She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

"Cough...cough..."

Zhao Yi turned his head away and coughed, his thin and frail body trembling.

After a while, he stopped coughing, looked up and saw Shen Qingtan smiling at him, as if to say: See, I was right.

"..."

Zhao Yi felt a pain in his chest, unsure whether it was from coughing earlier or from being angered by her.

But at this moment, her face was beaming with a bright smile, as if she had gained the upper hand in front of him, and thus her mood had improved considerably.

Zhao Yi rubbed his brows, somewhat helpless yet indulgent: "What you say is true, Madam. You are virtuous and magnanimous, so naturally you don't mind me taking a concubine. As for me, my body can't handle it, so Madam alone is enough."

Shen Qingtan realized that he was accommodating her and deliberately giving in to her, which was why he said those words to coax her.

His self-deprecating humor, delivered with such earnestness, is undeniably amusing.

She did smile, her eyes crinkling as she said, "Second Master is not only learned, but he also analyzes what kind of person he is and faces his strengths and weaknesses squarely. Such character is truly admirable. No wonder you are the youngest top scholar."

Zhao Yi raised an eyebrow, deliberately mocking his self-awareness.

It was rare for them to be so relaxed and uninhibited, and the atmosphere in the room became more relaxed.

Zhao Yi's fatigue dissipated, and he leaned back lazily against the soft pillows, looking at her through the oil lamp: "The Emperor summoned me today and asked me to bring you to the palace to meet him tomorrow."

Shen Qingtan looked at Zhao Yi in surprise: "The Emperor wants to see me?"

Zhao Yi nodded slightly: "It's just an elder meeting a junior, don't be nervous."

Shen Qingtan frowned, recalling an old story about Emperor Jing'an.

Emperor Jing'an was not favored when he was young. When the Great Zhou Kingdom and the Northern Qi Kingdom exchanged hostages, Emperor Jing'an was sent to the Northern Qi Kingdom as a hostage by the late emperor.

Later, when the two countries went to war, Emperor Jing'an was already walking on thin ice in the Northern Qi Kingdom. Because of the war, his situation became even more difficult, and he was often bullied and persecuted by the royal family and noble families of the Northern Qi Kingdom.

It wasn't until the late emperor fell seriously ill that Emperor Jing'an fled from the Northern Qi Kingdom back to the Great Zhou Kingdom.

However, according to what Shen Qingtan learned from rumors, the reason why Emperor Jing'an was able to overcome all difficulties and escape numerous pursuits to return to the Great Zhou Kingdom was because Duke Zhao risked his life to help him.

It was because of this relationship that Emperor Jing'an respected Duke Zhao and often visited him at his residence. During this time, he met Duke Zhao's eldest daughter and fell in love with her at first sight.

At that time, Emperor Jing'an was just a prince. He asked the late emperor to grant him a marriage with the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao, and to marry her as his principal wife. After ascending the throne, he conferred the title of Empress Yuanrong upon the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao.

Empress Yuanrong enjoyed the emperor's favor for a long time, but unfortunately, she died young, passing away in childbirth.

Because Empress Yuanrong loved Zhao Yi dearly during her lifetime, Emperor Jing'an poured all his feelings for Empress Yuanrong and his regret for the stillborn child into Zhao Yi, as if he were Zhao Yi's spiritual support.

"What preparations do I need to make?" Shen Qingtan had attended palace banquets before, but had only seen Emperor Jing'an from afar. To meet him privately tomorrow... she said coquettishly, "Now that you say you're nervous, I am indeed a little nervous."

Zhao Yi looked at her feigned anger and the coquettish glance she gave him, which had a unique charm.

She probably didn't even realize that the inadvertent closeness she showed him seemed to indicate that she had begun to trust him and was no longer wary of him as she had initially been.

He said with a smile, "No need to prepare anything, just go."

"I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to pick out my clothes and accessories for tomorrow's audience with the Emperor."

Shen Qingtan got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and called Liuyue and Tingxue to the inner room to give her advice.

Although she was a little nervous, she remained relatively calm.

Emperor Jing'an favored Zhao Yi and seemed to have never interfered with his decisions, completely respecting his wishes, which shows that he was not a dictatorial or domineering person.

Moreover, Emperor Jing'an was a benevolent ruler.

Thinking about this, Shen Qingtan calmed down completely.

-

The news that Shen Qingtan was going to the palace to meet the emperor spread among the Duke of Zhao. The old lady specially sent someone to invite Shen Qingtan to the Shian Hall and instructed her on some rules and taboos for entering the palace.

Hearing rumors, the second wife brought Shen Mingzhu to Shi'an Hall, hoping that the old lady would give the order for Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu to enter the palace together to meet the emperor.

Inside Shian Hall, the old lady sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Shen Qingtan sat on a stool next to her.

The second wife pulled Shen Mingzhu to sit down beside her, a smile on her face: "Mother, the Emperor wants to see his nephew's wife. I brought Mingzhu here to learn the etiquette, so that she won't be ignorant of the rules and offend the nobleman tomorrow."

Finally, she sighed again: "Jue'er is a military officer, unlike my nephew who is a civil official serving in the palace. He has a closer relationship with the emperor, and the emperor always speaks to my nephew first."

How could the old lady not understand the second wife's thoughts?

They simply wanted Shen Mingzhu to enter the palace.

However, what followed was somewhat unsettling. The Second Madam was implying that Emperor Jing'an wanted to see both of the new brides from the Duke of Zhao's mansion, not just Shen Qingtan. It was Zhao Yi who had ulterior motives, not informing the Second Madam of the audience with the Emperor, fearing that the Second Madam would compete with him for favor.

"If the Emperor wants to see someone, he will naturally send his eunuchs to deliver the imperial edict to the person concerned." The old lady showed her no respect whatsoever: "Do you think the palace is your own backyard, where you can go whenever you want?"

The second wife clenched her handkerchief tightly, harboring resentment in her heart.

Originally, she planned for Zhao Jue to enter the palace to meet the emperor, so that he could tell the emperor about the Duke of Zhao's dismissal of her and persuade the emperor to reinstate her.

As long as the Emperor orders Zhao Jue to continue on duty, the Duke of Zhao would never dare to disobey the imperial decree.

But Zhao Jue never had the chance to see Emperor Jing'an.

Zhao Yi was Empress Yuanrong's nephew, and wasn't Zhao Jue also Empress Yuanrong's nephew?

Why does the Emperor show such special favor to Zhao Yi?

She felt indignant and resentful, but what could she do even if she was unwilling?

Who made her son have such a healthy body?

The second wife believed that Emperor Jing'an felt more pity for Zhao Yi because of his short life.

She didn't believe that Emperor Jing'an truly favored Zhao Yi; otherwise, he would have promised Zhao Yi high-ranking official positions and generous salaries long ago, instead of deliberately suppressing him in his career.

Because the newly appointed top scholars were all granted the title of compiler in the Hanlin Academy of the sixth rank, if they were exceptionally capable, they could enter the Grand Secretariat in the future, and their future would be limitless.

Zhao Yi, despite being the top scholar in the imperial examination, was merely a seventh-rank official in the Imperial Secretariat, with little power, a meager salary, and no future prospects.

As the saying goes, "Only those who have passed the imperial examination can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only those who have passed the Hanlin Academy can enter the Grand Secretariat."

From this, the second lady realized that Emperor Jing'an's favor towards Zhao Yi was nothing but an empty shell, a mere facade.

Therefore, they dared to openly and covertly compete with Zhao Yi.

After all, Zhao Yi gained Emperor Jing'an's favor because of Empress Yuanrong, and Zhao Jue was also Empress Yuanrong's nephew. Emperor Jing'an would never interfere in their family's internal strife.

As long as they are not abandoned by the Duke of Zhao, they have nothing to worry about.