Having transmigrated into a book, who would still want to be a secondary wife?

Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.

"The imperial examinations are about to begin. I've heard that quite a few candidates have already arrived in the capital. It's been quite lively lately. Do the Prime Minister and the tutors have any talents they'd like to see?" the Emperor asked with a smile.

"In the past few days, I have heard several excellent articles. The person who wrote them is a talented individual, so I had them copied down for Your Majesty to see."

The prime minister handed the prepared document to the chief eunuch, who then presented it to the emperor.

"It is indeed a fine article, full of talent. His name should be on the list for this year's imperial examination."

The emperor was very pleased and asked, "What is the name of this scholar?"

"Your Majesty, it is indeed Qin Xiangheng of the Imperial Academy. I'm sure Master Wei is well aware of this as well," Prime Minister Tang said with a smile.

Master Wei frowned upon hearing this. He knew Qin Xiangheng's skill level very well; he was indeed quite capable. However, he did not believe that Qin Xiangheng was so highly regarded in the capital, with even the Prime Minister and the Emperor praising him.

"Your Majesty, may I have a look at this article?"

Upon seeing the familiar content, Master Wei's face instantly turned ashen. "This...this is utterly disgraceful to scholarship!"

"Master Wei, what do you mean by that?" Prime Minister Tang asked in surprise.

"This was not written by Qin Xiangheng at all, but by Song Yi'an!"

Master Wei spoke urgently, his beard bristling and eyes wide with anger, clearly quite furious.

The Emperor had naturally heard of Song Yi'an's name and knew of his talent. Not to mention that he became famous at a young age, his articles written a couple of years earlier had been highly praised, and even the Master had praised him many times.

He had been confident of being selected in the imperial examinations this spring, but unexpectedly he lost his sight, completely severing his path to officialdom...

"Master Wei, are you saying... this article was written by Song Yi'an? This person stole his article?"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid you haven't read the memorial I submitted a couple of days ago?" Master Wei asked.

The chief eunuch quickly retrieved the letter written by Master Wei from the greetings list on the side. The emperor opened it and saw the article inside, which was indeed exactly the same!

"This was sent by Song Yi'an a few days ago. He said it was made before he went blind. Knowing that I regretted his talent, he specially sent it over."

Your Majesty, I found this article to be exceptionally well-written, which is why I presented it to you. I never imagined that Qin Xiangheng would claim it as his own!

Master Wei had always thought highly of Song Yi'an. Although he was young, he was very talented and diligent. Master Wei always regarded him as his favorite student.

Now that he is blind and unable to take the imperial examinations, it is already a polite thing to do. However, Qin Xiangheng, who has always been on good terms with him, stole his articles at this time, which is really too despicable.

"Although Song Yi'an is talented, he is very low-key. His previous articles have never been publicized so extensively. This time, it is clear that someone wants to use this to become famous!"

Hearing Master Wei's furious words, the Prime Minister frowned, "That person's behavior is truly despicable!"

Such theft is the most taboo act for scholars.

An article is a labor of love, and it is hateful to have it stolen, let alone when it is stolen from a friend, especially since Song Yi'an has just suffered a blow.

This is absolutely kicking someone when they're down!

"He's utterly unworthy of being a scholar! The people of the capital don't even know him, yet they praise his writing everywhere! He must be punished immediately!"

The Emperor was furious. The imperial examinations were about to begin, and this incident had caused serious consequences. Dealing with Qin Xiangheng alone was a minor matter; the major problem was that it had ruined the entire atmosphere!

"Your Majesty, Qin Xiangheng is the son of General Qin. Now is the perfect time for scholars to gather in the capital and display their talents."

"If we deal with Qin Xiangheng now, the investigation and announcement will require procedures and time, making it easier for people to spread rumors and create panic, which may not be beneficial," the Prime Minister said.

Master Wei naturally knew that if a major incident were to occur at this critical juncture, it would inevitably have repercussions, and thus advised him:

"Your Majesty, this is indeed not the best time."

The Emperor pondered for a moment, then said, “Then we will decide his fate after the imperial examination. You two must not let this slip out. I want to see what kind of trouble he can cause this time.”

The Prime Minister and Master Wei exchanged a glance, silently sweating for General Qin.

Having such a son is truly a misfortune.

The sky is clear and the sun is shining.

When Song Ruozhen and Song Yi'an arrived, Xu He'an and the others were already there, but unexpectedly there was one more person—Yun Xiwan.

As she got closer, Song Ruozhen sensed that the atmosphere was not good.

"I told her not to come, but she insisted on coming!" Yun Nianchu pulled Song Ruozhen aside, her face flushed with annoyance.

Song Ruozhen glanced at Yun Xiwan. She had been burned at Yunya Residence a couple of days ago and had not yet recovered. Now, she was willing to wear a veil to cover her wound and still insisted on coming along.

"Don't you usually not bring her along?"

"She knew I didn't want to take her with me, so she begged my father, and he agreed, so I had no choice but to take her with me."

Song Ruozhen understood that Lord Yun treated Yun Xiwan and her birth mother well, which was why Yun Nianchu was very dissatisfied.

If it weren't for her mother's respectable status and unwillingness to argue, the title of "favoring the concubine over the wife" would probably have fallen on her father's shoulders.

Even so, many people knew about this, but Yun Xiwan not only did not restrain herself at all, but instead took pride in it.

"You don't know, Yun Xiwan and her mother were still dreaming that if they went out with my cousin a few more times, they would catch Young Master Xu's eye."

Doesn't she realize that Young Master Xu is the son of Grand Tutor Xu and a third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations? How could he possibly be interested in a daughter born to a concubine?

Yun Nianchu frowned. Normally, she didn't want to argue with Yun Xiwan, as long as she didn't provoke her.

But Yun Xiwan always liked to get close to her cousin, making it sound like she was being bullied by him, which is why he couldn't hold back his anger.

"A couple of days ago at Yunya Residence, I noticed she seemed to have taken a liking to Qin Xiangheng. How come she's now interested in Young Master Xu?"

Song Ruozhen raised an eyebrow. When reading the book, since the original owner was cannon fodder, her close friend Yun Nianchu, who was also cannon fodder, was not mentioned much, let alone her half-sister.

"Naturally, it's because I can't reach that level, so I changed my mind."

"When Young Master Xu failed to become a third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, countless people came to propose marriage. After he passed the examination, he became the ideal husband in the hearts of many noble ladies."

She did want to marry up, but Madam Xu didn't even fancy the Qi family girl, so how could she possibly fancy her?

I happened to overhear that my mother intended to arrange a marriage between me and Qin Xiangheng, and she also had this idea. I think it would be a good thing if she could really marry Qin Xiangheng, so she wouldn't have to stay in the mansion and cause trouble.”

Listening to Yun Nianchu's complaints, Song Ruozhen could sense her annoyance and smiled, "Calm down first. It's a rare opportunity to go boating on the lake; you should be in a good mood."

Seeing you made me much happier.

Yun Nianchu smiled and said, "Come on, let's get on the boat. This boat belongs to the Xu family. I heard it's been carefully decorated. I've never been on one before."

However, just as they were boarding the ship, they ran into a group of acquaintances by sheer coincidence.

Enemy road is narrow!