20demayo Chapter 453 3-Year Agreement
Chapter 453 3-Year Agreement
Prince Ning did not agree immediately.
He went back to find his second sister and said he wanted to go with her.
The second sister exclaimed in surprise, "What I'm going to do is nothing to the Dali Temple. You are the Minister of the Dali Temple and the Regent of the Great Zhou Dynasty. What are you going to do with me?"
“I’ve said it before, you are my wife, and wherever you are, I will be.”
"Aren't you going to take care of the court?" the second sister asked anxiously. "You told me that Her Majesty can't hold the line alone. You said that there are endless voices calling for her to become Empress, both inside and outside the court. She doesn't have many supporters to begin with. Fortunately, you have a few people who have been appointed as heirs. You are her right-hand man. If you abandon her now, what will she do?"
Prince Ning shook his head: "It will come eventually."
"What if she can't make it?" the second sister said. "She's my sister, and I don't want to put her in a difficult position. Besides, what will the people of Great Zhou face if she can't make it? Xiao Youchuan, you can't be so selfish!"
"But I am a selfish person by nature, Si Mutong, I only want to be with you."
Prince Ning said.
“Si Mutong, I remember you once said something like, ‘No one will stand still and wait for someone else.’”
"I don't remember the past when we were married, but that doesn't matter. Because I've fallen in love with you again."
"Si Mutong, I won't make you wait for me anymore. Whether you agree or not, I will follow you."
The second sister looked at him and asked, "Are you really going to abandon the people of Great Zhou?"
"For you, I will."
The second sister laughed, shook her head, and said, "You don't want to, Xiao Youchuan. If one person has to compromise for the other in order to be together, then that means it's not love."
"But I love you."
The second sister shook her head again: "Your way of loving me is to make me choose, either stay for you or stubbornly leave, making you abandon everything and come with me, is that right?"
Prince Ning was speechless.
The second sister said, "This is not love."
"Then what is love?"
The second sister said, "If you want to prove that you love me, that's fine too. We can separate now, Xiao Youchuan. If three years later we still miss each other and want to be together, then I promise to marry you again."
When Prince Ning heard that they were to be separated, his eyes darkened, but when he heard that she was willing to marry him again, his eyes lit up.
The second sister continued, "If either of us falls in love with someone else within three years, it means our fate has ended, and there's no need to force it."
“No, impossible. We are destined to be together, how could we break off our bond?” Prince Ning shook his head. “I will not agree, Si Mutong, I will not agree.”
The second sister laughed and said, "So, do you not believe in yourself, or do you not believe in me? If we love each other, we will always love each other no matter where we are. If we don't love each other, even if we are bound together, it will be meaningless."
Prince Ning finally agreed to her request.
The second sister didn't leave alone; she took Guishan with her.
Although Gui Shan was assigned by her younger sister to the Dali Temple to learn from her second sister, her special status made her constantly looked down upon and highly controversial.
Just as her second sister was about to leave, Gui Shan requested permission from her superiors to leave as well.
Having two people with you makes me feel more at ease.
Everything seemed to have returned to calm, but undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface of the court, and several incidents occurred. Fortunately, my younger sister was quick-witted, and with the assistance of trustworthy ministers, she managed to weather each crisis unscathed.
That autumn, my younger brother went on a scientific expedition.
The sons of noble families began taking the imperial examinations in the autumn, and this examination was the first one held after the new emperor ascended the throne and the court officials underwent a major reshuffle.
Everyone takes it very seriously.
After the exams, everyone was anxious, especially since many students had written poems criticizing the Empress at the beginning of the year. They worried that the Empress might retaliate against them.
After the results were released, some were overjoyed while others were heartbroken.
One of the candidates who failed the exam angrily cursed the Empress: "With my talent, how could I fail the exam? It must be because the Empress saw my previous articles and disliked them, thus ruining my career path."
But more often than not, people expressed disdain.
"Someone like you, who just follows the crowd and does whatever others say, instead of studying hard, isn't it normal that you can't pass the exam?"
"Exactly! Look at this year's top scholar. He wrote three essays that day, all about how a woman becoming emperor is not a good thing for the country. His essays even circulated in the palace, but His Majesty only praised them as having extraordinary literary talent and being well-reasoned and supported by evidence. He didn't show the slightest disdain for her."
"It is clear that although Your Majesty is a woman, she is a wise ruler and not an emperor who rules by his own hand."
Amidst the various opinions, one student who had failed the exam shook his head and said, "If it doesn't work out this year, we can try again next year. We don't know much about the Empress, but in my opinion, with such a busy schedule, how could Her Majesty possibly go to the trouble of personally supervising a mere autumn examination? And why would she have to search out all of you one by one?"
Those men cursed, "You failed the exam yourself, and you'd be happy if we failed with you!"
But he couldn't argue with the others, so he could only slink away in disgrace.
My younger brother, on the other hand, actually passed the imperial examination and achieved a good ranking of seventy-eight. He was so happy that he immediately returned to the academy.
The headmaster came over personally to inform the other students of his ranking, and said, "Jing'an is not particularly intelligent, and his foundation is not as good as everyone else's, but in a short period of time, he has actually passed the imperial examination. It can only be said that diligence can make up for lack of talent! You should all learn from him."
His classmates offered their congratulations.
Of course, some people also believe that Si Jing'an must have passed the imperial examination because he was the emperor's younger brother.
But many people say that Si Jing'an is the emperor's own brother. Even if he doesn't take the imperial examination, does that mean he has no place in the officialdom?
His willingness to refer to others to prove himself is enough to show that he is not bad.
Besides, if he really did get into the top tier of the imperial examinations because his older sister was the emperor, he wouldn't have only ranked 78th.
When my younger sister learned that her younger brother had passed the imperial examination, she was overjoyed. She took a rare break from her official duties and summoned him to the palace, asking him, "Now that you've passed the imperial examination, you can become an official. Is there any department you'd like to go to for training? I'll have someone arrange it for you."
The younger brother hurriedly shook his head: "Your Majesty, I feel that I am still young and lack knowledge. I originally just wanted to try my luck in the exam, and I never thought I would pass on my first try. I have no intention of becoming an official for the time being."
The younger sister smiled and said, "It's good that you think that way. Then keep learning. When you feel it's right, tell your older sister, okay?"
The younger brother said, "My teacher told me that I am His Majesty's younger brother, and I should study even harder in order to ward off the rumors and gossip outside."
"troubled you."
The younger brother shook his head: "Your Majesty has worked hard. As Your Majesty's younger brother, I only feel honored. This little bit of hardship is nothing. After I finish my studies, I will continue to take the exams and will never fail Your Majesty's expectations of me!"