Suspicion

"Top Scorer at seventeen—exceptionally talented and still so young. He could be considered a most promising young man." Consort Wu smiled. "Ah, now that Xinping has reached marriageable age, I have developed the habit of asking after young men. Some of the friends she has made in the past were fairly good young men, but their learning all fell somewhat short. They were instead no match for this Su Ziji. Other than his humble birth, he was excellent in every way."

At first, the Emperor listened without much concern, assuming that Consort Wu was merely using today's events as a topic for idle conversation. After all, talking about a youthful Top Scorer who had not yet been assigned an official post could hardly count as meddling in state affairs. Consort Wu had always known how to keep within proper bounds and never overstep the line.

But as he listened on, the Emperor's expression gradually darkened.

She had linked Su Ziji with Xinping and brought up choosing a son-in-law. Though she had not said it outright, her meaning could not have been clearer.

She simply found it inconvenient to say so directly and wanted him, as the father, to pick up the thread, so that he could naturally bestow a marriage decree.

In truth, if Xinping had taken a fancy to some other newly minted Presented Scholar—even the Second Laureate, the Third Laureate, or even the next cohort's Top Scorer—it would have been nothing. Even if the man already had a wife, the Emperor would not have flown into a rage. She was his daughter, after all. So long as she spoke up about what she wanted, it would not be a problem.

But why did it have to be Su Ziji?

Su Ziji's bloodline had been tested repeatedly. To the