Chapter 7: Welcoming a Few Brothers

Chapter 7: Welcoming a Few Brothers

"She passed? Passed what?"

The hall was noisy, and Jiang Jingwan was caught off guard.

Shi Yuyan shot to her feet, exclaiming, "She passed!?"

She was the one who understood the situation best in the entire hall and was just as shocked.

As a student of the Guozijian, she knew just how difficult it was to pass the academy's exams.

Shi Yuanxi!?

The Shi Yuanxi who had been hell-bent on marrying into a high-ranking family! How on earth did she pass the exam?

Shi Yuyan blurted out, "Are you sure she passed?"

Le Shu, already overjoyed for Shi Yuanxi, replied without thinking, "Miss Shi Yuanxi is the only female student with that name who took the entrance exam at the Guozijian."

"There's only one female student named Shi Yuanxi who took the entrance exam, miss. I saw her name on the list with my very own eyes!"

The whole hall burst into noise.

No one expected Shi Yuanxi to show up for the results today.

She had been gone for three years and was said to have lost her mind. Yet now, she wasn't just perfectly lucid—she had actually passed the Guozijian entrance exam.

This was the Guozijian we're talking about!

No one present could believe Shi Yuanxi had legitimately passed the entrance exam with such outstanding knowledge.

For a moment, many of those who had known Shi Yuanxi were struck speechless.

Even Shi Yuyan's own classmates started asking her about it.

Pei Jixi sat in the main seat, watching her solitary figure from afar.

Beside him, the day's host, Young Master Wang from the Wang Ministry, quietly asked, "Has it been confirmed?"

A Wang Ministry servant replied, "Yes! The Guozijian has posted the list outside. I double-checked it, Miss Shi Yuanxi is definitely on the list."

"What rank?"

"Ranked thirty-second in the First Class."

Hearing this, Young Master Wang's face showed his shock. "First Class?"

Pei Jixi said, "...There were thirty-two total in the First Class this year for the Guozijian entrance exam."

Shi Yuanxi was the very last one.

It might seem like an ordinary rank, but it was actually the highest a female student has ever achieved.

First Class—can you believe it?

In a different context, like next year's imperial exam, this rank would be like a second-class Jinshi, letting her become an official right away.

Of course, the Guozijian entrance exam is not as difficult as the imperial examination, but this rank was undeniably high.

Not to mention, Shi Yuanxi is a woman.

When the Guozijian first opened its doors to female students, a few exceptional female students emerged. Most of them eventually became instructors at the Guozijian or female academies, and none entered officialdom.

Over time, fewer and fewer female students achieved high rankings at the Guozijian. Nowadays, female students no longer participate in regular exams and are evaluated separately.

The Guozijian entrance exam was an exception.

Pei Jixi understood this best, being in the court.

When the entrance exam decision was made, the court had not considered the situation of female students at all. No one expected that a Shi Yuanxi would emerge.

At this moment, the news that a female student had passed the entrance exam and was ranked in the First Class had spread like wildfire throughout the entire capital.

Since the posting of the results, the Guozijian had not had a moment's peace.

In front of the Guozijian Jijiu (Chancellor), a completed exam paper lay.

Before the results were posted today, there had been intense discussions.

Many people felt that Shi Yuanxi's ranking was too high.

The Jijiu gave a wry smile. "Too high?"

Anyone who said that probably hadn’t seen Shi Yuanxi's exam paper with their own eyes.

For any question that had a definitive answer—whether it was classical studies or arithmetic—she had made almost no mistakes.

The memorized texts were flawless, and even the handwriting was exceptionally good.

Initially, during anonymous grading, the internal ranking they gave her was much higher than her current position.

It was only when they discovered Shi Yuanxi’s identity while preparing the final list that they reevaluated her ranking.

Otherwise, she should have been ranked 18th, instead of the lowest position in the First Class.

But how could he explain this to the higher officials?

The court was rife with intense struggles, and as the saying goes, "when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer." Various factions wanted to place their people in the Guozijian.

The Empress Dowager, in an effort to maintain balance among the factions, authorized this entrance exam. The Jijiu had also done his best to remain impartial.

After various factions vied for positions, there was still one spot left in the First Class.

This extra spot was something no faction was willing to give up. Even if their own people couldn’t fill it, they would not allow someone from another faction to.

The final result, based on the ranking, was that among all the candidates considered for the position, Shi Yuanxi had the highest rank and, being a woman, posed no threat to anyone.

All factions agreed to her taking the position.

Thus, this 32nd position in the First Class, in a rather unusual manner, received unanimous approval and was posted at the top of the First Class list today.

Not surprisingly, this incident caused quite a stir in the capital.

Just an hour after the results were posted, the Jijiu had already received numerous inquiries.

Looking exhausted, he handed Shi Yuanxi's exam paper to a subordinate, saying, "Send this to the Hanlin Academy."

Shi Yuanxi had no one to vouch for her and relied entirely on her own talent and knowledge to pass the exam. If anyone wants to verify, let them go ahead and check.

Even if these complicated matters didn’t exist, following the decree issued by the Empress Dowager and with Hanlin Academy scholars presiding, Shi Yuanxi would definitely have made it on the list. In the worst case, she would have been at the bottom of the second tier.

Shi Yuanxi possesses genuine talent and knowledge, but she is limited by her status as a woman and the lack of support behind her.

Elsewhere, Shi Yuanxi had also learned of her rank.

She lightly raised her eyebrows, quite surprised.

This rank was higher than she had expected.

In her estimation, she had anticipated being somewhere between the second and third tiers.

The reason was simple: her journey to the modern era was an incredibly fantastical event. In the eyes of others, she had merely been in a dazed state for three years.

Of course, with her admission to the Guozijian becoming public, many would likely think she had been pretending during those three years.

Only this explanation could clarify the current situation.

Otherwise, how could a girl who was raised in the inner quarters, who had only attended a women’s school for a few years and had been in a dazed state for three years, suddenly understand those obscure and difficult-to-understand articles?

Therefore, during the exam, she deliberately downplayed her performance on subjective questions such as policy essays and various discussion topics, even intentionally writing some answers off-topic.

It wasn’t that she wanted to hide her talent, but rather that she didn’t want to be seen as a monster. For now, she could only show this much.

After all, things that require rote memorization were something she could study on her own.

However, when it came to content involving high-ranking officials, without guidance, it was difficult to get started.

…Especially since she was merely the daughter of the second branch of the Shi family. Based on her current understanding, she couldn’t possess a well-rounded political literacy.

With all these factors considered, having no one in the court and no influence, and being a woman, it was inevitable that she would have to defer to others.

In this situation, she still managed to get into the first tier.

It seems the situation at court is far more complicated than she had imagined.

“Miss Shi, congratulations.”

Shi Yuanxi raised her eyes and saw Wang Hengzhi walking towards her with a cup of wine.

Wang Hengzhi appeared excited: “The first female student to achieve first tier status in the Guozijian, Miss Shi, you are exceptionally talented!”

Standing beside him was Jiang Jingwan, her expression complex. Shi Yuanxi smiled gracefully and picked up the teacup beside her: “From now on, we’ll be classmates. No need to be so formal, Young Master Wang.”

Her smile left Wang Hengzhi stunned for a long while, his face turning red from his neck up.

Pei Jixi stood in the distance, his expression dark.

He said coldly: “Send someone to investigate. Whether her entry into the Guozijian involved Xie Yuwei’s influence.”

“Yes.”

As the host for the day, Wang Hengzhi was the first to step forward and congratulate her, drawing many Guozijian students around.

Jiang Jingwan watched, her emotions churning. She happened to turn her head and saw Pei Jixi standing outside the crowd, his eyes fixed on that person.

She hesitated for a moment and walked over slowly.

"I didn't expect that after three years away, she has been playing such a big game." Jiang Jingwan stood still and casually remarked, "There are many talented young scholars in the Guozijian, the imperial academy. By then, she will surely find a marriage that suits her preferences."

Pei Jixi's tone was cold, "Is that so?"

Jiang Jingwan seemed to snap out of her thoughts and smiled at him, "Yes, this way, when I see her again, it will be easier on my heart."

Though she was smiling, there was a touch of bitterness in her eyes, which Pei Jixi noticed, and he eventually gently took her hand.

Making such a gesture in front of others did manage to reassure Jiang Jingwan somewhat.

She looked over at Shi Yuanxi, but Shi Yuanxi hadn't glanced in their direction even once.

Pei Jixi looked over as well and was reminded of something from years ago, when he had seen Shi Yuanxi by the lake. It turned out that she was being matched with this man that day, and the man was motivated by lust and intended to make improper advances.

It was winter, and the lake water was cold. Pei Jixi watched from a distance and did not intervene.

Having seen this kind of scene many times in the capital, it was nothing new to him.

He thought Shi Yuanxi would end up falling into the water by accident.

But to his surprise, she reacted swiftly, evading the man's hand and kicking him into the lake.

She then gave a cold smile, crouched by the lake, and said to the man's servant, "Your master fell into the lake. Aren't you going to save him?"

It was only after the servant jumped into the lake that she appeared satisfied.

When she turned around, her eyes, gleaming with vitality, met his.

Pei Jixi saw that Shi Yuanxi had only paused for a moment before standing in front of the two people who were frantically calling for help and said to him, "Young Master Pei, someone has fallen into the water."

"Are you just going to stand there and watch?"

...Pei Jixi could never forget her matter-of-fact tone.

Later, when the Yuwang rebellion occurred alongside a mutiny in the Zhenbei army, he was ordered to suppress it. Jiang Jingwan's brother went with him, and during the operation, he lost a leg and was rendered crippled, which devastated Jiang Jingwan. She came to beg Pei Jixi for help.

At that time, the morale in the Zhenbei army was unstable, and to regain control over all the defectors, Pei Jixi made a significant promise in front of the army that he would marry Jiang Tong's only sister.

By then, he had already been betrothed to Shi Yuanxi. When she found out, she spoke to him in the same tone.

He had said that the Zhenbei army was under the command of the Zhenbei Marquis's household, and if he couldn't regain control over all the defectors, the Zhenbei Marquis's household would face destruction.

He knew he was wronging her, but he didn't want to let her go.

So when he returned victorious, he pressured the Shi family to marry her as an equal wife.

Jiang Jingwan would be his primary wife, and out of respect for Jiang Tong, he respected her, but his heart belonged only to Shi Yuanxi.

But she said, "Young Master Pei is overthinking this."

"I have always valued cleanliness."

"I never share men."

"Also, I don't follow conventions. Men, if they're not up to the task, can be replaced. Do you want me to be a concubine?" she said expressionlessly, "I advise you to give up on this idea."

"Otherwise, when I enter your household, I might bring you a few good brothers, and that wouldn't be pretty."

"Wouldn't you agree?"