AWB Chapter 946 Finale 6
Chapter 946 Finale 6
In the third year of the Yuanyang era, which was the third year of Zong Que's reign, the initial preparations for the construction of Yanjing were completed.
Zong Que issued an edict to move the capital to Yanjing.
From the spring of the third year of the Yuanyang era to the end of the third year, as the new year approached, the relocation of the capital was completed.
Lu Yangyang spent the Spring Festival in the Yan Palace in the fourth year of the Yuan Yang era.
After four years apart, she finally reunited with Jiang Zhiyi and Mingxiu in Yanjing.
But in this world, people come and go; there are reunions and there are partings.
The journey was too slow and the distance too far. As they worked hard for their respective dreams, the time they could spend together became shorter and shorter, and the time for the next appointment became longer and longer.
After Zong Que ascended the throne, he vigorously promoted reforms, from the economy to agriculture. He reformed commercial taxes and introduced new grain varieties. By the time Zong Que ordered the capital to be moved to Yanjing, the planting of new crops had already spread throughout the Central Plains.
The relocation of the capital to Yanjing (modern-day Beijing) also marked the beginning of a period of rapid development in the northern region.
In the second year after Emperor Zong Que moved the capital to Yanjing, he officially announced that women would be allowed to take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom through education.
This move naturally caused an uproar throughout the world.
However, to everyone's surprise, the one who stood up to support this initiative was none other than Grand Tutor Lan, who had already retired many years ago.
At the age of sixty, the old Grand Tutor traveled from Jiangnan to Yanjing, a distance of thousands of miles, to preside over the establishment of the capital in Yanjing and to allow women to take the first imperial examination after that.
When the Crown Prince was first deposed, Grand Tutor Lan tried to stop the Emperor Emeritus from committing suicide by crashing into a pillar in the Golden Palace. Although he was spared, he has been recuperating in his hometown of Jiangling ever since. He is preparing to enter the court for this imperial examination. How could the scholars of the world not be moved?
Grand Tutor Lan served as the chief examiner, and Wenren Jing served as the deputy chief examiner. Another surprising development was that Jiang Zhiyi, who had served as the Prefect of Yanjing for five years, resigned from his post and also participated in this imperial examination.
After the palace examination in April, the results of this year's imperial examination were announced, and Jiang Zhiyi was at the top of the list. She was appointed as the first champion in the imperial examination that allowed women to participate.
After the results of the palace examination were announced, Zong Que ordered that the examination papers be compiled into a book for scholars throughout the country to read, in order to verify the absolute fairness of the examination.
Jiang Zhiyi, who faced countless doubts from the very beginning of her official career despite her outstanding achievements, became the first female top scholar of the Great Zhao Dynasty in the fifth year of the Changyang era, officially beginning her lifelong career in officialdom.
Three years later, in the second imperial examination, Mingxiu passed and became a Jinshi, entering the Six Ministries to observe government affairs.
In the eighteenth year of the Yuanyang era, Jiang Zhiyi became the first female prime minister of the Great Zhao Dynasty.
In the same year, Wenren Jing retired, and Mingxiu succeeded him as Minister of Revenue.
Since women were allowed to participate in the imperial examinations, countless extraordinary women have entered the court. Despite many twists and turns, over the years, this decision, which was once incomprehensible to the world, has gradually become the norm.
Furthermore, as education in Dazhao gradually prospered, many farming families even sent their daughters to school to earn subsidies for girls' enrollment. Later, as textile factories gradually emerged in Dazhao, women had an advantage over men, and women who were originally confined to their homes were finally able to slowly leave their homes, and Dazhao's economy ushered in unprecedented prosperity.
Lu Yangyang and Zong Que hadn't spent much time apart in recent years. Lu Yangyang wanted to dedicate herself to training more well-rounded doctors, which couldn't be achieved overnight. After establishing the capital in Yanjing, she persuaded her aunt and Wen Yu to join her first medical school as lecturers, offering a course in surgical medicine. Over the next decade, she successfully trained batches of outstanding students under limited conditions, sending them to various regions to expand new medical clinics.
Lu Yangyang began to notice that Zong Que's health was deteriorating when he was forty-two years old.
By that time, Zong Que could no longer hide the truth.
They are the closest couple in the world. Because they don't have children, they like and rely on each other even more. Even when they are very busy, they will make time to be in the same space. Even a glance from each other can make them feel touched and at ease.
Because Zong Que was extremely busy every day, with too many matters in the court that required his attention, Lu Yangyang would occasionally take his pulse to adjust his prescriptions for health maintenance.
However, there was a period of time in between when Zong Que told her that he had asked Wen Yu to prescribe medicine and told her not to worry. After Lu Yangyang asked Wen Yu and confirmed that it was true, she did not doubt him and did not insist on taking Zong Que's pulse. However, she was still worried and would occasionally take Zong Que's pulse secretly when he was asleep. After seeing that he was just a little tired and there was no other abnormality, she gradually felt relieved.
It wasn't until she returned to the palace by chance one day and stumbled upon the dregs of medicine that the palace maid was just dumping out that she realized, after smelling something amiss, that she rushed into the imperial study and saw Zong Que's deathly pale face. Only then did she realize that, in order to put her at ease and to deceive her, the medicine that Zong Que had Wen Yu prescribe for him was not a health-preserving medicine at all, but a medicine to cover up his deception in front of her.
She and Zong Que had been married for many years, but this was the first time they had a big fight and parted on bad terms.
But after storming out of the palace, she quickly regained her senses and went straight to Wen Yu's residence.
Wen Yu spent almost all of his later years at the medical school. He didn't actually enjoy teaching students that much; he preferred to immerse himself in his own research day and night, just like Wen Qingqing. However, in order to cultivate more outstanding doctors, he still spent most of his spare time mentoring his students.
Fortunately, he had traveled to all corners of the world in the first half of his life, and being able to stay by Rong Xin's side now was another kind of fulfillment for him.
When Wen Yu saw the furious Lu Yangyang, he knew things were going to go wrong. His first thought was to run away as fast as he could, without even packing his things. But how could Lu Yangyang give him a chance to escape? She grabbed the old man, whose hair was already half white, and pulled him back, pressing him into a chair. "If you don't tell me the truth today, I'll admit defeat if you can even get out of this courtyard. If you're so capable, let's start training the hawk right now."
Lu Yangyang didn't waste any more words. She simply pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Wen Yu. Wen Yu had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Do you still remember when you took the Hundred Poison Gu to test the poison? You survived unscathed because someone took half the pain for you." Wen Yu knew he couldn't hide it for long, and he knew this day would come soon. Back when Yin Yueling was still in the capital, Wen Yu had looked for Yin Yueling and already knew.
“Yangyang, you knew from the beginning that Aque’s leg was beyond saving. Even if you had taken the Hundred Poison Gu, you would have had a very difficult time. Even if you had survived, you wouldn’t have lived a long life. You’re not like Yin Yueling, who has been raised on the Hundred Poison Gu since childhood. There aren’t that many miracles in this world. You just risked your life for him, and he risked his life for you as well.”
Wen Yu sighed: "Your aunt told me that all gifts in this world have a price tag attached. How could someone as intelligent as you truly believe that there are miracles without risk? Yin Yueling told me that everything was already predetermined when you took the Azure Python's venom from King Yuechuan. However, she didn't know this at the time, but later learned from King Yuechuan's records that only the Hundred Poison Gu's potent poison could withstand the Azure Python's venom. You were able to cure Aque only after the Hundred Poison Gu was successfully used to test the poison. Otherwise, even a trace of the Azure Python's venom would have killed him, no matter how ingenious your prescription was. But even if you succeeded with the Hundred Poison Gu, you would still die. The only way to break this cycle is to provide you with enough fresh blood while you use the Hundred Poison Gu, to help you resist the Gu worms' devouring more quickly. Only then will you have a chance to truly overcome the Hundred Poison Gu."
“This is more than enough, and its value is immeasurable. He asked me for a bottle of antidote pills. We were kicked out by Pei Ji, who was guarding the area, so none of us saw anything. But I think he was probably feeding you blood while taking the antidote pills, until you survived the Hundred Poison Gu.”
"When he ascended the throne, he told the public that he would not have any children. He was not lying to you; it was truly impossible. At that time, he had already given up half his life. It is a miracle that he has survived to this day. But from another perspective, if his leg had not been healed, given the previous emperor's inescapable trap to eliminate him, he would not have survived to this day."
“You risked your life to save him, and he couldn’t bear to see you die. You don’t need to blame yourself; it was your own choice.”
When Lu Yangyang chose to cure Zong Que, she also risked her own life.
Similarly, Zong Que, who wanted her to live a good life, also risked his own life.
None of them will regret such a thing.
But such is fate.
Lu Yangyang couldn't say a word. She staggered around and walked out step by step. What she remembered was what King Yuechuan said when he gave her the venom of the Azure Python.
One life for another, it's not up to us.
Before Lu Yangyang had even stepped out of Wen Yu's courtyard, she saw Zong Que standing outside the door waiting for her.
He was as before, wearing only a simple plain robe, his figure still tall and slender. Nearly twenty years have passed since he ascended the throne, and it seems that apart from his refined aura, time has not left too many marks on his face. His smiling eyes remain unchanged.
Zong Que raised his arms, half-opening them to his chest, and waved to Lu Yangyang.
"Yangyang, come here."
Lu Yangyang ran over and hugged his waist. As she looked down, her tears fell onto his chest. "What will we do if you leave?"
"So I'll go first and apologize to you."