Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 357 I want to go to the Golden Continent with him and create a country!
"It's out! The imperial edict is out!"

With the sound of gongs and drums and the announcement of names, Qipan Street suddenly became bustling with activity, and the people were even more excited than if they were seeing a real imperial edict.

Many high-ranking officials and nobles were also eager to participate, keeping a close eye on the imperial edict that was about to be unveiled. They couldn't ignore it, and many had already placed bets at the gambling table. Today's first place winner could determine their life and fortune.

Duke Zhu Yingzhen was also extremely excited, standing on tiptoe as if afraid of missing out.

Seeing that the eunuch who was posting the results was still reciting some words, he became so anxious that he wanted to rush up and curse him.

"That castrated dog, why isn't he releasing the imperial edict yet? Instead, he's keeping us in suspense. He deserves to die!"

Zhu Yingzhen looked furious, his fists even seemed to harden. At a time like this, the dead eunuch was still dragging his feet, which was really infuriating.

Beside him, Zhu Yinghuai couldn't help but ask.

"Brother, how much silver did you invest this time?"

Zhu Yingzhen's face stiffened, he rubbed his nose slightly, and dared not look at his younger brother, stammering as he spoke.

"It's not much silver, just a thousand or two taels, just for a bit of fun."

Zhu Yinghuai narrowed his eyes: "Big brother, you bet on a Japanese woman?"

Zhu Yingzhen trembled and said, his face flushed.

"Yunfu, what are you saying? How could I be that kind of person? Of course I should support our country's talented young man. That 'Liu Yongning' is on a good track and will surely win the crown."

Zhu Yinghuai, on the other hand, had a look that suggested he understood his elder brother perfectly.

"That's what the elder brother was thinking, but when he saw that the Japanese woman was always in the lead, he couldn't help but change his mind in order to earn money."

After all, that Japanese woman was known for her talent, while Liu Yongning was completely unknown.

Zhu Yingzhen retorted, his neck stiff, "Don't try to slander me out of thin air. Am I the kind of person who would be blinded by money?"

Zhu Yinghuai shook his head, not arguing with him, but instead turning his gaze back to the "List of Successful Candidates".

The progress of the imperial examinations is on the minds of almost everyone.

Liu Wan'er and Zhu Yaoying disguised themselves and hid in the crowd, watching the movements from afar.

"Your Highness, we should start thinking about poetry. It's a sure thing that we'll be ranked in the top two. For those who qualify, His Majesty will put them through the 'Palace Examination'."

Even if I don't win the riddle round, if I pass the poetry round, I'll still outshine that Japanese woman.

Zhu Yaoying looked somewhat tired. Her delicate eyebrows were fixed on the imperial edict, and she couldn't help but sigh.

"I have really not accomplished much in the field of poetry. Today's riddles are thanks to the great help of the students of Xishan. Otherwise, how could we compete with them?"

Liu Wan'er said indignantly, "The princess felt that the victory was not honorable, but the Japanese woman did not think so. She also relied on many scholars from the Imperial Academy and the capital."

As she spoke, she took out a letter from her waist and secretly handed it to Zhu Yaoying.

"Your Highness, these are poems prepared for you by the students of Xishan Academy. I suppose they also hope that you will be with Zhang Zhangwei."

Today is the Lantern Festival, and the emperor's questions are limited to a few topics, so preparing for them is naturally easy.

Zhu Yaoying held the thick envelope, and suddenly hesitated.

Just then, a high-pitched shout suddenly came from the list of successful candidates.

"The eighth quarter of Hai hour!"

"The list of successful candidates has been released! The first and second-ranked scholars have been announced for the Lantern Festival riddle contest!"

Amidst the anticipation of the crowd, the eunuch from the Eastern Depot managed a forced smile. He enjoyed the attention, but the glares from the people below could kill.

Among them were some meritorious officials and ministers. If this dragged on any longer, they feared they might really meet with misfortune.

Then, the eunuch from the Eastern Depot coughed, stepped forward, and ripped off the red cloth covering the imperial edict.

Then his high-pitched but extremely penetrating voice rang out.

"First place in the top division."

He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Liu Yongning of Renmin Medical Clinic, can solve 190 riddles!"

"The second place winner in the first class was Hosokawa Iya, the Japanese envoy, who solved 188 riddles."

The third-place winner in the first-class examination was Yu Shenxing, a scholar from Shandong, who solved a lantern riddle.

In short, the list remains almost unchanged, with the top ten holding an almost insurmountable advantage. However, there has been a subtle shift in the top two positions.

Half an hour ago, Liu Yongning was several steps behind, but in just half an hour, with both sides working non-stop, Liu Yongning actually overtook him by a narrow margin of two points!

An uproar erupted in the crowd.

"It's Liu Yongning?" There was a hint of disappointment in the voice, but also a sense of relief. "Very well, how can we allow the Japanese to run rampant on the land of our Great Ming!"

"Hey, I knew it. How could Zhang Zhangwei allow the Japanese to be so arrogant and domineering?"

"Our Great Ming Dynasty had countless talented men and beautiful women."

People around him were talking about it, some were happy and some were sad, but for Zhu Yingzhen, it was like a bolt from the blue.

"Brother?" Zhu Yinghuai waved his hand in front of his eyes. "How are you? You must have made a lot of money this time. But don't be too happy. It's just a few thousand taels of silver. Your excitement makes my Duke Cheng's mansion look like a poor household."

Zhu Yinghuai's slightly mocking words further broke Zhu Yingzhen's defenses.

His lips twitched, and he looked as if his soul had been drained.

"It's Liu Yongning? How could it be Liu Yongning? That shouldn't be! Everyone says the Japanese are gaining momentum, and it's not just the students of the Imperial Academy in the capital who are helping them. With such a strong trend, how could there be a discrepancy!"

"That brat Zhang Shiyuan, he's cheating again!"

Looking at his somewhat deranged older brother, Zhu Yinghuai couldn't help but feel helpless and offered a reminder.

"Brother, you seem to have forgotten that this Lantern Festival was organized by our mentor. All the riddles in it were created by our mentor, who gathered scholars from the Hanlin Academy, Xishan and other places. They have been modified, but they are all from the same source."

Even if the Japanese managed to find a loophole, as long as someone in Xishan was willing to take action, how could they possibly lose?

This is why our mentor forbade students from Xishan to participate.

There's another point Zhu Yinghuai hasn't mentioned yet: compared to scholars outside, the knowledge learned in Xishan is obviously more complex. Compared to those scholars who spend their days cramming on the Four Books and Five Classics, Xishan students are clearly more adept at solving riddles and similar puzzles.

Even though the Japanese had initially gained the upper hand, it's not surprising that they've caught up so quickly.

Zhu Yinghuai even speculated that the casinos hidden in the shadows of Qipan Street were probably orchestrated by his mentor, Zhang Yunxiu, to deliberately create hype and encourage wealthy and influential people like Zhu Yingzhen to further enrich Xishan.

"Did you lose?"

Standing by the window of a restaurant not far away, Hosokawa Iya gazed wistfully at the commotion below and the faintly visible imperial edict plaque.

The wooden signs are very thoughtful; ten people use ten different colors, so as long as you remember the colors, you can see them clearly even from a distance.

Clearly, the black sign that read "Iya Hosokawa" was placed in the second position.

Hosokawa Yusai was somewhat out of control. He had spent fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver on today's lantern riddle event, hoping to prove himself in the Ming Dynasty, but now it had all gone down the drain.

With a loud crash, he swept all the food and wine on the table onto the floor.

"How could this be! The Ming people are unethical! How could we lose? We were clearly in the lead the whole time!"

Hosokawa Iya stopped his somewhat deranged father and tried to persuade him.

“Father, please calm down. We are willing to accept defeat. I have heard that this ‘Liu Yongning’ has many students from Xishan University helping him. We have no reason to lose!” “This is cheating! Cheating!”

Hosokawa Yusai said this, but both father and daughter knew the truth in their hearts.

This is a mess. If you really want to figure it out, none of the top ten in the first and second tiers can be considered clean.

Hosokawa Yusai even relied on bribing students with money, and if he lost, he could only accept his fate.

Hosokawa Yusai was clearly not going to give up so easily, and his eyes blazed with renewed intensity as he spoke.

"It's not over yet. There's still a palace examination poetry contest going on. Poems will be composed in front of the emperor and all the poems will be spread throughout the capital city."

Even if the people of the Ming Dynasty were shameless, they couldn't make a fuss about this!

This was, after all, a Lantern Festival, not a real talent selection ceremony. The Ming Dynasty had no reason to deliberately distort the truth just to save face.

If Hosokawa Iya writes well enough, he can still claim the top spot today.

"Father, I..."

Hosokawa Iya seemed very unsure of herself. Today's Lantern Festival seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. She felt like she wasn't engaged in a battle of wits, but rather being coerced by a group of people, with weapons pointed at her.

Hosokawa Yusai, however, said without further ado, "No need for further words. This time we are determined to succeed. With your talent and the preparations we have made, we will surely leave the Ming emperor and his ministers speechless."

Hosokawa Iya verbally protested, but his body instinctively bowed as he spoke.

"My daughter understands."

Is it still impossible to do?
She said to herself quietly.

"Princess! We won! We won! That's wonderful!"

Liu Wan'er finally managed to squeeze out of the crowd and ran to tell Zhu Yaoying the good news, her joy evident on her face.

Zhu Yaoying gave a subtle smile: "I know everything."

The commotion caused by the imperial edict was so great that even though Zhu Yaoying was standing too far away to see it, she could still hear whispers of it from the conversations of those around her.

She couldn't help but sigh, "It's all thanks to Manager Gu and the others."

Liu Wan'er couldn't help but cover her mouth and said cautiously.

"Your Highness, you knew all along?"

"Donglin Society".

Zhu Yaoying opened the cover of the previous letter and pointed to the small print.

"Who else in the capital is Gu Shushi besides him?"

Liu Wan'er felt a little guilty: "Master Gu and the others all think Your Highness is much better than that Japanese woman. If we have to choose a good match, the princess is the most suitable one."

Zhu Yaoying then said, "Compared to the thoughts of the Xishan students and the Donglin Society members, isn't Zhang Shiyuan's opinion more important?"

"Zhang Zhangwei is in charge of him," Liu Wan'er wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Zhu Yaoying.

"Wan'er, you don't need to say anything more. I have already made a decision about today's matter."

As she spoke, Zhu Yaoying took out a piece of paper from her bosom, on which two poems were neatly written.

Her smile looked somewhat awkward.

"These days I've been studying the art of poetry, but I still haven't grasped the essentials. Only these two poems are decent."

I suppose I'm still presentable enough to be seen in public.

"Your Highness." Liu Wan'er took the letter, clearly somewhat surprised.

Zhu Yaoying exhaled, forced a smile, and her dimples became more pronounced on her fair face. She added, "I suppose the questions Emperor Brother set today are nothing more than the Lantern Festival and the tribute from all nations. If these two questions are not set, then I naturally cannot attend the 'Imperial Examination,' as that would put Emperor Brother in a difficult position."

"Wan'er, you'll have to go and recite this poem when the time comes. That will be my way of participating."

Liu Wan'er still didn't quite understand. The poems sent by Gu Xiancheng, Zhao Nanxing and others were obviously carefully selected. They were all Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), so their poems must be excellent.

Using this to fight against that Japanese woman, it seems they are determined to win this time.

Why would Zhu Yaoying give up a victory that was within her grasp and insist on using her own poetry? Wouldn't that be handing over victory to someone else?
Seeing Liu Wan'er's worry, Zhu Yaoying couldn't help but sigh.

"What is false cannot become true, and what is true cannot become false. Many people know that Liu Yongning is me. I have never been good at poetry and lyrics; medicine is my forte. Why should I pretend to be a talented woman?"

Her eyes dimmed again.

"I may have seen too many talented men and beautiful women, which seems a bit pretentious. But no matter how I think about it, the title of top scholar obtained by relying on others is really meaningless."

I walked ninety-nine steps with Zhang Shiyuan. If he was unwilling, there was no need for him to take the last step.

If he wanted to, even a mere empty title couldn't stop him.

"Big deal."

Zhu Yaoying recalled the few times she had met Zhang Yunxiu, during which he had mentioned the overseas gold continent.

"So I followed him to the Gold Island. He made some inventions and creations, while I gathered herbs and cooked. The two of us, the man farming and the woman weaving, might just be able to create a country."

At this point, Zhu Yaoying found it somewhat amusing and chuckled to herself.

Liu Wan'er's brows were furrowed tightly, but after a long while, her tense shoulders relaxed.

She let out a heavy breath and said, "Since Your Highness has said so, then this servant can only comply."

Ultimately, under the current social norms of the Ming Dynasty, it was virtually impossible for a princess to marry the son of a powerful minister.

Even if Emperor Wanli could tolerate it, the officials in the court would find it difficult to tolerate it, and it was likely that another "dispute over the right to mourn" would break out.

Zhu Yaoying smiled and said, "It's good that you understand, Wan'er. I'll leave this matter to you and keep an eye on things from behind the Daming Gate tower."

She seemed to be struggling with the decision.

"Do not tell Zhang Shiyuan about this matter."

Liu Wan'er waved her little fist and said, "Your Highness, please rest assured, this servant will definitely stand by Your Highness's side."

Zhu Yaoying nodded slightly, her eyes appearing somewhat red.

"That's good."

Inside the Daming Gate.

Liu Wan'er met Zhang Yunxiu, and the two seemed to have a tacit understanding, eventually arriving at a secluded place.

Looking at the disheveled palace maid, Zhang Yunxiu felt both sorry for her and amused.

He couldn't help but joke about it.

"Are you confident that you can be selected as the top scholar by His Majesty today? You will be the first female top scholar in history, and your name will be remembered in history."

"Don't joke around."

Liu Wan'er's face showed great anxiety as she widened her eyes and spoke.

"Young master, you don't know yet, do you? Damn it, the princess has been reading too many romance novels! She changed her mind at the last minute and doesn't want to be the top scholar anymore!"

(End of this chapter)