As the Imperial Guards arrived at Dexin Garden, they were informed that Huai Qing had just finished practicing swordplay and was bathing, so Xu Qi'an was asked to wait outside.

Heh, did she intentionally bathe just because she heard I was coming? Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

So he waited outside Dexin Garden for two quarters of an hour. Then a small palace maid wearing a light yellow palace dress stepped over the threshold and softly said, "Master Xu, His Highness requests your presence."

Entering the elegant garden, Xu Qi'an saw Huai Qing, who had just finished bathing, in the front hall for receiving guests. Her beautiful face was adorned with a blush, and her eyes sparkled.

She had gained a touch of feminine charm while losing some of her noble and aloof demeanor.

She looked like a beautiful jade come to life.

This is what it means to have a woman's charm. Being cold and aloof all day long, carrying oneself with a princess's air, is not at all cute... Xu Qi'an greeted respectfully, "I have seen Your Highness."

Huai Qing had a palace maid bring tea and her voice was cool and pleasant, "What brings you here, Master Xu?"

"My younger cousin has passed the imperial examination, but he comes from Yunlu Academy. I am worried about his future." Xu Qi'an earnestly asked for advice, "I wonder if Your Highness has any good ideas?"

When faced with something he couldn't figure out, asking a clever person for advice was the best choice. One must learn to make use of all available tools. If the Princess didn't have any ideas, he would go ask Wei Yuan.

Huai Qing's eyes flickered, and she took a sip of tea. She immediately understood Xu Qi'an's meaning. He didn't want his cousin to be labeled as a member of the "eunuch party."

A clever person never puts all their chips in one place.

Although Xu Ningyan was a martial artist, he was extremely clever... Huai Qing smiled, "Have you been to Qingzhou? How much do you know about it?"

"The governance is clear and orderly. Ziyang Hermit has managed Qingzhou well..." Xu Qi'an suddenly understood Huai Qing's meaning. Qingzhou was now under the sole control of Ziyang Hermit. With him in charge, if the students from Yunlu Academy were appointed to Qingzhou, they would definitely be able to display their talents without being suppressed.

"Qingzhou is a pure land opened up by Yunlu Academy for Confucian scholars." The Princess didn't beat around the bush.

This... My only younger brother of this generation, I can't bear to let him go to Qingzhou. His journey is long, and I worry as his older brother!

Xu Qi'an let out a sigh, "I understand."

Forget it, let Erlang stay in the capital for now, and think of a solution later. Perhaps he could find a backer himself.

"By the way, does Your Highness have any interest in dialogue books?" Xu Qi'an tried his last resort.

"I have never read those things."

The Princess's tone was proud, as if a female doctor said, "Online novels? Hmph, I never read that kind of stuff!"

"I found a good book. If Your Highness has nothing to do, you can take a look... Oh, please keep it a secret." Xu Qi'an took out "The Overbearing Female Monarch Falls in Love with Me" from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Huai Qing didn't even look at it, she just nodded politely.

After seeing Xu Qi'an off, she was about to instruct the palace maid to put it away and deal with it herself. But when her gaze swept over the cover, her eyes suddenly stopped.

The Overbearing Female Monarch Falls in Love with Me... Female Monarch?!

The title was so rebellious... Huai Qing suddenly became interested. Since she had nothing else to do, it wouldn't hurt to take a look.

So she sat back down and opened the book with the rebellious title.

The story was about a scholar who accidentally entered the demon realm. He was talented and knowledgeable. But the residents of the demon realm wanted to eat him, so they set up an oil pot to fry him.

At this moment, the female monarch appeared. She was the only scholar in the demon realm and possessed extraordinary wisdom and culture. She saved the scholar and kept him in her harem. The two of them composed poems and discussed ancient and modern times.

During the process, the female monarch fully displayed her overbearing and cold demeanor, but she cared deeply for the scholar in her heart. She just didn't know how to express it. Her favorite catchphrase was, "Man, you're playing with fire."

Huai Qing had never seen anything so interesting. It had no depth whatsoever and couldn't teach her anything. It was completely different from the obscure ancient books she loved to read.

But for some reason, even though it was just trivial matters and boring conversations in daily life, they seemed to have a special charm.

It made Huai Qing unable to resist wanting to see various sides of the female monarch... To appear saintly in front of others?

Yes, to appear saintly in front of others.

To trample men underfoot, to keep men in her harem, to treat men with an overbearing and cold attitude, but even such a cold female monarch had a soft side in her heart.

And the scholar was obedient to the female monarch, always considering her in everything. He would even get angry and jealous when the female monarch drank with the demon generals.

Unconsciously, dusk had arrived, and she had actually been reading for over two hours.

Huai Qing also discovered another advantage of this book. It didn't require any brainpower.

It was just entertaining.

After enjoying it, Huai Qing suddenly felt a surge of anger. What have I done?

I actually spent two hours reading such a book with no substance or knowledge?! How is this any different from wasting my life? How can I waste my time and energy on something so unproductive?

She felt deep guilt for this.

"Just a leisure book..."

Huai Qing disdainfully threw the book aside, got up and left the reception hall. A few minutes later, she turned back and took the book with her, hiding it in her sleeve.

It wasn't because she wanted to review it again before sleeping at night, but because she didn't want others to see the book. It was like those secret books in the women's chambers, not to be seen by anyone.

...At the same time, Shao Yin Yuan, Lin An was immersed in "Love Heaven Great Saint" and couldn't extricate herself.

"So, this is what men and women do... Ah, how can that dog slave show me this kind of thing to me?"

Lin An rolled on the bed, blushing, and read the 5000-word content of Purple Cloud Fairy and Long Ao Tian's bed scene. While shouting, she said, "I hate it, I hate it."

While reading every word and sentence, she imagined the scene.

Then she felt her body burning, her legs rubbing against each other from time to time, her round face turning red like a ripe apple, her peach blossom eyes already charming, and after being covered with a layer of mist, they became even more seductive.

However, the incident of men and women's love was just a decoration to the story, and the core of the story was the love story between Purple Cloud Fairy and Long Ao Tian.

The first two-thirds of the story were all sweet love, and the last third was full of danger.

When Lin An saw Long Ao Tian being skinned and thrown into eternal reincarnation as a beast, while Purple Cloud Fairy was forever imprisoned in Guanghan Palace, she found her pillow wet.

She sniffed and angrily said, "Why is it missing below? That dog slave, why is it missing below?"

After angrily cursing, she called a palace maid and said, "I want to take a bath, prepare hot water."

"?"

The palace maid was surprised and said, "It's almost time for dinner, why take a bath at this time?"

Lin An suddenly became angry and said, "I told you to go, so go."

Soon, the hot water was ready, and after the palace maid adjusted the water temperature, she served Lin An to bathe.

Her white body soaked in the water, flower petals floated on the surface, revealing her round and slender jade shoulders and a pair of delicate clavicles.

"Tell me, among the guards around me, who is the most handsome, talented, and interesting, and the most loyal to me?" Lin An suddenly asked.

"They are all loyal, as for interesting and talented, this servant doesn't know. But if it's not a guard, this servant has someone in mind."

"Who!" Lin An immediately asked.

"It's Master Xu, Master Xu is handsome, talented, and often makes His Highness laugh. Although he is not a guard, he is your trusted confidant, and he is not a scholar, but a Nightwatcher, so he can be considered a guard."

Lin An bit her lip, gently flicked the flower petals, and saw her own face reflected in the rippling water, her appearance beautiful, her face blushing, seeming a little shy.

...........

Imperial City, Wang Mansion!

In the study of Prime Minister Wang Zhenwen, the golden sunset shone through the lattice window. Wang Zhenwen, who was in his fifties, finished reviewing the documents and swept them all into the corner.

Then he spread a piece of paper, pressed it with a paperweight, and began to write... At this moment, Wang Miss came in holding a bowl of wolfberry ginseng soup.

Wang Zhenwen ignored her and took the opportunity to write with a sense of pride.

A golden cup of wine is worth a thousand coins, a jade plate of delicacies is worth ten thousand coins.

........

The road is difficult, the road is difficult, with many forks, where am I now?

The strong wind will break the waves at times, and the cloud sails will sail straight through the vast sea.

Wang Miss put down the ginseng soup and looked at it for a long time, unable to move her gaze away, murmuring, "Father, you have written a masterpiece. When this poem is published, it will surely shock the court."

As a female literary enthusiast, she still had the ability to appreciate. Wang Miss was impressed by the spirit of this poem.

Wang Zhenwen shook his head, picked up the ginseng tea and took a sip, exhaling comfortably, "I didn't write this, it was written by the newly appointed top scholar. Didn't you go to the Imperial College today? Didn't you see him?

"It is said that he is a talented person and a rare handsome man."

"I haven't seen him, I'm just here to join in the fun." Wang Miss denied it, but her gaze kept looking at the desk.

"It took a lot of effort for me to reintroduce poetry to the imperial examination. There was a lot of resistance."

Wang Zhenwen pointed his finger at the paper, making a tapping sound, and smiled happily, "Now that such a great work has come out, I can hold my head high. It can be considered a reward to the scholars of the world and a tribute to our ancestors, not letting the treasures of poetry completely decline."

After the list of successful candidates was released, Xu Xinnian's poem "The Difficult Road" spread among the examiners, and those who heard it applauded and were filled with enthusiasm.

In a few days, this poem will spread throughout the capital and be widely sung.

"I heard that the top scholar is a student of Yunlu Academy." Wang Miss "casually" said.

Wang Zhenwen pondered for a moment and sighed, "What a pity."

The court officials excluded scholars from Yunlu Academy, and as the Prime Minister, Wang Zhenwen couldn't afford to step back in this regard.

The more talented Xu Xinnian was, the more vigilant Wang Zhenwen became, and the less he would use him.

"Father!"

Wang Miss said while helping to tidy up the documents, "I want to hold a literary gathering at home and invite famous scholars from the capital to participate, using your name as the host."

The initiator of the literary gathering must be a respected figure, and Wang Miss did not have this qualification. However, she had held many literary gatherings at home, all of which were convened in the name of Wang Zhenwen.

Just after the Spring Examination, it was reasonable to hold a literary gathering.

Wang Zhenwen nodded and said, "Okay."

...........

Qingyun Mountain, Yunlu Academy.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, on the official road, a rider galloped and raised a cloud of dust.

The horse stopped at the foot of the mountain, and a student in Confucian robes jumped off the horse, holding a list and quickly ran towards the mountaintop.

"Good news, good news..."

He shouted while running, and soon entered the academy.Along the way, students kept coming out to check upon hearing the news. The messenger student ignored all inquiries and headed straight for the study of Great Scholar Zhang Shen.

Zhang Shen, who had heard the commotion, was already waiting outside his study, calmly watching the messenger student.

"A scholar should maintain tranquility. Neither great joy nor great sorrow should shake one's determination."

After giving this advice, Zhang Shen smiled, "Judging by your expression, it seems that this batch of students who participated in the imperial examination have all passed."

"Sir, it's more than just passing." The messenger student exclaimed excitedly, "Xu Ciou has topped the examination!"

Zhang Shen thought he had heard wrong and asked in a deep voice, "Topped the examination?!"

The messenger student nodded vigorously, "This is the list of academy students nominated by the Apricot List. Xu Ciou indeed topped the examination, it's absolutely true."

Zhang Shen excitedly snatched the list. It contained the names of the academy students who participated in the imperial examination and their rankings.

At the very top was Xu Ciou, ranked first, the top scorer.

Zhang Shen stared at the list for a long time, then suddenly roared, "Principal Zhao Shou, Chen Tai, Li Mubai... My student topped the examination, my student topped the examination!"

The messenger student was dumbfounded.

Soon, Principal Zhao Shou and the two Great Scholars were alerted and appeared outside Zhang Shen's study, ignoring the distance.

Zhao Shou, the principal with white hair and a disheveled appearance, asked first, "Is it true? Did that student top the examination?"

"Xu Ciou!"

Zhang Shen proudly announced.

Zhao Shou frowned, thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "Is it the student who never lost an argument?"

"....This shows his unparalleled eloquence." Zhang Shen replied.

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

Li Mubai and Chen Tai were both happy and a bit jealous.

A student from Yunlu Academy topping the examination was naturally a joyous occasion. Every teacher in the academy would be happy, even dancing with joy and celebrating with a big feast.

But that didn't stop them from feeling a bit sour, because Xu Ciou was Zhang Shen's student.

Principal Zhao Shou frowned and said, "By rights, he shouldn't have topped the examination. What did Ciou do?"

Considering the situation of the previous years' examinations, there must have been cheating in this session. Xu Ciou was a student of Yunlu Academy, and cheating was not his style.

But if it was all based on his own abilities, it seemed a bit far-fetched.

Zhang Shen reined in his joy and hummed, "Ciou's policy questions and interpretations of the classics were all top-notch, but if you say he was extraordinarily brilliant, he was still lacking."

But if he wasn't extraordinarily brilliant, how could he have won the support of at least two of the three examiners?

When he first heard the news from the student, he himself doubted whether he had heard it wrong.

For the full version, visit [ pawread.com ].

Seeing that the messenger student was still there, Li Mubai waved him over and asked, "Is there any other news from the capital?"

It was just a casual question, but the messenger student immediately nodded, "Yes, after I copied the Apricot List, I also felt that Xu Ciou's topping the examination was unusual, so I invited an examiner for a meal.

"The 'meal money' was fifteen taels, and I was about to ask the academy for reimbursement."

The Great Scholars nodded in approval. The students trained by Yunlu Academy were all highly capable and far from being pedantic.

After finishing his report, the messenger student took out a piece of paper from his bosom and said, "According to that official, Xu Ciou wrote a poem in the third round, which was highly praised by the Grand Scholar of the Eastern Pavilion. The other examiners were also very impressed. Coupled with his excellent performance in the first two rounds, he became the top scorer."

A poem?

The Great Scholars looked at each other.

.........

PS: Update first, revise later.