Chapter 1 First Encounter, Reunion The Adorable Male Lead Waits for His Master…
In the third year of Zhengde reign of the Great Qi Dynasty, on the seventeenth day of the third month, the imperial examination results were announced.
First rank, first place: Qin Shu
Second place: Jiang Si
Third place: Qiu Shuzhi
The entire capital was in an uproar!
Qin Shu, the legitimate daughter of the all-powerful Qin clan, known as a frivolous good-for-nothing, actually achieved the top score.
Jiang Si, daughter of the King of Dian, with mediocre literary talent, also managed to secure the second place.
Yet Qiu Shuzhi, highly renowned among the common people and known as the 'Great Qi's First Talented Lady', was relegated to a position behind these two.
It was simply laughable!
...............
After the golden list was published, the Emperor held the Qionglin Banquet in the Royal Apricot Garden to feast the successful candidates.
The officials accompanied the elated Qin Shu and Jiang Si in conversation, but their gazes kept wandering towards the garden entrance.
They were all waiting for one person—the third-place winner, Qiu Shuzhi.
This year's imperial examination scandal was heavily criticized among the common people, and the examiners were well aware of it.
Among the top three candidates, only Qiu Shuzhi had true talent and learning, but unfortunately, she came from a humble background and couldn't compare to those of royal and noble descent.
If it weren't for Her Majesty's appreciation of talent and protection, the third place would probably have gone to another high official's daughter.
But in the examiners' hearts, she was truly worthy of the top score.
"Qiu Shuzhi arrives—" the attendant announced her name loudly.
Everyone turned to look outside the garden, intending to catch a glimpse of this 'Third-Place Lady'.
It was the time when apricot blossoms had just begun to bloom, red calyxes and pale pistils fragrant in clusters, the apricot grove like clouds and mist, pure white flowers weighing down slanting branches.
A lady in light clothing approached slowly, her light dress pleated like thin mist piled on snow, her three thousand ebony hairs loosely bound with a hairband, revealing the beautifully curved, fair neckline, her plain clothes unable to conceal her icy flesh and jade-like bones, elegant and extraordinarily beautiful.
Her outstanding appearance attracted everyone's gaze as soon as she entered, even eliciting faint gasps of amazement.
Qin Shu, whose limelight had been stolen, showed displeasure on her face. Despite her noble birth, she still couldn't compare to this plain-clothed lady from a humble background.
She glanced sideways at Qiu Shuzhi and sneered: "Pretty boy!"
Jiang Si beside her slowly withdrew her amazed gaze: "Qiu Shuzhi has the reputation of 'Great Qi's First Talented Lady', her future prospects are limitless, we should befriend her." Qin Shu snorted disdainfully: "A lowly commoner, yet dares to aspire to associate with me? So what if she got third place, without the support of a noble family, she'll be nothing but a petty official all her life!" Jiang Si smiled slightly, saying no more, but her gaze kept lingering on Qiu Shuzhi.
After the previous Emperor's death, the Great Qi Dynasty had experienced a brutal struggle for succession, throwing the country into chaos, leaving people destitute, and even causing some royal princes to be displaced among commoners and suffer hardships.
The young Emperor, only ten years old, ascended the throne with the support of her maternal relatives. Power fell to outsiders, the royal family declined, the Emperor became a mere puppet, and young officials could only advance in court by attaching themselves to powerful clans.
"But if she's willing to serve with her looks, she could indeed have a successful career," Qin Shu suddenly changed her tone.
After the succession struggle, etiquette collapsed, and the trend of keeping male favorites flourished in the capital.
Jiang Si was about to speak when a loud voice came from outside the garden: "Her Majesty arrives—" Everyone knelt down in unison, shouting "Long live the Emperor," as the imperial procession entered, extremely luxurious.
"Rise!" A youthful voice came from the high seat.
Qiu Shuzhi slowly stood up.
Seated on the high throne was a girl of fourteen or fifteen, draped in layers of bright red imperial robes, her delicately carved face still bearing a hint of baby fat, her lips tightly pressed into a line, her brows slightly furrowed, presenting a prematurely mature appearance.
This was the current Zhengde Emperor—Yue Shen.
According to custom, the Emperor was to bestow flowers on the new successful candidates at the Qionglin Banquet.
The top three approached in order.
Qin Shu was granted the king of flowers, the peony, while Jiang Si received the prime minister of flowers, the peony.
'Peony, peony, and rose blossoms, all bloom on the hats of a thousand officials' Following tradition, Qiu Shuzhi should be granted a rose.
Sure enough, the young Emperor held a rose, surveying her, her eyes as deep as a lake.
Is this the scholar she had fought to protect? Her appearance is indeed as beautiful as the rumors say.
"Your essay was very good," the young Emperor's soft voice sounded above her head.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. This humble subject is overwhelmed," Qiu Shuzhi bowed even lower, her long hair falling like a waterfall from her shoulders.
Yue Shen stared at her straight back, though of low rank, she had a proud bone, instantly generating goodwill.
"No need to be overwhelmed, this is what you deserve."
The phrase 'what you deserve' was unclear whether it was meant for Qin Shu and Jiang Si to hear, or for the officials below.
"Come forward, I will pin the flower for you," Yue Shen's soft, tender voice said.
Qiu Shuzhi lifted her skirt and ascended the steps, her pure white dress hem slowly spreading out. She knelt before Yue Shen, the natural cold fragrance of her body wafting to Yue Shen's nose with the spring breeze.
Unlike any heavy fragrance of perfume, the vague yet faint aroma made her unable to resist staring at Qiu Shuzhi's loosely bound hair bun and sniffing a few more times.
Long hair like spilled ink, what a dazzling sight it would be if adorned with a brilliant rose? Yue Shen thought.
She pinched the flower, preparing to pin it in her hair, when suddenly a shrill voice pierced the sky.
"The Empress Dowager arrives—"
The officials knelt in a sea of black, even Qin Shu, who had been casual when kneeling to the Emperor, became solemn. Only the young Emperor Yue Shen's eyes flashed with a hint of disgust.
The current Empress Dowager Qin Qing, the legitimate son of the Qin family, was the late Emperor's successor consort. The late Emperor had passed away not long after marrying him, so this Empress Dowager was still not yet thirty years old.