They entered the main hall.
Meng Yu Tang kept her head lowered, but her eyes never stopped scanning the surroundings. When she saw only the Empress Dowager present, she smiled with an ambiguous expression.
It seemed Meng Yunwan’s situation wasn’t much better than her own in the previous life!
Neither the Emperor nor the Empress had come, nor had any princes or princesses. Only the Empress Dowager, an old woman, was there to hold up appearances. Though it was said to be for appearances, she was actually difficult to deal with, constantly finding fault and making her suffer. Presumably, Meng Yunwan was facing the same in this lifetime.
Thus, Meng Yu Tang’s heart immediately felt much more balanced.
The four siblings performed their bows and presented the carefully selected gifts to the Empress Dowager.
Because of Meng Yunwan, the Empress Dowager felt affection for these children as well, smiling kindly and saying, “You’ve put thought into this.”
Meng Ruan curtsied and then looked at Meng Yunwan. “Congratulations on your return to the royal family. We’ve brought you a gift too!”
It was a statue of Confucius.
Meng Yu Tang smiled gently. “I heard you came first in the imperial examination—congratulations! Although your grades weren’t good back in the clan school, who would have thought that after entering the palace, you’d improve so rapidly, even surpassing the princes and princesses to take first place? Truly remarkable!”
At that moment, Meng Fan let out a perfectly timed scoff. “What first place? I bet Yun Guan just copied from others. Only someone as kind and naive as Yu Tang wouldn’t see through someone like her!”
Meng Ruan frowned and told the two younger siblings to be quiet.
Then, looking at Meng Yunwan, she said calmly, “Your second brother and fifth sister may have spoken bluntly, but they weren’t wrong. Yun Guan, no matter how willful you were at home, we always indulged you. But now that you’re in the palace, deceiving the nobles is not acceptable.”
“To know what you know and to know what you do not know—that is true knowledge. Poor grades are not a problem, but harboring ill intentions and trying to claim what is not yours is. This statue of the sage is for you. I hope you will seek truth from facts in the future and not do anything that would disgrace the marquis’s mansion again.”
The group chattered back and forth, creating quite a lively scene.
The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, and the affectionate look in her eyes toward them shifted subtly at that moment. She said indifferently, “Who told you Yun Guan cheated?”
Wasn’t it true?
Meng Ruan and the others were taken aback. Meng Yu Tang was the first to react, smoothing things over amiably. “That’s not what we meant. We were just surprised that your grades improved so suddenly, even surpassing the princes and princesses. Is there some secret to it?”
Her eyes held unmistakable malice.
Though it seemed like she was smoothing things over, she was actually stirring the pot.
Meng Yunwan watched her quietly.
Meng Yu Tang’s grades were poor, and Meng Yunwan knew it.
In the previous life, she had always ranked last in every palace examination. After it happened enough times, she felt ashamed and started feigning illness to avoid the exams.
As long as she didn’t take the exams, she wouldn’t have grades and wouldn’t be embarrassed.
Little did she know that such behavior only made the nobles look down on her even more.
“Yun Guan, come here.”
The Empress Dowager ignored Meng Ruan and the others, beckoning Meng Yunwan over instead. She took the Buyao from her hair and gave it to her, saying with pity,
“You are a promising child who will achieve great things in the future. Don’t let trivial matters disturb your mind, and pay no heed to what others say. Understand?”
The Empress Dowager looked at the young girl standing before her with lowered eyes and a bowed head, her tone filled with compassion.
When the others had been slandering Yun Guan earlier, she noticed that Yun Guan’s expression remained calm and unperturbed, leading her to guess that she must have been bullied often back in the mansion.
This child has truly suffered.
Meng Yunwan’s eyes gradually moistened. She gazed at the Empress Dowager with deep affection, quickly suppressing the moved tears in her eyes as she lowered her head.
When she looked up again, her voice was gentle yet resolute. “Imperial Grandmother, your granddaughter did not plagiarize.”
“Imperial Grandmother knows this.”
“Your granddaughter is willing to prove her innocence on the spot!”
The Empress Dowager was taken aback for a moment, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Yun Guan, your status is now extraordinary. There is no need for this.”
Proving one’s innocence is something done by inferiors to superiors. Now that Yun Guan is a princess, to put it bluntly, she could simply dismiss any baseless accusations as nonsense. Why lower herself to prove her innocence to others?
But Meng Yunwan was unusually insistent. “It is precisely because my status is different now that I must not tarnish the reputation of the imperial court. I am willing to compete with my three cousins from the Meng family to prove my innocence!”
Her tone was firm and powerful, carrying an indescribable chill and mockery as she swept her gaze over the Meng family members.
This mockery instantly angered the four of them, especially Meng Yu Tang.
She sneered with contempt and disdain, “Sister, you truly refuse to give up until you see the coffin. Do you know how exceptional our three cousins are in their studies? Competing with them—have you even considered your own capabilities?”
Meng Yunwan smiled along with her, though the smile did not reach her eyes.
“Is that so? What exceptional achievements do they have that I am unaware of?”
Stubborn, utterly stubborn.
Meng Yu Tang said no more to her, instead urging her three brothers to compete with Meng Yunwan. This would not only vent their anger but also firmly nail Meng Yunwan to the pillar of shame.
Meng Ruan hesitated. He wasn’t entirely sure whether Yun Guan’s achievements were genuine or not, simply assuming she couldn’t be that exceptional. However, after hearing her speak with such certainty earlier, he was almost convinced.
But now, with Yu Tang placing such high expectations on them in front of everyone, he found himself in a difficult position, unable to refuse.
He let out a long sigh. “In that case, I alone will compete with you.”
His second and third brothers had no official titles yet, and he was the only one in the family who had passed the xiucai examination. Competing with Yun Guan himself would be more convincing.
Grand Tutor Zhou was soon invited over and presented them with a policy essay and an eight-part essay on the spot.
The two of them were taken to a side hall to complete the essays, while Grand Tutor Zhou remained at the banquet to enjoy tea. At the scene, groups of noblewomen chatted and laughed.
“What a strange affair today! The adoptive brother’s family accused Miss Yun Guan of plagiarism, and now they’re competing on the spot. Who knows who will win or lose?”
“Indeed, but I must say I’m quite curious. Miss Yun Guan hasn’t even reached the age of fifteen—how did she achieve such outstanding results? Well, today we shall find out.”
The discussions drifted through the window lattice into Meng Yunwan’s ears. Her brush moved swiftly without pause, and a faint, inexplicable smile curled at the corner of her lips.
Today’s literary test was not truly about competing with Meng Ruan, as he was unworthy of being her opponent.
What she wanted was to use the Returning Pearl banquet to establish her reputation for talent and learning, to let everyone present see with their own eyes that her achievements were entirely genuine. This way, when the time came for the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and the Palace Examination—when she achieved the triple first and became the zhuangyuan—no one would doubt her for even a moment.
She was destined to become the zhuangyuan sooner or later, and in this lifetime, it would happen even earlier than the last, for she had studied for an extra lifetime.
What she needed to do now was to prepare in advance, building momentum for herself early on.
Two hours later, two answer sheets were delivered to Grand Tutor Zhou’s seat.
Grand Tutor Zhou carefully read through them, then smiled.