My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 277 - 159: Reunion Feast

Ministry of Justice.

Li Anning leaned listlessly in her chair, her mind on other things.

She wondered if she would pass the Imperial Examination and if she could then smoothly join the Ministry of Justice, not having to guess every day whether he would come or not.

It would be dereliction of duty if he dared not come.

In reality, she had always coped with this in the past.

But for some reason, she had grown accustomed to seeing him as soon as she lifted her gaze.

Li Anning sighed internally.

She knew it wasn't good to feel this way, but she just couldn't control her own thoughts.

Li Nuo walked into the government office and asked, "Have there been any cases these past two days?"

Li Anning was about to speak when she noticed a faint lipstick mark on his face, and the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth gradually faded. She pointed expressionlessly at her own face, then handed over a handkerchief.

Li Nuo, realizing something, wiped his face with the handkerchief, which came away with a faint trace of red.

Li Anning took back the handkerchief and asked, "How is your preparation for the Imperial Examination going?"

Li Nuo replied, "Alright."

Li Anning glanced at him.

While others were studying diligently and practicing the Six Arts, he was either teaching Song Jiaren to play the piano or wandering around the Phoenix area. She saw no sign that he was seriously preparing for the Imperial Examination.

If he failed even the spring examination, let alone joining her at the Ministry of Justice.

She looked at Li Nuo and said, "This Imperial Examination is more competitive than ever before. Focus on your preparation and do not immerse yourself in romantic distractions. If you fail, you'll have to wait another four years..."

Li Nuo, surprised, asked, "Why is this examination more competitive than before?"

Li Anning rolled her eyes habitually and said, "You don't even know this? I wonder what you've been doing these days. Don't you care about your competitors in the examination?"

Li Nuo had never really paid attention to his competitors.

Why should he care when he had a trump card up his sleeve?

He sat down opposite Li Anning and said, "Competitors? Tell me about it..."

These were actually insider news, which Li Anning had gone out of her way to inquire about. She hadn't expected Li Nuo to be so indifferent, whereas she was the one who was anxious for him.

She said irritably, "There is a student from Jiangnan who never forgets anything he reads, the title of top scholar in the Ritual Department is undoubtedly his. Jin State has a musical genius, a rare talent of the decade, who has openly declared he will win the title of Music Department Top Scholar. Moreover, the young elites from the major families will also be taking the examination, making the competition even tougher than before. Scores that would have secured the title of Advanced Scholar before might not make the cut this time..."

The selection of Advanced Scholars was not based on scores but on rankings.

In recent years, the top hundred candidates were chosen for recruitment, and the possibility of being hired depended on the overall level of the candidates in the same session.

If the candidates in the same session were mediocre, one could still pass even if they were slightly weaker.

But if the session was filled with strong contenders, some who would have easily made the list in previous years might not even reach the bottom of the Advanced Scholars' rankings.

The examination twenty years prior was undeniably of hellish difficulty.

That session produced many brilliant talents who are still talked about with great enthusiasm to this day.

This examination, coinciding with the coming-of-age of a new generation from the major families and the emergence of other geniuses, was naturally far more challenging than before.

After listening to Li Anning's explanation, Li Nuo realized his luck wasn't very good.

But he wasn't worried at all.

He wasn't fully confident about being the top scholar, but he was quite confident about being in the top hundred.

Seeing Li Nuo's nonchalant attitude, Li Anning asked, "Tell me honestly, what chance do you think you have of becoming an Advanced Scholar?"

Li Nuo didn't boast arrogantly and shook his head, saying, "How could I know now? Let's wait until I've passed the spring examinations..."

Li Anning seemed more concerned about his participation in the Imperial Examination than Li Nuo himself.

His wife hadn't even asked him about these things.

In the afternoon, when Li Nuo returned from the Ministry of Justice to the Song Residence, his wife had already come back.

They each read books at the table, with Li Nuo occasionally glancing up at her.

Song Jiaren noticed Li Nuo's actions and looked at him, asking, "What's wrong?"

Li Nuo looked down at his book and said, "Nothing."

He had kissed her in the morning, but now she acted as if nothing had happened.

Still, Li Nuo was accustomed to this behavior of hers.

She might be shy and hesitant to speak, but her body was quite honest.

That night, when it was time to sleep, Li Nuo said, "My wife, let's go back to Li Mansion tomorrow. We can return here after the Lantern Festival."

It was the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, with the new year just a few days away.

She was already married and, strictly speaking, part of the Li Household.

Living in the Song Residence on normal days was one thing.

However, during major holidays like Chinese New Year's Eve and Lantern Festival, a married daughter was not supposed to stay at her parents' house.

This was the custom in Daxia.

Song Jiaren nodded and said, "Alright."

She naturally understood these social etiquettes.

Moments later, the two went to bed to rest.

Because of that kiss during the day, Li Nuo felt that they had grown closer, and it seemed natural that they would be physically closer as well.

He shifted toward his wife's side.

His arm touched his wife's arm.

Soft, smooth, and cool.

Usually, even though they slept under the same blanket, there was actually still a distance between them.

Song Jiaren, with her eyes closed, felt Li Nuo's movements, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her heartbeat involuntarily speeding up, her body instantly tensing up.

But the next moment, Li Nuo shifted back inward and returned to his own place.

His wife's body was truly soft, truly smooth, but also truly cold.

If it were summer, sleeping while holding her would surely be comfortable.

But now, in winter, being so close to her was really a bit much to bear...

The next morning, Li Nuo and Song Jiaren packed their belongings, informed the Old Lady with a word, and after saying goodbye to Mumu, they left the Song Residence.

Song Mu'er stood at the door, waving at them until their carriage disappeared into the distance, then returned to the Song Residence, murmuring to herself along the way, "Where has Song Ning'er run off to again..."

In recent months, Song Ning'er kept disappearing as if into thin air, sometimes not being seen for an entire day.

Every time she returned, she was very tired, prompting Song Mu'er to suspect that she was secretly practicing martial arts behind her back.

However, she wasn't worried about it at all.

With Jiaren's teaching, she'd never be able to catch up to her…

Li Mansion.

Although it was his own home, Li Nuo couldn't remember how long it had been since he last returned.

The feelings of leaving home last time compared to now were completely different.

He held his wife's hand, standing in front of the adjacent courtyards.

In the past, his wife lived in the left yard, while Li Nuo lived in the right.

In the Song Residence, they had shared a room; now at the Li Mansion, they would be separated again.

But the times had changed.

Li Nuo turned his head to look at Song Jiaren and asked, "Do we go to your place or come to mine?"

Song Jiaren replied softly, "Either is fine."

In the end, Li Nuo still chose to sleep in his own room. When two maidservants came in carrying two quilts, Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "One quilt will suffice, take the other back..."

Song Jiaren stood by his side, silent.

After the two maidservants left the courtyard with the quilts, one of them exclaimed in surprise, "The young master and young madam, could it be..."

The other replied, "Of course, since they sleep on the same bed under the same quilt. I don't know what happened in these months, but the young master and young madam suddenly became so loving..."

"Nonsense, the young master is not what he used to be!"

"I heard the young master wrote a lot of love poems for the young madam!"

"Hehe, the young master is handsome and can write poems. It's normal for the young madam to have a change of heart..."

In the following days, Li Nuo mostly stayed in the mansion.

As the festival approached, the court took a holiday, the government offices were sealed, and except for the necessary duty personnel and prison management staff, the Ministry of Justice also closed its doors. They would reopen and resume work after the Fourth day of the first lunar month.

However, these days, his father was still at the Ministry of Justice.

It wasn't until noon on New Year's Eve that he returned to the Li Mansion.

Although Li Mansion was not as lively as the Song Family, on New Year's Eve, the house's decorations were not taken lightly.

The maids and servants decorated every corner of the mansion with lights and colors, and just as Li Nuo had finished hanging a lantern himself, he saw King Chun enter and say, "Stop the work, tonight your family will join us at the King Mansion for the reunion dinner. A reunion dinner is lively only with more people. I have already sent someone to call Anning..."

Every New Year's Eve, the Royal Family was supposed to dine together.

But starting ten years ago, His Majesty began to make fewer public appearances, and at first, he would still show up once a year to host a family banquet in the palace. Later, he even stopped this practice.

Since then, on New Year's Eve, each King Mansion celebrated separately.

King Chun's personal visit to the Li Family to invite them to the King Mansion for the reunion dinner showed true family-like treatment.

Li Xuanjing said, "We have already prepared food at home, and we won't disturb the King Mansion."

King Chun didn't listen to a word and plopped down on a chair, saying, "Nonsense. Whether you go or not, if you don't go, I will stay here today and not leave..."

In the end, Li Nuo's family took the carriage to King Chun Mansion.

Though large, King Chun Mansion was similar to the Li Mansion, having only three masters.

King Chun, Consort Chun, and the Princely Heir Li Yun.

Unlike other princes who had a main wife and several concubines, King Chun only had one main wife and one son.

Princely Heir Li Yun was older than Li Nuo by several months and had yet to marry.

Li Anning's mother passed away early, and the Royal Family banquets had not been held for many years. This year on New Year's Eve, King Chun had someone bring her to the King Chun Mansion as well.

Watching Li Nuo enter the King Chun Mansion hand in hand with Song Jiaren left Li Anning with indescribable emotions.

Had she known they would come, she would not have come herself.

It would have been better not to come, but since she did, she had to watch their affection...

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

The man who once held her hand now held another woman's, and she couldn't show any dissatisfaction. The sourness in her heart had no outlet to be shared...