Chapter 77 Results Released

The golden lion was burning, and the green smoke was rising slowly. Behind the glass curtain, the man's voice sounded particularly cold: "Lost? After such a long time, you couldn't even find two common people?"

The man kneeling on the steps was sweating profusely and lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. It was really because there were too many people in the West Market that day and my subordinates were careless and let them escape. But this brother and sister are indeed a bit weird, as if someone is helping them cover up their tracks. They can disappear out of thin air every time. That time in Taiyuan Prefecture, they suddenly disappeared and there was no news for two whole years. If I hadn't seen them in Zhuque Street this time, I would have thought they were dead."

The King of Wei sneered and said, "Waste."

The subordinate dared not to refute, and rested his forehead on the ground. The King of Wei half-closed his eyes, rubbed his fingers on the armrest, and fell into deep thought.

They were able to escape from his tight net and have not been contacted at all in the past two years... It sounds like these are not ordinary country folk. There must be a master helping them.

Who could it be?

The King of Wei could not help but think of the news from the two Zhang brothers. Two years ago, when the palace was investigating a theft case, an old maid accidentally let slip that in the 32nd year of Yonghui, when the Empress and Crown Prince Zhanghuai were fighting the most fiercely, a concubine in the Eastern Palace was pregnant. However, Crown Prince Zhanghuai was deeply involved in a conspiracy at that time. Seeing that the situation was not right, he used medicine to induce Concubine Liang to give birth prematurely and sent his confidant to send the child out of the Eastern Palace. In case he met with an accident, at least he would leave a bloodline outside.

Later, the Eastern Palace reported that Concubine Liang had fallen and lost the child, but in fact the child had been sent out of the palace. King Wei followed the old palace maid's instructions and found that the confidant had gone to Zhongnan Mountain, which was near the villa of the Duke of Zhenguo.

The King of Wei spent a long time secretly investigating the servants of the Ming family villa, and got out from them that in the 32nd year of Yonghui, Wang Yulan, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, was indeed waiting for delivery at the villa, and gave birth to a pair of twins. Unfortunately, Wang Yulan had hemorrhage after giving birth, and died. The nanny Su who served her also retired and left the villa before dawn.

Interestingly, the Ming family’s dragon and phoenix twins and Prince Zhang Huai’s posthumous child were born in the same year, even with only one day difference in birth date.

King Wei never believed in coincidences in the palace, so he immediately sent people to investigate Nanny Su who had left the mansion. There must be something fishy about her sudden departure, especially since some people said that Nanny Su's daughter-in-law had given birth during that time, and Nanny Su had been staying in the manor to take care of Wang Yulan. Suddenly one day, Nanny Su said that she had received a message from home and had to go back to serve her daughter-in-law. She left in a hurry without even saying goodbye, as if she was afraid of being seen. Then came the news that their family had returned home.

Two years ago, the King of Wei went to Taiyuan and found the Su siblings. But before he could arrest them, the siblings disappeared.

This further confirmed the King of Wei's guess that one of the siblings must be the orphan of Crown Prince Zhang Huai, otherwise why would they be hiding?

The King of Wei searched for two years but found nothing. He had given up, but on the day he entered the capital, his subordinates suddenly reported that they had seen the missing brother and sister on the street.

The King of Wei immediately sent people to chase them, but the bastards still let them escape. The King of Wei said solemnly: "Send more people to continue the search. Even if we have to dig three feet deep, we must dig those two out!"

The subordinate trembled and agreed, then bowed and left. After the others left, the King of Wei sat alone in the rich and long-lasting aroma of camphor, thinking slowly, perhaps, there is more than one possibility.

Before the incident with Li Xian, someone had seen the eldest son of the Su family. That boy must be a farmer and had nothing to do with Li Xian. If the younger child of the Su family is not the orphan of Li Xian, then one of the twins of the Ming family must be a fake.

The King of Wei laughed briefly, stood up, picked up his cloak and walked out. Today was the day for the announcement of the imperial examination results, the first grand court event after his aunt moved the capital, so he had to go to the palace to show his support and meet Taiping.

The crown prince is a good-for-nothing, a hopeless case. The King of Wei really doesn't know why his aunt wanted to pass the throne to the crown prince.

The Li family is now gritting their teeth and refusing to give up. The Crown Prince, Prince Xiang, and Taiping are all entangled in a knot, bent on taking the throne back from the Wu family. Ridiculous, he wants to see if they can still save their lives after the matter of secretly hiding the abandoned Crown Prince's orphan is exposed.

·

At this moment, the East Wall of the Ministry of Rites was crowded with people and very lively. Not only were the relatives and friends of the candidates waiting, but many common people and wealthy families were also guarding the high wall, looking up and waiting for the announcement of the results.

Most of the people came for fun. Chang'an hadn't seen such a lively event for a long time. The young ladies didn't even know what the Jinshi parade and the Wild Goose Pagoda inscription were. The older people in Chang'an sighed that during Emperor Gaozong's time, the new Jinshi could see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day, and looked forward to the new talents that were about to emerge.

This is the first batch of Qionglin Jinshi after the empress moved the capital, representing the empress's attitude towards the old capital. Not only the court officials are paying close attention, but the people of Chang'an are also looking forward to a grand event to fully restore Chang'an's former glory.

As for the rich and powerful families, they also waited for the chance to be the first to get the moon. Newly-appointed Jinshi were very popular in the marriage market in Chang'an, and many high-ranking officials and wealthy people liked to choose sons-in-law from among the Jinshi.

Especially those young and handsome men with good appearance would even engage in a fight when the results were announced. The servants of the rich and powerful would grab whoever they could grab with sticks, and they would take him home to marry the young lady. Therefore, it was jokingly called "catching a son-in-law under the list".

Ming Huazhang was unwilling to join in the drama, but Ming Huachang insisted and dragged him to watch the results. Ming Huazhang squeezed in the crowd and sighed, "The court will send someone to deliver the message after the results are announced. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"That's different." Ming Huashang hugged Ming Huazhang's arm and stood on tiptoe to look ahead. "This kind of thing is meaningful only when you read it yourself. It will change if it is spread by others."

Ming Huazhang sighed. He wanted to say that at least three people on the list were already selected as Jinshi in advance, so the so-called Jinbang list was really not valuable. But seeing how much she was looking forward to it, Ming Huazhang couldn't bear to dampen her excitement, so he quietly blocked the students around him and waited with her outside the wall.

Now they seemed to have restored their normal brother-sister relationship, with the sister holding her brother's arm and the brother protecting her when they went out, and no one mentioned the conversation under the grape tree that night.

But some things were different after all. Ming Huashang carefully avoided his body and only grabbed his sleeve. Ming Huazhang put his hands on her side to protect her, but was also careful not to touch her shoulders.

They carefully and nonchalantly maintained the boundary between brother and sister. At this time, an official in black clothes from the Ministry of Rites came out and posted a piece of yellow paper on the wall, on which a list of names was neatly written with ink. Everyone rushed forward, and Ming Huashang did not squeeze in, but she already knew the ranking of the ceremonial examination from the excited shouts of the people around her.

The first on the list is Su Xingzhi, the second is Ming Huazhang, and the third is Xie Jichuan.

There were more behind, but Ming Huashang could no longer hear them. The crowd was discussing fiercely who the top three would be. Ming Huashang turned around and looked at Ming Huazhang, somewhat surprised.

Ming Huazhang's pupils dilated slightly, and there was a look of surprise on his face.

He knew that this was just a formality, so he never cared about his ranking. But he came in second?

It’s fine if he’s second, the person ahead of him is actually Su Xingzhi?

Ming Huazhang's face turned cold. It was not that he could not afford to lose. He knew that there were many people in the world who were more talented than him. However, the announcement that he lost to Su Xingzhi in front of Ming Huashang still instantly shattered Ming Huazhang's good mood.

Especially when Ming Huazhang heard Ming Huashang say in a surprised tone: "I didn't expect Su Xingzhi to be so knowledgeable. It's not easy. Congratulations to him."

Ming Huazhang's face completely sank.

Ming Huachang was indeed surprised when she first saw the rankings. She thought the first place would be between Ming Huazhang and Xie Jichuan, but she didn't expect that in the end it would be Su Xingzhi who overwhelmed his strong opponent and took the lead.

Ming Huashang was sincerely happy for Su Xingzhi. Her two brothers were both top-notch talents, ranking the top two. As a useless sister, she was truly honored!

She was happy for a while and then felt something was wrong. Why didn't Ming Huazhang say anything? She raised her eyes carefully and found that Ming Huazhang had a cold face and bright eyes, as if a fire was burning on an ice field, quiet and empty, yet blazing.

Ming Huashang was a little nervous and asked softly, "Second brother, what's wrong with you?"

Ming Huazhang's voice was deliberately cold, and he said calmly: "It's okay. Let's go home."

Ming Huazhang turned and left. Ming Huashang quickly chased after him and whispered, "I haven't congratulated you on your success yet. Congratulations, second brother."

Ming Huazhang gave a short laugh and said coldly, "It's only second place, what's there to be happy about?"

"You can't say that." Ming Huashang thought Ming Huazhang had been used to winning the first place since he was a child, and couldn't stand being shorter than others all of a sudden. He consoled him earnestly, "Second brother, second place is not bad. There are so many people taking the imperial examinations, it's not an exaggeration to say that it's like a million troops trying to cross a single-plank bridge. The fact that you're on the list already means you're one in a million."

"What about Su Xingzhi?"

Ming Huashang paused, then said, "Brother Su is one in a million."

Very good, even my brother was called, Ming Huazhang felt like there was a nameless fire burning in his heart. Ming Huashang secretly glanced at Ming Huazhang's face and asked, "Second brother, are you unhappy?"

It's just a title of top scholar, does he care so much about it?

Ming Huazhang now had to try hard to restrain himself in order to maintain his dignity. He said calmly, "I will go to the palace to thank you in a moment. I will have someone take you home first."

Ming Huashang didn't really want to go back, she tried to fool Ming Huazhang and nodded obediently, "Okay."

The most discussed topic today is the announcement of the new Jinshi candidates. Common people are talking about it with great relish, and the princes and princesses also go to the palace early to catch a glimpse of the new Jinshi candidates in advance.

When Prince Wei entered the palace, Princess Taiping was snuggling beside the Empress and chatting and laughing. Prince Liang and Prince Xiang were sitting on the side. Prince Xiang was very silent, but his son Prince Linzi would take advantage of the opportunity to chime in and say a word or two from time to time.

As the crown prince, Prince Xiang was imprisoned in the palace, and his life was definitely not good, but his children grew up under the Empress's eyes, and he still had some grandfather-grandson relationship with the Empress, especially Prince Linzi, who was versatile and eloquent, and was very much liked by the Empress. With Prince Linzi as a mediator, Prince Xiang could save face.

Princess Taiping was a daughter and had a natural advantage. Prince Xiang had a son who was always there to make jokes, and Prince Liang was even more so, calling the Empress "Aunt" all the time, making her laugh constantly. In comparison, the Crown Prince's family was like a block of wood and did not fit in.

The prince was afraid of his mother and kept silent. The prince's children grew up in confinement and could not get close to the grandmother who almost killed them. Even the youngest and most favored Li Guo'er did not dare to act coquettishly.

——She was born on the road of exile, and she had never even seen her grandmother when she grew up. Now that she saw the empress who was majestic without being angry and never showed her anger, it was good enough that she did not lose her composure. How dare she ask for things like she did in front of her parents?

The King of Wei paused at the entrance of the palace, looking at the stage in front of him. Shangguan Wan'er came forward with the female officials and saluted in a gentle voice: "Your Highness, the King of Wei."

The King of Wei glanced at her and said with a smile, "How can I be so worthy as to have Shangguan Neixiang serve me?"

Shangguan Wan'er smiled and said, "King Wei, please don't make fun of me. His Majesty has already asked about you. Your Highness, please come in."

The King of Wei took off his cloak, and Shangguan Wan'er took it and folded his clothes carefully. The King of Wei strode into the palace and said loudly: "Aunt, my nephew is late. Please punish me."

When the King of Liang saw the King of Wei, he said, "Brother, you are finally here. The new Jinshi has entered the palace, but you are late for adultery. How can you be seen by the ministers?"

"It's my fault. I will punish myself by drinking three cups at the dinner."

"That's enough." The Queen said calmly, "Go to Hanyuan Palace and summon the new Jinshi."

Everyone in the palace stood up and saluted. Shangguan Wan'er hurried forward and helped the empress out. A group of princes and palace ladies followed behind. King Liang walked to King Wei's side, looking a little unhappy: "What are you doing? You know how much importance your aunt attaches to this imperial examination. Why are you so late?"

The King of Wei could not say that he was late because he suspected he had found the orphan of Prince Zhang Huai. The King of Wei smiled and said, "Some things got in the way before I left. Brother, who are the Jinshi this year?"

King Liang glanced at King Wei and said, "You are so busy that you don't even have time to listen to the list on the way?"

The King of Wei laughed and said, "Isn't it because I have a brother? I am blind and have no knowledge, so I have to rely on you for advice."

The King of Liang looked at the King of Wei without saying anything. The King of Wei was blind and deaf? This is really a joke.

The two of them are actually in a competing relationship. The Prince of Liang is the son of the Queen's eldest brother, and the Prince of Wei is the heir to the second branch of the family. As cousins ​​from different families, they are not closely related to the Queen by blood. If the Queen passes the throne to the Wu family, she may not choose any of them.

But compared with the Li family, they were natural allies. No matter what, they had to overthrow the Li family first, and then they could fight for the throne. In the face of the overall situation, King Liang did not give him any trouble, and said, "This year, my aunt Qin selected twelve Jinshi candidates. The first place is Su Xingzhi, the second place is Ming Huazhang, and the third place is Xie Jichuan."

Except for the first name, the remaining two were very familiar. King Wei frowned: "Is it Ming Huazhang from the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion, and Xie Jichuan from the Xie family of Chen County?"

"They are."

The King of Wei raised his eyebrows, becoming even more puzzled: "I have heard of the names of these two people. They have both family background and talent. How did Zhuangtou come from to be able to suppress these two people?"

This was also something that King Liang could not figure out. The Queen's intentions were really hard to guess. King Liang said, "I don't know his background, but I heard that he was from Taiyuan Prefecture, his family was engaged in farming, and he was born in poverty."

Taiyuan, farming, surnamed Su... The King of Wei's eyelids twitched, and his mind suddenly became clear.

He asked why he felt strange when he heard the name Su Xingzhi. His subordinates had mentioned to him that the old woman who took the child away from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion had a grandson named Su Xingzhi!

What a coincidence! Wasn't Ming Huazhang, the son of the Duke of Zhenguo, also on the list of candidates released today? It was like searching for something without any effort. He had been searching for two years without success, but today when he accidentally entered the palace, he actually saw two of them at once!