Chapter 518: Thunderclouds

Bai Zhi shook her head; this was also why she was excited, "No, it's just that all twelve people became top scholars."

"Miss and the young master of the Kang Clan also placed near the top."

Bai Zhi took out a sheet of paper on which she had recorded the rankings.

Upon seeing the rankings, Qing Feng Da Ru exclaimed, "This life is enough."

To be able to teach such students, what more could he, as their teacher, possibly want?

"Good, good!" Kang Mengxian laughed. Whether or not they were the Kang Clan's children, they were the ones they taught; to achieve such results, how could it not be good?

Ningguang smiled warmly, "The children have made us proud."

The children who used to give him headaches had long since changed.

"Princess Consort, I've finally found you." Xiao Gonggong ran over from outside, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He had first gone to the Regent Prince's Manor, then to the Kang Clan, before learning that the Princess Consort was at the teahouse; a large crowd of them came and went, squeezing into the teahouse, which took considerable time.

"What's wrong? Is there an imperial edict?" Jiang Yunchu asked curiously.

On such a day, the imperial edict was not for her; the children who were to receive it had already gone south.

"Replying to the Princess Consort, His Majesty summons you to the palace."

Xiao Gonggong smiled, then bowed respectfully to the three gentlemen.

"Then let's go." Jiang Yunchu stood up and tidied her sleeves.

Afterwards she called out, "Bai Zhi."

"Bai Zhi is here."

"The Chunhua Academy will distribute porridge for six months, starting now."

"Exchange the copper coins worth a hundred taels of silver and scatter them in the slums for three days."

She arranged things one by one; Kang Mengxian thought and said, "Yun chu, isn't that a bit showy?"

Before Jiang Yunchu could speak, Xiao Gonggong chuckled and waved his duster, "Sir, all twelve are top scholars; as their dean, it's fitting to be showy."

Kang Mengxian thought, and that was also reasonable.

Hurrying to the palace, the imperial study had already returned to its former appearance.

"Uncle, you're so leisurely, letting us busy ourselves outside to the point of breathlessness." Jiang Yunchu looked at the paintings Ning Huang had made—each mountain, each tree, full of artistic conception.

Ning Huang set down his brush and then looked toward Jiang Yunchu.

"Do you know why I had you enter the palace?" Ning Huang washed his hands, then walked to the side, looked at Jiang Yunchu, and asked curiously.

"You surely won't ask me if I ate breakfast this morning, will you?"

"Nor will you ask me if I slept well yesterday, will you?"

She looked at her uncle, her face bearing a touch of clever playfulness.

Xiao Gonggong chuckled aside, "Only the Princess Consort can tease Your Majesty like this."

"If it were anyone else, they'd have been scared stiff; who else would dare joke with Your Majesty?"

"Could it be… for the sake of those children's futures?" Jiang Yunchu turned her teacup in her hand, asking puzzled.

Ning Huang looked at her smug expression, finally unable to help laughing and shaking his head, "You."

"You know their situations and what they want to do in the future better than I do."

"Now Da Ning lacks people in every aspect; those eleven—how should they be arranged? What plans do you have?"

Although he had great expectations for these twelve children, he never imagined they would give him such a big surprise.

The Hanlin Academy selected twelve papers, but no matter how they tried, they could not decide on an order.

After Ning Huang finally looked at them, he simply decided on twelve top scholars.

Only then did a precedent‑setting scene occur.

Jiang Yunchu shook her head, "Uncle, I think you should meet them first before making a decision."

"They have a clear direction and their own goals to strive for."

Even though she is their dean, she also hopes her own children can someday do what they love.

Ning Huang looked at her and finally sighed.

"Then let's wait, wait for our new top scholars to see what they're thinking."

Throughout history, top scholars have waited for the emperor to bestow offices; this is the first time an emperor has waited for those twelve top scholars to return and discuss.

No, it's eleven.

Ning Qiancheng is not among those twelve.

"Uncle, I'll be leaving in a few days." Jiang Yunchu lifted her head, looked at Ning Huang's somewhat dazed expression, stood up, and said, "Being able to stay this half year is already because of the children."

"Now I can finally put my mind at ease, and lately I've had a strange feeling that I'm about to leave." Ning Chengyan had gone to Bei Rong; she had no one to ask, unaware of her own condition, whether it was right or wrong.

But as time passed, her feeling grew stronger.

"Yun chu, if things cannot be done, first withdraw from Zhongzhou; Da Ning will always be your home."

"I know." Jiang Yunchu nodded.

Day to day, no matter how playful and smiling she was, her uncle had never lost his temper.

This time she leaves, not knowing when she'll return, "Uncle, take care of your health; those children are now entrusted to you."

Ning Huang nodded, "Rest assured, I'm here."

Those six simple words represent Ning Huang's promise.

In the south, disaster relief, thanks to the efforts of those twelve people, was soon brought under control.

Redrawing maps, building canals—before long, news from the south kept arriving; yet this examination only assigned the lowest posts, while the offices for those twelve top scholars remained undecided for a long time.

Everyone was paying attention, but no cause could be found.

That day, thunderclouds filled the sky above the Regent Prince's Manor; Jiang Yunchu looked at Zi Su and said, "The manor has entrusted you with everything; all that needed arranging has already been arranged."

Zi Su watched the Princess Consort; now they couldn't get any closer, as if the thundercloud were isolating the Princess Consort.

"Princess Consort!"

All the maidservants looked on anxiously.

The thundercloud in the sky flashed with silver light; a thunderbolt struck down just like that, Jiang Yunchu's complexion flushed slightly, then returned to normal.

"Go back now."

"Take care of yourself; I will come back later."

Jiang Yunchu smiled gently, her face showing the gentlest smile.

The people of Kang Fu, the Grand General's Manor, and Han Manor, upon seeing the thundercloud above the Regent Prince's Manor, all came running.

Even the Ning Emperor, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, hadn't had time to change before also arriving at the Regent Prince's Manor.

Upon seeing Yun chu within the thundercloud, each of their faces filled with anxiety.

"I'm fine; without undergoing the thunder tribulation, I cannot enter Zhongzhou." Jiang Yunchu's voice was calm, though her breathing grew a bit ragged.

"Don't speak, Yun chu; focus on dealing with the thunder." Zhuang Miao's face was full of worry; she was still preparing things, still getting her clothes ready, preparing food.

How could it happen so fast, suddenly having to leave?

"Boom!" Another black bolt of lightning came down from the sky.

Jiang Yunchu's body dipped slightly, then she sat up straight, her whole person exuding a stubborn aura.

She could no longer attend to everyone's worry outside.

The thundercloud was still gathering, with bursts of rumbling and those silver threads flickering in and out within it.