Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Mu Xinchen walked to Li Hong's side, put his arm around his shoulder, and asked knowingly, "Young Master Li, why do you perform such a grand ceremony?"

"Prince Ying".

"I have long heard that Young Master Li is very powerful in this capital city. Seeing him today, I can confirm it is true. He has even put on a show of power in front of Princess Ping Le."

"I dare not."

"Heh, I dare you to do that," he said, then stood up and returned to stand next to Mu Jinchen.

"Li Hong," Mu Jinchen called out, his tone icy.

Although Li Hong was afraid, he still replied, "This humble subject is here."

"Who gave you the audacity to force Princess Ping Le?"

"This humble commoner dares not."

"You mean I misread it?"

"I have long admired Princess Ping Le. Today, I happened to see her here, so I thought I would like to have a drink with her so that I can get to know her. There is no question of coercion. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

“Princess Ping Le, is this the situation?”

"Your Majesty, it is true that Young Master Li came to ask me to drink, but I do not drink alcohol, and I have already explained this to him. However, he insisted that I drink, so I beg Your Majesty to make the decision for me."

"Does Young Master Li have anything else to say?"

Li Hong remained silent.

"Since that's the case, then punish him with twenty strokes of the cane as a warning to others."

Upon hearing this, Li Hong completely forgot his fear and questioned, "On what grounds?"

“You are ignorant of your place, you have disrespected your superiors, and you have offended the princess. Tell me, on what grounds do you have to do this?” Mu Xinchen said.

Li Hong glared at him, but because Mu Jinchen was there, he dared not speak out.

"You're not convinced?" Mu Jinchen asked.

Li Hong did not answer, but his expression said it all.

"Since you're not satisfied, then add another twenty," Mu Jinchen said calmly.

"I……".

"Guards, take him to the Ministry of Justice and give him a good beating," Mu Xinchen said.

"My father is a mighty general. Anyone who dares to touch me, let me go."

Before long, Li Hong was taken away.

Then, Mu Xinchen looked at Su Qianrou and asked, "Is the princess frightened?"

"Thank you for your help, Your Highness."

"Your Highness is too kind. Besides, it wasn't me who helped you," she said, glancing at Mu Jinchen, her meaning all too clear.

Su Qianrou naturally understood his meaning, so she looked at Mu Jinchen and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Mu Jinchen didn't speak, and didn't even look at her.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Mu Xinchen asked, "I wonder which family these two gentlemen belong to? I don't think I've ever seen them before in the capital." He had wanted to ask this question for a long time, and if Mu Jinchen hadn't stopped him, he would have come over long ago.

“They came from Yangzhou, so it’s normal that the young master hasn’t seen them before,” Su Qianrou said, without going into too much detail.

"Yangzhou, isn't that where Lord Su once served?" Then she wondered, could it be that they were childhood sweethearts? Her gaze unconsciously fell on Gu Mingxuan and Li Hongye. Finally, her gaze settled on Gu Mingxuan. After looking him over, she concluded that although his appearance was not as good as her fifth brother's, it was not bad either. Moreover, he looked like a handsome young man, gentle and refined, which was indeed what Princess Ping Le would like.

Su Qianrou did not deny it.

Mu Jinchen glanced at her, then turned and left without saying a word.

"Hey, we're going the wrong way, our table is over there," Mu Xinchen called out.

Mu Jinchen ignored him and walked downstairs.

Seeing this, Mu Xinchen hurriedly followed, "No, where are you going? Aren't you going to eat?"

"You can go eat by yourself."

"What's wrong with you? Why are you so angry?"

Mu Jinchen did not respond and strode out.

Mu Xinchen felt that he was acting strangely, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. However, he didn't think much of it and followed him.

The day for the results to be announced arrived quickly. At this time, the Su family members gathered in the front hall, anxiously waiting. Even Su Jing'an couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Lin Rong was restless, pacing back and forth.

"Mom, why don't you sit down and wait? You're making my head hurt from walking around like this," Su Haoyu said.

Lin Rong glared at him and then said, "It's been so long, why haven't you come back yet?"

Su Qianrou walked to her side and helped her sit down. "Mother, sit down first. You must trust your eldest brother."

"Of course I believe in Xuan'er, but..." she couldn't help but feel nervous.

Just then, Xiao Si's voice came, "He won! He won! The young master won!" He ran over excitedly.

Lin Rong jumped to her feet. "What did you say? Say it again."

"Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, madam! The eldest son has passed the imperial examination and won the top prize."

“Really?” Su Jing’an also stood up.

"It's absolutely true. I've read it three times. The young master is indeed the top scholar."

"Good, good, good, you truly are my son," Su Jing'an patted Su Mingxuan on the shoulder.

Lin Rong was too excited to speak.

Su Qianrou and Su Haoyu were naturally very happy.

Unintentionally, Su Qianrou saw Gu Mingxuan and asked, "Young Master Gu, did you pass the exam?"

"Miss, Young Master Gu has also passed the imperial examination, ranking third."

"Xiao Xuan, not bad, I was right about you back then."

"Thank you for your praise, Uncle Su."

"Mingxuan, congratulations!"

"Thank you very much"

"Congratulations, Mr. Gu."

"Thank you, Princess. I share your joy."

"Today is a joyous day for our Su family. All servants will be rewarded with one tael of silver each as a token of our celebration."

Upon hearing this, the servants thanked her profusely, saying "Thank you, Madam," their faces beaming with radiant smiles.

In the evening, after dinner, Su Qianrou sat on the couch reading a storybook.

Chunzhu walked in with a smile on her face. "Miss, I've heard an interesting story. Would you like to know it?"

"What interesting thing happened?" Su Qianrou asked casually, without even blinking.

"It's about the Marquis's residence."

"The Marquis's residence," Su Qianrou finally looked at her.

"right".

"What happened to the Marquis's residence?"

"The second young master, the third young master, and Young Master Liu all failed the exam. When Madam Liu found out, she made a huge scene, which made the Marquis faint with anger."

"It was definitely Grandfather who was so angry that he fainted, not the old lady."

"It was indeed the Marquis. I heard that Madam Liu gave the Marquis a good scolding, saying that he was useless. It is said that she scolded him very harshly. The Marquis was so angry that he ordered the three of them to be driven away, but Madam Liu still wouldn't let it go. In the end, she scolded the Marquis so badly that he fainted."

"And then, did the three of them leave the Marquis's residence?"

"No, the old lady is protecting them."

Su Qianrou chuckled lightly, treating it as a joke.

The next day, before Su Qianrou had even woken up, Chunzhu rushed in in a panic, shouting, "Something terrible has happened, Miss!"

Su Qianrou was woken up by her and asked sleepily, "What's wrong? What happened?"

“Miss, now the whole city is saying that the young master cheated to become the top scholar in the imperial examination, and that Lord Song helped him. As a result, the students are making a fuss, and it has already reached the Ministry of Justice.”

Su Qianrou instantly snapped out of her daze and sat up. "What did you say? How could this happen?"

"Because the eldest son is Lord Song's son-in-law, the students suspect that Lord Song is abusing his power for personal gain."

"Bullshit, my brother has real skills."

"Miss," Chunzhu called out helplessly.

Su Qianrou then realized that she had sworn in her excitement, but she didn't care. "Have Li An investigate who spread these words."

"Miss suspects that someone did it on purpose."

"It's obvious that if someone hadn't been stirring things up, how could things have escalated so much overnight?"

"Yes, this servant will have Li An investigate immediately," she said, and quickly walked out.

Su Qianrou then got up to wash up.