Chapter 19

The ceremony of announcing the imperial examinations was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Zhang Xihua had long known that he was the third place winner in this subject, so he remained calm during the singing session.

But there is also a glimmer of hope that I can become the top scorer, which proves that history can be changed.

"Xu Pingzhi, first place in the first class."

"Xu Pingzhi, first place in the first class."

"Xu Pingzhi, first place in the first class."

The voice of the official announcing the results echoed in the ears of Zhang Xihua who was standing in the front row.

Zhang Xihua saw Xu Pingzhi move next to him and guessed that Xu Pingzhi must be the most excited at this moment.

Zhang Xihua continued to listen. The second place in the first class was Xu Minde, and the third place was herself.

Chen Ang ranked first in the second class, and Jiang Yang ranked twelfth in the second class.

Sixteen students who studied with her at the Zhang family school passed the exam.

After the ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations, Zhang Xihua, Xu Pingzhi and Xu Minde went out of Chengtian Gate to the colorful tent together. Xu Pingzhi changed into the top scholar's uniform, while Zhang Xihua and Xu Minde still wore the Jinshi uniform. After the three of them put on flowers in their hair, they went to the Imperial Street.

The Jinyiwei led the way in front. Zhang Xihua, who was sitting on the saddle, saw Chen Fuzhou. Chen Fuzhou looked back at her and smiled at her, and she smiled back.

The onlookers were talking about it.

"This year's third place winner is truly handsome and unrivalled. He is the most handsome third place winner I have ever seen in my forty-plus years of life."

"I wonder if this third-place winner is married yet. My daughter is still unmarried. If she could marry him, I would give her a dowry of one hundred thousand taels."

"This third place winner looks like he's only sixteen or seventeen years old. He's truly rare."

…

Most of the people were talking about Zhang Xihua, and even the young ladies in the brothels on both sides of the Imperial Street threw flowers, handkerchiefs, sachets, hairpins, pearl hairpins, etc. into Zhang Xihua's arms.

Zhang Xihua used the hem of her robe to hold the "thoughts" of these young ladies. Fortunately, a eunuch ran to her horse and kept the "thoughts" safely for her.

The eunuch whispered, "Your Majesty has sent this servant to remind Master Zhang that the objects thrown by the young ladies represent 'marriage'. Master Zhang has accepted so many 'marriage' opportunities, and he will have many wives and concubines in the future, and he will not be able to take care of them all."

Zhang Xihua raised his eyebrows slightly.

Even though Zhu Mingji became the emperor, his nature was hard to change, and he even restricted her interactions with others.

The eunuch clapped his hands, and four Jinyiwei followed Zhang Xihua in front, behind, and on both sides to block the objects thrown by the young ladies for Zhang Xihua.

They arrived in front of a flower building hung with colorful flower balls, and a bright yellow figure on the building reached out and threw a jade pendant with a dragon pattern into Zhang Xihua's arms.

Zhang Xihua held the dragon jade pendant and looked at it, then raised her head to meet Zhu Mingji's clear gaze staring at her.

Zhang Xihua pretended to throw the dragon jade pendant to the ground, but heard Zhu Mingji cough lightly.

The eunuch kept saying "Don't drop it", ready to catch the round dragon jade pendant that Zhang Xihua was about to throw down.

Zhang Xihua tied the dragon jade pendant around his waist and whispered to the eunuch, "Is Your Majesty always so bored?"

The eunuch didn't expect Zhang Xihua to ask this, and he didn't know how to answer Zhang Xihua. He was so anxious that his face turned red.

Zhang Xihua answered himself, "Your Majesty is a boring person. Please, eunuch, take my message to Your Majesty. You think you can apologize to me with just a dragon jade pendant? I am not as easy to appease as before."

The eunuch trembled with fear. "I will tell your majesty what Master Zhang said. Please give me something to take back to your majesty."

Zhang Xihua took off the hairpin next to the gauze hat and gave it to the eunuch.

The eunuch bowed to Zhang Xihua to express his gratitude and ran back to the brothel where Zhu Mingji was.

*

After returning to the Zhang Mansion, Zhang Xihua was led by a maid to Yangrongzhai to see Old Madam Zhang for the last time before he changed out of his Jinshi uniform.

There were many people surrounding Old Mrs. Zhang's bed.

When Zhang Xihua approached, everyone made way. Madam Jiang supported the shoulder of Old Lady Zhang, who was leaning against the headboard with a dazed look in her eyes, and said, "Old Lady, please open your eyes and look. Erlang has returned home."

Old Lady Zhang held Zhang Xihua's hand and said softly, "My dear child, you have earned so much honor for the Zhang family. I am sorry that I have delayed your future."

If Mrs. Zhang passed away, Zhang Xihua, as her grandson, would have to observe mourning for her for three years, which meant he could not hold an official position for three years.

Zhang Xihua was open-minded and comforted Mrs. Zhang with gentle words when she was dying.

Old Mrs. Zhang closed her eyes and fell asleep, and she would never wake up again.

Suddenly, there were cries in the room. Old Mrs. Zhang's burial clothes and coffin had been prepared long ago. Madam Jiang and Madam Li jointly organized the funeral, which was very decent.

Old Master Zhang did not want to live in the capital, so he returned to Taiping Prefecture with the coffin-bearing team.

Zhang Mingzhu also brought her daughter Cui Susu back to Taiping Mansion. One reason was that her daughter was already engaged and wanted to avoid suspicion with Zhang Xihua, and the other was that her father was old and frail and needed her careful care.

As a result, the only people left in the Zhang Mansion in the capital were Madam Jiang, Madam Li, Zhang Shining, Zhang Xuanhua, Zhang Xihua, and Zhang Anhua.

Zhang Xihua had already achieved fame and success, so he didn't have to go to a private school like Zhang Anhua, nor did he have to go to Yangrongzhai to pay his respects to his grandparents every morning and evening. He had more free time and could sleep until he woke up naturally every day.

Mrs. Jiang also had an excuse to reject those families who wanted to discuss marriage with Zhang Xihua, but she was worried that Zhang Shining would remarry. This delay lasted for three years. How many three years can a woman have like this?

Zhang Shining was very open-minded. He used several shops under his name to open a clothing store. He devoted himself to the business and earned thousands of taels of silver every month.

After staying at home for more than a month, Zhang Xihua felt really bored, so he went to various places in the Ming Dynasty under the pretext of studying abroad.

Zhu Mingji was constantly troubled in the imperial city. First, after his biological mother, Princess Jiang of Prince Xiang, arrived outside the capital, the ministers argued endlessly about whether Jiang should enter the palace from Chaoyang Gate or Zhengyang Gate and end up in front of Huangji Gate.

If Jiang entered from Chaoyang Gate, it would mean that she was welcomed into the palace with the ceremony of a princess.

If Jiang entered from Zhengyang Gate, it would mean that the Empress Dowager was welcoming Jiang into the palace with courtesy.

Zhu Mingji was unwilling to let his mother suffer and firmly disagreed to let his mother enter the palace through the Chaoyang Gate, a side door.

But the cabinet now belongs to Empress Dowager Zhang, and the wife of the cabinet chief, Cheng Jingsi, is Empress Dowager Zhang's sister.

Cheng Jingsi strongly supported Empress Dowager Zhang, and when he and officials from the Ministry of Rites welcomed Jiang at the Ten-Li Pavilion outside the capital, he addressed her as "Old Princess" rather than "Empress Dowager."

Jiang, sitting in the carriage, angrily said, "My son is the Son of Heaven, and I am the mother of the Son of Heaven. Mr. Cheng calls me 'Old Princess'. Doesn't that mean my son is the son of Empress Dowager Zhang? My son refuses to acknowledge his mother, so I will not enter the capital to meet this rebellious son."

The officials of the Ministry of Rites were all panicked, worrying about how to report to Emperor Huiyuan when they returned.

Cheng Jingsi earnestly persuaded Jiang to come to Beijing, but still insisted on calling Jiang "old princess."

Jiang ordered the team to turn around and go back to Taiping Prefecture.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Cheng Jingsi hurriedly ordered the Minister of Rites Jiang Chunfang to ask Emperor Huiyuan for instructions.

After hearing Jiang Chunfang repeat his mother's words to him verbatim, Zhu Mingji, who was in the Qianqing Palace, stood facing south and pondered for a long time. He then went to the Cining Palace and said to Empress Dowager Zhang, "I cannot bear to see my mother suffer such humiliation. Please, Your Majesty, choose a new emperor. I only want to take my mother back to Taiping Mansion and take care of her until the end of her life."

Empress Dowager Zhang was extremely anxious. How could she easily depose and enthrone the emperor? Besides, Zhu Mingji was the only legitimate emperor, so she had no room to choose a new emperor.

"Mingji, how about this? Let your mother enter through Zhengyang Gate, but you also have to take a step back and respect your mother as the Dowager Consort and let her live in Ciqing Palace until she retires."

Zhu Mingji insisted: "The mother of the emperor should be the empress dowager."

Empress Dowager Zhang did not want a situation where two Empress Dowagers were respected equally. Jiang was just a princess of a vassal state. She was lucky enough to enter the palace and enjoy the good life only because she gave birth to a son who became the emperor.

Empress Dowager Zhang held her forehead, saying she had a headache, and no longer paid attention to Zhu Mingji.

Zhu Mingji directly asked the Imperial Household Department to draft an imperial edict on his behalf.

The imperial edict read: "According to the oral instructions of the Empress Dowager, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Jiang is to enter the palace from the Daming Central Gate..."

Jiang was escorted by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and entered the palace in a grand manner through the Zhengyang Gate with the Empress Dowager's ceremonial guard.

This action angered Empress Dowager Zhang, who summoned Jiang to the Cining Palace and asked her to perform the rituals of a concubine.

Jiang refused to kneel. "You and I are both queen dowagers, there is no distinction between high and low."

Empress Dowager Zhang ordered the palace maids to forcibly press Jiang's shoulders and force her to kneel down. The palace maids Jiang brought from Prince Xiang's Mansion were also eager to protect their master. The two groups of palace maids wrestled with each other, and the scene was very chaotic.

When Zhu Mingji rushed to the Cining Palace, he first protected his mother behind him, and then stopped the palace maids from fighting each other.

Upon seeing this, Empress Dowager Zhang ran out of the hall in front of Zhu Mingji, ran all the way to the Taimiao, and then cried bitterly while hugging the two tablets of her husband, Emperor Zhengxi, and her son, Emperor Hongde.

The next day, the news of Empress Dowager Zhang crying in the Taimiao spread to all the major government offices in the capital.

When Zhu Mingji was holding court in the Huagai Hall, the censors of the Six Departments took turns impeaching the officials who supported Zhu Mingji for not fulfilling their duty of persuasion and admonition, causing the emperor and his father to be branded as unfilial.

If those censors stood any closer, their saliva would spray onto the emperor's face.

Zhu Mingji listened to the officials below attacking each other and kept rubbing his brows. However, when he heard the officials talking about his mother, he always spoke up to defend his mother.

After finally finishing the regular court session, Zhu Mingji went to Ciqing Palace to pay his respects to Jiang, and it happened that Concubine Zhang Gui was also in the palace.

Although Zhu Mingji maintained a normal expression, both Jiang and Concubine Zhang Gui knew what happened in the Huagai Palace today.

Concubine Zhang Gui came up with an idea.

"Empress Dowager Zhang is mainly worried that the co-existence of the two Empress Dowagers will affect her status. Your Majesty should give her face and use the position of Empress to give her a way out."

In fact, Concubine Zhang Gui was also asked by her mother-in-law, Empress Dowager Zhang, to act as a lobbyist.

Zhu Mingji recalled the two dreams he had. If his first wife was like Queen Cheng in his dream, he would rather not be the emperor.

His requirements for his first wife were that she must be more beautiful than Zhang Xihua, more talented in writing than Zhang Xihua, and more lively in character than Zhang Xihua...

Zhu Mingji suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Why does his first wife always compare herself with Zhang Xihua?