Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes stirred. She stepped forward at once, bent at the waist, and saluted with cupped hands. “In answer to Your Majesty, this student is indeed Sheng Zhaoning.”

After the Palace Examination, they were considered Student of the Emperor. Before receiving official appointments, they referred to themselves as students.

The Emperor studied the person before him with a steady gaze.

“You have quite the nerve to write what you did.”

His voice was not loud, yet it rang through the great hall, carrying the innate authority of one who inspired awe without anger.

Everyone’s heart gave a jolt.

Sheng Zhaoning’s essay from the Metropolitan Examination had already spread throughout court and country. Many had been astonished by how direct and cutting her words were, and even more astonished that she had not been reprimanded or punished for it. Instead, she had ranked first as Huiyuan.

Now the Palace Examination essays had not yet been released, so no one knew what shocking words she had written this time. But from the Emperor’s remark, they knew she must have caused another sensation.

“The conditions of the world were stated as they are. This student would not dare speak recklessly,” Sheng Zhaoning said, kneeling.

Seeing her so composed, without the slightest trace of fear in word or manner, the Emperor’s interest was piqued. He deliberately chilled his voice. “Do you know how many people were dismissed and brought down because of you?”

As expected, Sheng Zhaoning’s body stiffened.

The Emperor of Wei watched for her reaction, but the panic and unease he had anticipated never appeared.

Sheng Zhaoning thought quickly, then soon calmed herself.

She bowed low and kowtowed. Her words came clearly, one by one. “Your Majesty governs with benevolence. The capable rise to their posts, while the mediocre are naturally cast aside.”

Everyone in the hall sucked in a breath.

Even the Emperor of Wei raised a brow.

Put bluntly, what she meant was: as Emperor, you have done well. You keep capable people in court as officials, and those without ability should be driven off to wherever they belong, lest they occupy positions meant for better people.

It was as good as saying that she had only offered a suggestion; the one who had truly acted was the Emperor. At the same time, she had not forgotten to praise his decision as benevolent and sagely, one that elevated the capable and demoted the mediocre, leaving no opening for blame.

“You really are not afraid of death,” the Emperor concluded.

It should have been a statement terrifying enough to make anyone’s heart tremble, yet there was a faint smile in the Emperor’s tone, as though the coldness from a moment ago had never existed.

Sheng Zhaoning remained prostrate on the ground and did not lift her head. “This student only wishes for clean governance and peace throughout the realm.”

At that, the Emperor of Wei laughed twice. “Good. Very good. Clean governance indeed!”

At last, he no longer concealed his admiration for Sheng Zhaoning. Rising, he walked to stand before her. “My Great Wei lacks precisely talents such as you.”

In the previous rounds of examination, Sheng Zhaoning had ranked first each time. If she also took first place in this Palace Examination, she would be the first person since the founding of Great Wei to achieve Lianzhong Liuyuan.

Such a person was rare across all ages.

And the emergence of such a person represented the reigning Emperor’s virtuous rule, his grace extending across the land, and the descent of an auspicious literary star from the heavens. When history was written in the future, it would be a richly recorded stroke in the annals.

Because of this, the Emperor of Wei favored Sheng Zhaoning all the more. He deliberately raised his voice and declared, “Issue the decree. In the nineteenth year of Jingzhang, Sheng Zhaoning is hereby granted First Class, first place, Zhuangyuan.”

After speaking, the Emperor of Wei turned his head and looked at the other nine candidates, then selected two whose performances were relatively outstanding and called their names.

“First Class, second place, Bangyan: Yu Hongzhi.”

“First Class, third place, Tanhua: Wang Zhuo.”

The two whose names were called jolted all over. Shoulders trembling, they stepped forward and knelt beside Sheng Zhaoning, kowtowing with her. “This student is deeply honored and bows in gratitude for our Emperor’s sacred grace!”

The Emperor of Wei turned and sat back upon the dragon throne. Seeing that the rankings of the three First Class candidates had been decided, the official from Honglu Temple prepared to announce the list according to the next step of the ceremony.

The few of them withdrew from the hall together. Honglu Temple read the three First Class names aloud three times, and the voices passing layer upon layer outward resounded across the entire front of Taihe Hall.

Only at this moment did Sheng Zhaoning finally feel the massive stone in her heart crash down, leaving her steady at last.

On both sides, the Imperial Guard stood solemn-faced. Around her, ceremonial officials gathered. The newly selected Jinshi assembled outside the hall. She stood before Taihe Hall as the bright spring sunlight fell upon her. All honor and envy gathered on her alone. This was the most glorious, high-spirited moment that would belong to her in all her life.

Below the steps stood three hundred Jinshi, yet there was only one Zhuangyuan.

Her gaze drifted toward the vermilion palace walls. Above them, the sky was washed clean and blue, the clouds pale and loose. From this day forward, she would be confined to this one place, standing at the very center of power, rising, sinking, and maneuvering with the tides.

—

After receiving the golden list, the master of ceremonies brought over several palace flowers and pinned them to the caps of the three First Class scholars. Then attendants below led over three imperial horses. This was the exclusive honor reserved for the First Class three: the Imperial Street Parade.

Sheng Zhaoning sat astride the tall horse. The spring wind snapped around her, lifting the horse’s mane. Its hooves struck across the palace road, passed through the palace gates, and entered Mingxi Street, the busiest avenue in Capital City.

The golden list had been posted at the street entrance, drawing half the city to gather and look. As the three imperial horses proceeded down the street, both sides were packed with commoners who had come to watch the spectacle and share in the good fortune. Even the nearby teahouses and inns were crowded with people.

“Look, that’s the Zhuangyuan!”

“This Zhuangyuan is so handsome. How is he even better-looking than the Tanhua?”

“I wonder if the Zhuangyuan is married yet, and what sort of woman he likes!”

“Zhuangyuan, look over here, look over here…”

Cheers kept rising from both sides of the road. Nearly every gaze was fixed on Sheng Zhaoning, while the two men behind her were thoroughly ignored.

Some bold young women even grabbed the fruits and handkerchiefs in their hands and flung them at Sheng Zhaoning all at once. Not only did she have to endure the resentful looks from the two men behind her, she also had to stay constantly alert to her surroundings, afraid some fruit might come flying out of nowhere and hit her in the head.

From the railing on the second floor of Wanhe Tower, one could just see the three riders passing through the Imperial Street Parade.

A woman leaned against the railing and looked out. Her brows were like kingfisher feathers, her autumn-bright eyes misted with water. Half her face was hidden beneath a veil, making her features hard to discern, though her beauty was still faintly visible.

“Is today the day the Palace Examination results are announced?” she asked in a soft, gentle voice, tinged with puzzlement.

She had only come to Wanhe Tower out of boredom, to listen to music and ease her mood. She had not expected to run straight into such a grand scene.

Her gaze fell on the person at the front. The tall horse passed outside the building, and just then, the rider happened to lift her eyes. Their gazes collided head-on.

He Sui felt her breath catch. She hurriedly looked away, a flush rising swiftly across her face. That clear, handsome, jade-like countenance had struck her eyes without warning and carved itself deep into her mind, impossible to shake.

At that moment, the maid beside her smiled and answered, “Yes. Everyone outside is shouting the Zhuangyuan’s name. I think it’s… Sheng Zhaoning?”

When He Sui heard that name, she felt heat sear through her chest, as if even the breath she exhaled carried a scorching warmth.

Sheng Zhaoning…

She repeated the name over and over in her heart. When she looked down again, she saw only a straight, pine-like back at the center of the procession, moving farther and farther away.

As for this romantic debt unknowingly incurred, Sheng Zhaoning naturally knew nothing of it.

On the long street, the whole city seemed to have emptied into the road.

Sheng Zhaoning finally understood what it meant to ride swift-hoofed in the spring wind of triumph and see all the flowers of Chang’an in a single day.

Walking beneath such bright spring light, with cheering crowds on either side and every admiring or envious gaze turned toward her, she felt the singular splendor and joy that belonged only to a First Class scholar.

After the parade, the grand celebration gradually drew to a close.

Zhou Wei had already prepared a carriage and horses, waiting for Sheng Zhaoning to return from the procession.

Ordinarily, after the Zhuangyuan returned home, the family would set off firecrackers in celebration, host a lavish banquet, and scatter silver coins so the surrounding well-wishers could share in the good fortune.

But Sheng Zhaoning was from Xuzhou. Such a scene would have to wait until the messenger bearing the good news delivered it to Xuzhou, where the Sheng Family would handle the arrangements. Here in Capital City, everything would be kept simple.