"Your Highness." Wenlan bowed, but her eyes held a sharp glint.
Yun An caught sight of her and immediately felt annoyed: "So it's Aunt Wenlan. I suppose you have something to do. I also need to pay my respects to my mother, so I won't delay any longer."
Originally, Yun An wanted to give Shen Tangning a hard time, but unexpectedly, the Empress's people were also there. No matter how arrogant Yun An was, he didn't dare to provoke the Empress's people.
She waved her hand listlessly. Jinping understood and glared at the kneeling maid: "What are you still standing there for? The princess is in a good mood today, consider yourself lucky. Hurry up and follow me!"
Shen Tangning stared intently as the maid rose in a panic, then followed her hastily, unable to recover for a long time.
“Princess Yun’an’s temperament is truly becoming more and more…” Wenlan frowned, but ultimately swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Turning her head, she saw Shen Tangning’s appearance and noticed something was wrong. “What’s wrong, Miss?”
Shen Tangning withdrew her gaze, concealing the strange look in her eyes: "It's nothing. I was just surprised to see that the maid the princess just punished had an unusual appearance."
A thoughtful look flashed across her eyes. The woman's face was uneven, not like it was congenital, but rather like it was damaged later in life.
This made her think of the person Yuan Zhao had mentioned before. He said he went to the princess's residence to find a woman whose appearance was disfigured. Could it be the one from earlier?
——
Baohe Hall.
Chi Yan is not having an easy time either.
It was his first time meeting the emperor, and he was somewhat nervous. After being led into the hall, he didn't dare to look around much, only hearing a dignified and deep voice from the head of the hall:
"You are Chi Yan?"
Chi Yan, however, calmed down and stepped forward gracefully to bow: "Your Majesty, I am Chi Yan, a humble subject."
Emperor Chongde's eyes scrutinized him as he coldly said, "Raise your head."
Ordinary people would feel a little apprehensive after hearing his tone, but Chi Yan only paused for a moment before raising his head as if to comply.
The emperor had a dignified and somewhat unsmiling face. He was probably a handsome young man in his youth, but now, with the passage of time, his brows were deeply furrowed, and his eyes were dark and deep, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
The wrath of Heaven is unpredictable, and indeed it was so.
Chi Yan glanced at it briefly before lowering her eyes, revealing her natural curiosity without being offensive.
Perhaps this innocent and guileless demeanor pleased the emperor, for Emperor Chongde's brows relaxed and his tone softened slightly: "I heard that you were the top scholar in this year's provincial examination. Let me see if you are truly capable or if you have cheated! If you have cheated, then you are deceiving the emperor. Do you know what kind of punishment you will face?"
Chi Yan's lips curled slightly: "This humble subject is willing to accept Your Majesty's examination."
Emperor Chongde raised an eyebrow, his gaze hardening: "Very well, then let me see what you're capable of! Bring me paper and pen!"
It seems he intends to set the questions himself.
Chi Yan was also somewhat surprised. He bowed his head respectfully and waited. Before long, Eunuch Fu was already holding Emperor Chongde's calligraphy. He smiled and glanced at Chi Yan: "Young Master Chi, please get up and come with me."
Chi Yan stood up, and a eunuch carried a long table into the hall. Writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones were prepared on the table. Eunuch Fu led him to sit down and handed him the question the emperor had given him.
Chi Yan accepted it with both hands, glanced at the words on it, and saw that they were written in a vigorous and elegant style!
Beautiful handwriting!
He gathered his thoughts and carefully examined the contents. He focused his mind and realized that His Majesty had set three questions. They were not difficult, but the topics were somewhat sensitive.
For example, if you ask him how to clean up corrupt officials or how to balance the interests of aristocratic families and those from humble backgrounds, are these things he can worry about?
If he doesn't answer well, not only will he offend people, but if His Majesty investigates, will he still be able to keep his head on his neck?
Why did he feel like His Majesty was making things difficult for him?
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