Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 616

Shen Lingjun recalled that on New Year's Eve of the first year, Mo Chonggui took her away from the Yongning Marquis's mansion and made her go to treat Xie Zhilin; the second year was spent on the battlefield between Bei Yi and Xi Qi, a year filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood; the third year was also chaotic with war, and she happened to encounter a palace coup.

She and Mo Zhonggui had truly been through a lot together.

Shen Lingjun sighed, "I never imagined that I, the daughter of a military family in the Northern Yi, would have the chance to spend the New Year in the capital of the Western Qi Kingdom."

Mo Zhonggui raised his glass and clinked it against Shen Lingjun's.

"Actually, you don't need to stay in Xiqi anymore."

Shen Lingjun first came to Xiqi with him because of Qin Jianxi. Now that Qin Jianxi's poison has been cured and she has been sent back, and Shen Lingjun has also developed the Three Thousand Sorrows Wine, there is no need for her to stay in Xiqi anymore.

Shen Lingjun joked, "What, Your Highness, now that you've become successful, you're already planning to abandon your wife who came from the countryside?"

Mo Zhonggui looked helpless: "The Western Qi is about to fall into turmoil this year. As the Seventh Prince's consort, this place is just as dangerous for you."

Shen Lingjun: "I promised to help you. How can I leave now? I should at least see you get your revenge before I say anything."

Mo Chonggui drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

"almost."

For a fleeting moment, Shen Lingjun had the impulse to ask him if he would ascend the throne of Western Qi after taking revenge.

But she swallowed the words back down her throat.

Doing good deeds without asking for reward.

Let's talk about it when the time comes; anyway, she's not without options.

The two stayed up together until midnight, and sparse fireworks bloomed in the sky above Ancheng.

The sky was overcast all day, with thick, dark clouds hanging low over Ancheng's night sky. The light from the fireworks reflected on the dark clouds, turning into a hazy, reddish glow, lacking the festive atmosphere of New Year's Eve and instead appearing somewhat eerie.

It seems to foreshadow that this new year in Xiqi will not be a peaceful one.

......

After the New Year, at Hanlin Academy.

It was already evening when the Third Prince emerged from the Hanlin Academy, looking utterly exhausted.

The Hanlin Academy was filled with scholars and literati, whose main responsibilities included drafting imperial edicts, discussing current affairs, compiling books, and writing official documents.

Consort Xing instructed the Third Prince to start at the Hanlin Academy, befriending and winning over these scholars in order to serve them in the future.

However, literary figures are not as easy to deal with as one might imagine. Most of them are proud and arrogant, with a whole host of flaws. Even power and wealth may not be effective in winning them over; it takes considerable thought and effort.

The Third Prince was introverted by nature and not a smooth talker or a social butterfly, so this task was torture for him.

After struggling for a month or so, Consort Xing felt that he should now take another step forward and urged him to try to get into one of the Six Ministries.

All the painting supplies in the Third Prince's residence, all of the Third Prince's previous paintings, and all the famous works he had collected over the years were burned by people sent by Consort Xing.

Consort Xing is now going all out, sending people to keep an eye on the Third Prince 24/7. If he stops on the street and glances at a painting more than once, and Consort Xing finds out, she will make a scene in front of him, threatening to hang herself.