The doctor concubine who broke off the engagement was forced to rush to the wedding, but became the

Not only were the Chiayi Earl's Mansion and the Weiguo Duke's Mansion in high spirits over the matter of the new imperial examination candidate, but the entire street leading out of the Suzaku Gate was also filled with people sitting in teahouses and taverns.

The private rooms of those famous Kyoto restaurants were booked early on by the daughters of officials, just to watch the parade of new scholars that only took place once every three years.

In a private room on the second floor of Shuiyunlou, the largest restaurant in Kyoto, a woman of about sixteen or seventeen was sipping tea by the window.

She had her hair in a stunning bun, and wore a peony flower necklace with gold, kingfisher and pearl decorations, and a sable fur coat. She was like a blooming peony, extremely beautiful, with a delicate face and eyebrows like a crescent moon, revealing a natural nobility.

On the balcony along the street outside the private room stood several women of about her age. Judging from their attire, they were all noble ladies from the capital, except that their demeanor was somewhat inferior to that of the woman in the room.

The noise on the street was getting closer and closer, and a team of newly-appointed scholars rode out on horseback from the crowd at the end of the street.

A woman with a cross bun and a golden hairpin inlaid with red and blue sapphire butterflies trotted into the room and said to the woman in the room with a smile, "Anle, come out quickly, the new number one scholar is here. I heard that he is the only legitimate son of the Earl of Chiayi. Although his family background is a bit poor, he looks very good, not worse than your second prince cousin."

Princess Anle's name is Zhao Wuyou, and her mother is the current emperor's half-sister, Princess Yongtai. It is said that the current emperor and this sister are quite different in age. Although she is a younger sister, she is about the same age as the eldest princess. The current emperor treats her like a daughter and later marries her to the youngest son of the Zhenxi General's Mansion, making for a good marriage.

The current empress dowager came from the wealthy Cao family, and the current emperor made the daughter of the Cao family the empress. The crown prince was the legitimate son of Empress Cao, so Princess Yongtai naturally stood on the side of her maternal grandfather, the Cao family, which also affected Princess Anle.

Therefore, although both are sons of the emperor's uncle, Princess Anle has always only recognized the prince as her cousin.

The woman who came in and called her was the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, named Huang Baoying.

The Minister of Revenue, Dou Xiliu, is the eldest son of Dou Kangnong, the current Prince's Tutor. The daughter of the Vice Minister of Revenue is naturally close to Princess Anle, who is on the side of the Prince.

Princess Anle sneered after hearing this: "How can the son of He Fangyin, that seductive woman, be my cousin! My cousin is clearly the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, and will rule the country in the future. How can a newly crowned number one scholar compare to my cousin?"

Huang Baoying heard Princess Anle's rebuke and immediately apologized carefully, "I was too quick to speak and made a mistake. Your Highness the Crown Prince is a descendant of the Emperor, and naturally no man in the world can compare to him."

As they were talking, the two of them walked onto the balcony, and the women naturally gave the middle seat to Princess Anle.

Then they saw the newly crowned number one scholar riding on a white horse with a red flower on it, led by a eunuch, and walking slowly towards them, followed by the second and third place scholars.

The top scholar Lu Xiuzhu had a tall and straight figure, a handsome face, fine eyebrows and long eyes, and a bright gaze. He was indeed a good-looking man, surpassing the third place scholar behind him.

Those noble ladies had never seen such a good-looking man before - although Prince Pei was handsome, it was a pity that he always had a cold face that kept strangers away.

The noble ladies blushed and said jokingly, "But they have surpassed our fathers and brothers."

Even Zhao Wuyou was stunned when she saw it, and couldn't help thinking in her heart: It seems that she is better looking than her cousin the prince.

Suddenly, a woman asked another person with a smile, "It is said that the Prince of Yan is the most handsome man in Kyoto. Sister Qin, you have been in and out of the Prince of Yan's mansion since you were a child. Do you think today's new champion can compare with your brother Yi?"

Qin Baiwei had been in a daze ever since she was dragged here by her sisters. Suddenly, she heard someone asking about her, the Prince of Yan. Her brows slightly frowned, as if she was thinking of something very unhappy.

Her appearance is the best among all the women. Although her demeanor is not as noble and bright as Zhao Wuyou's, she has a slim figure and a face like a lotus, and has a cool temperament. Compared with Zhao Wuyou, she has a bit more fairy air and a unique charm.

Before she could answer, another woman took over the conversation: "Do you even need to ask this? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. In Sister Qin's eyes, her brother Yi is naturally the most handsome. I heard that the emperor issued an order a month ago, ordering Prince Pei to return to the court. I wonder if he is almost in the capital now?"

Qin Baiwei's face darkened and her brows furrowed even more tightly. This was exactly what she had been worried about recently: he should have returned to Beijing by now, so why had there been no news? Could it be that something unexpected had happened on the battlefield in the northern border, and the news had not yet reached the capital?

I heard someone else laughing and saying, "This time, Prince Pei pacified the northern border and made great military achievements. The emperor will definitely reward him greatly. I wonder if Prince Pei will take this opportunity to ask the emperor to grant him a marriage with you, sister Qin?"

Qin Baiwei blushed and said softly, "What nonsense are you talking about? How can you joke about your children's marriage? Brother Yi and I have only known each other since childhood. Since our mother passed away, I have rarely been to Prince Yan's Mansion. Besides, Brother Yi is a military commander and Master Lu is a scholar. Military commanders have their own prestige and scholars have their own character. Whether handsome or not, each has its own merits. It is not appropriate for girls like us to make fun of and compare them."

Then someone laughed and said, "Mr. Lu is so good-looking, but I don't know if he is engaged yet. If he is not engaged, maybe even the emperor will choose a son-in-law from the list."

The current emperor now has two princesses who have grown up, but have not yet chosen a prince consort.

"Don't you know? Young Master Lu has been engaged for a long time, and he has been engaged since he was a child. The girl is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei's family."

"The legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei? Doesn't their family have a concubine in charge? In all banquets, the concubine has always been there with this concubine. Where did this legitimate daughter come from?"

"Of course not. It's just that I heard that her horoscope wasn't very good, and that she had bad luck with her elders in the family, so she was sent to be raised on a farm when she was a few years old. Now that her fiancé has won the top spot in the imperial examination, the Duke of Wei's Mansion will probably take this legitimate daughter back soon."

Anle asked casually, "How does Baoying know so much about Mr. Lu's affairs?"

Huang Baoying immediately said, "It's not that I know everything about Mr. Lu, but my house is just across an alley from the Duke of Wei's mansion, so I naturally know about their family's affairs."

An Le said thoughtfully, "The daughter of a legitimate wife who was raised in the manor is not only rude and unpresentable, but also has bad luck in her horoscope and is not valued by her family. How could the Lu family agree to this marriage?"

Huang Baoying said, "The old man and the master of the Lu family passed away long ago, leaving only Madam Lu and Young Master Lu to guard the Lu residence. If it weren't for the marriage with the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, the Lu family's side branches would have torn them apart long ago, and how could they have waited until today to become the top scholar? The marriage with the Xie family was the best amulet for the Lu family back then. Now, it's hard to say."

Anle looked at the receding figure and made a secret decision. No matter whether he was engaged or not, she, Zhao Wuyou, was determined to be with this man.