Madam, protect me!

The several potential consorts selected by the Ministry of Rites were rejected by the Dali Temple.

Under his coercion, some officials had to stand up, forming a situation of many people opposing.

In this respect, Li Xuanjing is different from others.

Other forces in the court use interests and power to twist some officials together.

When it comes to matters that concern their own interests, the entire small group opposes and supports together.

Li Xuanjing is using intimidation.

Whoever his eyes stay on has to agree with him.

Otherwise, it won't be long before that position is replaced by someone else.

The middle and low-level officials in the court are used to this.

However, this matter has nothing to do with the interests of Prince Chun, so I don't know what he opposes.

Princess An Ning's marriage is a family affair of the royal family. He is an outsider and has no reason to interfere. It is impossible that he wants Princess An Ning to marry his son, right?

Some time ago, there were some rumors about his son and Princess An Ning in Chang'an.

Speaking of which, the princess of Da Xia is indeed popular.

Unlike Chu and Zhao, once a consort was married, he could not enter the government.

The consort of Daxia did not have this restriction. After becoming a consort, his career would be easier.

After all, he was a relative of the royal family. The Ministry of Personnel would also understand the ways of the world when assessing him.

But Li Xuanjing was so powerful that he would not care about having another royal relative.

Besides, his son was already married. Even if he was powerful, the princess of the royal family could not be his son's concubine.

Unless his son divorced his original wife, or let his original wife be his concubine.

No one knew what Li Xuanjing was thinking, but because of his opposition, this matter could only be put on hold for the time being.

…

Li Nuo left the Song Mansion, got on the carriage, and went to the Ministry of Justice.

When passing by Yuyin Pavilion, he lifted the curtain and took a look.

The shops on both sides of Yuyin Pavilion had already started construction.

Yuyin Pavilion has been doing very well recently. Fenghuang said that they have also taken over the two shops next door and are planning to expand the shop.

As Yuyin Pavilion became more and more famous, the previous space was not enough.

The carriage soon stopped in front of the Ministry of Justice.

At the end of the year, the number of files sent to the Ministry of Justice for review increased sharply.

If this year's cases are piled up until next year, it will affect the performance evaluation of local officials.

Li Nuo certainly did not waste this opportunity and came to the Ministry of Justice almost every day.

He had almost prepared for the imperial examination, and the small spring examination was even easier.

After arriving at the Ministry of Justice, Li Nuo first urged Xiao Gu to practice calligraphy. After all, her practice was the same as his own practice. If she practiced, he would not have to practice.

Then, he sat in his seat and waited for Li Anning to come.

Before he officially became an official of the Ministry of Justice, he could not do without her for the time being.

She had to bring the files, seals, etc. of the Ministry of Justice.

Li Anning came a little late today, and was obviously in a good mood. She was still humming a song when she came in.

She was indeed in a good mood.

At today's court meeting, the list of consorts selected by the Ministry of Rites was rejected again.

The next court meeting will be a grand court meeting. At the grand court meeting, officials from all over the country will take turns to report on their work. Time is already tight, and they will definitely not mention her affairs.

This delay will last at least another month.

She looked at Li Nuo with a satisfied look on her face.

He still took her affairs to heart.

However, she occasionally felt a little disappointed.

Her father ignored her marriage.

She couldn't even see her father.

Other people's fathers, however, could stand against the court etiquette and royal rules and rejected the list of consorts twice.

Dali Temple did this, of course, not for her.

His father was really good to him.

Even if it was such an unreasonable request, he would satisfy him.

But soon, Li Anning's mood improved again.

Dali Temple doted on his son.

Dali Temple's son doted on her.

Same.

She took out an apple from her bosom, broke it in half, handed one half to Li Nuo, and asked, "How are you and your wife doing recently?"

Li Nuo took a bite of the apple and said, "Very good."

Li An Ning glanced at her and asked, "I mean, has your relationship made any deeper progress recently?"

Li Nuo shook his head.

Although the relationship with his wife has always been harmonious, he has maintained the previous progress recently and has not taken any further steps.

It is already close enough to sleep in the same quilt. One more step is the last step.

From two rooms to one room.

From under the bed to the bed.

From two quilts to one quilt.

From no physical contact to holding hands becoming a common thing, she is also accustomed to hugging her and playing the piano, and it has become very natural.

Recalling that a few months ago, the two were still like strangers. Such progress is fast enough.

After spending so much time with her, Li Nuo probably knows when he can do what.

But he didn't dare to say that he understood the girl's heart. He looked at Li An Ning and asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"

Li Nuo didn't believe others, but he still trusted Li An Ning.

Last time, if it weren't for her careful analysis and sincere suggestions, he wouldn't have been so determined about his wife, and their relationship wouldn't have progressed like this.

Seeing Li Nuo looking at her, Li An Ning immediately looked away, waved his hand, and said, "No, what suggestions can I have? Just do whatever you want..."

……

As time entered the twelfth lunar month and the New Year was approaching, Chang'an, which was already bustling, became busier day by day.

It happened to be the year of the imperial examination, and students from various states who participated in the imperial examination also arrived in Chang'an one after another.

As the capital of Daxia, Chang'an's prosperity was far beyond that of other states. Many people were dazzled by the prosperity when they first came to Chang'an.

Accompanied by his wife, Li Nuo once again came to the Ministry of Personnel.

This time he went to the Ministry of Personnel not to check any files.

The spring examination was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. Candidates who participated in the spring examination needed to go to the Ministry of Personnel to register one month in advance.

There was a long queue at the side door of the Ministry of Personnel.

I heard from the officials of the Ministry of Personnel that the number of people participating in the spring examination this year was several times more than last year.

This was also expected.

This year's imperial examination reform, major academies can no longer recruit students outside the spring examination, and the spring examination has become the only way, so naturally thousands of troops are crossing the single-plank bridge.

Even though the fees for the spring exam are not low, rising from 20 taels of silver last year to 100 taels of silver now, there are still people who want to take a chance.

These taels are nominally for the exam room fee, invigilation fee, test paper fee, marking fee, horse farm, shooting range usage fee, pen, ink, paper, inkstone, pigment fee, etc., which sounds reasonable, but the price is really outrageous.

One hundred taels for an exam, no refund if you fail, no refund if you pass.

This alone has blocked those poor students from the official career.

His father-in-law is a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, so Li Nuo certainly doesn't have to queue outside in the cold wind.

In fact, he doesn't care. Li Nuo didn't want to trouble his father-in-law.

But as soon as he walked to the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel, an official from the Ministry of Personnel recognized him and invited him in.

A moment later, Li Nuo sat in the warm conservatory, leisurely drinking tea and reading books.

After a while, a clerk handled all the procedures for him.

Li Nuo took the examination paper with both hands and said, "Thank you."

The clerk smiled and said, "You are too polite, young master."

Song Zhe walked in from outside with his hands behind his back and asked, "How are your preparations for the imperial examination going?"

Li Nuo said, "It shouldn't be a problem to pass the spring examination..."

Song Zhe looked at him a few more times.

Although the competition in the spring examination is not as competitive as the imperial examination and the requirements are a little lower, it also requires the six arts to be tested, and each subject must be rated above B.

Song Zhe suddenly asked, "How many kinds of auspicious ceremonies are there?"

Li Nuo said, "There are 152 ceremonies of the five ceremonies: one is auspicious ceremonies, with 55 ceremonies, one is to worship at the Circular Mound on the winter solstice, two is to pray for a good harvest at the Circular Mound, three is to worship at the Circular Mound during the rain, four is to offer sacrifices at the Mingtang, and five is to worship the Blue Emperor in the eastern suburbs..."

Li Nuo looked at him and asked, "Father-in-law, do you want to continue reciting?"

Song Zhe waved his hand and said, "No need."

Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief.

He actually recited the auspicious ceremonies here.

If he says even one more sentence, he will have to pay the price.

Song Zhe looked at Li Nuo with a slightly strange look.

He was still skeptical about him, but seeing that he was so proficient in the five rituals, he must have put in a lot of effort.

He had seen his paintings, although they were not excellent, they were more than enough for the imperial examination.

And his Le Dao---it must be said that he completely inherited Li Xuanjing's talent, even Song Zhe himself could not compare with him at his peak.

He is worthy of being his son!

He suddenly sighed, not knowing what he was thinking of.

If he had been enlightened earlier, some things would not have turned out like this...

Jia Ren would not have been away from her mother for more than ten years, and the sisters would not have been separated.

Compared with Jia Ren, the one he felt the most sorry for should be Yi Ren.

With the character of his wife, she must have had a hard time these years...

Song Mansion

The wind was cold and biting, and Song Ning'er's hands were shaking as she held the sword. She raised her red face and looked up at the woman, saying pitifully: "Master sister, it's so cold, let's wait until it's warm before practicing, okay?"

The woman said lightly: "What kind of cold is this? This is how practicing martial arts is. If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, you will never achieve anything in martial arts in your life, let alone catch up with Song Mu'er..."

Looking at the little girl dancing with a long sword in the cold wind, some memories also appeared on her face.

Compared to the Holy Maiden Peak of Sanqing Mountain, which is covered with ice and snow all year round, this little bit of cold is nothing. Ning'er's suffering now is less than one-tenth of what she suffered back then.

But thinking of the little girl crying helplessly in the wind and snow back then, something seemed to be touched in her heart.

She squatted down, covered the little girl's hands with both hands, circulated her Qi, and asked: "Are you still cold?"

Song Ning'er felt a warm current flowing into her body, and her whole body was warm. She said happily: "I'm not cold anymore, thank you, Master Sister!"

The woman brushed off the snowflakes on her head and said: "If you are tired, take a rest."

Song Ning'er shook her head, picked up the sword again, and said firmly: "I'm not tired, I will work hard to practice, and I must defeat Song Mu'er in the future!"