Chapter 17: Complete victory in the competition? Congratulations to the host for completing the main task three: ...
As soon as Shen Yanqing finished speaking, the originally noisy hall fell silent, and the usually eloquent civil servants stopped talking.
"Minister Shen is absolutely right." The emperor glanced around and was about to make a final decision when someone spoke again.
"I don't think it's appropriate." Minister Guo looked at Shen Yanqing with undisguised admiration in his eyes. "It's undeniable that General Shen has made great military achievements. After all, the imperial examinations focus on literary attainments, not on military campaigns."
Qin Yuqing shook his head slightly. No matter what the old man's starting point was, if a dynasty was stubborn and self-contained, then the dynasty would only decline.
She believed that the cheap emperor had also thought of this, so he joined forces with Lu Jingchuan to stage this drama.
"You Qian, Jun Yi, what do you two think?" The emperor did not give an answer to Shen Yanqing or Minister Guo immediately, but turned to look at the person in charge of this imperial examination.
"I dare you to say that." Qin Youqian knelt down directly. "I agree with what General Shen said. I have also had the honor of seeing Qingshan Lun. His words are indeed as good as those of men."
"I think so too. Our dynasty's literary world needs some fresh blood to break through the barriers." Qin Jun also echoed.
Qin Yuqing had been observing the emperor's expression from the beginning. He saw that the emperor did not reject it immediately. Instead, he stood on a high place and watched the quarrel below indifferently. It seemed that he had made a decision long ago and was just waiting for an opportunity.
In that case, she might as well take advantage of this opportunity.
Qin Yuqing gestured to Eunuch Zhang to push her to the center of the hall. She saluted the emperor and said, "Father, I, your humble servant, have the audacity to recommend myself. I, your humble servant, am shameless enough to participate in the imperial examination and set a precedent for female students across the country."
"Besides, our dynasty's literary world is weak, and no new poetry has been circulated in the world."
"No!" Minister Guo rejected it immediately, his words sharp, "How can a princess like you take the imperial examination? There's no tradition of women taking the imperial examination!"
"If there is nothing, can't we create one? Just because the previous dynasty collapsed? Why should we blame all the mistakes on women?" Although Qin Yuqing was asking a rhetorical question, the drooping tone at the end of her voice and the smile in the corner of her eyes made people shudder.
"Empress Chen, the founding empress of the Great Yin Dynasty, was renowned for her virtue. Many of her works, which used objects to express emotions, were praised by students throughout the country."
Eunuch Zhang pushed Qin Yuqing closer to Minister Guo: "Are women despised in the eyes of Minister Guo? Does Minister Guo also want to deny the actions of the late queen?"
In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Minister Guo.
Regarding the late Queen Chen, she was lying in bed recuperating yesterday when she accidentally saw a book in her room that contained poems and essays from all dynasties, including poems by the late Queen Chen.
Minister Guo's expression changed slightly. He had not expected that the Sixth Princess, who had never appeared before, was such a sharp-tongued person. Beads of sweat oozed from his forehead. This was the former queen.
"I have absolutely no such intention!" Minister Guo knelt down, but he still insisted on his own opinion. "But I still believe that the imperial examination is to select useful people for the court, and women should be content to stay in the harem, helping their husbands and raising children."
"To support the husband and raise the children, huh." Qin Yuqing raised the corners of her lips in a mocking tone, then she saluted the emperor and said, "Since no one can convince the other, why not do this? Eunuch Zhang, thank you for your trouble."
Eunuch Zhang pushed Qin Yuqing around and turned to look at Minister Guo. Her words were filled with confidence: "Let's have a competition. If I win, I'll be allowed to participate in the imperial examination this year. I will set a precedent for women to prove their abilities."
"What if the Sixth Princess loses?" Minister Guo asked in return.
"Lose? What a joke. It's impossible for me to lose." Qin Yuqing was born in a noble family in modern times. He was exposed to the Seven Arts and Six Arts since childhood. Although he is not proficient in them, he is at least on the list in the family.
This is her confidence.
"Very good." The emperor smiled with satisfaction and nodded. "I permit you to compete in this hall. The three competitions will focus on poetry, archery, and musical instruments."
"Your son has no problem, but Minister Guo is old. Why not let his disciple compete with me?" Qin Yuqing just wanted to get a place in the imperial examination and had no intention of humiliating the old scholar, so it was most appropriate to let his disciple compete.
"That's fine with me." Although Minister Guo was stubborn, he was also a sensible man. Qin Yuqing was giving him face. If he really lost, who knows what would happen outside. "Guo Lin, you come in for me."
Guo Lin? A character not mentioned in the original novel. He wore light-colored clothes, presumably not an official. He held a book in his hand, and a scholarly air lingered about him.
"Sixth Princess, I'm sorry." Guo Lin put the book down and saluted Qin Yuqing.
The voice is gentle, like the spring water in March, which makes people feel soft-hearted.
"That's fine. When it comes to studying, there's no distinction between high and low."
The first scene is themed on "cliff", "yellow flowers" and "banquet", and participants are required to write a poem within the time of one stick of incense.
Qin Yuqing did not intend to use modern ancient poems for recitation, as the mood, perception and artistic conception contained in them were not what she had experienced at her age.
Moreover, if she recited it, she would become a plagiarist in this unknown history.
Guo Lin did not start writing right away, but kept looking at the scenery around him, looking for inspiration.
Qin Yuqing closed her eyes, and countless complicated inspirations ran through her mind. She grasped some of the inspirations and strung them together one by one.
When only one third of the incense remained, the two of them opened their eyes almost at the same time. Qin Yuqing opened her eyes and Guo Lin sat down.
The others watched the two men writing with bated breath. They were all old foxes in the officialdom and could more or less understand what the emperor meant.
But they didn't dare, and they didn't have the courage of the Sixth Princess to do it.
When the incense burned out, Qin Yuqing and Guo Lin put down their writings at the same time. They smiled at each other, then extended their hands and said at the same time, "Please."
The eunuchs displayed the two people's poems, while Qin Yuqing and Guo Lin turned their backs to everyone. After a cup of tea, whoever had more people standing behind them would win.
"Your Majesty has said that this is not the court." Qin Yuqing recognized that this was Shen Yanqing's voice. "If I knew who was trying to curry favor with me, I would be the first to look down on him. Bah!"
"Literary inheritance is linked to the destiny of a country." His always cold voice and his thriftiness with words are truly Lu Jingchuan's character.
"Your Highness, it's fair, just and open, so it's better for the two of us not to get involved," Qin Junyi said.
"Second brother is absolutely right. You can choose yours. You don't have to wait for us." Qin Youqian once again returned to his naive voice.
"Time's up," Eunuch Zhang said. "Sixth Princess, Guo Lin, please turn around."
Qin Yuqing is confident in her poems, but she is not sure whether anyone can choose her.
When she turned around, she saw Qin Qinqin at first sight. She said with a little arrogance: "For the sake of our past relationship, this princess will reluctantly choose you."
Qin Yuqing smiled and said, "Thank you, Fourth Sister."
"Here, here, sister, I'm not saying this, I think what you write is much better than that Guo or something." Shen Yanqing stood behind Qin Qinqin, poked his head out and said carelessly.
"We are soldiers who march and fight. We don't like those flowery things. We prefer the down-to-earth nature of sisters."
"That's right, General Shen is right!"
"Listening to them talk all the time, all the words like zhi, yan, and hu, it makes me dizzy."
"If no one can understand your poetry, what's the point of writing it? Sixth Princess, we support you."
The generals talked to each other one by one. They were all marchers, and their personalities were the most direct, which could also touch people's hearts the most.
"Thank you everyone." Qin Yuqing bowed. She knew what this choice meant.
Qin Yuqing observed the people present for the selection. Many civil servants followed Minister Guo, but what she didn't expect was that Lu's father would stand behind her.
In the original book, the Lu family has always remained neutral, never taking sides, and never participating in any party or government affairs in the court.
Lu Jingchuan saw Qin Yuqing's gaze, nodded slightly at her, and said silently: "Cooperation."
They still know how to cooperate! Qin Yuqing rolled his eyes silently in his heart.
"The results are in," Eunuch Zhang announced, standing behind the emperor. "The Sixth Princess voted 58 times, Guo Lin voted 57 times, and there were 10 abstentions."
Qin Yuqing was a little surprised. At this moment, she heard Shen Yanqing's proud voice: "Hey, I counted it a long time ago. Today's military generals happen to have one more than the civil officials. I'm willing to accept the loss. Remember to send the money to my house when you go back."
"Who says military commanders are useless? Strength lies in numbers, haven't you seen it?"
Qin Yuqing couldn't help laughing out loud, and she caught a glimpse of the emperor smiling silently, presumably tacitly approving of Shen Yanqing's opening of the market.
Although he was not a good father because he gave birth to a child but did not raise him, he would definitely be a good emperor.
"Second round, archery!" Eunuch Zhang finished speaking, and a group of eunuchs brought up two targets, two longbows, and six arrow feathers. "I believe everyone is familiar with the rules, so I won't elaborate here. Let the game begin!"
As Eunuch Zhang spoke, he pushed Qin Yuqing to the designated position, then handed the longbow to Qin Yuqing and said, "Sixth Princess has difficulty moving, so there is no need to be so stubborn."
"Sixth Princess, I heard you were attacked a few days ago. I'm afraid you have some old injuries. This competition is unfair to you. I will voluntarily give up one of my arms."
Discarding an arrow feather is equivalent to losing the score of a ring. This time, the score is compared, and the ring closer to the center of the circle has a higher score.
Guo Lin is a noble man.
"No need. Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Guo, but I don't think I will lose." Qin Yuqing said with a faint smile. Archery was the sport she was best at when she was a child, so she still had some confidence in it.
"Well, excuse me." Although he was a scholar, Guo Lin was very skilled in drawing the bow and arrow. He shot without hesitation, and all three arrows hit the bull's eye.
"Please come in, Sixth Princess." Guo Lin put down his longbow and gestured with his hand sideways.
"This is a bit difficult." Although she said that, Qin Yuqing did not let the smile fade away. She drew the bow and put three arrows on it at the same time, aimed at the center of the target, and shot directly.
The first two fell in the middle, and the third one pierced directly through the first two, passed through the center of the target, and nailed it firmly on top.
The result of this round is obvious, Qin Yuqing won.
"Teacher, I don't think we need to compete in the third round." Guo Lin accepted his defeat with conviction. He had read the poem written by Qin Yuqing. The poem did not quote any allusions, nor did it have any fancy words, but the overall writing was smooth, and the use of some words was unexpected and worth pondering.
It's because he is not as skilled as others. It seems that there was a reason why he failed the imperial examination. He still needs to continue studying.
In a place where Guo Lin couldn't see, Qin Yuqing quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It was all good. If it came to competing in musical instruments, she would be doomed. She had been tone-deaf since she was a child. Seriously, she could even play the guzheng to the effect of an erhu.
"Forget it." Minister Guo shook his head and did not blame Guo Lin. Qin Yuqing's performance was much better than he had imagined, and his level must be above Guo Lin's.
Guo Lin’s loss was not unfair.
"Now that the results are out, I hereby allow the Sixth Princess Qin Yuqing to participate in the imperial examination in one month." The emperor walked down and patted Qin Yuqing on the shoulder, saying, "Don't let me down." After that, he left.
"Farewell to Your Majesty."
At the same time, the system voice that had been silent for a long time sounded again.
[Congratulations to the host for completing the third main mission: Participating in the Imperial Examination.]
[After testing, the host is not yet qualified to complete the second main mission. Please continue to work hard.]
Qin Yuqing raised her eyebrows. Sure enough, everything was just as she expected.
But this imperial examination is probably not easy.
Some ministers seemed to be holding something in their hands, and they handed it to Qin Youqian and Qin Junyi with a nod and a bow.
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