Chapter 652: Palace Examination

Fortunately, he suppressed his anger and continued to watch. The people he sent investigated very clearly. After he finished watching, he calmly closed his eyes.

Ning Xu opened his eyes. If he was the one who replaced the prince, he would definitely be killed and would never leave any evidence. The safest way was to eliminate the root cause. Rongchuan almost died, which was also consistent.

However, these are not enough to prove Rongchuan, especially since the child really doesn't look like the emperor or the empress. People who don't know would think what the Ning Mansion is planning!

In Zhoujia Village, Xuemei looked at her husband playing with the children, and finally couldn't help wondering, "Recently, Zhang Datie and his wife have been hanging around the door of my house from time to time. Every time they see me, they seem to be hesitant to talk. Don't you think it's strange?"

Because of this couple, she has been nagging her mother-in-law to keep an eye on the children at home. She has not forgotten that Zhang Datie knows many human traffickers. She has never confidently believed that Mr. Zhang would not risk his life for others. Ever since her father became an official, she has been extra cautious!

Jiang Sheng put his son down and asked, "Is there anything else? Why did you tell me this only now?"

"You have been in the school without any rest. Zhang Datie and his wife have not done anything excessive, so I have been keeping it in my heart."

Now that I've said it out loud, I feel a lot more relieved.

Jiang Sheng asked, "Did something happen to Zhang Datie's family?"

Xuemei shook her head, "No, I asked my mother to find out, and there is nothing wrong with Zhang Datie's family."

Jiang Sheng was puzzled, "What about Zhang Datie's son's studies?"

Xuemei, "Hasn't his son already entered the clan school?"

"You can't blame me for forgetting. There are quite a lot of children attending tribal schools recently. What could that be?"

Xuemei couldn't figure it out either. "Forget it. I'd rather think more about Changlian and Rongchuan."

Jiang Sheng counted the days, "The palace examination will be held in two days."

Xuemei couldn't hold back her smile. They just found out the list of candidates for the imperial examination. "Chang Lian and Rong Chuan are competing for honor."

Jiang Sheng also smiled, "It's more than just a show of strength. Clan leader Zhou, who had been feeling unwell in his legs a few days ago, walked faster than me after hearing the news. He was like the wind."

Xuemei smiled happily, "I've been very busy these past few days."

In the capital city, the palace examination was approaching in the blink of an eye. It was still dark in Zhou Mansion, and Zhulan had already gotten up. Changlian and Rongchuan were rushing to enter the palace for the examination.

Changzhong also stood up, still yawning, "Third brother, come on, brother-in-law."

Chang Lian kissed his brother's chubby face, "I got your encouragement."

Changzhong opened his eyes wide and looked much more energetic. He looked at his brother-in-law with his big eyes, meaning, "Don't you want to kiss me?"

Rongchuan was quite nervous at first, but when he saw the cute little boy, all his nervousness disappeared, and he quickly kissed him, "Thank you Changzhong for your encouragement."

Zhulan reminded the two, "Don't be too nervous, just keep calm."

Chang Lian replied, "Mom, don't worry."

Rong Chuan smiled and said, "Auntie, my third brother and I will keep a good attitude."

Zhulan personally escorted the two of them to the gate. Only when the carriage had gone far away and the lantern hanging in front of the carriage could no longer be seen did Zhulan walk back carrying the lantern.

On the way back to the backyard, Zhulan felt the breeze and said, "The temperature has risen rapidly in the past few days. It's time to put away the thick cloak."

Mrs. Song, "There are buds on the branches these days. After a few days, we can eat wild vegetables."

Zhulan recalled, "I remember when I was in Zhoujia Village, it was quite cold at this time of year, and the greening was not as fast as here. In the blink of an eye, I haven't been back for many years."

Her stay in Zhoujia Village was quite short. Even though it was short, it was her first time there, so the significance of her stay there was different.

Mrs. Song, "This time, the Third Young Master and Young Master Rongchuan have passed the imperial examinations and need to return to their hometown to worship their ancestors."

Zhulan crossed the threshold and said, "It is time to go back to my hometown to worship my ancestors."

She and Zhou Shuren are outsiders, but Chang Lian is a real descendant of the Zhou family. Chang Lian is different from Zhou Shuren. Zhou Shuren is a fake when he offers sacrifices to his ancestors. To be honest, Zhou Shuren didn't offer sacrifices to his ancestors last time, and the eldest brother Zhou did it instead.

The Zhou family's carriage arrived at the palace gate. People in front had already been checking in one after another. Chang Lian got off the carriage first, and then helped Rong Chuan.

Ever since Chang Lian completely accepted Rong Chuan in his heart, he has subconsciously been taking good care of Rong Chuan because he is older than him.

Jinyan was holding a lantern in front, Rongchuan stood on tiptoe to take a look, "This team is a bit long."

Chang Lian stretched out his hand to feel the temperature, "Fortunately it's not too cold today."

It was soon Chang Lian and Rong Chuan's turn in the team. It was already dawn, and the two of them, as a family, entered the palace together.

They quickly found their respective positions, both of them were relatively close to the front.

When everyone was gathered, they lined up and went into the hall.

When we got to the palace, it was exceptionally quiet for a moment. We waited for the emperor to arrive and bowed to him.

The emperor sat on the dragon chair, and the prince stood beside him. Because the tribute officials all lowered their heads, and the hall was a little dim, the emperor did not look closely and said calmly, "Sit up."

Then they took their seats one after another. The emperor asked a question and soon some people started writing.

The emperor did not go down to walk around. He closed his eyes and rested. It was just the beginning now, so there was no rush to wait a while.

The prince looked at his father for a moment and wanted to sit down and rest as well!

Time passed little by little, and Rongchuan and Changlian prepared the draft in their minds before starting to write.

Chang Lian was grateful to his biological father. His biological father liked to combine practical teaching with instruction. An article would bring up various insights, all of which were what his father had seen. As his father had been a prefect and a governor, he had always paid attention to the people's livelihood, so as his biological father's son, he had heard a lot.

Rongchuan writes very fluently. His uncle is indeed a good teacher. Only by accepting his teachings can one know how powerful he is.

Rongchuan thought of Shi Qing, who was ranked twelfth. Shi Qing had been with his uncle for more than a year, and his uncle had never hidden anything from him. If Shi Qing hadn't been ill, Shi Qing would have been ranked in the top ten.

Soon the light in the hall became brighter. The emperor opened his eyes and looked at the first place winner one by one. When he came to the sixth place, the emperor's gaze was particularly deep and he paused for a long time.

Shen Yang couldn't help but feel it. His hands trembled and what he had written with great difficulty was ruined. He had to write it again, but he didn't dare to move too much. He could only hold the pen stiffly without moving.

The prince had been keeping an eye on his father. He looked in the direction his father was looking and was stunned. This profile looked a bit like his father. He couldn't help but look at it carefully, and this time he paid even more attention.

Facing the dual attention of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, Shen Yang swallowed his saliva, and the sweat on his forehead flowed down. The draft in his mind was gone, his mind was a little blank, and his heart was pounding.

The emperor withdrew his gaze. He could not bear this kind of mental disorder.

The prince thought a lot. If the fifth brother was not fake, he would not think too much even if he saw someone who looked more like his father. But now he couldn't help but think too much.

(End of this chapter)