Chapter 1769 Missing

In a blink of an eye, the results of the provincial examination came out. Changzhong did not look at the results, but instead took out the article he wrote a few days ago and rethought it.

Minghui kept looking towards the door from time to time, as he wanted to know if his uncle was at the top of the list.

The servant came running in, "Congratulations, young master, for winning the first place."

Ming Hui was delighted and asked hurriedly, "What about me? What about me?"

The servant said cheerfully, "Mr. Minghui is third."

Minghui was satisfied, "Congratulations, uncle."

Chang Zhong was very confident and happy to get the news. "Congratulations, let's celebrate today."

The servants in the yard received bonuses, and the young men from other clans came to congratulate them. The children of the Zhou clan all passed the provincial examination, and the whole yard was filled with joy.

After a while, the gift-giver arrived, and Changzhong declined without any polite words.

Changzhong didn't need to put himself in a difficult position. He didn't meet any outsiders today, but he accepted the invitations that were sent to him. He chose the one from the prefect's son and would keep the appointment tomorrow.

Minghui played with the post in his hand, "Uncle really went to the appointment!"

"Well, I sent him invitations twice. The first time I was busy with the prefectural examination and didn't accept it. Now I want to meet him after the examination. No matter what the prefect is thinking, the Zhou family has to give him face in Pingzhou."

Minghui, "I'll go tomorrow too."

"Of course I will go."

At the government office, the prefect was flipping through the article and said to his son, "Take a look at Master Zhou's article."

Cheng Xiang pouted, "Dad, I have passed the imperial examination."

The prefect glared angrily, "Don't think that you are great just because you passed the exam. You passed the exam by a narrow margin. I want to ask you, are you sure about passing the autumn exam?"

Cheng Xiang said dryly, "Half."

The prefect became even angrier, "I wouldn't be angry even if you were stupid, but why can't you just study hard?"

Cheng Xiang wanted to cover his ears. He had heard these words too many times. "Dad, Mr. Zhou has accepted the invitation. I will go back to prepare first."

The prefect watched his son run away helplessly, and then became even angrier. If he hadn't only had one son, he would have wanted to just ignore him. Looking at Wen Zhang, his heart felt even more sour.

In the capital, at Zhou Hou Mansion, Xue Han returned to her parents' home. Zhu Lan asked, "Did you see the empress when you entered the palace yesterday?"

Xue Han nodded, "Yes, I have. This illness has taken away most of her energy and spirit. My daughter has seen the Empress's hair turn white."

Zhulan, "White hair?"

Xue Han nodded. She thought she was seeing things at first, but after looking a few more times she was sure she was not mistaken. The Queen had obviously aged a lot after this illness.

Xue Han felt a little nervous, "My daughter is not feeling well."

Especially when chatting with the Queen, her feelings became more obvious from her expression and attitude.

Zhulan, "Is the queen feeling better?"

Xue Han was silent for a moment, "The Queen said she is much better."

Zhulan got the point. Did the Queen say it herself?

Xue Han sighed, "The second prince is about to get married, and then the third prince will get married."

Her intuition told her that the Queen might not survive this time.

Zhu Lan said: "This time the Queen did not hide her serious illness, and now the one who should be worried is the Second Prince."

As the wedding is about to take place, the Second Prince's maternal family, the Liu family, and the Second Prince are the most anxious now. The Second Prince has been hanging around in the Ministry of Rites since he got married, and now the Second Prince sincerely hopes that the Queen will be well.

Xue Han thought so too, "Princess Jingxuan is taking care of the queen."

Zhulan, "The princess is a good child."

Xue Han liked Jing Xuan very much, but she was still worried at first. Only when she saw that the Queen and Jing Xuan got along well did she feel completely relieved.

When they were about to go to bed at night, Zhulan and Shuren talked about the queen. Shuren said, "It's not just the second prince who is anxious."

"What do you mean?"

Zhou Shuren said, "There are many people watching the Crown Prince's backyard. No one has been allowed in because of the mourning for the retired emperor. Now the anniversary is finally coming, and the Empress has to wait again for something to happen. Do you think it's urgent?"

Bamboo orchid, "."

We should be anxious indeed. In ancient times, girls’ best years were only a few years, and we cannot afford to delay any further. A girl that a noble family has spent so much effort to raise should not be wasted like this.

Zhou Shuren continued: "The emperor is in a bad mood."

Zhu Lan sighed, "The first wife is different after all. The emperor is not a womanizer. He has always respected his first wife over the years. If something goes wrong with the empress, the emperor will naturally be sad."

The Emperor is indeed sad. The imperial physician has changed the prescription several times but the effect is not obvious. The Empress's body cannot retain the effects of the medicine and now she needs to take medicine every day and cannot even skip a meal.

The Crown Prince finally finished reviewing today's memorials. He had been the one reviewing memorials in recent days, while his father's mind was always on his mother.

The prince saw his father sitting in silence, "Father, it's getting late, you should rest."

The emperor came back to his senses and asked, "Is it done?"

"Some sons who were unsure were left alone."

The emperor stood up and walked over to look through it, his brows furrowed and relaxed, he picked up a pen to re-mark it, and then pointed out the inappropriate parts, "You have been in the Ministry of Justice for some time, you should go to the Ministry of Personnel after a while."

Prince, "Yes."

The emperor said, "Go and have a rest."

The prince did not move, "Father, it's time for you to rest."

The emperor said he understood, and after his son left he also returned to his bedroom. People like to reminisce, and these few days he likes to recall the days when he just got married. Unfortunately, memories are just memories after all.

The next day, at the morning court, Zhou Shuren smiled at everyone. They wanted to know the news, but he was embarrassed. He didn't say a word and smiled the whole time.

After several people failed to find out anything, they gave up one after another. Marquis Zhou didn't want to say that he couldn't get any information.

Some people also wanted to inquire from the Wen family, but unfortunately the Queen was seriously ill and had never met anyone from the Wen family. That's right, she had never met anyone. The Wen family's invitations to enter the palace were all rejected.

The old man of the Wen family had an extremely sour face and snorted heavily when he passed by Zhou Shuren.

Zhou Shuren pretended not to hear. His old man was very angry. He understood very well that it was embarrassing for the Wen family that the Queen did not meet her family members.

Lord Li moved the corners of his mouth, and finally sighed and did not step forward. He was not that shameless.

Although he was also anxious, as the Second Prince had not been seen recently, he was also afraid that the marriage would be postponed and all the efforts he had made for his daughter would be in vain.

In Chuanzhou, Chang Zhi arrived at the right time rather than early. As soon as he entered Xiaoxi Village, he met the debt collectors. Five or six strong men with ferocious faces were blocking the yard. Well, they were the family that Chang Zhi wanted to visit.

The villagers were probably used to it, and although they were afraid, they watched from a distance.

Changzhi got off the carriage and just as he walked to the side of the villagers, he heard crying in the yard.

The old man in the village muttered, "What a sin."

Changzhi asked, "Master, what happened here?"

The old man turned around and looked at her with a look of vigilance, "You look unfamiliar."

Changzhi smiled and said, "I am a scholar traveling around to study. I passed by a village and saw something happened, so I asked."

When the old man heard that it was a scholar, the vigilance in his eyes disappeared. "The one in trouble is the Ding family. They also had a scholar, but unfortunately they lost their fame and their family borrowed money at interest. Is this money easy to borrow? Interest is compounded and it kills people. Without money, they have trouble every day. Oh, this is going to be troubled."

As the old man spoke, he and the villagers quickly walked towards Ding's house. Chang Zhi also heard the crying.

(End of this chapter)