High-class maid

At night, two men dressed in official robes were looking at the candidates' papers.

“This student Song’s answers are truly exceptional; he will surely be on the list this time,” said an older man.

"Then how about we switch Lü's exam paper with his?" a younger man suggested.

“No, this person is the young master of the Song family. Eunuch Su from the palace has also given special instructions. Let’s find someone else.” The older man put down Song Wenyang’s exam paper and shook his head with some regret.

It's a pity. If he were a student without any background, we could change his name to that of the young master of the Lü family and not be afraid of being investigated in the future. But he happens to be the young master of the Song family. To be on the safe side, it's best not to try anything with him.

"Lord Gao, someone from the palace has come and wants to see the examination paper of a student surnamed Song." The guard's voice rang out from outside the door.

The two examiners inside the room exchanged a glance, both seeing relief in each other's eyes.

"Take it to him." Without a second thought, Lord Gao knew that the palace wanted Song Wenyang's exam paper.

The younger one sealed the exam paper and only took it out to the guard after making sure there were no marks.

"Fortunately, we didn't use his exam paper to take our place, otherwise we would have been in big trouble if that person in the palace had found out." The young official patted his chest with lingering fear, his serious demeanor completely gone.

Lord Gao glanced at his nephew, a young examiner also surnamed Gao. In the court, they were called Lord Gao and Little Lord Gao. The two of them worked for the Crown Prince, and Little Lord Gao was already supervising the imperial examinations at a young age.

"What's there to be afraid of? We can just pick an ordinary person and have them handle this matter for His Highness the Crown Prince. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who will know?" Lord Gao said nonchalantly.

Even if this matter is eventually discovered, he is not afraid. They are under the Crown Prince's command, and anyone who is not stupid knows the consequences of offending the Crown Prince.

This scholar, Lü, is the eldest son of the Lü family. His family has been in business for generations, and their wealth is comparable to the national treasury. However, being a merchant is the lowest of the low. As merchants, the Lü family cannot wear silk or ride in a carriage when they go out, which makes Master Lü very distressed.

Later, he spent a lot of money to curry favor with the Crown Prince. He gave the Crown Prince 50,000 taels of silver just to ensure his son's name was on the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations. The Crown Prince then gave the Gao family uncle and nephew another 10,000 taels of silver to ensure the matter was handled properly.

The uncle and nephew picked and chose on the table and finally settled on an exam paper by a student named Wu Xunzhi. They replaced the paper with the one by the student named Lü. Just as the uncle and nephew were immersed in the joy of having finished their task, they were unaware that they had offended the person they should never have offended.

Shen Xing'er was distracted from the start of the imperial examination. One moment she was thinking, "What if Brother Song fails the exam?" The next she was thinking, "What if Brother Song passes the exam? What if my status is not good enough for him?"

Although she said that if the Song family didn't approve of her, she would leave Song Wenyang, she couldn't just sit and wait for Song Wenyang to come to her, could she? She also needed to become strong and realize her own value.

"I don't want to think about it anymore. What should I paint for this last spot?"

Shen Xing'er shook her head, banishing the thought from her mind. She should focus on the task at hand first. She had already received the deposit for almost half a month, but she still hadn't finished drawing the three flower patterns she had promised Sister Gao.

Seeing their daughter busy with her career all day, Wang and Shen Kun were happy to see her succeed. They had lived ordinary lives, and now that their daughter had developed a hobby, the couple naturally gave their full support.

Shen Xing'er had been looking gloomy these days, and Wang Shi thought it was because she was worried about the flower patterns, so she didn't dare to disturb her. Instead, she focused on cooking for her daughter.

"It's finished!" Shen Xing'er finished the last stroke, picked up the paper with satisfaction, and looked at it again and again. Just to be on the safe side, she drew three different styles of patterns so that the young lady could choose one.

"Mom, I'm giving the pattern to Sister Gao. Don't wait for me for lunch!" Shen Xing'er packed the things into her purse and ran off. She had been putting it off for a long time and didn't know if Sister Gao was getting impatient.

"You silly girl, finish your meal before you go, there's no rush," Wang called out to Shen Xing'er, holding a spatula.

Shen Xing'er waved to her without turning her head, leaving only her back view.

"This girl was unhappy just a few days ago, and now she's all flustered again. I wonder who she took after," said Madam Wang, shaking her head helplessly as she looked at the pot full of fish soup.

"Never mind, let's share some with the neighbors."

Shen Xing'er walked quickly to the street. When she arrived at Sister Gao's shop, Sister Gao was having lunch.

"Xing'er, you've finally arrived! That customer came by yesterday. If you hadn't come, I was planning to go to your house to take a look." When Sister Gao saw Shen Xing'er, she stopped eating and got up to greet her.

"Excuse me, Sister Gao, I've been busy with things at home these past few days. I've already brought the flowers, but I don't know if I should put them here or where?" Shen Xing'er asked.

"Put it here, but I'll trouble you to come back tomorrow to see if the customer is satisfied with the design. If not, I'll have to trouble you to make some changes," Sister Gao said.

"Of course." Shen Xing'er took out the pattern, handed it to Sister Gao, and then went back.

The next day, Shen Xing'er went to Sister Gao's shop again.

"Xing'er, the customer has chosen this pattern and color scheme. When would you like your friend to embroider it?" Sister Gao asked.

"It'll be fine tomorrow. I've got nothing to do at home anyway, so I can just deliver the things to my girlfriends."

Shen Xing'er looked at the pattern chosen by the customer. Unlike the dragon and phoenix pattern of the past, this time she painted a golden branch and jade leaf pattern, with ruyi (a type of scepter) in the four corners. Everything was painted from a woman's perspective, rather than simply pursuing the love between men and women.

"That's good. The customer said that if it weren't for the fact that only one veil can be worn for a wedding, she would have bought both of the flower patterns. It's clear that she really likes your patterns," Sister Gao said with a smile.

"Really? Then we really have the same taste." Shen Xing'er was also very happy; it felt so good to be affirmed.

Shen Xing'er chatted with Sister Gao for a few more minutes before going home. She also wanted to draw out a pattern for next month's flowers and try to bring it to Shan Taodu tomorrow.

Time flew by, and the day after the exam arrived. Song Wenyang walked out of the examination hall with the knee pads and gloves that Shen Xing'er had given him.

Because of his experience in his previous life, he didn't feel any physical discomfort; at most, he felt sore all over because the stone slabs of the examination hall were extremely hard. However, others weren't so lucky.

Some students fainted as soon as they left the examination hall. Even more extreme cases involved hiring a doctor to wait at the entrance of the examination hall, who would take the student to a clinic as soon as they came out.

"Brother Wu, you're in great health! You still look radiant." Song Wenyang greeted Wu Xunzhi with a smile, looking relaxed.

Wu Xunzhi smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "You've been exercising all day for this day. Brother Song, you're in good health too."

"Haha, thank goodness." The two exchanged pleasantries as they arrived at the entrance of the examination hall.