The Pei family.
"Master, there's still no news from Zhong Lian'er."
Pei Jian frowned deeply upon hearing his subordinate's report. Zhong Lian'er was a pawn he had painstakingly crafted.
"Don't really think you're Miss Zhong." Pei Jian's voice carried a hint of coldness. "The results of the spring imperial examination in Dayu will be announced soon. Before the results are announced, we must find out Dayu's intention in allowing the sons of aristocratic families to participate in the spring imperial examination."
"yes."
"What concerns does Father have?" Pei Zhi's eyes darkened. In her opinion, it was a good thing that Zhong Ke'er and Sun Shu had the opportunity to participate in the imperial examination.
"Zhi'er, if all four of them fail, wouldn't that be a disgrace to our family?"
Pei Jian looked at Pei Zhi and said, "Da Yu must have impure motives for letting the four of them participate in the imperial examination. The four of them should not have participated in this examination."
"But what if the four of them are less skilled and fail the exam?"
"How is that possible?"
Pei Jian looked at Pei Zhi with some disbelief, "Zhi'er, you've changed a lot since then, and you're not confident enough in our family anymore. This isn't a good thing."
"I know I was wrong."
Pei Zhi lowered her head. Seeing that Pei Jian was obviously displeased, she quickly lied and said that she was not feeling well and left the front yard, leaving Pei Jian with a gloomy look in his eyes.
He will certainly not allow the family's reputation to be damaged.
At this moment, Qin Zheng and his three companions had no thought of bringing shame to the aristocratic families. They were all as anxious as ants on a hot pan, waiting for the results to be released.
"Brother Qin, if I don't pass the exam, I... I want to try again."
Even Sun Cai himself was so shocked by those words that he couldn't utter a sound. Then, a self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips. He had to admit that he had been doing really well during this period.
He has a teacher who comes to instruct him every day, and he also has the opportunity to see the students' essays. Most importantly, he doesn't need to worry about anything else.
"I have never seen Brother Sun so insecure."
Qin Zheng smiled and said, "Da Yu is indeed full of talented people, we have to admit that, but our knowledge is not necessarily inferior to theirs."
"Let's wait for the results to be released."
......
Upon receiving Pei Jian's order, Zhong Lian'er became increasingly anxious. She even followed Zhong Wuyi into the palace during the day, carrying a food box.
"Mei'er, are you sure your family members can also enter the palace?" Zhong Lian'er asked slowly, looking at the scenery outside the carriage window.
"Don't worry, Miss. I went to ask the other day and they said it's fine to send some food."
Mei'er was a calm and composed person, and she was Zhong Wuyi's personal maid, whom Zhong Lian'er was specially assigned to.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Lian'er breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief. As the carriage drew closer to the palace gate, her palms began to sweat.
Hanlin Academy.
"Master Zhong, Miss Zhong has come to bring you some food. She is waiting outside the courtyard now."
Upon hearing the eunuch's words, Zhong Wuyi's pen trembled violently, and a drop of ink fell onto the paper.
"Lord Zhong is so lucky to have such a filial daughter," his colleagues said with a smile. "She's much more sensible than the previous young lady."
"My daughter is very perceptive, please don't laugh at her." Zhong Wu also forced a smile. "Please bring my daughter in, sir."
When Zhong Lian'er stepped into the Hanlin Academy, she first gave a slight bow to everyone present and said, "This humble girl, Zhong Lian'er, greets all the esteemed officials. Here is some fish soup; please have a taste."
The delicious aroma filled the air as Mei'er began serving fish soup to everyone. Zhong Lian'er seized the opportunity to walk up to Zhong Wuyi.
"Father, you've been grading exam papers here for several days now. When can you accompany Lian'er to burn incense?"
"It'll be finished in three more days."
Zhong Wuyi felt that the fish soup he drank was bitter. He glanced at Zhong Lian'er with indifferent eyes, and that one glance made Zhong Lian'er shiver involuntarily.
Fifteen minutes later, Yingzhi arrived in a hurry.
"My lords, His Majesty summons you to the Hall of Supreme Harmony."
As soon as Yingzhi finished speaking, Zhong Wuyi and the others hurriedly left the Hanlin Academy as if they had forgotten Zhong Lian'er's existence, leaving only the little eunuch who had brought Zhong Lian'er there.
“This… Miss Zhong, let this servant escort you out of the palace.”
Zhong Lian'er's eyes flickered. "Father-in-law, I want to wait here for Father to come back. Don't worry, I'll just sit here and drink the fish soup. If Father hasn't come back by the time I finish the fish soup, I'll leave the palace with you."
"Then this servant will wait for you outside the door."
Zhong Lian'er glanced at Mei'er, who was still inside the room, and said, "Mei'er, go and serve your father-in-law a bowl of fish soup. We'll have to trouble him later."
Then, taking advantage of the moment when Mei'er went out, Zhong Lian'er quickly flipped through the test paper.
The names on the exam papers were covered up, and Zhong Lian'er's heart skipped a beat. How was she supposed to see the scores from those people?
Just when Zhong Lian'er thought the mission was about to fail, suddenly, four test papers placed to the side caught her eye. Zhong Lian'er's eyes narrowed sharply, and she hurriedly reached out to flip through the test papers. In that instant, Zhong Lian'er felt a hard object blocking her throat.
“Miss Zhong, looking through the exam papers without permission is punishable by death.”
"Who are you? I... I didn't mean to, I was just curious so I came to take a look." Zhong Lian'er swallowed, but Ling Hai stretched out his right hand and chopped hard at Zhong Lian'er's neck.
When Zhong Lian'er woke up again, she was already in the dark dungeon.
"Where is this? What right do you have to arrest me?"
Zhong Lian'er struggled desperately, but the iron chains binding her hands and feet rendered her completely immobile. She was both anxious and furious; whoever could have captured her from the palace and brought her here...?
For a moment, Zhong Lian'er's vision went black.
"Miss Zhong, should I call you Zhong Lian'er... or Wu Ling?"
A voice rang out, and Jiang Yu's heavily pregnant figure slowly appeared in Zhong Lian'er's sight. Upon seeing Jiang Yu's protruding belly, Zhong Lian'er's mouth involuntarily opened wide.
"What? You've been sent to Dayu and you still don't recognize me?" Jiang Yu sat down in front of Zhong Lian'er, while the Lingxiao Pavilion guards behind her stared at Zhong Lian'er with murderous intent.
“It seems the Empress Dowager already knew my identity.” Zhong Lian’er quickly realized, “So today was a setup, and you deliberately called everyone away.”
"Tell me about the Pei family." Jiang Yu didn't want to waste any more words with Zhong Lian'er. "I don't have the patience to ask you anything else."
"What Pei family?"
Looking at Zhong Lian'er, who was feigning innocence, Jiang Yu revealed a cruel smile. "I don't have much patience. I only give people one chance. Either you speak, or you never speak at all."
"I......"
Zhong Lian'er clenched her fists. This Empress Dowager of Dayu was far more frightening than the head of the family.
“I’ll tell you everything, I’ll tell you everything.”
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