When Qin Chuan, Su Ruyan, and Xu Mu entered the main hall of Mingyue Tower, they found it was almost packed with people, just like outside, with people shoulder to shoulder.
Carefully protecting Ruyan from being jostled by the other men, Qin Chuan kept looking around, searching for his father-in-law, Su Zhi Qiu. He had promised to accompany the governor on the inspection tour, but he hadn't seen him at all...
Looking up to the second floor, I couldn't see anyone there either.
The main hall of Mingyue Tower was very large, and at this moment, it was crowded with hundreds of people. They were all social elites, gentry, and other prominent figures from various prefectures and counties. Their purpose in attending the poetry gathering was to make a name for themselves in Jiangnan, or even in the imperial court, so as to gain the recommendation of court officials and even a personal audience with Her Majesty the Empress...
There were rows of benches in the hall, and everyone who came in found a bench to sit down. Qin Chuan also found a bench and sat down, with Su Ruyan sitting right next to him, her body exuding a faint fragrance that was refreshing and pleasant...
Just then, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar and wearing a tall crown walked from the second floor to the platform set up on the first floor, saying as he walked: "The mighty Daqian, poems to express its aspirations, magnificent Daqian, lyrics to praise the world, sweeping across the eight directions, dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing, this is our dynasty's founding emperor, Gaozu..."
A red carpet was laid on the platform, and the staircase from the first floor to the second floor was very wide, with each step covered with a red carpet. Seven armchairs were also placed on the platform.
As soon as the middle-aged man's voice rang out, the hall fell completely silent.
Everyone knows that the poetry recital is about to officially begin.
At this moment, sixteen yamen runners on each side, along with several people dressed in official robes, quietly entered the hall.
The layout of Mingyue Tower was not only magnificent but also exquisite. There were three staircases leading to the second floor. Most of the yamen runners stayed in various corners of the hall, while a few followed the officials up to the second floor via the side staircases.
Qin Chuan spotted Su Zhi Qiu among the officials who entered, and the official in the red robe at the head of the group was clearly Governor Zhu, Zhu Qing Shou's father, Zhu He.
The middle-aged man wearing the Tongtian crown continued reciting the inscription. Qin Chuan listened to the inscription, which seemed to start from the founding emperor and go all the way to the current empress...
He finally stopped after reading for a full five minutes.
Next, the middle-aged man introduced seven examiners from the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy in the capital. These examiners came down from the second floor to make everyone present feel their status and position. The poetry test questions would be set by these seven examiners.
The middle-aged man loudly announced the identities of the seven examiners:
"Zhang Jiucheng, aged sixty-three, was a Doctor of the Imperial Academy. In the fourth year of the Jiayou reign, he achieved the third-highest rank in the first class of the imperial examinations. He served as the Transport Commissioner of Muzhou, the Prefect of Jiujiang, an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites..."
"Wang Yingchen, aged sixty-seven, was a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy. He passed the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Zhongxing era, ranking seventeenth in the second class. He served as the Vice Prefect of Fangzhou, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Censor of the Censorate..."
"Wang Shipeng, aged fifty-eight, was a Doctor of the Imperial Academy. He was the second-ranked candidate in the first class of the imperial examination in the tenth year of the Jiayou era. He served as the Vice Prefect of Liaozhou, an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works, and an Imperial Censor..."
"Chen Liang, aged fifty-nine, was a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy. He passed the imperial examination in the seventh year of the Jiayou era, ranking twenty-third in the second class. He once served as..."
"Xu Yuanjie, aged fifty, was a Doctor of the Imperial Academy. He passed the imperial examination in the seventeenth year of the Jiayou reign, ranking fifth in the second class. He once served as..."
"Zhang Chaozong, age thirty-nine, General of Ji Province, first-place winner in the martial arts examination of the eighteenth year of the Jiayou era, a martial arts champion..."
"Wang Yikui, aged seventy-one, was a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy. He passed the imperial examination in the twenty-first year of the Fengzhi era, ranking tenth in the second class..."
In the hall, Qin Chuan was getting drowsy. Su Ruyan patted his thigh and whispered to him, "Of these seven examiners, you need to pay special attention to General Zhang Chaozong. He doesn't like poems about romance and nature; he prefers frontier poems or poems that are bold and imposing. Your poem 'A thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of snow' would suit his taste, but you absolutely mustn't use it..."
Qin Chuan nodded, indicating that he understood, since his father-in-law had also warned him that this was a potentially fatal poem.
Just after the middle-aged man finished introducing the seven examiners, everyone thought the poetry recital was about to officially begin, but then they heard a high-pitched voice shout from the second floor:
"The Princess has arrived!"
As everyone looked, they saw a stunningly beautiful young woman, dressed in extremely gorgeous clothes, adorned with gold jewelry, with a perfect oval face and a youthful appearance, descending gracefully from the second floor on a red carpet...
Two eunuchs followed behind her, while two palace maids held her hands on either side.
"Greetings, Princess!"
Everyone present stood up and bowed in respect.
The princess casually waved her slender arm, and everyone gradually sat down.
The young princess ignored the examiners' greetings and went straight into the hall. She found a stool and sat down, with two eunuchs and two palace maids standing nearby to serve her.
The young princess was sitting right next to Su Ruyan.
“Princess, please sit here…” When Zhu Qingshou saw the young princess sit near Qin Chuan, his face darkened, and he muttered some curses.
Qin Chuan ignored him and instead glanced at the little princess. He noticed that her delicate face was as white as jade, yet she was innocent and naive, clearly a naive and naive girl who had never seen the world!
Sure enough, the young princess sniffed at Su Ruyan, her large, clear eyes filled with curiosity, and then uttered a statement that shook heaven and earth:
"Brother, you smell so good!"
Su Ruyan had no choice but to move closer to Qin Chuan. The little princess's big eyes showed a look of doubt as she glanced at Qin Chuan and then whispered to Su Ruyan, "Brother, do you have homosexual tendencies?"
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