Su Xiaoqi’s eyes were like X-rays, seeing through Du Yiyi’s hidden thoughts.
Seeing Du Yiyi’s shyness, she hit the nail on the head, “Is it that the person you’re about to be engaged to also got a good ranking?”
Du Yiyi looked at Su Xiaoqi in astonishment.
“Sister Xiaoqi, you, you’re too much of a psychic, how did you know?” she said, touching her cheeks, feeling like she had hidden this thought so well.
“You, you, how could I not know you? But you’re so happy, you must be quite satisfied with him,” Su Xiaoqi said directly.
Du Yiyi hesitated for a moment before saying, “I’ve met him. He’s handsome and talented. My father said that in time, he will surely achieve something.”
Du Yiyi hooked her fingers and began to enumerate.
Su Xiaoqi, however, looked towards Shen Yun.
Earlier, she had indeed asked Shen Yun to find an opportunity to inquire about Liang Jingning for her.
The results weren’t too good.
Su Xiaoqi didn’t know what others thought, but in her opinion, this man was not a good match.
Su Xiaoqi couldn’t help but cast a searching glance at Shen Yun.
At this moment, he consciously restrained his aura, making himself as unobtrusive as possible, so as not to startle Du Yiyi.
After all, given the limitations of the era, young women could not speak freely about their marriages.
Shen Yun, however, subtly shook his head at her, signaling her not to speak.
Su Xiaoqi sighed softly and obeyed Shen Yun, saying nothing.
After all, Du Yiyi was so satisfied with him now. If she were to openly say that the person she was to marry was not good in this or that way, even with their close relationship, it wouldn’t be appropriate.
Moreover, the current timing was not good either.
She planned to have a good talk with Du Yiyi during the Bathing the Buddha Festival.
But at this moment, Su Xiaoqi could never have imagined that her hesitation, in order to save Du Yiyi’s face, would almost lead to Du Yiyi’s misfortune.
As they were chatting, more people started arriving to present congratulatory gifts.
However, most of them were friends of Shen Yun, and Shen Yun could handle the reception himself.
Su Xiaoqi was only responsible for preparing the return gifts.
She had plenty of lotus root powder, white fungus, and coffee in her space, so it wasn’t difficult to prepare a valuable and polite return gift without much effort.
This allowed her to chat with Du Yiyi with peace of mind.
Just as she was thinking that the timing was good and perhaps she could give Du Yiyi a heads-up, the people from the Grand Princess’s mansion arrived before she could even say a few words.
These were people Su Xiaoqi could not afford to slight.
It was Bao Ge’er and Princess Huian.
So Su Xiaoqi had to go and welcome them in.
As soon as Bao Ge’er arrived, he pounced on her, took her hand, said he missed her, and asked if the slide was ready.
Su Xiaoqi chuckled, “I suspect Bao Ge’er doesn’t miss me as much as he misses that slide.”
Bao Ge’er shook his head repeatedly, saying no, no, the slide was fun, but Sister Xiaoqi who made the slide was even more amazing and fun, he liked her more.
Su Xiaoqi was speechless and twitched the corner of her mouth. Why did she feel like she was just a toy?
However, Bao Ge’er was young, and it was difficult to reason with him.
Su Xiaoqi simply had people bring out pearl milk tea and snacks to entertain the siblings.
However, she did not allow them to drink too much.
Although the milk was pure milk and the tea was just flower tea, the pearls were difficult to digest. Drinking too many might be hard on their weak stomachs.
Granny Xu had come with the two young masters. Seeing them preoccupied with eating and drinking, forgetting important matters, she couldn’t help but smooth things over for them and congratulate Shen Yun and Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi observed Princess Huian sitting there, playing with Bao Ge’er. Her disposition seemed much more cheerful, and the usual timidity on her face was gone.
Su Xiaoqi was relieved. It seemed the Grand Princess had taken her advice.
Granny Xu also took the opportunity to tell her that lately, the Grand Princess brought the Princess along whenever she did anything.
The Princess had personally witnessed how the Grand Princess conducted herself and dealt with people, which had taught her a lot.
When Su Xiaoqi heard this, she didn’t notice anything amiss.
However, Princess Huian, who was beside her, added a few more details.
She spoke of how the Grand Princess dealt with disobedient servants and how she used her status to suppress the Marchioness of Yong’an, who was also a daughter-in-law of the Liu family.
There were also various other intimidating methods.
Princess Huian saw an extremely powerful and decisive Grand Princess.
This caused a change to instantly occur in her heart.
So this was how one could conduct oneself.
“My mother is so magnificent!” Princess Huian yearned for it.
Su Xiaoqi felt a mixture of amusement and despair.
The Grand Princess, this, this, she didn’t know what to say.
She was too absolute. If Huian, without her strong disposition, learned such a hot temper, her future days might not be smooth.
Su Xiaoqi thought that after some time, she would try to persuade the Grand Princess again.
On the third day of the fourth lunar month, the Palace Examination began.
This was the final battle for countless scholars aiming for officialdom, a battle where victory was essential to gain the honor they desired.
The examination lasted for one day, and the questions were personally set by the Emperor.
Su Xiaoqi couldn’t help but worry about how Shen Yun would perform.
“Master, didn’t they say that anyone who passes the provincial examination is guaranteed to become a Jinshi? They’ll all get official positions anyway, so what’s there to fear?” Zhang Yu was not worried.
Her master was one of the most capable people she had ever seen, otherwise, elites like them from the organization wouldn’t have been assigned to her master’s side.
So they just needed to relax.
Zhang Yu’s words, though crude, were not without reason.
It was true that in the Daliang Dynasty, the Palace Examination did not eliminate candidates; it merely ranked them according to their exam results.
However, Zhang Yu knew only half the story.
There was a vast difference between the top scorer in the Palace Examination and the last place.
The gap between the first, second, and third classes was also significant.
At this moment, in the Baohe Hall of the Imperial Palace,
From dawn, two hundred and fifty-eight candidates had entered. After roll call, distribution of papers, presentation, and salutations, they sat cross-legged on the ground, which was covered with a dark ink carpet inlaid with golden dragon patterns, with a small carved zither-case table placed beside them.
The Palace Examination was personally overseen by the Emperor, who posed questions solely on policy-making, aimed at assessing the candidates’ governance skills.
The exam lasted for one day, from sunrise to sunset.
The officials of the Daliang Dynasty were relatively efficient. The exam finished on the third.
On the fourth, the papers were graded using five symbols to determine the candidates’ rankings.
The top ten were selected and submitted to the Emperor on the fifth for his imperial review, so that the top three could be personally inscribed.
There was no suspense; Shen Yun’s essay was among the top ten and was smoothly delivered to Emperor Xingzhao.
Emperor Xingzhao’s eyes immediately fell on his elegant calligraphy, and then he saw that the essay was well-written and showed great talent.
However, there was a small hiccup during the selection of the top scholars in the Jinluan Hall.
Emperor Xingzhao saw Shen Yun, whose essay was the best. Seeing his youth and handsome appearance, he became even happier.
Moreover, he looked very much like someone. He turned around the hall and then remembered that person had been sent out of the capital on official business and had not yet returned.
He only thought, “Heaven blesses Daliang by sending talented people without discrimination.”
However, the officials from the Ministry of Rites wanted to select the oldest person among them.
They said he had studied diligently for decades, and it was truly not easy for him.
As for Shen Yun, he was still young and had a refined and handsome appearance, making him a suitable candidate for the Zhuangyuan.
After all, the most dashing scholar.
Emperor Xingzhao said, “I don’t care what others do. I will appoint Shen Yun as the Zhuangyuan.”
He was the Emperor, so why should he be bound by the precedents set by the ancient emperors?
This matter would be handled according to his own wishes.
Emperor Xingzhao had appointed Shen Yun as the Zhuangyuan decisively, but when it came to the Bangyan and Tanhua, he hesitated.
Among the ten people, there were two others whose essays were well-written and who also looked handsome.
He thought of appointing the Bangyan and Tanhua quickly.
But he was advised against it by the crowd.
They said that those two people were from the same place as the Zhuangyuan.
The long-standing rule in the Daliang Dynasty was that the top three scholars could not come from the same region.
Otherwise, it might lead to the old North-South disputes.
Emperor Xingzhao, being old, was impatient with these eloquent ministers. Moreover, since the Zhuangyuan had already been appointed according to his wishes, he was not as insistent on the Bangyan and Tanhua.
He chose Ji Qingyun, an elder from the capital, to be the Bangyan.
And Tang Bowen, a native of Jiangnan, was appointed as the Tanhua.
When Shen Yun heard the results, his heart settled.
Knowing that his little lady was so happy when he got the Huiyuan, he wondered how happy she would be if she knew he had become the Zhuangyuan.