Chapter 317

“Qingling, do you think I could give his brother a job as well?” The Emperor asked.

Shen Qingling shook his head. “No, you cannot. Xu Qing’s younger brother has no reputation and no military merits. If you really want to give him a job, it will definitely lead to a lot of resentment, and it will only harm him.”

The Emperor thought about it and found that it was indeed the case. The fact that he made a stranger an official for no apparent reason must have made other people confused. And if he was really capable of making achievements and career in the future, he would have the bad reputation of relying on relationships to get to the top because he had got his position for no reason at all. And that would be bad for him.

The Emperor thought about it for a moment and found it was improper, so he said no more about it.

Then, Shen Qingling added, “Your Highness, let’s not talk about Xu Qing’s younger brother. Let’s talk about Xu Qing first. Do you want to give him the first name in the Royal Examination?”

The Emperor nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking about. What do you think about it?”

Shen Qingling cupped his hands together. “Your Highness, forgive me if I have said anything disrespectful.”

The Emperor reached out his heand and asked Shen Qingling to continue, “Qingling, you can just say it.”

Shen Qingling said, “Your Highness, of course I hope he can win the first prize on the business side. And Xu Qing also had this ability to win the first place. However, on a personal level, I don’t want him to be number one. With the title of “Number One Scholar”, Xu Qing, a person with no background, will have to survive in the intricacies of the capital and serve the emperor at the same time. It would be too difficult, and what worries me more is that he has not seemed to have any intention of becoming an official in the past year or two.”

His Highness immediately frowned. “Why? Why woulld he come to take the Spring Test when he didn’t want to be an official? Didn’t he know that after the Spring Test, it would be the Royal Examination?”

Shen Qingling said. “His Majesty, of course he knows, but he has his own difficulties. His brother’s husband and child are still in a place far away and haven’t returned home. He wants to take part in the Spring Test and take his brother’s husband and child back. It is said that the journey is long, and this round trip takes nearly a year.”

The Emperor nodded after hearing this. “This person is very affectionate.”

“At the same time, I have something to confess to you, too. I fancy Xu Qing and want to be with him forever. At first I thought of asking you to grant me to marry him, but later on, I thought that me and Xu Qing were both men, so there is no difference of who marrying whom.”

When he heard Shen Qingling’s words, the Emperor was shocked. “Qingling, what did you say? You love Xu Qing?”

Shen Qingling nodded. “Yes, exactly. I love Xu Qing.”

“But you are both men, how can you get married?”

Facing the Emperor’s question, Shen Qingling smiled helplessly. “Your Highness, not only do you find this incredible, but I didn’t think I would fall in love with a man at first sight. Your Highness, there’s nothing we can do to stop a thing like feeling, if it comes.”

The Emperor waved his hand to show that he understood, “Although I am the ruler of a country, I have no right to interfere with who you like. All these years I never said I would give you a marriage, because I want you to make your own decision. If you love Xu Qing, I will not stop you, but Xu Qing must be mine.”

Although the emperor said “mine” to mean that he wanted Xu Qing to listen to him, this word still made Shen Qingling feel a little uncomfortable, but he did not say anything.

Shen Qingling said, “Your Highness, the education Xu Qing received from childhood would not be worse than ours. He was involved in everything from court to battlefield to field geography, and he has his own unique opinions. It can be imagined that the man who taught him must be well-educated, and Xu Qingwen is very courteous. Plus, he has a good looking, he’s really a charming boy.”

When it came to the end, Shen Qingling was a little off topic and the Emperor coughed softly to remind him. “Cough…”

Only when he was reminded by the Emperor did Shen Qingling realize that he had just said what was on his mind.

When the Emperor saw that Shen Qingling lowered his head awkwardly, he laughed softly. “It’s said that even heroes fall for beauties. This is true, and the beauty might mean a childe or a man.”

Shen Qingling blushed a little when he heard this, but only for a moment. He quickly hid his emotions and looked up at the Emperor. “Your Highness, you don’t have to worry that Xu Qing will be disloyal to you. As long as you are a good emperor, Xu Qing will be loyal to you.”

“Oh, why are you so sure?” The Emperor asked.

Shen Qingling said, “I wonder if you have ever heard of such a sentence. Whether it is prosperious or in recession, the average people still suffers. If you only want to be the emperor who can keep the world peaceful and the people live and work in peace, those who really want to make contributions to the people will naturally do it for you.”

The Emperor was stunned for a moment, then he chuckled. “Qingling, you are really worthy of being my virtuous servant. You are right. I just want to be the emperor who can keep the world peaceful. This is my wish to make the people live better. But it would be an injustice to your beloved brother. He probably won’t be a general in his life.”

Shen Qingling smiled and shook his head. “Your Highness, that’s not true. Although you don’t intend to attack other countries, you can’t stop those countries from attacking the Great Xia. The border is always a indefinable place. There must be capable men guarding it, just like Yanzhou, only in this way can Great Xia be peaceful.”

The Emperor nodded in agreement. “You are right. I don’t believe that this huge Great Xia can’t provide a suitable official position for the capable people. Well, let’s not go that far. Let’s get back to the Royal Examination. Do you want me to make your beloved brother the first, the second or the third place? There’s no meaning in being other than the top three.”

When Shen QingLing heard the Emperor’s question, he really did not know what to say. After all, he could not make a decision on Xu Qing’s behalf.

After thinking for a while, Shen QingLing said, “Your Highness, I’ll leave it to you to decide. It is OK to decide according to the results of the Royal Examination, no matter what it is, I think he got it all by himself. In this way, he will be more concerned about it.”

Of course, the Emperor came to make the decision himself. No matter how close Shen Qingling was with him, this kind of thing could not go beyond him as the emperor. Therefore, he was just asking. Hearing what Shen Qingling said, he could also find a way out for himself. “In that case, we will wait until the day of the Royal Examination.”

“His Majesty is wise,” Shen Qingling flattered him casually.

The Emperor also let go of this matter and ask Shen Qingling to have lunch with him. And of course Shen Qingling couldn’t not refuse.

……

In the blink of an eye, three days passed and the Royal Examination came. Everyone in the top ten of the Spring Test had to enter the palace to participate in the Royal Examination.

This time, it was the palace they were going to, and Guoguo naturally couldn’t follow him. He sent Tangtang to the palace gate and left.

Guoguo told Tangtang before leaving. “Bro, be careful. You should see how it goes. Be stupid when you should be. If there’s anything you can’t handle, go find Shen Qingling. He will definitely help you. And if that doesn’t work, you’ll have to get out. I will pick up you outside.”

Tangtang laughed. “I’m in the palace. How can you know if there is anything really wrong with me? All right, don’t talk about it. I know what to do. Besides, I’m the big brother. I should be the one to discipline you. You don’t have to wait for me. Go back quickly, or you can go shopping on your own.”

Guoguo was dissatisfied with Tangtang’s words. “Bro, don’t forget that we are twin brothers. If there’s something going on, I’m sure I’ll feel it. If anything happens, I can definitely arrive in time.”

After Guoguo said a few words, he saw a few people walking in and out. He pushed Tangtang and said, “Bro, go in now. As for me, you don’t have to worry, I’ll take care of myself.”

Tangtang also felt that it was about time, so he waved at Guoguo and went in.

Guoguo watched Tangtang walked far away before turning to go away. Not away, but away from the palace gate. Then he made a circle round the wall as if he were scouting his surroundings.

When he thought he knew it, he left and hopped off to shop.

On this side, Tangtang followed the other nine people into the solemn hall. The Emperor sat high on the dragon chair, surrounded by ministers, and in front of them were tables.

After the ten people saluted, they were given a seat. The emperor said a few words, and then someone handed them pens and ink and asked them to answer the questions on the spot.

The questions were set by the emperor himself. The Emperor sat on the dragon chair and said, “All the students can answer with those words. Whether it is prosperious or in recession, the average people still suffers. All students just need to say its main points. There’s no need for a long story. So, did I make it clear?”

The group answered in unison, “To the Emperor, yes.” Then they began to answer the questions.

Regardless of what the students were thinking, even the ministers were having a lot of discussions. No one expected the Emperor to come up with such a question.

After he said that, only three people were smiling. As the initiator, Shen QingLing was first one. And the second one was the Emperor who came up with the question. The third one was Tangtang, whose dad had traversed.

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