Chapter 60: Are There Still Experts?!

Unable to refuse the Emperor, Zhang Yunxiu had no choice but to follow him, heading straight for the Huangji Gate square.

When the Wanli Emperor arrived, he found the square empty, with only a drafty breeze swirling about; there was not a soul in sight.

Feeling played for a fool, he furrowed his brows, looked at Wei Qing, and barked, "You dog, didn't you say Yongning was waiting for me here?"

"Ah?!" Wei Qing was startled and desperately explained, "Before... before, the Princess's personal lady-in-waiting told this servant so. This servant will go find her and ask right away."

As Wei Qing spoke, he took off running.

Before long, he returned with seven or eight palace maids dressed in court attire; the one in the lead had bright eyes and white teeth, as delicate and beautiful as a flower.

It was none other than Princess Yongning's personal lady-in-waiting, Zhao Rong.

Seeing the Emperor, Zhao Rong hurriedly bowed respectfully. The Wanli Emperor waved his hand and asked her, "Zhao Rong, I ask you, where has Yongning gone?"

"This servant... this servant does not know. Just a moment ago, the Princess was still in the palace, but now she is nowhere to be found." As Zhao Rong spoke, her legs trembled and her gaze darted about.

The Wanli Emperor frowned. Zhang Yunxiu took this opportunity to excuse himself, saying, "Your Majesty, since Princess Yongning is missing, we should find the Princess first."

"Fine, you may withdraw for now." The Wanli Emperor waved his hand impatiently and then earnestly exhorted, "The silver you promised to earn for me, be quick about it. I want to see the money by the end of the year at the latest."

"Yes," Zhang Yunxiu acknowledged and left.

Less than a quarter of an hour after he left, a petite palace maid with her head lowered walked toward the Wanli Emperor.

The Wanli Emperor took a closer look, clapped his hands, and laughed, "Good, Yongning, you actually dared to dress as a palace maid to fool me!"

"Giggle, that's just because Imperial Brother has poor eyesight." The girl in palace attire lifted her chin and laughed coquettishly.

She appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, stood one meter sixty tall, had an oval face, and skin as white as snow.

Beneath long, slender eyelashes were embedded a pair of large, watery eyes, like clear springs in summer, enough to make one's heart flutter.

It was the Wanli Emperor's younger sister by the same mother, Princess Yongning, Zhu Yaoying.

"You actually dared to deceive the Emperor; what great audacity! Do you believe I will have you caned?!" The Wanli Emperor also got into the spirit, widened his eyes, and feigned anger.

Princess Yongning blinked her large eyes, not believing it in the slightest.

Looking at this younger sister, the Wanli Emperor naturally could not summon any real anger.

Smiling and shaking his head, he signaled for Wei Qing to bring over a dragonfly-shaped kite and handed it to Princess Yongning.

Princess Yongning took it, looked it over, and muttered, "Is this a kite?"

The Wanli Emperor smiled and then personally demonstrated to his sister how to play with it.

He disregarded his decorum and ran wildly across the square, looking back as he ran; once the kite was fluttering in the wind, he began to let out the line.

Before long, the kite had already flown to a height of several zhang.

Princess Yongning widened her eyes and clamored to take over the kite.

The Wanli Emperor looked at his sister with doting eyes, handed the kite back to her, and said with a smile, "Yongning, this year is the time for you to choose a husband. Tell me, what kind of man do you like?"

"I don't know." Princess Yongning shook her head and looked at the Wanli Emperor, saying, "From the time I was small until now, the only men I have seen are Imperial Brother and Imperial Father. How would I know what kind of husband is good?"

The Wanli Emperor gave an awkward smile, then patted his chest and promised, "Don't you worry, Imperial Brother will certainly send someone to pick a desirable husband that you are satisfied with."

"Then Yongning thanks Imperial Brother in advance."

Princess Yongning smiled faintly, revealing pretty dimples on her fair cheeks.

The next instant, a sudden gust of wind rose in the air, and the kite string in Princess Yongning's hand snapped with a "Crack!"

"It flew away, it flew away, it flew out of sight."

"It doesn't matter. If it flew away, let it be. I'll just have someone go buy a few more."

Spring was as deep as the sea, and the fragrance of flowers overflowed.

The triennial Palace Examination finally drew back its curtain amidst the waiting.

Early this morning, all the scholars who had passed the Metropolitan Examination waited in front of the Huangji Hall square. After officials from the Court of State Ceremonial read the regulations, they were led to their pre-arranged seats.

It was packed full, with people sitting all throughout the inside of the Huangji Hall and the corridors outside. Unlike the majority of people who were rubbing their palms and looking spirited,

Zhang Yunxiu's thoughts had already flown to who knows where. To him, Second Rank or Third Rank were all the same.

As long as the Emperor was coaxed well, why worry about his future? Having figured this out, Zhang Yunxiu lowered his head and took up his brush to write on the examination paper.

The warm spring sunlight spilled down through the glazed tiles atop the Huangji Hall. Below the hall, hundreds of candidates were red-faced, holding their breath, and burying their heads to write on the policy questions in their hands.

The entire hall was deathly silent, with only the sound of the patrolling soldiers' footsteps echoing back and forth.

Since ancient times, it has been said that there is no first place in literature, and no second place in martial arts.

Everyone was an elite selected from the masses; for anyone with even a little bit of spirit, who would dare admit their essay was inferior to another's?

After more than twenty years of bitter study, they were here today at the Palace Examination to show their brilliance.

Therefore, the scholars racked their brains, just to write a good essay that would make the examiners' eyes light up.

But there was an outlier in the crowd; he was calm and composed, unhurried, and maintained a steady pace throughout.

It was none other than Zhang Yunxiu.

He even had the leisure to steal a glance at the candidates on both sides.

He saw that the candidates on both sides had bloodshot eyes and rapid breathing; clearly, their adrenaline had soared to a very high level.

Seeing that everyone was so nervous, he also forced himself to be a little nervous and continued to bury his head in his writing.

In the blink of an eye, three hours passed. The golden sun sank in the west, and the sunset glow filled the sky. At the examiner's signal, the patrolling soldiers shouted sharply, "Time is up! Will all you gentlemen please stand up and wait for us to collect your examination papers."

Swish, swish, swish... all the candidates stood up in unison, exhaling as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Everything was over.

Now, they only needed to wait for the Emperor and the officials to rank them; the scenery of their future prospects would be a different picture altogether.

After orderly collecting their papers, all the candidates were led outside the palace gates.

As the sun set, hundreds of successful candidates bathed in the blood-red rays, heads held high, walking between the layers of palace halls.

It felt quite like the sentiment of "riding the swift horse in the pride of spring, seeing all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day."

In the crowd, Zhang Yunxiu grinned; this damned Imperial Examination was finally over.

As soon as he stepped outside the palace gate, the area was already surging with a crowd; the female relatives, friends, and pages of the various tribute scholars were all whispering and discussing things animatedly.

Zhang Yunxiu had sharp eyes and spotted his family's carriage at a glance, hurrying over in a few strides.

"Brother Zhang, stay your step." At this moment, he suddenly felt someone pull him from behind; he turned his head to look and saw a young man of about twenty-something wearing a cyan Daoist robe.

"Who are you?" Zhang Yunxiu asked with a frown.

"Oh, I am Shen Yongmao." The young Scholar nodded and introduced himself with a smile.

"So it is the son of Grand Secretary Shen!" Zhang Yunxiu's attitude became a bit warmer.

Shen Yongmao hurriedly covered Zhang Yunxiu's lips, held a finger to his nose tip, and made a shushing gesture.

Zhang Yunxiu understood the reason for this and signaled for him to release his palm.

"The Palace Examination has ended, but it will still be some time before the results are posted. Does Brother Zhang have any plans?" Shen Yongmao asked.

"What plans could I have? Just get some good rest." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and waved his hand, then asked, "Does Brother Shen have any plans?"

"Three days from now is the day Shi Niang, a famous beauty of the capital, makes her debut. Is Brother Zhang interested in going to take a look?" Shen Yongmao said, a look of yearning appearing on his face.

A prostitute played out by merchants, and you still hold her up like a treasure?! Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head, waving his hand as he said, "Many thanks for Brother Shen's kind intentions, but I have some matters to attend to and am afraid I cannot go."

After speaking, he turned on his heel and left.

(End of this chapter)