In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1083 - 1078: Adding Splendor to the Brocade

Chapter 1083: Chapter 1078: Adding Splendor to the Brocade

And this was precisely what those people had noticed and remembered.

Afterward, Xue Qian also took the initiative to answer two questions, equally receiving small gifts from His Majesty as rewards. It wasn’t until he sat down, feeling pleased with himself, that he lifted an eyebrow mockingly at Su Ke.

This Xue Qian seemed to be the second-ranked candidate on the name register!

Su Pan’er watched him for a few moments and, using the opportunity of drinking tea, she stealthily glanced at Qin Shuan’er’s expression.

However, Qin Shuan’er kept her head down the whole time, her thoughts unreadable. This made Su Pan’er struggle to guess what she was thinking, and she couldn’t help but frown repeatedly.

Yet, from the side, a sharp gaze caught her attention. Su Pan’er quickly turned her head, only to see Qin Yi averting his eyes nonchalantly as if their exchange of looks was merely accidental.

Su Pan’er’s gaze turned somewhat forlorn.

Since that day, for several days in a row, His Majesty had neither visited Huayang Palace nor spoken to her. This was unprecedented, and Su Pan’er felt quite unaccustomed to it.

She was secretly heartbroken, unable to suppress the emergence of negative thoughts that arose ever since she had mentioned her difficulties with conceiving on that day. Still, she forcibly suppressed them deep inside.

The riddle guessing soon came to an end, and afterward, it was time for everyone to enjoy themselves. The Emperor and Empress didn’t leave but instead led the group to truly admire the flowers in the Imperial Garden.

Accompanying the Emperor and Empress to admire the flowers was an honor beyond compare, and none of the attendees left, silently following along.

Su Pan’er walked beside Qin Yi, and by now, she truly couldn’t decipher his thoughts.

It was said that serving the emperor was like keeping company with a tiger. Su Pan’er had never really had the chance to understand the meaning of this saying when she was merely the person by his pillow. But at this moment, she felt its profound implications deeply.

Qin Yi, walking beside her, seemed oblivious to the turmoil within her heart, simply strolling in parallel to her.

Su Pan’er constantly tried to maintain a half-step distance between them, but each time she had only taken a few steps, Qin Yi would intentionally or unintentionally draw closer again.

By the time Su Pan’er grew wary of the situation, she had noticed His Majesty laughing and chatting with some of the key ministers, leaving her confused as to whether Qin Yi was truly waiting for her intentionally or if it was just subconscious behavior.

With these thoughts in mind, Su Pan’er turned her head to look away, momentarily avoiding the awkward position she found herself in.

But just then, Jiu Lan, following behind, bumped into her as if by accident, prompting Su Pan’er to instinctively glance at her.

Jiu Lan’s face was somewhat pale, but she cast a covert glance to the side.

Su Pan’er then turned her head in puzzlement to look at the person beside her and realized something was amiss. Lord Liu, right there in front of the civil and military officials and their family members, was fiercely berating Su Ke.

"...Therefore, I believe that as a senior official in The Ministry of Civil Affairs, I ought to manage the affairs of the Beneficent Examination properly. With such a grave error occurring under my watch, His Majesty should enforce severe punishment."

Su Pan’er had been distracted earlier and truly hadn’t understood what this stepfather of hers was talking about. Just hearing the latter part of his speech was enough to make her furrow her brow and come to a halt.

She hadn’t heard clearly, but all the ministers and His Majesty there had heard everything.

Qin Yi slightly furrowed his brow, cleared his throat, and then unexpectedly turned to look at Su Pan’er before speaking lightly, "Su Ke, just now Lord Liu accused you of being unlearned and arrogant, relying on your status as the Uncle-in-law to the nation and even colluding with several schoolmates to show disrespect to the ministers. Moreover, you previously climbed over walls into residential areas and had entanglements with concubines from the inner court. These deeds led to your securing the second rank in the Beneficent Examination. What have you to say about this matter?"

Liu Yankang, what status does he hold, and why, after siding with Qin Zitong, is he still alive and kicking in the Court, living a life of zest—something all the ministers in the court know too well, as if looking into a mirror.

His Majesty has repeatedly shown forbearance towards him, and to say that it has nothing to do with the Empress, probably no sensible person would believe that if it were said.

However, at this moment, Liu Yankang is targeting Su Pan’er and speaking against Su Ke. This has made the expressions of the courtiers watching the show all the more entertaining.

Even Su Pan’er couldn’t help but sneer in her heart!

Liu Yankang really knows how to court death!

In the past, the Liu Family tried to control her marriage, which angered her. Following one incident after another, Su Pan’er completely lost any intention of returning to the Liu family.

Although she had not acknowledged her biological parents, considering that they were after all her blood relatives, she spared not only the lives of the Liu Family but even preserved Liu Yankang’s official position.

This Liu Yankang, not only did he not thank her, but what’s more infuriating is that he is unexpectedly exerting himself behind her back, trying to kick her when she’s down and drag her into the mire as well?

Grief and indignation spread in Su Pan’er’s heart, and at the same time, a surge of anger bubbled up from within her.

These people, they can’t bear to see her have a single day of peace, can they?

Su Ke stepped forward earnestly and bowed towards His Majesty, "Reporting to His Majesty, Su Ke is puzzled by what Lord Liu has just petitioned. I would ask Lord Liu to clarify this matter for this humble one."

Qin Yi’s face remained unchanged, not betraying the slightest hint of his thoughts. He only glanced at Liu Yankang indifferently and pronounced his golden words, "Granted!"

One word, yet it weighed a thousand pounds.

Su Ke, having received the order, turned to look at Liu Yankang and then sneered twice, "Lord Liu, this uncle-in-law has something he does not understand. Is there a regulation in our Great Zhou that forbids an uncle-in-law from participating in the Imperial Examination?"

"This..."

With a single question, Su Ke stumped Liu Yankang.

Upon further consideration, indeed, since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty hundreds of years ago, there had been no law stating that an uncle-in-law could not take part in the Imperial Examination. However, this was also because generally Imperial Relatives would not participate in the Imperial Examination, right?

One could understand that these Imperial Relatives thought themselves superior; why would they demean themselves to join the ranks of the impoverished scholars and strive to leap through the challenging ’Fish Leaping Through the Dragon’s Gate’ alongside them?

They were born with power and influence, with life plans already arranged from birth, idling their time away in brawls, visiting brothels, and drinking to their heart’s content. When the time came, they would marry an equally well-matched daughter under the arrangement of their parents, have a few children and wait for their fathers to pass on before inheriting the title, thus continuing to bring havoc upon the world. When their own time came to pass, they would pass on their titles to their sons, and the cycle would continue.

Of course, many titles were not hereditary across generations, with some lasting only three generations. The descendants from those Noble Houses were even more eager to clamber upwards.

In such circumstances, who else besides Su Ke would genuinely roll up their sleeves and participate in the Imperial Examination?

However, it’s hardly surprising, especially considering that in the many years since the founding of the Great Zhou, there had never been a case like that of His Majesty’s, where he fell into commoner status, let alone the issue of marrying a discarded wife as the Empress.

Su Ke, this Uncle-in-law, truly was an exception.

Other Imperial Relatives might not need the Imperial Examination to add splendor, but Su Ke urgently needed it.