Chapter 554 Women's Imperial Examination!
Cheng Zheng silently put away the note and destroyed it later, without mentioning it to his close friend Sang Guo, who was always open with him.
Shen Lanxi sat in the hall for half an hour with a gloomy expression. The next day, she received news that Zhou Xinrou had fallen off the carriage on her way back from the temple and broken her leg.
They rushed to the Shen family home, only to find that the imperial physician had already finished treating Zhou Xinrou.
"Mother……"
"Imperial Physician, is my mother alright?"
The imperial physician reported truthfully: "The princess fell from the speeding carriage, but fortunately someone helped her, otherwise she might have lost her life. Now, she has only broken one leg. I have used the best medicine for her injury, and she only needs to stay in bed for a hundred days to fully recover!"
The old woman serving Zhou Xinrou wiped away her tears and said, "Your Majesty, it was fortunate that this young lady came to the rescue, using her own body to cushion the fall, which saved the princess from disaster."
A woman with tattered clothes, disheveled hair, and bloodstains on her cheeks was pushed out.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Shen Lanxi looked at the woman and said, "You have rendered meritorious service in saving my mother. What reward do you want? Just say the word!"
The woman lay on the ground and said in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty, I do not want any reward. Saving someone from danger is just a small matter. If it were anyone else, they would have done the same."
Shen Lanxi: "I will reward you with a thousand taels of gold and a hundred acres of fertile land. I will not treat my benefactor lightly."
The woman said, "I am Huang Yu, and I must thank Your Majesty for giving me the opportunity to participate in the martial arts examination. If we are to talk about kindness, Your Majesty is my benefactor."
Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow: "Are you a martial arts examinee?"
Huang Yu: "Your Majesty, I am Huang Yu."
Shen Lanxi nodded: "I will remember you. Get up quickly and let the imperial physician examine you."
"Your household must not treat the benefactor who saved your mother with disrespect."
"yes!"
Zhou Xinrou fell into a deep sleep after drinking the calming medicine prescribed by the imperial physician. Shen Lanxi led everyone out of the second bedroom.
"Grandmother, Aunt, Sister-in-law, Sister, I am unable to take care of Mother at all times, so I will have to trouble you all to look after her."
The women of the Shen family naturally agreed.
"I have ordered some medicinal herbs from the palace, and they will be delivered shortly."
"My grandmother and mother are both kind-hearted. I plan to build a larger Buddhist shrine in the house so that my mother can worship Buddha there and avoid being targeted by treacherous officials and rebels!"
The Shen family members all stared wide-eyed.
"Your Majesty, are you saying that the princess's accident was caused by a traitor?"
Shen Lanxi said seriously, "I had previously received signs of the traitors' activities in the capital. I wanted to find out what their purpose was, but I did not expect them to make a move against my mother so quickly."
The Shen family was terrified.
"Those people, seeing that our Shen family is in power, still harbor treacherous intentions!"
The Shen family members felt a chill run down their spines when they saw the cold glint in Shen Lanxi's eyes.
...
"Keep your eyes on the jade!"
"yes!"
Despite the undercurrents of unrest, the public remained calm, and the imperial examination proceeded as scheduled.
On the day of the exam, Shen Lanxi was present in person.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Shen Lanxi sat on the high platform. Everyone thought she was just going through the motions and would leave soon. Unexpectedly, she stayed for two days and one night until the imperial examination was over and the papers were sealed before returning to the palace.
The students only saw the exam end peacefully, but they didn't see that three examiners and nine examination officials had been replaced, while in the courtyard three places away, blood flowed like a river.
The sealed exam papers were reviewed overnight by the team assembled by the Grand Tutor, and then reported to Shen Lanxi at an extremely fast pace.
After Shen Lanxi personally reviewed and confirmed the papers, the results were announced at noon the following day.
The unprecedented speed at which the results were released shocked everyone.
"There are people from the women's college up there, a lot of women's college people."
"One, two, three... twenty-six... thirty-five people, one hundred students, thirty-five of whom are girls on the list!"
All the students watching the results announcement were in an uproar.
"Look, one of the top three is a woman."
"Indeed, she's also a student at the women's academy."
"Women really could take the imperial examinations!"
"A woman... how could that be?"
"How could a woman be so powerful?"
"The woman was competing with the man for something... Ouch, who hit me?"
"I'll beat you up. My sister is on the list. If you dare to say anything bad about my sister, I'll beat you up!"
“My sister is on the list too. You’re not capable, so you blame it on women. Even if there were no women, other men would have passed the exam. What does it have to do with you whether women are on the list or not?”
"Yes, bah! My daughter is on the list too. I failed the imperial examinations time and time again, and now I have a daughter who passed. Ancestors... I've done right by you!"
“My daughter is also on the list. She’s going to take the martial arts exam in two days.”
Congratulations!
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Beneath the list wall, some were happy, some were sad, some wept uncontrollably, and some laughed out loud.
The top three finalists were none other than Liu Mingxin's daughter. Liu Mingxin never imagined that his daughter would achieve anything; he only hoped that she could marry into a good family and live a life of comfort and wealth as a noblewoman.
The messengers delivering the good news had already come to his door, but he still hadn't realized what was happening.
"Sir, Miss has made it into the top three, ranking second in the first class. The official messenger has arrived to deliver the good news."
Liu Mingxin's teacup trembled.
"What...what did you say?"
"My lord, Miss came in second place in the first class and will take the palace examination tomorrow."
With a clatter, the teacup fell to the ground.
"Xian'er?"
"Yes, yes, sir."
After Liu Mingxin realized what was happening, his eyes widened in excitement.
"I, Xian'er, am second in the top class?"
"Sir, the messenger delivering the good news is right outside; there was no mistake."
Liu Mingxin clenched his fists tightly. He hadn't even made it into the top three in the imperial examinations back then.
"Where's Xian'er? Hurry up and let her come out to receive the good news!" How could his daughter be so good at studying?
Aren't the two daughters of Ji Xiuran the most famous people in the capital?
Doesn't his daughter usually play the zither and do embroidery?
"My lord, Miss has gone out to check the results and hasn't returned yet."
Liu Mingxin stamped his feet in frustration.
"Foolish man, hurry up and accept the good news, and remember to give the officials a generous reward."
"Yes, sir!"
The butler beamed and quickly ran off to make the arrangements.
Of the family's several sons, only one was on the list, and even that was ranked low. He only managed to get a post in a remote area thanks to his father's connections. Little did they expect that their daughter would be the one to inherit their father's mantle.
Liu Mingxin was overjoyed. Top three! Others might not know, but he did. Of the officials who made the list this time, half would be sent to Sichuan and Ganzhou, and the other half would stay in the capital.
His daughter's ranking among the top three and her retention of her post in the capital are already a foregone conclusion.
"I never expected this, I really never expected this..."
He never had any hope for his daughter's success in the imperial examinations. He didn't stop her from taking the exams, partly out of respect for the current emperor, and partly to fulfill his duty as a loving father. Other women were taking the exams, so his daughter couldn't be left behind.
Ji Xiuran, Ji Xiuran, the dean of the women's academy, yet his two daughters combined are no match for his daughter.
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