Lifetime Opportunity

The literacy test was held in the usual venue in front of the main hall steps in the morning. As Lei Xing had predicted the test was an open-ended one where they were asked to compose a piece based on a subject. The subject was a pot of vibrant beautifully arranged flowers. This round they were given only thirty minutes.

Lei Xing looked at the pot of flowers and was in deep thought about what to write.

{...How about: roses are red, violets are blue, I hate this place, can I go home now?... Be Serious!...fine...}

 Lei Xing kept staring at the flowers.

{...How about just praising the flowers: Flowers as radiant as the sun...and...can't do it, flowery words like that give me goosebumps...flowery words hahaha...Be serious!...}

 Lei Xing sat up straight and tried to focus on the flowers looking for inspiration, she honed in on the white lilies and the roses, after staring at them for a while, inspiration came and she began to write.

**"I truly felt the warmth of the sun for the first and last time that day,

I could still hear the clanking swords and war cries,

But they seemed so distant now and seemed to be getting farther,

As I stared blankly at nothing,

The wind suddenly blew a white petal my way and I became captivated,

I watched as it danced in the wind with all the carefreeness in the world,

I watched as it came dancing down,

I tried to stretch out my fingers to save it, but alas it slipped through them,

I could only watch as it fell to the ground and was dyed red,

Those days are gone and can never return,

and so am I."**

 Lei Xing looked at the words on her paper and smiled.

{...I will depress your soul hahaha...ha ha...ha...I shouldn't be laughing at this...}

 When the time was up, they all walked up the steps as usual and one after the other, they got on the stage and stood while an eunuch read out their composition.

When it was Lei Xing's turn she got on stage and hers was read, for once she really didn't have any problems, she even got nods of approval from the ministers.

Prince Yi spoke up again, it seemed he had made commenting on her work a habit, "A depiction of death in war and the tainting of innocence, very insightful."

Lei Xing bowed her head slightly in his direction.

{...I will assume that you have realized your wrongs and are making amends and so I will reciprocate your goodwill...after this, please don't bother me anymore...}

 "Very insightful indeed, you have done well, you may go down." The Empress dowager said.

Lei Xing smiled and bowed and went down, for the first time she had gotten the Empress dowager's approval, not that she cared about it, but it struck a tiny chord of glee in her heart.

{...To feel happy about that, I must have been really traumatized by the last round -_-)'...}

 Lei Xing was in a good mood, the best she'd been in since she got here, and happily listened to the other compositions.

{...This stupid competition is finally over, I just have to wait for my dismissal...at least it ended on a good note...}

 When the presentations finished, the Empress dowager praised their work and efforts throughout the competition. She said that she and the emperor will discuss the results today and tomorrow, and the results will be announced at an evening banquet the day after, which will be held in honor of the candidates.

As she was about to dismiss them, the Emperor interrupted her saying he had something more to say. He looked at the candidates, "You all have done your best in displaying your skills and are all very talented young ladies. As this is all for the purpose of marriage, I believe it is fair to give each of you the opportunity outside the bounds of competition and rules to share anything you'd like for me to know or ask any questions you have of me."

The candidates all went wide-eyed, even Lei Xing.

{...Well, this came out of nowhere...also this sort of private conversation, NEEDS PRIVACY!...who the hell asked him to?!...}

 The ministers were also shocked by this announcement and began whispering,

"That's enough, since the Emperor has granted you all this opportunity, you should all use it wisely. Begin." The Empress dowager spoke up.

Lei Xing knit her brows in annoyance.

{...Begin what? You can't just spring on a speed dating session on people and expect them to have their script ready -_-)'...}

 While the candidates all looked at each other skeptically, it seemed there was no order, and no one really wanted to be the first to step up.

Lady Jin took a deep breath and stepped forward, her aim here was to be the Empress and so she should lead and be able to be confident and calm in every situation presented. So she bravely stepped forward, bowed, and then proclaimed her interest and admiration for the emperor, narrating her insight on his conquests, calling him the god of war and how he is truly the blessing and grace the heavens have given to Long country.

 Lei Xing watched on with the others.

{...I was wrong, some people are always ready...classic bootlick 101...}

 The other candidates watched Lady Jin and all plucked up their courage seeing that she was getting ahead, and they all began to step forth one after the other, and they might as well have been reading from the same script.

Lei Xing watched on and sighed in heart, this sort of blatant flattery was something she couldn't do and frankly, she wasn't interested in trying to either. So she lingered in the back and did not want to step forward, but then she thought that she would stand out more if she went last.

She looked at the flustered girls around her, who were probably all giddy and shy at the prospect of talking to the Emperor anxiously stepping forward one after the other.

She really didn't want to regurgitate flattery, it was really something she couldn't do, she probably couldn't plead for her life if she needed to. Unfortunately, she had that incredibly annoying stubborn streak when it came to pleading with anyone for anything, even simply requesting for help was hard for her to do, even to her parents...seeming pitiful was something she couldn't stand.

Lei Xing couldn't think of anything to say, but it'd be weird if she didn't say anything. As she was looking around, Lady Yu caught her attention, she was shrinking in the back, and she was nervously wriggling her hands and looking down, Lei Xing got an idea and stepped forward next.

When she got on the platform, she wriggled her hands in the same way, looked up and then looked down immediately, took a shaky breath, and then greeted the Emperor and Empress dowager with a bit of a shaky voice. She didn't stutter as that would be overkill.

Then she looked up at the Emperor and then looked down immediately again and didn't say anything, her father and brother looked at her wondering what was going on with her.

 After a while of silence, the Empress dowager asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

 Lei Xing glanced up and then immediately looked down again, "The Emperor and Empress dowager's presence is so striking, and being given this opportunity, I really could not think of anything to say..." As she said this, her voice got smaller and smaller, and she glanced up again and then looked back down.

 Everyone looked at her in stunned silence, everyone pretty much thinking the same thing: Who is this? She had nothing to say, she who has been showcasing her mouth and wit throughout this competition had nothing to say? How is that possible?

Some then thought that she must have memorized those words she spoke before each round, so she was nothing but a paper tiger and scoffed at her, and the more astute ones looked at her curiously, confused at her actions and trying to figure her out.

The Emperor spoke up, "Since you couldn't think of anything to say..."

Lei Xing was ready for her dismissal.

{...Then I can go, right? Better yet, tell me I am incompetent and unfit to grace your "immense" presence...that would really be the best-case scenario, then no nobles would dare try to offer marriage to a woman who displeased the emperor...}

 "...then I'll ask you a question."

Lei Xing frowned.

{...Huh? What? Why? This was unexpected...}

 "Would you like to be my empress?" There was a collective gasp, and everyone in the hall was shocked. The one most in shock was Lei Xing. She immediately looked up, her face was in shock, and then she subconsciously glared in annoyance...then quickly corrected her expression remembering where she was.

{...Did she just glare at me?...}

 The Emperor narrowed his eyes at her, as Lei Xing's mind was racing. To be honest, he too was not quite sure where that question came from...but he was undeniably curious how she would answer. 

{...What the hell? Where did that come from? Forget that, No! Not interested!...Can't say that out loud though, my head will fly...}

 Lei Xing bowed her head and head, "The position of Empress is grand and extravagant..."

"Answer honestly."

Her mouth twitched, and she rolled her eyes and then calmly looked up.

{...Since you said so, I will give you the courtesy and be honest...}

 She had completely forgotten her timid plan.

"Since the Emperor has asked for an honest answer, I wouldn't dare to do anything else...there are two aspects to that question...The first aspect is with regards to the position of Empress, the Empress's position is one of extravagance, prestige, immense grace, but beyond all that, it is at its core a position of heavy responsibility, which requires great qualifications to effectively hold it..."

 "So you are saying you do not have the qualifications for it?" The emperor asked

 "Having qualifications is one thing, but having the motivation is even more important. While a naturally smart person with the qualifications can excel, there still needs to be the motivation to propel them to excel...On the other hand, a dim hard worker can effectively be on par with one who is naturally smart...so qualifications are not necessarily as relevant as they seem..."

 "Alright, and the second aspect?" The Emperor nodded and calmly asked.

 "The second aspect of your question is about being your Rmpress, which at its core the Empress' position entails being a wife. I cannot make any statements with regards to that, as the wise know one should never make judgments based on the surface value. I do not have any knowledge on your benevolent person to decide one way or another..."

 "Hmm, so you mean to get to know me?" The emperor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I dare not."

"Since you dare not, the result would naturally be that you would never be able to make a decision..."

"I guess so..." Lei Xing hesitantly said.

{...What's he playing at?...}

 "So, in conclusion, you are not interested in the position of being my Empress...right?" 

The hall was deadly silent. The ministers held their breath, and her father was ready to shoot up to defend his daughter if needed, he would offer his life in penance for her disrespectful words. Prince Yi smirked, apparently amused by the turn of events.

 Lei Xing hurriedly bowed as she said, "I dare not...the position of his majesty's Empress is one of extravagance, prestige and is a grace beyond this commoner's imagination..." Lei Xing spat out the words.

{...This is getting dangerous, even if you got the message, why would you throw it back at me for confirmation?...Unless you're gunning for my head?!... I may have gone too far, I think...}

 "That's all, you can go back." The emperor calmly said.

 Lei Xing breathed out a sigh of relief, she bowed again, got up, and glanced up a bit and saw the emperor looking to the side absentmindedly. The Empress dowager shooting daggers at her. She quickly turned and went down, she really thought she was about to die, she reprimanded herself for her foolish outburst of courage and reminded herself to control her stupid mouth.

She was someone who enjoys challenging conversations, and because of this stupid attribute of hers, she almost lost her head today.

{...I really need to re-evaluate myself....but this may have worked out well, thanks to his clarification, even the dumbest person here is now aware that I am not interested in marrying the Emperor...but more importantly, I seemed to have offended the most powerful people in this kingdom so marital prospects definitely ruined hahahaha...}

 As Lei Xing walked back the other candidates glared at her and scoffed at her "stupidity" for wasting the opportunity of a lifetime. Still, they had all glimpsed a good strategy, and those that had already gone thought that they should have let the Emperor ask them something as well. There were only about seven of them left who hadn't gone up.

 Lady Baihe glanced at Lei Xing, smiled condescendingly, and walked forward, and following Lei Xing's steps said she couldn't think of anything to say and that the emperor could ask her any questions.

The Emperor glanced at her and then asked, "What do you think of Lady Yin's words?"

 Lady Baihe frowned a bit, clearly this was not the question she was expecting, but nevertheless, she happily answered, "Not everyone knows gold is more valuable than a pebble. Some people are short-sighted and cannot see the bigger picture and cannot imagine a world beyond the confines of the pit they have dug themselves into..."

"Hmm, that is one way to view it. You can go down." The emperor calmly said

Lei Xing sighed and rolled her eyes in her mind.

{...In other words, I am willfully blind, good to know -_-)...}

 Lady Baihe finished, and then the next person stepped up and did the same, and the emperor asked the same question.

In short, the same happened with the next four candidates and Lei Xing was called everything from stupid, foolish, blind, naive, slow...of course, in more flattering words.

 Finally, the last candidate, Lady Yu stepped up, still fidgeting and wriggling her hands, she had her head down and kept sneaking glances at the Emperor and didn't say anything for a while. It seemed she was still collecting herself and trying to find her words.

After a while, the emperor just went ahead and asked, "What do you think of Lady Yin's words?"

 "I...I...I don't reeally have an opi-opinion on that." She stuttered out.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow and looked at her, she saw this and looked down, and her face went red.

 "Um, um...I have heard tha-at the emperor is a great a-a-artist. I, I, I have had the grace...of viewing your drawing of of the Yangling mountains, it it was magnificent. I ha-ve heard that you always draw the landscape of of pla-places you have visited. I have always great-tly admired your work and talents..." She managed to stutter out with great effort. She shyly looked up at the Emperor again and looked down.

 "Yangling mountains, one of my earlier work. Since you like it so much, I'll gift it to you." The Emperor said with a small smile. It was rare that he got acknowledged for anything other than war, so it was refreshing.

 Lady Yu looked up wide-eyed and fell to her knees and kowtowed, "Thank you so much for your grace, I will make sure to treasure it immensely." She said this clearly and loudly, her joy overtaking her nervousness.

 "That's good, it will be delivered to you later. You can go down." The Emperor said with a little laugh.

Lady Yu got up, bowed again, and came down with a shy gleeful smile on her face. Lei Xing watched her and smiled a little as well.

{...How cute...a fangirl meeting her idol...must be nice...}

 After that, the candidates were allowed to return and rest as they await the farewell banquet and results.