"A Yu has corresponded with Jiang Huaiqing so many times. Did he not suspect our identities at all?" Shang Junlin asked.
"Your Majesty has read most of those letters. Does Your Majesty not know?" Shen Yu glanced at him.
Originally, Shang Junlin didn't care about these things. He wouldn't ask Shen Yu about anything. At first, he didn't think it was necessary. As long as he was sure that Shen Yu didn't have the intention to harm Da Huan, he wouldn't care. Later, he was moved and didn't want to pry into Shen Yu's personal space. He gave him enough respect. He cared about Jiang Huaiqing's letters because he was "jealous".
Shen Yu was annoyed by Shang Junlin several times with this excuse. He simply read the letters together with him every time, so that he wouldn't torment him with all kinds of reasons.
Shang Junlin didn't feel embarrassed at being discovered. He intimately moved closer to Shen Yu's ear and said, "A Yu wanted to read the letters with me. You can't blame me."
From time to time, the ministers restrained themselves and looked at him. Shen Yu wasn't in the mood to show off his intimate relationship with Shang Junlin in front of the ministers. He nudged him and said, "He probably doesn't know."
If he had known, he wouldn't have written to him as frequently as before, and he definitely wouldn't have used the tone of an old friend. Although the current Jiang Huaiqing was younger than in his previous life, some things that were engraved in his bones wouldn't change.
"Or maybe he doesn't want to think about it." Shen Yu thought for a while and added, "The loophole of us leaving the palace is actually quite big. If he thinks about it deeply, he might be able to guess our identities."
"A Yu is right. For example, He Chengyu, who is beside him, should have already guessed our identities." Under Shen Yu's hint, Shang Junlin loosened his arms around Shen Yu's waist.
Shang Junlin's cold eyes swept across the hall. The ministers who were deliberately looked at were frightened and lowered their heads. They didn't dare to look at him again.
Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, no one was looking at him from time to time.
"He Chengyu. As the legitimate son of the He family, one of the top aristocratic families in Jiangnan, it's not surprising that he has such insight." Shen Yu had already learned about He Chengyu's family background from Shang Junlin. He was not surprised that his and Shang Junlin's identities had been guessed.
The graders would not be able to see the names of the candidates. Even Shang Junlin would not know which candidate had answered which paper before the final results were out.
The exam results for Da Huan were released on the same day, and the grading officials were already prepared before the exam started. After the examinees left, they immediately started grading.
During this period of time, the examinees were arranged to stay in a special side hall. The palace had prepared meals, and they were all top-notch delicacies. It could be considered a special reward for the examinees who had reached this step.
Not everyone could enjoy the imperial cuisine of the palace.
The side hall was spacious enough. Before the results were out, the examinees could rest as they wished. However, at this time, not many people could relax and enjoy themselves.
Jiang Huaiqing stretched his limbs and walked to He Chengyu's side. "Brother Chengyu, why do you not look nervous at all?"
Almost everyone in the hall was restless. There were many delicious dishes on the table, but they couldn't alleviate the anxiety in their hearts. There were only a few who could sit down and enjoy the delicious food.
He Chengyu was one. As for the other …
Jiang Huaiqing stared at the person for a while, his eyes widening. He nudged He Chengyu with his elbow and said in a low voice, "Brother Chengyu, look over there."
He Chengyu followed his gaze and couldn't help but pause.
"Isn't this …"
Jiang Huaiqing nodded vigorously. The curiosity in his heart almost overflowed. "It's really her. Why is she here? And dressed like this? "
Jiang Huaiqing saw that it was Fang Jiayi, the daughter of the Fang family.
Because of Shen Yu and Shang Junlin, Jiang Huaiqing and Fang Jiayi could be considered acquaintances. Since the last time they parted, they hadn't seen each other again. He never thought that they would meet again under such circumstances.
"Could it be that they are brothers?" Jiang Huaiqing shook his head. He felt that it didn't seem like it.
Feeling someone's gaze, Fang Jiayi turned her head and saw a familiar face. She paused for a moment, then stood up and walked over.
"Brother Jiang, Brother He."
Although the voice was deliberately lowered, it wasn't difficult for Jiang Huaiqing to recognize that it was Fang Jiayi's voice.
"Fang …" He originally wanted to say Miss Fang, but felt that it wasn't appropriate and changed the way he addressed her. "Young Master Fang?"
"That's me." Fang Jiayi admitted directly and sat across the two of them.
His guess was confirmed. Jiang Huaiqing was dumbfounded. He turned to look at He Chengyu and saw that there was an imperceptible crack on the man's face. He slowly calmed down.
Anyway, he wasn't the only one who was surprised. Jiang Huaiqing threw the question to the back of his mind and chatted with Fang Jiayi in high spirits.
They had a brief contact before. Jiang Huaiqing liked Fang Jiayi's decisive style, especially when dealing with the matter of Prince Yue. She didn't hesitate and defended the victim with reason and evidence. How many men could have such courage?
This wasn't the place to get to the bottom of the matter. Jiang Huaiqing wasn't the kind of person who would ask until the end of the matter. They skipped the topic that couldn't be discussed and chatted happily.
He Chengyu occasionally added a few words. The three of them looked happy and harmonious.
The little eunuch who was serving in the side hall saw everything. It didn't take long for the news to reach Shang Junlin's ears.
At that time, Shang Junlin was looking at the selected excellent answer sheets. Shen Yu was sitting next to him and looking with him. Eunuch Meng came over and reported the news in a low voice.
"The three of them actually got together." Shen Yu thought it was quite interesting.
"Yes," Eunuch Meng's eyes were smiling. "The three of them talked happily and the atmosphere was very harmonious."
"Jiang Huaiqing and He Chengyu recognized Miss Fang's female identity?" Shen Yu stood up and asked.
Eunuch Meng answered every question: "Replying to Your Highness, it seems that they recognized her. Jiang Huaiqing's expression changed greatly at that time, but he recovered in an instant. He must have recognized her. He Chengyu's expression didn't change much."
"Is Your Majesty going to directly announce Miss Fang's identity later?" No matter what Fang Jiayi's final results were, entering the court exam meant that she was half a step into the official career. To enter the court, one's identity had to be carefully checked. Shang Junlin could help her cover it up a few times before. This time, even the Emperor couldn't cover it up.
They sat a certain distance away from the other officials. If they lowered their voices, they wouldn't be heard.
"When the final results are out, it will definitely be announced. Her original intention was to enter the officialdom as a woman." Shang Junlin didn't hide his intentions.
"I can already foresee the commotion in the court in the coming days." Not just in the court. When the time came, there would probably be several piles of impeachment reports.
"However, there really isn't a need to confine a woman to the inner residence. There are many things a woman can do." Shen Yu would never forget that he had glimpsed a glimpse of the future from that book. Just a glimpse was enough to make one's heart tremble. It was hard to imagine what it would be like to live in that era.
"They will have to change their views eventually. Not only will women enter the court as officials, but there will also be new laws regarding merchants. Perhaps there will be more changes in the future. If they are unwilling to accept it, then we can just replace them. What I want is never an official who follows the rules!"
Shang Junlin's nature was filled with killing intent. He spent all of his childhood and part of his youth on the battlefield. This caused his style of doing things to lean towards attacking rather than defending, whether it was in governing the country or when he faced Shen Yu.
Shen Yu rested his chin on his hand as he looked at Shang Junlin. At this moment, he could clearly feel that Shang Junlin was the Emperor of Da Huan. He was the ruler of a country that couldn't be disobeyed. When Shang Junlin was in front of him, he would always deliberately restrain his aggressive nature. Shen Yu suddenly realized that he didn't dislike Shang Junlin as much as he had imagined.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Shang Junlin stroked Shen Yu's hair.
"I feel that Your Majesty looks very good today." Shen Yu replied with a smile.
Shang Junlin laughed: "No matter how good I look, I can't compare to A Yu."
While the two were talking, the officials had already discussed the general results.
"Your Majesty, I think that this answer is enough to be the champion."
"I think this answer is more promising."
Seeing that they were about to quarrel again, Shang Junlin said: "Tell me your reasons."
"The answer in my hand is wide open and deep inside …"
Shen Yu listened as he flipped through the answers with Shang Junlin. These three answer sheets were explained from different angles and each had their own characteristics. At first glance, they were not inferior to each other. Shen Yu saw familiar handwriting and took that answer sheet and read it carefully.
He looked at the other two answer sheets carefully and vaguely had an answer in his heart.
After a reasonable discussion, everyone had a general result in their hearts.
The Prime Minister picked up one of the answers and stood out: "I think that this person should be the champion."
This time, no one objected.
The final result was the same as Shen Yu's thought.
Without returning to the court examination, the top three were the most difficult to determine. After these three were determined, the rest of the results were more or less confirmed.
At this time, the officials would know who each answer sheet corresponded to.
As expected, the first place was He Chengyu. Jiang Huaiqing was third. When the second name list came out, it was beyond everyone's expectations. Immediately, an official knelt down: "Your Majesty, you can't!"
"Oh? You chose this person after discussion. What do you mean by saying that you can't? "Shang Junlin sat on the high seat and looked at the people kneeling below.
"This … this person disguised herself as a man to participate in the imperial examination. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
"Deceiving the emperor? How come I don't know how she deceives the emperor? Official Ming, if I remember correctly, 15 minutes ago, you were arguing about whether this essay was qualified to be the champion. "
"That's because I didn't know that it was written by a woman …"
"As a woman, she can write such a beautiful essay. Does Official Ming want to deny the excellence of the essay just because she is a woman?" Shen Yu asked.
"… That's not what I meant." However, this essay was the one he thought the most highly. He could not refute it even if he wanted to. Denying the excellence of the essay was the same as denying his own judgment.
Looking at the emperor's expression, it was obvious that he already knew about this. Official Ming sighed and retreated to the side.
After the results were out, the candidates had to meet the emperor again and kowtow to express their gratitude at the same time.
Jiang Huaiqing followed a group of students into the main hall. His results in the metropolitan examination were the best, so he stood at the front.
After listening to Eunuch Meng's instructions and kowtowing, a steady voice came from above.
"Rise."
This voice gave Jiang Huaiqing an inexplicably familiar feeling. He boldly took the opportunity to look up.
！！！
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