Xiao Li glanced at the group of guards: "Why is she here?"

A captain of the guards came over and said, "Your Majesty, Princess Wenshan has been wandering here for the past few days. This is not a restricted area. I checked and found that the princess did not have any sharp weapons on her, so I did not force her to leave."

Xiao Li raised his hand: "Take her back, Doctor Xuan, don't let her die."

Xiao Li had long anticipated being assassinated. After all, she was quite hated and many people wanted to kill her.

But there are so many people around her, and she also has martial arts skills. Let alone killing her, there are very few who can hurt her now.

So she was not angry about being assassinated, but was annoyed by the fact that Wen Shan blocked it.

In order to survive, Wen Shan was allowed to be scheming and calculating. Xiao Li tolerated her because she was young. Even though he didn't like it, he still left her a way out.

But she couldn't accept Wen Shan plotting against her again and again.

"Go check on those killers."

It’s best to pray that those three people have nothing to do with Wen Shan. Otherwise, she may not necessarily kill this little girl, but she will have plenty of ways to deal with her.

Lou Yan was obviously also angry, and he went to interrogate the surviving assassin personally. He didn't know what method he used, but he found out the truth in a short while.

When he appeared in front of Xiao Li again, even after taking a shower, Xiao Li could still smell a faint smell of blood on him.

"Your Majesty, these people are from the Qin family."

The Qin family, the maternal family of Concubine Qin, the people of the King of Southern Qi?

"Leave him to Concubine Qin and confiscate the Qin family."

There is no need to continue the interrogation, just directly question the crime. The Qin family is already on her book of life and death.

The King of Southern Qi could still return from the border alive, but she would never give him the ability to make a comeback.

Because the empress was assassinated, the already shaky Qin family was completely destroyed.

The killing never stopped, and the Empress's reputation for cruelty was further enhanced.

But so what?

Her regime will become more and more stable, and the aristocratic families will re-enter the cycle of reincarnation one after another.

The old families will hate her, and the new families will support her. This is the rule.

----

The imperial examination, which had been brewing for a month, finally began.

This imperial examination was similar to the last one at the princess's mansion.

The examination tables were set up starting from the front of the Golden Throne Hall and extending all the way to the avenue in front of the palace gate.

Although there are many tables, not all candidates can sit at a table.

Starting a month ago, all registered candidates have gone through several rounds of screening.

The first thing to consider is age and background. The age must be within the specified range. Those exceeding the age will not be accepted. Identity does not matter whether the candidate is a noble or not, but the candidate must be from a white family.

The second thing to consider is the facial features. They don’t have to be handsome, but they must be decent. The clothes can be simple, but they must be neat.

The third option is handwriting. Students are required to copy a model essay in public and their handwriting must be fair.

The fourth test is recitation. An article will be randomly picked and you are given two hours to memorize it. Those who memorize it will pass.

After four rounds of assessment, the remaining candidates are eligible to enter the final examination.

On the day the imperial examination began, there were a total of 970 people on the list.

This number seems large, but there were a total of 13,000 people who came to take the exam. All of these people could read and write, but more than 90% of them were eliminated.

Being able to read and reading good books are two different concepts.

Nine hundred and seventy tables were set up, and nine hundred and seventy Silver-Armored Guards were invigilating one on one. Outside, there were people from the Military Affairs Department and the Patrol Battalion.

Since the exam is held in public, there is absolutely no possibility of cheating.

Moreover, before the exam begins, everyone has to deal with their urgent needs. After the exam papers are distributed, everyone starts writing. If you leave during this period, you are not allowed to come back.

Once completed, all test papers will be sealed with a piece of paper and will become invalid if torn.

These people had long heard about the examination style of the Princess's Mansion: strict, but fair.

The only thing that made them unhappy was probably that there was a woman among the 970 candidates.

Wang Yizhu.

She was wearing the same style of clothes as men. Although she was not conspicuous at first glance, as long as you looked closely, you could still tell at a glance that she was a woman.

Because she did not hide her female characteristics at all.

When Wang Yizu first appeared, these people were shocked. How could a woman take part in the imperial examination?

However, the Silver Armor Guard in charge of the four rounds of examinations simply said: "Which law stipulates that women cannot take the exam? Your Majesty is also a woman, do you have any objections to Your Majesty?"

Some people accepted that the emperor was a woman, so it was not surprising that a woman took the imperial examinations and became an official.

But there is never a shortage of self-righteous, conceited men who insist on speaking out to show off their masculine superiority.

"Women serving as officials? That's a joke. What can they do? Teach the people how to have children? Or dance for everyone in skirts?"

"Officialdom is a man's world. What business does a woman like her have? She should just get married and go home to have children."

"Exactly. How can a man and a woman serve in the same court? It's shameful, outrageous, and simply ridiculous."

“.......”

A man spoke, and a group of people immediately echoed him, and soon it turned into a condemnation of the woman.

The crowd was indignant and excited.

The next moment, a cold light flashed, and a person's head flew out. In an instant, everyone's neck seemed to be strangled, and they couldn't utter a word.

The tip of the silver-armored guard's knife was still dripping with blood, and his sharp gaze swept over everyone.

"Your Majesty is a woman. Humiliating a woman is tantamount to disrespecting Your Majesty."

The next moment, three more people who were shouting loudly were beheaded.

Kindness and tolerance will make people become more and more unreasonable, and killing is the only way to make people fear you.

With a loud noise, a group of people all knelt down. Facing the threat of death, no opinions or ideas mattered anymore.

The Silver Armored Guard shouted, "The core of the imperial examination is fairness, justice, and openness. It selects the virtuous and capable. We select your talents, your character, and your abilities, not your gender!"

"If you're not convinced by others, then show your abilities and defeat them directly in the examination room. That would be glorious. Instead of verbally humiliating and attacking them simply because they're women, it only makes you appear narrow-minded and of low character."

"What about women? Your Majesty is a woman, but she is strong and fearless, wise and brave, with a broad mind and a long-term vision. Who says women are inferior to you?"

"The imperial examination doesn't care about social status or whether you're male or female. It has only one principle: to select the most capable. If you have the ability, show your true colors in the examination hall. Once you've achieved the top spot, you can then criticize others."

Although these words are somewhat provocative to the patriarchal consciousness, the logic is irrefutable.

After listening to these words, Wang Yizhui became more convinced that his coming was right.

The greatest sorrow in a thousand-mile horse's life is not being abused by others, but living a mediocre life and never meeting his own mentor until his death.

She is a woman, but she can also understand the saying "A gentleman will die for his friend"!

The empress is truly changing the world and the meaning of women's existence.