Chapter 146: Postponement of the Imperial Examinations

With Gou Ye taking the lead, everyone around the table took turns sharing their heartfelt thoughts. Even the Guo brothers, who usually only ate without saying a word, were beaming with joy today as they expressed their innermost feelings. For the two of them, they had never known the concept of a home since childhood, but ever since following Gou Ye, they finally felt the warmth of a family. Strictly speaking, they had joined this household as Gou Ye's attendants, yet neither Gou Ye, nor Yunniang, nor anyone else ever treated them as servants. Everyone regarded them as family, which deeply instilled in them the blissful feeling of having a home. Midway through his words, Guo Bingjin even shed tears.

When Laifu took his turn to speak, everyone finally learned that Gou Ye had become the president, and they joyfully raised their cups together several times to celebrate this occasion.

As everyone was drinking and singing, before long, a voice rang out: "The dumplings are here!" Only then did Gou Ye fully experience the true flavor of the New Year. Yunniang picked up a dumpling, placed it in his bowl, and said with a bright smile, "Brother Gou Ye, hurry and try this one. I made this dumpling myself, and I put a special mark on it."

Gou Ye opened his mouth wide, blowing gently as he bit into the dumpling Yunniang fed him. After just two bites, a surge of profound emotion welled up in his heart, and tears began to stream down his cheeks.

He hurriedly turned away. Everyone looked at him with concern and asked what was wrong. While wiping away his tears and mucus, he replied, "Eat and drink, everyone, don't mind me. It's just that I haven't experienced anything like this for far too long. My heart is simply too overwhelmed with emotion."

After eating for a while, Gou Ye took Yunniang to the family's private ancestral shrine, which Gou Ye had specially set up in memory of Yunniang's mother. Yunniang had already visited the shrine before the banquet, but when Gou Ye returned home, he had been so busy that he momentarily forgot to pay his respects to her mother.

Gou Ye lit three sticks of incense, inserted them into the burner, and knelt before the ancestral hall with Yunniang, speaking aloud: "Mother, your son has been unfilial. I have come late and am only now remembering to pay my respects to you. Mother, everyone is very happy today because the New Year is about to arrive, which also signifies that Yunniang has reached the proper age. After this year's imperial examinations, regardless of whether I pass or not, Yunniang and I will become husband and wife and hold our wedding ceremony. You can rest assured in heaven; I will certainly take good care of Yunniang and ensure she lives a life of happiness..."

Gou Ye spoke at length, and Yunniang then knelt and spoke for quite a while as well. When the two of them stepped out of the ancestral shrine, the crisp sound of firecrackers was already ringing out all around, and the sky was filled with a dazzling variety of fireworks. The two of them snuggled together in the courtyard, happily gazing at the magnificent spectacle in the sky. The falling snowflakes, illuminated by the bright red lanterns and fireworks, seemed to turn red, presenting a truly breathtaking sight...

The New Year is joyous, but joy is fleeting. Amidst the peaceful and festive atmosphere, everyone unconsciously passed through the New Year celebrations. According to the normal schedule, after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the annual imperial examinations would take place at the onset of Lichun, the beginning of spring. Therefore, once the New Year festivities concluded, neither Gou Ye nor Xuan Yuanchang had any time to idle; they knuckled down to prepare for the upcoming exams.

For Xuan Yuanchang, things were relatively straightforward. Many subjects were already thoroughly familiar to him, and in his mind, the imperial examinations were almost like child's play. At the very least, passing and securing the rank of a Jinshi presented not the slightest problem for him. But Gou Ye was different. He lacked a solid foundation and had relied entirely on rote memorization and the knowledge accumulated from his original era over this past period.

As the saying goes, ten years of bitter study behind closed doors leads to a single moment of glory on the honor roll. Gou Ye's current endeavor was no different from sharpening a weapon right before a battle. In truth, he held little confidence in his heart regarding how well he would place. He figured that given his half-baked scholarship, managing to pass as a Xiucai would already be a remarkable achievement.

It was not that Gou Ye lacked self-confidence, but rather that the contents of the imperial examinations were exceedingly cumbersome. Trying to fully digest the contents of all the books in a mere half-year was simply an unrealistic task, leaving him with no choice but to pour extra effort into policy essays and harbor a hopeful gamble.

Xuan Yuanchang, however, did not see it that way. He seemed confident not only in himself but also in the people around him, especially in Gou Ye, the "student" he had tutored on numerous occasions. In his view, given Gou Ye's level of learning, passing the Jinshi examination would be an effortless feat. Thus, whenever he saw Gou Ye looking nervous, he would smile, comfort him, and offer him ample encouragement and affirmation.

As for Yunniang, whether Gou Ye passed the examinations or not seemed entirely unimportant to her. All she could see was that recently, Gou Ye had been burying his head in books all day long, growing noticeably thinner with increasingly prominent dark circles under his eyes. This caused Yunniang immense worry, yet feeling completely helpless, she could only brew nourishing soups every day and bring them into Gou Ye's room.

The Shang clan had already begun handling the handover of maritime trade and commerce with the Western Regions. They fully understood Gou Ye's recent confinement to his home, and indeed, there had been a prior agreement that the Shang clan would not hinder Gou Ye's imperial examinations.

On this very day, just before noon, Xuan Yuanchang rushed into the courtyard in a flurry, shouting loudly, "Brother! Brother! Come out quickly, something major has happened!"

Hearing the commotion, Gou Ye walked out of the room to see Xuan Yuanchang running up to him, out of breath. "Brother, the imperial court has just posted notices at the Yueyang Tower! Do you know what the notice says? The imperial examinations have been postponed!"

Seeing Xuan Yuanchang's anxious expression, Gou Ye suddenly burst into hearty laughter and said, "Postponed? Haha, isn't that a good thing? How long have they been delayed? Is it half a year? With another half-year, I wouldn't have to be as stressed and frantic every day as I am now."

Xuan Yuanchang shook his head and said, "Brother, you are thinking too simply. Although this exam has only been delayed by a month, do you know? Ever since the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty, this is the very first time the imperial examinations have been postponed. But most importantly, do you know the reason? Although you would find out in a few days anyway, I managed to get some advance information through friends in the palace—the Crown Prince has passed away!"

Upon hearing this news, Gou Ye was genuinely struck with astonishment. The Crown Prince had passed away? No wonder he hadn't been able to enter the palace recently; it turned out a major event had occurred within the palace walls—a monumental catastrophe at that. It seemed that over this period, something must have gone amiss with the Crown Prince, and after failing to recover through long treatments, he had suddenly passed away.

However, Gou Ye's eyes suddenly filled with an expression of sheer disbelief. He suddenly thought of Zhu Houzhao, the Second Imperial Prince who originally had no connection whatsoever to the throne. History always held its strange coincidences; even though Zhu Houzhao was only the second prince, with the Crown Prince's death following this incident, the second prince would smoothly ascend to become the Crown Prince. In the end, Zhu Houzhao still failed to "escape" his destiny of becoming the emperor.