Chapter 40 A New Beginning
The court was completely silent; Wan Xiuzhuan was truly in a precarious position.
Now the entire court is truly taking notice of him.
His colleagues, who had just been rolling their eyes at him with disdain, now wore expressions that seemed to say, "Holy crap, you're really brave, brother. Go ahead, we'll remember your sacrifice," and nodded solemnly at him.
Wan Xiuzhuan: ...
No—what are you nodding for?! What are you nodding for?!
But the Empress was still waiting for his reply. This top scholar, who had fought his way through countless battles, quickly came up with a clever idea and changed his tone, even altering his voice: "How can women... how can they take the imperial examinations at the same time as men without any preferential treatment?! The difficulty should be... the difficulty should be appropriately reduced! To show Your Majesty's consideration!"
They were incredibly flexible and adaptable.
The entire court of officials: "..."
The Empress spoke calmly: "No need. Since we are competing on the same field, we should treat everyone equally. This matter has been decided, and there is no need to discuss it further."
In the first year of Zhaoning, the news that a special imperial examination was held, allowing women to participate, caused a huge uproar throughout the entire Zhaoyin Dynasty, like a boulder thrown into a lake.
In a remote mountain village, an elderly scholar, bedridden with illness, heard his daughter excitedly reading an official proclamation. His cloudy eyes lit up, and he coughed repeatedly with excitement: "Good...good! His Majesty is wise! My son...my son has a chance! He no longer needs to be confined to this small place; he can go and see the world outside!"
In a certain town, a mother and daughter, who were about to be exploited by their relatives for having no offspring, had already given up hope and were waiting to die. However, upon hearing the news, the mother's eyes lit up with an astonishing light. Without hesitation, she sold all her valuables overnight and disappeared without a trace with her daughter, leaving her wicked relatives who came up empty-handed the next day to beat their chests in despair.
In various places, countless women, some with dreams and others with nowhere else to turn, saw a glimmer of hope for survival because of this imperial edict, and the wheel of fate quietly turned.
====================
On the day the results were announced, Ling Wei's courtyard was packed with people.
Mrs. Lin nervously rubbed her hands together, constantly glancing towards the door.
Shen Qinglan crossed her arms and paced back and forth.
Qin Wan chattered on and on, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
Gu Qingyu sat upright, her book untouched for a long time.
Xiao Yao and Li's mother burned bundle after bundle of incense in front of the statue of Confucius, the Three Pure Ones, with wisps of smoke rising in the air.
With a solemn expression, Li's mother instructed, "Shape it like a lotus flower! Burn another bundle here!"
Finally, the clear sound of gongs and drums came from afar, growing closer and closer until it stopped at the entrance of the courtyard.
"Great news! Congratulations to Lord Ling of the Ling family for achieving first place in the first-class imperial examination of the first year of the Zhaoning era!"
The courtyard erupted in cheers. Madam Lin wept with joy, Shen Qinglan slammed her fist on the table, Qin Wan jumped up and cheered, and Gu Qingyu also showed a relieved and happy smile—she herself was on the list, ranking among the top two.
Qin Wan was so excited that she hugged each of them, saying, "You're all high-ranking officials now, sisters, protect me!"
Ling Wei poked her forehead: "Didn't your father agree to let you take the exam? Next time, you can do it yourself."
Gu Qingyu tried to appear nonchalant, but she couldn't suppress the urge to say, "You'll find all my books useful."
Qin Wan was even happier than Ling Wei and Gu Qingyu, the two people involved, as if she had just passed the imperial examination.
When they reached Shen Qinglan, Qin Wan patted her on the shoulder: "Sister! The martial arts champion for the second half of the year! I have faith in you!!"
Shen Qinglan's eyes were sharp as knives, and she only answered with two words: "Of course."
Having survived the palace coup, she had been completely transformed, her brows now filled with a fierce determination to succeed.
The names were announced in the golden hall, and the voices of the announcers were loud and clear.
This moment is so similar to, yet so different from, the scene of the palace examination after the female officials' examinations.
Back then, it was the Empress's examination, a selection process within the women's ranks; but today, she has distinguished herself among all the scholars in the land, rightfully winning the title of Zhuangyuan (top scholar).
Ling Wei, dressed in a specially made women's Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) robe, stood at the forefront of the candidates in her batch, and walked forward step by step, kneeling to express her gratitude to the emperor.
Among the officials, Gu Qingyan stared intently, her eyes smiling; Xie Zhuo lowered her eyes, her expression unreadable; Wan Xiuzhuan, who had been there earlier, had a look on his face that said, "What the hell did these students do? They actually passed the exam."
While some people were still questioning their lives, others were already looking at Ling Wei with the eyes of a future colleague.
That's incredible, absolutely incredible.
She was credited with supporting the emperor and became the first female scholar to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examinations in the new dynasty.
This young Lord Ling must have some trouble sleeping!
You're so excited about your bright future that you can't sleep!
The Empress ordered everyone to rise. Ling Wei thanked her and stood up, her eyes meeting those of Xiao Yue, who was seated on the dragon throne.
The empress, who was already beginning to display imperial majesty, secretly winked at her.
Several years ago at the autumn hunting grounds, she clutched her bleeding arm, winked and smiled foolishly at Xiao Yue despite the pain. Now, it's as if she has traveled through time, and her identity has quietly reversed.
At this point, the emperor and his minister exchanged a knowing smile, everything understood without a word.
Outside the palace gates, tall, fine horses were already prepared.
Ling Wei changed into the scholar's robe presented by the Ministry of Rites: the crimson robe was decorated in the same style as the men's robe, but the cut was more in line with the female figure, and the cuffs were slightly gathered for easy movement; she wore a scholar's hat inlaid with jade, and the gold flowers on the side of the hat shone brightly, making her look both heroic and refined.
Just as she was about to mount her horse, the Empress's personal lady-in-waiting presented her with a magnificent cloak embroidered with gold thread and whispered a decree: "Her Majesty's decree: Lady Ling, today is your day. Show off your... uh, show off the style of our dynasty's top female scholar!"
Ling Wei looked at the majestic palace gate and the fine horse in front of her, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears as she recalled the hardships she had endured along the way.
She took a deep breath and mounted her horse.
The horse parade officially began.
The crimson scholar's robe shone brightly in the sunlight, and the cloak billowed in the wind, greatly suppressing the petite feel that women's robes inevitably have. The empress had even considered such details for her.
Ling Wei sat upright on horseback, her face beautiful and her demeanor outstanding, possessing both scholarly elegance and dignified composure.
The streets were packed with people who flocked to witness the unprecedented talent of this female scholar, and their praise and admiration were endless.
In a private room of a teahouse overlooking the street, Madam Lin waved excitedly downwards. She also saw Gu Qingyu among the people behind her, her eyes blurred with tears.
In the crowd, Liu Yiyi, who had been arranged to marry by her family, looked up at the radiant figure on horseback. Her eyes no longer held the jealousy and bitterness of the past, but rather a deep shock and an indescribable longing.
If... if back then... was it possible for her to wear that outfit?
Even now, she can...
Throughout the capital, clusters of unique sparks quietly ignited, waiting to one day grow into towering trees.
......
On another day of grand court assembly, civil and military officials lined up as usual. Since it was still early, a few people inevitably huddled together, whispering and discussing something, creating a buzzing atmosphere in the hall.
Suddenly, the discussions ceased without warning.
Someone seemed to sense something and turned around to look.
The others involuntarily turned their heads as well, and like waves pushing aside, they saw three figures dressed in brand-new official robes slowly stepping into the main hall in the morning light.
The leader was Ling Wei, a fourth-rank official in a scarlet robe embroidered with clouds and wild geese. She had a calm demeanor and wise eyes.
To his left is Shen Qinglan, dressed in military officer's uniform, looking heroic and dignified. The Empress has granted him some military power in the Imperial Guards, and he has been appointed as a fourth-rank Loyal and Martial General. To his right is Gu Qingyu, dressed in a blue civil official's uniform.
The three of them calmly entered the hall and stood still amidst the various gazes of the other three.
The court was filled with old officials of their fathers' and grandfathers' generation. They used to regard them as insignificant juniors in the inner quarters, but now their eyes were filled with fear.
Just then, a palace attendant announced, "His Majesty has arrived!"
Empress Xiao Yue, dressed in a dragon robe, walked slowly, her majesty growing ever stronger.
All the officials knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
Ling Wei, Shen Qinglan, and Gu Qingyu were also among them; their presence foreshadowed a brand new beginning for this dynasty.
.
.
Author Ququ: No, I originally wanted to write about punishing scumbags and hooking up with rich guys, but as I wrote, the characters in my writing got out of control.
Don't panic!
There's also a bonus chapter!!
All available~
Get up and eat—no, I mean, eat.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com