Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 470 The Dynasty of the Young
Not only that, the third place winner was also a woman. And they all looked quite young. Faced with this result, the courtiers almost knelt down before Emperor Jingtai.

Just as Emperor Jingtai was about to nod and announce the names on the spot, the Minister of Revenue couldn't help but step forward and earnestly persuade Emperor Jingtai.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable! There hasn't been a single female scholar who has achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations in a thousand years! We cannot set a precedent for this!"

"Your Majesty, I second that opinion. These women have already shown Your Majesty great favor by being among the top three; how can they be included in the ranks of a single family?"

"Your Majesty, I second that opinion is correct. This matter is unprecedented and truly bizarre. Beware of public opinion!"

Seeing the chaos below, Emperor Jingtai remained calm. He waited until his ministers were hoarse from talking and had no energy left to say anything, then shrugged helplessly.

"I do not wish to make things difficult for you, my beloved ministers, but these rankings were chosen and presented to me by you yourselves. I have not changed a single ranking. Is that not enough?"

"This……"

The ministers, who had been so full of fighting spirit, suddenly fell silent. There was a set order to the examination papers presented to His Majesty; generally, the top ten papers, as agreed upon by the ministers, were arranged in order. However, they hadn't known beforehand that four of those ten papers were from female scholars.

But now, by desperately resisting this ranking, aren't we negating our past selves?

However, if they didn't resist, they would appear to lack the integrity of a virtuous minister. For a moment, the ministers were in a dilemma.

At this moment, Jiu Que spoke in a gentle voice.

"Gentlemen, the imperial examination is a fair way to select talent. Why don't we set aside the distinction between men and women today and judge people solely by their talent? I have heard the policy essays and poems of these four female scholars, and they are indeed quite excellent. Since you all have doubts, why don't we ask a few male scholars to share their views?"

Yes, if these male scholars themselves admit that they are not as skilled as others, what are they still agonizing over?

These scholars weren't fools; they were fully aware of the situation. So, each one of them humbly and solemnly admitted that they were indeed inferior to their female colleagues. And this was, of course, true. They would be serving in the same court in the future, and being classmates and fellow graduates, maintaining good relations was paramount.

In addition, these female scholars are indeed exceptionally talented, so there is nothing shameful about losing to them. On the contrary, if they stubbornly refuse to admit that they are inferior in skill, their articles will be ridiculed by scholars all over the world once they are published.

Moreover, these officials have already softened their stance. They may sound like they are the most prestigious scholars of the time, but once they enter officialdom, they are nothing more than small fry. How can they possibly compete with these officials? Why bother doing something so thankless?

Thus, amidst a harmonious atmosphere, the rankings of the top three in the first division and the top seven in the second division were determined.

Emperor Jingtai was also very pleased. He immediately waved his hand, ordering the newly appointed scholars to go to the main street to show off their official positions, and bestowed upon each of them a bright red scholar's robe. That wasn't all. He gave Jiu Que a look, and Jiu Que smiled slightly, presenting the jade plate that had been prepared beforehand.

He personally placed a golden peony flower in the hair of the top scholar Lu Shiqing. Lu Shiqing suppressed his excitement and bowed respectfully, his fingers trembling slightly with emotion.

Ah, how fortunate she is to receive the honor of having His Highness personally adorn her hair with flowers. His Highness… The second and third recipients received a green chrysanthemum and a red osmanthus respectively. The green chrysanthemum goes without saying, as green chrysanthemums are rare indeed, and the red osmanthus was picked from the century-old osmanthus tree in the palace.

In short, those who won prizes went out to celebrate happily.

Ten years of studying went unnoticed, but one success made them famous throughout the land. As these newly recruited swordsmen suppressed their excitement and mounted their steeds, led by the Imperial Guards, they headed east from Zhuque Street, turning into Guizhi Street for a loop. Along the way, the restaurants and inns lining both sides of the street were practically bursting at the seams.

In the fourteen years since the founding of the Jingtai Emperor's reign, the number of times he held the imperial examinations was countless, not to mention that this was a special imperial examination held separately.

Countless citizens of the capital wanted to see the Jinshi who had fought his way out of thousands of soldiers, so the streets were packed with people for a time.

Lu Shiqing took the lead and walked at the very front. When the crowd of onlookers discovered that the top scholar was actually a refined and elegant woman, they were first taken aback, and then burst into a deafening cheer.

"Ahhh! Mother, did you see that? That's a female top scholar, the first female top scholar in history! How is she so amazing?"

"Moreover, Tanhua Jing is also a female Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). As expected of Tanhua, look at her, she looks like a fairy from Mount Gusha. How come I have never seen such a woman with such outstanding appearance and demeanor before?"

“Brother, did you see that? Two of the top three in the first-class examination are women. Who says women are inferior to men? I want to study too, I want to take the imperial examination, and one day I will be like them, shining brightly in the streets.”

……

Amidst the cheers and jubilation of the people, the procession, after a difficult journey, finally ended and returned to the palace to attend the upcoming banquet.

What shocked these newly appointed scholars was that Emperor Jingtai only made a brief appearance before handing over the main role of the banquet to Prince Chenrui, and then turned and left, saying that he was feeling unwell and needed to go back for a short rest.

Although everyone was somewhat confused, Prince Chenrui's status was extremely high, and he possessed both literary and military talents. Moreover, there were some unspoken reasons: His Majesty was getting old, and the situation of the Fourth Prince was still unknown, only that he was still under house arrest. The Prince, on the other hand, was His Majesty's most beloved child, and the vast majority of state affairs had been entrusted to him. Under these circumstances, even if one did not want to immediately take sides, it was still possible to show some goodwill towards this Prince.

Therefore, the scene was quite lively for a time.

Prince Chenrui, in particular, was a truly elegant man, his speech and manners exuding an air of nobility. The newly appointed scholars, having not yet navigated the officialdom, sometimes appeared somewhat naive in their words and actions. However, Jiuque did not seem to mind, and his words were full of encouragement.

However, those seasoned veterans felt something was off when they saw the newly appointed scholars who couldn't suppress their adoration for the prince. Could they really feel such intense admiration and respect for the prince on their first meeting?
Tsk tsk tsk, I never expected that there would be so many sycophants among the newly appointed scholars!

In a peaceful atmosphere, the imperial examination of the fourteenth year of the Antai era came to a smooth end. However, the turmoil stirred up by this batch of successful candidates did not subside for a long time.

As the backbone of the new generation of officials in Dajing, they rapidly seized various positions with astonishing speed, successfully ousting most of the stagnant and inflexible officials. Moreover, they displayed extraordinary unity; the cutthroat competition and infighting that their predecessors had anticipated rarely occurred among them. They simply focused on their work. It is because of them that Dajing has taken such rapid steps forward in its development and progress!

Therefore, in the following years, Dajing was known as the dynasty of young people!