The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

In fact, not all of the scholars who demonstrated at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall had ulterior motives. A large number of them were simply coerced by people with ulterior motives. However, no matter whether their actions today were from their own heart, they had made the choice and done it, and no matter what, it would be recorded by their superiors.

There was a chorus of condemnation outside the Imperial Examination Hall.

The excitement in the Imperial Examination Hall was no less intense.

"......The only solution now is to let Lin Huiyuan come forward and prove his identity before..." They were obviously conducting the Spring Examination in accordance with the normal procedures, but they never expected that such a big thing would happen. The official who spoke took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and kept wiping the sweat off his face.

Several examiners sat in a circle and tried to come up with a feasible solution.

Hear the words.

Another official shook his head: "Just because of some unconfirmed rumors, we have to... make the champion take off his clothes for a body examination. If this precedent is set, then every spring after the champion is selected, there will be those who are dissatisfied and make a scene. Do we have to give in every time? If so, where is the face of the court and the dignity of the imperial examination?"

He shook his head repeatedly: "Not right, not right."

At this time, another person took over and said, "My colleagues, please don't forget that Lin Huiyuan... is the cousin of the Queen. The aggressive approach of those scholars this time reminds me of what happened two years ago... We have all reviewed the papers fairly and impartially and selected Lin Huiyuan. We have never been partial to anyone or bent the law. In my opinion, we should follow the normal process and do what we should do. As for the rest..."

He raised his hand and pointed upwards with two fingers: "This is not something we should worry about. Don't get involved. It will ruin your family's future and lives."

"That's right." Everyone nodded. "Anyway, we didn't commit any corruption or favoritism. We won't admit this crime no matter what. As for Lin Huiyuan's true identity...what does that have to do with us?"

The examiner who was more flexible in thinking stroked his beard and said, "That's right. The Great Sheng Code never restricted the examination to men only. It's not just our dynasty. Even in the previous dynasties, wasn't there... no such thing?"

They gathered together and whispered for a while, and finally received an order from the palace.

The examiners of this year's examination, as well as several candidates who were accused of cheating, were required to go to the square outside the Imperial Examination Hall where the scholars were demonstrating - yes, not only Lin Qiao was accused of cheating, but the top three candidates in this spring's examination, including several candidates at the end who had good grades, were also questioned.

Of course, in the eyes of everyone, Lin Qiao's biggest problem is still her gender. However... just as the examiner said before, in fact, the Dasheng Dynasty did not have a strict rule that only men were allowed to take the imperial examinations to become officials, while women were not allowed to serve as officials. Even the previous dynasties did not have such a rule.

The fact that women were not allowed to serve as officials was just an unspoken rule of the time. Upon closer examination, there were no strict regulations that could be used as a basis for refusing women from serving in government.

Because in the minds of most people, they tacitly accept and despise the fact that women cannot become officials, which has now become a weak point for Xie Yuzhen to attack and tear apart.

What's more, there has been no shortage of female officials in all dynasties, although their appearance often represents an exception. And even if they serve as officials, have made achievements, made political achievements, and left their names in history books, but... this is not what is celebrated.

Every female official who can be recorded is a bold stroke in official history. If their traces cannot be completely erased, their existence will become a thin shadow, which later generations will not recognize, learn from, and eventually forget.

They do exist and are allowed to exist, but there is a force that prohibits them from being named.

Xie Yuzhen has read a lot of books in the imperial study over the years, especially history books.

Before the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty, the people with the largest collections of books in the world were those aristocratic families with a history of hundreds of years. After the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty, all the collections in the world belonged to the royal family - because the founding emperor did not come from any aristocratic family. He was just a small soldier in the army of the previous dynasty. Even the surname "Lu" was used because he was the sixth among a group of sworn brothers.

Taizu, who had gained power, plowed the noble families in the Central Plains over and over again. He razed all the fortresses to the ground, distributed the land equally to the innocent people, and looted all the gold and silver treasures in the warehouses. Of course, he did not forget to clear out all the books as well. Taizu's bandit-like atrocities in the past have now benefited his great-great-grandson's wife, Xie Yuzhen, who was born half a peasant.

"Is everyone here?" Xie Ruizhen asked Xia Zhi.

Xia Zhi replied, "We are all here. Would you like to come over now, Madam?"

"Yeah." Xie Yuzhen nodded, "It's good that they are all here. It seems that the elders of the families of those people I selected are also sensible and know which side to stand on."

Lin Qiao, the champion, was attacked so harshly. How could the second and third place winners, who had long been hyped as "talented and filial men" and whose names were also on the list, be left behind?

“But if they shrink back at this time, wouldn’t that mean they admit that they cheated in the imperial examination? Even if it’s just for their own reputation and future, they have to stand up. And at this stage, they must stand with my Guanying.” Xie Yuzhen is really good at muddying the water and catching the big fish she wants in the turbid water.

This time, while using Lin Qiao to make the arrangements, she also pulled in a lot of people. However, the purpose of these people joining was different from the families she wanted to eliminate. She just wanted to take the opportunity to see if there were any "smart people" among them who were suitable for absorbing into her own party. In the past year, she has basically digested Concubine Deng's legacy, as well as the forces that Wang Linghui had taught her to make friends with before he left. It is time to extend her tentacles out of the capital.

The candidates from various prefectures outside the Great Sheng Imperial Capital were the perfect points of contact.

"Get the ceremonial guard ready, let's go out and see the excitement."

..........................................................

Outside the Imperial Examination Hall.

The sitting crowd saw the gate slowly open, and several examiners, surrounded by a group of Jinwu Guards, came to the front of the crowd.

The leading examiner held a large wooden loudspeaker in his hand and shouted to the crowd: "Since you have objections to the ranking of this examination, I will publicly post the papers of the top 20 candidates. You can compare them by yourselves. If you think your essay is more outstanding but was rejected, you can also write it down here for everyone to judge. Don't worry, the pens, ink, paper and inkstone will be provided by the court."