The Comeback of the Charming Farmer's Wife

Looking into Ye Zi’an’s eyes was an array of probing, intense scrutiny, and even Baili Yan did as much.

The Emperor’s first sentence sounded somewhat dangerous; the first layer of meaning seemed to suggest that he wanted to promote him heavily, while the second was that the runner-up in the examinations would not go to the Imperial Academy but would instead directly enter one of the six ministries.

It is known that the top three scholars are generally expected to spend some time in the Imperial Academy before being assigned to one of the six ministries; the unluckier ones might even spend a lifetime there, yet this was not the case for Ye Zi’an. But the final question that arose, with some danger attached, was that the Emperor said he would need to think it over, but for how long might he consider? A few days, months, or even years?

That wasn’t even the key point; the key was that last sentence.

"You little rascal," is that something an Emperor would say, or rather, should an Emperor say that? How is it that the tone sounds so familiar? And what about what followed, asking if the "fěnyù" was easy to use? What on earth is that? Is "fěnyù" a person or just a piece of jade?

But whether it’s a person or jade, it seemed that the Emperor and Ye Zi’an must know each other, right? Or even know each other well?

Where on earth did this Ye Zi’an come from? This is what those official families were thinking.

It seems that this Ye Zi’an needs to be observed closely. Should a concubine be sent out for a political marriage? This was what the noble families were contemplating.

The third prince’s cousin and the Emperor are actually quite acquainted? This was the thinking among the nobility.

Then there was the top scholar and the third-place finisher, both with very complex looks in their eyes, especially the top scholar who always felt that his title was ceded to him by Ye Zi’an, because Ye Zi’an was too young.

As for Ye Zi’an himself, his face looked as if he had been struck by lightning, very wooden!

At this moment, the Emperor’s few sentences fluttered around Ye Zi’an’s ears until he finally grasped the keyword, "fěnyù"!

"Fěnyù" was what that person he had saved had given him! But the problem was, how did the Emperor come to know of it? Ye Zi’an thoroughly reflected on the appearance of the Emperor he saw in the hall and came up with a bold guess; could it be that the person he had saved was the Emperor?

Meanwhile, the Emperor, who had been rather faint-heartedly portrayed by rumors, returned to his sleeping quarters.

He laughed heartily at his servant, "That youngster dares to deceive me; from his face, I could tell that all he knows are my leftovers."

"Humph, that fool, thinking he can deceive me and still become the top scholar? I’ll make him the runner-up instead."

Listening to these words, the Emperor himself was quite capricious.

Seeing the servant not speaking, he asked, "Why are you not talking?"

The little eunuch hurriedly knelt down, "Your Majesty, this servant is listening to your Majesty speak."

"Humph, very well, if you won’t speak, so be it, I don’t expect anything good to come from your mouth," said the Emperor, and after he finished, he walked around the sleeping chamber with his hands behind him, then said, "However, that lad is talented and courageous. Since I’ve deprived him of the top scholar title, I must compensate him somewhat. I need to think about which ministry to send him to. The Ministry of Rites? Not good, it’s difficult to achieve anything there. The Ministry of War? Also not good, why would a scholar head to the Ministry of War (Assistant Minister of Ministry of War and the minister sobbing, Emperor, am I born a martial artist?)? Forget it, let’s send him to the Ministry of Revenue!"

Well, it was decided by the Emperor himself that Ye Zi’an would go to the Ministry of Revenue.

However, the Emperor had not yet spread the news, but somehow, overnight, those who should have known, knew.

This hinted at the number of other people around the Emperor, but that is a story for another time.

"Tell me, tell me, what exactly happened in the court session today?" In Old Mu’s separate residence, Baili Yan was interrogating Ye Zi’an.

"I don’t know?" Ye Zi’an expressed his confusion.

"What happened?" Mr. Luo couldn’t go to the court session and naturally did not know.