Chapter 159: Meeting the Beauty Once Again

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!"

Having received the Emperor's commendation, Gou Ye did not experience any significant emotional fluctuation.

"Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; heed only one and you will be in the dark"—this was the age-old dialogue given by Wei Zheng to Emperor Taizong of Tang in history.

If even an answer like this failed to satisfy the Emperor before him, then he truly would not know what else to say.

"Very well, you may withdraw!"

Seeing Gou Ye's calm and unruffled demeanor, the Emperor was even more pleased with him.

However, they were currently in the main hall, with numerous examinees, civil officials, and military generals watching; it was impossible to appear overly intimate.

Otherwise, it would not do Gou Ye's future growth any favors.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Hearing the Emperor's words, Gou Ye bowed once more, then turned and stepped back.

"The palace examination is concluded. We await Your Majesty's holy judgment on the rankings!"

With the palace examination finished, it was time to assign the rankings. The top three scorers of this examination would ultimately be calculated based on the total scores of all the tests.

"Hmm, for this palace examination, the first place belongs to Gou Ye. 'Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; heed only one and you will be in the dark.' This phrase not only applies to the way of a ruler, but is also a warning to all of you lords."

The Emperor nodded lightly, looking at all the court ministers present.

"We shall strictly obey your command!"

Hearing the Emperor's words, even if the civil and military ministers nearby had doubts, they dared not show them now and could only nod in agreement.

"The second place belongs to Qin Ming, and the third place belongs to Xuanyuan Changfeng!"

As the Emperor's words fell, the people throughout the grand hall nodded slightly. Indeed, the answers of Qin Ming and Xuanyuan Changfeng were relatively outstanding among all the scholars.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to the final rankings of this imperial examination, the top scholar (Zhuangyuan) of this examination is Qin Ming, the runner-up (Bangyan) is Xuanyuan Changfeng, and the third rank (Tanhua) is Qian Ning!"

With the Emperor's ranking established, the other examiners hurriedly compiled the comprehensive rankings of this imperial examination.

Because Qin Ming had won first place in the policy essay and now second place in the palace examination, he undisputedly became the top scholar of the imperial examination.

Xuanyuan Changfeng could only take second place.

The third place was taken by someone named Qian Ning. However, Qian Ning's performance just moments before had been witnessed by everyone present; his answers were reasonable, well-measured, and his attitude was extremely sincere.

As for Gou Ye, although his palace examination was indeed brilliant and won high praise from the current Emperor, his other exam scores were not particularly dazzling, so he could only rank within the top twenty.

Regarding this result, Gou Ye was actually extremely satisfied in his heart, as this could be considered his true level of achievement.

After the imperial examinations concluded, it was the Emperor's turn to bestow rewards and official posts upon the examinees. Unsurprisingly, the top three were kept within the palace, while most of the other examinees were dispatched to various prefectures and counties to serve as officials.

As for Gou Ye himself, he was unexpectedly kept within the imperial palace by the Emperor, though merely as a junior palace compiler!

Upon leaving the imperial palace, Xuanyuan Changfeng knew that Gou Ye might be in low spirits, so he took the initiative to comfort him: "Brother, do not worry. Anyway, we will both be staying in the palace to handle affairs in the future, and our prospects remain very bright."

"Hahaha, thank you for your comfort, Brother Changfeng. But for me, being able to become a palace compiler can already be considered bringing honor to my ancestors!"

Hearing Xuanyuan Changfeng's consolation, Gou Ye waved his hand. Although this so-called palace compiler held a very minor official rank, it was already quite enough for him.

"Hahaha, brother, why did you leave without greeting me?"

Just as Xuanyuan Changfeng and Gou Ye were conversing, a young noble dressed in lavish robes suddenly walked out from the side. Who else could it be but Zhu Houzhao?

"Greetings, Second Highness!"

Seeing Zhu Houzhao arrive, Xuanyuan Changfeng hurriedly bowed and pulled Gou Ye beside him.

He was only joking, but the person before them was the dynasty's renowned Second Highness; seeing him, one naturally had to bow.

"Alright, alright, spare me the courtesies. If you act so polite, I'll think you're asking for a beating!"

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, looking entirely unconcerned. "Brother, let me tell you, you must not underestimate this position of palace compiler. Attend to your duties diligently, understand?"

Zhu Houzhao narrowed his eyes, a hint of unusual meaning flickering in his expression.

"Understood, Your Highness."

Hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, though Gou Ye did not understand the underlying reason, he still nodded gently in agreement.

Over the next few days, Gou Ye arrived at the palace on time every day and began his dry and tedious compilation routine.

As for Zhu Houzhao, the Second Highness, he clung to Gou Ye like sticky candy every day, coming over to chat and scaring the other compilers in the palace quite thoroughly.

It was a joke; the palace compiler's office was not actually a vital secret department, but almost everyone who came to such a place had influential connections. Yet no one expected that the newly arrived Gou Ye would actually know His Highness the Second Prince Zhu Houzhao, and have such a rock-solid relationship with him!

On this day, as usual, after finishing his duties in the palace, Gou Ye returned to his estate. To his surprise, Gu Shen was already waiting outside the gates!

"Hahaha, Brother Gou, take a look and see who has come!"

Gu Shen's face was full of smiles as he pointed toward the estate gates, a hint of subtle meaning lingering in his eyes.

"Oh? Who is here?"

Hearing Gu Shen's words and seeing his peculiar expression, Gou Ye was filled with curiosity and instinctively looked in the direction Gu Shen was pointing.

However, with just a single glance, Gou Ye could no longer tear his eyes away.

There, by the flower bed inside the estate gates, a woman dressed in yellow robes was seated on a bench. Her dark hair flowed freely, and her entire being exuded an intellectual and mature charm.

"Alright, alright, stop staring and go on in. She has been waiting here for you the entire afternoon. I still have work at the newspaper office, so you two have a good chat."

Seeing that Gou Ye was practically drooling, Gu Shen waved his hand with a smiling expression.

"Come to think of it, you have achieved success and fame now; it's about time you took a wife!"

With that, Gu Shen turned around and walked back toward the newspaper office.

"Wanzhang."

After Gu Shen left, Gou Ye did not hesitate at all. He strode through the gates and walked up behind Wanzhang.

"Young Master, you've returned?"

Seeing the person she had been longing for day and night suddenly appear behind her, Wanzhang's face was filled with emotion.

"Mn, I'm back."

Seeing Wanzhang's emotional face, Gou Ye desperately wanted to reach out and embrace her. At this moment, he was truly no longer that country boy from the past.

Though merely a humble palace compiler, he was now genuinely worthy of Wanzhang!