After giving up being the wife of a powerful official, Ling Yunlu became a concubine

The married daughters of the Ning family returned home crying, and the daughters waiting to be married also had sad faces.

The old lady of the Ning family was so angry that she slapped Ning Ruyan in the face.

"Mother, Yan'er is pregnant with the royal heir!" Madam Ning hurriedly protected Ning Ruyan.

"You're still protecting this disgraceful thing? Do you think it's not enough for you to harm our Ning family? Do you want the entire Ning family to be buried with her?"

Old Madam Ning was so angry that she was shaking all over.

"The Crown Prince has promised to take Yan'er as his concubine. We can't offend him. He's the future emperor!"

Mrs. Ning was also in a dilemma.

It was clearly a mistake made by both of them, so why is it all blamed on the daughter now?

"Either she is thrown into a pig cage and the Ning family's reputation can be preserved, or all the hundreds of people in the Ning family will go to hell with her!"

Old Madam Ning stared at Lord Ning fiercely.

"Mother, the emperor hasn't given a clear answer yet, so we can only wait."

This is the result of discussion between Lord Ning and Madam Ning.

Madam Ning was so angry that she almost fainted. She bit her tongue hard to keep herself awake.

She cannot fall, as the Ning family still needs her to stabilize the situation.

These words also reached the emperor's ears, and a brand new inkstone was shattered to the ground again.

"Check and see who spread the news!"

The emperor suspected that it was Xiao Minshen who did it, in order to avenge the prince for taking his wife away.

But after much investigation, they actually found the cause of the case to be the third prince.

That day, the Third Prince went to the palace to visit Concubine Shu and overheard fragments of conversation between the Queen and her maidservants in the Imperial Garden.

He asked someone to investigate and found out the truth of the incident.

He immediately asked someone to spread the news.

The emperor was already angry about the crown prince's involvement with his brother's wife, but he did not expect that the third prince would publicly exaggerate the royal scandal in order to bring down the crown prince.

The emperor was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The emperor fell ill, and issued an edict while he was sick: The third prince had done something inappropriate, and he would be immediately sent to his fiefdom for confinement. If he did not respond to the edict, he would never be able to set foot in the capital again!

Originally, the Third Prince wanted to take care of the sick Prince, but Concubine Shu hurriedly persuaded him to leave.

The maidservant beside the queen was beaten to death, and the third prince was only imprisoned. As long as you are alive, you will never lack firewood.

The real victim of this incident, King Qi, never showed up from beginning to end.

The Prince of Qi's mansion was also closed to visitors.

The general public has had enough of the royal secrets.

Some people sympathized with the King of Qi. It was really frustrating that his wife was having an affair with his brother.

Many people also despised Ning Ruyan for two-timing. Many people ran to Ning's house and threw rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves at the door.

Old Madam Ning couldn't bear it and fell ill.

Finally, this incident was overshadowed by another new thing.

Spring has begun!

Last year, because the imperial court introduced for the first time a test booklet to help students, the imperial examination became the focus of everyone's conversation.

The scholars who were on the list last time became the focus of everyone's attention this time.

Everyone was guessing the top ten rankings, and people even set up bets for it.

The examination was held in Gongyuan, and early in the morning the entrance to the institute was crowded with people watching the fun.

The Spring Examination consists of three consecutive examinations, each lasting three days, and is presided over by a cabinet minister.

Those who passed the exam were called "Gongshi", and the first one among them was called "Huaiyuan".

Only those who pass the examination of "Gongshi" are eligible to take part in the palace examination.

The palace examination was conducted by the emperor setting the questions on the spot, and then he would decide the order of the top ten. This is also the origin of the term "Emperor's disciples".

There is only one question in the palace examination, which is about countermeasures. It lasts for one day.

The admission list is divided into three categories, with only three people in the first category, the top scorer, the second scorer, and the third scorer.

With a shout from the servant of the Ministry of Rites, the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall was closed.

The emperor finally struggled to get up and went to court, but he received many memorials impeaching the prince.

It turns out that the prince's lust has reached the point where he can do whatever he wants.

Whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he would find a way to bring her back home.

Regardless of whether the other party is willing or not, and regardless of whether the other party is married or has a family.

Some of the women who were brought into the palace were attracted by the prince's power and status, and stayed to compete for his favor with the people in the palace.

For some who were unwilling, the prince would force them a few times and then abandon them to fend for themselves.

Many dead bodies were carried out of the Prince's Mansion.

However, due to the prince's status and the power of the queen's family, many people dared not speak out.

Now, when they heard that the prince was imprisoned, the bold ones began to submit memorials to the emperor.

If someone leads, someone will follow.

Finally, when the emperor went to court, there was a pile of memorials impeaching the prince.

The emperor, whose body had not yet fully recovered, almost vomited blood and died on the spot.

He understood that the prince was doomed!

Not only did he not dare to leave the country left by his ancestors to such a prince, even if he did it against his conscience, the ministers would not agree.

In the third year of Qisheng, the emperor issued an edict to abolish the title of Crown Prince Xiao Minxuan and demoted him to a commoner!

Confiscate all property and expel them from Shengjing immediately.

The queen suddenly fell ill, and the prince offered to attend to her, and the emperor acquiesced.

The gate of the Imperial Examination Hall was finally opened, but the world outside had changed.

There have been a lot of scandals in the royal family this year. First, the Princess of Qi had an affair, then the Third Prince was imprisoned, and now the Crown Prince has been deposed.

The high officials and nobles all closed their doors to visitors, for fear of causing trouble and bringing trouble upon themselves.

As the imperial examination came to an end, more and more people began to gather in the restaurant.

The bets among the people became bigger and bigger, and the top ten names in the examination were constantly updated.

Because some people think that the performance was good and the ranking should be improved.

Among these people is Zhao Jingyan.

He felt that he had performed exceptionally well this time, and if he wasn't first, he should be second.

When some good classmates urged Zhao Jingyan to treat them, he agreed with great enthusiasm.

He invited his classmates and mentor to the "Dongxing Building" and treated everyone to a mushroom banquet.

"Dongxinglou" suddenly became a famous restaurant in Beijing because of its puffer fish banquet.

There are no seats at the current "Dongxing Building" without advance reservations. Being able to entertain guests here is a great honor to everyone.

When everyone was having a great time, they all praised Zhao Jingyan for his intelligence and said he was the reincarnation of a child prodigy.

"Isn't this Mr. Zhao?" a woman's voice came from behind.

Zhao Jingyan looked back and saw Princess Anyang and an old man standing behind him.

He clasped his fists and bowed, "Student greets the princess."

When the students heard that it was the princess, they all stood up and saluted.

"This is Mr. Li, a scholar from the Cabinet. He is particularly fond of talent. Mr. Li, this person is a student this time and has very good knowledge."

Cabinet minister? The students' eyes lit up at once.

If I can gain the appreciation of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and learn a little about the Emperor's preferences, it will be absolutely certain that I will be in the top ten of the palace examination!

Zhao Jingyan was overjoyed in his heart, but he did not show it on his face.

"I am honored to meet you, Master Li. I am not talented enough, so I hope you can give me more guidance."

Lord Li looked Zhao Jingyan up and down and thought: Is this the person the princess wants to recommend?