On the day of the imperial examination, the area around the examination site was packed with people.
Qin Ke'er and Sun Shu were personally brought to the examination hall by Wan Ji, while Qin Zheng and Sun Cai were brought by Ling Ku. The two groups met at the entrance of the examination hall.
"Brother!"
Qin Ke'er and Sun Shu showed excitement when they saw Qin Zheng and Sun Cai. "Are you here to participate in the Spring Examination as well?"
Qin Zheng and Sun Cai quickly realized what was going on after thinking about the female candidates from Lingyunyuan, "Yes, you should also do well on the exam and try to get into high school."
Having not seen each other for a long time, the four of them only exchanged a few words before hurrying to their respective seats. For Qin Ke'er and Sun Shu, these past few months had been no easier than for Qin Zheng and Sun Cai.
They wake up before dawn each day and go to sleep when only the stars and moon remain in the sky.
But it was this busyness that brought them extraordinary peace, allowing them to clear their minds of all distractions about aristocratic families and the Great Yu, and focus wholeheartedly on their studies.
Today, in the spring examination, they all genuinely want to pass the exam.
"start--"
The sandalwood incense was lit, and time seemed to stand still, leaving only the sound of the brush rubbing against the paper.
The imperial examination lasted for three days, during which time those outside the examination hall could only wait.
At this time, Gu Qingyan approached Gu Qingfeng.
"Judging by the time, the imperial examinations are currently underway. Why is His Majesty not in the palace? What is he doing here?"
Gu Qingfeng's face turned deathly pale. Seeing this, Gu Qingyan slowly spoke, "Is Pei Jian deliberately delaying giving you the antidote?"
"It's alright, he won't let me die so easily."
Gu Qingyan looked at Gu Qingfeng, but what he said made Gu Qingfeng pause for a moment.
"Can you also hear the Empress Dowager's thoughts?"
He had observed this while in the Daqing Imperial Palace. Not only him, but also Gu Qingling, Gu Qingfeng, and Gu Qingyao could hear their mother's thoughts.
"Can't you hear me now?"
"How do you know?" Gu Qingfeng wasn't surprised that Gu Qingyan could see that he could also read his mother's thoughts, but how did Gu Qingyan know that he could no longer hear them?
"Is something wrong with Mother's health? Last time I saw her at Zhaoning Palace, I didn't hear her say a word of concern the whole time. I thought it was... normal."
Gu Qingfeng's body began to tremble slightly. "Gu Qingyan, say something."
"I am only guessing. If you also cannot hear it, perhaps it is the will of Heaven."
Gu Qingyan slowly breathed a sigh of relief, "This means that Mother Empress has completely severed ties with her past life."
"A clean break?"
Gu Qingfeng's face turned even paler upon hearing this. "It's good to end it. I suffered so much in my past life. I don't have to go through that again."
Gu Qingyan came and went quickly, like a gust of wind, leaving Gu Qingfeng with only a helpless smile. It was all over...
When will he be able to end this?
......
Three days later, the imperial examinations ended, and Kui Ruo led a group of civil officials to review memorials, with Zhong Wu also among them.
"Father, are you feeling better?"
In the evening, Zhong Lian'er brought a bowl of ginseng soup to Zhong Wuyi's study.
"Lian'er is here."
"The imperial examination is over today, and Father will be grading the papers tomorrow. My brother said that grading papers is a hard job, and I'm worried about Father."
Zhong Lian'er's words immediately put Zhong Wuyi on alert, but he still smiled and accepted the ginseng soup.
"Lian'er is still sensible after all, and knows how to care about her father. However, there are more than just your father grading the exam papers, so your father is not tired."
"A few days ago, when Lian'er went to the street, she heard someone say that there were two young masters and two young ladies from noble families participating in the imperial examination this time?" Zhong Lian'er said softly, "That's quite rare. What are they doing here in the imperial examination of our Great Yu?"
"This is the decision of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and Father would not dare to speculate."
Zhong Lian'er stayed in the study for a full half hour, but failed to extract any information from Zhong Wuyi, so she had no choice but to leave.
Not long after Zhong Lian'er left, Zhong Min rushed over. After dismissing the servants, Zhong Min asked anxiously, "Father, are you alright?"
"As expected, the people behind her couldn't sit still any longer and came to inquire about the situation of the four members of the aristocratic families who participated in the imperial examination."
"Father, should we report this to the Empress Dowager?"
“Of course, I will report this matter after I enter the palace tomorrow. Min’er, keep a close eye on her recently.” Zhong Wuyi said, then became a little out of breath. For some reason, ever since he wrote Zhong Lian’er on the family tree, he had felt a tightness in his chest every day, and his illness had not improved.
"Don't worry, Dad, I'll keep an eye on her."
Meanwhile, Zhong Lian'er was about to tear the handkerchief in her hand to shreds. She hadn't been able to find out what her master had asked her to inquire about. How was she going to reply to her master?
The thought of her master's methods sent a shiver down Zhong Lian'er's spine.
"When Father goes to the palace to grade exam papers, may I send him some food?"
"This...this servant is not quite sure either."
Upon hearing this, a dark glint flashed in Zhong Lian'er's eyes. Her master felt that Da Yu had ulterior motives for allowing aristocratic families to participate in the imperial examinations, and her mission was to find out what those motives were.
She needs to think of another way.
......
After the exam, the candidates were both anxiously waiting for the results to be announced and also breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Guo Siyuan developed a high fever after returning home from the exam, and she started talking nonsense.
“Dr. Mei, I wouldn’t want to trouble you if there really wasn’t a better way.” Xie Zhiqing said anxiously, “I’ve had a fever for two days now. It started as soon as I went from the exam hall to my room.”
"It must be because I was too stressed and overworked before. As soon as I relaxed, I got sick."
Mei Chu knew the cause of Guo Siyuan's illness as soon as he took her pulse. "I will prescribe a prescription and have Miss Guo drink it for a few days and she will be fine."
"If she has a persistent fever, wipe her body with a damp towel."
"Thank you very much, Dr. Mei."
Xie Zhiqing looked at Guo Siyuan, who was lying on the bed in pain, and couldn't help but sigh. "If the Empress Dowager asks, just say that I will take good care of Miss Guo."
Zhaoning Palace.
"She's just too tired."
Jiang Yu frowned. "Wanji, send some medicinal herbs to Lingyun Garden tomorrow."
Gu Qingyan happened to arrive at Zhaoning Palace and glanced at Jiang Yu's expression. "Mother, Zhong Lian'er has been making constant underhanded moves."
"Ayan, what do you think we should do with Pei Jian? Should we let him plot and then strike at the right moment, or should we play him slowly and subtly alert him?"
Gu Qingyan listened to Jiang Yu's words and a strange light appeared in his eyes. "It's better to make a move to alert the enemy. Now that I'm confident I can destroy the aristocratic families, Pei Jian should experience what it's like to be on tenterhooks."
"We're thinking the same thing."
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