"What is it?"

"I went to take the exam today, but when I entered, Concubine Chen Zhaoyi pulled my belt and threw it away, causing me to lose time and not finish the test paper."

Xuan Ling took the ginseng tea presented by the palace maid.

He drank it slowly.

"Sheng Xiyan would never bully others for no reason. You must have provoked her first."

Dun Guiyuan cried:

"I don't, wuwuwu. The Emperor always favors Consort Chen. It's too biased."

"Shut up, are you telling me what to do?"

Dun Guiyuan was so frightened that she stopped crying.

"Your Majesty, please calm down."

"Kneel down and pay your respects."

"I'll take my leave."

Dun Guiyuan suppressed her anger and left the Yangxin Palace in disgrace.

Eunuch Fu observed the emperor's expression and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Concubine Zhaoyi will definitely take first place."

Xuan Ling admired the "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" hanging on the wall without saying a word.

Yanyan doesn't need results, we do all this for her.

At nightfall, the palace lanterns begin to light up.

Empress Duan and Lord Li from the Ministry of Rites came to the audience with the papers.

Because they had to prepare for the Autumn Examination the next day, the Ministry of Rites took only two hours to grade the concubines' papers.

"Your Majesty, it is clear from this examination that all the ladies are extremely talented..."

Xuan Ling said: "Just tell me the result."

"Your Majesty, in this exam, the highest scorer is Concubine Xian, second is Concubine Rong, and third is Concubine Zhang.

Empress Duan said respectfully:

"Your Majesty is wise. The new sleeping system has indeed screened out talented concubines. In the past, they were truly buried because of their low status."

Xuan Ling looked at the three people's test papers and nodded, saying, "Although they are not perfect, they are still considered talented."

Lord Li cleared his throat and stammered:

"Your Majesty, there is another paper that is quite special. We are unable to grade it. Please review it personally."

"Show it up."

Eunuch Fu went to get the test paper.

Xuan Ling opened it and saw that the paper was blank with no answers.

But there is a big turtle painted on it.

There is also a limerick:

Little turtle's butt, new turtle butt (new regulations).

The turtle in the stove is fanning the fire.

A tortoise fights a tortoise, each has his own way of dealing with it.

The turtle calls him a tortoise, it's the same with you.

The man with the dragon-like eyebrows and phoenix-like eyes suppressed his smile and said solemnly:

"I hereby grant you special permission to advance directly to the next round, without occupying the first three spots."

Empress Duan said, "Your Majesty, isn't this unfair? If Sister Sheng's ridiculous test paper takes first place, it will render the subsequent selections meaningless."

Xuan Ling said coldly, "Queen, I don't need anyone's opinion on matters concerning the harem."

Lord Li said, "Yes, this is not the court, and it has nothing to do with the country."

Empress Duan tried to make amends: "I have overstepped my bounds, Your Majesty, please calm down."

But he couldn't calm down. The weight of Chen Zhaoyi in Emperor Xuanwu's heart was getting heavier and heavier, which was definitely not a good thing.

"Empress, I will enlist the top three candidates for this month's imperial concubines according to their rankings. I will inform you of the time."

"I understand."

After everyone knelt to pay their respects, Xuan Ling was the only one left in the hall.

He took the paper and looked at it carefully.

This little turtle is so cute in the drawing and the doggerel is so cleverly written.

My Yanyan is really talented.

I folded the test paper into a heart shape and put it into the yellow glazed pencil case with dragon pattern.

In this dragon-patterned yellow glazed pencil case that has been with him for many years, there is also the Dragon Boat Festival love letter that Sheng Xiyan wrote to him last time.

Outside the hall, Eunuch Fu ran in.

"Your Majesty, the servants at Guanju Palace say that Concubine Zhaoyi is drunk and...acting crazy."

Xuan Ling glared at him fiercely, "You little slave, what are you talking about, drunken madness? Who are you targeting?"

No one is allowed to modify my appearance.

Eunuch Fu slapped him on the face and said, "My words were inappropriate, I deserve to be spanked."