Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 60 Are there any masters? !
Unable to persuade the emperor, Zhang Yunxiu had to follow the emperor and head straight to Huangjimen Square.

When Emperor Wanli arrived, he found the square empty, with only the breeze blowing through the hall, but no one in sight.

He suddenly felt that he was being teased, frowned and looked at Wei Qing, and asked: "You dog, didn't you say that Yongning was waiting for me here?"

"Ah?!" Wei Qing was shocked and tried to explain, "Before... Princess Yongning's personal maid told me this. I will go and ask her right now."

Wei Qing said this and ran away.

After a while, they returned with seven or eight palace maids in palace costumes. The first one had bright eyes and white teeth, and was as beautiful as a flower.

It was Princess Yongning's personal maid, Zhao Rong.

Seeing the emperor, Zhao Rong hurriedly bowed respectfully. Emperor Wanli waved his hand and asked her: "Zhao Rong, I want to ask you, where is Yongning?"

"I don't know either. The princess was in the palace just now, but now she is missing." As Zhao Rong spoke, her legs trembled and her eyes dodged.

Emperor Wanli frowned, and Zhang Yunxiu took this opportunity to get out of the way and said, "Your Majesty, Princess Yongning is missing now, so we should find her first."

"Okay, you go down first." Emperor Wanli waved his hand impatiently, and then solemnly reminded, "The money you promised to earn for me must be paid quickly. I want to see the money by the end of the year at the latest."

"Yes," Zhang Yunxiu agreed and left.

He had been walking for less than half a quarter of an hour when a thin palace maid, with her head lowered, walked towards Emperor Wanli.

Emperor Wanli took a closer look, clapped his hands and laughed, "Great, Yongning, you dare to disguise yourself as a palace maid to scare me!"

"Hehe, that's because my royal brother has bad eyesight." The girl in palace dress raised her neck and giggled.

She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, about sixty-three feet tall, with an oval face and skin as white as snow.

Under the long eyelashes are a pair of big watery eyes, like a clear spring in summer, which makes people feel happy.

It was the Emperor Wanli's half-sister, Princess Yongning Zhu Yao'an.

"How dare you deceive the emperor? You are so brave. Do you believe I will beat you with a stick?!" Emperor Wanli also got annoyed. He glared and pretended to be angry.

Princess Yongning blinked her big eyes and didn't believe it at all.

Emperor Wanli looked at his sister and naturally could not get angry.

Smiling and shaking his head, he asked Wei Qing to bring the dragonfly-like kite and handed it to Princess Yongning.

Princess Yongning took it and looked it up and down, then muttered, "Is this a kite?"

Emperor Wanli smiled and then personally demonstrated to his sister how to play.

I saw him running wildly in the square without caring about his manners, looking back as he ran. After the kite flew away with the wind, he began to loosen the string.

In a short while, the kite had flown several feet high.

Princess Yongning widened her eyes and shouted to take the kite.

Emperor Wanli looked at his sister lovingly, handed the kite back to her, and said with a smile: "Yongning, this year is the time for you to choose a son-in-law. Tell me, what kind of man do you like?"

"I don't know." Princess Yongning shook her head and looked at Emperor Wanli and said, "From childhood to adulthood, the only men I have seen are my brother and father. How can I know what kind of husband is good?"

Emperor Wanli smiled awkwardly, then patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, my brother will definitely send someone to choose a husband for you that you are satisfied with."

"Then Yongning would like to thank my brother first."

Princess Yongning smiled slightly, revealing beautiful dimples on her fair cheeks.

The next moment, a strong wind blew in the air, and the kite string in Princess Yongning's hand broke with a "crack".

"It flew away, it flew away, it disappeared."

"It doesn't matter. If they fly away, they fly away. I'll have someone buy a few more."

Spring is as deep as the sea, and the fragrance of flowers is everywhere.

The palace examination, held once every three years, finally began after much anticipation.

In the morning of that day, all the candidates who had passed the examination were waiting in front of the gate of Huangji Hall. After the officials from the Honglu Temple read out the regulations, they were led to their seats which had been arranged in advance.

It was packed with people, sitting everywhere inside the Huangji Hall and on the corridors outside. Unlike most people who were eager to try and were in high spirits.

Zhang Yunxiu's mind had already flown to somewhere unknown. To him, second class and third class were all the same.

As long as you can please the emperor, why worry about your future?
After figuring this out, Zhang Yunxiu lowered his head and started writing on the test paper.

The warm spring sunshine shone through the glazed tiles of the Huangji Hall. Below the hall, hundreds of examinees blushed, held their breath, and concentrated on writing the essay questions in their hands.

The entire hall was deathly quiet; the only sound was the clattering footsteps of patrolling soldiers.

Since ancient times, there has been no first in literature and no second in martial arts.

We are all selected as the best. For anyone with a little ambition, who dares to admit that his or her article is not as good as others?

I have studied hard for more than twenty years just to show my talent in the palace examination today.

Therefore, students rack their brains to write a good essay that will impress the examiner.

But there was an outlier in the crowd. He was calm and composed, not in a hurry, and always remained stable.

It was Zhang Yunxiu.

He even had time to sneak a glance at the candidates on both sides.

But the candidates on both sides had bloodshot eyes and were breathing rapidly, and it was obvious that their adrenaline had soared to an extremely high level.

Seeing that everyone was so nervous, he forced himself to be a little nervous and continued to write.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye. The golden crows sank to the west and the sky was filled with sunset clouds. At the signal of the examiner, the patrolling sergeant shouted sharply, "Time is up. Please stand up and wait for us to help you collect the test papers."

Brush brush brush.
All the candidates stood up in unison, breathing in and out as if a heavy burden had been lifted off their shoulders.

everything is over.

Now, they just have to wait for the emperor's officials to rank them. Their future prospects will be completely different.

The test papers were collected in an orderly manner and all the candidates were taken out of the palace.

As the sun sets, hundreds of tribute students, bathed in the blood-red beams of light, walk among the palaces with their heads held high.

It has a bit of the meaning of riding a horse at a gallop in the spring breeze, and seeing all the flowers in Chang'an in one day.

In the crowd, Zhang Yunxiu grinned. The damn imperial examination was finally over.

As soon as we walked out of the palace gate, there was already a crowd of people outside. The wives, relatives, and servants of the tribute scholars were all whispering and talking.

Zhang Yunxiu had sharp eyes and spotted his own carriage at a glance, and hurried over in a few steps.

"Brother Zhang, please stay." At this moment, he suddenly felt someone pulling him from behind. He turned around and saw a young man in his early twenties wearing a green Taoist robe.

"Who are you?" Zhang Yunxiu asked with a frown.

"Oh, my name is Shen Yongmao." The young student nodded and introduced himself with a smile.

"So he is Lord Shen's son!" Zhang Yunxiu's attitude became warmer.

Shen Yongmao quickly covered Zhang Yunxiu's lips, put his fingers on the tip of his nose, and made a hushing gesture.

Zhang Yunxiu understood the reason and signaled him to let go of his hand.

"The palace examination is over, but it will take some time before the results are announced. Brother Zhang, what are your plans?" Shen Yongmao asked.

"What plans do you have? Just take a good rest." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and waved his hand, then asked, "Brother Shen, what plans do you have?"

"Three days from now, it will be the wedding day of Shi Niang, a lady from a wealthy family in the capital. Brother Zhang, are you interested in going to watch it?" Shen Yongmao said with a hint of fascination on his face.

A prostitute that a businessman left behind, and you're treating her like a treasure?!
Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head, waving his hand and saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Shen. I have something to do, so I'm afraid I can't go."

After saying that, he walked away.

(End of this chapter)