It Won't End Well
"Your Majesty, it has indeed not been announced yet. Originally, after the results of the third round were announced, Prefect Zhang planned to announce the county examination results immediately, and the list was even written. On that list, Layperson Zhiwei was ranked third. But for some reason, before posting it, Prefect Zhang instructed the yamen runners to put it aside for the time being, and it has not been posted."
Xiao Ge nodded.
It seems there really is a problem. Otherwise, Zhang Li wouldn't have hesitated to release the list immediately. He's trying to gauge the reactions from all sides.
Whose reaction should we observe? Grand Princess Shangde's, or someone else's?
Xiao Ge's eyes turned cold, and he ordered, "Don't do anything, just wait. After the results are posted, bring me the exam papers of the top ten candidates."
"Yes."
The Imperial Guards withdrew, but Xiao Ge's mind remained unsettled. He stared blankly at the memorial for a long while before asking Eunuch Xie, "If the examiners were to lower Zhao Zhiwei's ranking for the sake of the male candidates, what do you suggest I do?"
Eunuch Xie naturally knew that he wasn't asking about Zhao Zhiwei, but rather about the problems they would face in the future.
The men in the imperial court have never held women in high regard. Regardless of who is in charge of the examination, if they can change the rankings, they will definitely try to lower Zhao Zhiwei's ranking.
They would think: what's the use of a woman doing well in the exam? Even if she becomes the top scholar, she'll still have to go back and get married; it's just to satisfy their vanity. But it's different if this spot is given to a male candidate. That male candidate can make a lifelong contribution to the court.
This is not only a problem that court officials have to face; it's estimated that even the emperor himself hasn't figured it out.
In such matters, Eunuch Xie naturally couldn't say anything. How to deal with women's participation in politics was not something a mere eunuch like him could comment on.
But he had to say something about Zhao Zhiwei's matter.
He was willing to risk being reprimanded by the emperor to spend over 20,000 taels of silver to buy back Zhao Zhiwei's painting; he genuinely loved Zhao Zhiwei's work.
Eunuch Xie said, "Before the county examination, Grand Princess Shangde came to the palace, hoping the Emperor would grant her a fair judgment..."
Xiao Ge blinked, snapping out of her daze.
At the time, Shangde insisted on fairness, and he agreed to her request. However, fearing that Consort Jin or Princess Pingyang might interfere with the imperial examinations and cause trouble during the examinations, Xiao Ge specially appointed Qin Zhe as the supervising examiner.
He just didn't expect that there would be no problem when proctoring the exam, but a problem would arise when recording the rankings.
Although the position of Prefect of the Capital was lowly, it was quite important because it governed the capital. Therefore, when appointing officials, Xiao Ge specifically chose a neutral candidate.
Zhang Li came from a poor family. After passing the imperial examination, he became the magistrate of a county. He rose through the ranks from a small county to a large one, consistently achieving good results and earning a good reputation. Most importantly, he was rumored to be very upright and honest.
The former prefect of the capital had just been framed and removed by powerful figures. After discussing with Xiao Ge, Wu Huaisi promoted Zhang Li to this position.
Just to be on the safe side, before the county examination, Xiao Ge had someone investigate Zhang Li again. He found that Zhang Li was indeed not a member of any faction and was indeed an upright person, so he felt relieved and did not interfere with this part of the process.
But so far, Shangde and Zhao Zhiwei.
He nodded. "I know what to do."
He can't afford to give anything else, but he can certainly offer "fairness."
"Draft the decree now to bestow the official title upon the Earl of Suiping. Xie An, you will personally deliver the decree," he instructed.
"Yes."
The imperial decree was issued, and the officials in charge of receiving imperial orders drafted it. Eunuch Xie returned to the main hall and asked Xiao Ge, "What about the government office...?"
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Ge's eyes. "Investigate and see who Zhang Li has been associating with since he became the Prefect of the Capital."
Both Zhang Li and Wu Huaisi misjudged him.
If this man were just a chauvinist, that would be one thing, but not only did he disregard Zhao Zhiwei, he also set a trap for Grand Princess Shangde. He doesn't seem like the upright and neutral person he appears to be.
Anyone with a modicum of sense could tell the emperor's attitude towards Zhao Zhiwei. Didn't you see him send Qin Zhe, who usually doesn't get involved in anything, to be the examiner?
Even so, Zhang Li still dared to tamper with the county examination and even set a trap for Grand Princess Shangde. His bias is very obvious.
The Xiao Family has always advocated the theory of "raising a Gu" (a type of magical vessel) when raising princes.
Without competition from other princes, the crown prince would definitely become a useless figure; and if something were to happen to the crown prince, the princes who had been suppressed too much would not be able to support him. In the end, the Xiao Family family's rule would fall into the hands of others.
However, while Xiao Ge could allow the princes to compete, he could not tolerate them disregarding him, the current emperor, when vying for power.
Even after he clearly stated his stance on the Zhao Zhiwei matter, someone still tried to sabotage him. This disrespect for Xiao Ge was a clear violation of his bottom line.
Not only will Zhang Li not fare well, but Xiao Ge is determined to severely punish whoever is behind him.
At the Earl of Suiping's Residence, after Zhao Ruxi received the news and rushed to Beining, Lady Zhu went to the old lady's room and told her what had happened, saying, "Did I do something wrong? Otherwise, why is Miss Xi so anxious and upset?"
Although the old lady thought her daughter-in-law did the right thing, she also felt that the two of them... no, even adding Zhao Yuanxun, couldn't match Zhao Ruxi's insight. Now that Zhao Ruxi was rushing to stop Grand Princess Shangde, it was clear that Lady Zhu was really wrong.
She simply sent someone to summon Zhao Yuanxun, explained the situation, and asked, "What do you think?"
Zhao Yuanxun, being out and about all day, was more familiar with the rules of the imperial examinations than his mother and daughter-in-law, who stayed in the inner quarters.
He shook his head and said, "With the seventh place already decided, there's no way Miss Xi can be the top scholar. So even if Grand Princess Shangde knew, she couldn't change anything. What you've said, Madam, has put the Princess in a difficult position. Miss Xi going to apologize would give the Princess a way out and also make amends for Madam's mistake."
He said to Lady Zhu, "From now on, whatever you do, you should still ask Miss Xi first."
Upon hearing Zhao Yuanxun's words, Lady Zhu broke out in a cold sweat and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, I was rash."
She had initially blamed Matron Ruan for tipping her off and planned to reduce Matron Ruan's power once the matter was settled. But upon hearing her husband's words, she not only stopped blaming Matron Ruan, but also decided to give Matron Ruan a generous reward.
Not wanting Lady Zhu to blame herself too much, the old lady changed the subject and asked Zhao Yuanxun, "How did Brother An and Xu Family do in the last two exams? Did they pass?"
Zhao Yuanxun shook his head. "Brother An was somewhat on the verge of passing the first round, but he's ranked around 150 or 160 in the next two rounds, so there's no hope for him. Xu Chongwen, on the other hand, is doing quite well; he's in the thirties in the second and third rounds, so passing the county exam shouldn't be a problem."
"Brother An has only been studying for a short time, and he's been studying alone at home, so it's normal that his essays and poems aren't very good. Once he goes to the clan school and studies hard for a year, he'll be much better next year," Zhao Yuanxun added.