boyutpedia Chapter 298: Dragon or Snake? Let's Put It Out for a Walk
Chapter 298: Dragon or Snake? Let's Put It Out for a Walk
Last year, Shen Shixi held another special talent selection exam. The first exam had a very low threshold, and of course, the official rank awarded was also very low, starting at only the ninth rank, but that was still considered a high-ranking official.
This is a very rare opportunity for children from poor families.
Many people were selected to fill those work positions, and with these people, the efficiency of doing things improved dramatically.
Unbeknownst to them, the Emperor and Empress's scheme had already become so extensive.
Liang Ji and Cui Fangli also knew that the scholars of the world now held the Empress in high regard, and that the pen that would be used to write history in the future would mostly no longer be in their hands.
After Prime Minister Pei fell from power, no one in the court was capable of challenging the Empress. The only thing they could win over now was the Emperor's heart.
Perhaps, as Xue Baicheng said, they were too hasty. The Emperor had only been back for a few days, and then came the wedding, and the Empress was pregnant. They probably didn't have time to prepare.
In the palace, Consort Cui and Consort Liang were truly innocent victims. The skills of the clerks in the Censorate were not something that just anyone could learn from. Twenty slaps to the face would have ruined their faces if it weren't for the fact that they were imperial concubines and their families were not ordinary.
Cui Meiren and Liang Baolin cried uncontrollably, and could not speak properly.
Consort Cui asked, "May I ask, Miss Bai Ping, how have we offended Her Majesty the Empress, that you have traveled all this way to the palace to punish us?"
Bai Ping said, "To be honest, this is not entirely the Empress's intention. Today, on the viewing platform of the willow shooting competition at Jinming Pond, Prime Minister Liang and Prime Minister Cui expressed their dissatisfaction, saying that the Emperor only cared about accompanying the Empress and neglected the two of you."
The court officials were indignant. Such disrespect from the imperial concubines was clearly due to the Empress's negligence in disciplining them; the imperial family's reputation was paramount, so they had no choice but to wrong the two young ladies!
It means that he caused the trouble himself, and even dragged the Empress into it.
The head maid of the Censorate said, "Such a thing has happened! The two young ladies have indeed broken the rules. Palace affairs are not to be discussed with outsiders. Not only have you spread it out, but you've also caused your families to make a scene in court. What about the Emperor's reputation?"
After nine months of fighting, Li Yuanke became even more skilled in horsemanship and archery. After leaving the battlefield, he showed off his skills in front of everyone and won cheers. His subjects were all captivated by his heroic figure.
Not only did he hit the target with his first shot, but as the willow branch fell to the ground, he leaned sideways and hovered on the horse's back, steadily catching the swaying branch and grabbing it firmly.
A smile as she turns her head, her eyes like dreams, her eyebrows like paintings, truly the woman of one's dreams in spring.
How many hearts have been captivated by her!
Consort De laughed and said, "Our Emperor has never failed a bow year after year and has never disappointed anyone. Fourth Prince, you must work hard! When you grow up and your father gets old, you will have to take over for him. Let's see if you can draw this bow and hit this willow branch!"
Consort Shu scoffed, "Look at what Consort De is saying. How can it be that it's definitely the Fourth Prince? The Second Prince is older than the Fourth Prince. What about the Empress's future legitimate son?"
Before Consort Shu could even anger Consort De to death, the Fourth Prince made her vomit blood!
The fourth prince didn't have such grand ambitions. "My mother makes me study every day. My eldest sister is even older than me, why don't you make her study? Now you're making me learn riding and archery, isn't that tiring? I can't even get enough to eat, I don't want to learn!"
He pointed to the mountain of pastries on the emperor's table, "I want to eat that, Mother Consort, I want to eat that!"
Consort Shu laughed to death, thinking to herself, "This fourth prince is utterly hopeless!"
The second prince glanced at Consort Xian, who shook her head at him, so he remained silent.
Consort De dared not do anything to the Fourth Prince, so she could only coax him. Just then, Li Yuanke returned with a willow branch in his hand. Hearing the commotion, he gave the Fourth Prince a cold glare, and the Fourth Prince dared not make a sound.
Consort De gently nudged him and gave the eldest princess a wink. The eldest princess then led the fourth prince over and said, "Father, my fourth brother said that the willow branch you shot was really beautiful. He wants to be rewarded by you so that he can take it back and keep it in a jade vase, like Guanyin Bodhisattva."
Li Yuanke couldn't help but think of that year when he shot down a willow branch and gave it to Shen Shixi. Shen Shixi also kept it in a bottle, and it actually survived. Later, it was planted next to the hexagonal pavilion, and now it is as tall as a person.
He didn't give it to him, so the fourth prince said, "Father, I don't want the willow branch. I want to eat the crispy mountain on your table."
Li Yuanke thought his fourth son was a good prospect, a promising talent, and very pragmatic, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Then I'll reward you!"
The main reason is that Shen Shixi is pregnant and dares not eat cold food.
He won't eat it either!
Upon seeing this, Shen Shixi said, "The Fourth Prince is still young; I'm afraid his stomach won't be able to handle eating something so cold!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the eldest princess rolled her eyes.
The fourth prince pleaded pitifully, "Mother, can't I even eat a little less?"
He swallowed hard, and Shen Shixi found his greedy look amusing. "You're still young, you probably can't handle this. Let's eat something else."
The eldest princess said, "Fourth brother's stomach is in excellent condition; Mother need not trouble herself!"
Shen Shixi glanced at her and said to Bai Kui, "Since all the court officials are here, let's bring the imperial heirs over so they can meet everyone, lest they don't know who's who when they meet."
Her child was about to be born, and it was time to let the ministers know whether the princes were dragons or snakes.
"yes!"
"Tell the Second Prince to bring him here!" Shen Shixi said.
Bai Kui stepped forward and said, "By imperial decree, the Second Prince is requested to bring his younger siblings to meet the Emperor and his court officials!"
This is an overestimation of the Second Prince.
Upon hearing this, the second prince stood up excitedly, but quickly regained his composure, bowed, and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"
Then he went over with a string of small radish heads.
The second prince and the first prince are of similar age, so the second prince is naturally older than the eldest princess and is ranked first. In order are the third prince, the fourth prince, the fifth prince, and the sixth prince. The youngest, the sixth prince, is not very old, but Consort Ning has taught him very well, and his manners are quite proper.
Shen Shixi was seeing the child for the first time, and couldn't help but laugh. The child looked so much like his uncle; they were practically identical.
[Damn, Li Yuanke's sixth son... Oh my god, is it too late to get the third sister to call off the engagement?]
Li Yuanke hadn't noticed the sixth brother at first, but when he did, he almost vomited blood. After hearing Shen Shixi's complaints, he gave her a deep look and thought to himself, "What goes around comes around!"
He wanted to see who her nephew would resemble in the future.
The eldest princess, the second princess, the third princess, and the fourth princess stood in the back row.
The eldest princess hated the empress to death. Originally, only she and her fourth brother came, and they could receive special care from their father. But the empress actually summoned all the imperial heirs. This was really too much.
Therefore, when she called out "Greetings to the Empress Dowager," she did not move her mouth.
Shen Shixi saw it, but was too lazy to pay attention to her; to bother with her would be to give the child too much credit.
For her, as the legal mother, manipulating a child born out of wedlock was as easy as flicking her little finger.
The court officials also saw the eldest princess's appearance and shook their heads inwardly.
Fortunately, she was just a princess.
However, the eldest princess had a very bad reputation.
The princes were also being evaluated by the officials. At present, the second prince seemed to be doing well. Although his birth mother, Consort Qing, was a disgraced concubine, he was registered under the name of Consort Xian. The third prince, raised by the Empress since childhood, was somewhat petty, timid and insecure.
The fourth prince, needless to say, is a glutton who only thinks about food. He's got a little belly and drools over the delicacies on the emperor's table, paying no attention to anything else.
Shen Shixi wondered if he had been born into the wrong body, and should have been born into the womb of Consort Xian.
The Fifth Prince was treated as his own son by Consort Shu. He was just three years old and had a rather bold and unrestrained personality, as evidenced by his disdain for the Fourth Prince.
The sixth prince was the least like Li Yuanke. He really didn't look like him. He looked like a little black gorilla. He was really dark-skinned. His eyes were looking around suspiciously. He had long arms and legs and didn't know where to put them.
When Shen Shixi looked over, he quickly stood up straight and couldn't help but yawn.
Shen Shixi asked, amused, "Xiao Liu, are you sleepy?"