The imperial examination was still ongoing, and Qingyin was diligently writing her essay.
Unaware that the guards standing in the examination hall were secretly glancing at her, she was oblivious to their presence.
However, after a light, casual footstep was heard, the gaze on Qingyin disappeared.
The middle-aged, majestic emperor has arrived.
Emperor Chongzhao's eyes lit up when he saw Qingyin, who seemed to glow in the crowd. This young man is good-looking!
Emperor Chongzhao suddenly felt like seeing the young man's writing skills. He strode towards Qingyin, deliberately making a louder noise.
I wanted to test this boy's courage.
Hearing the sudden sound, Qingyin knew that the emperor had arrived. She paused in her writing, but calmly continued writing the article a second later. However, the people around her were so nervous that they trembled and were sweating profusely.
Emperor Chongzhao nodded in satisfaction at the stark contrast in their postures.
No wonder he took a liking to this young man at first glance; he's definitely different.
He still had to go to other examination venues, but Emperor Chongzhao had already made up his mind that no matter how well the essay was written, he would still give the young man the third-highest rank if his essay was even slightly inferior.
Emperor Chongzhao lifted his foot and glanced at the name on Qingyin's answer sheet: "Xie Yin".
The two characters were written in a graceful, flowing style, with remarkably beautiful handwriting.
Emperor Chongzhao glanced at the name with appreciation before walking away, thus failing to notice the familiarity of the name he heard.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after Emperor Chongzhao left.
Qingyin, on the other hand, was as usual.
After the palace examination, Qingyin calmly left the examination room.
Duan Ruyi, who was waiting at the door, caught them red-handed.
Duan Ruyi's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Young Master!"
Qingyin pretended not to hear and continued to leave with the crowd.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute..."
Duan Ruyi caught up and stopped Qingyin.
He was panting heavily, his handsome face flushed from running so fast. He dragged Qingyin to a secluded corner where no one was around: "No, why are you so angry?"
Qingyin: "..."
With her beautiful eyes fixed on Duan Ruyi, Qingyin gave a forced smile: "What could I possibly have done to offend Young Master Duan?"
Duan Ruyi felt guilty under the gaze of those clear, unobstructed eyes, as if he had returned to the day when all his darkness was exposed to the boy.
Shein is the bright, unblemished sun.
He didn't want him to despise him.
"I didn't mean to do it that day, it's just that Shen Zhiming offended Jiang Lixu of the Jiang family. His father is the Minister of Rites, and his older sister is Consort Ling, who is pregnant with the emperor's child. I just didn't want to get involved..."
"Trying to cause trouble, huh?"
Qingyin had no time to listen to his nonsense. She looked at Duan Ruyi seriously and said:
“But Duan Ruyi, that was a living, breathing human life. As an official, you are supposed to uphold justice for heaven and earth, safeguard the lives of the people, continue the lost learning of the sages, and bring peace to all generations. If I were to watch such a life perish, I would think I am not worthy of being an official.”
(Zhang Zai's four lines from "Hengqu" are so cool! ~(^3^)-☆)
After saying that, Qingyin turned and left.
Duan Ruyi in the alley no longer dared to stop Qingyin.
Qingyin walked out of the alley and saw Shen Zhiming, who looked nervous, and was a little surprised, but didn't pay much attention to it.
He smiled, nodded, and left.
Half of Shen Zhiming's face was shrouded in darkness as he watched the young man he admired walk into the light.
He also saw Duan Ruyi walking out of the alley last.
Duan Ruyi was somewhat surprised, but her expression turned completely cold. She ignored him and left.
As he left, looking somewhat disheveled and fleeing, Shen Zhiming gave him a warning look: "He's not one of those filthy people like you, so don't mess with him."
Duan Ruyi's eyes turned cold. She stopped, not turning around, her tone icy: "Do you think a piece of trash like you can stay by his side?"
The atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
...
Seven days later, the results of the palace examination were announced. Qingyin saw her name at the very top of the list: the top scholar, Xie Yin, followed closely by the third-ranked scholar, Shen Zhiming, and the second-ranked scholar, Duan Ruyi.
At the foot of the city wall, the people gathered in a group, scrutinizing the names on the list with burning eyes. Such a rare opportunity to watch the excitement and enjoy the good things was not to be missed.
Someone in the crowd pointed at Shen Zhiming, who was standing there dumbfounded looking at the list, and recognized him as the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination. Excited people surrounded him.
"That's the third-ranked scholar!"
"Hey, hey, don't push me! Let me see the third-ranked scholar!"
...
The crowd's enthusiasm startled Shen Zhiming, and not daring to let these people get hurt, he kept dodging while sweating profusely, and bumped into the figure wearing a veil behind him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir..."
"It's me, I'll go out first."
The familiar voice startled Shen Zhiming. He never expected that the person he had casually bumped into was Xie Yin, whom he regarded as a god.
Qingyin also took the opportunity to put her arm around Shen Zhiming's waist, and with a few leaps, pulled him out of the bustling crowd.
On the way, Qingyin bought Shen Zhiming a mask to wear, which finally reduced the amount of attention they received.
We walked to another less crowded street.
Shen Zhiming's masked face revealed his clear eyes. He looked at Qingyin nervously and asked, "I didn't expect that Young Master Xie would know martial arts?"
"Yes, it was taught by a martial arts master hired by my elder sister when I was young. It can also strengthen the body. Young Master Shen could actually learn it on a regular basis, since his health is a bit poor."
Shen Zhiming, who was still panting from running for a while, lowered his head in shame and stammered, "Okay, I'll learn in the future."
Seeing the ashamed Shen Zhiming, Qingyin's eyes lit up with a smile.
"It's not that I'm disgusted by your poor health, but you can't be an official without good health."
"yes."
"Alright, that's enough for now. I'm going back too. Young Master Shen, go back and get some rest."
Qingyin looked at the Qingyun Inn, which she had unknowingly arrived at, and said to Shen Zhiming.
Shen Zhiming touched the mask on his face, his eyes somewhat unfocused: "Then this mask?"
Qingyin smiled and said, "I'll give this mask to Young Master Shen. You don't need to pay me back. You'll pay me back a lot more in the future."
Qingyin blinked, then turned and walked away.
Shen Zhiming smiled slightly and watched Qingyin's departing figure for a long time until she was out of sight before turning away.
—
Xie Yin, the newly crowned top scholar who achieved the highest honors in all three imperial examinations, became a sensation throughout the capital.
In the palace, Emperor Chongzhao was engrossed in reading the article with the name "Xie Yin" written on it. He finally remembered where he had heard the name before. Wasn't this Xie Yin, the one who had been the number one in the world several times, as mentioned by his subordinates?
Recalling the stunningly handsome face he had seen in the examination hall, and the essay in his hand that could be described as a masterpiece of genius, Emperor Chongzhao felt a surge of pride. He had initially intended to give that young man the third-highest rank, but now it seemed he could only be his own top scholar!
The emperor, a self-proclaimed perfectionist, was overjoyed to find someone handsome and capable.
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