Chapter 24: Imperial Examinations
After the trip to Tiekan Temple, Yanru's attitude towards Zheng Sirui became strange, her words rigging sarcasm and taunting, as if she were trying to provoke a fight, using her sharp tongue to vent her deep-seated resentment. Unfortunately, Zheng Sirui wasn't a skilled person at dealing with people, and with the imperial examination approaching, she was completely preoccupied with the "exam" and "not failing the exam." She became even more indifferent to Yanru's temper, believing it was just a venting of anger between her and Liu Xiang.
After four or five days of arguing, the other party remained unmoved. Yanru threw heavy punches, but they only hit the air, hitting cotton, feeling very depressed. Adhering to the family motto of "harming others but not yourself", Yanru decided to rush into Zheng Sirui's room and make it clear: "Haven't you noticed? I've been very angry lately."
Zheng Sirui had obtained inexpensive, high-quality manuscript paper from the bookstore where she worked. It was four or five inches thick and piled high beside her desk. She was silently writing, her pen pausing mid-air as she looked up from the pile of manuscript paper. "Really? Yes, why? Haven't you and Liu Xiang reconciled yet?"
Yanru said, "Liu Lang and I are very good friends. We've never had any arguments."
Zheng Sirui was bewildered: "If everything is fine, why not be happy?"
"I'm mad at you!" Yanru snatched the pen and paper from Zheng Sirui's hand. "Didn't you say you were my best friend at Qiushui Academy? How come you were arm in arm with Yi Bin that day at Tiekan Temple, chatting and laughing?"
Zheng Sirui was confused. "I'm your best friend. What does this have to do with me joking with her? You don't seem to like her very much? Yi Bin is a very nice person. During the month-long vacation, she always let me take her carriage and sent me home."
Eyeballs rolled around, Yanru recalled that during the previous monthly vacation, her father You Kang would borrow a carriage to pick her up. As for how Zheng Sirui would go back, she had never thought about it. Yanru felt a little unbalanced. She always thought that the classmates in Qiushui Academy were mean to her and also despised Zheng Sirui for being poor. She treated Zheng Sirui with pity, shared hatred, and a sense of sympathy like "Why do we have to know each other before we meet? We are both wanderers in the world." Who knew that Zheng Sirui had another good partner besides her? Yanru felt even more uncomfortable than when she found someone else's portrait in Ji Mingxiu's box. She also used the same attitude towards Ji Mingxiu's other confidantes on Yi Bin: "You can't be good to her. If you are good to her, you are letting me down?"
Zheng Sirui exclaimed, "Why? You're already seventeen or eighteen, not seven or eight-year-old You Yanbao. Let's not fight over the fruit like children, okay?"
Yanru simply slandered him, "You don't understand. When you left, she once asked me for a rouge style. I told her that I mixed it myself, and she couldn't buy it. She then held a grudge against me. When she saw me getting on Ji Mingxiu's carriage, she told everyone about my affairs, causing a sensation in the city. It was all her fault. Yi Bin is a mean person. Don't associate with people like him."
"Is it a misunderstanding?" Zheng Sirui was unconvinced. "Yi Bin doesn't like to judge people by their wealth or family background. She deserves to be called upright and righteous. As for gossiping, hey, she must have talked about me and Lu Zhiling. That's fine. Everyone gossips about others. Even us two, didn't we often laugh at Meng Qi and Gan Yao for being so self-righteous and dressing like pheasants?"
Yanru was speechless. She ran her fingers across the manuscript paper where Zheng Sirui was memorizing, picked out a scrap of paper, rolled it into a small ball in her hand, and then picked up another one. Zheng Sirui felt sorry for the manuscript paper and the time she had to study. She took the paper back and coaxed her, "Yanru, don't worry. No matter when, in Qiushui or Guanyan, you are my best friend. No matter how good Yi Bin and I are, we can't compare to you. Otherwise, why would I match you with Liu Xiang instead of her? Right! Now, please, the lights in the academy are about to be turned off. Let me read for a while."
After much persuasion, Yanru was finally sent away. Zheng Sirui was a little tired of her friend's unreasonable jealousy, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for Liu Xiang, who usually obeyed Yanru's every word and did everything she said. "Next time I burn incense, I must make a wish and ask Yanru to stop being like this. A 17 or 18-year-old female scholar is acting like a 7 or 8-year-old child. Who can stand this?"
Time flies, Yanru's rouge gradually dims, and Zheng Sirui's manuscript paper grows thinner. Winter turns to spring, the ice and snow melt, and rice seedlings sprout in the fields outside the capital. In the distance, chives are green, with a fuzzy texture. As Yanru's rouge changes from the peach-red color she used in autumn and winter to the orange-red color she always keeps in spring and summer, and Zheng Sirui uses up her last sheet of manuscript paper, the annual women's imperial examination, held in March, is finally about to begin.
Reference student Zheng Sirui was as if facing a formidable enemy. After the Lantern Festival, she stopped working at the bookstore and refused to copy Buddhist scriptures for her wife. She was completely engrossed in the Four Books and Five Classics. From the seventh day to the last, she became dazed and lost the taste for food. She was more tense than the strings on Liu Xiang's pipa. On a rare day off, You and Liu generously treated her to a meal, but she insisted on attending the party with a book in hand. Liu Xiang watched her take a bite of food, turn two pages of a book, chew a mouthful of rice, and recite two verses of the scripture. Her expression was already frantic, and he asked Yanru, "Is Zheng Sirui okay? She used to say that if she didn't pay attention while eating, she would be punished by heaven and struck by lightning."
Yanru said: "Don't know? No way, she is not always like this, she becomes crazy when talking about the imperial examination."
"Hey, hey, hey, hey." Liu Xiang tapped on Zheng Sirui's book. Zheng Sirui looked up: "... Well-fed, warmly clothed, and comfortably housed without education, one is no better than an animal... Huh? What's wrong? Are you two full? Then I'll eat faster."
"We haven't finished yet, so don't worry. Just eat your meal. Mencius said that if you're well fed and warm but don't think about studying, you're close to being an animal. Now you're not well fed and warm, and you're only thinking about studying, you're close to being a lunatic." Liu Xiang took her book away and put a chicken wing in Yanru's bowl. "You don't have to be like this. There are many female students in the capital, but half of them only study to get married, not for reference. You've already won over many people by going. Besides, your policy essays and calculations have always been good, so you'll definitely be on the list."
Zheng Sirui propped up her head in distress, "Don't comfort me. What if all the female students participate this year? I felt much better after burning incense last time, but lately I've been forgetting everything I've learned before the exam. I study, memorize, memorize, forget, and then have to study again. Do you think I should go burn incense again? But there are only five days left until the exam. Going to Tiekan Temple again will waste another day. It's terrible."
Liu Xiang said, "The Master did not speak of strange things! You should also stop reciting Mencius. Sleep under the large statue of Confucius in Guanyan Academy tonight and memorize the Analects. Can you please be more like Yanru and stop dwelling on such nonsense?"
Yanru smiled sweetly at Liu Xiang: "Liu Lang, don't say that about Si Rui! Si Rui is not like me. She is lucky enough to meet someone as good as you and can live comfortably as the wife of a Jinshi. Si Rui can only rely on herself to become a Jinshi. It must be very hard and very stressful."
Liu Xiang scratched Yanru's nose, and the two smiled at each other, their harmony and tacit understanding strong. Zheng Sirui felt a little nauseous and hurried to eat. Her rapid movements made her breathing difficult and she burped. Yanru poured her a cup of tea and said, "Why are you eating so fast?"
Zheng Sirui swallowed her tea and stroked her chest. "It's a rare good meal. I have to finish it quickly and leave quickly. Otherwise, if you two get too tired of it, I'll spit it out and it'll be a waste."
Five days have passed, and the imperial examination that millions of female scholars have been looking forward to has begun.
The women's imperial examination, held at the Imperial Academy, consisted of four main sections: classics, policy questions, poetry, and mathematics, and lasted four days. The students from the academy returned home early, and on that day, their families accompanied them with carriages and horses, carrying plenty of food and supplies, as they crowded the entrance to the Imperial Academy. Zheng Sirui had intended to walk alone, but Yi Bin sent Cai Yuan ahead to convey the news, and she was taken to the examination in the Yi family's own carriage, and she was also provided with roast goose, ham, precious rice, eggs, and other delicious food. Yanru, who was accompanying her, was jealous and secretly accused Yi Bin of having ulterior motives, using others' exams to show off his wealth.
Arriving at their destination, they spotted Liu Xiang, the man who had come to see them off to the exam. He was leading a fine horse, standing under a tree in imposing style, attracting many women to peer in with fans and handkerchiefs, whispering about his handsomeness. Liu Xiang's striking presence helped Yanru regain some of the confidence and joy she had lost in her friendships. With a proud air, she leaped from the Yi family carriage and, fearless of what others might say, threw herself at him, clasping his arm affectionately. She then made small talk, saying, "Liu Lang, Si Rui is ready!" Then, taking the opportunity, she gave the girl who had been staring at Liu Xiang a warning glare.
Zheng Sirui arrived, carrying her belongings. She had calmed down considerably in recent days, and aside from her heavy breathing, her demeanor was relatively composed. After greeting Liu Xiang and bidding farewell to Yanru and Yi Bin, she took a deep breath and walked to the end of the line to queue for admission. Soon, it was her turn to present her badge to the clerk: "Examination number 35, candidate Zheng Sirui." The clerk took her badge, and a blue-robed female official searched her body, carefully checking her belongings. After confirming she had nothing smuggled, she handed over a piece of paper printed by the Ministry of Rites and a candle: "Examination number 35, candidate Zheng Sirui, enter!"
Zheng Sirui was carrying a huge wooden box, with the official leading the way in front. She turned around and looked at her three friends from afar, looked up at the sky, and walked into the Imperial Examination Hall nervously but resolutely.
Yi Bin hurried away, leaving Yanru and Liu Xiang behind. Though she hadn't previously been interested in the imperial examinations, Yanru was struck by the sight of so many students crossing a single-plank bridge. She sighed, "I wonder what it's like inside."
Liu Xiang asked, "Do you want to see it?"
Yanru nodded wildly, and Liu Xiang secured her veil. "Then let's go! Mount!" He helped Yanru onto the horse, whipped it, and headed off toward a public road. The horse galloped at a rapid pace, and Yanru, riding a horse for the first time, was terrified. She clung to Liu Xiang's waist, leaning against his back, their hearts pressed together. Yanru noticed that Liu Xiang, a skilled horseman, had a heart pounding just as fast as her own.
Liu Xiang's horse was a ride from his hometown. They had been together for years, and the horse's temperament was like its owner: gentle, steady, yet decisive. After a brief jolt, Liu Xiang reined in the reins and carried Yanru down. She lifted her veil, revealing a courtyard with a layout similar to that of the Imperial Examination Hall. The walls were dilapidated, and even the thick cobwebs on the door beams were covered in dust. Yanru was confused: "Liu Lang, what is this place?"
Liu Xiang tied up his horse and said, "This is the site of the old Imperial Examination Hall from years ago. It was destroyed by a flood and has been abandoned ever since. The layout inside is exactly the same as it is today, so some candidates would come here before the exam to explore and familiarize themselves with the examination hall. Come, let's go in and I'll show you around."
Yanru stepped over the threshold. The screen wall had been burned, leaving a vast black mass, and it was impossible to tell what had once been painted on it. Going around, there were two large walls on each side, each with a hole wide enough for two people to pass through, named after the Thousand Character Classic. The right one read "Heaven and Earth, Mysterious Yellow," and the left one read "The Universe, Great and Wild." There were many similar walls and holes throughout the courtyard. Liu Xiang took Yanru's hand and walked towards the entrance to the Xuanzihao. "Si Rui's exam number is 'Xuanzi No. 35,' so you'll enter through the small door in Xuanzihao and count the 35th small room inside."
A row of small brick and tiled cubicles stretched into the distance, three sides covered with brick and tile, one side bare and doorless, with a plank suspended in the air. At the very back, a bed board sat. Rather than a "small room," Yanru felt a "spacious toilet" would be a more apt description. Liu Xiang paused at the thirty-fifth cubicle. "If this exam room hadn't been destroyed, Si Rui would be sitting here right now, waiting for her exam papers to be distributed."
Yanru was very surprised: "Really? This is the examination room? Liu Lang! Help me draw it quickly!" She walked into the dilapidated Xuanzi Room No. 35, blew the dust on the table with disdain, bent her calves, pinched her fingers lightly, frowned in thought, pretended to write, pretending that she was a female candidate taking the imperial examination, full of ambition, sitting in the examination room, composing poems and essays with great eloquence, condensing all her life's learning and passion into excellent articles, winning fame and success.
Liu Xiang crouched in a corner, rapidly sketching Yanru's figure on paper. Ten years ago, when he'd just started learning to paint, earning a scathing rebuke from his teacher, he'd never imagined his skills would soar thanks to a small portrait of his lover. Finally finished, Yanru was delighted, pinching her calf, which had grown sore and numb from her squatting position. "By the way, Liu Lang, now that she's finished her exams, where's she going to rest?"
Liu Xiang packed up his paper and pen and said, "It's here too."
Yanru asked, "Eating?"
"Eat, drink, poop, urinate, sleep, all for four days, all here." Liu Xiang rested her fingers on the table. "She has to cook for herself in this little room, can't wash properly, and can't go to the bathroom before the appointed time. Fortunately, a woman only needs to stay for four days, but a man would have to stay for nine days."
Yanru shuddered: "This is too hard. I thought I could sleep in the back room after finishing the exam."
Liu Xiang laughed: "Now you only listen and don't take the test? What will I do next year when I take the test myself?"
"I won't take the exam! My mother said that it's impressive for a girl to attend classes for a few days. Why bother taking the exam herself? I worked so hard to pass the exam, but when I get married, I have to resign from my official position. It's all in vain." Yanru raised her head and pouted, hugging Liu Xiang. "Anyway, Liu Lang will pass the exam, so I can just be the number one scholar's wife!"
Liu Xiang's smile gradually cooled, and he bit his lips, as if he had thousands of words to say. "Yanru..." He just wanted to open his mouth and talk to her properly, but he didn't expect that there was an unusual movement in the broken wall inside, a faint rustling, mixed with the girl's angry sobbing, which scared Yanru. Liu Xiang was afraid that there would be bullying of the weak and insults to the girls here, so he covered her mouth vigilantly to prevent her from making any sound, pointed to the entrance, signaled Yanru to go out quietly, and then tiptoed closer. The wall at the end was not sealed, there was a small path connecting to the rooms of other sizes, and there was a hole in the wall of the townhouse on the left, which was caused by a fire and wild dogs. Liu Xiang took out the small dagger he kept for personal protection and slowly moved over. The conversation on the other end became clearer:
"Because my family was poor, my parents sent me to Tiekan Temple when I was young. It was the Buddha's mercy that allowed me to survive in this world until now. I learned some medical skills from my master and studied Buddhism. I should have followed my master's teachings, continued to practice and worship Buddha, and saved all sentient beings."
"It was the guidance of the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas that brought us together. Our connection stemmed from Buddhism, so how could you possibly be saying you've failed me? You monks are always talking about saving all sentient beings, spouting high-sounding words, but do you really want to save yourself? May the Buddha be merciful. Do you truly wish to become a Buddha, or are you using his mercy as an excuse to escape?"
"Amitabha, I can't--"
"After one night in Guanyin Cave, you've already betrayed Buddhism. You've been Ruoxu for eighteen years. This was the path your parents forced you to choose when you were young in order to save food to feed your brother. Open your eyes and look at me. Do you really want to be Master Ruoxu of Tiekan Temple? If you really do, will you still go to Guanyin Cave to see me? I don't want to marry into the Ma family, and I don't want you to take me away. I just want to go with you. Do you understand? Liang Qiang, I want you to go with me."
Liu Xiang inadvertently overheard someone else's privacy, and thinking he was in the wrong, he quickly turned around and left. In a hurry, he accidentally kicked a broken stone on the ground.
"Dang—" The stone bounced up and smashed into the broken bronze bell that had fallen to the ground. The people on the other side of the wall were startled and quickly rushed to the hole in the wall to peek out and warn: "Who! Who's here!—Is it you? Liu Jiansheng?"
Liu Xiang was also stunned: "Yi, Miss Yi?"
Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Examination Hall, Zheng Sirui held her breath, writing furiously, pouring all her energy into her writing. She had finally let go of days of tension, and for a moment, it was as if all her senses had been opened. The historical texts she had painstakingly studied for decades were now crystallized before her eyes and at her fingertips, allowing her to write with unwavering energy.
“Ding ding ding—” “All examinees, stop writing immediately and leave the room! All examinees, stop writing immediately! Leave the room! Violators will be treated as cheating! Violators will be treated as cheating!”
For some reason, the invigilator rang a bell and shouted, causing Zheng Sirui's pen to tremble. Fortunately, she didn't leave any ink stains on the exam paper. A chill ran down her spine, and her teeth chattered involuntarily.
[Narrative Thoughts]: Thank you all for your support! I'm joining V today! All the characters have appeared, and the conflicts between them are gradually coming to light. Everyone, please look forward to the story of Yanru and her true love!
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