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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.] [Esther D.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[J Jean] [K.Rom] [Smurfinbatik] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Maria P.] [Nicole]
G O L D S T A R
[Cindy] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Reece P.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Amanda] [Book W.] [Britnae M] [Caroline] [Christigale M.] [DetectiveGeek421] [Haruka N.]
[Hlau V.] [Ine O.] [Kiiayame] [kuroneko_chan] [Liznel M.] [Mich.e.l.le K.] [onepiece] [Oushna]
[Ray] [Samanta V.] [Scorpion Princess] [Sweetlove] [Victoria]
Yao shi moved to Bishui Alley, and the whole family was very happy as they welcomed her.
Yao shi didn"t bring a servant girl with her, only Grannie Fang.
Gu Yan vacated his room and moved to live with Gu Xiaoshun.
Gu Xiaoshun didn’t mind. After all, the bed was so big that there was enough s.p.a.ce to sleep in even for three people! In addition, the two go to school and learn craftsmanship together, and their friendship only grew with each pa.s.sing day. Now they were really like brothers.
Yao shi and Grannie Fang stayed in Gu Yan’s room.
Old Chief lived next door, and the elderly woman thought how much ha.s.sle it was to circle to the main entrance every time she went there to rob people’s private money, hence she simply had people open an entrance on the wall connecting the two houses, turning them into a compound-type courtyard house.
Grannie Fang lived in the same room as Yao shi mainly because it was convenient to take care of Yao shi that way.
The news of Yao shi"s pregnancy wasn’t hidden from them. Everyone was aware that Yao shi had a baby in her belly.
Gu Yan stared at Yao shi"s belly for a long time, unable to believe that he was going to be a big brother.
Little Jing Kong walked over to Yao shi with his small hands behind his back; tilting his head, he asked, "Madame, is the baby in your belly a younger brother or a younger sister?"
Yao shi smiled and asked back, "Does Jing Kong want a younger brother or a younger sister?"
Little Jing Kong thought for a moment, and his eyes swept around to make sure Xiao Liulang wasn"t at home. He stood on tiptoe and whispered in Yao shi"s ear, "Brother. A younger brother like bad brother-in-law."
So he could roll and flatten his bad brother-in-law!
Wuhaha!
Little Jing Kong still regretted the fact that his bad brother-in-law didn’t become Little Eight, so he pinned his hopes on the little brother in Yao shi"s belly.
He had a very strange logic: as long as a younger brother was born, his bad brother-in-law would become the younger brother.
How could Yao shi guess the child"s wild ideas? She only thought that Little Jing Kong wanted to have a younger brother to play with him.
It wasn’t easy for her to get pregnant with such a body. As for whether the child was a son or daughter, she felt either way was fine.
Little Jing Kong carefully took care of Yao shi and his little brother for a while, and then turned to do his own thing.
Xiao Liulang had been busy recently, and there was some trouble on Feng Lin’s side—— As a person of Song County, after pa.s.sing the provincial exam, someone used his name to rent out farmland.
In the State of Zhao, lands under a Juren"s name could be exempted from taxes.
Feng Lin"s parents weren’t farmers, it was their relatives who rented out farmland everywhere under Feng Lin’s name, allowing them to uncannily receive large sums of money in the name of "filial ties". But Feng Lin knew nothing about this.
It so happened that the imperial court was rectifying the practice of renting out farmlands, especially those involving fraudulent ways, and as luck would have it, Song County was taken as an example to others.
This kind of thing could be big or small. If big, Feng Lin would lose his Juren t.i.tle and could no longer partic.i.p.ate in the imperial examination.
Feng Lin was freaking out.
Xiao Liulang asked if his parents were involved in the incident. Feng Lin told Xiao Liulang that his parents didn"t partic.i.p.ate, but his relatives gave his parents some of the profit. When they sent it, they only said that it was a small gift from everyone, and it was an aid for Feng Lin"s studies. After meeting with a mishap, they insisted that it was the dividend for renting out farmlands.
His parents wanted to jump into the Yellow River to wash themselves clean of this crime. In order not to implicate their son, they almost hanged themselves. Fortunately, Feng Lin"s sister found out in time and managed to dissuade them.
If it had been earlier, this wasn’t difficult to solve at all. Feng Lin just had to make a trip back and confront them face to face, but it was still the metropolitan exam period and Feng Lin couldn’t leave the capital.
After much inquiry, Xiao Liulang learned that the local provincial governor in charge of this matter could be considered half disciple of Old Feng. Old Feng had promoted him when Old Feng was the Senior Official of the State Ceremonial Bureau. Thus, Xiao Liulang sent an urgent letter to the provincial governor as Old Feng"s disciple and successor.
Xiao Liulang returned to Bishui Alley. Little Jing Kong, who was supposed to be doing his homework in his room at this hour, was sitting on the threshold with a puppy, seven chickens and a little falcon that had grown up a lot.
What an extremely neat formation!
Xiao Liulang was vexed and amused at the same time, "You welcome me with such a big troop?"
Little Jing Kong glanced at him and proudly revealed a golden medal in his hand, "JiaoJiao gave me a gift!"
He actually waited here for a long time just to show off to him.
Xiao Liulang thought it was just an ordinary little toy, but the moment he held it in his hand, he found that the medal was heavy. He suddenly felt something was amiss and looked intently at it, as a result, he was dumbfounded.
Wasn"t this the death penalty exemption golden medallion of the imperial family?
Seriously. He just took his eyes off of home for a while, and she even got this golden medallion that let people avoid death?
What kind of development of things was this?
"JiaoJiao gave it to me! You’re not allowed to s.n.a.t.c.h it!" Little Jing Kong stood on tiptoe, grabbed the golden medal and held it in his arms securely.
"Stingy." Xiao Liulang rubbed his little head and stepped into the yard.
Little Jing Kong, whose head had been rubbed mercilessly but could not resist, went crazy!
See that! That was why he must grow up quickly! He should grow as big as his bad brother-in-law, make his bad brother-in-law the smaller one, and then crumple him without mercy! Crumple him!
Xiao Liulang met Yao shi in the backyard.
Gu Jiao had mentioned to the family a long time ago that she would bring Yao Shi over to live with them, so he was not surprised to see Yao Shi.
Xiao Liulang could clearly feel that when Yao shi was around, Gu Jiao"s mood would become better.
Perhaps Gu Jiao herself didn"t realize this.
Xiao Liulang greeted Yao shi and went to the kitchen.
Gu Jiao was cutting vegetables.
Xiao Liulang said, "In a good mood?"
"No." Gu Jiao tilted her head.
Xiao Liulang: Look at the little girl’s smug appearance.
Perhaps because she was now living under the same roof with her son and daughter, Yao shi felt much better and her appet.i.te was much better as well.
Gu Jiao had a good appet.i.te too. Xiao Liulang noticed that she ate half a bowl of rice more than usual. She even ate two chopsticks of citron daylily which she hated the most.
On the other hand, Gu Jinyu’s situation wasn’t looking good.
The Emperor had personally ordered her to be sent to the Ministry of Justice for damaging the imperial jade seal. Although the matter was still under investigation and she had not been convicted, she was a weak woman locked up in a cold and gloomy interrogation room. She was afraid to say anything, and her body could not bear it either.
At first, she really believed it was just an accident, but gradually, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss.
How could His Majesty suddenly care about her marriage?
At that time, she believed herself to be infallible, thinking that she had enough capital to make His Majesty attach importance to her. But after two days of repeated thinking, His Majesty had never personally managed the marriage of any princess; it was all arranged by Empress Dowager Zhuang and Empress Xiao.
Furthermore, how could His Majesty casually put such a valuable thing like the imperial jade seal in a pile of portraits?
His Majesty did it on purpose.
From the moment she firmly denied stealing Gu Jiao"s invention, His Majesty decided to punish her.
His Majesty was, after all, not a temperamental tyrant. He must have a good reason for punishing people, hence the imperial jade seal.
It was just that His Majesty did not immediately punish her for her crime. What was his Majesty waiting for back then?
Suddenly, the door of the interrogation room opened.
Eunuch Wei came in.
Gu Jinyu looked at him excitedly, "Eunuch Wei! You came! Did His Majesty send you here? I... I really didn"t do it on purpose! I didn"t know that the imperial jade seal was placed there! Please put in a good word for me in front of His Majesty!"
Eunuch Wei smiled faintly and sighed, "Look at what the princess is saying. This sage is but a mere servant, when is it this sage’s turn to influence His Majesty"s decision? Besides, since His Majesty is in a fit of anger, this sage dares not rashly speak in front of His Majesty and invite bad luck for oneself."
Gu Jinyu was disappointed, "Then, what business does eunuch have for coming here today? Did His Majesty order for me to be punished?"
"This sage came here today to show the princess a way out." Eunuch Wei smiled and continued, "The princess should know how big the crime of damaging the imperial jade seal is. If the princess wants her life to be spared, it"s best to tell the truth about the bellows."
Gu Jinyu"s expression gradually solidified.
His Majesty said that the credit for the invention of bellows belonged to the little miracle physician, and he could not allow anyone else to take this credit, especially since this person also slandered the little miracle physician for stealing her ideas. She simply didn’t know what she was talking about!
Eunuch Wei sneered, "This sage"s words have all been said, now it’s all up to the princess to decide. However, this sage should remind the princess that His Majesty"s patience is limited."
After Eunuch Wei left, Gu Jinyu slumped down on the chair.
How did things end up like this?
Why was His Majesty standing up for that country b.u.mpkin?
Wasn’t it just inventing bellows? What was the big deal?
Apart from this, what else could that girl do?!
Why was it that even the Emperor protected her!
Gu Jinyu was truly indignant.
But right now, she was behind bars and there was nothing she could do.
In the middle of the night, her personal servant girl came. She asked her servant girl to enter the palace and beg for help from Imperial Concubine Shu.
The Emperor had expected that Imperial Concubine Shu would come to intercede for Gu Jinyu, so he spent these past few days with Qin Chuyu at Empress Xiao’s palace.
Empress Xiao always liked to spoil her youngest son very much, but His Majesty was also present all the time. It wasn’t like she could do anything to make His Majesty scram ah!
Empress Xiao looked at the little fat man who was burying his head in the fruits, her expression indescribable, "Your Majesty, will you bring Little Seven here again tomorrow?"
Emperor: "En, I am spoiling him these days."
Qin Chuyu who hadn’t the slightest clue: "…"
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the second month. There were still a few more days before the list of successful examinees was published, but the examinees in the capital could no longer enjoy their meals as they waited outside the examination compound everyday to see their results.
After more than ten days of marking exam papers in seclusion, the work in the inner hall was finally coming to an end.
"This is the last batch of exam papers." The Deputy Examiner put the last pile of vermillion exam papers in front of the Chief Examiner.
The Chief Examiner rubbed his sore eyes and said, "Let"s call it a day. Let"s go and have a rest. We should be able to finish reexamining the rest of the papers tomorrow."
After all the exam papers were reexamined, the list could be released in the afternoon of that day.
The marking officers stood up with sore backs and walked out of their seats. Then they bowed in salute to the Chief Examiner and said, "Sending off my Lord."
The night was dark and windy.
Everyone fell asleep.
Gu Jiao also lay on the bed of the east room.
The weather in the final days of the second month still had a trace of coolness. She had enough internal heat and wasn’t afraid of the cold.
Covered with a quilt, she soon fell asleep.
Then, she dreamed again.Raz P."s Thoughts
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