Chapter 1166: The Emperor is in Name Only, Sisters Persuade Him to Enter the Imperial Palace

Since ancient times, emperors have hated it most when their subjects communicated with each other internally and externally, formed cliques for personal gain, and interfered with military power.

Because of the issue of taking sides, the Rong and Ning mansions had already openly given up all military power in the early years.

Only Jia Zheng remained in the Ministry of Works, serving as a small official.

Now, Li Gui ran to the Beijing camp to ask for help, and immediately a team of cavalry appeared.

If this matter were to be heard by Emperor Longqing and the retired emperor, it would certainly cause dissatisfaction among them.

Jia Zheng was an honest man, so he simply reported himself and wrote a letter to apologize to the emperor.

When Dai Quan received Jia Zheng's letter of apology, he did not dare to neglect it and presented it directly to the emperor.

After reading the memorial, the emperor didn't care.

After all, the four kings and eight dukes have a profound influence on military power, and it is not something that the Rong and Ning mansions can just withdraw from.

Besides, the border is still unstable, and the emperor is still relying on the four kings and eight dukes to defend the country.

What's more, the Beijing camp only sent fifty people to protect the safety of the second son of the Rongguo Mansion, which was not a big deal at all.

Of course, although he didn't care, the emperor still asked solemnly:

"Otomo, how much do you know about this?"

"I don't know much!"

Dai Quan thought for a moment, and then told the story of how Su Mingzhe accompanied Lin Daiyu out of the palace to pay tribute to Jia Min, how bandits intended to kidnap them, and how Su Mingzhe fought against thirty or forty bandits alone, shot twenty of them dead, captured twelve, and also took credit for the Cavalry Battalion.

After hearing this, the emperor was immediately happy:

"I thought that the descendants of Lords Rong and Ning were all good-for-nothings!"

"No way."

Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood, Dai Quan helped introduce him:
"This Master Jia Ying took the top spot in the Chang'an Prefecture Examination a few days ago. You praised his poem "Ode to the Plum Blossom" for being a good one!"

"It's the song 'Beauty doesn't fight for spring, she just announces the arrival of spring!' right?"

After being reminded, the emperor suddenly remembered:

"This Jia Ying is not bad. He is good at both civil and military affairs. He is a promising talent! Please send this memorial to the emperor and let him handle it!"

After hearing this, Dai Quan immediately understood what the emperor meant and immediately sent the memorial to the Daming Palace.

After listening to the report, Emperor Longqing had the same idea as the retired emperor and didn't take it seriously at all.

After all, the Beijing Camp was the sphere of influence of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes and the Emperor Emeritus.

In addition, Jia Zheng's attitude was also good, and Jia Ying was both civil and military, so these things made Emperor Longqing keep them in mind.

……

Su Mingzhe had no idea what Jia Zheng had done, let alone that his name was already on the mind of the retired emperor and the emperor.

After returning from the memorial service, Su Mingzhe resumed his previous carefree life.

During the day, he either played with Lin Daiyu or went to spend time with Wang Xifeng.

At night, Su Mingzhe asked eight maids and two dancers to take turns serving him.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed.

The weather is getting hotter.

One day, Qiaojie suddenly developed herpes, and her nurse quickly told Jia Lian.

However, Jia Lian disdained that it was an infectious disease and asked the wet nurse to take the baby to the backyard to fend for itself.

Seven or eight days later, the wet nurse told Jia Lian that Qiaojie, who was not even one year old, had died.

Jia Lian didn't like this girl in the first place, so he just pretended to cry for a few sentences. Without even looking at her, he asked the wet nurse to find a place to bury the child.

On the second day.

Su Mingzhe carried the "resurrected" Qiaojie to Wang Xifeng.

"My girl!"

The moment Wang Xifeng saw her daughter, she forgot all the men and money that she had been thinking about.

Su Mingzhe did not disturb the mother and daughter's meeting. He took Ping'er and Feng'er to the room of the two little maids next door to communicate with each other.

By noon.

Feng'er, who is an excellent cook, started to prepare lunch with two maids.

Su Mingzhe wanted to get up and go see Sister Feng, but Ping'er continued to pester the man.

After a long while, Ping'er, who had recovered from her shock, said to the man cautiously, "Second Master, Ping'er wants to tell you something. You must not get angry."

"Just tell me, as long as you don't cheat on me, everything else can be discussed!"

Su Mingzhe's words made Ping'er's already red face become even more beautiful:

"Second Master, Ping'er is talking to you about something serious!"

"Okay, okay, go ahead and tell me!"

Su Mingzhe got off the horse. Ping'er tidied herself up a little, then lay in the man's arms and spoke:

"Actually, it's about Red Jade and Green Pearl."

Hongyu and Luzhu are the two maids that Wang Xifeng bought after she came here. They are quite good-looking, but not very old, probably eleven or twelve years old at most.

"In fact, Hongyu's last name is Lin, and her parents are my grandmother's concubine, Lin Zhixiao and his wife. Luzhu's last name is Lai, and her parents are Laiwang and his wife."

Lin Zhixiao and his wife, and Lai Wang and his wife, were both Wang Xifeng's companions.

Although this couple did a lot of evil things, many of them were instigated by Wang Xifeng.

The killings of Lin Zhixiao and Lai Wang could be considered as Wang Xifeng's punishment.

Later, Wang Xifeng secretly bought Hongyu and Luzhu, fulfilling her duties as a mistress.

Ping'er carefully explained the life stories of the two maids, and then looked at the man.

Unexpectedly, Su Mingzhe didn't seem surprised at all, and even curled his lips and chuckled:
"I'm not blind. Hongyu and Luzhu also grew up in Rongguo Mansion. How could I not remember them?"

"I forgot that Second Master likes to remember girls the most."

Ping Er looked down upon the man and then continued:

"Since Second Master knows about them, does Second Master plan to take them in as well, or send them away after two years?"

"Let's talk about it then."

Su Mingzhe is really ready to wait and see.

If Hongyu and Luzhu did not hate the Rongguo Mansion and did not hate himself, and were unwilling to follow him, sending them away would not be a problem.

However, if the two little maids showed the slightest hostility, Su Mingzhe would never let them go.

After lunch, Su Mingzhe exchanged feelings with Sister Feng twice before leaving.

A few days passed.

At Xiren's reminder, Su Mingzhe reluctantly sent the two sisters Ruixue and Woxue to Wang Xifeng.

Then another month passed.

It was June.

The time for the Gyeonggi Province entrance examination has finally been announced.

Su Mingzhe went to sign up again.

According to the established rules.

The first place in the prefectural examination will basically not be eliminated in the academy examination as long as it does not violate any taboos and its answers are above the standard.

Therefore, everyone in the Rongguo Mansion has begun discussing privately how to celebrate for Su Mingzhe after the list is announced.

Su Mingzhe came back from registration and just arrived in the backyard, he heard such discussions.

But Xichun suddenly giggled and said:

"Do you remember that this year is still the Year of the Rabbit, and there will be a provincial examination in August! You say that if my second brother gets the title of scholar after the college examination, he might as well apply for the provincial examination directly. Maybe he can become a juren in one go!"

"It's easy to be a scholar, but difficult to be a juren!"

Although Su Mingzhe was confident that he would pass the exam, he didn't need to be so high-profile. He immediately walked into the flower hall with a smile, greeted everyone with a smile, and said:
"After I get the title of scholar, I plan to study at the Imperial College for two years. When I'm older, I'll sign up for the provincial examination!"

Tanchun was moved by Xichun's words and began to persuade her:
"Brother, since it's easy to sign up, why not give it a try? Even if it's just to get a feel for the provincial exam atmosphere in advance, you'll have to study with a purpose when you enter the Imperial College."

"That's what the two sisters said!"

Xue Baochai also followed suit and advised:

"Brother Bao, no matter if it succeeds or not, let's just try. If it succeeds, we can save three years of waiting!"

After Xue Baochai had persuaded her, she realized that her persuasiveness was not enough, so she smiled at the silent Lin Daiyu and said:

"Sister Lin, Brother Bao listens to you the most. Please try to persuade him. It is better to deal with this matter sooner rather than later!"

(End of this chapter)