Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"What's with that expression, Qingqing?" Xie Jin looked at her, "Do you think there's something wrong with the question I asked?"

"Of course not. I just lamented that the emperor and I didn't have a tacit understanding this time. I didn't guess your thoughts. Although I invited three big guys to the pre-exam sprint class for me, they didn't predict the topic in the right direction. It was all in vain."

Ye Qingzhi said this, spreading her hands with a helpless look on her face.

This time it's Xie Jin's turn,...

Not surprisingly.

The chemistry between the two of them has always been terrible.

"For your sake, as long as Ye Junyi's answer sheet is meaningful, I will give him a second-class place." Xie Jin made a promise.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. It feels so good to have someone so powerful to cling to!" Ye Qingzhi immediately smiled and kissed him.

-

The Mansion of the Earl of Loyalty and Trust.

Song Yixuan took a policy paper that Ye Junyi had just written and read it. He pointed out the weak and problematic parts of his writing and gave him suggestions for improvement.

After hearing this, Ye Junyi immediately started to revise it and gave it to Song Yixuan for review again. After he nodded to indicate that it was okay, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yes, you have made great progress compared to a month ago." Song Yixuan said with a smile, "If the emperor's question is about governing a country, you can get second place if you perform normally."

"Thank you, Lord Song, for your careful teaching these days. I have benefited a lot from it and I am very grateful." Ye Junyi quickly saluted him and thanked him sincerely.

"You're welcome. I'm just doing my duty." Song Yixuan said with a smile.

How could Ye Junyi not be grateful? Although Lord Song came to tutor him at the request of his sister, Lord Song was really dedicated to him!

Like Mr. Zhou, well, I just assigned him a few books and let him study them on his own.

Like Prime Minister Fang, I just chatted with him, told him some things about the officialdom, and let him figure it out on his own, and that was that.

But every day after get off work at the yamen, Lord Song would come to the mansion to teach him. He would teach him step by step how to write state governance papers and correct his comments sentence by sentence.

Ye Junyi already regards him as his mentor.

"Sir Song, after I take part in the palace examination, I would like to prepare a gift to become your disciple and formally take you as my teacher. Are you willing to accept me?" Ye Junyi asked expectantly.

"Does the Imperial Concubine agree that you would take me as your master?" Song Yixuan asked.

"...Ah? This has nothing to do with my sister, the Imperial Concubine." Ye Junyi was a little confused. After thinking for a while, he said, "Then I'd better ask my sister first, so as not to cause trouble for her again."

Song Yixuan responded.

"But my sister will definitely agree. She admires Master Song very much. Before she asked you to tutor me this time, she told me a lot about your strengths and told me to respect my teacher and learn from you well."

Ye Junyi said with a smile again.

Song Yixuan also smiled when he heard this, and he looked very happy, and then he said in a gentle voice,

"Just keep a calm mind and perform normally in the palace examination the day after tomorrow. You can take a day off tomorrow. I won't come over."

"Well, thank you, Lord Song!" Ye Junyi thanked him again and sent him out.

When I walked to the door, I ran into Ye Yongyuan who was returning home.

Ye Yongyuan immediately pulled Song Yixuan aside, enthusiastically inviting him to stay the night, and also said that it would be very convenient to go to the morning court from here tomorrow.

Song Yixuan was a little embarrassed by his enthusiasm, and insisted on refusing. He quickly got on the carriage arranged by the Ye Mansion and left.

Ye Yongyuan looked at the departing carriage and sighed deeply.

"Dad, why are you sighing?" Ye Junyi asked him.

"Alas, if Yingxue had not married Chen Yuankai but the talented Song Yixuan, and Song Yixuan had been the top scorer in the imperial examination, she would not have had to go through all the trouble later, and she would not have died tragically."

Ye Yongyuan sighed and spoke.

A few days ago, he received the news of Ye Yingxue's death. It was said that she went crazy due to being locked up and hanged herself.

"Dad, what are you talking about? It was my sister who was engaged to Chen Yuankai first, and then Ye Yingxue snatched Chen Yuankai away, so my sister entered the Marquis' Mansion. No matter how you talk, you can't blame Mr. Song."

Ye Junyi frowned.

"You know nothing! I almost promised Qingzhi to Song Yixuan at the beginning. Chen Yuankai came to me later and said some nice things to me so I changed the person. Then Yingxue didn't want to go to the Marquis' Mansion, so I changed the marriage..."

"If Ye Yingxue had gone to the Marquis' Mansion, you wouldn't have been able to become the Earl of Zhongxin. Our Ye family would have been dragged down by Ye Yingxue, and there would be no way we could be so prosperous now."

Ye Junyi spoke.

Upon hearing this, Ye Yongyuan thought about the possibility and couldn't help but shudder. He thought that he would burn more paper money for Yingxue later.

Please don't bother me, I beg you to continue to let me and the Ye family go, and have a good life in the next life...

"I heard that Chen Yuankai followed the King of Chu and became his confidant. He is doing well now." Ye Junyi said.

"If Ye Yingxue could have lived a good life with Chen Yuankai, she wouldn't have ended up with such a tragic death. It can only be said that people are greedy and too stupid."

Ye Yongyuan sighed again, still feeling sad. After all, she was his daughter. However, what she had done before made it impossible to save her.

In short, she fell into depravity so quickly that no one could save her.

"Okay, Dad, don't be sad. Just wait for me to pass the palace examination for you and make you a Jinshi the day after tomorrow, so that you can be glorious again." Ye Junyi said.

"Hahaha...Okay, okay, now that you've passed the imperial examination, people outside won't be able to say that all the men in our Ye family are gigolos."

Ye Yongyuan smiled and patted his shoulder, then said,

“We men in the Ye family can’t just rely on your sister, we have to be her backers.

Dad will be responsible for paying the money, and you and your brother will work hard for the emperor, and then rely on your sister to get promoted, and then you can be your sister's backer. "

Ye Junyi smiled immediately.

Dad, you are worthy of being a businessman. You can calculate very clearly.

-

Two days later, the palace examination began.

Ye Junyi was very familiar with the emperor's brother-in-law and had had close contact with him many times, so he did not feel nervous when meeting him.

If you think about it again, the other person is your brother-in-law, then you can only feel a sense of intimacy.

So, when Xie Jin looked at him, Ye Junyi grinned at him, a silly smile that revealed happiness and trust.

Xie Jin was stunned by his laughter for a moment, then he smiled at him gently, thinking that this boy had courage and character.

However, after the test papers were handed out, Ye Junyi was a little dumbfounded.

Why is this topic different from what they thought?

Do you agree that “people are the most important, the country is second, and the emperor is the least important” or do you agree that “governing with virtue is like the North Star, which stays in its place and is surrounded by other stars”? Please explain your own ideas.

Ye Junyi looked up at the emperor's brother-in-law again and found that he was staring at him. He smiled quickly and lowered his head to think again.

If you didn’t guess the question right, then you didn’t guess it right. Just write according to your own ideas!

The emperor's brother-in-law, for the sake of my sister, cannot give me the second place, but the third place will be fine.

Thinking of this, Ye Junyi no longer had any psychological burden and started writing without any hesitation.

Swish, brush, brush... brush, brush...

Seeing that he was writing seriously, Xie Jin walked over to him and looked down at his test paper. After a while, his brows relaxed and he showed an admiring look.

not bad.

Ye Junyi discovered that the emperor's brother-in-law was right beside him, so he stopped writing, looked up and smiled at him, and then continued answering the questions.

Xie Jin raised his eyebrows and walked away again, sitting at a high desk, supervising the exam and reviewing memorials.

Time passed little by little, and after two hours, it was time to wrap up.

The eunuchs collected the test papers one by one and placed them on the emperor's desk. The candidates could go back first and look at the list two days later and then come to the palace to listen to the announcement.

Xie Jin picked up the examinee's test paper and immediately began to read it carefully. Sometimes he was satisfied, sometimes he frowned, but he didn't applaud.

After looking through all the answer sheets, he was asked to divide them into two piles, one side was for those he was more satisfied with and could get into the second place, and the other side was for those he was not satisfied with.

After another round of screening, Xie Jin decided on the top three.

-

In the evening, Ye Qingzhi asked Xie Jin, "Your Majesty, how did my younger brother do in the exam? If my writing is terrible, you don't have to worry about me. Just judge me as you see fit."

"Not bad. I plan to select him as the third place in the imperial examination." said the emperor.

"What? Tanhua?" Ye Qingzhi was stunned after hearing this, "Is my little brother's level so high? Or is my face too big?"

There is something Ye Qingzhi didn’t say, or has the emperor become incompetent?

"Take a look at the paper he wrote." The emperor handed the paper directly to her.

Ye Qingzhi took it. Thanks to the original owner and Lin Qingwan, her classical Chinese level was even better than when she just graduated from modern high school.

So, she didn't seem to have any difficulty with my paper and was able to give decent comments.

"This guy really wrote well." After reading it, Ye Qingzhi nodded with a smile, "It's beyond my expectations."

"Your personality is quite likable." Xie Jin said with a smile, "You are not afraid of me, and you don't fawn on me. You can practice it."

Ye Qingzhi smiled happily when she heard this, "I didn't expect that I have grown so much and become the outstanding person I am today."

"With a sister like you as a role model, as long as you are motivated, you will be fine." Xie Jin was good at praising people, and he praised both of them.

"Who are the top and second place winners?" Ye Qingzhi asked curiously again.

"They are all students from poor families." Xie Jin said, "They are also young people, and they are in the prime of their life with great energy."

"Are you married?" Ye Qingzhi asked again.

"What? You want to be a matchmaker for them?" Xie Jin asked with a smile.

"I've heard so many stories about Chen Shimei, so I just asked casually." Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.

"If the other person is a Chen Shimei, we will have to doubt his character. If he is blinded by wealth and fame, he can abandon his wife and will not be able to keep his original intention of seeking welfare for the people in the future."