Do You Know?: Rule the World

"What are you doing? Where's the master?!"

Dong Rong lowered his head and hesitated for a moment before saying, "When the court was dismissed just now, I waited outside the palace gate for a long time, but the master didn't come out. So... I mustered up the courage to ask Lord Qiu, and Lord Qiu said... said..."

"Hurry up and tell me, you bastard!" Wang Ruofu stamped her feet anxiously.

"Master Qiu said that when he was leaving court, he saw the Lord being called away alone by a eunuch."

"I waited and waited outside the palace gate, but never saw the master. I had no choice but to rush back to report the news." Dong Rong's voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

Wang Ruofu's face suddenly changed, her head was buzzing, and her heart sank.

It is not ordinary for a eunuch to summon someone alone!

Besides, they had just arrived in Bian Jing, and Sheng Hong was just a minor official.

"Hurry, follow me to see the old lady!"

After saying that, Wang Ruofu didn't even bother to tidy up her clothes and took Mother Liu straight to Shou'an Hall.

He also ordered Dong Rong to continue waiting outside the palace gate and to report back immediately if there was any sign of trouble.

Shou'an Hall.

At this moment, Hualan, Minglan and other girls were all here, chatting with the old lady to relieve her boredom.

Wang Ruofu rushed in without waiting for the message.

The old lady couldn't help but frown, and seeing that her hair was a little messy and there were fine beads of sweat on her forehead, her face became a little more confused.

After all, although Wang Ruofu was impulsive and irritable, she had never been so rude in front of herself and the girls.

"Mother, something terrible has happened!"

"I'm afraid the sir is going to be in trouble!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the laughter in the room suddenly stopped.

Hualan's round fan stopped in mid-air, and Minglan turned her head and stared at Wang Ruofu.

The Luban lock in Rulan's hand snapped, and Molan frowned with a hint of disbelief.

"What nonsense! How could there be such a trouble?" The old lady looked calm, but her voice was filled with an authority that could not be ignored.

When Wang Ruofu explained the reason, the old lady's eyes darkened slightly, and she said lightly: "The current emperor is the most merciful."

"There was no water in the Imperial Garden. The Emperor was worried that the palace servants would be punished, so he would rather endure hunger and thirst to drink water in the Empress's Palace. He would never punish a minister for no reason."

As she spoke, the old lady patted the back of her hand again and said, "My son has always been cautious and never made enemies in the court."

"If there really is something going on, there should be rumors first."

"Don't scare yourself, or you might just be fine in front and then have a fire in the back."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ruofu frowned, picked up the tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

"Mother is right. If the gentleman doesn't come back tonight, I will ask someone to ask him again."

"Big sister..." Minglan tugged at Hualan's sleeve, a hint of uneasiness in her bright eyes.

Hua Lan looked at her usually well-behaved sixth sister and said softly, "Don't be afraid. Grandma said it's okay. Daddy will definitely be fine."

Minglan nodded. Now she had come to Shou'an Hall to live with the old lady.

The old lady was kind-hearted and could not bear to see the mother and daughter part, so she specifically told Wei Xiaoniang to stay a little longer when she came to pay her respects.

"Grandma, Madam, Mo'er is worried about Daddy and feels a little unwell, so I'll take my leave now."

Molan stood up and bowed gracefully. Her every move was at least ninety percent similar to Lin Qinshuang, if not ten percent.

Wang Ruofu's heart was in turmoil when she saw this.

"Since you are not feeling well, go back and have a good rest. Don't worry too much. Your father will definitely return safely." The old lady instructed.

Molan responded with a humble look, then left Shou'an Hall with her maid Yunzai and told Lin Qinshuang about the matter.

"Hmph, just pretending!" Rulan looked at her back and muttered to herself.

It was almost the afternoon and the sun was setting in the west.

Everyone was still anxiously waiting for news when suddenly a burst of hurried footsteps was heard from outside.

The housekeeper hurried in to report: "Old lady, Madam, the master is back!"

"Sir!" Wang Ruofu exclaimed with relief.

When he saw Sheng Hong for the first time, he didn't care about his manners and rushed over in two steps.

Sheng Hong supported Wang Ruofu and laughed dryly twice.

He walked straight to the old lady, bowed respectfully and said, "I am an unfilial son and have caused you to worry."

The old lady narrowed her eyes slightly and saw that Sheng Hong had returned safely.

He looked so happy, even his eyebrows were lit up with joy, and my heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down.

After Sheng Hong sat down, his voice was a little higher than usual, "Mother, something big has happened!"

"Today, the emperor actually invited me to the palace to enjoy the imperial meal together!"

"What? A royal meal together?!"

Wang Ruofu immediately gasped and almost fell off the chair. She widened her eyes and looked at Sheng Hong in disbelief.

The old lady was also very surprised.

A lowly fifth-rank official with no significant achievements.

Being able to eat imperial meals with the emperor in the palace was simply unheard of.

Sheng Hong paused, then continued, "At first, my son almost thought it was his last meal, and his legs went limp with fear."

"I didn't expect the official to be so gentle. He first asked about the recent locust plague in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and then talked about many trivial matters of family life. My son was so confused that he was almost tongue-tied when he tried to reply."

"Before resigning, the official also instructed his son to educate his children well and to clean up the family tradition."

"Mother, do you know what the official means by this?"

The old lady picked up the teacup, thinking in her mind, and finally shook her head, "God's grace is unpredictable."

"But it is a great honor for the emperor to invite you to eat the imperial meal. It is the highest honor."

"Remember, from now on, you must be careful with your words and actions, be cautious in everything you do, and don't discuss this matter carelessly with others."

Sheng Hong's face was serious, and he nodded repeatedly, "Mother, I will keep your words in mind."

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Chapter 43 Something is wrong

After leaving Shou'an Hall.

Wang Ruofu was puzzled and couldn't understand why the emperor wanted to let Sheng Hong be the only one to enjoy the imperial meals in the palace.

"Do you think the official is going to be promoted again?"

Madam Liu smiled and said, "Madam, why bother overthinking it? Regardless of whether it's a promotion or not, it's a great blessing for the master to be valued by the government."

"Something's wrong, this is very wrong."

"Raise your children well and maintain a clean family tradition. How can officials and officials gossip about family matters like this?"

"Hua'er is already married, Ru'er and Ming'er are still young, and they haven't even left the house many times since coming to the capital. Although Changbai is a good student, he only has the title of scholar..."

Wang Ruofu directly excluded the people from Linqi Pavilion. She was seen twisting her handkerchief, her brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and she kept thinking in her mind.

"Could it be related to our future son-in-law?" As soon as he said this, he shook his head again, "It's true that being the third place winner is glorious, but there's still the first place winner before him."

Madam Liu said softly, "Don't waste your brains, Madam. Even the old lady can't explain it clearly. I'm afraid we won't be able to guess the emperor's intention even if we rack our brains."

"That's true." Wang Ruofu sighed softly and turned to look in the direction of Linqi Pavilion. "Since moving to the capital, the master has been much more indifferent to that vixen."

"The capital is full of people with many different opinions. My Lord is now favored by the Emperor, so he must be more cautious in his words and actions. It will be difficult for Miss Lin to use her shameful tactics in the past here."

When Mother Liu said this, a hint of satisfaction flashed in the eyes of the master and servant.

-

After paying homage to his biological mother, Bai, Gu Tingye began to prepare to go to Bai Ludong Academy to study.

For the future of the Gu family and Gu Tingye, Gu Yankai personally wrote a letter, recommending him to several great scholars in the academy in sincere words.

Out of respect for Lord Gu, the great scholars naturally treated Gu Tingye differently and replied to the post early, inviting him to enroll in the academy as soon as possible.

Early this morning, the sky was slightly bright and a thin mist had not yet dissipated over the Bian River. As a close friend, Zhao Han naturally came to see him off.

Soon, the carriage from Ningyuan Marquis Mansion slowly drove over and stopped in front of the pier.

Gu Tingye got off the carriage first. Seeing Zhao Han already waiting there, he quickly walked over and said, "Brother Zhao, you're here early. Are you afraid that I might sneak away?"

Zhao Han smiled and said, "If you leave without saying goodbye, I will definitely chase you to the academy and settle this account with you."

"I'm afraid Brother Zhao doesn't have the time!"

"After you are appointed as an official in a few days, the affairs of the Hanlin Academy will surely keep you busy and overwhelmed."

As a place for the imperial court to store talents, the Hanlin Academy's work content is both noble and important, but also tedious and trivial.

Especially for officials who have just joined the Hanlin Academy, they need to undertake a lot of editing work, and it is common for them to become ill due to exhaustion.

"I'm here to see you off today, so don't mention these annoying things." Zhao Han smiled and waved his hand.

He remembered that when Zhang Juzheng was serving as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, he once wrote a letter to a friend complaining that he had to be at his desk all day in the Hanlin Academy, like a clerk.

Gu Tingye nodded with a smile on his face.

Not long after, Gu Yankai also got off the carriage, followed by Xiao Qinshi and his youngest son Gu Tingwei.

Gu Tingye took the initiative to introduce: "Father, this is my good friend Zhao Han, whom I often mentioned to you. He is also the third place winner in this year's imperial examination."

Zhao Han immediately followed the etiquette and bowed, saying, "I am Zhao Han, the younger generation, and I pay my respects to Lord Gu and Madam Qin."

Gu Yan stroked his beard and looked at the young man in front of him. Seeing that the young man had proper manners and extraordinary bearing, he could not help but nod.

"No wonder Zhong Huai always praises you in front of me. Seeing you today, I can see that your reputation is well-deserved."

"It's a blessing for this brat to have a good friend like you."