Pei Wenxuan was stunned by Li Rong's words. Li Rong looked at the young man kneeling in front of her and said slowly, "Stand up. If you and I were a king and a subject, you could kneel before me. If you treat me as your wife, you don't have to do this. I know you don't want to argue with me, but I don't need you to be so tolerant."

"I'm not a naive girl in her teens," Li Rong poured herself some tea, "I won't change my mind just because you kneel down to me. It will only make me feel like you're forcing me."

Pei Wenxuan was at a loss for a moment when he heard this. After hesitating for a long time, Li Rong looked up at him and said, "Why, do you still want me to help you?"

Pei Wenxuan finally stood up after hearing this. Li Rong patted her side and said softly, "Sit down."

Pei Wenxuan agreed to her words and sat down next to Li Rong, who was lying on the rocking chair, rocking slowly and leisurely: "You think I won't agree with you doing this, but do you know why I don't agree?"

"This time, your majesty's ultimate intention is to set a quota."

"Quota?"

Li Rong raised her eyes. Pei Wenxuan did not hide the truth from her. He told her the truth: "Starting from this year, the number of people recommended by aristocratic families must be set. Or the candidates who are from the imperial examination system must have a place to go. After training here for at least a year, they will be assigned to various departments by the Ministry of Personnel."

The biggest problem facing the Imperial College now is that officials from humble backgrounds will not be able to reach positions of real power unless Li Ming keeps an eye on them.

The poor families in Daxia now include two types of people: low-class families like the Pei family and the Qin family, and ordinary families that are not even included in the clan genealogy.

The so-called aristocratic families in Daxia were defined by whether or not they were listed in the "clan genealogy".

The clan genealogy is revised every few hundred years, recording the most recognized noble families in various places. The clan genealogy divides these noble families into first, second, and third levels. Nobles of different levels can intermarry with each other, and if they jump to a higher level, it is a great honor.

All families were proud of marrying into the first-class noble families. And the children of the first-class noble families would never marry into the lower noble families even if they were single for their whole lives.

This marriage method, which has been practiced among the people for hundreds of years, has established the absolute right of the noble families to speak in the court. In order to balance the original noble families, the Li family married the Shangguan family of Fanyang, Youzhou, and brought this local family at the end of the eight major families into the capital as a way to check and balance the southern families.

But three generations later, the Shangguan family dominated the court and had intricate connections with other aristocratic families to counter the imperial power. Li Ming realized the drawbacks of this method of balancing aristocratic families with aristocratic families, so he reopened the imperial examination system based on the experience of the previous dynasty, hoping to balance the court through this method of selecting talents not limited to family.

Li Ming forced the imperial examination, but the aristocratic families also had their own ways. Not to mention whether these ordinary children from poor families could pass the imperial examination, even if they passed it, the official positions of hundreds of candidates each year were arranged by the Ministry of Personnel, and they were all placed in positions that were hard, tiring and had no future.

It is difficult to take an examination, it is difficult to pass the examination, it is difficult to become an official after passing the examination, and it is difficult to get promoted after being assigned.

If Pei Wenxuan had not had Pei Lizhi's support, how could he have become the top scholar?

If Cui Yulang had not been appreciated by a noble for his poetry, his test paper would probably never have reached Li Ming's hands.

This year, the imperial examination was handed over to Pei Wenxuan, and the palace examination was to be made a regular practice in order to solve the problem of the difficulty of the examination.

Limiting the number of nominations from aristocratic families, or standardizing the destination of candidates from imperial examinations in their first year of office, is intended to solve the problem of difficulty in becoming an official.

Li Rong listened to Pei Wenxuan's words, thought for a moment, and then understood where these candidates would go after the exam: "So, the place where these candidates who passed the imperial examinations will go in their first year is the inner cabinet, right?"

The memorial hall was burned down, so Li Ming immediately set up a temporary memorial hall called the Inner Cabinet.

At that time, they just thought that Li Ming wanted to prevent the memorial from being controlled by the noble families and reach him, but now that Li Ming made this request, Li Rong finally understood: "Did the emperor have planned this long ago?"

"Your Highness, before His Majesty asked you to build the Supervisory Department, he had prepared the land, soldiers, and money for many years. If you didn't build the Supervisory Department, he would have asked Concubine Rou to build it sooner or later. You gave him the opportunity to build the Supervisory Department. Given His Majesty's personality, it is impossible for him to make changes on a whim now."

"The failure of the Memorial Hall gave him the opportunity to build the Inner Cabinet. The establishment of the Inner Cabinet was to pave the way for the reform of the imperial examination system today."

Li Rong listened but said nothing.

She suddenly realized that she didn't actually understand Li Ming, just like she didn't understand Li Chuan back then.

But everyone in the royal family wore a mask, and Li Ming and Li Chuan never really understood her.

"You think I won't agree to the change."

Li Rong thought for a while and spoke slowly. Pei Wenxuan did not respond. Li Rong smiled and said, "I do not agree with it either."

"But this matter will not be changed by your will. It will be either this time or the next time." Pei Wenxuan looked up at him, "This is the emperor's will. Even if your majesty dies today, any monarch with a little ambition will take over and replace your majesty with the current situation."

Just like Li Chuan in the previous life.

When he sits on Li Ming's throne and looks down on the country, he will find that he is just the next Li Ming.

Li Rong sat there without saying a word. She felt like she was sitting on a horse-drawn carriage that was running forward. She couldn't stop and could only watch the carriage fall off the cliff, splashing blood all over it.

Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong in a daze and felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.

In his previous life, he would have probably quarreled with her a long time ago.

He hated her stubbornness and her prejudice against the poor. The most hateful thing was that he liked her. He liked this person, but deep down he looked down on him.

But now he didn't want to argue. It wasn't easy for them to get to where they are now, and he didn't want to argue with her over this matter anymore.

So he could only explain with some difficulty after a brief silence: "Rongrong, I know you feel that the imperial examination system can't select any good talents. But think about it, in fact, in my previous life, many people around me were born in humble families, and they were also very good, right? The aristocratic families do have their own character, and the teachings they received are indeed not learned by reading a few books, so the recommendation system is still there."

"Bloodline is important, but... we are all human beings." Pei Wenxuan forced a smile. "Look at me, I come from a poor family, but isn't that... pretty good?"

Li Rong listened to Pei Wenxuan say this and she slowly turned her head.

Her eyes were very bright, and the moonlight fell into her amber eyes, flowing quietly like a stream.

She half leaned forward, slowly stood up, and placed her lips on his.

Pei Wenxuan was stunned for a moment, then he heard Li Rong comfort him softly: "Don't be sad."

The kiss was brief and seemed to be just for comfort. She pulled back and leaned back on the recliner, saying gently, "Wenxuan, I don't take these things so seriously. If I did, I wouldn't have liked you back then."

Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong lying flat on the rocking chair, which rocked back and forth. She looked at the moonlight scattered in the void and said slowly, "Everyone told me the importance of bloodline and family name, but I don't know why, when I saw you that year, I didn't even think about whether you were from a poor family or a noble family. I just thought, this person is really good-looking."

"Your Highness..." Pei Wenxuan spoke hoarsely, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"I used to argue with you all the time, and you always thought I was biased because I cared about family background. But in fact, it was you who cared about family background."

"I didn't agree with your reform before because I thought the imperial examination system was too rigid. As you can see, even in the imperial examination system in the past, more people from aristocratic families passed the imperial examination. But later, as I got older, I gradually changed my mind. Aristocratic families seem to be better because they have more resources, not because they are born better or worse. So when you later promoted schools in various places, I also fully supported you. I don't agree with your reform now because it's too hasty."

"Wenxuan," Li Rong raised her eyes, "Father has been gone for a few years, but you are still young. What would you do if Concubine Rou didn't come today?"

Pei Wenxuan was speechless for a moment, and Li Rong answered affirmatively: "You were planning to take the case yourself, right?"

"You and I have divorced, so no matter what happens, it has nothing to do with me. So you have two plans. It would be best if Concubine Rou takes the case. If Concubine Rou doesn't, then you can take the case, and then the emperor will fully support you. If it succeeds, everyone will be happy. What if it doesn't?"

"Don't you know how difficult it was for you and Chuan'er to reform the system in your previous life? Why do you think I don't want you to change the family? Because after every reform, there is turmoil. The turmoil between you and me is the life and death of the chess player. Have you ever thought about what these turmoil will do to the people?"

"During the years when Chuan'er was reforming the system, there were turmoil everywhere, and wars were fought again and again. You and I spent more than 20 years recuperating, but don't you know how the people lived during the turmoil?"

"Your Highness, it won't be like this now," Pei Wenxuan frowned, "Your Highness was too impatient back then, so I put things off until today to move forward slowly."

"What if you push the noble families too far and they rebel?"

Li Rong stared at Pei Wenxuan, who remained silent for a long time. After a while, he slowly spoke: "Your Highness, in this world, no change is without a price. But if there is no change, will the people's lives be better?"

"They rebelled, and the people suffered terribly. But the northern army didn't have enough money, so didn't the people in the north and the soldiers who died in the war suffer? The south had no money every year to provide disaster relief and repair rivers, so didn't the disaster victims suffer? The lower-class people were born to be slaves and civilians, and couldn't do business or become officials. They could only farm for generations and were enslaved by the aristocratic families. Didn't they suffer?"

"You and your father are so alike." Li Rong laughed sarcastically, "It's a pity that your father passed away early, otherwise he would have been very pleased to see you."

Pei Wenxuan was speechless. She vaguely felt that there was some moisture in this person's eyes, but it dissipated again.

The two looked at each other quietly. Li Rong looked at the person in front of her, and her heart trembled slightly: "I don't want to be your mother."

"Your Highness will not be my mother."

Pei Wenxuan laughed: "No matter success or failure, this matter is paving the way for the prince. Your Majesty and the noble families will be weakened. The prince has Qin Lin's military power in his hands. When he ascends the throne, Your Highness..."

Before she could finish her words, Li Rong slapped Pei Wenxuan in the face.

The slap echoed in the room. Li Rong stared at him and asked, "Who are you to me?"

"Are you my conspirator or my assassin?"

Pei Wenxuan's face was slapped by her and turned to the side. He didn't dare to look at her and didn't move.

"Is your life so worthless? If you don't value your life, why do you want to be my husband?"

"Rongrong," Pei Wenxuan said hoarsely, "It'll be fine."

"Whether you are safe or not, did you ask me before taking the risk?" Li Rong looked at him and stood up. She lowered her head and looked down at the young man in front of her. "In your heart, do you think that I don't care about your life, or do you think that your life or death has nothing to do with me?"

Pei Wenxuan said nothing, and Li Rong slowed down her tone, "Have you heard a story?"

Pei Wenxuan moved and looked up at her. Li Rong laughed, "There is a family in the east of the city. The couple grew up together and loved each other very much. They went through many hardships and experienced life and death before they finally got together. But later, her husband liked fighting chickens, so he took most of the family's money and secretly bought a fighting chicken. Guess what happened?"

Pei Wenxuan didn't say anything. He heard Li Rong's metaphor and didn't dare to answer. Li Rong chuckled: "The woman divorced her husband."

The two people who had been in love for more than ten years, and had been inseparable despite life and death, were finally separated because of a fighting chicken.

What drains away emotions the most is never the storms and waves, but the little bits and pieces in life that come together to form a river.

"Pei Wenxuan," Li Rong looked at him, "Your life is not yours alone. You are my husband and the father of my future child. Even if you are doing this for me, you should at least tell me. If you can't do it..."

Li Rong couldn't say anything else. Pei Wenxuan looked at her. He was clearly looking up at this person, but at that moment, he felt that she was the one who lowered her head.

He never thought that this person would bow down for him. Even now, her words were cautious and restrained, and she did not hurt him like before.

He suddenly noticed her transformation and growth. They knew each other's weaknesses and had stabbed each other mercilessly, but now she has learned to restrain herself and will not even say the word "break up".

Pei Wenxuan stood up, reached out and held the person in his arms.

Li Rong wanted to resist, but the moment his warmth invaded her, she felt her eyes a little sore. She tried hard not to cry over such a small matter, and gritted her teeth as he held her in his arms.

"It's my fault." Pei Wenxuan said in a low voice, "I will no longer make decisions on my own. I will discuss everything with you. Let's discuss it together."

Li Rong didn't say anything. Pei Wenxuan lowered his head and kissed her forehead, saying in a gentle voice, "I didn't expect that my Highness would be so kind. I am a mean person, please forgive me."

"Fine words and a flattering manner."

Li Rong cursed him.

Pei Wenxuan smiled, he helped her straighten her clothes, and said gently: "Your Highness, shall I take you home?"

Li Rong was stunned. She looked up at him. She thought that based on Pei Wenxuan's personality, he would ask her to stay overnight.

She had already thought of how to refuse, but Pei Wenxuan took the initiative to send her back.

Before Li Rong could react, she saw Pei Wenxuan fetch a coat from the side and gently put it on her. After tidying up her clothes, he fetched a lamp, took her hand and pushed the door open, as if nothing had happened, and asked her softly, "Where did you come from tonight, Your Highness?"

"Next door to you," Li Rong was pulled out by him and she whispered, "I bought it."

Pei Wenxuan couldn't help laughing when he heard this, but he was afraid that she would be angry, so he didn't say anything and just kept the smile on his face.

It was almost April and the night wind was still a little chilly. She put on Pei Wenxuan's coat and walked with him on the corridor.

Pei Wenxuan shielded her from the wind and led the way to the courtyard. The mansion had not been completely renovated, and many places had not yet been lit. Li Rong was afraid that Pei Wenxuan did not know the way, so she said, "There is a ladder in the backyard. I will climb over there."

"Your Highness, you have worked hard."

Pei Wenxuan's heart seemed to be immersed in the most comfortable warm water, and his whole body couldn't help but warm up as well.

The two walked side by side, Pei Wenxuan seemed to be protecting a child. After a long silence, Li Rong said slowly: "Aren't you going to keep me?"

"I would like to stay," Pei Wenxuan smiled, "but I made a mistake tonight. If I keep Your Highness, I'm afraid Your Highness will think I'm trying to cover up those things. Sex under the bed is an elegant thing, and it shouldn't be mixed with these things."

Hearing this, Li Rong turned her head to look at him. His white shirt outlined his tall figure in the night. He looked like a gentleman, like a pine tree or a bamboo, with an open and elegant aura.

Li Rong couldn't help but stare in amazement for a moment. It seemed that Pei Wenxuan's appearance would never fade no matter how many years she looked at him.

Pei Wenxuan did not notice that Li Rong was distracted, he continued, "In the future, I will inform Your Highness of everything in advance and discuss with Your Highness. If Your Highness is willing, Your Highness can also tell me all your plans. Your Highness is right, Your Highness and I are already husband and wife, and it is different from the previous life. Everything should be discussed. I am not Your Highness's ally, I am Your Highness's husband and the father of Your Highness's children."

Pei Wenxuan said, turned around, met Li Rong's gaze, smiled and said: "I haven't learned these well yet, I hope Your Highness can teach me more."

Li Rong saw his smile and listened to him talking about his identity. She didn't know why, but she felt her face getting hot. She turned her head and responded in a low voice to hide her embarrassment.

Pei Wenxuan noticed that she seemed a little shy. Although he didn't know why, he thought she was very cute. He didn't expose her. He turned his eyes considerately and looked forward with a smile.

When they arrived at the backyard, he saw a ladder against the wall. Pei Wenxuan went over with Li Rong. He put down his gun, held the ladder, and helped Li Rong climb up.

Li Rong climbed two steps and turned around again.

At this time, she was slightly taller than Pei Wenxuan, and she called out, "Pei Wenxuan."

Pei Wenxuan raised his head, looked at her in confusion, and said softly: "Hmm?"

At that moment, Li Rong suddenly lowered her head and kissed him. Without waiting for Pei Wenxuan to react, she climbed up and waved, "Let's go."

Pei Wenxuan looked up at the girl disappearing over the wall and couldn't help but raise his hand to touch his lips.

After a moment, he slowly laughed.

He couldn't wait any longer.

You should plan it earlier and then marry this person home.