Finally, the emperor made a decision, "Princess Qingping's suggestion is feasible. I agree. Lin Hanlin will be in charge of this matter."

"Yes." Lin Hanlin was filled with joy. He and Concubine Xi were cousins and naturally a member of the prince's party.

For the sake of the eldest prince, he must do this matter beautifully and send more female officials to make the eldest prince look better.

Mu Wanqing raised the corner of her mouth slightly. She had achieved her goal so she became low-key and no longer showed off.

The dishes at the palace banquet were as beautiful and exquisite as works of art, but when they were served to the table, they were already cold. Looking at the white lumps of oil floating on them, how could one have any appetite?

Mu Wanqing had eaten a bowl of glutinous rice balls before coming, so she was not hungry. She took a few bites casually, then put down her chopsticks and drank slowly from the steaming teacup.

Du Shaoxuan brought a plate of peeled pine nuts to her. She tasted it and it tasted good. "This can be used to make pine nut candy."

Her thoughts always wander to food.

Du Shaoxuan couldn't help but laugh, "I still think milk candy is the best, it has a strong milky flavor but is not too sweet."

Mu Wanqing got into the habit of making extra milk candies and carrying them with her to replenish her energy at any time. Every time she made one, she would give one to Du Shaoxuan.

"I made some new snacks yesterday. You can take them yourself. There are also beef jerky and pork jerky."

"Okay." Du Shaoxuan really likes these snacks. They fill his stomach when he is hungry. "The Queen Mother has given me a lot of things. You can pick some first."

Mu Wanqing happily agreed. The Queen Mother's preference for her nephew Du Shaoxuan was well known to the world.

"When will you return to Xiliang?"

"April." Du Shaoxuan sighed softly. It was impossible for him to stay in the capital for too long. His parents and family were all in Xiliang, and the Du family's mission was in Xiliang.

However, when he looked at the woman in front of him, a deep reluctance arose in his heart.

Mu Wanqing glanced at him and said, "Don't think too much. You can also invest in the snack plaza. Just think of it as supporting me."

The Mu family invested in the company with a secret recipe and then brought in Du Shaoxuan. He represents the interests of the Queen Mother's lineage. Who would dare to complain when the two families join forces?

Distributing the benefits will make it easier for her to act.

Du Shaoxuan nodded without hesitation, "It's all up to you."

He answered so quickly that Mu Wanqing didn't have time to analyze the prospects with him, "Aren't you afraid that I'll cheat you?"

Du Shaoxuan smiled, "I couldn't ask for more. Then I have a reason to pester you."

Mu Wanqing: ...

The two of them ate pine nuts and drank tea, chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was extremely relaxed.

"Shaoxuan, Shaoxuan." It was the Queen Mother's voice. Du Shaoxuan stood up in confusion. "Queen Mother, what's the matter?"

The Queen Mother is the most noble woman in the world. Now she has only two worries. One is that her son has too few offspring and is not safe enough.

Second, my nephew's marriage is not settled, and my mother's family has no next generation in sight. How can I do this? I can't just hang myself on Mu Wanqing's tree.

It has been such a long time and there is still no news. If it goes on any longer, who knows when it will end.

She pointed in a direction casually and asked, "Which of the girls' talents do you think is better?"

She is trying her best to save the situation, just in case it works?

The hearts of the girls she chose were pounding and their faces were flushed. Was the Queen Mother arranging a marriage for them?

If the queen isn't okay, a concubine will be fine.

Unexpectedly, the unromantic Du Shaoxuan didn't even glance at her, "I don't know, I didn't pay attention."

Queen Mother: ...

I can't keep this nephew anymore.

Everyone pretended nothing happened, but the smiles in their eyes betrayed them.

This play is really good.

Mu Wanqing slowly took out a piece of beef jerky and chewed it. Homemade ones are still delicious.

The Queen's eyes suddenly swept over and said, "Princess Qingping, I heard that you are very talented. Come and show it to everyone."

Talent shows were a regular feature of palace banquets. They not only livened up the atmosphere, but also gave unmarried young men and women the opportunity to showcase their talents, thus facilitating several good marriages.

The scene was unusually quiet and the atmosphere was weird. Everyone looked at Mu Wanqing quietly to see how she would respond.

Mu Wanqing sat still and raised her eyebrows, "This is against the rules. According to seniority, the Prime Minister is ranked first. How dare I get ahead?"

She is a young unmarried woman, but also an important official in the dynasty. Has anyone seen any official perform their talents tonight?

The officials are all self-respecting and will not show off in such occasions. How could Mu Wanqing be willing to give herself to criticism?

The queen didn't expect her to refuse on the spot, and her face turned ugly. "It's not a big deal. Everyone wants to see the amazing talent of Princess Qingping."

Mu Wanqing didn't understand. She had no conflict of interest with the queen, so why did the queen target her?

Even if there were some minor grudges in the past, they were not life-and-death feuds. What could not be resolved?

How could she know that the Queen regarded her as an imaginary enemy. The Queen had no son and would have to live under the will of others in the future. When she thought of this, she became worried and felt increasingly insecure.

People who lack a sense of security tend to get stuck in a rut.

According to the education the queen received since childhood, being the mother of the country is what every woman dreams of pursuing, and every woman wants to seize the throne of queen.

Mu Wanqing wanted to refuse directly, but changed her mind when the words came to her lips.

"Are you sure you want to see it?"

Everyone was a little surprised. Did she compromise? This was not like her character.

Du Shaoxuan is the calmest, while Mu Wanqing is an extremely self-centered person who never suffers any loss.

"Of course." The queen's eyes darkened slightly.

"Who else wants to see it?" Mu Wanqing looked at the others with a smile.

Following the Queen's suggestion, more than a dozen women spoke up, "Me."

"Okay." Mu Wanqing agreed readily. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she took out a pen and paper and started writing.

After a while, she tore off the page of paper and asked the maid to deliver it to the queen.

"Please, sister, copy it a few more times and give the scores to the people who wanted to see it just now. Come, take the exam together."

The Queen and the women: ...What?

"Exam?" Everyone else was shocked. What was going on?

Mu Wanqing said nonsense seriously, "Yes, I will let you know how talented I am. I understand everything you understand, and I also understand things you don't understand."

This is how she displays her talent.

"The first question is a math word problem, the second question is arithmetic, the third question is a chemical formula, and the fourth question is biological cytology. These are all simple common sense. I think everyone is smart and should not get a single point. Queen, you are the most noble, please go first."

The queen's mind went blank. She stared blankly at the paper covered with words, wanting to cry but unable to.

Going crazy!

She was tested in public!

How could she tell others that she didn't understand a single word on it?

The women who agreed with the queen looked pale, with a fear of being dominated by the exam.

The emperor's curiosity was aroused. "Copy it and bring it here so I can have a look."

As soon as he got it, he started to read it. "The first question is also an arithmetic question, the answer is 15."

Mu Wanqing had already written down the answer and placed it on the table.

Du Shaoxuan leaned over and took a look. "Yes, it is 15. Your Majesty, you are very knowledgeable. It's amazing."

The emperor smiled and continued reading. "The second question uses Arabic mathematics and the multiplication table?"

This is Mu Wanqing's original accounting method, which has long been spread in the Ministry of Revenue. It is more transparent and simpler than the previous arithmetic system.

Mu Wanqing nodded slightly, "Yes, this is the knowledge that seven-year-old children in Xiliang learn."

The emperor looked at it for a while, wrote the answer on a piece of paper, but did not make it public.

"What's the third one? I feel a little dizzy looking at it."

Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes and said, "It's the formula for cement."

Wow, now all the officials were excited and wanted to study the test questions.

The cement formula is a treasure, everyone wants it.

But, no matter how I look at it, I have no idea what it means. I can’t understand these weird drawings.

An official asked unwillingly, "Princess Qingping, are you kidding?"

"I never joke about serious academics." Mu Wanqing was not afraid of them stealing it because she dared to take it out. Chemical symbols are not something that ordinary people can understand.

Besides, the proportion of the recipe is the key.

Everyone was holding the paper and thinking hard. The queen's scalp was tingling and she wanted to throw away her hands and quit. But how could she dare to say no in this atmosphere?

She couldn't afford to lose face, so she could only hope that the people around her could help her cheat, but would the emperor pay attention to her?

"Princess Qingping, how did you know these things?"

Seeing her stalling for time, Mu Wanqing couldn't help but laugh, "You can think that I had an adventure when I was a child. Of course, it's also because I'm extremely smart, and the queen is also a rare smart person. These are not difficult for you."

She has placed the queen on a high pedestal, so it will be difficult for her to get away with it.

This is also a lesson for the queen to consider the consequences before making trouble next time.

The queen's heart felt like it was stabbed by a knife, "Prince Xiliang, can you do these questions?"

Du Shaoxuan had already seen it, "I only know three questions, and I don't understand the last one."

The queen thought of herself as a talented woman who was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but now she felt that she was illiterate and was particularly unwilling to accept it, "Does everyone in Xiliang know how to play?"

"Not really. Adults may not know it." Du Shaoxuan looked pleased. "But children know it. It's basic textbook knowledge for elementary school students."

This answer is even more fucked up, okay? Damn.

The Queen was like a student who was afraid of exams, trying every possible means to skip the exam. Seeing this, Mu Wanqing couldn't help but want to laugh, "Queen, you should just concentrate on solving the questions and try to get the results as soon as possible, so that you can set an example for other women in the world."

Queen: ...I suspect you are implying something about me, but I have no evidence.

After a long while, the Queen still had no answers. Mu Wanqing smiled and said, "Queen, don't you know all of them? No way? No way?"

The queen's face turned red with shame and embarrassment. She had never seen such a disgusting woman.

The Minister of Rites cleared his throat and said, "Is this what the Royal Professional Technical School teaches?"

"right."

The deputy minister hesitated for a moment, stepped out of the line and knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, please grant me a place in the school. My grandson is quite smart, but he has never seen these things, so I can't guarantee that he will pass the exam."

The Minister of Industry also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have several children in my family, and not all of them can pass the exam, so I still want to ask for a favor."

With someone taking the lead, others followed suit and pleaded for mercy.

The emperor looked at these officials who wanted everything but were unwilling to give, and his expression was very indifferent. "This matter will be handled by Qingping County. I will not interfere."

"Powers and responsibilities should be clearly defined, and professional matters should be handled by professionals. This statement is deeply in my heart."

He had said so, what else could the ministers say? They had no choice but to come and pester Mu Wanqing. "Princess Qingping, I want to ask for a place to be exempted from the exam."

To everyone's surprise, Mu Wanqing was very easy to talk to, "Sure."

Everyone was delighted, but she also knew she was scared.

Unexpectedly, Mu Wanqing raised a finger and said, "One place is 10,000 taels of silver. If you rank last in the three exams, you will be expelled. If you violate the rules, you will be expelled."

This made everyone furious. "You are obsessed with money. You talk about money in everything. How can you be so vulgar?"

Mu Wanqing chuckled, "Talking about feelings costs money. I don't have any feelings for you guys, so let's talk about money. You can choose not to come, and I'll be relieved."

Everyone was so angry that even after the palace banquet was over, they were still complaining that Mu Wanqing was ungrateful.

"I will never let my child be handed over to her. I'm afraid she will teach the child bad things."

"Yes, I'm afraid she will raise a child who is greedy and stingy. That's not good."

"We won't go. I think that school is only fit to admit lowly civilians."

"Families like us don't bother to compete with others for places. The Imperial College is the place for our children."

"Yes, the Imperial College is the orthodox one. Who wants to go to that crappy school? I won't go."

Everyone was indignant and said that they would not sign up or take the exam.

The Royal Technical School has officially opened and issued an announcement to the public. Those who want to take the exam must register first. Parents must accompany them to register and fill out the form truthfully. This is the first step.

Registration Office

"Master Wang, why is it you? Didn't you say you would not come?"

"Master Li, you said this school is not worthy of your son, why are you here?"

"Master Qian, didn't you go to the Imperial College?"

The officials looked at each other in an awkward atmosphere, and one could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with one's toes.