The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Cining Palace.

"Yuanjun, tell grandma, which one do you like?" Empress Dowager Hu sat on a mat with Lu Weiyuan without any airs. The mat was spread in a small flower hall at the entrance of the side hall of the Cining Palace. The tables, chairs, and decorative vases that were usually placed in the flower hall had all been cleared away.

The little old lady was only wearing a loose and plain cotton dress that looked a bit like the Taoist robes commonly worn by female Taoists. She was holding a calico kitten in her hand, and on her knees lay a black cat with its four hooves stepping on the snow.

Lu Weiyuan was even more casual than her grandmother, imitating the kittens and lying on the blanket. She looked at the kittens that kept meowing and said, "Grandma, can Yuanjun have whatever he wants?"

"Of course you can." Empress Dowager Hu smiled so much that the fine lines at the corners of her eyes swirled into the shape of a flower. "But these kittens are not as good as humans after all. Since you have decided to raise them, you must not give up halfway. You must not let them become abandoned cats."

Lu Weiyuan rolled over and landed beside Empress Dowager Hu's lap. She helped him stand up and said, "Don't worry, Grandma. Yuanjun is a man of his word. Even if it's just to a few little raccoon slaves, I can keep my word!"

"Oh my." Empress Dowager Hu put the kitten down and hugged her granddaughter. After feeling the full weight of the little girl, she couldn't help but sigh to her granddaughter's mother who was sitting outside the flower hall, "Our Yuanjun is so beautiful. Ordinary children of this age are not as sturdy and talkative as her."

"It's also thanks to the Queen Mother." Xie Yuzhen placed a embroidery stand in front of him and pierced the needle with stitches. "This little girl is very noisy. Only you, the Queen Mother, can control her. When she gets stubborn, Your Majesty has to give in to her."

Empress Dowager Hu said cheerfully, "Our little girl has to have a temper. If even her father can control her, then she must have her own ability."

She stroked her granddaughter's furry head lovingly and suddenly said, "Today is the day when the imperial examination results are announced and the candidates are released."

In order to avoid any accidents, after the restarted imperial examination, many candidates were not sent home, but were still placed nearby under the protection of the Jinwu Guards.

The officials in the Imperial Examination Hall worked overtime to copy the papers under anonymous names. The examiners, facing the papers without any known names and written in the same official style, for the first time put aside many considerations about identity and focused on judging and comparing the content of the papers and ranking the candidates.

"The results should be out by noon." Xie Yuzhen looked up and smiled at Concubine Xu who was sitting opposite her. She put down the embroidery needle in her hand which she had rarely used, pointed at her and smiled at Empress Dowager Hu, "Mother, look at A Yuan's frown. I'm afraid it can pinch a mosquito to death."

Ever since Xie Yuzhen was forced to temporarily return to the harem due to circumstances, Concubine Xu has not been without worry for a single day. She also has an embroidery stand in front of her, on which many complex and orderly patterns have been embroidered, which are much more beautiful than Xie Yuzhen's embroidery with stitches here and there.

Concubine Xu blushed when she was suddenly teased by him: "I am worried about you, but you still have the mind to joke!"

"Really? Let me take a look."

Apparently Empress Dowager Hu was also a person who loved to join in the fun. Concubine Xu was blocked from both sides and didn't care about anything else. She took the handkerchief and covered her face: "Your Majesty!"

In recent years, she has lived a much happier life than before. Therefore, even though she is the head of the four concubines in the harem and the imperial concubine in charge of the Shanggong Bureau, she looks more and more charming and lively like a girl.

Seeing the adults suddenly joking, Lu Weiyuan also clapped his hands and laughed. As they laughed, the little girl's eyes lit up, she got up, put on her shoes, and ran out of the flower hall: "Father, father!"

The emperor, who was still wearing court robes, skillfully caught his daughter and held her in his arms, "You look so happy, what are you playing?"

"I'm picking cats!" Lu Weiyuan answered loudly, "Grandma gave all the cats to Yuanjun. Yuanjun will be responsible for raising the cats from now on!"

Her childish words made the atmosphere more cheerful. Although Lu Weiyuan was young, she could tell that the adults were laughing at her. The little girl, who had begun to have some self-awareness, grabbed her father's clothes and corrected him, "From now on, these cats will be under Yuan Jun's charge!"

But the adults were still amused by her. Lu Weiyuan puffed his cheeks helplessly, and after a moment of silence, he turned his head and said, "Dad, can my little cousin become an official?"

This is probably what my mother, grandmother, and Aunt Yuan were talking about just now, right?

Lu Weiyuan intuitively felt that if she said this, those adults who were making fun of her would stop laughing. She had always been very capable of taking action, so she said it as soon as she thought of it.

Lu Weiyuan was also very satisfied with the development of the situation, and the adults finally stopped making fun of her.

The emperor held his daughter with a bit of pride. Li Zong brought him a chair, and he sat outside the flower hall without caring, next to Xie Yuzhen: "Xianming is not curious?"

"I believe in Guanying's ability." Xie Yuzhen moved the embroidery stand a little further away, "I also believe in your majesty's determination to reform the imperial examination system."

Lin Qiao's success or failure not only affects her own future path, but is also closely related to the country's constantly improving and reformed imperial examination system. Of course, for Xie Yuzhen, what is important is that the orphans she has taken in and educated at the Yongjia Marquis' Mansion finally have a signpost ahead.

As long as Lin Qiao wins the first prize again, the reform of the imperial examination system and the entry of women into officialdom through the imperial examination will be a foregone conclusion. No matter how much those old pedants jump up and down or oppose, it will be of no avail.

Whenever Xie Yuzhen thought about how those old guys had to accept women's participation in politics with a pinch of their noses, he felt refreshed.

"Your Majesty, please stop keeping us in suspense." Empress Dowager Hu also stood up and used two kittens to exchange her granddaughter from her son's arms. "I am not familiar with the child of the Lin family. She didn't show such calmness, but I am very curious."

Although the emperor was a "filial son" with a lot of water in his relationship with the previous emperor, he had always been close to and respected Empress Dowager Hu. Hearing this, he put away his intention to show off. He first sighed heavily, and after seeing that Xie Yuzhen's expression did not change at all, he spoke: "My beloved wife is very good at judging people. Lim Guan Eng is indeed talented and has been ranked first for the second time. He is indeed an impeccable Kuixing!"

Xie Yuzhen finally had a sincere smile on her face. She looked at the emperor with affection and sidelong glances: "No matter how talented she is, she needs your Majesty's enlightened policy to show her talents. Otherwise, I am afraid she will be another Sima who is buried. Guanying can achieve what she has today, but she still relies on your Majesty's broad mind. I would like to thank your Majesty on her behalf."

Her eyes and gentle voice made the emperor dizzy.

Empress Dowager Hu picked up her granddaughter and gave Concubine Xu a look. Several people quietly stood up and left. Lu Weiyuan got down from his grandmother's arms, took Empress Dowager Hu's hand and turned to look at his parents who were oblivious to the world around them: "Grandma, Aunt Yuan, mother is so happy. It must be a good thing for my little cousin to be an official. Can Yuanjun also be an official in the future?"

Queen Mother Hu stopped and looked down at her granddaughter. There was a hint of bitterness and relief in her expression. Then she smiled and told her little granddaughter: "When our Yuanjun grows up, you can do whatever you want. Grandma promises it!"