“But that’s understandable…” The chief steward then recalled Feng Wu’s mother, who was known as the most beautiful woman on this continent. How could her daughter be anything but beautiful?
In the imperial palace.
Emperor Wu greeted Grand Secretary Fang as soon as he spotted the latter.
“Here, help me with the exam papers. I want to find some potential talents.”
Grand Secretary Fang smiled. “Your Majesty, Yu Mingye is a candidate this year as well.”
That was right.
Now that the Yu family had claimed its independence and had an empire of their own, that kid had been showing up everywhere in the imperial capital lately.
Emperor Wu said, “Remove the stickers and find me his paper.”
Soon, Grand Secretary Fang found Yu Mingye’s exam paper and presented it to Emperor Wu with both hands.
Emperor Wu nodded as he read on. “Well, that kid might look like a rogue, but his handwriting is pretty neat. Look, he got none of the memorization questions right.”
Emperor Wu spoke resignedly and Grand Secretary Fang chuckled.
“Young Master Yu just couldn’t be bothered to memorize those books. He actually has a very good memory,” Grand Secretary Fang said with a smile.
Emperor Wu nodded. “His mind wasn’t on the exam. He wouldn’t have gotten such low marks if he had put his mind to it.”
Shaking his head, Emperor Wu put Yu Mingye’s paper aside, then asked, “Where’s the girl’s paper?”
Although he had seen her answers, reading the real exam paper wouldn’t feel the same.
Grand Secretary Fang and the chief steward had already been looking for Feng Wu’s paper while Emperor Wu was reading Yu Mingye’s, but they still hadn’t found it yet.
Hearing Emperor Wu’s question, Grand Secretary Fang said in a hurry, “One moment, Your Majesty. We’ll find it in no time.”
Emperor Wu went back to Yu Mingye’s paper and laughed as he read.
Such a silly kid. He didn’t take this important exam seriously at all. He had left everything he didn’t know blank without even trying to make up an answer.
Not only didn’t he fill in any of the blanks in section one, he didn’t choose any options for the multiple choice questions either. He couldn’t even be bothered to guess. Emperor Wu found the boy so amusing.
Meanwhile, Grand Secretary Fang and the chief steward exchanged concerned looks.
“I’ve flipped through every page and she’s not here.”
“So have I. I didn’t see her paper.”
They looked at each other in bewilderment.
Grand Secretary Fang wouldn’t give up. Splitting the stack in two, he said, “Let’s take a half each and check them again.”
There was no way that a candidate like that could have been excluded. She got full marks!
With 500 sets of the exam paper each, Grand Secretary Fang and the chief steward quickly ran through the stack.
Feng Wu’s handwriting was so exceptional that it could be spotted right away.
This time, Grand Secretary Fang and the chief steward turned each page more slowly, in order not to miss anything. However, until the last page was turned —
It wasn’t here!
Grand Secretary Fang’s face darkened!
The chief steward found it odd as well.
The chief steward had read the exam paper while standing by the emperor’s side when Grand Secretary Fang brought it in earlier. His Majesty and Grand Secretary Fang had lavished the answers with compliments, making Miss Feng Wu sound like a fairy.
Emperor Wu had finished enjoying Yu Mingye’s paper and prompted, “Quickly, bring me little Feng Wu’s paper. I need the refreshment! Xiao Yu’s paper is a joke!”
“Your Majesty —” Grand Secretary Fang looked at Emperor Wu strangely.
“What?” Emperor Wu raised his head and saw the odd looks on Grand Secretary Fang’s and the chief steward’s faces. He rose to his feet. “What’s wrong?”