Do You Know?: Rule the World

Zhao Zhen then turned his head and looked at Zhang Maze.

He has been with Zhang Maoze for many years and has now become the person he trusts the most.

"Mao Ze, Minister Han has left, and there's no one else here. You and I have been together for decades, so feel free to say whatever you want."

Zhang Maoze looked solemn. After hesitating for a long time, he took a step forward and knelt in front of Zhao Zhen.

"I have an important matter to report to the emperor."

"It's just that this matter is of great importance, and we need to secretly send someone to investigate it carefully."

Zhao Zhen raised his eyebrows, staring at Zhang Maoze, who was kneeling on the ground, with a sharp gaze. He said gently, "What could possibly make you so cautious? Get up and talk."

Zhang Maoze took a deep breath, took out Zhao Han's life experience and resume from his arms, and presented it to the official with both hands.

"Please review it!"

Zhao Zhen took it with a puzzled look in his eyes, scanning it carefully.

After a moment, he was shocked and couldn't help but recall an event that had been forgotten for many years.

In the autumn of the second year of Jingyou, he went to the south of the Yangtze River in disguise. When passing through Yangzhou, he happened to meet a merchant girl named Hu Wanrong.

Because of her graceful appearance, which made people forget the world, the young and energetic Zhao Zhen changed his name to Zhao Shouzhen, claiming to be a silk merchant from Bian Jing, and went boating with her.

After spending a night with her, he wanted to take her back to Bian Jing and tell her his true identity.

However, the merchant girl refused to come to Bian Jing with him on the grounds that her old father needed someone to take care of him. It happened that the young empress, Empress Zhang Hui Yang, was seriously ill, so he had to travel day and night to return to Bian Jing.

The only person who knew about this was the personal eunuch Zhang Maoze.

"Zhao Han... Zhao Han..."

"When our love was at its peak, I told Wanrong that if we had a son, I would give him the name '日'."

"I never thought that she would actually give birth to a son for me!"

As he spoke, Zhao Zhen frowned, his knuckles tapping the table unconsciously, and there was a hint of uncontrollable excitement in his words.

He had three princes, but all of them died mysteriously when they were only three years old.

His health has been deteriorating over the years, and he has been unable to sleep at night because of his childlessness.

However, the ministers in the court submitted memorials every few days, urging him to quickly appoint a crown prince and determine the foundation of the country.

Gradually, his obsession with passing the throne to his son faded.

Just when he began to think about adopting a nephew from the royal family.

He never thought that God would send him a child of his own!

Not only did he live to be almost twenty years old, he was also handsome and talented, and he passed the imperial examination and became the third place in the imperial examination!

"I...I'm really not dreaming..."

Zhao Zhen clenched his fists and still looked at Zhang Maze in disbelief.

Zhang Maoze was also very excited. His eyes were slightly red, and he said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, this is not a dream. The third place winner in this year's imperial examination is none other than your own son!"

"Good! Good! Good!"

"I will immediately issue an order to bring him back to his ancestral home and immediately appoint him as Crown Prince!"

"Let those ministers who are always clamoring for me to adopt sons and nephews see that I already have a son of my own!" After saying this, Zhao Zhen suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the hall excitedly.

Hearing this, Zhang Maoze hurriedly knelt on the ground again, "Sir, we must not rush into this matter!"

Zhao Zhen paused and frowned.

"Why is this? I have been blessed by God and have found my own son. Do I have to hide this?"

Zhang Maoze pondered rapidly in his mind. After a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for my bold suggestion. Currently, Princes Yong and Prince Yan have become influential figures in the court, and both are determined to secure the position of crown prince."

"And His Royal Highness Prince Zhao... currently only holds the title of Third Place in the Imperial Examination, and only the emperor and I know of Yangzhou's past."

"If you rashly appoint him as the Crown Prince, I'm afraid the ministers in the court may not be convinced. I'm even more worried that the two princes, Yong and Yan, will harm Your Highness!"

Zhang Maoze kowtowed heavily, "I beg your Majesty to reconsider this matter. We should consider it in the long run."

Zhao Zhen's frown gradually relaxed. After calming himself down, he sighed and sat back on the dragon throne.

"You're right. I was overjoyed and lost my composure. This matter... cannot be rushed."

"If I had known he was my own son, I should have looked at him more on the day of the palace examination."

Please read it, please vote for the monthly ticket, bang bang bang, kowtow to the big guys orz

Chapter 40: Parade and Praise Officials

A rare look of loneliness appeared on Zhao Zhen's face.

Zhang Maoze paused for a moment, then bowed his hands in comfort, saying, "The bond between father and son is as clear as the sun and the moon, even if they have never known each other."

"Now that the prince has entered officialdom and is in Bianjing, there's still a lot of time for him. Why should we worry about the emperor not showing mercy to him?"

"I have been secretly gathering information from the Imperial City Bureau recently, and I never expected to learn that His Royal Highness the Prince is already engaged."

Zhao Zhen paused for a moment after hearing this and asked impatiently, "Whose family is this girl from? What's her family background? What's her character like? What's her appearance like?"

"Returning to the emperor's family, she is Cheng Zhilang, who was recently transferred from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the capital. She is the eldest daughter of Lord Shenghong."

"The Sheng family has a clean history. Their ancestor was a scholar who won the third place in the imperial examination. They were the family that Xu, the only daughter of the Marquis of Yongyi, had insisted on marrying."

Zhao Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly and tapped his knuckles lightly on the table twice.

"Speaking of this, I do have some recollection. The old Marquis Yongyi was very angry at the time and he took sick leave and did not attend court for many days."

Zhang Maoze smiled and replied, "Your Majesty has a good memory, but the old Marquis of Yongyi was ultimately unable to persuade his daughter, and she was married off in grand style soon after."

"I remember that the emperor praised Mr. Sheng's beautiful handwriting some time ago."

Zhao Zhen nodded and pondered for a moment.

"This man has a good reputation as an official and is from a respectable family, but his family background is a bit low."

Zhang Maoze heard this and replied cautiously, "In terms of family background, they are indeed not as noble as the dukes and marquises who could not live in Bianjing, but they are better in terms of family tradition and their children are diligent."

"I also learned that his eldest daughter was raised by Xu since childhood. Her appearance and bearing must be extraordinary."

Xu, the only daughter of Marquis Yongyi, was so precious in those days that she was well-known among the noble ladies in the entire Bianliang.

The girls she raises must be good.

Zhao Zhen kept weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

"In that case, that's fine."

"After all, she is the girl Han'er has chosen. After we recognize our ancestors and return to our ancestral home, we can welcome a few more concubines from good families into the palace."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Zhang Maoze immediately bowed, a smile adorning the fine lines at the corners of his eyes. He continued, "Your Highness has been searching for a house in the capital these past two days."

"We've been all over Bianjing, but haven't been able to settle down for a long time. I'd like to speculate that it's probably because they have some money on the books that they can't turn around."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but glare at him in reproach.

"You old bastard, are you just going to sit there and watch my son get into trouble over these things?"

"Go and arrange a suitable house for him, close to the palace and with elegant scenery."

"I remember there are several vacant official residences in the Hanlin Street area. You can find a way to give them to him without attracting attention."

Zhang Maoze smiled and replied, "I'll do it right away. I'll make sure Your Highness doesn't suffer any grievances in the capital."

—

The next day, March 18th, the morning light shone brightly, elegant music rang out, and the sound of chimes lingered.

There were crowds of people outside Donghuamen, and it was very lively.

The candidates lined up neatly here according to their ranking in the imperial examination. Their plain white robes fluttered slightly in the morning breeze, and their faces were full of anticipation.

Officials' families and common people in the city had already taken up seats here early, just to witness the grand occasion of the success of the imperial examination.

As the time was approaching, the Sheng family's carriage slowly stopped not far away.

Hua Lan lifted the curtain of the car, smiling, still looking gentle and dignified, and personally helped Wang Ruofu walk down.

Ru Lan, Ming Lan and Mo Lan rode in the same carriage and followed closely behind.

Just as the maid had placed the footrest, Rulan jumped out of the carriage, holding up the hem of her skirt. Pointing to something not far away, she said crisply, "Xiao Liu, look, there's a place selling candied haws over there. They're bright red and must be very sweet!"

Minglan looked in the direction she pointed and smiled.

"Fifth sister has good eyesight. She can see clearly from such a distance."

Molan was the last one to get off the car. She lightly touched her temples with her slender fingers, and there was a hint of disdain in her eyes.

"We went out today to watch the roll call ceremony for my eldest brother-in-law. All you do all day is eat, drink and have fun. No wonder Dad always says you're unruly."

Hearing this, Rulan's face flushed immediately, and her eyes widened, "What are you talking about?!"

"No matter how unruly I am, I am still the legitimate daughter of my family. How dare you, a concubine's daughter, lecture me?"

"You, the people of Linqi Pavilion, from top to bottom, really don't understand the rules at all!"

Molan spoke with a hint of sarcasm, gently waving her round fan, "So what if I'm the legitimate daughter? I still don't get Daddy's favor."

"Besides, Daddy hates the words 'legitimate' and 'illegitimate' the most. Is Fifth Sister knowingly committing this offense again?"

"you……!"

Rulan was so angry that she was shaking all over.

Before she could speak, Minglan hurriedly tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Fifth sister, there are so many people here today. Daddy has repeatedly told us not to be rude and make a fool of ourselves."

"Xiao Liu, you are more sensible and know the rules."

Rulan took a few deep breaths, snorted coldly, and hurriedly took Minglan's hand and followed Wang Ruofu's pace.

In the crowd, Wang Ruofu's mouth never drooped.

Ever since Zhao Han won the first place in the imperial examination, she liked this future son-in-law more and more. She was just waiting for the roll call today so that she could go to the Kang family and show off to her sister Wang Ruoyu.

Hua Lan held Wang Ruofu's arm, tiptoed slightly, and her beautiful eyes were always fixed on Zhao Han.

"clang--"