Chapter 200 Chapter 200 Examination
Princess Yuanan's return to the capital did not cause much stir in the capital.
But within a few days, the matter died down. In addition, this year happened to be the year of the imperial examination. In late January, candidates from all over the country flocked to Beijing to take the exam, and the capital began to become lively again.
At the end of last year, there were not many juren who came to Beijing. Most of these juren were from far away from the capital, and their family financial conditions were good enough to support their consumption in Beijing, so they chose to come to Beijing early.
More scholars chose to go to Beijing after the New Year.
After these scholars came to Beijing, except for some wealthy people who had houses in the capital, most of them would choose to live in the guild halls built specifically for scholars taking the imperial examinations, which could save them some expenses.
Mr. Wang came specially to find Fu Wenxiao and went to the guild hall with him to visit friends.
In addition to his fellow townsmen, many of these friends were people Mr. Wang met during his previous travels. He had a wide range of friends, with friends from all over the country. It can be said that he had friends from all corners of the country.
Of course, Mr. Wang’s most important friend is still Fu Wenxiao.
Mr. Wang was generous in introducing these friends to Fu Wenxiao, thinking that with Mr. Fu's literary talent and knowledge, anyone who met him would regard him as a close friend.
This will also make Fu Wenxiao famous.
Mr. Wang was very happy about this kind of thing, and Fu Wenxiao also accepted his kindness.
While Fu Wenxiao was busy visiting friends at the guild hall, Yu Li went to the princess's mansion.
Since Princess Yuan'an has returned to the capital, it is only natural for the daughter-in-law to pay a visit to her mother-in-law. Most people in the capital are well aware of Fu Wenxiao's identity and there is no need to avoid suspicion.
Yu Li would go to the princess's mansion every day to treat Princess Yuan An and have a meal here.
Sometimes she would stay in the princess's mansion longer, and sometimes she would leave after completing the treatment, depending on whether she had anything to do that day.
Now that no one was following her, she felt more at ease.
Ever since Princess Yuan'an returned to the capital, the people who were following her have left.
Yu Li was quite surprised. But when he heard Fu Wenxiao say that because the emperor personally sent the Yulin Army to pick up Princess Yuan'an and brought her back to the capital, it was a disguised expression of his attitude. Naturally, those people did not dare to send anyone to keep an eye on him.
Because there is no need. The saint's attitude is there, and it is only a matter of time before Fu Wenxiao restores his identity.
Yu Li understood a little after hearing this.
It seems that the old emperor in the palace is hard to guess what he is thinking.
It was not yet the end of the first month of the lunar year and the weather was still very cold, with occasional snowfall. However, the princess's mansion was full of lush greenery, with pavilions and terraces, creating an extremely beautiful and elegant environment.
Yu Li had been to so many places and felt that the princess's mansion was the most beautiful mansion she had ever seen.
I heard that the Princess's Mansion was the residence of a prince of the previous dynasty. It was built beautifully with a lot of money and effort.
When the late emperor was alive, he awarded it to his only legitimate daughter, Princess Yuan'an, as her princess palace.
In the past few years, although Princess Yuan'an has taken refuge in the palace, there are still servants in the princess's mansion who take care of and maintain it diligently. Even though the owner is away, the mansion has not fallen into disrepair.
Yu Li stayed in the princess's mansion for most of the day until Fu Wenxiao came to pick her up.
When he came over, Yu Li was playing chess with Princess Yuan An. Beside them were several boxes of snacks and a pot of hot tea.
Yu Li sat there crookedly, playing chess, and occasionally putting a piece of snack into his mouth.
Opposite her was Princess Yuan'an, who was sitting upright with a look of leisure and elegance. She was holding a black piece in her hand and looking at her daughter-in-law opposite with a smile. When she saw her daughter-in-law sitting in a lazy posture, she didn't say anything, but her face showed a bit of indulgence.
Seeing this scene, Fu Wenxiao couldn't help but be silent.
My mother has always been a very particular person. She is very sensible in her behavior and sitting and lying down. She usually attaches great importance to rules. But when she met Li Niang, it seemed that these rules were thrown aside.
In the past, my mother would never allow anyone to eat snacks while playing chess or sit in an improper manner.
Seeing him silent, Yuzhu smiled and said softly, "The Crown Prince's wife has been coming over every day to chat with His Highness recently, and His Highness likes it very much." Thinking of something, she added, "In fact, His Highness wanted to raise a little girl before."
Upon hearing this, Fu Wenxiao understood what she meant. It seemed that his mother was raising Li Niang as her daughter.
fine.
I heard that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law problem has always been a headache, and few mothers-in-law would treat their daughters-in-law as their own family members. But in his case, it seems that there is no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law problem.
Needless to say, very few people can hate Li Niang. If someone doesn't like her, there must be something wrong with that person.
My mother is a calm and restrained person. She won't be swayed by her emotions. She is not an evil mother-in-law and always respects her son's choice. Since she is the wife he has chosen, my mother will accept her and naturally won't make things difficult for her.
Fu Wenxiao stood outside the door, waiting patiently for them to finish a game of chess before walking in.
Seeing Fu Wenxiao, Yu Li greeted him in a cheerful voice: "Brother Xiao, you are here, come and have some rose pastry, it's delicious."
Fu Wenxiao first paid his respects to Princess Yuan'an, then sat down, washed his hands with the water brought by the maid, and then took the rose cake handed to him by her.
He didn't have a big appetite, but seeing her bright smile, he still nodded and said, "It's delicious."
"Really?" She said happily, "This is made by the chef of the Princess's Mansion. I really like eating this recently."
Princess Yuan An took a sip of the tea brought by the maid and said with a smile, "Eat more if you like. I'll have someone pack some for you to take back later."
"Thank you, mother." Yu Li said sweetly.
She was very fond of anyone who offered her food.
After sitting for a while, it was getting late, so Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao stood up and said goodbye.
Before leaving, Yu Li gave Princess Yuan An some supernatural healing powers.
Princess Yuan'an personally saw them off to the door and watched them leave silently until the cold wind started to blow, then she returned to her room to rest with Yuzhu's support.
The light in the room was dim and silent.
Yuzhu sighed in her heart, it seemed that once the Crown Prince's wife left, the huge princess mansion became deserted again.
Ru Mama was also very upset. She wiped her tears secretly and said to several maids, "Her Highness has been like this since she was a child. She is too quiet. It was okay when she had the Duke to accompany her. Now that the Duke is not here, she is so lonely... Although Her Highness doesn't say it, I know she is upset..."
It would have been fine if Princess Yuan'an and Duke Zhenguo Fu Zongxu had no feelings for each other, but they grew up together, were childhood sweethearts, and had a deep affection for each other. If one of them died, the other would be left behind.
Those who are left behind are the ones who suffer.
Nanny Ru really felt sorry for her princess.
Seeing her crying so sadly, Yuzhu could only comfort her, "The Crown Prince and his wife are here. Your Highness likes his wife, so just ask her to come over and accompany the princess more often in the future."
Aunt Ru wiped away her tears and cheered up, "That's right."
Fortunately, the Crown Prince's wife is a good person and is willing to come and accompany the princess. She also has a good temper and the princess likes her very much. With her company, the princess does not feel so lonely.
**
The princess's mansion was some distance away from Liuwen Lane, so both of them went back in a carriage.
In the carriage, Fu Wenxiao embraced Yu Li and gently knocked his face against her shoulder, saying in a gentle voice, "Mother Li, thank you for coming to accompany mother."
Yu Li blinked and said, "You're welcome. Mother has a lot of delicious food here. I like it very much."
Fu Wenxiao laughed, reached out and stroked her hair, then changed the subject, talking about his visit to the guild hall today and who he met.
Yu Li opened the box and ate rose cakes while listening, acting as a loyal listener.
When he finished speaking, she handed him a piece of rose pastry and encouraged him to continue.
Fu Wenxiao: "..."
When they got home, they saw Zhou busy packing things.
Yu Li asked: "Mom, what are you doing?"
Zhou said, "It's the end of the month now. Next month, Chuxiao will go to take the imperial examination. We need to start preparing his luggage. The examination will last for nine days. It's so cold, so we need to prepare some warm clothes. Otherwise, we will freeze to death."
The imperial examination is held every three years, also known as the Spring Examination, in early February.
It was still extremely cold in the capital city in early February, with no sign of warming up. I heard that the buildings in the Imperial Examination Hall were very simple, with only a few boards separating them, and there was no way to keep out the cold.
It is said that many scholars failed in every imperial examination.
So prepare warm clothes and bedding in advance.
The Imperial Examination Hall has regulations on how much of these things one can bring. The only downside is that the scholars' clothes must be single-layered and cannot have any interlayers to prevent cheating.
In this case, you can only try to choose clothes made of thick fabrics.
After hearing this, Yu Li took a look at the things Zhou had packed and felt that the clothes were indeed a bit thin and not warm enough. He turned his head and looked at Fu Wenxiao.
Among so many examinations in the imperial examination, the most difficult one can be said to be the joint examination. Although the provincial examination also lasts for nine days, it was in August and the weather was not that cold. Unlike the capital city in February, the weather was so cold that it could freeze people to death.
He looked thin, and no matter how much clothes he wore, his body temperature was low, which was quite worrying.
Back in the room, Yu Li took his hand and started pinching from his wrist, all the way to his arm, then his shoulder, and then from his chest down, touching his bones inch by inch.
"Li, Li Niang." His face was a little red. "What's wrong?"
Afraid that he might misunderstand her, he was too embarrassed to move away and just stood there obediently while she touched his bones.
After Yu Li touched him, he said, "Your bones are much stronger. It seems that you have achieved some results in your intermediate physical training."
"Really?" Fu Wenxiao was a little surprised.
Yu Li hummed, "It should be enough for you to last through the nine-day examination."
Should I?
Fu Wenxiao laughed. It turned out that this was why she checked his body.
He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I can hold on." Even if he hadn't practiced physical skills, with his previous physical fitness, Jiu Tian would still be able to hold on.
Yu Li was not so reassured, because his body temperature was a little cold, which made her feel that he was not well yet.
In the following days, Yu Li and Zhou worked together to prepare the things Fu Wenxiao would need for the imperial examination.
When she went to the princess's mansion, she also talked to the princess's mother-in-law.
Princess Yuan An was also quite concerned about this matter and said, "Before each imperial examination, the Ministry of Works would send people to repair the Imperial Examination Hall. I'm not worried about the Imperial Examination Hall leaking wind or rain, but the environment of the Imperial Examination Hall is indeed a bit shabby."
Every year, so many scholars came to Beijing to take part in the examinations, and many fell ill.
She had wanted to propose changing the environment of the Imperial College before, so that the examinations would not be so difficult for the scholars, but before she could even propose it, so many things happened...
Thinking of this, Princess Yuanan's eyes darkened slightly.
When Yu Li left the princess's mansion, he took back some things that the mansion had specially prepared for Fu Wenxiao.
The Princess's Mansion was better prepared than Zhou's. Even the warm clothes were more ingenious and warmer.
Zhou said happily: "The embroiderers in the princess's mansion are very skilled. Look at this quilt. The material feels warm and thick. It's obvious that they put a lot of thought into it."
-
Time flies.
On the ninth day of the second lunar month, before the fourth watch, the scholars had already arrived outside the Imperial Examination Hall and began to line up.
Yu Li sent Fu Wenxiao to the Imperial Examination Hall as usual.
When they arrived near the Imperial Examination Hall, the carriage could not pass and was stuck there, so they had to get off and walk.
There was too much luggage, so many people had their luggage carried by their servants, maids, guards, etc., or everyone carried it together.
Yu Li also helped carry some luggage over.
The weather was extremely cold, and the biting wind blew in my face, making my cheeks stiff.
Everyone was shivering in the cold weather and had no time to care about the people around them. They just wanted to line up quickly to enter the tribute hall.
It's really cold outside.
Yu Li helped carry the luggage to the Imperial Examination Hall and touched Fu Wenxiao's hand. It was indeed as cold as ice, so he quickly transferred some supernatural powers to him.
After losing his supernatural power, his hands were only barely warm, and the temperature was still extremely low.
Seeing her frowning, Fu Wenxiao's heart softened and he said, "Mother Li, the weather is cold, you should go back."
Yu Li looked at the scholars who were queuing up around him and said, "Then hurry up and line up, enter the tribute hall early, and don't stand outside in the wind."
"good."
"I'll come pick you up after you finish the exam."
He responded with a smile.
Yu Li gave a few more instructions, tilted his head to think about it, and it seemed that there was nothing more to say.
Fu Wenxiao had been watching her silently, listening to her instructions. When she didn't speak, he knew that she was beginning to run out of words.
What she confessed were actually told by Zhou. She listened to it in her heart and repeated it. It made people laugh, but also made people happy that she cared about her.
The light around was dim, and Fu Wenxiao took the opportunity to pull her into his arms and hugged her, then restrained himself and let her go.
He said gently, "Li Niang, go back."
The weather was cold, and he couldn't bear to let her stand here in the cold wind.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Yu Li did not stay any longer. After saying goodbye to him, he left.
When she got home, Zhou was still not resting and was sitting in the living room waiting for her.
Seeing her coming back, Zhou asked hurriedly, "Mother Li, has Xiao'er entered the tribute court?"
"We should go in now."
Zhou sighed and looked at the dark sky outside. The night was cold and the stars were chilly. She couldn't help but mutter something about how those scholars taking part in the imperial examination would suffer.
Zhou nags for a while, then turns around and persuades Yu to leave and rest.
"It's still early, go get some sleep and don't tire yourself out." She looked at Yu Li and smiled, "It seems like Li Niang has grown a lot taller in the past two years."
Yu Li also laughed, "Yeah, I grew more than ten centimeters taller."
Her height is now close to 1.7 meters. Although she is not as tall as Fu Wenxiao, a northerner, and is still half a head shorter than him, she is still considered tall among women.
Zhou didn't understand the word "centimeter", but seeing that she was happy, she laughed too.
The two talked for a while and then went back to their room to rest.
Yu Li took a nap and didn't get up until dawn, then he slowly got up.
As soon as I woke up, I heard that Chu Shaoyu was here.
After Yu Li finished washing up, he went to the hall and saw Zhou sitting beside him, talking to Chu Shaoyu.
Seeing her, Chu Shaoyu greeted her happily: "Cousin-in-law!"
Hearing the word "cousin-in-law", Zhou covered her mouth and laughed.
The two children looked at Chu Shaoyu in confusion and asked crisply, "Uncle Chu, so you are my cousin?"
Chu Shaoyu looked at the two children, stretched out his hands to pinch their cute faces, and nodded with a smile: "Yes, you should call me uncle."
Although I don’t know where these two children came from, they are definitely not Fu Wenxiao’s nephews or nieces. They are quite cute.
The two children called him "uncle" in a crisp voice.
Chu Shaoyu not only acknowledged this "cousin", but also gave them gifts and started playing with them.
Seeing that he was having fun with the children, Yu Li went to have breakfast first and then came to find him.
Zhou tactfully took the two children away and asked them to sit down and talk.
Yu Li poured a cup of tea for Chu Shaoyu and asked, "Cousin Chu, why are you here?"
Chu Shaoyu picked up the tea and took a sip. "Isn't today the day of the imperial examination? I'm a little worried about cousin Fu, so I came to check on him." He scratched his face. "I heard that the chief examiner of this year's imperial examination is the Minister of Revenue. Those examiners must know cousin Fu. I don't know if they will deliberately embarrass him."
Yu Li said: "That shouldn't be the case, right?"
“It’s hard to say.”
The two looked at each other, then stood up and went out together.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
