fair
Fu Huaiying was silent for a while, then raised her head and walked beside him as if nothing had happened.
She didn't know how Ji Yuan knew it, but since he said it clearly today, she wouldn't tell anyone else.
The two of them were silent for a long time on the way. Fu Huaiying looked up at him and couldn't help asking, "How did you know?"
Ji Yuan remained calm, "This is a secret."
Fu Huaiying was speechless, "I hate you."
Ji Yuan's earlobe was visibly red, and he coughed lightly, "Don't act like a spoiled child."
Fu Huaiying turned around and looked at him in disbelief. How was she acting coquettish?
"There's no point looking at me. A secret is a secret."
Ji Yuan stared at the beads of sweat on her forehead and suddenly wanted to wipe them for her.
"I don't want to bother with you."
at night
White lanterns were hung everywhere in the house, which looked even more creepy under the cold moonlight. Fu Huaiying looked at the lanterns in the yard and frowned slightly.
Seeing that she looked unhappy, Da Hu raised his hand and the long sword flew out of her hand. All the white lanterns fell to the ground, and paper scraps were scattered all over the ground. The yard suddenly became dark.
"Girl, how many red ones should I hang for you?"
Fu Huaiying shook her head. "No, this is fine. I don't like it too bright either."
The early summer night was a little chilly. She looked at the moonlight for a while, then turned and went into the house.
Da Hu turned off the light for her and said, "Go to sleep, girl. I'll keep an eye on you."
"It's okay, I'm a light sleeper, you should sleep for a while too."
Dahu nodded, took off his shoes and socks, and lay down beside her.
"Fu Huaiying..."
Half asleep and half awake, Fu Huaiying heard a very familiar voice. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a ghost standing by the window. She couldn't see the face clearly. The figure had loose hair and kept shouting in pain.
“It hurts…it hurts so much…Fu Huaiying…it hurts so much…”
When Da Hu heard the noise, he immediately sat up. He was startled when he saw the figure by the window and subconsciously held Fu Huaiying's hand.
Fu Huaiying frowned and looked at the ghost. After a moment, he said, "Come here."
The ghost seemed to be stunned, no longer crying out in pain, and its slowly moving steps also stopped.
Da Hu also woke up, "Girl?"
"Do you think she looks like Fu Huairou?"
Da Hu shrank back a little, "...No...It doesn't look like..."
Fu Huaiying sneered, "Fu Huairou died from a sword piercing her throat, how could she have made any sound?"
As she spoke, she took advantage of the ghost's distraction, raised her sleeve, and shot out a handful of small arrows.
"ah!"
The man screamed in pain and jumped out of the window and ran away. Da Hu subconsciously wanted to chase him, but was stopped.
"No need to chase him, he's just a petty thief. I guess Big Brother doesn't believe what I said today."
Da Hu doesn't think he is a coward, but if he suddenly sees a ghost while sleeping soundly, he will still be scared.
"How did the girl know it was fake? The voice is so similar."
"There are quite a few ventriloquist in the capital. We can just spend some money to hire one. Besides, that idiot didn't even know to make his clothes longer. We could see him clearly when he moved over."
Seeing that Da Hu was a little scared, she raised her hand and touched her head. "If it was really an evil spirit that was seeking revenge, Fu Huairou and Wen Shuangye should have died long ago. Can they count the number of people who died at their hands over the years? We are just doing a good deed and sending the evildoers to hell."
Da Hu was no longer afraid, but seeing how the girl was trying to comfort her, he didn't want to offend her, so he immediately curled up in her arms and trembled.
Dahu has been learning martial arts with Lin Yan'an since he was a child, so he is strong and powerful. Fu Huaiying has been hungry and cold all year round, so she looks even thinner. When Dahu is held in her arms, he looks like a tiger nestling in the arms of a white cat.
The two lay down and were about to continue sleeping when they saw a white hand suddenly reach in from the window and put something on the window, but it was too dark to see clearly.
"who?"
Hearing the sound, the hand stopped.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Fu Huaiying got out of bed and walked to the window. She saw clearly what Lin Yan'an handed in. It was a lily of the valley, which was shining in the moonlight and was beautiful and charming.
Fu Huaiying held the flower branch and looked at the person opposite her. "It's so late, did you come here specially to give me flowers?"
Lin Yan'an nodded. "The lily of the valley in the palace has bloomed early. I heard that the first woman who receives a lily of the valley on its first night of bloom will be eternally youthful."
"So you came all the way from the palace just to keep me young forever?"
Lin Yan'an was silent for a moment. He thought Huaiying was blaming him for leaving the palace without permission and leaving Chen Huanli there alone. He was a little flustered for a moment and immediately explained, "I'm just here to give her a bouquet of flowers. Everything has been arranged at the palace. I'll be back now. Nothing will happen to Huanli."
Fu Huaiying paused while holding Huazhi's hand, then sighed, somewhat helplessly, "How foolish! Go back and rest. There's no need to rush to the palace. Your injury doesn't allow you to travel back and forth. I care about you more than my separation."
Lin Yan'an paused, looking up in disbelief. She said she cared about him more. Chen Huanli was the ruler she had chosen, the ruler of the world she had chosen. But in her heart, he, Lin Yan'an, was more important than Chen Huanli! In other words, Huaiying thought he was more important than the world?
"Also, remember to inform the prince about the matter of Wanhua Tower."
Fu Huaiying lowered her eyes and saw those shining eyes. She felt a little amused and patted his head. "Did you hear that?"
"I heard it! I heard it!"
"Keep your voice down, go back and rest, and be obedient."
When Lin Yan'an returned, he seemed to be floating in the clouds, his expression full of joy, which even He Feng, who was waiting outside the mansion, could see.
"Master...what are you doing?" He Feng was a little surprised. How could he be so happy just climbing over the wall to put something there?
Fu Huaiying stood by the window. The figure outside had long disappeared, but she still stood there.
"Girl...what's wrong?"
Da Hu knew it was Lin Yan'an, so she didn't go over to disturb her, but everyone had left and the girl was still standing there, which she couldn't help but feel a little strange.
Fu Huaiying came back to her senses and placed the lily of the valley in front of the dressing mirror. "It's okay, the young marquis just came to give you some flowers."
Da Hu came over and looked at the lily of the valley flowers on her desk, lowering his eyes. "Lily of the valley flowers? They really suit the girl."
"Fu Huairou will be out of the mountains tomorrow. It would be appropriate for her to wear this."
Da Hu smiled and said, "On the day we came back, the young lady was still wearing her official uniform. I saw that Master Fu's face had turned dark. Tomorrow we will be leaving the mountain, and there will be many people around. It would be better for her to wear white, which would make her look better."
Fu Huaiying sneered, "He won't be able to laugh during the official assessment in a few days. Fu Tingyun's ability is not even comparable to his sister's. The memorials he submitted recently are all nonsense. He can't do his job well. The rules of the imperial palace are not yet drafted. I had to revise them myself."
"Will the eldest son be demoted?"
Fu Huaiying nodded, "Yes, even if he does his job well, His Majesty will find him something to do, not to mention that he himself is not doing his best."
Da Hu smiled and leaned against her shoulder, "That's right, in the entire Fu family, only my daughter is the most capable. Even His Majesty praises her. Now, all the female officials in the court regard you as their leader."
Fu Huaiying laughed, "That's because, apart from those who serve only in the harem, there are less than ten female officials in the court."
"That's impressive! It would be great if there were more female officials in the court."
Fu Huaiying frowned. "It's not easy for women to study. The exams are much more difficult than those for men. Even if you pass, it won't work without recommendations. There are only three recommendations at most each time. It's obvious that they want to suppress the female officials."
Da Hu sighed, "Ah, what should I do, girl? Will anyone in the court bully you?"
Fu Huaiying burst out laughing and pulled her onto the bed. "How could that be? As long as His Majesty is here, no one dares to bully me. I've heard some rumors before. They say that Qiliyuan and Jinyiwei are His Majesty's dogs. But as the saying goes, when you beat a dog, you have to look at its owner. Our master is the one above us. Anyone who comes to trouble me is slapping His Majesty in the face."
Da Hu was still a little worried, "A new emperor chooses new ministers. What if in the future..."
Fu Huaiying leaned close to her ear and said, "Don't worry about this. When we return to the palace in a few days, you'll understand once you see the Fourth Prince's appearance."
Da Hu looked at her confusedly, as if he didn't understand something.
Fu Huaiying raised his hand and placed it on her eyes. "Go to sleep."
Palace
Emperor Huanyu was worried that Chen Huanli would be frightened due to his young age and the assassination attempt he had experienced, so he allowed him to live with him.
Chen Huanli looked at the drizzling rain outside and sighed. She wondered what the teacher was doing and whether the Fu family would make things difficult for her.
"You're so young, why are you sighing?"
Chen Huanli restrained himself and turned to look at that extremely disgusting face. "Father, the teacher is not here, and there is no one to teach me. I still prefer her to teach me. I don't understand what you teach me."
Emperor Huanyu laughed, "Are you still looking down on your father? It seems Huaiying is really good at coaxing children."
"No, the teacher is a really good teacher. She... is just... very talented in writing."
Emperor Huanyu put down his pen, walked over to his side, and patted his head. "Of course. Those who are qualified to participate in the selection of female officials are all talented. People like Huaiying are the best among them. I have read her essay, and it is even better than the top scorer. Even those who were not selected, if they participated in the imperial examination, would definitely be ranked second or higher."
"In that case, why not appoint all the female officials? That way, Father will have more people to use."
Emperor Huanyu sighed, his eyes darkened, and he shook his head.
"You don't understand. If everyone is so absorbed in studying and becoming an official, who will take care of the household? Who will bear children?"
"Women are yin, men are yang. If yin and yang are out of balance, chaos will arise. Women are naturally sensitive. If we promote the benefits of reading, every woman will go to school. They are already more careful and hardworking than men. If they study, there will be no place for men in the court. Those people will not agree."
As he spoke, Emperor Huanyu took out the article on the selection of female officials and handed it to him.
"Look, these are the essays from the previous female official selection. Which of those who failed the exam wasn't outstanding? If they were to take the exam together, they would all be in the top two. Even the essay of the domineering eldest daughter of the Fu family would have made it to the top of the list if it had been included in the imperial examination."
"So, is that why we require letters of recommendation for the selection of female officials? This means that at most three people can be selected each time. Father, isn't this unfair?"
Emperor Huanyu looked at his son's confused eyes and felt inexplicably dazed, as if someone had said something like this before.
He suddenly remembered that many years ago in Chongyang Palace, his father asked his brother why all the female officials were selected this time.
What did the emperor say at that time?
He said: "These women are so talented in literature that they should naturally enter the court. It is unfair to ask too much of them just because they are women."
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