Chapter 1321: One Examination Determines a Lifetime — Part Six (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"The commoner girl Ding Yuying? Is she really that clever and quick-witted?"

"Truly brilliant! Just look at her French exam paper. It's only been a few months, and she's already improved that much. Not easy at all!"

"Oh, is that so?"

In the Red Keep by East Lake, inside the imperial study, the Zhu Emperor was looking over the high-scoring exam papers sent by Zhu Cixuan while chatting with the Landlord King.

The written portion of the women's university examination had already concluded. After excluding the Zhu-surnamed candidates who were ineligible for selection as Crown Princess, the top ten from the written exam had been determined.

First was Luo Xiaohe, second Zheng Min, third Shen Xiulan, fourth Wei Qingxiu, fifth Ma Yuxiu (Ma Shiying's granddaughter), sixth Hou Xiaolan (Hou Xun's grandniece), seventh Zuo Xianglian (a daughter of the Laiyang Zuo family), eighth Gu Cailian (a niece of Gu Jiang's clan), ninth Zheng Yu (also a granddaughter of Zheng Zhilong), and tenth Xia Weizhen (daughter of Xia Wanchun).

Wu Ahuan, whom Wu Sanmei had strongly recommended, also did quite well, placing sixty-ninth. Still, considering her martial skills could score a full 100 points, she still had a chance to contend.

As for Ding Yuying, recommended by Zhu Cixuan, she placed eighteenth with 372 points — 30 points more than Wu Ahuan. But her martial skills ultimately could not compare with Wu Ahuan's, so her chances of winning in the end were not great, unless Zhu Cilang took a particular fancy to this girl.

After analyzing the top ten girls, Zhu Cixuan found that only Wei Qingxiu, Zuo Xianglian, and Hou Xiaolan were daughters of the Northern Party. Moreover, all three were refined young ladies from civil-official families. Even if they had practiced some martial arts, they were at the level of fifty or sixty points at best, and could not possibly surpass the daughters of the Zheng family. The Zhengs were, after all, a military house!

That was why Zhu Cixuan decided to recommend Ding Yuying — because he felt this girl was very likely the smartest and most hard-working of all the girls taking the examination.

"Imperial Brother, take a look — this is her exam paper." Zhu Cixuan took out Ding Yuying's paper and handed it to the Zhu Emperor with both hands.

Zhu Cilang took the paper and began reading. The handwriting was very fine, the essay well written, clearly organized, with forceful arguments. Her mathematics was excellent, which showed she was truly intelligent. As for French, she had scored 92 — also quite good.

"Imperial Brother," Zhu Cixuan said, "at Ding Yuying's preliminary examination, her French was only 35. To improve that much in a few months shows both intelligence and diligence. Moreover, she is a commoner's daughter, not aligned with either the Northern or Southern Party. Her family has some assets, but they are ordinary folk — not like those young ladies of great houses, every one of them born above the clouds, ignorant of the people's hardships and unaware of the cunning of the rabble."

Zhu Cilang finished reading Ding Yuying's paper, then picked up Luo Xiaohe's and asked Zhu Cixuan, "Old Six, what do you think of her?"

"She is Luo Dagong's daughter," Zhu Cixuan said. "Clever beyond her years since childhood, though somewhat delicate and bookish. Moreover, the Luo family is a prestigious house of Jiangnan, related by marriage to the Zhu family of Jinhua, the Xu family of Shanghai, the Shen family of Chongming, and the Qian family of Changshu (Qian Qianyi)! If we must rely on the great families of Jiangdong, she would be the perfect choice. But if Your Majesty intends to continue the policy of using the north to control the south, then your subject-brother must speak frankly: Luo Xiaohe is not suitable to be Crown Princess!"

Zhu Cilang smiled. "We were asking what you think of her. Old Six, you are not yet married either!"

"Ah, your subject-brother..." Zhu Cixuan's face instantly flushed bright red.

Zhu Cilang laughed. "Old Six, We will not send you out to rule a vassal state. We intend to keep you in the realm to assist in governance. You are a northerner, so your princess consort should best be chosen from a prestigious southeastern family. The Zheng and Shen families are too powerful; your temperament is somewhat mild, and you could not keep them in check. The Luo family is just right. Luo Dagong is a smooth and tactful man, though not overly bold. And despite rising to Grand Secretary, he has remained clean — no corruption or bribe-taking. Like you, he is content to be a mere rent-collecting landlord."

Zhu Cixuan thought to himself: With rent coming in from a dozen streets of Shanghai's Bund, what need would he have for graft and bribes? Taking bribes doesn't bring money in as fast as collecting rent... Still, this Luo Xiaohe really is quite something! A rare Jiangnan beauty!

"Your subject-brother thanks Imperial Brother!" At that thought, Zhu Cixuan hurriedly performed a deep ceremonial bow.

Zhu Cilang said with a smile, "Old Six, keep this quiet. Everything will wait until after the interviews. When the time comes, We will arrange for Ding Yuying to be presented to the Crown Prince first. If he takes a liking to her, then Luo Xiaohe will be given to you. If he does not fancy Ding Yuying but takes a liking to Luo Xiaohe instead, then We can do nothing about it."

The Zhu Emperor, of course, had no real intention of leaving the choice to Zhu Hexing. He would interview Ding Yuying together with his son — because of the Landlord King's recommendation, Ding Yuying was already the first choice. But the Landlord King most likely would not dare breathe a word of this to anyone, for if word got out, he would surely become a thorn in the eyes of Zheng Zhilong and Shen Tingyang!

"Your subject-brother understands." Zhu Cixuan was about to take his leave when he suddenly remembered the King of the United States. "Your Majesty, whom do you intend the King of the United States to marry? Could you give your subject-brother a hint?"

Zhu Cilang laughed. "We must first speak with the little tycoon before deciding on a candidate."

"Your Majesty, then what of the Zheng family..."

Zhu Cilang said, "We have more than two sons. Do you fear there is no one to marry a Zheng daughter? Besides, if the Crown Prince takes a liking to Zheng Min, We will not play the villain and break up a pair of lovebirds."

The formal title of Zhu Hehao, the man people called the King of the United States, was actually Prince of Shen — a prince who had been granted ten thousand mu of land to collect rent from. The title King of the United States was in fact concurrently held by Zhu Cilang himself, though an edict had already been issued stating that after the Prince of Shen's grand wedding, he would succeed to the title of King of the United States.

And among Zhu Cilang's dozen or so sons, this Prince of Shen, Zhu Hehao, was without doubt the cleverest, the best at his studies, and the most skilled at managing money. His results at the Army Staff College were also outstanding. On his graduation examination, he placed third among all students of his cohort!

One could say he was the ideal model of a monarch in Zhu Cilang's mind — if the Zhu Emperor's heir were him, perhaps there would have been no need for all this fuss over selecting a Crown Princess.

But he was not born of the empress, and the legitimate eldest son, Zhu Hexing, was too much of a "military man." If he took the throne, controlling the army would be no problem, but there would surely be blunders in finances. That was why Zhu Cilang absolutely had to find him a worthy helpmate to manage the vast family estate!

Zhu Hehao, who had lost the position of Crown Prince because his mother had failed to win the place of Empress, was summoned to the Red Keep by Zhu Cilang on the very night his new sweetheart Ahai failed the written portion of the women's university entrance examination.

Seeing his son, Zhu Cilang asked with a grin, "Eldest, We didn't interrupt your rendezvous with your fair lady, did We?"

"Fair lady..." Zhu Hehao gave a bitter smile. "Imperial Father is all-knowing. Your son can hide nothing from you!"

Zhu Cilang smiled and beckoned to his son. "Sit, sit down and talk."

Zhu Hehao pulled over a chair and sat down with great deference, both hands resting on his knees, looking especially proper.

Zhu Cilang laughed. "So? How is this Ahai of yours?"

"She, she..." Zhu Hehao stammered at first, then gritted his teeth. "Imperial Father, your son wishes to take her as a secondary consort. I beg Imperial Father's gracious approval!"

"Oh." Zhu Cilang smiled. "Is this her demand?"

Zhu Hehao shook his head. "The matter is understood without being spoken. She is the princess of a vassal state, and your son is the king of a vassal state..."

"That is true enough!" Zhu Cilang was still all smiles. "You are a vassal king, so you may have one primary consort and two secondary consorts. One of those secondary consorts must be taken from Japan. Xu Guangguo's daughter also came to take the examination — why not go and win her over as well?"

"Imperial Father, your son..." Zhu Hehao looked troubled. "Your son cannot be certain of success..."

Zhu Cilang waved a hand. "What do you mean, not certain? You're a tycoon king, and handsome and dignified to boot. How could you fail to win over a little slip of a girl from the Xu family? The matter is settled. But your primary consort needs careful consideration. What do you think of Wu Ahuan?"

"Wu Ahuan?" Zhu Hehao was stunned, again and again. Was happiness really arriving this fast? Ahai alone had already left him overjoyed, and now he was about to get a girl from the Japanese Xu family, followed immediately by the Eight-Faced Guanyin. He only feared his body couldn't take it!

"Imperial Father, are you serious?" Zhu Hehao could not believe his ears. "Your son has heard that Imperial Mother wants her to become Crown Princess."

"But the Crown Prince does not fancy her," Zhu Cilang said. "The Crown Prince thinks she is too fierce. Tycoon, do you think she's fierce?"

"Fierce?" Zhu Hehao was baffled. He was a few years older than Wu Ahuan, so as a child he had naturally never been bullied by that little slip of a girl.

Zhu Hehao laughed. "However fierce she is, can she be fiercer than that Mongol girl Ahai? Ahai followed her sister Anu onto the battlefield in the Western Regions, and in front of your son she's still perfectly obedient."

"In that case," Zhu Cilang said, "once the Crown Prince has made his choice, you will come and choose Ahuan. Remember this well: she is to be your primary consort! Your heir can only be born of her. The sons you have with Ahai and with the Xu princess must not bear the surname Zhu; they are to establish separate family lines. Do you understand?"

(End of Chapter)