Because of the Eldest Prince, the Emperor Jingping became aware of Shen Chen’s existence and encouraged his eldest son to discuss matters with him frequently. Thus, Shen Chen occasionally showed up in front of Emperor Jingping and became busy.

On one hand, he had to read books to prepare for next year’s Advanced Scholar exam, and on the other, he had to deal with the Eldest Prince’s summons while managing his private trade.

Fortunately, Qin Yin had already trained Ling Que and the other two well enough that they could manage on their own.

Otherwise, dealing with Ling Que and the entanglement with those two junior disciples would make it even more difficult to handle...

The Little Traitor was busy, and Ye Zhi was no less occupied, confined at home by the Ye Family working on embroidery under supervision.

For twelve hours a day, she had to stay at the mansion, unless it was something important, she was not allowed to go out.

For something to be considered important, a report had to be made to her mother, who would decide after careful consideration whether she could go out.

This was very difficult!

The Lingbo Fairy also imitated the Ye Family’s method, having Huanhuan stay at home doing embroidery. After a few days, she was sent to the Ye Mansion to embroider with her disciples every day, having a companion to better exchange embroidery techniques.

Time flew by.

Years quietly slipped through the fingers, passing without a trace.

Many things were slowly starting to change~

The following year.

The flood in the Min River was brought under control. Due to his excellent performance and a recommendation from the Eldest Prince, Gongsun Chi was granted the title of a Seventh Grade minor official.

At the start of spring, the State Preceptor went to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

During those days, Little Princess Qinglian ate less and slept restlessly. After learning about this, Ye Zhi consoled her well, making her feel somewhat better.

Ye Zhi counted the days and realized that in another year, it would be time to scheme against Zhao Yi to prevent him from proposing to the Emperor. If Qinglian eloped and the State Preceptor saved her, they both would face misfortune.

The past is irrevocable.

As more time passed, the Little Traitor passed the Advanced Scholar exam and later succeeded in the Palace Examination.

Indeed, the protagonist remained the protagonist, soaring to great heights.

During that period, Shen Chen was busy dealing with palace matters, completing his studies, and conducting trade clandestinely, leaving him with little chance to meet and communicate with Ye Zhi.

Sometimes, when Ye Zhi went to Tingling Garden to find him and saw him engrossed in his books, she quietly withdrew.

Most of the time, Shen Chen ate at the Imperial Palace or outside, leaving little opportunity for them to meet.

They lived under the same roof at the Ye Mansion, yet forgot how long it had been since they had a proper conversation!

After passing the Palace Examination, Shen Chen became the top scholar, and Emperor Jingping granted him a splendid and resplendent residence. Many obscure officials came to pay their respects, hoping to associate themselves with the Emperor’s favored one, basking in glory.

The threshold was nearly worn away. Later, he chose to close his doors to those officials, claiming to be busy.

Among all these people, aside from the day of congratulating the top scholar at the Ye Mansion, none appeared again, including Ah Zhi.

Upon becoming the new top scholar, Emperor Jingping assigned him certain duties to gain experience, making him even busier. During this time, he visited the Ye Mansion twice, but did not return again, occupied with court affairs.

Li Qian, as the Eldest Prince, also served the court, much like Shen Chen, attending court sessions daily.

Not only was it the same for the Eldest Prince, but the same also applied to the Crown Prince.

The Eldest Prince and the Crown Prince’s involvement in court affairs further intensified the opposition between the Right Minister and the Secretary factions. Meanwhile, Prince An acted clandestinely, unlike the overt actions of the Right Minister and the Secretary factions.

Emperor Jingping seemed to be aware of the matters involving Right Minister Zhang Mingji and the Secretary Xiao Hong, but he neither stopped them nor spoke overtly, pretending not to know.

The emperor’s heart was difficult to fathom; perhaps he was giving the Eldest Prince another chance, a chance to become emperor.