latelenovela Chapter 109 Infiltrating the Examination Hall
Chapter 109 Infiltrating the Examination Hall
Chapter 109 109 Infiltrating the Examination Hall
Chunyu Jing's gaze swept over Ye Pianran, and then he suddenly laughed.
"Back at Qionglin Garden, Miss Ye truly made a stunning debut, leaving an extremely deep impression on me," Chunyu Jing said slowly. "Miss Ye, how is the Golden-Topped Ink Lotus in Yinlu Garden doing now?"
Unable to fathom his sudden targeting of her, Ye Pianran forced herself to calm down and replied, "Your Highness, Jin Ding Mo He is doing well."
"Miss Ye seems quite skilled at tending to flowers and plants. There is a pond of water lilies in my manor that I have been cultivating for more than three years, but they have never bloomed even once. I wonder if Miss Ye has any solutions?"
Thinking of the Prince of Nanping's mansion, Ye Pianran immediately got goosebumps. She opened her mouth to refuse, but Chunyu Jing seemed to guess what she was going to say and said:
"Then it's settled. After the autumn imperial examinations are over, I will personally send someone to the Marquis's residence to fetch Miss Ye."
After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and strode into the examination hall.
Marquis Anshi's eyes flickered as he quickly analyzed Chunyu Jing's intentions. Back in Qionglin Garden, he had already sensed Chunyu Jing's subtle favors towards the Marquis's residence on several occasions. At the time, due to the special circumstances, he was merely grateful but hadn't thought much of it. Now, Chunyu Jing had once again expressed his closeness to the Marquis's residence—could it be…?
It seems that no matter how Ye Yanxun performs in this autumn imperial examination, he will have to make a trip to the Prince of Nanping's residence.
The wheels rolled, and the carriage of the Marquis of Anshi's mansion, driven by the guards, set off from the examination hall. In a secluded alley outside the examination hall, Xu Pingyue watched the carriage gradually disappear into the distance before loosening her grip on the curtain and letting out a sigh.
"I'm really worried about whether Xun'er has prepared well for this exam..."
"Mother, don't worry, brother knows what he's doing." In the carriage, which was almost identical to the one in the Marquis's mansion, sat a slender young woman. She placed her hand on Xu Pingyue's lap and comforted her, "With brother's talent, it won't be a problem for him to win first place in this autumn examination. Mother, just wait for news from brother in the mansion."
Xu Pingyue smiled, but her tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed.
"If Xun'er could always be by my side, I could personally take care of his daily life. It's just a pity... sigh."
Ye Yingrou clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, saying, "This day will come, Mother. It will come soon."
Xu Pingyue gently stroked Ye Yingrou's hair and said, "Mother knows that you and Xun'er are both good children, but some things are destined by heaven. This is our fate."
"I don't believe in fate, I only believe in myself!" A ruthless glint flashed in Ye Yingrou's eyes. "What is ours will not be taken away by anyone. Even if someone takes it for themselves now, one day I will take it back!"
"Alright, you're a young lady, why are you thinking so much?" Xu Pingyue gently tapped her forehead. "Let's go back to the manor."
Ye Yingrou shook her head and said, "Mother, please go back first. I have something to take care of, and I'm afraid I'll have to leave the capital for a few days."
Xu Pingyue frowned and asked, "Are you alone?"
"Mother, don't worry, Seventeen will protect her daughter in secret."
Knowing that Ye Yingrou was surrounded by many highly skilled bodyguards, Xu Pingyue wasn't too worried. After giving her a few instructions, she left in her carriage. Once the carriage had completely disappeared into the alley, Ye Yingrou looked around to make sure no one was there, then slipped into a house in the alley.
Before long, Ye Yingrou, disguised as a man, opened the door and walked out of the house with a middle-aged man. She brushed the dust off her sleeves, tightened her pack on her back, and walked towards the examination hall with the man, heads held high.
Ye Yingrou transmigrated to this world five years ago, when she was only ten years old. Possessing a poison-making system and having by chance saved the severely injured Ji Hongbo, she managed to gather a group of loyal Jianghu assassins and establish the "Ronghua Tower," a business ostensibly focused on assassination and poison production. To better control the Ronghua Tower and the Jianghu situation, Ji Hongbo assigned her several identities. She used one of these unknown identities to participate in the autumn imperial examination.
This year, the number of candidates in the capital city participating in the autumn examinations was twice that of previous years. Before everyone had even arrived, the examination hall was already packed to the brim. To prevent candidates from cheating, they had to undergo strict inspection by the gatekeepers after entering the examination hall. In addition to being searched, all the bundles they carried had to be opened, and all the food had to be cut open and inspected before they could enter.
Ye Yingrou was disguised as a man to sneak in, so naturally no one could search her body. Fortunately, the searches were conducted in separate cubicles, and she managed to get away with it using a little trick.
Next came the verification of identity and the results of the children's examination.
"Zhao Xincheng?" The examiner, verifying her identity, carefully examined the wooden plaque she handed over, checked her preliminary examination results, found the name "Zhao Xincheng" on the list of candidates, handed the plaque back, looked at the man standing next to her, and asked, "Are you Zhao Xincheng's witness?"
The man who followed Ye Yingrou into the examination hall humbly said, "Your Excellency, I am Zhao Xincheng's uncle. I have lived in the capital since I was a child, and I can testify that he is Zhao Xincheng himself."
"If you dare to give false testimony or commit fraud, you'll be in big trouble!" the official said in a harsh voice. Then he added, "Alright, go inside and prepare for the exam."
"Yes, thank you, sir." Ye Yingrou said in a rough voice, put away her bundle, and turned to walk quickly inside.
After passing through two prison gates, Ye Yingrou had successfully sneaked into the examination hall. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly searched through the crowd. When she saw Ye Yanxun standing in front of her, her face lit up with joy. She wanted to go over and greet Ye Yanxun and give him a surprise, but in the blink of an eye, she saw Tong Zhu, the young master of the Tong family, and Yan Ning, the young master of the Yan family, coming over to talk to Ye Yanxun. She had no choice but to stop and turn around to find her own examination cell.
"Your Highness, no one was found to be impersonating another or possessing cheat sheets among the candidates at the East Gate. However, a commoner who attempted to sneak into the examination hall was caught at the South Gate. He has been detained and taken to prison."
On the platform, Chunyu Jing was listening to the official beside him report on the verification of the candidates' identities. His gaze lingered for a moment on Ye Yanxun, Tong Zhu, and Yan Ning, who stood out from the crowd below, before casually looking away. Then, he saw a figure that surprised him greatly.
"Hmm?" He narrowed his long eyes slightly, interrupting the report from the person next to him, and said slowly, "Zhao Guang, your verification efforts are still not enough."