Chapter 25: Recruiting Disciples Before the Imperial Examination Master Ye is well-known for his love of recruiting disciples, but...

Time passed quickly, and Qin Yuqing reduced the number of times she went out of the palace. She stayed in the courtyard every day to read books.

There were still only her and Chuntao in the courtyard, and their days were quite leisurely and comfortable.

"My daughter Qing'er is very busy. In the past few days since returning from Wenshan, she has followed your fifth sister to Chunshanting and then visited the Prime Minister's residence." The emperor's slightly resentful voice came from the courtyard door. "You haven't come to see me yet. I still have a lot of things to deal with."

When Chuntao heard the voice, she hurried out of the room with a stack of books and knelt down in front of the emperor.

Qin Yuqing noticed that there was no one else around the emperor except Eunuch Zhang, and she understood.

She stepped forward, bowed slightly, and then reached out to take the emperor's sleeve, explaining, "Qing'er has been in the temple and has no friends. When she received the invitation from Fifth Sister, she was very excited and wanted to meet her to strengthen our relationship."

The emperor looked at Qin Yuqing with deep eyes, without saying a word. Although he had a smile on his face, it did not show in his eyes, which made people shudder.

This is a sign of dissatisfaction.

As soon as the emperor came in, he pointed out that Qin Yuqing was under his surveillance. He knew where Qin Yuqing had been and what she had done, but he only picked out two insignificant things to tell Qin Yuqing.

Especially the last sentence "I still have a lot of things to deal with", Qin Yuqing intuitively felt that the emperor was pointing at him.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me." Qin Yuqing's eyes were filled with tears. The emperor did not bring anyone with him, which meant that he had something he wanted to deal with privately with her and discuss the matter as a father and daughter.

Qin Yuqing then began to complain aggrievedly, "That son of the Prime Minister's family, he he he." Qin Yuqing bit her lip lightly, tears streaming down her face. "He actually said that it would be a great honor for Qing'er to marry him, and that Qing'er could only marry someone from the Prime Minister's family."

Since it is a conversation between father and daughter, there is no need to refer to yourself as "your son".

Qin Yuqing helped the emperor sit on a stone chair nearby. Chuntao had the foresight to see that tea was served. Qin Yuqing continued, "So Qing'er was so angry that she used this to hurt the Prime Minister's son. Did the Prime Minister's son come to trouble Father?"

Qin Yuqing observed the emperor's expression and saw that his expression was not as stern as before. Qin Yuqing knew that he was right, so he took out the small bow and arrow and the blueprint and handed them to the emperor.

"This is something I researched myself. I encountered three assassination attempts back then. If it weren't for the help of General Xiao Lu and the coachman, I would have died long ago. So after thinking it over for a while, I decided I needed some self-defense."

The emperor picked up the bow and arrow and kept looking at it, then aimed at the dead tree in the yard and shot it. Seeing the arrow penetrate the wood, the emperor nodded with satisfaction.

"If you encounter this kind of thing again, just beat him, but remember to tell father after you are done." The emperor rubbed Qin Yuqing's head lovingly and looked around the yard. Although it was well taken care of, it still looked very shabby, so he said.

"There are other empty chambers in the harem. Would you like to consider moving there, Qing'er?"

Qin Yuqing shook her head immediately after hearing this. Afraid that the emperor would misunderstand her, she explained immediately: "This place has the memories of Qing'er and Chen Cairen, so Qing'er doesn't want to move. Besides, this place is close to my father's bedroom. If Qing'er misses my father in the future, she can go to him anytime. Doesn't my father miss Qing'er?" Qin Yuqing said some good words again.

"You are the one who speaks sweetly."

Afterwards, Qin Yuqing chatted with the emperor for a while about family matters. After all, he was the king of a country. Not long after, the emperor and Eunuch Zhang left.

Qin Yuqing breathed a sigh of relief. She did not tell the emperor about the twins. On the one hand, she did not want the twins' identities to be exposed. On the other hand, she wanted to know to what extent the system would be interfered with.

She was originally unsure, but through the test just now, she was sure that the invigilator she had noticed before was someone sent by the emperor. As for being seen in the Prime Minister's Mansion, perhaps this group of people came out to look for her and happened to see her in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

There are still five days before the imperial examination begins.

On this day, Qin Yuqing walked out of the palace accompanied by Chuntao. The streets of the capital were busier than ever. Many people could be seen holding books in their hands. Some were sitting on the ground reading alone, some were discussing something in groups of two or three, and some were negotiating something with merchants.

"Princess, how many of them do you think will pass the exam?" Chun Tao turned her head to look at Qin Yuqing, "But Chun Tao thinks that Princess will definitely pass."

Looking at Chuntao's starry eyes, Qin Yuqing helplessly held her forehead and said, "Don't call me Princess, call me Miss." She reached out and nodded Chuntao's head and said, "The imperial examination hasn't even started yet, how can I know if I can pass it? Don't have too much confidence in me."

"I don't care about that. With the lady's talent and knowledge, it will be no problem for her to become the top scorer in the imperial examination!" Chuntao muttered, covering her forehead.

Qin Yuqing shook his head and did not argue with Chuntao. At present, the plot of the novel has not changed in some major events. The new top scholar this time can only be Li Muyan.

Just then, Qin Yuqing saw a long line in front of the scientific research institute, so she took Chuntao over and said, "Xiao Taozi, do you know what we are doing for them?"

"This is the same as going to a teacher's house to become his disciple." Chun Tao explained softly in Qin Yuqing's ear, "Miss, do you see the person sitting next to you holding a book?"

An old man was lying on a rattan chair not far away, holding a book in his hands and covering his face with another book. The warm sunlight shone on him. He seemed to be dreaming of something interesting. He reached out and scratched his face, then covered his face with the book and continued to sleep.

"I see. Who is this?" Qin Yuqing asked.

"He's the head of the Ye family in the Ministry of Rites, and he's also one of the inner-curtain examiners for the imperial examinations in recent years." Chun Tao explained as she followed Qin Yuqing. "This Master Ye is famous for his love of taking on disciples. He always takes in people with no family background. No matter who they are, as long as they're a good match, he'll accept them. But if they're not, he wouldn't even look at gold, let alone ten thousand taels of silver."

"Those queuing up are registering their names. Every year before the imperial examination begins, the examination halls have to be renovated, and there's inevitably a shortage of manpower. While these students are helping with the renovations, the Ministry of Rites will distribute their wages to them based on their registration."

"According to what you said, these people work and study here, not only can they earn the money they need for daily life, but they also have the opportunity to gain the favor of Mr. Ye?"

"Yes, Miss. This is a rule established by Master Ye after he became the inner curtain examiner. It has been approved by His Majesty."

"Interesting." Qin Yuqing walked forward and bowed to Mr. Ye. "Your Majesty, Qin Yuqing pays his respects to Mr. Ye."

Ye Lao turned over, put the book over his ears, and said sullenly, "Go over there to register. If they like you, they will accept you."

"Your Majesty, Qin Yuqing pays his respects to Mr. Ye." Qin Yuqing said again with a smile.

"Are you annoying? I've already told you that I'll accept you as long as I like you." General Ye also put the book in his hand over his ear.

"Your Majesty, Qin Yuqing pays his respects to Master Ye." Qin Yuqing still had a smile on her face, without any impatience. She wanted to see what Master Ye meant by accepting him as a disciple.

"Go, go, don't I already tell you that no matter you are Qin Yu... wait!" Old Master Ye sat up with a start, and the book on his ear fell to the ground. "Your Highness the Sixth Princess, why are you here?"

Qin Yuqing bent down to pick up the book on the ground, dusted it off, and handed it to Mr. Ye. He smiled and said, "I'll come and see what the scientific research site looks like. Why not?"

"How dare I, how dare I." Old Ye stood up and pointed to a chair beside him and said, "Sixth Princess, please sit down. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. I hope you will forgive me." As he said that, Old Ye was about to kneel down.

Qin Yuqing didn't want to reveal his identity in front of so many people, so he reached out to help Ye Lao and said with a smile: "It's okay, I'm curious about something here."

"Please go ahead."

In Wenshan, Mr. Ye also stood behind her. As a civil servant, he could make choices different from most civil servants. This made Qin Yuqing realize that Mr. Ye might really love talents, or he might not be involved in the struggle in the court.

"Cheating in the imperial examination is a serious crime in our dynasty. I don't think Mr. Ye is unaware of this, right?" Qin Yuqing asked with a smile.

Mr. Ye sighed and looked with pity at the students who were moving bricks not far away. Some of them would deliberately greet him.

"What if you know, what if you don't know." Old Master Ye flipped through the book in his hand and handed him a sheet of paper covered with names. "You were present at the Wenshan incident, Sixth Princess. You also saw the result of Chen Yijun's resistance. Was it any use?"

Qin Yuqing fell into deep thought. She had always faced and dealt with ancient affairs with modern ideas. Even though this was an imaginary era, some bad habits would not change.

"Isn't the imperial examination a path for students all over the world?" Qin Yuqing asked in return, "If this path can only be taken by recruiting disciples, what is the point of keeping it?"

"Sixth Princess, please forgive me for being so bold." Ye Lao's dark eyes looked at Qin Yuqing. There was praise for Qin Yuqing in his eyes, but also a sadness that Qin Yuqing could not understand. "If you were not the Sixth Princess, and if His Majesty did not make the decision for you, do you think Wenshan would really qualify for the imperial examination if he defeated Guo Lin, a young man?"

"Sixth Princess, you are a woman. Similarly, even if Shen Yanqing has made outstanding military achievements, she has not even been promoted to the rank of general and is still struggling to become a deputy general."

Mr. Ye’s words were like a slap in the face, shattering Qin Yuqing’s complacency of the past few days.

She forgot that if she had not been a princess and if the emperor had not intentionally broken the rule that women could not participate in the imperial examinations, how could she have obtained it so easily.

"Judging from your expression, the princess must have figured it out. But if it weren't for the princess, this wouldn't have been possible. But there's no need to worry, princess. His Majesty certainly has his reasons for choosing you. Perhaps the princess has what he needs."

Old Ye smiled and handed the paper filled with names to Qin Yuqing, saying again: "In fact, all of us old fellows can see what the emperor means, but some of us old fellows are standing too high and have forgotten the way we came."

Qin Yuqing nodded. With Mr. Ye's guidance, she finally understood where she was and what path she would take in the future.

As she considers herself a princess, she can naturally gain a lot of benefits, but at the same time she is also bound by her identity as a princess. If she wants to get rid of it completely, this imperial examination is the only way out.

“In essence, I am no different from them.”

Qin Yuqing looked at the paper fluttering in his hand, on which only a few names were circled in bright red ink.

"What are these names?"