How is one supposed to respond to that?

Everyone knows it, but who would bring it up in the open? Would they be courting death?

Seeing everyone remain silent in thought, Qin Zhaowan did not pause for long.

"Saying it's all show and no substance is a bit of an exaggeration, but the general idea is the same."

No one expected the Third Princess to be so direct.

"All of you here are renowned for your talent; your fathers, brothers, and elders either serve as officials in the imperial court or have a family tradition of poetry and scholarship."

Yesterday, everyone in your families must have already given repeated instructions on what is allowed and what is not allowed.

I won't go into the details of stepping forward in this time of crisis, I'll just say two things:

Qin Zhaoyue couldn't help but glance sideways. Oh ho, her third sister's handling of the situation was somewhat different from what she had imagined.

She continued:

"First, how long do you think this situation will last?"

Now that we, the imperial heirs, have stepped forward, if we mess this up, who will be next?

These words immediately caused a stir in the room.

Qin Zhaoyue understood that her third sister truly grasped the Empress's meaning.

Sure, I'm not someone who's overly critical of reading, but I don't know what clues she used to clarify this point.

Qin Zhaoyue cast her gaze downwards and quickly locked onto the six people.

They either remained calm and composed, or they had an expression that said, "I knew it."

Ha, my little bit of cleverness is no match for theirs; I might not stand a chance.

Thank goodness, she doesn't have to play with words.

If this task is completed successfully, the merit points will probably be enough to advance to the Divine Martial Realm.

At that point, who cares about strategy? Let whoever wants to be, just go for it.

"Secondly, taking advantage of this favorable trend, don't you all really want to change your way of life?"

They are all precious daughters, full of talent, yet you, father and brothers, are willing to lock them away in lacquer boxes?

Passing the imperial examinations leads to an official career. At home, daughters and granddaughters are treated differently, but once in office, everyone becomes a colleague…

The hall fell into complete silence.

There's no need to spell it out, since the circumstances of these women are all different.

Overall, one unavoidable issue is the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.

Whether a concubine's daughter lives well or not depends on the attitude of the mistress of the household.

In matters of marriage, neither the bride nor her stepmother had any say in the matter.

The kind of family one chooses to marry and the choices one makes are entirely beyond one's control.

Even legitimate daughters weren't necessarily any better off, often becoming tools for political marriages.

In this respect, the powerful and wealthy are not even as good as women from ordinary families.

They could participate in the imperial examinations and take the mathematics exam, thus breaking free from their constraints through their own efforts.

Therefore, women already made up a portion of the low-ranking officials, but high-ranking officials were extremely rare.

Talented people are bound to be proud and arrogant. Even if they appear gentle and virtuous, they are actually quite unruly inside.

"The rights and wrongs, advantages and disadvantages, have all been stated here." With that, Qin Zhaowan placed the memorial on the table.

"Those who wish to register for this imperial examination, please write down your name."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone stood up.

Under everyone's gaze, Gu Yanxi walked resolutely forward.

Qin Zhaoyue felt a vague sense of familiarity, because this person was not an outsider; she was the daughter of the Gu family, the Junior Director of the Wanmin Division.

I don't know if the eldest sister gave instructions beforehand or if that young master Gu was determined to bet on the Princess Group, but it was obvious that they had communicated in advance.

Gu Yanxi stopped kneeling before the desk, picked up the pen, and wrote her name without the slightest hesitation.

Following her, three more people got up.

Two of them came from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and one came from the Ministry of Ceremonies.

After all, the Ministry of Ceremonies was in charge of receiving the Shuofeng delegation, so it was reasonable for them to contribute their efforts.

However, there was only one person, and she was the illegitimate daughter of a fourth-rank official in charge of interpreting official documents.

Those of medium or low rank will likely be told they have no choice but to comply, but they won't cause much of a stir.

The four people wrote down their names one after another, and then the room seemed to freeze.

Clearly, all four of them had been prepared beforehand.

In other words, regardless of whether the third sister had her heartfelt words, there were only these four people.

Qin Zhaowan narrowed her eyes. Was she not clear enough?

If one cannot even grasp the connection and the implied threat, is one truly qualified to participate in the imperial examination and compete with that Second Princess of Shuofeng?

The memorial lay untouched on the desk; the seven memorials were a joke, consisting only of the first four names at the beginning of the first memorial.

"In front of others, everyone may have some unspeakable secrets."

"After a short rest, and once an incense stick has burned, I will summon you all one by one."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Zhaowan stood up abruptly, looking down at the people below with her eyes half-lowered and expressionless.

Kind words of advice were ineffective, and she made no attempt to hide her emotions, conveying her attitude very directly.

"The three signs of the Beginning of Autumn are: cool breezes arrive, white dew descends, and cicadas chirp in the cold."

As Qin Zhaowan rose, the moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) rippled, and the golden lion-shaped ornaments on the cuffs seemed to leap in the light and shadow.

"Have you all heard of the cicada in the southern borderlands that lies dormant underground for seventeen years before emerging from the ground...?"

She suddenly snapped the purple chrysanthemum in the dark gold-threaded vase on the table, the sap staining her wide sleeves red.

"I insist that it spread its wings this autumn, and that the entire capital city of Feng hear its untimely cry!"

After speaking, he withdrew his piercing gaze, turned around, and left the main hall.

A slight smile appeared on Qin Zhaoyue's lips.

Despite her temper, this third sister isn't exactly unpleasant.

Just then, the Fourth Princess Qin Zhaoshu stood up and looked coldly down at the hall below.

Qin Zhaoyue shrugged; she was very familiar with this job.

He stood up as well, crossed his arms, raised his proud head and looked down at the person opposite him, a disdainful smile spreading across his face.

There was only one thought in my mind: Everyone here is trash.

[I need a picture of the god who can master the disgusted face!]

Little Seven, Little Eight, Little Nine, no matter how much they understood the true meaning, immediately stood up and glared at everyone.

At this moment, regardless of whether they were princes or princesses, they all maintained the same pace, united against the common enemy.

Xiao Jiu completely disregarded her image, stepping onto the table and fiercely revealing her little tiger teeth.

Qin Zhaoyue almost lost her composure upon seeing this.

The little girl is quite cute...

【ps】

It's been a while since I've chatted with everyone; I've been revising the outline.

The middle and later stages of disaster relief and flood control were completely changed, and everything afterward had to be changed.

Based on the previous idea, there were actually many knives.

He blocked the breach with his own body, Qin Zhaoyue disappeared, Ping An was assassinated while protecting her, and his elder sister fell into a coma, etc.

As soon as things started to look promising, the comments were all "Don't die," and then it turned into this.

Let's focus on the plot and the lighthearted aspects for now; we'll see about the angst later...

[Here come some small gifts!]