The Abused Novel Heroine Became a Clingy Sweetheart [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 52

Raindrops rolled off the eaves, hitting the ground and splashing small bursts of water.

Golden-armored guards surrounded the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony, and all the civil and military officials moved to the side, making space for the successful candidates of the imperial examinations.

Song Yaoci, Deng Jia, and one other scholar were seated in the front-most positions.

Emperor Ning Jing sat at the head of the hall, looking down upon everyone.

In addition to several of the princes, he had unprecedentedly summoned the Princess of Dingxi and You Ting to participate as well.

The court officials speculated about the Emperor Ning Jing’s intention in this move, concluding that the Emperor genuinely wished to promote the policy of women becoming officials.

As servants of the Emperor, they naturally had to learn to guess the thoughts of their superior.

Those who had originally intended to persuade Emperor Ning Jing to abolish this policy began to ponder in silence, waiting to see what outcome this final examination would yield.

The scholars had never participated in such a grand event and could barely contain their excitement, each sitting ramrod straight, trying their best to remain calm.

Among them, Song Yaoci appeared particularly composed.

Perhaps because she had entered the palace several times and seen the Emperor quite often, she was less prone to nervousness.

Brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone were laid out on the table. Her gaze drifted, subtly landing on a certain spot in the main hall.

You Ting rested her chin on her hand, her eyes curved into smiles, meeting Song Yaoci’s gaze.

In this solemn and majestic Hall of Supreme Harmony, an intimate and subtle affinity that no one knew about spread freely.

Song Yaoci’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she quickly withdrew her secret glance.

The corners of her mouth curved slightly upward, and her fingers stroked the red bean bracelet on her right wrist.

An inner official lit incense outside the hall, signaling the start of the final examination.

Under the expectant eyes of the crowd, Emperor Ning Jing stepped down from his imperial chair and approached the scholars.

His steps were unhurried. Compared to when You Ting had seen him a few days ago, Emperor Ning Jing seemed to have aged even more.

You Ting was lost in thought.

It was said that in recent years, Emperor Ning Jing had been engrossed in Taoist arts, even finding many folk sorcerers from outside the palace to refine elixirs for him.

It was unclear whether he sought immortality or something else.

In any case, these elixirs didn’t seem to be helping him; instead, they appeared to accelerate his aging process.

If this continued, the struggle for the throne among the princes would become an urgent matter.

In the original plot, Emperor Ning Jing did indeed weaken his body due to these elixirs and died quite early.

However, when he died, He Zhige had already become the Crown Prince.

But now, the situation was undecided, and anyone could succeed.

Perhaps this struggle for the throne would be even more turbulent than in the original plot.

Emperor Ning Jing looked at these young scholars, first delivering a few introductory remarks, and then getting straight to the point.

The first question he asked was about the border situation and whether to adopt a policy of war or peace with the Wujin Kingdom.

The officials frowned slightly, and the scholars began to put brush to paper, writing down their answers.

When they were almost finished writing, Emperor Ning Jing posed the second question regarding their views on female officials.

His expression was stern, making it difficult to discern any deeper emotion from his face.

For a time, the only sound in the main hall was the faint scraping of brush tips against paper.

The following questions mostly related to state policy, along with a few concerning their interpretation of ancient sayings.

By the time the scholars had finished answering, only a tiny bit of the incense outside the hall remained, its spark flickering faintly.

Emperor Ning Jing returned to his imperial chair. Inner officials collected the examination papers from the scholars and respectfully handed them over to Emperor Ning Jing.

He reached out and lazily began to flip through them.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation. The hall was silent, save for the subtle rustle of turning pages.

After a long time, when Song Yaoci and the others’ legs were beginning to feel numb, the high and mighty Emperor finally stopped his actions.

Emperor Ning Jing beckoned to the inner official beside him and whispered a few words.

A moment later, the inner official brought out the list of rankings for the final examination.

On the imperial yellow silk fabric, names were written one after another in ink.

“First place in the first rank—”

The inner official drew out the sharp, high-pitched voice and slowly pronounced a name: “Song Yaoci!”

This was followed by the names of the second and third place winners.

The results were final, and the entire assembly erupted in a commotion.

She was the first female top scholar since the founding of the nation, symbolizing that the women of this country would henceforth embark on a new chapter in their lives.

Song Yaoci, whose fingers had been continuously touching the red bean bracelet, finally relaxed.

She had always been confident in herself, but no one could be sure of the result until the very end.

Only at this moment could her heart truly settle.

Song Yaoci instinctively searched for You Ting’s figure in the crowd. The moment their eyes met, a genuine expression of joy blossomed on her lips.

Second place was Deng Jia, and third was a talented scholar who was equally famous as the two of them.

Significantly, female scholars occupied quite a few spots among the top three ranks.

This ranking seemed to confirm the Emperor’s intent.

Coupled with the fact that Emperor Ning Jing had summoned the Princess of Dingxi to the capital, everyone finally understood and offered their congratulations in unison.

After the final examination ended, people offering congratulations surrounded Song Yaoci and a few others, making it impossible to pass through.

By the time Song Yaoci finally managed to find an opportunity to slip away, the sky had gradually darkened.

She avoided the crowds and let out a soft sigh of relief.

A familiar voice suddenly rang out by her ear: “Miss Song has excelled in the imperial examination and become the top scholar. I wonder if you would still grace my Duanyang Palace with your presence for a meal?”

She turned her head and saw the woman’s charming, smiling eyes.

“Your Highness,” Song Yaoci called out happily.

She smiled, revealing a small dimple, and asked expectantly, “Did Your Highness wait for me specifically?”

You Ting raised an eyebrow and countered, “Otherwise?”

“In the entire court, who else is worth my wait besides my Yaoyao?”

Her voice was light and casual, spoken in a very normal tone, yet it made Song Yaoci’s heart flutter with bursts of joy.

She liked Her Highness.

She also liked being with Her Highness.

And she especially liked the way Her Highness called her name, as if… in this moment, they were inseparable.

On You Ting’s side, she happily returned to Duanyang Palace with her people.

Meanwhile, on the other end, He Zhige encountered continuous setbacks.

As agreed upon with his advisors, he first sought out Deng Jia before the final examination, attempting to win him over.

He had prepared enough Heavenly Mountain Red tea, but unexpectedly found his courtyard on Beitang Street empty.

The people there told He Zhige that Deng Jia had moved away with his mother.

No one knew where they had moved to.

It wasn’t until the final examination was over that He Zhige managed to corner Deng Jia on the road.

Before he could finish the carefully prepared rhetoric, Deng Jia offered an apologetic smile and walked away with He Changsi.

He Zhige was both surprised and angry.

He Changsi had always maintained an appearance of being aloof and uninvolved. Why was he now also trying to attract followers?

With Deng Jia gone, He Zhige planned to seek out other scholars he favored.

However, every single one of them either politely declined or flatly refused.

Or they had already become subordinates of He Ting or He Changsi.

He Zhige gained nothing from the imperial examination.

Those he favored had all rejected him.

He looked down upon the remaining scholars that no one else had picked up.

This was a major blow to the usually proud He Zhige. The fury in his heart had nowhere to be vented.

He Zhige was only strong within the military camp.

These civil officials inherently disliked him, and he had no influence in the Hanlin Academy.

Even if he wanted to seek revenge, he had no means to do so.

He Zhige returned to his residence with a gloomy face. His advisor, seeing this, also frowned with worry.

“How could this be?” the advisor muttered softly. “It’s as if someone knew of His Highness’s plans in advance…”

The latter part of his sentence was too quiet for He Zhige to hear.

He Zhige slammed his fist heavily onto the table, his eyes fierce: “I’d also like to know why things turned out this way! He Ting is one thing, but now He Changsi is also getting involved!”

The advisor pondered, “Your Highness, the Second Prince is the legitimate son born to the Empress. The Empress’s maternal family has deep roots in the court. If he also participates in the struggle for the Crown Prince position, I fear it will be very detrimental to you.”

In the past, they had never paid attention to the Second Prince, because he seemed completely uninterested in power and had never been involved in the center of power.

He Zhige had even privately mocked He Changsi as an incompetent fool.

But since this imperial examination, everything seemed to have changed.

He Zhige clenched his fists tightly. “Since returning to the capital, not a single thing has gone smoothly.”

“Please keep calm, Your Highness,” the advisor said. “You wield strong military power. If things truly become irreversible, you still have a great chance of winning.”

He Zhige stared at him for a long time, slightly narrowing his eyes: “Are you suggesting I rebel?”

The advisor showed no fear and smiled faintly: “Your Highness is of royal blood. How can you speak of rebellion?”

He bowed, his voice lowered a little: “A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. If the Son of Heaven dies, Your Highness should naturally take up the heavy responsibility in a time of crisis.”

Emperor Ning Jing’s health was deteriorating day by day, which was an open secret.

When the time of upheaval truly arrived, He Zhige, who commanded military power, would naturally have a greater chance of victory.

He Zhige suddenly burst into laughter, vigorously patting the advisor’s shoulder: “Good! You are very good!”

His previous frustration was swept away: “I will definitely be the one to laugh last!”

His Royal Sister was his, and this world would also be his!

Thinking of You Ting, He Zhige’s eyes darkened a few shades again.

He still hadn’t found out who had cured his Royal Sister of the ‘Heart-Wrenching Love-Knot.

The people he sent to monitor her reported that, apart from He Ting and He Changsi, no other man had approached Duanyang Palace.

Not even a young eunuch.

He Zhige thought hesitantly, could it be that his Royal Sister found the antidote for the ‘Heart-Wrenching Love-Knot’ herself?

But he didn’t even possess that thing.

However, this conjecture was more comforting to He Zhige than the idea that someone else had reached his Royal Sister before him.

After all, his Royal Sister had been quite different since childhood.

He thought, it doesn’t matter.

He just needed to wait a little longer, until the Emperor passed away, and then the world would be He Zhige’s.

“Is the palace still refining those bizarre elixirs?” He Zhige asked.

The advisor replied, “According to our spies in the palace, the Emperor has been consuming more than usual these days.”

A trace of mockery appeared on He Zhige’s face.

Emperor Ning Jing was not a qualified father, but he could be considered a good emperor.

He had been clear-headed for most of his life, only to be defeated in his old age by this illusory path to immortality.

He Zhige said, “If I were Emperor, the first thing I would do is kill all these sorcerers who only know how to pretend to be ghosts and gods.”

The advisor looked at him several times, wanting to speak but refraining.

The most criticized aspect of He Zhige was his excessive bloodlust.

He feared that this would lead to a loss of public support.

If not handled well, he might become a cruel and tyrannical ruler.

The advisor wanted to persuade him, but he knew He Zhige’s temperament, and ultimately swallowed the words he wanted to say.

The wind outside the window wailed, and dark clouds gathered.

This final imperial examination was only the beginning. The sky over the Imperial City seemed to be about to change.

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