Chapter 384: When Eldest Aunt Met Madam Chen “My second brother’s house is truly magnificent…” When he arrived at the entrance of Zhu Ping’an’s home, First Uncle Zhu Shouren couldn’t help letting out a sigh of admiration. His gaze swept across the wide-spreading courtyard walls—red brick shimmering warmly under the sun and green-tiled eaves gleaming […]
Chapter 383: Descending to the River in March In March, the skies over Xiahe Village were impossibly clear, washed clean as if someone had taken a giant brush to the heavens. A few wisps of white clouds drifted lazily across the expanse, casting fleeting shadows over a sprawling apricot grove. Beneath those clouds, the trees
Chapter 382: A Moment of Bewildered Shock Beneath one’s own couch, how could one allow another to sleep soundly? Since ancient times, emperors have all had this same kind of suspicion. In order to sleep peacefully, the Ming dynasty’s founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, established a secret organization—the Jinyiwei—to monitor officials and the common people alike.
Chapter 381: A Curved Path to Save Shen The morning sky brightened into a soft gold, and the first rays of sunlight spilled over the rippling jade waters of Taiye Pond. A small boat drifted slowly across its tranquil surface, bearing Zhu Ping’an toward the shore. The water glimmered gently beneath the oars, like sheets
Chapter 380: Petition to Execute the Traitor Yan Song “Your servant has a memorial to present.” That single sentence struck the hall like a thunderclap from a clear sky. The words came so suddenly that everyone — from the august Emperor Jiajing seated upon the Dragon Throne, to the ranks of civil and military officials
Chapter 379: This Humble Official Has a Memorial to Present “Urgent dispatch! Urgent dispatch! Three hundred li in haste!” “The Imperial Examination List! Open the gates! Those who hinder shall be guilty of great crimes—those who resist shall face severe punishment!” The first light of dawn had just brushed the eastern sky when a cloud
Chapter 378: I Have a Special Way of Talking For more than ten days, the once-bustling scene of carriages passing in and out of Xiahe Village finally began to quiet down. Only then did Madam Chen, Zhu Ping’an’s mother, find the leisure to step out of her home. In the days before, the house had
Chapter 377: That Village, That Dog In ancient times, when travel was arduous and the transmission of news slow as a crawling snail, the empire’s great events often reached the far corners of the land only after many days. It had already been several days since the results of the imperial examination were publicly proclaimed
Chapter 376: The Appointment of Office Of course, the one who was most devastated of all was none other than Miss Yan’er herself. Zhu Ping’an, still feeling the warmth of wine in his veins, followed the young maid through winding garden paths where emerald trees swayed gently and blossoms of scarlet and gold perfumed the
Chapter 375: There Exists a Kind of Fierce Man Named Luo Longwen As dusk fell, the world was slowly steeped in hues of twilight. The last light of the sun bled over the horizon, and the western sky seemed as though it had been washed in crimson ink—beautiful, yet ominous, like the dying breath of