Chapter 29

"To forget righteousness for the sake of beauty, and to value beauty over friendship."

At the end of the year, the Ministry of Personnel conducted an evaluation of the officials' performance. There were three officials who ranked first, and Su Yawan, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, was one of them. When the Emperor reviewed the list submitted by the Ministry of Personnel, he was particularly impressed by this name.

Three years ago, Su Yawan outshone all the other students in the capital and was selected as the top scholar. Dressed in red and riding a tall horse, he was admired by many in the capital.

According to convention, the top scholar usually starts as a seventh-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy. Su Yawan's performance in the Hanlin Academy was exceptionally outstanding. Even the emperor thought she was a rare talent. Coincidentally, the position of Prefect of the Capital had been vacant for a long time, so Su Yawan was promoted to the position.

The Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture was mainly responsible for the security of the capital, which, to put it bluntly, was a job that offended people. Few people had served a full year in office, but Su Yawan was very tactful and managed to hold the position for so long.

"Among those who ranked highly in the Ministry of Personnel's assessment, only this Prefect of Jingzhao, Su Yawan, came from a humble background. It seems that this Su Yawan is truly extraordinary."

Emperor Wei searched his mind carefully for the name.

Nothing major had happened in the capital in recent years, and it had been much more peaceful than before, so she hadn't paid much attention to Su Yawan, the Prefect of Jingzhao.

According to convention, Su Yawan's position as Prefect of Jingzhao should be changed, but there are no high-ranking vacancies in the capital at the moment, and Su Yawan's foundation is still shallow, so the powerful families probably will not accept him easily.

As Emperor Wei frowned in thought, he looked up and saw Jiang Wanyi standing at the door. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she smiled and said, "Wanyi, what brings you here?"

Knowing the emperor's favor towards Jiang Wanyi, the eunuch serving him let him in without announcing his arrival, which could be considered as a way of currying favor with his future lord.

A servant followed behind Jiang Wanyi, carrying a food box. Upon Jiang Wanyi's instruction, the servant immediately opened the lid, revealing the lotus seed soup still steaming and emitting a fragrant aroma.

"This is lotus seed soup that I made myself. I thought Your Majesty must be tired from handling so many affairs of state, so I made something you like to help you relax. I wonder if Your Majesty would like it?"

The Emperor held Jiang Wanyi's hand, wishing she would sit on his lap, but because there were still palace servants around, Jiang Wanyi maintained her composure and did not comply with the Emperor's wishes.

In front of outsiders, he was always a dignified and restrained husband.

"Wan Yi is so thoughtful." Emperor Wei looked at the lotus seed soup with great appetite. He felt a surge of warmth in his heart after receiving Jiang Wan Yi's concern, and began to taste the lotus seed soup.

Jiang Wanyi glanced casually at the memorials on the desk. He had excellent eyesight and immediately saw the words "Ministry of Personnel Assessment," followed by several names, one of which seemed extremely familiar.

Emperor Wei put down his bowl and saw him staring curiously at the memorial, so he explained, "The Ministry of Personnel conducts an assessment every three years. According to custom, those who rank at the top will be promoted. In previous years, they were almost all from aristocratic families, but this year a commoner has emerged."

"Do you know Su Yawan, the Prefect of Jingzhao?"

Emperor Wei stared intently at Jiang Wanyi's face, not missing a single change in her expression.

Jiang Wanyi did not show any particular emotion. After thinking for a while, he slowly said, "Living in the deep palace for so long, I know less about the people outside. Moreover, the inner palace interferes in politics, let alone the affairs of the court. However, He'er seems to have mentioned this Lord Su a few times. She should be more familiar with this Lord Su than I am."

It's no secret that Jiang He and Su Yawan are on good terms; the Emperor wouldn't need to put in much effort to find out.

Emperor Wei nodded and continued drinking his lotus seed soup.

Jiang Wanyi's belly was already starting to show, and the Emperor recalled the imperial physician's diagnosis, which said that he was very likely carrying a princess.

It seems she needs to make plans for her later years soon.

No one knows what Jiang He was thinking, but she suddenly had a whim and took Xue Lingyu to the horse farm in the eastern suburbs. Not only that, she also invited Su Yawan.

Su Yawan originally thought that Jiang He wanted to compete with her, but she didn't expect that she had been invited to watch her and her beloved concubine being affectionate.

Xue Lingyu looked like a frail man and had no idea how to ride a horse. Jiang He certainly wouldn't leave him behind. The two of them entered the riding arena without even touching a horse. On the other hand, Su Yawan was already covered in sweat after a few races.

This was the first time Xue Lingyu had met Su Yawan. He had once tried to knock on the petition drum at the Jingzhao government office for his mother's sake, but was turned away.

Everyone says that the Prefect of Jingzhao is shrewd and worldly-wise. He had thought he was an older man, but he was surprised to find that he was actually quite young.

Moreover, he is Jiang He's good friend.

Su Yawan wanted to avoid Xue Lingyu when she saw him.

Even if she wanted to interfere in the Xue family's affairs back then, she didn't have the ability, and she would likely have gotten herself into a lot of trouble. Moreover, if she had interfered, and someone had been watching her, she wouldn't have been able to secretly rescue Xue Lingyi later.

With each step leading to the next, Su Yawan really didn't want to get involved in the Xue family's affairs if Jiang He hadn't pleaded with him.

However, seeing that Jiang He has now won the heart of his beauty, she is quite happy to see it happen.

To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, Su Yawan took the initiative to explain to Xue Lingyu: "Young Master Xue, it was really inconvenient for me to interfere when you were beating the drum that day. But please rest assured, Lord Xue is safe and sound on his way to exile and his life is not in danger."

This was the first time someone had revealed news about Xue Lingyu's mother, and Xue Lingyu reacted with great emotion. He couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Is what Lord Su said true? My mother, she..."

Although there was no danger to her life, Xue Lingyu knew that her mother was used to a life of luxury and would not be able to endure the torment of hard labor.

Su Yawan glanced at Jiang He without showing any emotion. Seeing that she didn't intend to explain herself, she said, "Young Master Xue, rest assured, Lord Xue is a good friend of mine who is in charge of the hard labor area. I have already written to her, and she will surely be able to protect Lord Xue to some extent."

In fact, Xue Lingyu was not a troublemaker. At that time, almost everyone in the capital avoided the Xue family and refused to get involved with them. Su Yawan was just trying to protect himself.

He was already deeply grateful to be able to lend a helping hand.

"Thank you, Lord Su."

“Young Master Xue, there’s no need to be so polite.” Su Yawan waved her hand and looked at Jiang He with a teasing gaze. “If you really want to thank me, why don’t you let Jiang He lend me her Akhal-Teke horse for a few days?”

Young Master Xue bit his lip, "This..."

Jiang He led Xue Lingyu forward, but her words were meant for Su Yawan behind her: "Don't fall. Just make sure you survive."

Su Yawan smiled and said loudly, "Don't worry, I will definitely repay you!"

She couldn't help but laugh out loud; Jiang He was really stubborn.

Xue Lingyu was immersed in joy, and her steps became much lighter. Jiang He, recalling the scene just now, felt a tightness in her chest and stopped, saying:

"Don't worry about your mother, I'll help you."

Seeing Xue Lingyu looking at Su Yawan with that kind of gaze, Jiang He couldn't help but feel jealous, even though she knew there was nothing wrong with it.

Su Yawan's words had already comforted Xue Lingyu, and Jiang He's words were just icing on the cake.

The Jiang family were, after all, just merchants. Xue Lingyu knew that Jiang He's abilities were limited, so he wouldn't force her to do anything. He appreciated Jiang He's good intentions.

He already owed Jiang He a lot, and didn't want her to do anything for him anymore.

Jiang He had no idea what Xue Lingyu was thinking. She was in a great mood today, and Xue Lingyu seemed to be in a good mood as well.

There were many fine horses at the horse farm. She took Xue Lingyu's hand and asked in a low voice:

Want to learn to ride a horse?

This was new to Xue Lingyu, but he had never heard of Jiang He being a horseman.

He nodded, restrained by Jiang He's gaze.

Since taming that Akhal-Teke horse at the East Suburbs Horse Farm, Jiang He's reputation has spread, and many people want to see her taming the wild horse again.

She owns more than one group of horses at the horse farm.

The Jiang family had no shortage of money, and Jiang He bought several batches of fine horses imported from the Western Regions without even blinking an eye.

However, in order to teach Xue Lingyu to ride a horse, she had the steward select a batch of horses with gentle temperaments.

Xue Lingyu had only watched a few horse races held by young ladies from aristocratic families before, and this was the first time she had ever been in contact with horses in person.

He helped Jiang He sit on the horse's back, and the sudden change in position made him feel a little dizzy. His grip on the reins went weak. Jiang He knew he was not used to it, so she also got on the horse and sat next to Xue Lingyu.

Jiang He's arms could easily encircle Xue Lingyu. She held Xue Lingyu's hand and whispered some words of advice in his ear.

"Don't be too nervous. This horse is the most docile in the stable. Ride freely. If you can't control it, just give me the reins. With me here, nothing will happen."

Her words seemed to have a magical power, quickly putting Xue Lingyu at ease. She followed her instructions step by step, riding her horse forward. Although the movement was slow, it was a significant improvement.

To prevent Xue Lingyu from falling, Jiang He simply wrapped her arms around his waist, which made Xue Lingyu's breathing quicken.

“Your waist…” Jiang He frowned and exclaimed, “It’s too thin.”

"Is it because you're not eating enough?" Jiang He asked sincerely.

Xue Lingyu blushed with embarrassment, annoyed by Jiang He's lewd behavior, and ignored her.

Jiang He's hand moved to Xue Lingyu's abdomen, which remained flat as ever. She wondered when Xue Lingyu would be able to conceive.

Once she exposes the mastermind and clears the Xue family's name, Xue Lingyu, who will have a child with her by then, should no longer leave her.

Jiang He looked at Xue Lingyu, who was holding the reins very carefully, and suddenly smiled.

"Don't move." Jiang He held Xue Lingyu's hand and whispered in his ear, "I'll take you on a horseback ride."

Under Jiang He's command, the once docile horse gradually developed a wild nature, galloping on all fours at a speed no less than that of some noble steeds, which attracted the attention of many.

The most surprised person was Xue Lingyu.

He hadn't expected Jiang He to be such a good rider.

Su Yawan was just worrying about how to get this Akhal-Teke horse to accept her and at least let her sit on it when she saw Jiang He leading Xue Lingyu running around the horse farm.

In contrast, she looked quite disheveled.

"Truly, she's a womanizer who forgets loyalty and values ​​beauty over friendship," Su Yawan exclaimed. She stroked the Akhal-Teke horse and muttered, "Why doesn't Jiang He teach me how to ride a horse?"

The Akhal-Teke horse seemed to dislike her, taking a few steps forward and avoiding her hand.

The Akhal-Teke horse maintained its haughty attitude, only allowing its tamed master to touch it, leaving Su Yawan at a loss.

A note from the author:

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:47:06 on January 12, 2022 and 20:38:26 on January 13, 2022!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: giegie, you're so sexy! (1 like)

Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Summer Moon and Light Feather, 10 bottles each;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!

◎Latest Comments:

【Press hard with your paws∈】

[Please, Lord Su, don't possibly have feelings for my brother, please!]

Give Wan Yi more screen time!

[Nutritional Solution (1/1) Achievement Completed. There is a certain chance of it dropping as an update. Please keep up the good work!]

I love my older brother so much!

[Nutritional Solution (1/1) Achievement Completed. There is a certain chance of it dropping as an update. Please keep up the good work!]

[Two swords are at your service]

[Updated!]

[Brother, please don't let Su and you like each other. That would be too melodramatic, and something bad would definitely happen to you later. I hope Su can be with the person she loves, and that you can be happy with the Emperor too.]

[The person Su loves but cannot have is her brother.]

【Here it comes! Here it comes! Here it comes!】

[Hiss, I always felt that Jiang Wanyi didn't love Wei Di... Could there be something between him and Su?]

[Could my brother be someone Lord Su desperately wants?]

I saw the knife of the future.

Hahahaha, that Akhal-Teke horse is so cute!

But I still like Yu Yu and Sister He the most!

-over-