The Duke's Daughter is Reborn

Chapter 489 Preparing for the Spring Examination (2)

“Qing’er,” the old lady’s eyes swept over the knee-length gown in Yang Qing’s hands. The stitches were so fine that she could count each thread. “Your sister’s hands used to love making sachets for you.

Now, she is in charge of so many things for the Empress in the palace. Aunt Rong Pei sent someone to tell her the other day that when she was calculating the banquet rules, even the people in the Imperial Food Bureau were shocked. They said, "Miss Song calculated it exactly, even more efficiently than the people in the Imperial Food Bureau."

Yang Qing's eyes fell on the knee-length gown: "Third sister has always been very careful and meticulous. Now that she is serving the Empress, her carefulness will naturally be even more important."

Recalling the time when he first heard his mother talk about Yang Qi winning the favor of the Empress and Princess Yuanyi, he was sitting under the bamboo window of Kongyang Academy flipping through the "Spring and Autumn Annals".

Smoke rose from the teacup on the table, but he stared blankly at the two words "Yang Qi" on the letter from home, unable to recover for a long time.

Mother is talking about my third sister?

When did the third sister become so close with Princess Yuanyi? Isn’t the only close friend of the third sister in the imperial city Han Chu from General Xu’s mansion?

In my memory, Yang Qi was always like a nimble bird. Whenever I went to Jishi Bookstore with him, she would always climb up the bookshelf on tiptoe and call out, "Brother, take a look at this book!"; every time she came back from a trip, she would always bring back some of her mother's favorite pastries, which tasted extremely sweet.

This time when Yang Qing returned home, in addition to the knee-length clothes prepared by Yang Qi, Yang Lan prepared an inkstone, and Yang He and Yang Jing each presented an elegant Confucian scarf, which showed that they had put a lot of thought into it.

"When I was studying abroad," Yang Qing collected the gifts from his younger brother and sister-in-law one by one, his eyes swept across the family, his voice as warm as the spring sun, "I often missed a bowl of hot soup at home - I thought that my grandmother's sugar-steamed yogurt must be mixed with clear osmanthus honey, and my mother's white fungus soup must be stewed with clear mountain spring water to be delicious..."

Yang Qing raised her lips slightly, and a smile spread across her eyes. "Now that I'm back, I find that my dreams have taken root. The yogurt still tastes the same as before, but I've added a few more warm wolfberries to the Tremella soup."

Hearing Yang Qing's words, the old lady's eyes were hot. She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and her knuckles trembled slightly from the force. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

Recalling what Xu had mentioned a few days ago, Yang Qing only slept three hours a day in the academy, the old lady said, "The spring exam is very important, so just concentrate on your studies."

When Qing'er passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi, the Duke's Mansion will have a successor.

However, the old lady would not say this in front of everyone at this time, so as not to increase Qing'er's pressure.

"Okay, let's all go." The old lady patted the back of Yang Qing's hand gently, "Qing'er has a lot of schoolwork, don't bother him anymore."

We set out early this morning and must be very tired now, so it would be better to let Qing'er rest early.

When I left the upper house, the dusk had already spread over the eaves.

Yang Qi and Yang Qing followed their second aunt Xu to Shi'an Courtyard. The evening breeze blew gently, carrying the sweet and refreshing fragrance of magnolia.

Xu kept repeating, "Drink ginseng soup to review your lessons" and "Don't stay out in the cold at night." She stopped at the gate of Shi'an Courtyard and said, "Qing'er, go back to your room and rest for a while."

Yang Qing said, "Mother, I have been looking for some books these days, and I want to pick them out and send them to my third sister later. You can take a rest first."

Xu knew that the brother and sister had been close since childhood. As long as Yang Qing returned home, he would definitely bring some favorite books to his sister, so she responded, "Okay, you two can chat more. I'll go check on the lotus seed soup cooked in the kitchen."

Yang Qi's habit of reading is no secret in the Duke of Song's mansion.

Before he finished speaking, the figure disappeared behind the moon cave door.

Yang Qi raised his eyes and smiled, with a look of understanding in his eyes: "Brother, do you have something to tell your sister alone?"

If it is really a gift book, the servant will run errands for it later. Why would he ask me to stay and get the book in person?

Yang Qing cast his eyes towards the lanterns swaying in the wind under the corridor, frowning slightly, "Third sister, you are now in the presence of the Queen Mother... There are some things that I can't help but say.

There are undercurrents in the court. The Fifth Prince is in decline, while His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is gaining power.

You are so close to the Queen and Princess Yuanyi, I am afraid... you have caught the attention of many people with ulterior motives."

Kongyang Academy gathers the best talents in the world, including many children of noble families. Those with unmarried daughters have been whispering in his ears these days, with some inexplicable sourness in their words.

"Brother," Yang Qi said calmly, but her eyes were calm, "I have heard a lot of bad words these days. Once a maid just happened to mock me when I passed by: 'No matter how powerful the third daughter of the Song family is, she can't change her origin that her grandfather was a criminal.'"

In the past, when I was a quiet and invisible person, I had never heard anyone talk about my grandparents' family affairs. But now, as I and the Queen Mother become increasingly close, my grandfather's affairs have been dug up again.

If it were in the past, when Yang Qi heard what others said, although he could remain calm on the surface, he would definitely feel uncomfortable for a long time in his heart.

But now, the struggle between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince is getting more intense. As long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can win, he will avenge his grandfather's entire family. He really doesn't have the energy and sheer sheer willpower to pay attention to these rumors right now.

It was one thing to hear gossip from others, but it was another to hear my sister say it in person without any emotion.

Yang Qing's chest tightened, and she felt even more grief-stricken: "The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop..."

Yang Qi understood that his elder brother was worried that he would be involved in unnecessary disputes and become the target of public criticism.

But now, he and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have become grasshoppers on the same rope.

"Thank you for your concern, big brother." She nodded slightly, her tone steady, "I know the ins and outs of this matter."

Changing the subject slightly, she asked tentatively, "However, isn't it too early for Big Brother to come back home to review his lessons? The Spring Examination is still some time away... Could something have happened at Kongyang Academy?"

Today, when Yang Qi heard Mother He say that his elder brother was going back home to study, he began to feel suspicious.

In his previous life, my eldest brother had been studying in Kongyang Academy and only returned home before the spring examination. But in this life, why did he come back so early?

Yang Qing shook her head: "The academy is undergoing major renovations recently, and the noise of Ding Dong is making people feel uneasy, so I'm going back home to have some peace and quiet for a while."

"Major overhaul?" Yang Qi frowned slightly.

How could the great scholars of the academy come up with such a bad idea at this critical time of preparing for the Spring Examination? I'm afraid that the name of the repair is just a cover to cover up other things.

"The students from Imperial City Middle School," she asked, her voice soft but penetrating, "are all of them back?"

Yang Qing was silent for a moment, and his voice became even deeper, and the night seemed to become heavier: "...The renovation of the academy was approved by the headmaster Kong Yang himself. Not to mention the disciples who live in the imperial city, even those students from other places have... found a place to live and temporarily left the academy."