Chapter 259 Storyteller
"My fellow countrymen, brothers and sisters, today is my first time to visit your precious place. Since I have no money, I am here to perform. I hope those who have money can support me with money, and those who don't can support me with their presence. Thank you in advance!"
When the words came out, it was a dignified young man's voice, which sounded full of energy.
Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan looked at each other, both a little surprised - is this person a man or a woman?
"Dear readers, today we are going to talk about two extraordinary women from Jiangzhou. They were born in the Zhu family of Jiangzhou. They were both seventeen years old, extremely beautiful, but not as gentle as ordinary women. They were as capable as men, and one of them was Zhu Lan. It is said that when she was young, she was unruly and idle, and was almost expelled from the academy. However, she later worked hard and won six first prizes in a row, becoming the top scorer in the imperial examination!"
Zhu Lan and the other two didn't expect to hear their names from the storyteller when they came to buy buns. This feeling was really...
Some social death.
Zhu Qingyan was thankful that no one in the market recognized them, but she couldn't help but wonder how the storyteller would continue to tell their story.
"It's not the first time that a woman has participated in the imperial examination in Daliang. What? You haven't heard of it before? You've forgotten it! Let me tell you about what happened 20 years ago. It is said that there was also a young man with great talent who passed the imperial examination all the way, but was arrested during the palace examination. Guess what - that person turned out to be a girl dressed as a man!"
Zhu Lan raised her eyebrows slightly. This was the first time she heard of this.
Someone bystander exclaimed "Huh" and said that he seemed to have vaguely heard of it and that it was true.
"What happened after the woman was caught?" someone asked curiously.
Another person added: "What else can we do? That is a crime of deceiving the emperor, and he must be beheaded!"
The man sighed and said, "Oh, what a pity. If she had been born twenty years later and lived through our time, she might have been a top female scholar!"
The storyteller slammed the gavel and said mysteriously, "Dear readers, do you know why that woman could disappear out of thin air in the prison?"
Everyone was in an uproar, talking about it. The storyteller smiled and revealed the answer: "It turns out that the woman is the Lord Wenquxingjun who came to the mortal world to experience tribulations. After she passed the tribulations, she returned to heaven!"
Zhu Lan smiled bitterly in his heart, and naturally did not believe this absurd statement.
At this time, the storyteller had turned the topic back to Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan, but Zhu Lan did not listen. His thoughts were still on the woman dressed as a man who had just been mentioned.
She recalled it carefully and found that this incident was not mentioned at all in the original book, and it was the first time she heard of it.
This storyteller was eloquent, and in order to attract people's attention, he inevitably exaggerated the story, so it should not be believed. However, Zhu Lan listened to the reactions of the people around him just now, and it seemed that some people had heard of this case, so it seemed that it was not groundless.
She fell into deep thought.
Since she traveled into the world of this book, there has always been a mystery in her heart - why did Emperor Liang insist on allowing women to participate in the imperial examinations?
If there really was a woman who disguised herself as a man to take the imperial examination 20 years ago, and was eventually discovered and thrown into prison, what would her fate be? Zhu Lan naturally did not believe that she was a deity who had descended to earth, but if she had been publicly executed, no one in the capital would have known about it.
The most likely possibility is that he was secretly executed in prison.
But who is that woman? Is the new policy related to her?
Zhu Lan couldn't help but want to find out the answers to these questions.
But twenty years is indeed a long time ago, and judging from the reactions of people around, there don’t seem to be many people who know the inside story, otherwise no storyteller would be allowed to make up stories here.
Zhu Lan's fingers gently stroked his chin.
Since she was a woman disguised as a man and was discovered in public, it must be a big case in the palace, and the Dali Temple would definitely leave some records.
It seems that I need to find an opportunity and ask Lao Chang to help me investigate this matter.
"It's getting more and more outrageous." Zhu Qingyan's mumbling voice suddenly reached Zhu Lan's ears.
Zhu Lan nodded, "Well, a man should not talk about strange things..."
"What?" Zhu Qingyan looked at her in confusion, and Zhu Lan realized that she was talking about something else.
"But Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan, although they are women, they have the ambitions of men. Let's talk about our champion Zhu Lan, who is said to like to dress like a man. In the court, there is such a young man, so charming and elegant that the stars are eclipsed. Then, she is leaning on the railing and looking out, such a graceful and elegant man from Jiangzhou, who makes countless young ladies blush!"
Zhu Qingyan's mouth twitched slightly, "This...isn't that a bit too much praise?"
Zhu Lan touched the goose bumps on his arm and said, "Remove 'some'."
Zhu Qingyan continued to wonder, "When did you start wearing men's clothes?"
"Is he referring to the court dress?"
Zhu Qingyan widened his eyes slightly. "Court dress is court dress, and men's clothing is men's clothing. How can they be mixed up? Women can serve as officials, so who can say that court dress can only be worn by men?"
Zhu Qingyan looked at the storyteller angrily and cursed in a low voice: "This storyteller must be hysterical. He has never seen you and me, but he made up such a complicated story.
Also, what does it mean to have a manly ambition? Are they the only men who can have such ambition? Humph, if Ah Jing were here, he would definitely be in trouble! "
Zhu Lan shrugged and chuckled, "After all, in most people's minds, they still believe that men are born with better qualities than women. Therefore, in their eyes, people like you and me who can stand shoulder to shoulder with them are not because women are so good, but because women have the so-called 'manliness'.
To put it more deeply, a 'girl who looks like a man' is a good girl."
"You really know how to flatter yourself." Zhu Qingyan snorted coldly, his face full of contempt.
Zhu Lan glanced at her sideways, knowing that Zhu Qingyan hated men to death ever since the incident with Chen Ziming, and didn't say much.
As for herself, I can’t say that she hates men, but she also never bothers to flaunt the so-called “masculinity”.
The girl who dressed as a man back then had to do so due to the circumstances, but now there is no need for her to do so.
She just wanted to stand in the court as a woman. Since there had never been anyone like this before, then what's wrong with her being the first one in history?
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