Is the test question in Chapter 4 correct?
A crisp breeze swept through the hall. Yu Mingshu walked out of the corridor, passed through a full moon-shaped doorway, and the view before her suddenly opened up.
The vast Teachers' College was rarely visited. A statue of a saint stood in the center, and fresh flowers were placed in front of the statue, instantly dispelling the somber and lifeless atmosphere of the "teaching building" in front.
Yu Mingshu stopped in front of the statue of the sage and looked around. There were rows of side rooms on both sides of the courtyard, which looked more elegant than the "teaching building" and should be similar to an "administration building".
Yu Dan said that Mr. Yang's elegant residence is in the east, but which side is east?
She subconsciously looked up at the sky, but unfortunately it was a very overcast day, with the gray clouds refusing to let in any sunlight.
In ancient times, buildings were designed according to feng shui principles, and most were oriented north-south, so one would walk on the right side.
…
A plaque hangs above the door of the elegant house, with the three characters "Zhishantang" written in vigorous ink.
Like the name of a pharmacy.
Yu Mingshu silently complained to himself without changing his expression, walked to the door, stopped, and politely knocked.
"Who is it?" A young male voice came from inside the house.
Yu Mingshu frowned. As far as she knew, Yang Congen had taught two emperors and had been in charge of Chang'an Academy for more than three years. Such a person must be at least sixty or seventy years old.
Suppressing her doubts, Yu Mingshu replied loudly, "I am Yu Mingshu, and I have come here regarding my younger brother Yu Dan. I humbly request an audience with Lord Yang."
There was a moment of silence in the room, then the door opened from the inside. As Yu Mingshu had expected, a young man opened the door.
The man was dressed in black, with his long hair half-down and tied up with a blue ribbon. Compared to his handsome face, his gloomy and scholarly aura was even more remarkable.
Yu Mingshu guessed that this person was not yet of legal age, and wondered why he would appear alone in Yang Gong's office. Could he be a student who had something to ask of her, just like her?
She suddenly regretted it; she shouldn't have been so quick to reveal her true identity.
"Master Yang has not yet arrived at the academy today, please come in." The man glanced at her clothes and said calmly.
The door was wide open, and the light from outside shone into the room. Yu Mingshu peeked in halfway before she could see the layout of the elegant house.
The first thing that catches the eye is a wall of bookshelves, piled high with all sorts of books, looking somewhat messy and showing obvious signs of having been handled.
On the other side of the room was a window, and under the window was a spacious desk with chairs at both ends. On the chair against the wall were four or five scrolls of books, one of which was not properly folded up and was half-open on the desk.
Ordinary students shouldn't be allowed to rummage through the dean's bookshelf, nor would they likely have a seat in the dean's office. Since there's no one else in the room, these books could only have been read by the young man in front of him.
Having guessed this, Yu Mingshu already knew that this person was no ordinary individual, so he slowed down his movements as he entered the room.
The man sat back down in the innermost seat, scrutinized the woman again, and asked, "Why are you dressed as a man?"
Yu Mingshu frankly said, "I'm afraid of being kicked out."
The man remained noncommittal, looking down at the books spread out on the table.
Yu Mingshu stood in front of the table, hesitated for a long time, and then nodded to the man: "May I ask how you are addressed, sir?"
The man closed his books, tapped the table lightly with his long, slender fingers, and said, "My surname is Yuan, my given name is Yi, and I am a student of Master Yang."
He said "Yang Gong's student," not "the student of the academy."
"Mr. Yuan, I apologize for bothering you." Yu Mingshu bowed slightly. "May I ask what time Mr. Yang usually comes to the academy?"
"That depends on the course schedule in the academy, and also on Yang Gong's own interest. I can't say for sure," Yuan Yi said, pouring himself a cup of tea and looking up at the woman in front of him.
She was graceful but not delicate, slender but not weak, poor but not timid.
This woman was actually the sister of Yu Dan, who was notorious in the academy.
He drank the hot tea and said, "I also know something about Yu Dan's affairs. What do you want from Master Yang? You might as well tell me first."
Although Yuan Yi was young, he shared a room with the dean and fiddled with the things in the room without any restraint, which suggests that he had some say in the academy.
After a moment's thought, Yu Mingshu said sincerely, "My father passed away early, my mother was ill, and my younger brother was left unattended from a young age, which is why he developed such a mischievous nature. Now that I am older, I should take on the responsibility of raising him."
At this point, Yu Mingshu looked up and met Yuan Yi's gaze: "Therefore, I humbly request that you, Lord Yang and all the teachers, grant me permission to attend school as a companion to my younger brother and supervise his studies."
A soft laugh echoed through the air.
Yuan Yi seemed to have heard something absurd and said, "Yu Dan is already fifteen years old this year, not a child who has just started learning! At this age, he needs his elders to keep an eye on him at all times before he will study. I think he should stop reading books."
Learning habits are formed from childhood, and it is indeed difficult for someone of Yu Dan's age to change his ways.
But Yu Mingshu never hoped that his younger brother would become successful!
Even in a dynasty like Daliang, where social customs were open and women's status was relatively good, women's rights to education and political participation were still extremely limited.
She had neither extraordinary abilities nor a distinguished family background. If she wanted to study, she would inevitably have to use Yu Dan as a pretext.
Yu Mingshu smiled bitterly: "I understand that my younger brother may not be suited for literature and studying classics, but the elders in the family have high hopes for him and hope that he will return to the right path and carry on the legacy of our late father... I can only do my best and leave the rest to fate."
Meeting a pair of hopeful eyes, Yuan Yi remained silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed.
“Yang Gong greatly admires Imperial Censor Yu. Nearly ten years have passed, and he still often mentions Imperial Censor Yu’s essay ‘On the Clarification of Laws.’” After sighing, he became serious again. “But I must advise you that there are currently 1,500 students at Chang’an Academy, and not a single one of them is a woman.”
Yu Mingshu said, "I just went to the school and greeted several students as the second son of the Yu family. They did not suspect anything."
Yuan Yi said, "But you are still a woman."
Yu Mingshu straightened his back, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, and looked directly into the other man's eyes: "May I ask, Mr. Yuan, does the academy's regulations prohibit enrollment?"
“No, not at all.” Yuan Yi looked out the window. “It is common for women to study in this dynasty. There is also an inner academy in the palace, which is in charge of teaching female historians in the inner court. As for the daughters of officials, they usually do not attend academies, but instead hire tutors in their own residences.”
"Anything not prohibited by law is permissible." Yu Mingshu got the answer she wanted, smiled happily, and cupped her hands in greeting.
The clouds outside the window had dispersed at some point, and the gentle morning sunlight shone on her. Yuan Yi inexplicably felt that the girl was somewhat dazzling.
He couldn't help but say something discouraging: "Chang'an Academy does not explicitly prohibit women from enrolling, but it does have regulations for admission. I studied and taught at the academy for ten years and never heard of the practice of having a female student accompany her to school."
Yu Mingshu's eyes lit up, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he pressed on, "What are the admission requirements for the academy?"
Yuan Yi truthfully stated: "Those aged fourteen to nineteen, sons of officials of the seventh rank or above, who are outstanding in talent and learning."
What was her father's rank again?
Yu Mingshu recalled that Yu Zhui's previous position was Imperial Censor, a sixth-rank official, which was just over the threshold.
Yuan Yi lowered his wrist and put down the teacup.
"In terms of background, you are certainly qualified, but you have never studied the classics..."
Yu Mingshu interrupted him, saying, "I also received an education at home."
What books have you read?
"Having thoroughly studied the Five Classics."
Yuan Yi became more interested and began to examine the woman before him again. She was no longer as humble as before; her eyes radiated an air of unwavering confidence.
“You’re quite arrogant.” He pulled a stack of papers from the messy pile of books and placed them on the table.
Yu Mingshu dared to say this because she had the confidence. She studied literature for seven years and ranked first in her major for seven years. She dared not compare herself to ancient poets in terms of poetic talent, but she dared to say that she was no less capable than the students in the academy when it came to taking exams.
"If you had to choose one of the Five Classics, which one are you most familiar with?" Yuan Yi asked.
To be on the safe side, Yu Mingshu replied, "The Book of Poetry."
Yuan Yifang picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and paused upon hearing this, his wrist hovering in mid-air. Yu Mingshu vaguely noticed a smile flash in his eyes, as if to say: Just as I thought.
Of the Five Classics, the *I Ching* is too profound; Yu Mingshu couldn't understand it. The *Book of Rites* isn't particularly difficult, but she was inherently rebellious and found it tedious. The *Book of Documents* and the *Spring and Autumn Annals* are both ancient histories; if the examiner wanted to make things difficult, the difficulty level would be unfathomable.
The Book of Poetry offers the greatest scope for exploration, allowing for the examination of the original text and the extension of other topics. Most importantly, the Book of Poetry has the deepest connection with the field of literature, and Yu Mingshu is very familiar with it.
Yuan Yi quickly wrote down the test questions, put down his pen, stood up, and gestured for Yu Mingshu to sit down and answer.
Yu Mingshu didn't stand on ceremony. After taking his seat, he picked up the brush that Yu Mingshu had put down and looked down at the eight characters on the paper.
—When a fishing net is set up, the swan will fly away from it.
Yu Mingshu was greatly shocked.
This line comes from the poem "New Terrace" in the Book of Songs of Bei. Previous scholars have interpreted this poem as a satire of Duke Xuan of Wei forcibly taking his daughter-in-law.
Yuan Yi noticed the doubt in her eyes and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Do you have any questions about this question?"
Yu Mingshu gripped his pen tightly and chuckled dryly, "Mr. Yuan's style of setting questions is truly scathing."
Yuan Yi simply said, "Write the entire poem down from memory first, then we can discuss it further."
…
Yuan Yi did not set a time limit when he set the question. Yu Mingshu quickly wrote the entire poem from memory, then put down his pen, rested his chin on his hand, and fell into deep thought.
She likes to twirl her pen when she's thinking. If she holds the brush in her hand, she's afraid she'll habitually twirl it a couple of times, causing the ink to fly out. It's not a big deal if it stains the answer sheet, but it would be a real disaster if it splashes onto Yuan Yi or other books.
Yu Mingshu stared at the swaying leaves outside the window, first sorting out his thoughts on the question, then avoiding sensitive topics, drafting a rough draft in plain language, and finally translating it into a loose classical Chinese text.
When you have a draft in mind, you can write it down naturally in one go.
After finalizing the draft, Yu Mingshu put down her brush. Her wrists ached and her knuckles were stiff. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the lifeless figure in black robes by the table and thought to herself: Yuan Yi has been standing there like a surveillance camera, staring at her intently for half an hour, and he doesn't seem to feel uncomfortable at all.
Yu Mingshu arranged the answer sheets neatly, spreading them out from right to left, and stood up to offer his seat: "Mr. Yuan, please read the answer sheets."
Yuan Yi glanced at it briefly, his expression revealing a complex mix of emotions.
"Your handwriting..."
He was still kind and couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh.
Yu Mingshu didn't understand his good intentions, frowned slightly, and asked in return, "Isn't it pretty?"
"It's fairly neat, but it lacks charm," Yuan Yi said after a moment's thought.
He glanced at her and commented again, "This calligraphy is far inferior to the person."
Yu Mingshu quipped: Your insults are quite pleasant to hear.
A note from the author:
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