Transmigrated into a Scummy Alpha Playboy in Ancient Times - Chapter 122

In the month that followed, all of the Empress’s close ministers were busy preparing for the imperial examination. Shen Kaiyuan assigned Han Shu to oversee the soldiers responsible for escorting the sealed exam papers. As for the chief examiners in each region, she was especially thoughtful in her selection—choosing upright, reputable officials from the capital. Some were reassigned to serve as lead examiners in the provinces, where additional assistant examiners were appointed. To prevent corruption, members of the Han family’s military were dispatched to supervise the process, forming a complete and strict examination system.

At the county and township levels, the exam papers were sealed in envelopes just as Yu’er had recommended. Anyone who dared to open them early or leak the questions would be charged with the serious crime of deceiving the monarch.

As the capital of Beichuan, the city of Jingcheng was naturally one of the pilot locations for the examination.

One day, Yu’er and Su Muyu went to Xianyue Tower to enjoy some roast duck. Along the way, they couldn’t help but overhear conversations everywhere—most of them centered on the upcoming imperial exam. Many scholars, once trapped by their lack of connections, were now filled with hope and determination, eager to compete.

They sat in a private room on the second floor, overlooking the bustling street as they enjoyed their meal.

Su Muyu took a few bites of roast duck and glanced down at the booksellers outside. Thanks to the exam, the price of study materials had skyrocketed. Still, hopeful candidates crowded the stalls, hoping to cram in last-minute knowledge.

“Everyone seems really excited about the exam,” Su Muyu said with a smile, pointing toward a vendor. “That man had a whole stack of books earlier—now look, only a few left.”

Yu’er chuckled as she took another bite of duck. “That’s because the imperial exam is probably the fairest way to earn a government post right now. Naturally, everyone wants to try their luck. It’s only human.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask—how did you come up with this idea in the first place?” Su Muyu looked at her curiously. It was as if Yu’er always had a solution for everything, and always managed to think of things no one else could.

Yu’er thought for a moment, then said, “The noble families in Beichuan have too much power. When the Cui family resigned en masse, it was basically their way of showing displeasure to my aunt. At its root, the problem is that these powerful clans have too much control. So I thought—why not bring in a new group of scholars from poor families? They have no influence behind them, and the only person they can rely on is Her Majesty. That loyalty makes them valuable allies, capable of counterbalancing the noble families.”

Su Muyu smiled. “Well, whatever my princess says is always right.”

“What do you mean ‘princess’? Shouldn’t you be saying, ‘whatever my wife says is always right’?” Yu’er teased with a grin.

Su Muyu’s cheeks turned pink, and she shot Yu’er a playful glare. This person always talked nonsense—clearly the dominant party in the relationship, yet always pretending to be the delicate one.

~~

In the blink of an eye, it was already July. Snowflakes began to fall once more, signaling the end of Beichuan’s short spring.

More than a hundred candidates had passed the earlier exams and were now entering the imperial palace to take part in the palace exam. Under the guidance of palace attendants, they were lined up and led into the Hall of Two Principles.

Inside the hall, desks and chairs had been arranged in neat rows. Each desk had a numbered placard, allowing candidates to find their assigned seats.

At the top of the fourteen stone steps sat Shen Kaiyuan, dignified and composed on her dragon throne, awaiting the start of the final exam. Below her, on the ninth step, two wooden chairs had been placed. On the right sat the Crown Princess Shen Yining. On the left sat Yu’er.

Yu’er could barely sit still. The chair beneath her felt like it was on fire. It made sense for Little Miss Prim to be seated there—after all, she was the Crown Princess. But Yu’er? She was just a commandery princess. Sitting beside the Crown Princess made her want to cry from embarrassment.

Lately, because of the exam preparations, her aunt had dragged her into the palace almost daily. Sometimes, she had to get up before dawn. Each time she watched her little kitten curled up and sleeping soundly in her arms, Yu’er couldn’t help but feel jealous. But there was no escaping it—she had to go. Just like an office worker from her previous life, she was stuck clocking in, day after day.

And today was no different. She was still sleepy but had been summoned early to take her seat.

Shen Yining, experiencing her first time as an exam proctor, found it all quite interesting. She leaned toward Yu’er with a smile and whispered, “Cousin, do you think most of today’s candidates are young, or are there more older scholars?”

“Probably the younger ones,” Yu’er muttered in reply. “It’d be even better if more of them were women. More female candidates would be nice.”

Although both men and women were allowed to take office in Beichuan, male candidates still far outnumbered female ones. Yu’er privately hoped more talented young women would seize this opportunity.

Soon, the candidates entered the Hall of Two Principles. They lined up in two rows and knelt to pay their respects to the Empress and the Crown Princess. Yu’er sat there, completely uncomfortable. Her aunt and Little Miss Prim were more than enough to represent the royal family—why did they have to drag her along too?

After the candidates had performed the formal kneeling salute to the Empress and the Crown Princess, they turned to Yu’er and respectfully cupped their hands in greeting. At that moment, Yu’er felt like the chair beneath her had grown even hotter.

Shen Kaiyuan, seeing the formalities were complete, smiled down at the scholars below and said, “You are all the best of the best, chosen from every province. This is not an easy opportunity to come by. The court is determined to welcome talent from all walks of life. I hope you make the most of this chance and show us your best.”

She paused, then added warmly, “You hundred or so who have made it to the palace exam—you are now my personal disciples. I hope that one day you will become the most reliable ministers at my side, helping me govern Beichuan.”

With a soft smile, Shen Kaiyuan continued, “Alright, everyone, take your seats. The palace exam is about to begin.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the examinees replied in unison.

Most of them were commoners, many of whom had never even seen the Empress in person. Some dared only to steal glances at the three women seated above them, none bold enough to meet their eyes directly.

Soon, the exam began. Wenjing brought forward the sealed exam papers, opened them, and read the questions aloud. The candidates quickly noted down the topics, then began answering in earnest on their sheets.

The whole process was quite dull. Yu’er, still half-asleep from the early morning wake-up, nearly dozed off in her seat. She stood to stretch her legs, exchanged a knowing glance with Shen Yining, and then quietly stepped down from the platform. Mimicking the examiners from her past life, she strolled up and down the rows, doing a casual inspection of the hall. Unlike those past-life examiners who liked to stare intensely at the test-takers, Yu’er merely glanced at each person before moving on.

After one full round, she returned to the platform and obediently took her seat again.

Little Miss Prim, on the other hand, remained seated upright and proper. Yu’er worried about her and leaned over to whisper, “You’ve been sitting like this for a while. Are you feeling okay? How’s your shoulder?”

“I’m fine, Cousin,” Shen Yining replied softly, putting on a brave face. But after Yu’er’s question, she quietly moved her shoulders a bit—there was indeed some soreness, a dull ache that hadn’t quite gone away.

Yu’er watched her with growing concern. Those shoulder wounds, though scabbed over, had nearly pierced all the way through. The injuries had left lasting pain. Whenever she stayed still for too long, the ache would return.

Yu’er suddenly remembered her cousin’s upcoming wedding and grew even more worried. Just from looking at her, Yu’er felt it was clear—her little cousin’s body still wasn’t in good shape. That injury had left behind real damage.

Shen Yining noticed Yu’er constantly staring at her and gave a soft cough to catch her attention. Only then did Yu’er snap out of it and look away.

Shen Kaiyuan, seated above them, noticed the two girls quietly interacting and finally allowed herself a small smile. Her Ning’er wasn’t alone—at least she had someone by her side who truly cared for her, someone who would always look out for her.

Soon, the morning session came to an end. Wenjing called for several attendants to bring the finished exam papers up to the jade table at the front. The Empress would begin reviewing them personally and choose the top three candidates right there on the spot.

Shen Kaiyuan glanced at Yu’er and Shen Yining seated below her and found them too far away for her to easily share the answer sheets she liked.

So, she gave the order, “Yu’er, Ning’er—come up here.”

Then she turned to Wenjing again. “Wenjing, have someone bring chairs up. Let them sit next to me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Wenjing replied, bowing before quickly sending attendants to prepare the seating.

Yu’er hesitated. Those fourteen steps leading up to the imperial throne weren’t just for anyone to climb. Even standing on the ninth step, where she was now, already bordered on overstepping her place. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t somewhere a commandery princess should be.

Shen Yining glanced at her cousin, noticing that Yu’er still hadn’t moved, and gently reminded her, “Cousin, let’s go. Mother asked us to come up.”

Yu’er cleared her throat quietly and mumbled under her breath, “Your Highness, you go ahead. It’s really not appropriate for me to be up there.”

Shen Yining gave her a warm smile. “It’s fine, Cousin. We’re family. Come on.”

Yu’er didn’t answer. Yes, they were family—but they were also sovereign and subject. She wasn’t about to step out of line and cause trouble for herself.

Shen Kaiyuan had been watching the two from above. When she saw Yu’er still hesitating, she spoke firmly, “Yu’er, what are you doing? I told you to come up. Hurry.”

“Let’s go,” Little Miss Prim said softly, gently tugging at Yu’er’s sleeve.

Now that even the Empress had personally told her to come up, Yu’er had no choice but to steel herself and follow Shen Yining up all fourteen steps. They sat down together next to the jade table.

As Shen Kaiyuan read through the exam papers, she handed the more impressive ones to Shen Yining and Yu’er to look over. The first question, which focused on Confucian classics, didn’t hold much interest for Yu’er—she couldn’t really make sense of the deep scholarly text. But the second question, the one about handling real political issues, caught her attention.

One candidate’s answer stood out. It wasn’t just good—it was exceptional. The response covered everything from how the government should react to a natural disaster, to how to calm the people afterward, prevent outbreaks of disease, and manage reconstruction. It even addressed how to resettle displaced refugees. It was thoughtful and thorough, covering every angle.

Yu’er was deeply impressed. In ancient times, there were no prepared templates or model answers like in her previous life. To write something this complete on the spot was no small feat.

Shen Kaiyuan noticed Yu’er staring at the paper in admiration and asked, “Yu’er, what do you think?”

“This final essay is excellent. Very thorough,” Yu’er replied honestly. “As for the first part… I’ll admit it’s beyond me. I hope Your Majesty won’t mind.”

Shen Kaiyuan smiled, clearly not offended. She had Yu’er pass the paper to Shen Yining. After reading through it, Shen Yining nodded in approval.

“The interpretation of the text is clear and concise,” she said. “And the policy essay is even better. This person would make a fine official.”

“Then shall we name this one the top scorer?” Shen Kaiyuan asked with a smile.

Yu’er nodded quickly. “Yes, definitely.” She had glanced at the name on the exam paper and was delighted to find that the candidate was most likely a young woman.

Excited, she forgot all about her earlier discomfort sitting at the top of the hall and joined Shen Yining in a lively discussion. The two of them chatted like curious bystanders watching something unfold—completely at ease.

Shen Kaiyuan joined them as well, and together they chose the final top three candidates.

When they were done, Shen Kaiyuan returned to her seat on the dragon throne and addressed the hall with a gentle smile:

“I have just reviewed all of your answers and selected the top three scorers. Normally, new officials would be sent to local counties or provinces to gain experience before having the chance to serve in the capital. But this year is different. There are many vacancies in the court—including around me. So, I’m making an exception.”

She looked directly at the candidates and said, “The top three from this palace exam will begin serving at my side immediately.”

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