Looking at Xiao Yuanshi’s back as he walked away mercilessly, Ge Chunru’s heart also turned cold.
How could he do this to her?
He said he would love her all his life.
Since he loved her, what’s wrong with her subsidizing her younger brothers and sisters?
She made a mistake, shouldn’t he tolerate her?
She was blind to fall in love with him.
He treated her like this, he was too much.
It must be that bitch Tao Liu who instigated it, she had to skin that bitch.
So she got up from the ground and wanted to rush to Tao Liu’s yard.
But she was stopped by Xiao Yuanshi’s people.
No matter how she made a fuss, they didn’t let her out.
What happened during the day had spread all over the capital, and the servants of the general’s mansion naturally heard about it.
Many maids and servants secretly cursed Ge Chunru for being shameless.
She, a concubine, relied on favor to rise to power, which was already despised by people, and now she was cheating.
Ge Chunru became a joke in the general’s mansion, even the servants despised her.
She also became the person people hated the most.
At first, she would make a scene in the backyard of the general’s mansion every day, but after receiving a letter from Ge Chuyi, she suddenly stopped making a scene.
She drank medicine and ate well.
She asked the maid to invite Xiao Yuanshi to come over, wanting to have a good talk, but Xiao Yuanshi was determined to make her change her temper this time, so he didn’t come.
And this time, Ge Chunru didn’t smash things again.
Instead, she started copying scriptures every day, looking repentant.
Xiao Yuanshi heard the servants’ reports every day, and when he saw that Ge Chunru knew she was wrong and copied scriptures to repent, he was not so angry.
However, he still did not go to see Ge Chunru. As soon as he saw her, he couldn’t help but think of her going out with other men.
After returning from the manor, he also became a recluse.
He doesn’t need to check to know what rumors spread outside, and how many people in the court will laugh at him for being cuckolded.
So he told his people not to check, not to report, and not to go out so that they would pretend not to hear.
Thinking of Mrs. Kong’s previous contempt, he began to calm down and practice calligraphy.
The more he practiced calligraphy, the more he couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Kong’s lively appearance now.
He even thought, if the mistress of the general’s mansion was Mrs. Kong, would he not lose so much face?
People outside did laugh at Xiao Yuanshi.
At the same time, they were speechless about Xiao Yuanshi.
His wife ran away to cheat on him, but he still hadn’t divorced her.
If this happened to others, Ge Chunru would be thrown into a pig cage.
Xiao Yuanshi didn’t pursue the matter, so the matter naturally came to nothing.
It also made the Zheng Family feel relieved.
Zheng Tongfeng’s reputation was completely ruined by stealing the general’s wife this time.
A girl from a good family would never marry him again.
So he took the opportunity to propose to marry his true love.
Master Zheng felt ashamed and was afraid that he would cause something more embarrassing, so he agreed after being persuaded by his other two sons.
He gave the brothel girl the identity of a small family and then married her to Zheng Tongfeng.
They were going to divide the family in the future, and the property originally intended for Zheng Tongfeng would also be reduced.
Xiao Hanzheng would naturally not let Zheng Tongfeng, who wanted to harm his sister, go.
So the news that Zheng Tongfeng’s new wife was a prostitute who was kept outside and redeemed quickly spread throughout the capital.
The Zheng Family was once again extremely embarrassed.
There was no other way, so Master Zheng had to send Zheng Tongfeng and the prostitute, back to his hometown directly by his servants.
On the way back to his hometown, their group was attacked by bandits.
Zheng Tongfeng was beaten, almost paralyzed, by a group of people. Although he could barely walk after being rescued, he was almost the same as a eunuch.
Of course, this was done by Xiao Hanzheng, but he didn’t leave any clue. In the end, even the Zheng Family thought it was a coincidence, and they only lamented that Zheng Tongfeng was unlucky.
Soon, the day of the palace examination arrived.
On this day, Xiao Hanzheng dressed neatly and went to the palace to participate in the palace examination.
The palace examination only tested policy questions, which lasted for one day, and the papers were handed in at dusk.
During this period, the Emperor will come to see it in person.
The results will not be announced on the same day and will be presented to the Emperor after the examiners have finished reviewing them.
After the Emperor decides on the next class, the imperial examination will be announced by the Emperor.
Xiao Hanzheng got the test questions and saw the topic, which was as expected.
The topic of the test questions was people’s livelihood and a strong country.
It roughly means how to make the people live a stable and good life, and whether there were any strategies to make the country more prosperous.
This kind of question was simple and difficult.
To say it was simple is that the scope of the topic was wide and there was a lot of room for development.
The difficulty was that it was difficult to write something new or give effective suggestions.
Especially, if they write something that touches the interests of some aristocratic families, it would be easy to step on the thunder points of aristocratic families.
Even if you pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future, you will be bullied.
Xiao Hanzheng was naturally not stupid enough to write about the interests of the aristocratic families, so he focused on how to develop people’s livelihoods.
He had lived a lifetime, and in his previous life, he was a first-rank official, so he had a broad vision.
In addition, he would talk about the country and people’s livelihood with Shi Qingluo from time to time, and he also got a lot of suggestions from her or a lot of inspiration from her words.
Therefore, Xiao Hanzheng mainly talked about ‘strong country, rich people, life and prosperity’ and he made fewer suggestions on national policies.
He avoided almost everything that must be avoided.
After all, he hadn’t entered the officialdom yet, so there was no need to mention these things so early.
If he encounters a conservative examiner, his result may be directly ranked after the top ten.
And the Emperor usually only looks at the top ten papers to determine the first place.
Xiao Hanzheng wrote smoothly, and after he finished writing, he checked it and copied it on the test paper.
Feeling a bright yellow figure standing beside him, he was not nervous and still copied steadily.
After a while, the people around him left.
Everyone else was nervous wherever the Emperor passed by, and even several candidates made mistakes in writing or accidentally stained their test papers with grinding drops.
After the Emperor left, they all wanted to cry.
The Emperor stayed for about an hour and then left.
As soon as he left, all the candidates in the hall felt relieved.
Some people regretted that the Emperor didn’t come to see them.
At dusk, the gongs and drums sounded when the time came to hand in the papers.
After handing in the paper, Xiao Hanzheng left the hall with a calm and indifferent look.
Many people were observing Xiao Hanzheng. After all, he was the champion and was likely to compete for the top prize.
Seeing his calm and composed look, except for those who were jealous, everyone could not help but sigh that Xiao Hanzheng was indeed the champion.
Just this steadiness and determination alone, few people present could compare.
After the palace examination, it was time to wait for the grand ceremony of the imperial examination.
After Xiao Hanzheng finished the exam, Shi Qingluo accompanied Xiao Baili to the general’s mansion.
Xiao Yuanshi had not been out recently. Every day, he was either practicing calligraphy in the study or accompanying Liu Ru in the yard, deliberately ignoring his wife Ge Chunru.
He doesn’t know how to face her.
That day, he was in the study, when he heard the housekeeper come to report that Shi Qingluo and Xiao Baili wanted to see him. His head suddenly started to hurt.
But he still asked the housekeeper to bring them in.
Thanks for reading, likes, and comments. ^.^
No spoilers, please!
Please support the author by reading the original version on their official site, or buying the book. ^.^