Chapter 434 The Third-Rank Scholar

Lin Mingqian achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations, making him the envy of all.

What's most surprising is that the third-ranked scholar was actually a woman.

woman? !

When the exam papers were graded, all the examiners were stunned. Could there have been a mistake? This was utterly astonishing.

Are the women this year really that strong?

Although there have been women who passed the imperial examinations and became officials before, and although the exam papers were all the same, the best ranking they achieved was only second-class, and no one had ever achieved first-class.

If the examiner didn't make a mistake, then everything is fine.

"Little sister, am I seeing things? The third-ranked scholar on the list actually shares the same name as you?"

Today, when the results were released, the Shen siblings were also squeezed into the crowd. In order to avoid being overly noticed, Shen Sixu painted her face black to make herself look ugly.

Shen Sihao's voice was quite loud, but fortunately everyone was busy looking at the rankings and no one paid attention to her.

"You're not seeing things, you really do share the same name as me."

Chen Sixu looked up and glanced at the top of the list.

Not at all surprising; she knew he would be number one as soon as she knew Lin Mingqian would participate.

The son of Emperor Lin and Empress, who grew up standing beside the Crown Prince, was a man of both virtue and talent, and his achievement of passing the imperial examinations with top honors was merely icing on the cake.

The previous two exams ranked students separately by gender.

Although the exam papers were all the same, I didn't expect that we wouldn't be separated for the last exam.

"It's really strange, I didn't expect there would be a man who shares the same name as you."

"It doesn't seem strange at all. There are so many people in the world, it's perfectly normal to be called by the same name."

After finishing his thought, Hao felt something was off.

He hurriedly started looking for his name, because he needed to pass the exam to support his sister.

Finally, I found myself in the thirties.

Shen Sixu was overjoyed. "Brother, you passed the exam! Let's go back and wait for the officials to come and announce the good news."

"Oh, okay." Shen Sihao was also very happy.

The brother and sister walked happily home, but Chen Sihao suddenly stopped. "Sister, do you think it's possible that one of those people on the list is you?"

He vaguely heard that the name belonged to a woman. Could there be such a coincidence in the world?

“Possibly.” Shen Sixu said calmly.

Chen Sihao's breathing suddenly quickened. When he returned home, the official who brought the good news was already waiting for him.

He learned that his daughter had ranked third in her high school entrance exams.

Mr. and Mrs. Shen fainted on the spot from the shock.

Someone in the imperial court was about to faint.

How could a woman be the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination? This is utterly ridiculous and increasingly outrageous.

This is getting more and more outrageous.

It's only been a few years! There's already an empress and two female generals standing in the court. Other women hold official positions but can't attend court. What if a third-place scholar were to join them? Wouldn't the court then become a woman's domain?

For many years, men ruled the court. It seems that Emperor Jing made an exception and appointed Ye Wan as a female official. But at that time, there was no other way because the national treasury was empty. However, this Lady Ye was actually able to grow grain.

But now women are no longer needed! Women and men are in the same court, what kind of behavior is this!

If things continue to develop like this, will women be able to establish their own households and have multiple husbands and servants?

We absolutely must not set this precedent.

"If women can become officials, why can't they be the third-ranked scholar? They passed the exam based on their own talent and learning, not because of their gender. My dear minister, why are you so agitated?"

Lin Anyuan performed steadily as always.

Then someone mentioned that this newly appointed third-ranked scholar was not the Crown Prince's chosen concubine.

As a concubine, shouldn't her primary responsibility be to raise children for the royal family and ensure the continuation of the family line? Why is she going to take exams? Does she want to become an official?

Some people even speculated that His Highness the Crown Prince might have secretly let the water go unchecked.

Ye Wan had long known what these people were thinking. In the end, they still looked down on women from the bottom of their hearts. She sneered, "The first female scholar in our dynasty. If any lord is not convinced, he can come and try. Did the Crown Prince go easy on you?"

"Try it out, but don't accidentally lose to someone else and embarrass yourself!"

After Ye Wan finished speaking, he announced the end of the court session.

She's about to get her period these past few days, and she's incredibly irritable. She gets annoyed just seeing those old, pedantic men in the court.

"They're never satisfied! These people are truly never satisfied. Their own children and grandchildren can't even pass other people's exams, so they don't even bother to think about whether their ancestors' genes were bad and produced an idiot, yet they dare to belittle others!"

"All you do is focus on other people's status as women. What's wrong with being a woman? Aren't women born of parents and mothers, or sprang from a crack in a rock? If you're so capable, why don't you prevent women from giving birth and why don't you marry a woman? Go find a man to have a son!"

Lin Anyuan poured Ye Wan a cup of tea. "Don't be angry. Why bother arguing with those people? Anyway, this third-place finish is a done deal. It was decided by the examiners, not by me. No matter how much they jump around, they can't change that fact!"

Those examiners are not to be trifled with.

Ye Wan was still upset after drinking the tea. "I knew this wouldn't go so smoothly. That kid A Zhou, he just decided to make her a concubine out of nothing. Isn't that just setting her up as a concubine from head to toe?"

A concubine, that sounds nice, but isn't she still just a mistress? One person opens their mouth, and the other agrees—what kind of situation is this!

"What's the point of talking about the future? If I were that Miss Shen, I'd kick him far away and be all beautiful by myself!"

Lin Anyuan chuckled, "That kid hasn't figured out his own heart yet. Don't worry, he'll regret it someday."

"How did you know?" Ye Wan turned to look at Lin Anyuan.

The man was in his thirties but still handsome, which finally calmed her down a bit.

She really is a sucker for good looks.

"Those born with a silver spoon in their mouth are most likely to become romantics. His father was a romantic, and so is he. They just haven't realized it yet. They'll regret it when they do."

"The 'wife-chasing crematorium'?" Ye Wan's eyes lit up.

She pursed her lips again, "In the end, men are all the same. If they haven't hurt anyone, they can pursue their wives without a care. But if they've already caused harm, what's the point of turning back?"

There's a saying that goes, "Late-blown affection is more worthless than a dog's affection!"

Lin Anyuan: ...

Why don't he go and find a royal physician for Wanwan?

He said he wanted to find the imperial physician, Lin Anyuan. But he only thought about it in his mind and didn't actually dare to go.

Ye Wan threw a tantrum for two days, but his status as the third-ranked scholar was still confirmed.

Chen Sixu, the first female scholar to pass the imperial examination in the Xia Dynasty, stood in the court.

Ye Wan walked down the nine steps one by one and personally straightened her clothes.