Peasant Woman’s Decreed Life as a Wife

Chapter 2550: Chapter 2547: Entering the Palace

Yan Nan hurriedly rushed over to interrogate those kidnappers, while at the same time keeping the matter under wraps, so as not to alarm the people behind them.

After Chu Heng threw this matter out, he completely stopped paying it any mind. Anyway, he only needed to keep a grip on the final outcome; as for who achieved it, that wasn’t important. At this point he didn’t need that many merits either—getting promoted was no longer something difficult for him.

Chu Heng then began a life of spending one day at the horse ranch accompanying Ye Muyu, and the next day back at the yamen handling affairs.

And as the competitions at the horse ranch began,

the county-level civil examinations across Great Chu started as well.

And with the end of the county exams,

many students rushed to the capital to take the metropolitan examination.

The competitions held at the horse ranch also brought out many truly capable people, whose reputations shot straight up. When students from all over arrived in the capital, it stirred up an entirely new wave of excitement.

That very day, Chu Jin was summoned into the palace.

Seeing Emperor Xuanming again, he felt a little excited. After all, it was not that easy to get an audience with the Emperor.

He wasn’t his father, who could see the Emperor whenever he liked.

“I pay my respects to the Emperor.” Chu Jin knelt and performed a very proper kowtow.

Emperor Xuanming said, “Rise.”

“Marquis Bozi, I heard that the competitions you organized in Yun County had people coming in an endless stream and the place was packed with noise and excitement. Is this true?”

“Emperor, please just call me by my name. Otherwise I always feel flattered and ill at ease. It’s one thing to show off a bit in front of others about having a title at such a young age, but in front of you, I really don’t have that kind of confidence, and I’m a bit embarrassed besides.” Chu Jin scratched his head and said.

Emperor Xuanming was amused by his words and laughed. “You brat really are straightforward and careless with formality. Aren’t you afraid that by making requests of me like this, I’ll punish you?”

“Emperor, you are a wise ruler; how could you punish your subject over such a trivial matter?” Chu Jin shook his head, unconvinced.

His manner was natural, with not quite enough stiffness of respect and a bit too much familiarity. In all his years on the throne, even his own sons had never been so relaxed and unrestrained before him. Added to that, Chu Jin’s face always seemed to be smiling, and his temperament was honest and pure, which actually made people like him and did not give the impression that he was scheming anything inside.

Emperor Xuanming said, “You brat certainly know how to talk.”

“All right, to business. Since you have talent in this area, I’m ordering you to organize such a competition here in the capital as well.”

“Emperor, since you’ve said so, may I apply to host a super large-scale competition?” Chu Jin took the chance to climb even higher without the slightest notion of ‘being polite’, and yet everything he proposed happened to coincide with Emperor Xuanming’s own aims, which naturally made the Emperor quite pleased.

“How large?”

“Of course it has to be bigger than the one in Yun County. After all, this is to be held in the capital. It’d be best if its fame spread throughout the world, so that when people mention the Great Chu Capital, they think of a city that never sleeps—prosperous and brimming with talent.” All sorts of whimsical ideas popped up in Chu Jin’s mind.

“Your subject will also need your help to promote the event in advance in the official newspaper.”

“If, in the future, every Prefectural City in all Great Chu could be this lively, and even in every County City no one picked up what wasn’t theirs and everyone lived in peace and contentment, then I’d be able to wake up laughing even in my sleep.”

Emperor Xuanming couldn’t help but feel a bit of longing stirred by his words.

“Chu Jin, you’re quite young, yet your aspirations aren’t small.” Emperor Xuanming chuckled.

Chu Jin said confidently, “Emperor, that’s naturally because your enlightened governance has allowed your subject to see this kind of hope, which is why I can have such ideas.”

“In the past, I never imagined I’d be able to sail out to sea. I thought just making it to Gao Li was already impressive enough. But now, for our Great Chu merchants, going to Gao Li is like going somewhere close by, and traveling to Tianzhu has already become reality. It shows that nothing is impossible, as long as we’re willing to do it.”