My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 310 - 187: The Decision of Xia Emperor

"You agreed?"

Li Nuo looked at his wife, aghast.

On the day of the ceremony, either riding in a carriage or on horseback for a city tour was a privilege exclusive to the wife of the top scholar.

Just imagine, with exquisite makeup and wearing magnificent attire, riding on horseback or sitting in a carriage, parading around Chang'an Street, with bystanders packed along the roadsides, women from humble families and daughters of prominent officials alike casting envious and jealous glances.

Such an opportunity comes only once in a lifetime.

Even Li Anning, being a princess, couldn't enjoy such treatment.

Yet she was willing to share half of it with Yiren.

These two sisters, one dared to ask, the other dared to agree.

Song Jiaren nodded and said, "Anyway, they won't be able to tell, if she wants to sit for a while, just let her. Grandmother said I should give in to her a little."

Li Nuo's lips moved, but in the end, he couldn't say anything.

Since his wife had no objections, how could he dare raise any?

Not agreeing to Song Yiren, she would surely make an endless fuss about it.

In Mumu and Ning'er, Li Nuo had already seen too many such incidents.

Better to indulge her a bit, if Song Yiren were to catch him off guard and do something to him while his wife was not around, he wouldn't even be able to resist.

Speaking of which, it's strange how, with just a small difference in birth time, the elder twin always seems to be a bit more sensible.

Never mind their sisterly issues, Li Nuo pulled his wife back into his arms, letting her sit on his lap again to continue what had been interrupted by Song Yiren...

...

The twenty-first of March.

Before dawn, the Imperial Guard had already swept Chang'an Street clean and then rinsed it spotlessly with clear water.

Today was the day of the Advanced Scholar's procession, and Chang'an Street would be under martial law for half a day.

During this half-day, no pedestrians or sedan chairs were allowed to pass through the main street of Chang'an. Violators would be fined silver at the least or imprisoned and punished at the most, even nobles were no exception.

Today's Chang'an belonged to the Advanced Scholars.

Li Mansion.

Li Nuo got up early, not just because the Ministry of Rites' carriage would come to pick him up later, but before leaving home, he also needed to apply beautiful makeup for his wife.

She usually didn't wear makeup, but today, appearing in front of so many people, he definitely wanted to show her most beautiful side.

Song Jiaren sat in front of the bronze mirror, and Li Nuo started by braiding her hair.

As the wife of the top scholar, she could wear a phoenix crown today.

Yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Rites had already delivered their ceremonial robes.

Wearing a phoenix crown meant she couldn't just tie her hair in a ponytail, Li Nuo had to comb her hair into a dignified and grand hairstyle.

Song Yiren arrived at the Li Mansion early in the morning.

She was excited all last night about the carriage ride through the city and could hardly sleep.

As she entered the room, she caught sight of Li Nuo drawing Song Jiaren's eyebrows, and immediately, the smile on her face vanished.

The man who should have been her husband was applying makeup to another woman.

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She felt an immense sourness in her heart, without anyone to confide in.

Moments later, Li Nuo placed a flower hairpin on his wife's forehead, a smile surfaced on his face as he said, "Done."

Song Yiren, looking at the woman in front of her who bore an identical appearance, was awestruck.

She knew she was beautiful, but she didn't realize she could be this stunning.

Despite having identical faces, standing next to Song Jiaren made her feel like her own maid.

After his wife moved away from the dressing table, Li Nuo glanced at Song Yiren standing at the doorway and said, "What are you dawdling for? Come here, it's almost time, the Ministry of Rites' people will be arriving soon..."

Song Yiren blinked in surprise and looked back to see that there was no one behind her. Pointing at herself, she asked uncertainly, "Me?"

Of course, it was her Li Nuo was referring to.

The carriage would depart from the palace gate and would take a turn to Li Mansion midway. At that point, his wife would switch places with her.

They looked identical, and with the same hairstyle and makeup, even Li Nuo himself might not be able to tell them apart instantly.

Song Yiren sat in front of the mirror, her cheeks slightly red, but since she had applied rouge, it was hardly noticeable.

It was her first time being made up by someone else, now that she had grown so big.

The women in the sect seldom wore makeup.

And her mother wouldn't teach her these things.

She had fled from Sanqing Mountain all the way to Chang'an. On the way, it was her first encounter with rouge and face powder; she remembered being appalled by her own reflection the first time she tried makeup.

But the rouge that hardly listened to her seemed to land in just the right places when applied by his hands.

If only someone could do her makeup every day from now on.

Li Nuo quickly finished applying makeup to Song Yiren, and he placed a flower hairpin on her forehead, identical to his wife's.

Now standing together, even Li Nuo couldn't differentiate them immediately.

His timing was perfect; just as he finished making up Yiren, Housekeeper Wu walked in from outside and said, "Young master, the Ministry of Rites' people have arrived."

The newly advanced scholars were first going to the Imperial Palace to pay their respects and express gratitude to the Emperor.

Li Nuo looked at Song Jiaren and said, "Wife, you change into the ceremonial robe and wait at home for a while. People from the Ministry of Rites will come to pick you up."

After instructing her, Li Nuo stepped out of the Li Mansion and hopped into a red silk-draped carriage.

Within the Li Mansion.

The two sisters sat at opposite ends of a table.

Song Yiren glanced at Song Jiaren, a strange feeling welling up inside her.

Although she resented Song Jiaren for stealing her husband, she had to admit that in this world, she was the closest person to her, without a doubt.

Having never seen their father since they were young, it was hard for her to feel much closeness to him.

And towards their mother... she felt more fear than anything.

Only this sister, who shared her face, could evoke a sense of kinship deep within her blood.

It would have been better if she hadn't usurped her husband.

Song Jiaren looked at Song Yiren, looking at this incredibly familiar face, her heart also gave rise to a peculiar feeling.

Within the Imperial Palace.

One hundred new Advanced Scholars walked neatly into the grand hall.

Li Nuo, dressed in a red python robe and wearing a golden flower hat adorned with several palace flowers, led by the Minister of Rites, walked at the very front of the group.

The hall was empty, devoid of officials.

The purpose of this arrangement was to make the new Advanced Scholars, who were entering the hall for the first time, understand whom they served as subjects.

Lu Sheng stood at the forefront and began with an impassioned speech, likely praising the Emperor's virtues; the Advanced Scholars standing here were all due to His Majesty's cherishing of talent, and they should always remember the grace of His Majesty...

The opening address lasted a full quarter of an hour, then at a certain moment, he turned to face the one hundred new scholars and loudly said, "Give thanks for the Holy Grace!"

"Thank the Emperor for His kindness!"

One hundred new Advanced Scholars performed the three-kneelings and nine-kowtows ceremony to the Emperor of Daxia.

The first part of the ceremony was to thank His Majesty for his grace, the second was the roll call.

As the name suggests, an official from the Ministry of Rites called out loudly the names of the new scholars to report to the Emperor and to declare to all the world.

Outside the grand hall, stationed at intervals, were Imperial Guards who would echo the scholars' names as they were called, carrying each name down the length of Chang'an Street.

Early on, the sides of Chang'an Street were already packed with citizens; calling out the names in this manner was highly significant for the scholars' reputations.

At the very front of the hall.

The Emperor of Daxia was seated on the Dragon Chair, his gaze sweeping over the several figures standing in front.

According to tradition, those positions were occupied by the top scholars, both overall and in individual subjects.

Indeed.

This year's top scholars, aside from their outstanding literary talents, also possessed quite striking appearances.

Especially the top scholar at the very front, truly a person of fine presence, who gave him a particularly agreeable feeling.

Any one of these individuals seemed fit to fill the role of Prince Consort.

Lu Sheng stepped to the center of the hall and loudly announced, "The number one scholar of the Imperial Examination, Li Nuo!"

Li Nuo took a step forward and bowed towards the front of the hall, his curiosity held in check, without raising his head.

Looking directly at His Majesty was a breach of etiquette, a basic mistake that could not be made.

Lu Sheng paused for a moment before speaking again, "The second-ranked, Cui Jing."

Behind Li Nuo, a handsome young man stepped forward, respectfully bowed, and then returned to his original position.

"The third-ranked, Wang Lin."

"The fourth-ranked, Pei Qian."

...

"The eighty-sixth-ranked, Zhou Yu."

"The eighty-seventh-ranked, Du Xuan."

...

"The hundredth-ranked, Lu Haoran."

After calling the last name, Lu Sheng closed the booklet in his hand and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the roll call of the one hundred new scholars is complete."

The Xia Emperor furrowed his brow and asked, "Where are the Sixth-Ranking Scholars? How come I did not hear their names?"

Although the Sixth-Ranking Scholar was less significant than the top overall scholar, the Ministry of Rites should not omit their names; this was an oversight that should not have occurred.

Lu Sheng's throat moved as he replied, "Your Majesty, in this session of the Imperial Examination, all Six Arts top honors were achieved by the same scholar, Li Nuo, thus their names were not called separately."

"What?"

The Xia Emperor stood up from the Dragon Chair.

The last time the same person had been both the top overall scholar and the Sixth-Ranking Scholar was in a previous examination.

That time it was Li Xuanjing.

This time it was Li Nuo.

Through the centuries since Daxia was founded, only twice had the title of Sixth-Ranking Scholar been held by a single person, both during his reign.

"Li Nuo, Li Nuo..." The Xia Emperor muttered the name, murmuring, "Why does this name sound somewhat familiar..."

An eunuch approached and whispered a few words to him.

The Xia Emperor finally remembered something, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.

At that moment, Minister of Rites Lu Sheng spoke again, asking, "Your Majesty, may we proceed to the next part of the ceremony?"

Following the roll call, the new scholars had to perform a ritual at the Confucian Temple, which had a strict schedule.

The Xia Emperor said in a deep voice, "Proceed in order."

After leading the scholars out of the grand hall, the Minister of Rites quickly entered and bowed to the Xia Emperor, saying, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Your Majesty spoke at the great court session to select one of the top scholars as a Prince Consort for Princess Anning. Now that the Sixth-Ranking Scholar is the same person, and the top scholar is already married, the Ministry of Rites is uncertain how to proceed. We await Your Majesty's decision..."

The Xia Emperor's fingers stroked the armrest of the Dragon Chair, falling silent.

When he made that decision, he had not anticipated such a situation.

If it had been a private promise, there might be room to retract.

But it was declared at the great court session, before all the officials of the realm—how could there be any thought of reneging?

The top scholar was already married; if he was ordered to divorce his wife to marry the Princess, who knows what the people might say, and the Royal Family might bear the disgrace for centuries.

He thought for a moment and spoke, "It is rare for someone to achieve the status of Sixth-Ranking Scholar; marrying such an outstanding talent shouldn't be seen as a slight to Anning. Let the Ministry of Rites proceed according to regulations, choose an auspicious day, and arrange the Princess's marriage normally. As for the scholar's current wife, issue an Imperial Decree to elevate her status to that of principal wife, alongside the Princess—no need to bow to the Princess..."

The Minister of Rites bowed again and said, "As per Your Majesty's command."

It was unprecedented for a princess of the Royal Family to share the status of principal wife with another woman.

However, the title of Sixth-Ranking Scholar was exceedingly rare; breaking the norm for it seemed acceptable.

Over the centuries, there had been countless princesses, but only two recipients of the Sixth-Ranking Scholar honor.

His Majesty's action not only fulfilled his initial promise but also spared the Royal Family from criticism.

It was only Anning who would have to suffer the indignity.

The Xia Emperor also sighed softly and added, "I did not fully consider the implications at the time. Since a ruler must not break his word, we can only proceed in this way now. I hope Anning does not blame me..."