The top-ranked person in Chapter 42 went to have their fortune told.
March is approaching, snow presses down on the courtyard in spring, and fragrance floats on the flowers and moon.
The early spring of the seventeenth year of the Jiahe reign was bustling with activity. The investigation and interrogation of the "Prince's Downfall Case" in the imperial court continued, gradually implicating more people involved. In the capital, prominent noble families were preparing for the spring gatherings to appreciate the beauty of flowers, repairing their gardens and picking new blooms. At the same time, the annual civil service examination results were about to be released, and teahouses and taverns were buzzing with discussion.
As the weather warmed up, Yue Yining would often move to the cross-shaped pavilion outside the palace to sit alone and read, enjoying the cool fragrance of grass and trees, which was good for her health. Apricot blossoms and withered plum blossoms were reflected behind her, their petals carpeting the cobblestone path, and under the eaves, a magnolia was the first to break through the spring chill.
Today, Yue Yining was halfway through reviewing the case files when a maid came to deliver a message that Her Highness the Eldest Princess had returned to the residence to discuss matters with her. Almost as soon as the maid finished speaking, Yue Yining spotted the Eldest Princess and two female officials walking towards her.
Yue Yining gestured to the maid to prepare tea, then stood up and went out of the pavilion to greet them: "I heard Your Highness wanted to see me?"
“Yes,” Wei Yihua said, casually unfastening her cloak. The maid beside her took it and withdrew. Then, the princess smiled and said, “I would like to ask you to help me critique an article.”
After the four of them sat down, Wei Yihua gestured for Shen Liude to hand the scroll of paper in his hand to Yue Yining, saying, "Take a look at this."
Yue Yining unfolded the scroll, examined it carefully, and her expression suddenly hardened: "This is..."
Shen Liude: "The results of this year's civil service examination are about to be released. Most of the submitted papers have been graded and ranked. Yuebai and I are both examiners for this civil service examination. The paper you are holding is the submission paper of one of the candidates."
Yue Yining's expression changed again: "This is actually an essay written in the literary examination hall?"
Qiu Yuebai nodded repeatedly: "That's right! I was the first person to read this exam paper. Just from this article, it can be seen that this candidate has outstanding knowledge and is by no means an ordinary person. The writing is clear and logical, and it is well-informed without being far-fetched. It truly expresses its own opinions without being vulgar. It is fully worthy of a higher grade."
"Yes," Yue Yining said, her feelings a mix of emotions, a slight headache in her voice. "But the content she wrote is far too blunt. Look here, how she satirized aristocratic families: 'Powerful families have many advantages, their coughs and spittle become pearls; they wear coarse clothes but possess gold and jade, their orchids and fragrant herbs turn to straw.'"
The powerful and wealthy nobles find everything they do appropriate, even their casual spit is regarded as pearls; while the plainly dressed commoners, even if they possess talents and virtues as precious as gold and jade, like noble orchids, are only regarded as lowly and mediocre hay.
Although what he said was true, this was, after all, an exam paper to be submitted to the examiners, and one wrong move could lead to complete failure. The undisguised writing already reveals the writer's pride.
Shen Liude: "This is where my opinion differs from Yuebai's. I think this person is arrogant and aloof. Giving her too high a grade might make her resentful. After all, the exam essays written by those who rank at the top of the literary selection will be copied and published at the Hundred Flowers Welcoming Spring Banquet. At that time, her words will definitely cause controversy."
Qiu Yuebai was somewhat indignant: "But I think this only proves her courage! This candidate is clearly from a poor family, and it's rare to find someone with both ambition and talent. Why should we needlessly dampen her spirit?"
Wei Yihua sat upright in the seat of honor, looking at Yue Yining: "The two of them have their own opinions. I would like to hear your opinion. What do you think of this article?"
Yue Yining sensed a hidden meaning in her words, and she closed the book and looked up: "Your Highness may speak frankly."
Wei Yihua was taken aback, not expecting her to be so perceptive.
“…Since that’s the case, I’ll be frank,” Wei Yihua said, her eyes narrowing. “I plan to win this person over.”
Upon hearing her words, all three people present showed varying degrees of surprise.
Shen Liude frowned: "Your Highness, this man is too arrogant and probably won't easily take sides. Moreover, having talent is one thing, but whether he can be used by the princess is another. In my opinion, this man is arrogant and will probably be difficult to obey Your Highness's orders."
Qiu Yuebai also advised her: "Your Highness, there is no need to rush. The exam papers have all been sealed and rejected. We do not know the background of this candidate. Why not wait until the results are released, find out her identity, investigate her, and then consider whether to win her over?"
Wei Yihua: "I understand everything you're saying."
But Wei Yihua already knew who the exam paper belonged to. In her previous life, as the eldest princess, she had met this person a few times, all during court sessions.
Every time I recall this person's figure, I see in my mind that dark blue official robe and those cold eyes.
Zhou Congyi.
In her previous life, Zhou Congyi, after passing the imperial examination with flying colors, was also heavily criticized for this essay she wrote in the examination hall, which made her famous throughout Yanjing. Wei Yihua did not have much contact with her in her previous life, but she had heard about her brilliant achievements from others.
She participated in the civil service examination three times in seven years and was accepted into officialdom three times. The first two times, she was attacked and retaliated against because of her arrogant and sharp personality and lost her official position. However, she did not care and became more courageous after each setback. Every time she lost her official position, she took the exam again and passed every time. It is truly admirable.
Finally, on his third return to the imperial court, Zhou Congyi was discovered and received help and protection, thus avoiding losing his official position by offending others.
The person who appreciated her was Yue Yining, who had already joined the Third Prince's camp at that time.
Wei Yihua only noticed Zhou Congyi because of Yue Yining. She regarded Yue Yining as her rival and paid close attention to all of Yue Yining's actions. Therefore, when she learned that Yue Yining had won over Zhou Congyi, she was both surprised and disdainful, and felt indifferent.
Such a prickly and unruly person, no matter how talented, will find it difficult to be employed.
She was wrong.
After being protected by Yue Yining, Zhou Congyi was able to act more boldly and freely. Born into a poor family, she possessed outstanding talent and a straightforward and sharp personality. She had also been attacked by scions of aristocratic families on several occasions, which naturally made her popular with the Qingliu faction.
At that time, the Qingliu faction was extremely scattered in the court. Although there were many people, they did not form a powerful force and each acted independently. After Zhou Congyi joined, the Qingliu faction gradually twisted into a solid and powerful rope with her as the center.
The Qingliu faction often considers itself superior and most of them have not yet taken sides. Zhou Congyi mediates between Yue Yining and others, which inadvertently earns her a lot of help.
It can be said that in the later period of the court, Zhou Congyi became a representative figure of the Qingliu faction and a core figure that Yue Yining recruited for the Third Prince's camp.
Wei Yihua couldn't openly admit that she already knew Zhou Congyi's identity, because that was impossible. Even as a princess, she had no way of knowing the candidates' information; this was the fairness of the civil service examination system.
She held her breath and looked at Yue Yining, hoping for her response. The woman in the blue robe sat in front of the stone platform, her head bowed in deep thought, much like a pine tree with slightly bent branches.
Yue Yining pondered for a moment: "Your Highness, what Lord Shen and Lord Qiu said makes sense. If we try to win them over without knowing their background, it will be like a blind man riding a blind horse, approaching a deep pool in the middle of the night, facing constant danger and endless troubles."
When Wei Yihua heard her say that, her lingering hope vanished.
She pursed her lips, and felt a strange sense of loss.
"However, if the Princess insists, then I will listen to her." Yue Yining spoke again, looking at her with a calm and bright smile. "Don't worry, because I can calculate this person's identity through divination."
"I will do whatever Your Highness needs, and I can guarantee that Your Highness will have no worries."
Wei Yihua stared at her blankly, a complex and warm emotion welling up inside her, difficult to express. She didn't know what to say for a moment, but Qiu Yuebai had already rushed forward and hugged Yue Yining: "Master Yue! You are truly amazing! You are our secret weapon!"
"But then again, can a candidate's identity really be determined by a single examination paper?" Qiu Yuebai asked with some concern. "Wouldn't it be incredibly easy for scions of noble families to cheat in the literary selection process?"
Yue Yining smiled slyly: "Of course not, only a powerful celestial master like me can do that."
Qiu Yuebai exclaimed again, "Master Yue is too amazing!" Shen Liude, standing to the side, crossed his arms and changed the subject: "I think his writing is just so-so. The most amazing writing I have ever seen is the one written by Her Highness the Eldest Princess when she was fifteen years old and participated in the literary selection."
Yue Yining was surprised: "Your Highness the Eldest Princess also participated in the literary selection?"
Shen Liude: "Yes, Your Highness was originally the top scorer that year, but in the end Your Highness went to the Emperor and asked to have her ranking removed."
Yue Yining looked at the eldest princess in surprise: "Why is that?"
Wei Yihua: "Because I just wanted to test myself and see if I could write a good enough essay in an exam with impromptu questions. I don't need to rely on the anthology to get an official position, nor do I intend to prove my abilities to others in this way."
Shen Liude glanced at the Eldest Princess: "The most important point is that Your Highness believes you will take someone else's spot. Perhaps there was a scholar from a poor family who was just one spot away from entering officialdom, but because of her participation, he missed his chance. For the Eldest Princess, this is just an insignificant test; but for some people, the selection of scholars is an opportunity to change their lives."
Yue Yining sighed deeply, "Your Highness is benevolent."
Wei Yihua was already used to being praised, and she said somewhat helplessly, "That's all in the past, let's not bring it up again."
Qiu Yuebai was the first to disagree: "How can we not mention it? If I win first place in the literary competition, my parents will definitely set off an eighteen-gun salute to celebrate. If even one dog in my neighborhood doesn't know that I won first place, it's all my parents' fault!"
Qiu Yuebai's words were so funny that the others burst into laughter.
The princess smiled, but then shook her head: "Even if the writings are astonishing, they are just words on paper."
Having lived a second life, Wei Yihua deeply understood a truth: knowledge alone could not reverse the decline of the Dongxi Dynasty, and being a skilled writer alone could not bring back the people and things she cherished. That's why she began to focus on martial arts training and gradually cultivate her own elite guard.
Hearing their unanimous praise, Yue Yining, who hadn't seen it before, became quite curious: "Has Her Highness the Princess's writing from that time been preserved? I'd like to see it too."
Qiu Yuebai immediately jumped up, laughing and saying, "I remember it was in Her Highness the Eldest Princess's writing room! If Master Yue wants to see it, then I'll go get it right now!"
Just as Wei Yihua was about to grab him, Qiu Yuebai slipped away like a nimble eel and made a quick getaway.
The eldest princess was both annoyed and amused: "I never see her running this fast usually, but she's quite eager to see me make a fool of myself."
That's what she said, but Wei Yihua clearly intended to indulge her and didn't order her maid to chase after them to stop them. Yue Yining rested her chin on her hand and looked at her with a smile: "How could it be an embarrassment? Your Highness is too modest. I think Your Highness's writing must be excellent."
Wei Yihua was caught off guard by another round of praise from Yue Yining. She had remained unmoved by the exaggerated compliments from Shen Liude and Qiu Yuebai before, but at this moment, she found herself somewhat afraid to look Yue Yining in the eye.
Wei Yihua coughed twice to cover her panic, and she forced herself to remain calm, saying, "I don't think I have any other matters to attend to this afternoon. Why don't we discuss things together in the manor after lunch?"
To her surprise, Yue Yining politely declined, saying, "Your Highness, I have an appointment this afternoon and need to leave the residence."
Wei Yihua was taken aback. "An appointment? Are you going to visit some official again?"
Yue Yining chuckled and said, "Well, I guess so." Although she was only doing fortune-telling as a Taoist priest.
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