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"This horse's legs are exceptionally long, surpassing those of other horses."
Now that she has returned to the capital, the little princess still has to continue attending the court meetings.
On the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Qingyang was sitting on the imperial road on the west side of the Qianyuan Palace when he heard the Western Hu envoys speaking Chinese with a strange accent, promising to pay tribute to the dynasty.
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Qingyang sat on the east side of the imperial road, flipping through a book while listening to the case reports from the Censorate and the Dali Temple. By now, several corrupt officials and local tyrants who had been uncovered during his father's private tour to the north had been convicted and were awaiting sentencing.
On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the last court meeting of the tenth year of Xingwu, it was the time when the emperor and his ministers summarized the achievements of the year and looked forward to the next year. Qingyang yawned several times in succession until she heard the Minister of Works mention that the imperial mausoleum was expected to be completed in September of the next year. The little princess was suddenly stunned.
Today's court meeting went smoothly. After the court was dismissed, Emperor Xingwu, who had finished a year's state affairs, felt a sense of physical and mental relaxation. He smiled and walked towards the imperial road where his daughter was hiding. As a result, he saw a little princess with red eyes in the imperial road.
Before the ministers had completely left the hall, Emperor Xingwu tapped his daughter's cheek, fastened the hood of her cloak, and then led her out.
Arriving at the Central Hall, He Yuanjing ordered the eunuch to serve the meal. Emperor Xingwu sat on the warm couch and looked at his overly silent daughter. He asked, "Is it because of the imperial mausoleum?"
As soon as he said this, the little princess came over to bury herself.
Emperor Xingwu smiled, patted his daughter's shoulder, and said, "Silly Lin'er, most emperors start building their own mausoleums soon after ascending the throne. Your father is simply following imperial custom. It's not like you'll have to move into the mausoleum as soon as it's completed. Why are you crying?"
He followed the customs of the emperors, but did not want to learn the extravagance of some emperors. He asked the Ministry of Works to be as frugal as possible, so the entire construction period only took five or six years.
If he had not become emperor, he would not have to worry about his affairs after his death. His sons could bury him wherever they wanted.
Qingyang lay on his father's chest and said uncomfortably, "I don't want my father to grow old."
Emperor Xingwu: "Then Lin'er, please contact the gods in heaven and ask for an elixir of immortality for your father."
Qingyang was so angry that she laughed. She was no longer three years old and really thought she was a fairy in the sky.
Emperor Xingwu said: "Well, father is finally free. My son should be happy. After dinner, father will accompany you to the Imperial Garden to cut ice and fish."
Qingyang nodded, but couldn't help but keep looking at his father while eating.
Emperor Xingwu touched his face and asked, "Is my father old?"
The little princess immediately said loudly, "Father is not old at all!"
He was still as tall and strong as before, as wise and powerful as before, and loved and indulged her as before, but there were a few more silver strands in his black hair...
Qingyang stopped looking and lowered his head to eat.
Emperor Xingwu knew what his daughter was afraid of. In order to prove to her that her father was not old, when he arrived at the frozen lake in the imperial garden, Emperor Xingwu stopped fishing and ordered the palace servants to bring a wooden ice bed. He pushed his daughter from behind and ran on the ice.
The emperor ran very fast, and the little princess sitting on the ice bed screamed from time to time, and then burst into laughter after the fright.
Qin Ren, who had heard the news, stood by the lake. When his father pushed his sister closer, Qin Ren was eager to try, "Father, push me too?"
Emperor Xingwu glanced at his son and said cheerfully, "Wait!"
Qin Ren's eyes lit up!
After running another lap, Emperor Xingwu pushed his daughter in front of the third son. After the ice bed stopped, Emperor Xingwu asked his daughter to move forward, and then he sat on it. He held his daughter and ordered his son: "Since you want to play, I want to play too. Come on, push us for a lap first."
Qin Ren: “…”
.
The end of the year is still a joyous occasion. After New Year's Eve, it was the eleventh year of Xingwu, and students from all over the country once again welcomed the spring examination held every three years.
The Spring Examination ended in mid-February, and Emperor Xingwu personally presided over the palace examination in early March to select the top three scholars and the second and third place Jinshi of this Spring Examination.
The imperial examination was extremely important to students all over the world and to the imperial court. It was so grand and solemn that Qingyang did not go out to hang out when the Ministry of Rites was reviewing the candidates' files. But in mid-March, when his father hosted a banquet for civil and military officials and new scholars, Qingyang came to join him at the banquet, and still sat to the outside of his third brother so that he could see more clearly.
The top scholar was in his early thirties, with regular features and a refined demeanor. The second place scholar was twenty-six years old, plain in appearance but with a capable and sharp mind. The third place scholar was only twenty-two years old, with a jade-like face and peach blossom eyes. He was indeed the most handsome among all the scholars.
Seeing his sister staring at the third place winner, Qin Ren leaned over and whispered, "You're not attracted to him, are you?"
In the storybooks, the third place winner in the imperial examination is often chosen by the princess as her husband. His sister is precocious and her academic progress is as good as that of a fourteen-year-old student. Perhaps she also has her own ideas about marriage?
If this is true, Qin Ren has to persuade his sister well. Even if his sister is smart early, she is only ten years old. When his sister is sixteen or seventeen years old and can get married, the third place winner in the imperial examination will be almost thirty years old and not a match for his sister at all. If his sister wants to choose the third place winner, it would be better to wait for the third place winner in six years.
Qingyang glared at his third brother and whispered, "When they were standing just now, the third place winner and the second place winner were about the same height, but after sitting down, the third place winner was about half a hand taller than the second place winner."
Qin Ren glanced over again and it was just as his sister said!
But what does it have to do with him whether the third place winner has short legs or not? It’s okay as long as my sister doesn’t like him.
Qin Ren continued to eat and drink.
Today's banquet was primarily for Jinshi candidates, and with the added praise and comments from the civil officials, the atmosphere was filled with elegant writing. Prince Yong and Deng Chong, the two rough generals, knew their literary talents were limited, so they simply toasted each other and drank. The little princess glanced here and there when she suddenly caught Yan Xizheng's eye. Perhaps still remembering the time she'd asked him about his height, Yan Xizheng immediately turned his face away, no longer pretending.
Qingyang felt very wronged. She had no intention of mocking Yan Xizheng. She asked that question just because she wanted to set the height of the Left Prime Minister as her own goal. Because according to Qingyang's observation, there were many civil servants with a similar height to Yan Xizheng, and there were even a few who were shorter than Yan Xizheng. Qingyang was looking forward to the day when she would visit the former court again and she would no longer have to look up at every official she saw.
After the banquet, Qingyang returned to Jiuhua Palace to take a nap. When she woke up, Meng Yao, who had been summoned to the palace by the imperial concubine to be taken care of personally a few years ago, came to play with her. She mainly wanted to hear Qingyang talk about the new scholars.
Unlike Lu Wenrong's gentleness and quietness, and Yan Zhenzhen's simplicity and innocence that suits her age, Meng Yao is straightforward, talkative and cheerful, quite like her mother.
Qingyang picked out some funny stories to tell, but did not mention that the legs of the third place winner were shorter than those of the second place winner, so as to prevent Meng Yao from accidentally letting the cat out of the bag. If the news spread to the officials and scholars outside the palace, Qingyang would become the culprit causing the third place winner to be ridiculed.
The handsome and kind face of her third brother appeared in her mind. Qingyang guessed that her third brother would not spread her words. However, for the sake of caution, she would go and tell her third brother later. By the way, she should take this as a warning and control her mouth in the future.
"By the way, I plan to go out of the palace for a walk on the 20th. Would you like to come with me?" Qingyang invited Meng Yao on the way to find his sister-in-law.
Meng Yao really wanted to go, but she was still in mourning after all. The imperial concubine was afraid that she would be bored, so she often urged her to go out and play with the princess, but it was not appropriate for her to go out of the palace to play.
Qingyang only remembered this after asking, and took Meng Yao's hand and said, "Then I'll bring you some gifts."
Meng Yao: "Don't spend any money, I have everything I need."
In the blink of an eye, it was March 20th. Qingyang said goodbye to her father, the emperor, and her mother, and walked out of the palace with her third brother, who wanted to sleep in but was willing to accompany her out of the palace.
When they were still more than ten feet away from the palace gate, Qin Bing suddenly walked in from outside, wearing a royal blue brocade robe and holding a cage covered with silk cloth in his hand. When he saw his younger brother and sister, he quickened his pace.
Qingyang looked at the cage and asked suspiciously, "Could Second Brother have bought another parrot?"
Qin Bing smiled: "Don't worry, this one will definitely not bark."
As he spoke, he lifted the silk cloth, revealing a palm-sized brown-shelled turtle in a cage. The turtle's head was originally exposed, but when it saw the stranger, it suddenly retracted its head.
Qin Ren was happy: "This is good, quiet, and doesn't require much service. If Meng Yao doesn't like it, second brother can leave it to me."
Qin Bing: "...I sent it to my mother, what does it have to do with her?"
Qingyang directly took the third brother away.
After leaving the palace, Qingyang saw Zhang Su, who had been waiting there for a long time, wearing a blue-gray coarse cloth robe.
When getting on the bus, Qingyang looked at the fabric on the person next to him and wondered, "Why is he dressed so old-fashioned?"
Although nothing he wears can hide his natural good looks, Qingyang still hopes that Zhang Su will dress better because she likes to see him look more handsome.
Zhang Su looked at the footstool beneath the little princess's skirt and said, "I am still used to accompanying Your Highnesses as a guard."
Qingyang said unhappily, "Really? Then do my third brother and I have to give you a separate salary for accompanying the emperor today?"
Zhang Su looked at the third prince who was standing behind him.
Qin Ren immediately gave his sister a forced smile: "Go out of the palace and have fun, sister, don't bother with him."
Qingyang glared at his third brother: "He was the one who deliberately angered me first."
Qin Ren immediately scolded Zhang Su: "Next time, you must dress the same way as we do, and you are not allowed to dress like a guard anymore."
Zhang Su said respectfully, "Yes."
After the carriage set off, Zhang Su followed on horseback.
It was a clear spring day with a cool breeze. Qingyang asked her third brother to hang the curtains on both sides of the carriage, so that when she looked out, she could only see Zhang Su's handsome face. Her slight annoyance had long since passed. Qingyang beckoned Zhang Su to come closer, then teased him, "Have you seen the third place winner chosen by our father this year?"
Zhang Su shook his head.
Qingyang was about to say, "She's not as pretty as you," but suddenly remembered the advice she had given him two days ago, so he stopped talking.
All Zhang Su saw was the little princess smiling meaningfully, her eyes moving towards his legs straddling the horse's belly.
Zhang Su promptly rode his horse back a distance.
Seeing his sister staring outside, Qin Ren leaned over to peek out: "What are you looking at, sister?"
Qingyang's mind moved, and he pointed at Zhang Su's mount and said, "I think this horse's legs are exceptionally long, better than other horses."
She wanted Zhang Su to know that the top scholar, whom the people all wanted to see, was not as good as him.
Although Zhang Su was at a distance, he could still hear the voices of the two princes: "..."
Qin Ren hadn't carefully observed each horse's legs, but he trusted his sister's judgment, so he nodded and agreed, "It's quite long. You can tell it runs fast."
Qingyang took the opportunity to look at Zhang Su. He saw that he had his eyes downcast and pretended to be indifferent, but his ears turned red at the same time. It was obvious that he understood who she was praising. Qingyang was very happy. Before his third brother could find out, he pushed his third brother back to sit up straight, so that his third brother would not notice that there was something wrong with his study partner.
【Author’s words】
Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
There are some things I need to write about between the ages of 10 and 15, but each year went by so quickly that I won’t go into as much detail as I did when I was nine. After all, the groundwork had been laid pretty much. [Three-colored cat head]
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