As things stand now, that's for the best. Ulanara is a prominent Manchu family and was personally chosen by the late Emperor. They have the face of an Empress, but not the substance. This is good for Qian Shengyan.
Moreover, not only now, but her future is also secured—he favors Hongli, which should be an unspoken secret between them.
If even this isn't enough, what else could Qian Shengyan possibly want?
An empress?
Yinzhen almost laughed at the thought. With Qian Shengyan's lazy nature, she needed two people to help her with even the smallest matters in the harem. She even needed two palace maids to help with the monthly accounts. How could she be the emperor and have to get up at three in the morning every day to attend court? She would probably abdicate.
That's why Yinzhen trusted Qian Shengyan the most, because he knew that Qian Shengyan was the one he couldn't live without.
Su Peisheng was loyal, but that didn't necessarily mean he had no other thoughts—there were always emperors who came and went, but the chief steward remained constant by the emperor's side.
Qian Shengyan was the only one who bore him children, risked her life for him, and was the only person he trusted most.
He could only sleep peacefully when she was by his side.
Even before going to bed, Qian Shengyan couldn't understand why her slip of the tongue had brought Yinzhen even more gentle treatment.
Could it be that he... mistook her for a prophetic fairy?
However, Qian Shengyan didn't want to try it again; her delicate heart couldn't withstand such torment.
The snowfall in December this year was just right, neither too much nor too little, and Qian Shengyan finally moved back to Yongshou Palace as she wished, gaining her own independent space—except at night.
Qian Shengyan wondered why Yinzhen was so free. In the dead of winter, he would brave the wind and snow to visit Yongshou Palace and sleep there. She wanted to ask him if the dragon bed in the back hall of Yangxin Hall, which was almost three meters wide, was just for show.
But since the Emperor was coming, she couldn't turn him away. She could only occasionally work overtime at night and waited for New Year's Eve.
Qian Shengyan skipped the New Year's Eve banquet last year. It is said that Ulanara made it very lively. In addition, it was the first New Year's Eve banquet after the three-year mourning period. The sound of silk and bamboo instruments echoed throughout half of the Forbidden City, and five kinds of wine were served.
Qian Shengyan sighed as she looked at the example of last year's New Year's Eve banquet: "Qingxue, go and invite Consort Yu and Consort Guo."
"Your Majesty has forgotten? Consort Guo is checking the year-end accounts, and Consort Yu is verifying the list of ladies from both inside and outside the court who came to pay their respects," Qingxue said with a smile.
Qian Shengyan: ...
She managed to utter, "Consort Song..."
Before she could finish speaking, she covered her forehead.
Consort Song and Consort Wu were both old servants who had served Yinzhen in his early years, even before Ulanara entered the palace. Moreover, their families were not prominent, they were not very literate, and they had never handled palace affairs before. If Qian Shengyan wanted to use them, she would have to teach them for a while longer.
Let's hold a talent show soon, and select some cute girls who can read and do math!
Thinking of this, Qian Shengyan's eyes suddenly lit up. She waved her hand and said, "Quickly, call Huaiyue, Hehui, and Duanrou over, and also ask Consort Guo to bring the account books!"
Qingxue: ...
“The princesses are all grown up now, it’s time for them to learn how to manage things,” Qian Shengyan said matter-of-factly. Besides, Princess Duanrou is so good at math, how could we let that opportunity go to waste?
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