The Favorite of the Sick and Weak Lady - Chapter 82

“Is something wrong?” Seeing her silence, Song Luoning’s brows furrowed slightly.

How could this be?

Could she have guessed wrong, and the Grand Princess didn’t want to get involved?

“No, things went smoothly. Xiao Qinya also agreed.”

Could it be…

“Did the Grand Princess make an unreasonable demand?” Song Luoning asked again.

Seeing her shake her head, Song Luoning was surprised and her brows furrowed even more.

“No.” Xiao Yu buried her whole face in Song Luoning’s neck. After a while, a muffled, somewhat wronged voice came out.

If it’s none of those, then why?

Song Luoning endured the tickle on her neck and gently pushed her. “You get up first.”

“No.” Xiao Yu whined playfully.

Song Luoning felt the arm wrapped around her waist tighten, and her lips pressed closer against her neck, as if wanting to take more. The restless lips moved little by little, inch by inch, following instinct to find the other’s lips. Their mouths and teeth intertwined, and a familiar scent filled the entire space.

A desperate acceptance, a biting hunger, as if a long-starved beast had finally caught its prey and was eager to devour it.

“Mm~” Song Luoning felt a sharp sting on her lips. Before she could react, the other person had already changed their position and continued to bite her.

Lips and teeth intertwined, breath tangled.

It never felt like enough; it seemed only by integrating the other person into her body could she feel completely satisfied.

“Your Majesty…” What exactly happened?

Song Luoning didn’t get a chance to ask. She was swept up into a horizontal carry and, in a daze, found herself lying on the imperial bed.

Urgent, dense kisses rained down, more forceful than every time before. The person beneath her trembled slightly, and she could only follow her instincts to tightly grip Xiao Yu’s arm, letting her do as she pleased.

“My lady,” Xiao Yu called out softly.

“Mm~” Song Luoning’s body tensed, and with a slight shudder, she slowly relaxed. Feeling the satisfied tremor of the person beneath her, and just with these kisses and her hands remaining outside, the young mistress couldn’t take it anymore. But Xiao Yu wasn’t satisfied. She leaned down and continued, pulling her back into the vortex together.

After an unknown amount of time, the palace maids of Funing Palace were bustling in and out.

“You all go out. You are not needed here.”

After the maids left, Xiao Yu looked at the person on the bed, who was covered in sweat. She kissed her on the cheeks, where the flush had not yet faded, and coaxed her softly. “My lady, don’t sleep yet. I’ll carry you to wash up.”

“Mm~”

The young mistress didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes. She groaned and struggled a bit, then went limp again. Xiao Yu quickly wrapped her in a silk quilt, held her in her arms, and soothed her for a while before carrying her to the bath chamber.

“My lady, can you sleep a little later…” Xiao Yu coaxed gently.

The young mistress had her eyes closed, her body soft and weak. She was completely sprawled on Xiao Yu’s body, “Mm~” her voice light and gentle.

The young mistress was truly exhausted. Xiao Yu felt a bit guilty. She had originally intended to change the subject, but who knew that in the midst of kissing, she couldn’t stop herself. And that wasn’t all. Beneath the quilt, the jade-like skin…

Xiao Yu didn’t dare to look further and sped up her cleaning. Once clean, they returned to the bed, and Song Luoning was fast asleep.

The usually gentle cat now had her eyes closed. Her crow-feather-like long eyelashes fluttered, casting small shadows beneath her eyes. Her delicate features, and small cherry-like lips filled Xiao Yu with joy.

“My lady, don’t worry, I will definitely get to the bottom of this.” Xiao Yu murmured.

This matter… A hint of confusion appeared in Xiao Yu’s eyes. Since she came to the capital, trouble had been constant. Every time, it was her father-in-law’s family who helped her. How could she possibly doubt them just because Song Yanyu was the one who took her away?

Could it be that Song Yanyu was the one who took her, but after being released, they met the culprits, or…

Or what?

Xiao Yu sighed softly, her heart aching as she tightened her embrace.

What reason would they have to harm her?

The hour was late, but Xiao Yu, mindful of the matters she had discussed with the Grand Princess, got up and went to the Imperial Study again to meticulously review some arrangements.

The palace examination was in two days. For safety, a team of imperial guards was brought into the palace to supplement the existing guards.

At the same time, a royal dark guard unit trained by Xiao Qinya also quietly infiltrated the palace.

The day after tomorrow, after the court assembly, the thirty candidates would be escorted into the palace by armored soldiers and enter the Zichen Hall in a grand procession.

The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, and officials on both sides were granted seats. The original exam papers of the thirty candidates were presented by the proctors and personally unsealed by the Emperor.

Xiao Yu examined each candidate one by one. To her surprise, among the thirty candidates, there were two women. One was the Miss Shi, Shi Zining, whom she had met at Mingpin Tower. The other, wearing a rough Confucian gown and with a delicate appearance, was named Lin Qingyue, a commoner scholar.

“All of you scholars are talents of Baisheng. The palace examination topic is very simple; it will be on ‘women’s access to education’,” Xiao Yu said.

“This…”

What kind of a topic is this?

Everyone looked at each other. Women participating in the imperial exams was already absurd. To let women into schools would surely throw everything into chaos.

Not only were the officials displeased, but the thirty candidates, with the exception of the two women, all hesitated.

Before the exam began, palace staff moved tables into the hall. The thirty candidates took their seats in order. The exam duration was one hour. Even though the palace staff brought in ice, the candidates were still sweating profusely in the summer heat.

An hour quickly passed. The candidates left their tables, and palace staff collected the papers and presented them to the imperial desk. Thirty exam papers were neatly laid out.

Xiao Yu opened the first one, glanced at the author, and placed it aside indifferently. Then came the second, the third…

Of the thirty candidates, twenty were against women’s education.

Regardless of their academic merits, these twenty candidates were immediately disqualified from the top ten. Their ideas were different from hers, and they would only become obstacles in the future.

Of the remaining ten, Xiao Yu passed the papers to the officials. The officials in the court were all clever people; how could they not understand? The Emperor was clearly intent on letting women into schools.

However, this was extremely unfair to those candidates who held different opinions. Their academic and literary skills were no worse than others, but they were directly eliminated simply for not aligning with the Emperor’s ideas.

“Your Majesty, this old official believes the matter of women’s education should not be rushed,” Song Yunzhou stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed.

“I second that.”

“I second that.”

Heh~

Here they go again. What else can these people do?

Xiao Yu ignored them and instead asked, “What do the ministers think of these few essays?”

The court fell silent for a moment.

“I think this one is excellent. The perspective is unique, and the writing is exceptional,” Xiao Qinya said with a smile, pointing to one of them.

Everyone’s eyes followed her voice.

“Oh?” Xiao Yu cleared her throat.

Xiao Qinya raised an eyebrow, handed the paper to a palace attendant, who then presented it to the Emperor.

Xiao Yu unfolded it and was delighted. This was indeed the paper she liked the most. She smiled. “Good. The Grand Princess is right. It is indeed a piece of exceptional writing and a rare find. Pass it down for the ministers to see.”

“…”

The Emperor had already said so; could they say it wasn’t good?

The Minister of Rites looked at Chancellor Song. Seeing his silence, he gritted his teeth and took the paper. As he focused on it, he almost dropped it. This was clearly a ridiculous essay that went against all moral and ethical norms. How was it good? If women could attend school and study like men, wouldn’t the Three Cardinal Bonds and Five Constant Virtues all be thrown into chaos?

This…

How should he comment?

He again cast his gaze at Chancellor Song, hoping he would say something. But this time, no matter how much he blinked, Chancellor Song didn’t react. Finally, under his gaze, he simply closed his eyes.

What did this mean?

Did he mean to turn a blind eye?

He forced himself to agree. “It is indeed an excellent essay.” He then nodded to Grand Secretary Zhang beside him and passed the paper.

“…” This exam paper…

Grand Secretary Zhang’s mouth twitched. He glanced at the Minister of Rites and thought to himself, ‘Since this old fellow said so, he must have been instructed by Chancellor Song. The Emperor is also Chancellor Song’s son-in-law. It’s safe to agree with what he says.’

“This old official also thinks it is a rare and excellent piece of writing.”

After it was passed around, the exam paper returned to Xiao Yu’s hands. “Since all of you ministers think it’s good, I hereby announce that this year’s top scholar is Shi Zining.”

“…”

A woman?

Everyone was in an uproar.

Xiao Yu was not a dictator and directly handed out the remaining papers. “Our dynasty has many talented people. I truly do not know how to choose. Why don’t the ministers help me select?”

In the end, the top three were chosen: Shi Zining, Li Jun, and Cui Ming. The other woman, Lin Qingyue, only ranked eighth.

Xiao Yu was not in a hurry to bestow awards. After the palace examination ended, she sent them back to wait for news.

There were many places where she needed to place people. Qingzhou needed a governor, she needed an imperial tutor, establishing a women’s school required capable people, and the court also needed people to support her.

These things couldn’t be solved overnight.

Moreover, there was still a mastermind lurking, watching her. Xiao Yu felt a moment of dejection, but hardship never allows for a moment’s rest. Before she could react, she received another report from a local official: continuous heavy rain in Jiangnan had submerged multiple counties, and the people were displaced.

The court’s granaries needed to be opened for relief efforts, and there was a need for disaster relief officials and someone to manage the flood.

“Your Majesty, it’s time for your meal. Some things can’t be rushed.”

Xiao Yu looked up at the sound and saw her ascending the steps. She sighed softly, her delicate features filled with heartache, and she looked at herself tenderly.

“My lady, I can’t eat. These past two days, I’ve been studying flood control plans. Jiangnan has many mountains, and the yearly rain flows down. If not dredged in time, it will wash away people’s fields and villages. Opening up new waterways is necessary, but the treasury is empty. Where will I find the money to do so? And opening waterways is not a task that can be completed overnight. Who should I send to do it?”

Song Luoning put down the tray in her hand. “Opening waterways cannot be completed overnight. Why doesn’t Your Majesty first send people for disaster relief and have someone map out the geography of the Jiangnan region for further study?”

“My lady, do you have a candidate in mind?” Xiao Yu naturally took her hand, pulling the two of them closer.

The only exam paper that analyzed the geography of Jiangnan was Lin Qingyue’s. Should she send her?

That wouldn’t be appropriate. She was from a commoner background. If she were sent now, the local officials would not listen to her, and it could affect the flood control efforts. Who should she send?

Xiao Yu’s final choice was Li Jun. First, he was the Empress Dowager’s nephew and from an aristocratic family, so local officials would be cautious in their dealings with him. Second, although the Empress Dowager hadn’t asked her to take care of her nephew, her words that day still lingered in her ears.

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