To be included in the Golden List was the pursuit of every Imperial Scholar.
Wen Mingyu thought it would already be good if he could pass the imperial examination and become asecond class jinshi, but he didn’t expect to be qualified to meet the Emperor in Taiji Hall and be personally interviewed by the Emperor.
At last, the final rankings were made public, revealing the specific rankings for the palace examination.
What everyone was most concerned about was who was the top scholar, second place, and third place in the first-class.
Wen Mingyu wasn’t surprised at all to know that the top scholar was Wei Chen, and he was also genuinely happy for him. However, what he never expected was that he himself would be ranked second place,secondonly to Wei Chen.
When he first learned of this good news, Wen Mingyu felt like he had been struck over the head, slipping into a dream, and in a trance, treading on cotton under his feet.
Before when Mu Zhan informed him that he would be among the top five, he believed he’d barely make fifth place, which already made him pleased—but the final result was even more shocking, shocking to the point that his initial reaction was to ask Mu Zhan—”It won’t be you who arranged it for me, right?”
Like he wanted to give him a good ranking but felt that being the top scholar was too eye-catching, so he settled him in second place.
Upon hearing this, Mu Zhan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Do you have so little confidence in yourself? I’ve told you that you have the ability. Besides, doing such a thing is only causing you harm.”
Wen Mingyu actually knew he wouldn’t do such a thing. He thought so rationally, but emotionally, he thought that it didn’t seem so strange for Mu Zhan to do it.
Mu Zhan seemed to read his mind and sighed deliberately, teasing him. “What sort of person am I in your heart, really?”
Wen Mingyu obediently said in a beat, “I was wrong. Your Majesty is the most impartial and fair. It’s me who thought too much and misunderstood.”
Mu Zhan rested his chin on one hand while the other hand picked up a wisp of Wen Mingyu’s hair. He fiddled with it as he slowly said, “That’s not true. This one did a lot of things that should not be done—like asking you to rest on the throne and have you eat some snacks, hiding you in your rabbit form in the sleeve pocket to take you to court, and lying that I’m not feeling well when in fact I simply felt slacking off and wanted to pet you…”
He blurted out several things in succession, all related to Wen Mingyu. Just as he was on the verge of blowing up, the man finally stopped and said, “There are still a lot of things I want to do but should not be done. And I haven’t had a chance to do them yet.”
“Then don’t do it,” Wen Mingyu quickly said.
Mu Zhan smiled meaningfully. “But this one wants to. “
The candidates were each bestowed with the title, “first-class jinshi”, “second-class jinshi”, and “third-class jinshi”.
Once called, the officials of Honglu Temple led the top scholar, Wei Chen, on the left side of the imperial path, followed a short while later by the second placer, Wen Mingyu, who knelt on the right side of the imperial path, and finally, the third placer, Chu Shuli, who knelt further back on the left side of the imperial path after.
The top three candidates of the first-class rank had their names announced three times, and then after that the second class jinshi were called, but their names were only said once and they did not step forward.
This was rather an unusual year of the imperial examination. Among the top three candidates, there was a third-placer woman, something they could never have imagined before. When the emperor proposed letting women take part in the imperial examination, there was a lot of controversy. Unexpectedly, during the trial period, there really was a woman standing in Taiji Hall—and she was even a first-class jinshi!
Many officials were shocked and in disbelief.
The top scholar was still a child. Indeed, his intelligence was unquestionable, but whether he could navigate the complexities of human relationships was another matter. The fate of the officialdom in the future, they didn’t know what sort of commotion he might cause.
This was something evident at a glance, and several officials find it difficult to accept. However, in Taiji Hall, the concerns of the senior officials standing at the forefront of the queue of officials was not with the two of them, but the second placer, Wen Mingyu as they vaguely knew his identity.
What could be more ridiculous than the empress standing in Taiji Hall as the first-class second-placer and having to be colleagues with him in the future?
They didn’t give it much thought when they first heard that the emperor had condoned the empress to attend Imperial College. The emperor was just spoiling him. In any case, it was just right next to the palace, so it was easy to keep it under wraps. They, the high-ranking officials, only learn about it until much later.
Later, when the empress took part in the exam, they sneered and thought, Wasn’t he just playing? They suspect the empress of being a troublemaker, turning the once-authoritative tyrant into a foolish ruler and allowing people to fool around willfully.
They all waited for the empress to fail in a grand manner and be ridiculed. But instead, what they got was the shocking news that not only did the empress end up passing—but ranked second place, second only to the top passer. At this point, they finally understood that the empress wasn’t just not fooling around and actually possessed talent and strength, and that the emperor was not deluded by beauty at all.
After all, that was the second place, and among all the officials present, how many of them entered as first-class jinshi? The majority of them were second class jinshi, just from the same class. However, it was too late to say anything now. Doing something during the imperial examination was fine, but they couldn’t undermine the empress now that the results were out. Those who had climbed to the level of a first-class official were all shrewd individuals. None of them would dare to target the empress under the emperor’s nose. If anyone truly wanted to act, it would only be through covert schemes, subtly fanning others to make the first move.
Mu Zhan sat on the dragon throne in the center and gazed down, taking in the expressions of the officials below who were doing their best to keep their composure, yet still leaked out a trace of shock and disbelief. All of this was taken into his eyes, every fleeting detail, and his lips formed a silent smile.
The emperor left first after the ceremony.
The officials from the Ministry of Rites carried the rankings on the ceremonial tray, leading the procession through the Taihe Gate. The civil and military officials followed in the order of their rank, and finally, the top scholar led the successful scholars out of the hall. The procession continued until they reached Chang’an Gate, where the Golden List was displayed for the public. After watching the golden plaque for a while, the crowd gradually dispersed.
After completing the ceremonial procession, Wen Mingyu bid farewell before taking a different road back to the palace.
By then, the temperature had already warmed up. As Wen Mingyu walked on the path, his forehead oozed a layer of thin sweat. Fortunately, there was a palanquin ride shortly after to carry him the rest of the way, eventually bringing him back to Taiji Hall.
When they stopped in front of the hall, Wen Mingyu was a little perplexed.
The palace servants respectfully replied, saying the emperor summoned his presence.
After nearly an hour, Wen Mingyu came back here and entered the grand hall, but the scene inside was obviously different than before. The main hall was devoid of any liveliness, nothing of the scene of officials standing earlier. There were no servants, leaving the hall particularly empty and quiet.
It was just the faint sound of his footsteps on the tiles. The Taiji Hall was luxurious and magnificent, and even the ground’s tiles were also very exquisite—jet-black and polished to a glossy sheen like ink jade. Because of the high labor costs, they were famously called “gold bricks.”
Walking on it was like him walking on a heap of treasures of jade and gold.
However, Wen Mingyu was not interested in these details at the moment. He looked up at the person seated on the dragon throne and asked in a familiar tone, “What’s the matter?”
Mu Zhan stood up and walked down the steps. He pulled Wen Mingyu with him and led him back up, and they stood in front of the throne.
“I wanted to congratulate you.”
Wen Mingyu blinked, confused, and replied hesitantly, “…Thank you?”
Mu Zhan suddenly chuckled, the bottom of his eyes sparking with light. “Are you interested in this throne?”
If another person heard this, they most likely would have been terrified into breaking out in a cold sweat and falling to their knees with a thud. Everyone knew what the dragon throne represented, and for His Majesty to say this, wasn’t his question implied that the other person intended to usurp the throne?
But Wen Mingyu’s thoughts wouldn’t go that way. He knew very well that Mu Zhan had absolutely no such implication when he asked him. When he said “dragon throne,” he truly meant the throne as a chair and nothing more. Thus, Wen Mingyu also looked at it purely as a piece of furniture.
Thechairwas covered in gilded lacquer and carved with dragons; the craftsmanship was intricately detailed. It exuded opulence and majesty, just like a work of art, an art that should be carefully reserved in a museum.
So, Wen Mingyu nodded his head and said, “It looks nice. I like it.”
As he spoke, he thought about how carefree he had been sitting in the emperor’s exclusive seat without a second thought during the exam.
Mu Zhan’s low, raspy voice rang in his ear. “This one alsolikesit.”
Then, Wen Mingyu was gently but firmly pressed into the dragon throne. Instead of sitting down, Mu Zhan stood in front of him, supporting himself on the dragon-carved armrests with his hands as he leaned slightly down. His shadow cloaked down, almost enveloping the whole person in his arms. The disparity in height conveyed an unfathomable feeling of aggression.
Wen Mingyu had a bad feeling. “You…”
Before he could finish, Mu Zhan reached out to cradle the back of his head, leaning down to kiss him. The kiss was tender and deliberate, as if slowly savoring a precious delicacy.
Wen Mingyu tipped his head back, his nape brushed lightly, bringing up a burst of numbness down his spine. His face flushed red, and an unexplainable heat coursed through him, leaving him oddly restless.
After kissing for a while, Mu Zhan pulled back slightly but remained close, his lips brushing against his damp and soft lips. He asked in a hoarse voice, “Haven’t you noticed? Your pheromones have become thicker.”
Wen Mingyu froze, stunned. Only now, after being reminded that he indeed felt hot—not because of the weather—but because his heat had arrived.
Mu Zhan pressed him again into the dragon throne. Wen Mingyu’s lips parted slightly, exhaling warm breaths; the fruity scent permeated every space in the entire Taiji Hall. The intoxicating scent stirred something primal in Mu Zhan, his eyes glinting with a faint red hue.
The faint yet crisp rings of a bell echoed through the deserted hall, lingering for a long time.
ChiFu: happy reading! Really excited with the arrival of babies ~