CHAPTER 560: CHAPTER 549: THE MARCHIONESS’S MAID

After hearing Zhong Jue’s words, Aunt Wei finally lifted her soft and fragile face, her eyes inadvertently flashing a hint of fierceness, because she knew that Zhong Jue was threatening her, and if she dared to play any tricks again, he would not let her son get off easily.

Detestable, utterly detestable!

He is the legitimate son, and his sister married Marquis Weiyuan, but what about her son?

As a bastard, even going out invites disdain from others, what did her son do wrong? Why be so harsh on her?

If Ye Qiu were to hear Aunt Wei’s inner monologue, he would probably sigh at such a perfect example of a ’white lotus’ in its prime!

Zhong Lang being a bastard, wasn’t it your, his mother’s, fault? Does being a bastard justify coveting the legitimate son’s possessions? If you hadn’t conspired against others, would anyone threaten you?

Is this world only about you taking advantage of others, scheming against them without allowing them to fight back? Where does that twisted logic come from?

"Alright, since you all say it was the servant’s own doing, then it must be that there’s nothing else to uncover. I will take him away." Zhong Jue got up, and once again gave everyone a seemingly mocking look.

Seeing him leave, Aunt Wei and Zhong Lang unconsciously heaved a sigh of relief, but Zhong Huaiwen started to wonder if there was really something more to the matter.

It shouldn’t be possible, right? How could such a thing happen with Lady Fang managing the affairs?

Zhong Huaiwen suppressed the doubts in his heart, but when Aunt Wei casually brought up when she would become the official wife again, he evaded the topic and even felt that Aunt Wei was becoming more and more nagging lately. Even if she wasn’t the official wife, hadn’t he always treated her well?

Listening to Zhong Huaiwen’s evasive words, Aunt Wei almost dropped the cup she was holding, but she didn’t dare to show any dissatisfaction to Zhong Huaiwen. Now, as the Old Lady’s health was deteriorating and she rarely managed household affairs, she could not afford to lose the support of her cousin.

In Marquis Weiyuan’s Mansion, it is said that after Zhong Jue escaped from that scheming, Zhong Lan was still fearful. She held Ye Qiu’s hand, continuously saying, "It’s good that you reminded us, and stopped them from succeeding, it’s good..."

"Lady, you are currently pregnant, you should not overthink. Rest assured, after this incident, Aunt Wei and the others won’t dare to be so blatant again. Eldest Young Master’s performance in the Imperial Examination will surely be very smooth."

Perhaps the words of Ye Qiu had an effect, or perhaps it was Mrs. Ying in heaven looking after her child, Zhong Jue felt like he had divine assistance during this Imperial Examination, far more confident than during the previous exams.

"Whose child is that?" The Holy Emperor, now of advanced age, came to watch the examination as a matter of routine. His attention was drawn to the handsome, confident-faced Zhong Jue.

"Seems like it’s the Assistant Minister of Rites’ Eldest Young Master Zhong Jue, who ranked sixth in the previous examination." The eunuch seemed to have done his homework, recognizing him quickly.

"Assistant Minister of Rites?" The old Emperor pondered for a moment, "Didn’t Marquis Weiyuan marry the legitimate daughter of the Assistant Minister of Rites?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"So, they are siblings. I had heard earlier that the Marchioness of Weiyuan is quite beautiful and greatly favored by the Marquis. Seeing Zhong Jue lets me know his sister must be no different." The old Emperor chuckled, "Remember this person’s name; I want to personally review his examination papers."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the eunuch knew that if Eldest Young Master Zhong didn’t perform too poorly, his ranking wouldn’t be low.

Indeed, on the day of reviewing the examination papers, the old Emperor, holding Zhong Jue’s exam paper, commented: "Not bad, neat handwriting, and the essay also possesses unique insights; let’s make him the third place in this session!"

The chief examiner and other reviewing Ministers had no objections. Firstly, Zhong Jue’s essay was indeed good. Everyone had been arguing whether he should be ranked third or fourth. Now that the Emperor had decided directly, it saved them some trouble. Moreover, Zhong Jue indeed had the most outstanding appearance among this session’s scholars. Being just nineteen years old, a young third-place winner not yet capped indeed made a beautiful tale.

Even some Ministers decided to go back and inquire if Zhong Jue was already betrothed, but this thought only lasted a moment and then came to nothing, as the old Emperor personally spoke up.

"Does anyone know if the third-place has been betrothed?"

The Ministers looked at each other, and it was the eunuch again who spoke: "As far as this old servant knows, the third-place has been mourning for three years and has not been betrothed."

Upon hearing this, the old Emperor burst into laughter: "Now Anhe doesn’t have to worry about her granddaughter’s marital affairs; I will arrange their marriage right away."

After hearing the old Emperor’s words, the Ministers couldn’t help but feel sorry for this session’s third-place. Isn’t the small granddaughter of Princess Anhe just Lord Wenping? Wouldn’t marrying her be like marrying an ancestor?

Just like the Princess Anhe of old days, the current Lord Wenping was equally formidable, a complete reflection of her grandmother, promoting feminism vigorously. She declared that if anyone dares to take a concubine after marrying her, she wouldn’t mind being a widow. Upon hearing this, Princess Anhe, instead of reprimanding, greatly supported her, vowing to handle everything herself.

Hearing this, despite Lord Wenping’s illustrious family background, no young nobles dared to propose marriage, resulting in Lord Wenping still being unbetrothed at the age of seventeen now.

She herself is not in a hurry, but the supportive Princess Anhe from the past is anxious, yet her standards remain high, constantly asking the old Emperor to arrange a suitable marriage for her.

Nowadays, the court is filled with unpredictable waves, and even the old Emperor dares not to casually nominate the offspring of the powerful. The general nobility was deemed unworthy by Princess Anhe. Now encountering Zhong Jue, the old Emperor felt like he had found a treasure.

Although Zhong Jue’s family background was somewhat lacking, not only was he handsome and learned, but he also had the Marquis Weiyuan as a brother-in-law. With their support and that of Anhe, his future couldn’t be anything but promising.

The more the old Emperor thought about it, the better he felt this marriage would be, promptly sending a messenger to inform the Princess.

Zhong Jue was still completely unaware that he was being considered, and that he was about to be granted a marriage, therefore, the next day when he coincidentally met Lord Wenping while strolling in the streets, he was rather baffled, not understanding why she asked him if he had someone in his heart or what she meant by asking if he found her beautiful.

After all, she herself was a County Lord, her father a Duke, and her grandmother a Princess; he hardly dared to look at her directly, let alone judge her beauty! However, since a girl was asking this, she surely hoped for ’beautiful’ as the answer; thus, he sincerely replied, "Beautiful."

As Lord Wenping left, praising him for his taste and appreciation, Zhong Jue then started to sense something.

Could it be as he thought?

His heart couldn’t help but thump wildly, surely that’s impossible, right? She is Lord Wenping, could he be worthy of her?