In order to eat, I signed a contract with the system

It had been less than three years since Zhao Qi ascended the throne, which coincided with the time when Zhao Zongshi ascended the throne in the plot. After Zhao Qi's death, the less than one-year-old prince Zhao Yi ascended the throne as emperor. Qin Wanrong was promoted from empress dowager to grand empress dowager and began to rule the country from behind the curtain.

When the new emperor ascends the throne, he naturally has to hold an imperial examination. However, since Zhao Zhen lived six years less than in the plot, the main task of the protagonist and supporting characters is still to study.

Qi Heng still went to the Sheng family to study every day like in the plot, but Gu Tingye did not go. Gu Yankai valued him and naturally would find a good teacher for him.

However, he still couldn't change his bad habit of speaking without restraint, and he made wild judgments about the Empress Dowager Qin Wanrong in front of everyone. As a result, after passing the imperial examination, Gu Tingye still received an oral order that he could not take the imperial examination before the age of fifty.

Gu Tingye was dissatisfied and Gu Yan was heartbroken, so he wrote many letters to plead for mercy. Qin Wanrong could feel the pain of little Qin in her body, so she used the Jinyiwei to uncover the death of big Qin. The mastermind who killed big Qin was dead, but Gu Yankai and his brothers, who knew the truth and even were accomplices, were still there. As a result, the title of Ningyuan Marquis was lost and the Gu family was raided.

Gu Tingyu wanted to meet his aunt Qin Wanrong, but he had no way to do so. Without Gu Yankai to take care of him, Gu Tingyu has not married yet. Now that his mother's death has been avenged, he thought he would turn things around, but he didn't expect that Qin Wanrong would treat him as a member of the Gu family and did not give him any preferential treatment.

The Gu family lost their title and money because of the incident involving Gu Tingyu's biological mother. They did not dare to hate Qin Wanrong, and could only place all their hatred on Gu Tingyu, the son of the Qin family.

Just like in his previous life, Gu Tingyu did not dare to hate Gu Yankai who gave up Da Qin for the title, but hated his aunt Xiao Qin. Everything is cause and effect.

When the people in the Dongchang Marquis' Mansion saw how Qin Wanrong had destroyed the Gu family so easily, they immediately realized how much of a grudge Qin Wanrong had. Unlike the outsiders, they thought that Qin Wanrong was really seeking revenge for her elder sister. They thought that this was Qin Wanrong's revenge. After all, because of the rumors about the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, the Qin family had become infamous and Qin Wanrong's reputation had also been affected.

I have to say that the person who knows little Qin best in this world is actually Lord Qin. To be honest, it's quite ironic. I can only say that they are truly siblings with the same father and mother.

In order to make Xiao Qinshi's resentful soul taste better and to vent her anger, Qin Wanrong could do it with just a few words of instruction, and it didn't take any effort at all.

Nanny Xing is now living in the palace, helping to take care of Qin Wanrong's daily life. As for the clerk, Qin Wanrong arranged her to be a female official of a certain rank. When she becomes an empress in the future, the clerk can at least become a third-rank official.

Liang Duzhi is already over fifty years old. He suffered a lot when he was a child and his body is broken. Now that he is old and ugly, he dare not force the fairy Qin Wanrong to favor him. He can only stay by Qin Wanrong's side and serve her like Nanny Xing. At least he can still see Qin Wanrong and talk to her occasionally.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Yi turned one year old. Surprisingly, when he was almost two years old, he still couldn't speak fluently. After diagnosis by the imperial doctors, it was found that this was because Zhao Yi had been trapped in the womb for too long during childbirth, causing his brain to be underdeveloped.

In other words, Zhao Yi is a fool.

As soon as this news came out, people in the court were in unrest. The people on the Duke of England's side simply refused to accept this fact, but that was the fact.

Seeing this, the royal family began to have some ideas. Zhao Zongshi died young and passed away a year ago. If he were still alive, he would be the closest relative in terms of blood relationship. But now that he is gone, his son needs to observe mourning. Even if he is in a hurry, he cannot leave Yuzhou and go to Beijing to develop without caring about his father.

The royal family began to request Qin Wanrong to be adopted in place of Zhao Zhen, or in place of Zhao Qi, but they underestimated Qin Wanrong. In the past two years, Qin Wanrong's loyalty pills had basically covered all non-partisan officials, and even infiltrated many people around Zhao Yi, the Duke of Ying.

So soon, the Duke of England found Qin Wanrong under the persuasion of his disciples.

"I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Qin Wanrong certainly knew what the Duke of England was here for, but on the surface she had to pretend that she knew nothing.

"What does the Duke of England want to see me for?"

The Duke of England came to discuss cooperation with Qin Wanrong. He wanted Qin Wanrong to agree to wait for Zhao Yi to grow up and then marry a woman from the Zhang family to give birth to the next generation of officials.

After hearing what the Duke of England said, Qin Wanrong smiled and said, "The Duke of England has a nice idea, but what good will it do for me?"

The Duke of England always felt that Qin Wanrong was unfathomable, especially since Qin Wanrong had been ruthless and had never made mistakes since she took power, which further confirmed his view that Qin Wanrong was extremely ambitious.

He felt that Qin Wanrong would not want to let go easily after she came to power. Now that he proposed cooperation, Qin Wanrong could remain in power until Zhao Yi and Zhang's son grew up, which would extend Qin Wanrong's time in power.

"As long as the Grand Empress Dowager agrees, I, on behalf of the entire Duke of Ying, can continue to support you in power until the official's son comes of age."

"Tsk, the Duke of England is getting old, why is his mind starting to get confused?"

"No matter who Zhao Yi marries in the future, I can always stay in power and don't need to cooperate with your Yinggong Mansion."

"What if I go to support the royal family?" This is the trump card of the Duke of Ying's Mansion. As Zhao Yi's grandfather, he can represent Zhao Yi to some extent. If he goes to cooperate with the royal family, it is still possible to seize power from Qin Wanrong.

Qin Wanrong laughed at the Duke of England for boasting to scare her. If it weren't for the Loyalty Pill, perhaps the Duke of England could really do it. But with the Loyalty Pill, Qin Wanrong was not afraid at all. In fact, it's not that she can't directly become emperor. After all, most of the ministers are her people. But this will not be in line with her usual image. Qin Wanrong thinks it's better to continue to maintain the image of the little Qin white lotus. After all, this will give her a greater sense of accomplishment.

"Do you think I'm afraid? Cooperate with the royal family? Who will fall first, I or your Duke of Ying?"

The Duke of Ying naturally knew that he was really cooperating with the royal family, and when that day came, Zhao Yi's life might not be saved. He just wanted to scare Qin Wanrong, but he didn't expect that Qin Wanrong, the "undemanding" Empress Dowager, saw it so clearly.

It was because of past rumors that he underestimated this banished empress dowager.

"How can the Empress Dowager agree to my request?"

Duke Yingguo gave in. Qin Wanrong put away her smile. She sat on the dragon throne with her chin propped up, looking at Duke Yingguo. "Now I am sitting on the dragon throne, I am reviewing memorials, I am staying in Zhaoren Hall, I am handling government affairs, and all power is in my hands."

"I feel that there is no difference between me and the emperor, except that I am legitimate. What does the Duke of England think?"