Hoping for your safe return

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and the scientific expedition was drawing to a close.

The grading of this exam was once again entrusted to Song Ye, Wang Wan, Li Si, Meng Yi, and Feng Quji.

In addition, Lu Shaoqing, a previous top scorer in the imperial examinations, also joined in the grading process.

......

The day the results were released.

Before dawn, the long street was already crowded with people.

Lanterns swayed in the morning mist, illuminating young, anxious faces.

Some people tiptoed to peek into the door, while others paced back and forth, clutching the hem of their clothes, their sweaty palms soaking through their sleeves.

As dawn broke, the gates of the official school creaked open.

A constable walked out slowly, carrying a bright yellow notice, followed by two clerks carrying paste and a brush.

The bailiff stopped in front of the high wall and unrolled the rolled-up notice inch by inch.

Yellow paper with black ink, dripping with ink, trembled slightly in the morning breeze.

"It's on! It's on!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd surged forward.

Countless eyes scanned upwards along the densely packed names—

Third place, second place...

Then comes the first line.

Top scorer: Ba Wan.

The moment those two words came into view, the crowd erupted as if a pebble had been thrown in.

"Ba Wan? Who is that?"

"A woman! It's actually a woman! And she's the top scholar!"

"Ba Shi? Isn't that the adopted daughter of Ba Qing, the tycoon who deals in cinnabar?! A merchant by birth, yet she managed to take first place?!"

Exclamations and discussions surged forth like a tide, one wave after another.

Some people wept with joy, jumping and shouting while hugging their companions.

Some people stared at their names on the list, searched for them three times but couldn't find them, and then slumped down dejectedly, their shoulders shaking.

The scions of prominent families stood aside, their faces growing increasingly grim.

"A merchant's daughter...passing the imperial examination with top honors?"

"It's one thing for a woman to participate, but to actually surpass us?"

"From now on..."

The whispers were kept low, but they couldn't hide the resentment and shock in their voices.

Since ancient times, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants have been ranked among the lowest classes, and women could not even get a chance to go to school.

Now, a merchant's adopted daughter sits upright in the top scholar's seat, overshadowing all the scions of noble families.

On one side of the crowd, Ba Wan was dressed in a plain blue narrow-sleeved ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with only a plain silver hairpin in her hair. She was inconspicuous when standing with the students around her.

"Congratulations, Miss, on winning first place! Madam will be overjoyed!"

Only when others mentioned her adoptive mother did Ba Wan smile knowingly.

On a high platform not far away, Song also stood by the railing, taking in the commotion below.

Li Si strolled to her side, stroked his beard, and sighed, "Who would have thought that a merchant's daughter could achieve such a high honor in the imperial examinations?"

"If you're determined to do it, what's impossible?"

Li Si then changed the subject, "This year has seen the emergence of quite a few talented individuals... I wonder how His Majesty will arrange things."

Song also withdrew his gaze and glanced at him: "What else can we arrange? Send them all to the grassroots level for training."

The noise from the audience continued.

Some were happy, some were sad; some sighed to the heavens, some wept bitterly.

-

Records of the Grand Historian: The 29th year of Qin Shi Huang's reign.

In the second scientific expedition, women made the list, accounting for 60%.

After the imperial examinations ended, the top three scholars (Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua) remained in Xianyang to serve in the central government, while the rest of the selected talents were assigned to various prefectures and counties to manage local affairs.

In particular, Pingying Island was rife with problems, including mining, city construction, and resettlement of displaced people. There was a shortage of capable officials everywhere, so many newly appointed scholars were ordered to cross the sea to the island to fill the vacancies in the local government.

Those corrupt officials who held positions but failed to perform their duties, embezzled public funds, and neglected their duties were investigated and dealt with one by one.

Those with confirmed misconduct should be immediately dismissed from their posts and stripped of their rank, and their stolen goods should be confiscated.

An old official, who was old and had accomplished nothing, was ordered to retire and return to his hometown, and his official seal was taken back.

The large number of vacant official positions were filled by newly appointed candidates in the imperial examinations.

Ying Zheng's gaze was deep as he asked her, "Since there is a change of leadership and meritocracy, does Minister Song have a suitable candidate in mind for the position of Prefect of Pingying?"

Without hesitation, Song replied calmly, "I recommend Lü Shizhi to take up his post."

Soon after, the imperial court officially issued an edict appointing Lü Shizhi as the prefect of Pingying County, leading a group of newly appointed scholars to the island to settle down and handle local affairs.

Empress Lü Zhi was also promoted and succeeded her brother in his original position in the court, taking over all the corresponding affairs.

Lü Shizhi: "?"

Why do I have this feeling of being exiled?

At the same time, all trade and business negotiations between the Qin Dynasty and the Western Regions were entrusted to Lu Wan.

When he was in Pei County, he was skilled in social interaction, good at judging people, eloquent, and adept at handling interpersonal relationships and negotiations.

Compared to the many civil officials in the court who specialized in classical studies and political affairs but were not knowledgeable in commerce, Lu Wan was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.

He quickly reviewed the trade regulations, rectified the checkpoints along the trade routes, and standardized the rules for trading goods from outside the region. On the one hand, he opened up trade routes between the Qin Dynasty and the Western Regions, and on the other hand, he strictly controlled smuggling and prevented officials from taking the opportunity to exploit merchants and enrich themselves.

In this way, Qin's silk, porcelain, and Shu brocade were continuously sold to the Western Regions.

Fine horses, jade, and rare medicinal herbs from outside the Qin territory also flowed smoothly into the Central Plains, making the Qin Dynasty's trade map increasingly vast and the national treasury revenue rise day by day.

-

Mid-April.

The imperial court issued an edict to mobilize troops.

Wang Ben was appointed commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army, Zhou Bo and Lu Ze were appointed as deputy commanders, and Han Xin and Xiang Yu were appointed as young generals under his command. Together with Wang Li, who had just returned from the bandit suppression campaign, the generals led their troops to the Northeast to conquer the Fuyu, Sushen and Donghu tribes.

This battle is estimated to last for many years.

Song looked at the teenagers before him, his eyes filled with complex emotions. A thousand words choked in his throat, but he could only utter one word:

"May you all return safely."

Han Xin spoke lightly, smiling reassuringly, "My lord, please rest assured, we will definitely return safely!"

Xiang Yu remained silent, only nodding heavily as a response.

Wang Li, standing to the side, waved excitedly at Song Ye, saying, "My lord, you must remember to think of us!"

Before long, all the generals mounted their horses.

The vast army departed, and the once bustling city gates fell silent in an instant.

"Your Majesty, I wish that one day, the Great Qin will never again see war."

"My heart is the same."