The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

74

When Jiang HuaiQing saw the two people before the throne, his reaction could be accurately described as "heaven and earth turned upside down".

A man in black imperial robes stood shoulder to shoulder with a young man in blue. Their faces looked somewhat different, but the aura that surrounded them was unmistakable.

Even though their faces were a little changed, Jiang HuaiQing recognized them at once.

—Lin Xiong and Yu Xiong.

Jiang HuaiQing's mind went blank. If someone to the side hadn't tugged the hem of his robe, he might have totally forgotten himself in front of the imperial court.

Jiang HuaiQing hastily collected his thoughts and finished saluting with the other scholars. While the rankings were announced, his thoughts began to drift again.

It turned out that Lin Xiong and Yu Xiong were actually the emperor and Noble Monarch Shen. The two concealed their identity, left the palace for unknown reasons, and happened to appear in Yingxing House. When Jiang HuaiQing recalled everything he'd been doing lately, he wanted to clutch his head.

He was worried about Yu Xiong, uh that is, the noble monarch's situation at home, interfered in His Majesty's relationship with the noble monarch, and sent letter after letter....

Why did he do that ah? He even put things in his letter about someone asking him to cheat in the exam. After the fraud case was handled so smoothly, he thought at most that the two belonged to an important official's family. He never dreamed they stood at the very pinnacle of power in Da Huan.

But that wasn't all. For example, when the noble monarch wrote him back, he said in a joking tone that his husband drank a lot of vinegar because of all the letters Jiang HuaiQing had been sending. And what in the world did he do as a result? He spent most of his reply making fun of Lin Xiong, er, His Majesty's behavior.

As the two became more familiar, his tone became more and more casual. If he knew those letters were going to the palace, he wouldn't have written such things at all! And he certainly wouldn't have written as often!

After the rankings were announced, Shang JunLin said some words of encouragement and warning to the examinees. Shen Yu stood beside him and looked down at Jiang HuaiQing, watching with a smile as the expression on Jiang HuaiQing's face changed again and again.

It seemed that he'd recognized them.

Shen Yu was amused, but right now Jiang HuaiQing probably felt shocked.

During the rest of the ceremony, Jiang HuaiQing was distracted until Shang JunLin said Fang JiaYi's name.

"Among the graduates this time, one has a unique identity. Our newly promoted bangyan is Fang JiaYi, the daughter of Minister Fang Jun. It's the first time in Da Huan's history that a woman has achieved such a good result."

What???

Second place was a woman???

The moment Shang JunLin said these words, a commotion broke out in the hall below. Shang JunLin didn't care. He kept the top three graduates behind and sent the rest out of the palace.

Several ministers wanted to speak up, but they stopped themselves. Shang JunLin's demeanor was so imposing that they couldn't bring themselves to say anything. They followed the other graduates out of the hall.

Several people gathered together and began to talk in low voices.

"But... Since ancient times there's no precedent for a woman to become an official. Are we just going to let His Majesty do whatever he wants?"