Chapter 655 - 240: Empress

Chapter 655: Chapter 240: Empress

It was hard to say whether it was the good fortune brought by the "treasure seal," but the Empress, who had long been unable to conceive, actually became pregnant after successfully taking control of the imperial harem.

Because of this, although the Emperor and Empress didn’t say much, they kept Zhao Jing and the other two in their hearts.

They hadn’t bestowed lavish rewards on them. First, they didn’t want to make them a thorn in the side of the Empress Dowager’s faction. Second, they didn’t want sudden wealth to go to their heads and ruin their character. However, the Emperor had high hopes for them, which was why he had specifically sent a box of books.

Thinking of the books, he thought of how Zhao Jing had recently become the top scorer in the provincial examination of Heyuan Province. A nineteen-year-old top scorer in the provincial examination was rare even in Jiangnan. Zhao Jing had truly given him a great surprise.

The Emperor said, "I read the selections submitted by Mr. Zhou. Your essays are indeed well-written. You truly deserved to come out on top in the Provincial Examination."

Zhao Jing naturally hurried to say, "Your Majesty flatters me; I truly do not deserve such praise. Winning the title of the top scorer in the provincial examination was merely a stroke of luck for me. My essays are crude, and I fear they fall short of your expectations. In the future, I will certainly study hard and strive for perfection to live up to Your Majesty’s encouragement today."

As soon as Zhao Jing finished speaking, the Emperor’s hearty laughter rang out from above.

"Zhao Jing, oh, Zhao Jing. Seeing the maturity in your essays, I was afraid you were a pedantic and rigid person. But seeing you today, it turns out I was wrong. What a fine determination to strive for perfection. Then I hope you will continue to work hard in next year’s Imperial Examination. I will quietly await the day when your name appears on the golden scroll in Jinluan Hall."

Zhao Jing naturally bowed in gratitude and performed a formal bow, saying, "I will definitely do everything in my power and will not disappoint Your Majesty’s high expectations."

After Zhao Jing was told to rise, the Emperor engaged him in a discussion to test his knowledge, talking about poetry and literature. Zhao Jing was eloquent and quick-witted, particularly skilled with words. In a short while, the two of them went from discussing the Four Books and essays to the local customs across the territories of the Wei Dynasty, then to Heyuan Province, and to the bumper harvest of huangqi in the Zhao Village this year...

The Empress and Chen Wanqing listened in silence. When a servant came to serve tea again, the Empress took the opportunity to ask Chen Wanqing, "You must be bored, right? The sun is nice today. Let’s go out for a walk."

Chen Wanqing had no reason to refuse.

As the two walked out of the parlor, they saw the Young Crown Prince standing under a pomegranate tree not far away, craning his neck upward in curiosity. Chen Wanqing followed his gaze and saw a chubby tabby cat perched in the pomegranate tree, its weight bending the branch. It was bold, not at all afraid of being watched. It let out a lazy "MEOW," then rested its head on its body again, comfortably basking in the sun.

The Empress exclaimed softly and asked Chen Wanqing, "Is this a pet cat raised in your home?"

Chen Wanqing replied, "No, it must have wandered in from outside. But seeing how comfortable it is, the servants in the estate have obviously been feeding it a lot."

The Empress smiled and pursed her lips. "I think so too. If it were wild, it would have run away without a trace the moment it saw people."

She then instructed a palace maid to pass on a message. "Tell Sheng’er not to get too close. Be careful that the cat doesn’t get annoyed and scratch him."

The palace maid replied with a smile, "Please rest assured. There are more than ten people watching over him."

Only then did the Empress turn to Chen Wanqing and say with slight frustration, "Once you become a mother, you never stop worrying. You always fret about whether he’s too hot or too cold, and fear he might fall and get hurt."

"The Crown Prince is steady and well-behaved. Even at such a young age, he possesses the demeanor of a Crown Prince..."

The Empress interrupted her. "I love hearing sweet words, but he’s still just a toddler. Stop praising him, or he’ll grow wings and fly away."

When the two started talking about Xu Su Ying’s matters, the Empress said, "I never expected that the precious daughter Mr. Xu had been searching for over the past twenty years would turn out to be your biological mother. If I had known earlier, when I received the Empress’s treasure seal, I should have summoned your family to the Capital City for a reward. That way, you could have reunited sooner, and it could have eased the yearning of Mr. Xu and the old madam."

"It’s not too late to reunite now. My grandmother is still alive, and my mother can still fulfill her filial duties to the two elders. This is already the greatest comfort. Please do not feel sorrowful. Heaven’s arrangements always make sense. If we had arrived in the Capital City earlier and my husband received the grace to take the Provincial Examination there, he might not have won the title of the top scorer in the provincial examination."

Hearing this, the Empress smiled again. "Zhao Jing has outstanding literary talent, and his essays have reached a state of perfection. Even His Majesty slammed the table in admiration after reading them. For a rural area to produce such a figure, the Zhao Village is truly a wonderful place blessed with outstanding people and natural beauty."

As the two chatted idly, the Empress added, "We shouldn’t have come to disturb you, but Mr. Xu’s beloved daughter returning home is a joyous occasion after all. His Majesty and I are trapped in the palace all day. It’s rare for us to find such a good excuse to leave the palace, so we couldn’t help but come out to join in the fun..."