I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

"This humble subject, Su Mingli, greets Your Highness, Ninth Prince."

The young man in blue took the initiative to step forward and bow.

Su Tan stroked his beard and introduced, "Mingli is my grand-nephew. He is sixteen years old this year and will be taking the imperial examination in seven days, so he is currently staying at the mansion."

Lu Yuan was stunned after hearing this.

In the imperial examinations of the Qing Dynasty, one had to go through six rounds of examinations: county examination, prefectural examination, academy examination, provincial examination, metropolitan examination, and palace examination, before one could be considered to have achieved success and fame.

For an ordinary person, being able to participate in the county examination at the age of sixteen would be quite an achievement.

This kid actually came to take the imperial examination!

If one passes this imperial examination, one will become a tribute student, directly securing the qualification of a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination).

The Su family, a family renowned for its martial arts, has produced such an anomaly.

Talent!

He patted Su Mingli on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Keep it up, young man! Strive to become the top scholar, and when you become an official in the future, you must benefit the people."

Su Mingli looked at the hand on his shoulder, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He has met many officials.

Those people knew he came from a collateral branch of the Su family, and at most praised him as a promising young man before making him stand aside.

Lu Yuan, however, showed no airs of a prince whatsoever.

As the group entered the main hall, Su Tan had already arranged for wine and dishes to be prepared.

Lu Yuan poured Su Mingli a glass of wine.

Su Mingli quickly caught it with both hands.

"Your Highness, I am still young."

"Sixteen is still too young?"

Su Yuling took the wine glass from in front of him.

"The exam is in seven days, what kind of wine should we drink?"

Lu Yuan turned to look at her, "If we don't drink alcohol at the homecoming banquet, are we supposed to drink porridge?"

"You drink yours, don't set a bad example for others."

Su Yuling had her maid bring her a pot of tea, and then personally poured a cup for Su Mingli.

"Drink this."

Su Mingli quickly thanked him.

Lu Yuan looked at the wine glass that had been snatched away and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Before even becoming an official, he's already learned how to curry favor with the princess."

Su Mingli held the teacup with both hands and answered solemnly, "The Crown Princess has a knife in her hand, and this humble subject dares not disobey."

Su Tan laughed first.

Then he had the food and wine set out, and pulled Lu Yuan aside to ask about cement.

The border city wall had been in disrepair for many years, and every year laborers had to be conscripted to transport bricks and stones.

If the cement is as sturdy as rumored, several border towns in the North could benefit.

Lu Yuan then spoke of the construction of the city and the paving of roads, as well as the various benefits that cement roads brought to the army and the people.

Su Mingli was so shocked that he didn't even have time to eat, frantically trying to memorize everything Lu Yuan had said.

I was afraid of missing a single sentence.

He especially remembered the saying, "If you want to get rich, build roads first."

Half an hour later, Lu Yuan stood up, supporting himself on the edge of the table, his legs feeling a little unsteady.

"I'm going to relieve myself."

Su Yuling reached out and supported his arm.

"I'll help you up."

Lu Yuan leaned half his body against him.

"My wife still loves me the most."

"If you lean any closer to me, I'm letting go."

"No!"

Lu Yuan put his arm around her shoulder and followed her outside.

"If you break your husband, what will you do for the rest of your life?"

"I am a widow."

"Are you willing to part with it?"

The two figures disappeared outside the door, but the smile on Su Mingli's face had not yet faded.

Su Tan put down his wine cup and looked at Su Mingli. "Mingli, what do you think of the Ninth Prince?"

Su Mingli sat up straight and pondered for a moment.

"Contrary to rumors."

"What's the difference?"

"He is approachable, not arrogant, and not haughty."

Su Mingli looked out the door and said, "I originally thought that since the prince was born in the palace and surrounded by flatterers, he might not understand the suffering of the common people."

"But when His Highness Ninth Prince mentions cement, his first thought is of the disaster victims in Hedong and the soldiers on the border. When he speaks to the common people, he doesn't act like those officials, where every word has to be about status."

"He's down-to-earth and not pedantic."

Su Tan's eyes shone with even greater satisfaction.

"Anything else?"

Su Mingli lowered his voice, "If His Highness the Ninth Prince becomes the Crown Prince, his ascension to the throne will surely be a blessing for the nation and its people."

Su Tan nodded, feeling quite gratified.

"It's good that you can understand it."

"You are a prodigy that our Su family has only seen once in a century. You knew a thousand characters at the age of three, were well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics at the age of five, and were proficient in poetry and prose at the age of seven."

"At the age of ten, you were already able to assist the county magistrate and prefect in carrying out their duties."

"You are only sixteen this year, yet you have already achieved the highest score in four examinations. If you can pass the provincial and palace examinations, you will be the only person in the history of the imperial examination system to achieve the highest score in six examinations."

"If you enter the court as an official, you must remember what I say today."

Su Mingli immediately stood up and bowed.

"Please enlighten me, Uncle."

Su Tan pointed in the direction Lu Yuan had left.

"His Highness the Ninth Prince is Yu Ling's husband and also your brother-in-law."

"No matter how the court changes in the future, you must remain loyal to him."

Even if everyone opposes him, you must stand behind him.

Su Mingli bowed in greeting.

"Keep etiquette in mind."

"Don't worry, Uncle."

"If Mingli is able to enter the court in the future, he will never betray his brother-in-law."

Lu Yuan was quickly helped back by Su Yuling.

Su Tan did not mention what he had just said again, but simply asked someone to bring more dishes.

After chatting for another half hour, Lu Yuan took his leave with Su Yuling.

After all, we still had to go to the Shen family's house in the afternoon.

……

In front of the Shen residence.

Shen Yilei has changed the tea three times.

A dozen or so colleagues from the Ministry of Justice sat in the front hall. The dishes on the table had been reheated twice, but the Ninth Prince's carriage was still nowhere to be seen.

At this moment, a senior official from the Ministry of Justice came out with a teacup, looking somewhat impatient.

"Lord Shen, didn't you say that the Ninth Prince would arrive this afternoon?"

Shen Yilei forced a smile, "Your Highness is busy with affairs, perhaps he was delayed by something."

The person in charge glanced at the sky.

"This delay has made it almost dinnertime."

Several officials followed him out.

One of them shook his head and laughed, "Lord Shen, why would a prince need to personally accompany a concubine on her return visit?"

"His Highness the Ninth Prince went to the Yongning Marquis's residence this morning to accompany the First Consort on her homecoming visit."

"Although Miss Shen's status is very noble, she is only a concubine."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yilei's smile faded.

"Since Your Highness has already promised to come, you will not break your promise."

"Heh... Did His Highness the Ninth Prince agree to it himself?"

"It was Han Qiu who sent someone to deliver a message!"

The officials exchanged glances.

The person who had just spoken handed the teacup to the clerk next to him.

"That's what Consort Shen herself said."

"After a woman gets married, she always hopes that her family can save face, so it's common for them to say a few more words."

"Now that His Highness has a principal wife and has also taken in Miss Liu, why would he bother accompanying a concubine on her homecoming?"

Another official picked up the conversation, saying, "Lord Shen invited all his colleagues from the Ministry of Justice and set up four tables of food and wine."

"If His Highness doesn't come, we can't just keep starving, can we?"

"Shall we start the meal now?"

Someone couldn't help but laugh and say, "If we wait any longer, the homecoming banquet will have to be moved to breakfast tomorrow."

Shen Yilei stood on the steps, his face burning.

After his daughter married the Ninth Prince, he believed that his position in the Ministry of Justice would also be elevated.

However, his colleagues did not praise him because of this. Instead, they said that Shen Hanqiu was a widow who remarried and that the Ninth Prince was just after something new.

He called everyone here today so that they could see for themselves whether Lu Yuan truly cared about Shen Hanqiu.

As it turned out, they waited from afternoon until sunset without seeing anyone from the Ninth Prince's residence.

Ma Yuanqing, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, walked over to Shen Yilei and reached out to straighten Shen Yilei's collar.

"Lord Shen, please don't stand at the door."

"We're all colleagues, no one will laugh at you if His Highness doesn't come!"

"A concubine is just a concubine."

"You can't expect His Highness to treat the Shen family the same way he treats the Empress's family, can you?"

Shen Yilei shook off his hand.

"Who said His Highness isn't coming?"

"Where is that person?"

Ma Yuanqing pointed to the deserted street, "Lord Shen, why don't you call the person out so we can meet him?"

Shen Yilei opened his mouth, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Just then, the butler who had gone to check the street corner rushed back.

"master!"

"The Ninth Prince's carriage has arrived!"

Shen Yilei raised his head.

Two carriages laden with gifts turned the corner, flanked by female soldiers from the Phoenix Battalion. The carriage at the front bore the insignia of the Ninth Prince's residence.

He shoved Ma Yuanqing, who was blocking his way, and rushed down the steps, lifting his clothes.

"They're here!"

"Here it comes!"