Chapter 309: Success or Failure
"Whoa!"
The driver reined in the horse urgently and the carriage came to a sudden stop.
Zheng Mingyuan frowned slightly, opened his eyes, and a trace of displeasure at being disturbed flashed across his eyes.
Just as he was about to ask, the curtain of the carriage was suddenly lifted up by a trembling hand, revealing the sweat-covered face of the housekeeper.
"My Lord, something terrible has happened!" The steward's voice was filled with tears and he was barely breathing.
"The eldest lady... the eldest lady is not on the list of candidates for the supplementary provincial examination..."
"What!"
Zheng Mingyuan's fingers that were twisting the Buddhist beads suddenly stopped, and the beads made a crisp clicking sound.
His face instantly darkened and became overcast.
The old eyes, which usually appeared gentle and even a little cloudy, were now as sharp as an eagle, fixed tightly on the manager's panicked face.
"Are you sure there's no Huiyin?"
"It's absolutely true. I went there myself and looked up and down seven or eight times, and there really wasn't the eldest girl's name."
"What about the other families? Those who participated in the Third Princess's literary gathering?"
"They're all here! The girls from Minister Wang's family, Censor Li's family, and General Chen's family...
All of them are here, except our eldest daughter."
Zheng Mingyuan's eyes suddenly became bottomless, like two cold pools.
After a moment's silence, he slowly spoke in a terribly low voice:
"Go to the government office and ask for leave for me. Send someone to call Bingjun back immediately."
Zheng Mingyuan paused, his cold eyes cast towards the direction of the imperial city, "Return to the palace."
"Yes!" The steward responded quickly, lowered the curtain, and hurried to make arrangements.
The carriage quickly turned around on the spot, and the wheels made a dull sound as they rolled over the cobblestone road.
Zheng Mingyuan slowly leaned back on the brocade cushion, with turbulent waves surging in the depths of his narrowed eyes.
His palm tightly grasped the string of valuable beads, and his knuckles turned bluish-white from the force.
…
Two quarters of an hour later, in the study of Duke Zheng's mansion.
At this moment, the doors and windows are closed, and the heavy rosewood door blocks out the sounds from the outside world.
The trusted servants standing in the corridor were all driven back to the moon-shaped door ten feet away. They stood in silence with their hands hanging down, not daring to breathe.
The leaping flames of the bronze goose and fish lamp on the table cast the long shadows of the father and son on the cold blue bricks.
The air was filled with the cool scent of agarwood, but it couldn't suppress the heart-pounding solemnity and silence.
Duke Zheng Mingyuan sat upright on a large rosewood armchair, his back straight as if he were a rock standing for a thousand years in the wind and rain.
The eldest son, Zheng Bingjun, stood at the bottom, his body stiff and his face pale under the light, as if he had lost blood.
"How could Huiyin not be on the list?"
"Wang, Li, Chen...even the Liu family girl, whose family background is a little less prestigious, is prominently listed."
"Why is my Zheng family's legitimate daughter the only one missing?"
Zheng Bingjun clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.
He was still hesitant about signing up before, but now everyone else is on the list except his daughter.
What would the officials think? What would the people of Fengjing think?!
Zheng Bingjun's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He forced himself to remain calm and analyzed in a difficult voice:
"Our Duke's Mansion hasn't offended the Third Princess in recent years, right? We only targeted the insignificant Sixth Princess once.
It can't be that after such a long time, the Third Princess is backing her up? That's too far-fetched..."
"If it was the Sixth Princess who was interfering, how could she be so capable as to surpass the three heirs above her?
What's more, this list needs to be presented to the emperor.
Even if Your Majesty has not carefully examined it, it still needs to be sent down to Fenggetai, Yizhisi, Jingzhao Prefecture, and finally posted publicly."
Such a complicated process, yet not a single person, not a single link, leaked a single word to the Duke of Zheng's Mansion. This..."
At this point, Zheng Bingjun's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible fear.
Cold sweat finally slid down his temples, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
An extremely terrifying thought flashed through his mind like lightning!
In an instant, all doubts found a clear yet chilling answer.
Zheng Bingjun suddenly looked up and stared at his father's face, which showed no emotion in the light.
He pursed his lips tightly, as if trying to hold back the fear that was about to burst out, and his Adam's apple rolled violently.
No need to say more, the father and son already know it clearly!
The supplementary enrollment of women in the imperial examinations this time is a thunder-like measure used by His Majesty to force the nobles in the capital, the nobles with long-standing merits, and even the civil and military officials in the court to make their positions clear in this reform.
Thirteen years, she had had enough.
Going further, this is most likely paving the way for establishing a crown prince and testing the attitudes of all parties towards the possibility of a "second-generation female emperor" becoming a reality.
The biggest obstacle and the one that needs to be struck the most are undoubtedly the aristocratic families with complex connections and deep-rooted background.
This supplementary entry excluded all women from prominent families, which was the most blatant and irrefutable evidence.
Their Duke's Mansion...
Zheng Bingjun's first wife, Zheng Huiyin's biological mother, and now the mistress of the house who is in charge of household affairs, is the legitimate daughter of the Cui family in Linhai Prefecture!
Even the daughters of women who married out were excluded?
This marriage would have been the icing on the cake in a peaceful and prosperous era, but now it has become a sword hanging over one's head!
After figuring this out, Zheng Bingjun's brows were still furrowed.
"Father, if you are so determined, why did you invite Huiyin to the literary gathering?"
Duke Zheng Mingyuan's gaze fell on the dancing flames, his eyes as deep as an ancient well.
The voice was low and gentle, with no emotion to be heard, but it was like a huge rock dropped into a deep pool, stirring up a heavy echo in the silence:
"You are wrong about one thing. Our targeting of the Sixth Princess is not without impact."
Zheng Mingyuan secretly sent people to investigate the Sixth Princess's performance during the disaster relief effort.
She used her medical skills to save a group of disaster victims, and after the eldest princess was assassinated, she even put on armor and disguised herself as her to repair the embankment.
But that was all he did. In the second half, he made almost no achievements and just spent his days idling in the prince's mansion.
How could such an achievement be worthy of the generous reward from a whole group of Qingluan Guards?
This is a treatment that even the eldest princess and the second prince do not have!
Why not give other rewards, but make an exception and give female guards as rewards?
If someone said that she had the potential to win the throne, who in Fengjing would believe it?
If it was because of the assassination during the disaster relief effort, the Qilin Guards should have been rewarded.
After thinking about it, Zheng Mingyuan thought that he would fall into the same trick he used on Huiyin’s birthday party.
Those were the guards assigned to the Sixth Princess, and were also a silent warning to the Duke of Zheng's Mansion!
How hateful! What a stupid thing! It was instigated by the Cui family, but he failed to succeed.
If the plan succeeds, the princess's moral flaws and the Prime Minister's frustration may lead to a breakdown in the relationship between the Empress and Pei Xuanyun.
One move can affect the entire body, and there may be a chance to push the second prince to the throne.
It was for this reason that Zheng Mingyuan did not intervene and chose to turn a blind eye.
Success or failure is imminent, there is no need to mention the past.
Ever since the Sixth Princess received the reward from the Qingluan Guard, Zheng Mingyuan knew that Huiyin was no longer valuable.
Being kicked out of the supplementary admission list this time may not be entirely a bad thing.
Thinking of this, he raised his head.
"How is Huiyin's marriage going?"
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