My Princess Has Been Reborn

Chapter 19.2 – An Exceptionally Sweet Smile (2)

Her Royal Highness The Princess was very forthright, not shy at all when talking about marriage. But the matter of Prince Consort wasn’t something that could be decided in just a few words. Even if the Emperor himself did not plan to find a son-in-law among relatives of the royal family or the noble families, it was still necessary to do some basic investigations.

But although it was necessary to investigate her character and background, it wasn’t necessary for her talent and ability – the answer sheet had already proved many things. At least, after the Emperor read the top ten examination papers Fang Chengyue sent him again, he had determined from the talent Lu Qipei had shown through her essay that she really did deserve to be the top scholar in the current exam. It was a pity that she didn’t go through the formal imperial examination procedure, since she didn’t have enough merit and fame before and thus couldn’t join the city examination.

The Emperor thought for a moment, then at the Crown Prince’s suggestion, he directly decreed for Lu Qipei to be granted an official post with a stroke of his brush. It was a lower sixth-grade official position, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy1 – in terms of rank, it wasn’t comparable to the higher fifth-grade Chief Historian of the princess’s mansion, but it was the starting point for an official career that was normally only available to the top scholars!

In the current dynasty, there was no rule that a Prince Consort could not participate in political affairs. The Emperor did not want to let go of talents, and also believed that Lu Qipei had the ability to convince those scholars in the Hanlin Academy. If she couldn’t do it, then it would mean that she simply could not enter his sight. If she couldn’t even persist in Hanlin Academy, she shouldn’t think about becoming the Prince Consort!

A little abacus was calculating in the Emperor’s heart, and Her Royal Highness The Princess was very satisfied to see it. But when this imperial decree reached the Lu Mansion, it shocked everyone there, including the confused Lu Qipei.

When the palace official who brought the decree left, Lu Qipei was surrounded by everyone’s eyes.

The peace was suddenly broken, and the poor Lu Qipei who knew nothing about it trembled as she held the imperial decree. She was finally taken away by Qi Bo who had a bewildered face. Bu when she returned to the temporary guest house where she was staying, she was only faced with more direct questioning.

Qi Bo looked at the imperial decree in her hand with a complicated expression, “Little Mi… Young Master, what’s going on with this imperial decree?”

With the imperial decree appointing an official descending, Lu Qipei’s female identity had to be completely hidden. Otherwise, no matter what the Emperor decreed, they would all be guilty of deceiving the Emperor. No one dared to ignore this great crime worthy of nine familial exterminations2, so it was necessary to be careful even in private.

Lu Qipei was initially at a loss, but by the time she returned to the guest house, she actually already had a guess in her heart – well, there was no need to think about it at all. Other than Qi Yang, she did not know anyone else who could contact the Emperor and even ask for an official position for her. In particular, Lu Qipei remembered the Spring Exam answers she had left in the other courtyard. It was probably because of that thing that she entered the Emperor’s sight!

She thought she was being a ghostwriter on behalf of someone else, but unexpectedly it was for herself – but this was not the result that she wanted!

Thinking of the answer sheet she wrote with all her efforts, Lu Qipei suddenly felt like she had shot her own foot, and almost felt like crying. Facing Qi Bo’s questioning, she only replied sullenly, “Maybe it’s because I wrote some essays a few days ago.”

Just writing a few essays could get you a sixth-rank official post? Let alone Qi Bo, no on would be able to believe it!

However, Lu Qipei was not a liar, and Qi Bo could tell that she was telling the truth with just a glance. Looking at the sudden imperial decree, he became more suspicious. “What kinds of essays?”

Lu Qipei thought for a moment, but swallowed her next sentence. She simply repeated the Spring Exam questions one by one.

She was telling the truth, but the more he listened, the more shocked Qi Bo became. The reason was, even though Lu Qicheng didn’t manage to finish the Spring Exam this time, he still ordered someone to collect the exam questions. After three years, he might need to take the exam again, and there was nothing wrong with being more prepared.

Qi Bo was a shrewd person. Although Lu Qipei didn’t say much, he managed to guess that she had met a noble. This was a bit inconsistent with his investigation, and his eyebrows frowned, but he didn’t say much else. He only said, “Young Master is fortunate to have met a noble who recommended you. Now that you have joined the Hanlin Academy, you have saved yourself the trouble of taking the imperial examination. Young Master should also be able to make an achievement in the Hanlin Academy…”

Lu Qipei felt a little uneasy when she heard this. She had always felt that things were moving in a similar direction to her previous life. Looking at Qi Bo’s incessant advices, wasn’t this very similar to her previous life? They were still counting on her to be a substitute puppet!

While she was in a trance, she suddenly heard another question from Qi Bo, “Young Master, who is the noble who helped you? We should prepare some gifts to thank them.”

Hearing this, Lu Qipei was startled and made her mind up to stay away from Qi Yang. So, she just said, “I don’t know her identity either.”

When Qi Bo heard this, he looked at her again. He didn’t force her, but he had a meaningful look on his eyes.

On one side, the one who was granted an official position was frowning. On the other side, Lu Qicheng who was injured and was lying in bed was furious. When he heard the news, he immediately smashed the bronze mirror in his hand – his face was still injured, while Lu Qipei was granted an official position. Even if one day he recovered his appearance and took over her place, he would be taking over Lu Qipei’s name and identity. He would be the one who became a body-double!

Someone who thinks highly of himself like Lu Qicheng couldn’t accept this, and his calm mood was destroyed again.