0p0 Chapter 224 Meeting an old friend
Chapter 224 Meeting an old friend
As soon as she lay down.
Su Mian then leaned into her arms skillfully and found a comfortable position without opening his eyes during the whole process.
"you……"
"Don't talk!"
Li Nanqiao was about to speak when Su Mian interrupted him.
The other party interrupted her, seeming to be very sleepy. Not long after, his breathing gradually became steady and regular. Li Nanqiao had no choice but to shut up.
With the soft jade in his arms and the fragrance coming out, Li Nanqiao's attention was all on this delicate and charming woman in his arms who exuded a charming fragrance.
His eyes greedily scanned her face, her delicate porcelain skin, her plump and rosy lips, bit by bit.
Until he couldn't help but raise his finger, lightly placed it on her straight nose, and carefully traced the outline.
Until with the sound of dripping rain, Li Nanqiao felt sleepy and could not help falling into a sleep.
……
There were 106 people in the top three of the imperial examination, including 11 women. Although the ratio was still disparate, it was a big improvement compared to the previous situation where no women had ever passed the imperial examination.
This is of course related to the fact that this imperial examination is based only on genuine ability and no one is allowed to take shortcuts.
The most noteworthy thing is that this time a woman was admitted and won the first place in the imperial examination, and was selected by Emperor Wu of Jin himself.
This person is Xia Peizhu, the daughter of Zhongshu Sheren Xia Ji.
The news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys, and during the parade, countless people wanted to see the first female scholar-official in the Yan Dynasty.
The limelight of the top two candidates was snatched away by him. They were so angry that their teeth were itching, but they still had to put on a smile and pretend to be happy.
What made them even more jealous was that when His Majesty arranged official positions for them, he obviously valued the third place winner Xia Peizhu more. Although the official position assigned to her was editor in the Hanlin Academy, it was only a seventh-rank official.
However, the compilers of the Hanlin Academy were mainly responsible for compiling history, the so-called historians, and their development prospects were appalling.
When they were parading through the streets, Qin Ke and Lu Youqing also went to watch the fun. Qin Ke had chosen a good window seat in the restaurant in advance, and when he opened the window he could see Xia Peizhu riding a horse through the streets.
"Someone actually threw a purse to Miss Xia?" Qin Ke looked at Xia Peizhu in surprise as she caught the light pink purse thrown down from the second floor.
Lu Youqing glanced at the lively scene downstairs and said calmly, "Most of them are here to join in the fun. She was personally selected by His Majesty as the third place winner this time, and those ladies in the boudoir admire her very much."
Qin Ke rested his chin on his hand and admired Xia Peizhu's high-spirited appearance with great interest. He couldn't help but imagine that if his wife had taken the exam at the beginning, she would have been able to enter the palace examination with her real talents and knowledge.
If the lady were to ride a horse in a parade, she would definitely attract a lot of people's attention. With her extraordinary intelligence and beauty, wouldn't there be many people who would come to snatch her from him?
Thinking of this, Qin Ke shook his head hurriedly, secretly thanking his luck that he was the only one who could see his wife at the moment.
Qin Ke didn't expect that he was celebrating too early. When the parade was over and Qin Ke was about to return home with Lu Youqing, they were stopped by a man in plain white brocade clothes.
Qin Ke frowned and stared at the man in front of him with displeasure. The man looked to be about the same age as him. The corners of his lips trembled slightly due to shock, and his pupils suddenly dilated. At this moment, he was staring at Lu Youqing.
"Cheng... Cheng Youzhi, you are Cheng Youzhi, right?"
There were tiny ripples in Lu Youqing's amber eyes, and the distance between her two thin eyebrows was narrowing.
When Qin Ke heard this, he knew that this person must be an old acquaintance of his wife in the capital, and it seemed that they had a close relationship.
Thinking of this, Qin Ke felt a sour bubble in his heart, his eyes moved slightly, his heart was in turmoil, and there was a kind of nameless jealousy burning.
Feeling the hand holding her fingers slightly exerting force, Lu Youqing's eyes returned to their usual indifference. She smiled at Qin Ke and said softly, "My husband, let me introduce you to Qi Xuan, the second son of the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion."
Oh, it turns out to be my wife’s nominal ex-fiancé!
"Oh, it's Master Qi. Nice to meet you." Qin Ke pulled the corners of his mouth with a forced smile, his tone a little sarcastic.
Lu Youqing gently pinched his fingers, signaling him not to do anything weird.
Unfortunately, Qi Xuan didn't notice Qin Ke's weird look at all, all his attention was focused on Lu Youqing's face.
Seeing that she did not deny his guess, he immediately became excited and even took two steps closer to Lu Youqing, and asked anxiously: "Are you her? Then why did the news of your death suddenly spread that year? If...if you were still alive, then I would never...never..."
Seeing that he was still trying to reach out and grab his wife's arm, Qin Ke hurriedly stepped forward to block his wife, his jawline tightened, and his dark eyes were filled with overwhelming strong emotions. He said unhappily: "What are you doing? You still want to fight, right?"
"No, I'm not." Qi Xuan was afraid that Lu Youqing would misunderstand him, so he hurriedly shook his head and explained, "I just, I just want to know what happened to you back then?"
The people present were all smart people, and they could guess what Qi Xuan had just said.
"You mean, if you knew that your wife didn't die of a serious illness, you would definitely not agree to the Cheng family's proposal to exchange the bride and marry the second Miss Cheng, right?"
Qi Xuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
Qin Ke sneered, not hiding his contempt for him.
If I had known earlier! If I had known earlier, what would have happened? He just said a few words of regret, and he said it very quickly, but I had never seen him do anything at the time.
When the Cheng family first mentioned the marriage exchange, they agreed without saying anything.
When Lu Youqing saw Qin Ke confronting him, he gently tugged at his sleeve, took two steps forward and looked up at Qi Xuan.
"Master Qi, it's all in the past, why should we let it go? Cheng Youzhi passed away several years ago, and Master Qi is already married. Is it really inappropriate to stop someone in the street like this?"
Qi Xuan stared at Lu Youqing in a daze. He couldn't see the slightest trace of familiarity in her eyes. He even looked at her indifferently and heartlessly, as if he was looking at a stranger.
"That's right. I heard that the second young master Qi had a son just a few years ago, and he didn't even have time to congratulate you." Qin Ke added fuel to the fire.
"Okay, husband, we should go back. Yueya is still waiting for us at home."
"it is good."
Qin Ke deliberately put her arms around Lu Youqing's waist in front of Qi Xuan and smiled at him provocatively, showing her white teeth: "Master Qi, goodbye!"
Lu Youqing let Qin Ke make a fuss with a doting look on his face.
After walking a few steps sideways, Qin Ke suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Qi Xuan who was standing there in a daze, and reminded him loudly: "Second Master Qi, if you really want to know what happened back then, you might as well go back and ask your wife. She knows it best."