In the Royal Garden, Liu Chen's face was extremely ugly, and he looked at Princess Roujia with dissatisfaction.
"Today's poetry meeting is really unfair!"
Princess Roujia glanced at him and snorted, "Didn't the rules change according to your wishes?"
"But..." Liu Chen frowned, "How could Mu Zhuohua win the first place!"
Princess Roujia smiled and said, "It's the popular choice, I have to admit it."
"You..." Liu Chen couldn't argue with Princess Roujia, and he was even more upset. He turned to look at Liu Yan who was sitting on the other side and asked for help, "Uncle, please judge."
Liu Yan rubbed his forehead: "Don't drag me into it. This is your young people's business. I can't control it."
Princess Roujia looked at his appearance and laughed and shook her head: "You are dedicated to protecting Shen Jinghong. Are you afraid that others don't know that Shen Jinghong is yours?"
Liu Chen snorted: "What if they know it?"
"I understand your love for talent, but Shen Jinghong is unruly and hard to tame. You have to be careful."
The more Princess Roujia said this, the more Liu Chen admired Shen Jinghong. He sat and talked with Shen Jinghong. The more he understood this man, the more he liked him. This man was born in a poor family, but he was full of knowledge and had lofty ambitions. Many of his ideas coincided with his. He had already regarded Shen Jinghong as a soulmate. If he ascended the throne one day, he would certainly use Shen Jinghong to create a prosperous dynasty.
Princess Roujia said: "Mu Zhuohua is also a talented person. She has wonderful ideas and witty remarks. In the palace examination, she may be favored by my father and ranked among the top three."
Liu Yan was a little surprised: "The princess is so optimistic about her?"
Princess Roujia smiled and nodded: "This girl has some unpleasant little thoughts, which is really likable. Even Shen Jinghong treats her differently from others. In my opinion, it is a sure thing for her to enter the Hanlin Academy."
After entering the Hanlin Academy, she can walk in front of the emperor and have a prosperous career, far above others.
Liu Chen frowned in disgust: "It's not that I look down on women, but which woman in the world can be like my sister? Mu Zhuohua is just opportunistic and afraid of death."
Princess Roujia sighed: "Forget it, you value your Shen Jinghong, so don't target Mu Zhuohua. You are born noble, but you don't know how difficult it is for a woman to get to where she is today..."
Mu Zhuohua is very difficult, but she never talks about these things.
If you fail, those difficulties will only make people laugh and be futile. If you succeed, those hardships will not be worth mentioning.
People who understand you will naturally pity you, and those who don't understand will be boring if they say too much.
With the protection of Princess Roujia, Mu Zhuohua felt that there were obviously fewer bad words against her, and her respect and love for Princess Roujia in her heart became stronger.
Mu Zhuohua is the seventh concubine in the family. She has six older sisters, but she has never experienced what sisterhood is. When she met Princess Roujia that day and saw how gentle she was to her, she wondered if she had a biological sister, would she be as caring and warm as Princess Roujia. However, she was a princess admired by everyone, and she only dared to think about it secretly.
In this world, Guo Juli was her only relative.
Guo Juli went to bed early as usual, but Mu Zhuohua was still fiddling with her treasures in the yard. She was so busy and focused that she didn't notice the person sitting on the wall for a long time.
Liu Yan had something to do tonight, but he somehow thought of Mu Zhuohua again. When he came to his senses, the person had already walked out of the door. He wanted to knock on the door, but changed his mind temporarily. He used his lightness skills to fly to the top of the wall, and saw Mu Zhuohua squatting in the yard with his sleeves rolled up, busying himself. There was some dirt on his delicate arms, and the ground was also a mess. Mu Zhuohua tied up her hair, and a few strands of hair were wet with sweat and stuck to his forehead, looking a little embarrassed.
Liu Yan watched for a moment, and finally couldn't help interrupting, coughing twice and said, "What are you doing?"
Mu Zhuohua was startled, and raised her head suddenly, and saw Liu Yan sitting on the wall with his knees bent under the moonlight. She opened her mouth slightly in surprise, and then showed a bright smile, as if she saw a long-awaited guest, and people's mood would unconsciously improve when they saw her smile.
"Prince, you are here!" Mu Zhuohua raised her arm and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Liu Yan jumped down from the top of the wall, his white clothes fluttering, his face was handsome, and he looked like a banished immortal
, which made Mu Zhuohua slightly distracted. Liu Yan stood beside Mu Zhuohua, and then saw what was blocked by her figure just now. He raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Are you digging flowers?"
Mu Zhuohua waved his hand and explained: "No! I'm transplanting." Mu Zhuohua squatted down again, carefully put the dug peony into another earthenware flowerpot, and gently put the soil into the pot.
Liu Yan was a little puzzled: "Why?"
Mu Zhuohua stared at the peony intently, and said without turning his head: "The flower pot that the princess gave is too valuable, I have to keep it well."
After hearing what Mu Zhuohua said, Liu Yan looked at the previous flower pot. That flower pot is a thing in the palace, and it looks like it is not an ordinary thing, but Liu Yan's house is full of such things, so naturally he would not take it seriously.
"This flower pot can be sold for hundreds of taels, but it has a special meaning, so I dare not sell it, let alone put it in the yard casually, in case it is stolen. So, I will transplant the peony into this earthenware flower pot, and then hide this tribute flower pot well."
Liu Yan laughed when he heard this, thinking that Mu Zhuohua was talking nonsense every time, but it was also very reasonable, and he was convinced again.
Mu Zhuohua finally replanted the peony, and then turned to look at Liu Yan and asked: "The prince came so late, is there something important?"
Liu Yan was choked by Mu Zhuohua's question. He... nothing... but at this moment he still forced out one thing. He held a folding fan in his hand, tapped Mu Zhuohua's shoulder gently, and said with a smile: "Shouldn't you give me an explanation for what happened today?"
Mu Zhuohua showed a sincere and flattering smile: "I was just about to thank you for your help!"
Liu Yan curved his lips with an expression of "keep talking nonsense".
Mu Zhuohua said: "I admit that I deliberately misled them today and made them think that the poem was written by the prince, but I really didn't expect that the prince would cooperate so well and even poured a cup of tea to attract their attention, so I got the first place by chance."
Liu Yan chuckled: "Do you blame me for being too cooperative?"
Mu Zhuohua smiled and said, "Your Highness always says he won't help me, but he is actually soft-hearted and kind-hearted. I am so grateful. I really did not follow the wrong master!"
Liu Yan was flattered by her flattery. He felt that he was becoming more and more stupid. He actually liked to listen to people flattering him.
"My help is not free." Liu Yan put away his smile and said seriously, "Today I spilled that cup of tea and stained my clothes. The clothes are worth more than one hundred taels. You should compensate me with this flower pot."
Mu Zhuohua was shocked: "Why is it so expensive? Your Highness, why don't you spill it on the ground!"
Liu Yan frowned and said, "You still dare to be picky?"
Mu Zhuohua smiled and said, "No, no! But Your Highness..." Mu Zhuohua sniffed and showed a very aggrieved and pitiful expression, "Your Highness is so rich and I am so poor. Are you willing to take away the deficiency to give to the surplus?"
Liu Yan smiled and said, "I am willing."
"Your Highness..." Mu Zhuohua sobbed, "This flowerpot is of great significance to me. It was given by the princess. If I give it to you, what will happen if the princess pursues me later?"
Liu Yan suppressed his laughter and said, "Just say you gave it to me as compensation. No one else can say anything."
Mu Zhuohua sighed and said, "Your Highness, let's make a deal... Actually, this flower is also very expensive. Otherwise, I'll give you this flower as compensation!"
Liu Yan was startled. Mu Zhuohua had already held the flowerpot in front of him. A soft and beautiful peony was waving under the moon, and a smiling little face was revealed behind the petals.
"Your Highness, this variety of peony flower costs more than a hundred taels each. Such a magnificent and rich flower is most suitable for your status and position. Just accept it!"
Liu Yan stared at the flower in a daze. He only heard Mu Zhuohua's soft calls a few times, and he subconsciously took the flowerpot.
Mu Zhuohua secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Half of the credit for today's title belongs to the prince. After all, I benefited from the prince, so it's just right for us to share half of the prize."
Liu Yan came back to his senses and looked at Mu Zhuohua's little face with helplessness and amusement: "You..."
Liu Yan finally took the flower back.
Zhimo knew that Liu Yan went out in the middle of the night and didn't let them follow him. When he came back, he actually brought a peony flower with a happy smile on his face!
Liu Yan put the peony on the windowsill of the study and watered the flower himself.
Zhijian passed by and felt a little curious when he saw this scene. He asked: "Did the prince just buy a pot of flowers?"
Liu Yan smiled and said: "No, someone gave it to me."
Zhijian was shocked - someone actually gave flowers to the prince!
The prince accepted it with a smile!
There are still a few days before the palace examination. Mu Zhuohua has been studying at home these days, and Guo Juli has gone out to look for a new house. Now that they have a lot of money, and after passing the palace examination, they should be able to get a job, so it is not suitable for them to live in a place like East City where all kinds of people come together. Guo Juli asked around in North City and South City for a few days, but he couldn't find a suitable house - mostly because it was too expensive.
"A house with two entrances in the north city costs 20 taels a month in rent, why don't you go and rob it!" Guo Juli said with great force, "You have to pay half a year in one installment, plus the deposit, it will cost 140 taels in one installment."
"We have a lot of money now." Mu Zhuohua said with a dignified look, "
We can afford to live here at 50 taels a month." "Miss, we still have to buy a lot of things, we have to buy better pens, ink, paper and inkstone, you have grown taller recently, you have to make a few new sets of clothes and shoes. When you become an official in the future, you will have to deal with people. I have inquired, the annual salary and rice of the newly-appointed Jinshi are no more than 30 taels, and they can't even afford to live in the north city."
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Guo Juli muttered to himself and calculated the future expenses. He thought he had become rich overnight, but who knew there were so many places to spend money.
Mu Zhuohua laughed and couldn't help pinching Guo Juli's face.
"Juli is really good at managing the household. I can't bear to marry you."
Guo Juli said, "Miss, you don't want to marry, why do you want to push me into the fire pit?"
Mu Zhuohua was speechless, and laughed, "You are smart. Yes, we don't want to marry, and we just want to get promoted and make money."
Mu Zhuohua's height was like a willow branch in spring. She grew taller overnight, her sleeves suddenly became shorter, and her appearance seemed to have changed subtly after removing her makeup. Mu Zhuohua looked carefully and found that her originally chubby cheeks had become thinner, and her childishness had been removed, with a little more girlish softness and charm.
Guo Juli prepared a powder paste for Mu Zhuohua to change her appearance, and exclaimed, "Miss, you are getting more and more beautiful, even more beautiful than my aunt."
Mu Zhuohua dipped a little bit of the dark-colored powder paste and hesitated about how to change her makeup. The powder she prepared was extremely difficult to remove, and she had to mix another potion to wipe it off. Both were not so easy to mix, so every time she touched up her makeup, she had to think carefully. In the past, she had a small face and pretended to be innocent and childish to deceive people's favor. Now that she is going to serve as an official in the court, she may be looked down upon if she continues to dress like this.
She needs to be more mature and stable. Mu Zhuohua thought about it and came up with a plan. She lightly drew lines on her eyebrows and eyes, and added some shadows on her face to deepen the contours of her facial features. At first glance, she was still the same person, but her temperament was completely different. The previous makeup made her look like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl. After removing her makeup, she was a beautiful eighteen-year-old girl, and after putting on makeup again, she was a steady and handsome scholar.
After changing into the new clothes, Mu Zhuohua looked at herself in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.
Guo Juli said from the bottom of his heart: "Miss is so beautiful. If I get married, I will marry someone like you."
Mu Zhuohua laughed: "Don't do that. Maybe I will be as romantic as my father."
The palace examination was scheduled for April 8th. Mu Zhuohua and others learned the etiquette of meeting the emperor, and then entered the palace to accept the assessment of Emperor Zhaoming.
One hundred candidates filed in. One hundred tables were set up in the hall, and pens, ink, paper and inkstone were also prepared. There was plenty of pens and ink, but each person only had ten sheets of paper. So everyone had to prepare a draft in their mind and finish it quickly. Before getting permission, candidates were not allowed to look up to see the emperor's face. After everyone bowed their heads and saluted, they sat in the designated seats. Then the chief eunuch read out the questions for the palace examination, and they could start answering. The time for answering was one hour, and of course they could go to the toilet and drink water during this period, but very few people would do so, which would leave a bad impression on the emperor.
The direction of the palace examination questions was different every year, depending on the emperor's personal preferences. Some emperors liked poetry and prose, some emperors liked policy questions, and there were even emperors who had taken the exam on mathematics and feng shui, which was really confusing. Fortunately, Emperor Zhaoming was a well-behaved emperor and did not ask any too unusual questions to embarrass the candidates.
This year's palace examination question was a Taoist policy question, and the title was "rule by doing nothing."
This question is very big, and there are many entry points. It can be affirmed or denied. In this way, we need to carefully recall the policy inclinations of Emperor Zhaoming in the past, whether it is to act or not. If we guess the emperor's mind wrongly, the future will be worrying.
Mu Zhuohua sighed in his heart. This exam only tests half of the talent, and the other half is the ability to guess the emperor's intention. In the fifteenth year of Emperor Zhaoming's accession to the throne, he implemented many benevolent policies and rested and recuperated. In this way, many people will bet on inaction. Inaction
, inaction... In fact, inaction itself is also a kind of action, but it is just to follow the trend of the time, to do something and not to do something...
Mu Zhuohua's mind naturally emerged in a line of words, and his thoughts flowed. After closing his eyes for a moment, he picked up the pen to answer the questions.
In the hall, Emperor Zhaoming was carefully observing these candidates. Some of them were confident, some were worried, some were trembling, and some were generous. It is not known how talented they are, but their character can be seen.
On both sides of the hall sat many civil and military officials, as well as some royal relatives and nobles, such as Prince Ding and the three princes. These people were also observing the performance of the candidates.
The most eye-catching of these candidates were undoubtedly Shen Jinghong and Mu Zhuohua. One was a poet who won the top three prizes in the imperial examinations, and the other was an extremely rare female Jinshi. Mu Zhuohua's essay was circulated in the court and caused a lot of disputes. Even Emperor Zhaoming was impressed by her and couldn't help but take a few more glances at her today.
After half of the exam time, Emperor Zhaoming came down and patrolled among the candidates. This was a great test of the candidates' character. Some people were so confused that they couldn't write a word when they saw the emperor coming. Most of these people were unlikely to succeed. Emperor Zhaoming naturally walked to Shen Jinghong's side first. Shen Jinghong had already written six sheets of paper. Emperor Zhaoming stood beside him and read it from the beginning with interest. He smiled and nodded while reading, and obviously appreciated Shen Jinghong's essay.
Seeing this scene, Liu Chen felt much more at ease. He had great confidence in Shen Jinghong's talent, so he was worried that he would behave badly in front of the emperor, or that he would lose his composure and lose his composure. Now it seems that he was worrying too much.
After reading Shen Jinghong's paper, Emperor Zhaoming went down to look at the others. The others were good and bad, but none of them made Emperor Zhaoming value them as much as Shen Jinghong. Seeing that Emperor Zhaoming was about to walk to Mu Zhuohua's side, suddenly a crisp loud noise rang out in the hall - snap!
The ministers on both sides were stunned, looking up and looking for the source of the sound. After a moment, they finally knew what happened. I saw that the inkstone on Mu Zhuohua's desk had somehow turned over, and the papers were stacked together. The ink poured out and soaked all the papers from top to bottom. Half of the papers that had been written were stained black by the ink, and the handwriting was completely invisible. Mu Zhuohua had already finished writing seven sheets of paper. At this moment, looking at the blackened paper, his whole expression was stunned.
There were only two quarters of an hour left, and the white paper... if you count carefully, there was only half a sheet.
Everyone on both sides of the hall focused their eyes on Mu Zhuohua. Mu Zhuohua looked up blankly, and happened to meet the inquiring gaze of Emperor Zhaoming. She trembled for a moment, and immediately lowered her head.
Half a sheet of paper, two quarters of an hour, what could she write...
Mu Zhuohua tightened his grip on the pen, and his palms were already slightly wet with sweat.
From afar came unreal discussions: "Bad luck, it seems that she is the last one."
"She probably panicked when she saw Your Majesty approaching, so she overturned the inkstone."
"She is too young, and she is a girl, so it is inevitable that she would panic."
"Your Majesty is kind, and he should not pursue her fault."
Slowly, Mu Zhuohua could only hear her own heartbeat.
It's over... It's over...
Is she panicking?
No, the inkstone overturned by itself for no reason, and she clearly didn't touch it!
Who wants to harm her?
Who has she offended again?
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