Peach Blossom.

The first imperial examination, which was conducted simultaneously in multiple examination halls in the capital, was held as scheduled and everything went smoothly.

Only the inspector reported it, and during the body search, he found two candidates with cheat sheets and immediately expelled them from the examination room.

After the three-day examination, Chen Cuo reported to Tao Ye that the examination papers had been sealed as per his request and that marking could begin the next day.

If Tao Ye wants to leave the palace, she must get Chen Ji's approval.

So Tao Ye brought her maid to Xuanji Palace and said that she needed to go to Chen Cuo's villa to supervise the marking process.

Chen Ji had never participated in any aspect of the imperial examination before, and this request came as a surprise to him.

"Why do these ministers need the Queen to personally take action when they need to do something?"

Tao Ye asked with a smile, "As the commander-in-chief of the Flying Dragon Army, doesn't Your Majesty also need to personally train new soldiers occasionally?"

"That's different!" Chen Ji frowned and shook his head.

"Why is it different?" Tao Ye looked at Chen Ji curiously.

Chen Ji sat at his desk, his fingers flicking back and forth on the surface. After a long moment of restlessness, he said, "Anyway, I don't want you to go."

"Why?" Tao Ye was even more confused.

Chen Ji held his face in his hands and said nothing.

Tao Ye was determined and could only persuade Chen Ji earnestly: "Your Majesty doesn't know that from the beginning of the preparation of the examination papers until all the candidates entered the examination hall, all the officials involved in setting the examination papers were confined to the separate courtyard by the Secretary of State. They were not allowed to leave day or night to prevent the papers from being leaked and the fairness of the exam being compromised.

Every candidate who takes the imperial examination comes with hope, yet I don't know how much effort and sacrifice goes into it. If someone interferes during the grading process, all their efforts will be wasted. Then wouldn't my purpose in establishing the Imperial Examination Office, and my earnest efforts to help the poor, be in vain?

Chen Ji left his desk and walked over to Tao Ye. He took her hand and showed an expression of great understanding: "I know, I know everything. But since you were able to set the questions flawlessly before, you should be able to do it now. Why not ask Chen Cuo to lock them up and release them after the grading is done?"

After hearing Chen Ji's few words, which made the originally vast imperial examination process sound so easy, Tao Ye was speechless and couldn't help feeling angry.

"Your Majesty, please use your brain! The test paper is blank, so we just need to be careful about leaks! The fear of shady manipulation in the examination is, what's the point of confinement? Your deputy commander is your most loyal minister, and you still have to go to the Flying Dragon Army for regular inspections! My deputy commander has only been working for me for a few days? How can I give him full authority from beginning to end?"

After being scolded, Chen Ji was helpless: "I said, these two things cannot be compared."

Tao Ye asked angrily, "They are just one civil and one military, why can't they be compared?"

Chen Ji waved to Zhuo Jin, Cai Wei and other maids, asking them to leave. Then, like children whispering to each other, he whispered to Tao Ye:

"The difference is that my deputy commander is a man, my soldiers are all men, and I am also a man. Your deputy chief is a man, and those examiners are all men, and you... are a woman!"

Tao Ye was stunned for a moment, and all the anger she had just felt turned into a bunch of question marks in her mind.

Chen Ji further explained, "What I hated most before was the way you played the piano and sang for those cuckold guests at Plum Fragrance Pavilion! Now you are my queen, how could I tolerate putting you among a group of men again?"

This reason left Tao Ye even more speechless. "They are all officials appointed by the imperial court. They are marking the examination papers, and I am on patrol and supervision. Why is Meixiangxie involved?"

"How could I not know? But this review will take at least several days, right? You must supervise from morning till night every day, right? You have to eat, drink, defecate and urinate every day, right? What if..." Chen Ji stared at Tao Ye with a pair of eyes full of worry, leaned close to her ear and lowered his voice: "What if someone peeks at you?"

Listening to these increasingly outrageous remarks, Tao Ye seemed to have already sketched out a picture in his mind: an official in official uniform hiding in a toilet, pinching his nose and waiting to peek...

Isn't this too funny?

Somehow, Tao Ye covered her forehead and burst into laughter, "You are so funny!"

Chen Ji imagined it and couldn't help laughing along with Tao Ye.

As she was laughing, Tao Ye suddenly realized that at this moment, she seemed to have forgotten something. Was she genuinely happy?

"What's wrong with you?" Chen Ji was still laughing, but suddenly he saw Tao Ye's laughter stopped abruptly, and he gradually stopped laughing too.

What happened? Tao Ye also asked herself in her heart.

But she felt that she had to give a response quickly, otherwise something might be exposed.

"Nothing, I just suddenly couldn't remember what time the Secretary of State mentioned... I think he should wait for me at the gate of the villa at 3:30 am..." Tao Ye evaded the question casually.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "That must be after the court session. He never misses the court session every day."

Tao Ye nodded, but she didn't know why she was worried.

"Forget it. I know you've made up your mind, and you won't change it easily." Chen Ji sighed and made his decision: "I allow you to go, but I have to go with you."

"Ah?" Tao Ye was surprised again.

Chen Ji twitched his eyebrows and smiled wickedly: "You supervise them, and I supervise you."

The next day, Chen Ji and Tao Ye came to Chen Cuo's villa together.

Since it was their first time here, Chen Ji was quite interested. He asked Chen Cuo to lead the way and took him and Tao Ye for a tour.

The courtyard is small and exquisite, divided into front yard and back yard.

The houses in the front yard are arranged in an orderly manner. This is where Chen Cuo arranged the examiners to mark the test papers. There is a kitchen and bedroom in the back yard, and a small garden between the front and the back.

Standing in the middle of the garden, you can see that the walls of the two houses in front and behind are covered with wild roses, and even the courtyard wall has been spread over.

Looking around at the pleasant pink walls on all sides, Chen Ji praised: "It's quiet here, suitable for spending the rest of my life in peace."

Chen Cuo said, "Your Majesty has a keen eye. This is the place I bought to live in my old age."

"How much money did you spend using your private property to run official business?" Chen Ji was very curious.

"Well... a little bit..." Chen Cuo did not give a direct answer.

Chen Ji turned his head and saw Tao Ye walking a few steps away to admire the scenery. He hurriedly asked Chen Cuo in a low voice, "Why are you so actively cooperating with the Queen to run the Imperial Examination Office? What's your intention?"

"Your Majesty can imagine." Chen Cuo was calm.

Chen Ji really wanted to punch Chen Cuo in the face, but there seemed to be no suitable reason. He didn't understand why this young man always made people feel like he deserved a beating.

Tao Ye walked closer to the kitchen, stood on tiptoe and looked inside through the window. She did not see Wang Huan, but only saw a maid directing the chef to cook.

She walked back to Chen Ji and Chen Cuo and politely asked Chen Cuo, "Why don't I see your wife?"

Chen Cuo replied: "Her due date is in the next few days, so I asked her to go back and rest."

"Oh..." Tao Ye didn't say anything else, but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Chen Cuo seemed to have sensed Tao Ye's thoughts and said, "When the child is born, please do me the honor of visiting my humble abode and bring him good fortune."

"Of course, of course." Tao Ye smiled gently.

Chen Ji felt very uncomfortable.

With the Emperor and Empress in charge, none of the sixteen examiners dared to slack off. They were busy from morning to night, all of them focused and diligent.

After preliminary examination and marking, exchange and re-examination, survival of the fittest, and negotiated ranking, the examiners selected qualified papers according to the rules formulated by Tao Ye, without knowing the names, and ranked the papers of each subject according to the level of literary talent.

The number of candidates taking the imperial examination was so large and their quality was so mixed that the eliminated test papers piled up like a mountain. Chen Cuo ordered his servants to move them to the unused storage room next door and store them in a classified manner.

By the seventh day, the rankings for each subject had been determined, but Tao Ye was still worried and asked all examiners to review the proposed rankings again to confirm that they were correct.

At noon, a servant sent by Chen Liang reported that Wang Huan had given birth to a son and asked Chen Cuo to go back quickly to check.

When Tao Ye heard this, she was a little excited, but when she looked at Chen Cuo again, she found that he looked like nothing had happened.

"I understand. Go back when you're done." Chen Cuo casually dismissed the servant.

Tao Ye couldn't understand Chen Cuo's calmness and couldn't help asking, "Are you unhappy about being a father for the first time?"

"Happy, of course I'm happy." Chen Cuo looked up, grinned symbolically, then lowered his head to continue checking the test paper in his hand.

Tao Ye became even more depressed.

Chen Ji, sitting nearby, found the scene amusing and began to tease Chen Cuo: "Why are you so perfunctory? Could it be that this child isn't yours?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Cuo didn't even raise his head, and replied in a low voice: "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words. If it's not mine, then is it yours?"

Chen Ji was speechless.

There were faint sounds of suppressed laughter behind him.

"Who is laughing?" Chen Ji turned his head suddenly, but saw that the dozen or so officials sitting behind him were all quiet and serious.

Not long after, another servant sent by Chen Liang arrived and urged Chen Cuo: "The master wants you to return immediately. The young mistress is very weak and wants to see you."

Chen Cuo glanced at the servant and said nothing.

Tao Ye felt that this was inappropriate and joined in the persuasion, "Master Zhongshu, please don't refuse. The work here is almost finished, and it won't cost you much time to go back. Besides, I want to go and see it too."

Chen Cuo had no choice but to put down what he was doing and bowed to Tao Ye: "Thank you, Queen, for your kindness."

Tao Ye then asked Chen Ji, "Does the Emperor want to go with us?"

"What does it have to do with me?" Chen Ji smiled coldly without even raising his head.

Tao Ye smiled and said, "Alright, then Your Majesty, please supervise me here."

Chen Ji hummed slightly, which was considered as his agreement.

Tao Ye called her maids Caiwei and Lanyue, and followed Chen Cuo to the Left Prime Minister's Mansion to see the newborn baby.

When they arrived at the Left Prime Minister's Mansion, Chen Cuo led the way and took Tao Ye to the courtyard where he and Wang Huan lived.

Wang Huan was waiting at the door to greet her. When he saw Tao Ye, he knelt down and performed the solemn ceremony of a king and his subject.

Tao Ye quickly helped Wang Huan up and pushed her into the house. "You just gave birth to a child, how can you come out?"

Wang Huan thanked him and took Tao Ye into the hall.

Chen Cuo also followed in, clasped his hands together, and bowed to Wang Huan: "Thank you for your hard work, Madam."

Wang Huan also clasped his hands at his waist, bent his knees slightly, and returned the greeting to Chen Cuo: "Thank you for your consideration, sir."

Tao Ye found it strange to see the couple greeting each other and addressing each other in such polite ways.

At the same time, he looked at Wang Huan, who seemed to have become more handsome than before.

Tao Ye smiled and asked, "Where's the child?"

"The child has just fallen asleep in the bedroom. Please come in, Your Majesty." Wang Huan reached out and lifted the bead curtain on the living room door for Tao Ye.

Tao Ye walked into Wang Huan's bedroom and glanced around at the decoration in the room, feeling that it was very simple and elegant.

"Hurry up and bring the child over for the Queen to see." Wang Huan waved inside.

A little baby appeared in front of Taoye. Taoye hurriedly turned around to look at Caiwei, and Caiwei took out the gift that she had prepared long ago, which was a gold necklace with words engraved on it.

Tao Ye smiled and said, "It's just a little token of my appreciation, for the best of luck."

Wang Huan expressed his gratitude again: "Thank you, Queen, for the reward."

"Let me hold the baby." Tao Ye reached out her hand, but found that the person holding the baby did not hand the swaddle to her.

Tao Ye was confused for a moment and slowly raised her head.

It turned out that the person holding the child was not a servant in the mansion, but Wang Huan's father, Wang Dun.