Chapter 38 The Collector
Everyone froze for a moment, then hurriedly helped Ren Huayang up.
The examiner remained silent; the smuggled strip of cloth seemed to weigh a ton, and no one dared to approach and look at it.
Zhou She took the strip of cloth from Ren Huayang's hand and examined it carefully. It wasn't the content he had previously copied haphazardly; it contained new exam questions.
However, judging from Lord Ren's reaction, it's probably true, and all of it is true.
The other examiner, Qi Heyong, also panicked. After calming himself down, he directed the others to help Ren Huayang sit down to the side.
When Zhou She looked over, he saw that both examiners were pale-faced, especially Lord Ren, whose old hand was pressing on Zhou She's wrist, squeezing it painfully. Zhou She was truly terrified.
The atmosphere froze instantly. The exam questions, sealed in the box, felt like a hot potato. Everyone looked at each other, speechless.
Although the topic was proposed by all the examiners, it was Ren Huayang who ultimately chose it, so he must have been the most aware of it.
Zhou She stepped forward: "My lords, now that things have come to this, I have something I must say."
Qi Heyong looked up. Zhou She had been taciturn before, and he had almost forgotten about this person.
"Would you gentlemen still dare to use this set of test questions?"
Qi Heyong's face turned ashen.
This is utter nonsense! So what if we dare not use it? So what if we dare to use it? The questions have already been registered and filed. Changing the questions without authorization is tantamount to suicide, and we will be held accountable sooner or later!
One of the deputy examiners sighed softly, "The only solution now is to cancel the exam and reschedule it for another day..."
“There’s no need for that,” Zhou She said calmly. “Your Majesty, please set a new question, and everything will be resolved.”
Qi Heyong's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the box on the ground.
Ren Huayang is faking his death; this is going to fall on his shoulders! Qi Heyong is just a nice guy who's good at dodging, and he almost fainted on the spot in front of him.
The deputy chief examiner stroked his beard and objected, saying, "That's inappropriate. Why take such a risk? In my opinion, we should cut the Gordian knot..."
“If that’s the case, then everyone in the world will know about the cheating in this imperial examination,” Zhou She countered. “Gentlemen, you will also be implicated in this matter.”
In fact, regardless of whether evidence is found this time, Zhou She will change the subject.
The topics proposed by the emperor are already on their way.
As the conversation continued, the candidates had already taken their seats. Suddenly, a loud bang came from the tightly sealed examination hall.
Huai Leju rode in, and the gates of the examination hall opened again. He carried the same box in his arms, the only difference being the seal on the seal—it was the emperor's seal.
Everyone tensed up.
Huai Leju dismounted, holding the box in both hands. The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment and had no choice but to kneel down to greet him.
Zhou She stepped forward, took the box, and handed it to Qi Heyong.
Qi Heyong's face was extremely pale. Trembling, he peeled off the seal and handed it to the people behind him to see, saying, "It's probably too late to print the paper now..."
He didn't want to get involved in this mess.
Unfortunately, things have come to this point, and there's no use in trying to avoid it. Zhou She said, "You gentlemen are more familiar with the procedures than I am, so I won't have to explain them."
The imperial examination hall was bustling with activity, and everyone except the examinees was like grasshoppers on a raging fire.
Ren Huayang sat blankly in the corner, looking like he hadn't recovered from the shock.
Zhou She draped a thin blanket over him to prevent Lord Ren from catching a cold in the damp examination hall.
He gently withdrew his hand, but his wrist was grabbed by a pair of old hands.
Ren Huayang raised his head, his aged face filled with undisguised surprise and doubt: "You knew all along that someone had stolen the exam questions?"
Seeing that everyone was busy with their own things and no one was paying attention to this, Zhou She cupped his hands and begged for forgiveness: "Lord Ren, please forgive me. It was an emergency, and I did not intend to hide anything."
Ren Huayang said quietly, "If you were truly acting expediently out of desperation, you should have reported this matter earlier and changed the topic sooner. Why wait until today?"
Zhou She simply smiled and didn't continue speaking.
He naturally informed the emperor early on, requesting that the exam questions be changed. However, the traitor was unaware of this, and if the questions were changed too early, they would be leaked again, which would only compound his crime.
Why should he be the one framed? It's more like we should follow the clues and lure the snake out of its hole.
*
The exams lasted from the ninth day of the second lunar month to the seventeenth day, and the candidates gradually dispersed, each one seemingly drained of all their energy.
After the exam papers were rewritten, they were collected and handed over to several chief examiners, Zhou She and Cheng Rong, who took turns patrolling outside.
The imperial examination had proceeded smoothly, and Zhou She was about to return to the palace to report to the emperor. Just as he stepped onto his carriage, a sudden silence fell over the surroundings, followed by a joyful shout: "The celestial maiden has appeared!"
What is it?
Zhou She leaned over to look, and saw that the sky suddenly lit up; it turned out that the sky had reappeared.
Zhou She was worried that if the canopy appeared during the exam, it would disrupt the exam order. He couldn't very well fly up and grab the person!
Fortunately, Tianmu disappeared for over a month, only to reappear today.
[Hello everyone, welcome back to the Ning Dynasty Emperors' Grand Appreciation, Zhongzong Special Episode. After finishing the last video, since many artifacts have been unearthed at the current mausoleum, and a section has recently been opened for tourism and incense offerings, I went to visit it. I can't keep making videos forever, so I also took the opportunity to learn something new.]
Zhou She remembered clearly that Tian Mu had mentioned that she had gone to visit the current imperial tombs.
So... they're digging up their own grave now, and there's a group of people visiting it.
[Because there are still quite a few things in the tomb, only a portion is used for exhibition, and much of the rest is still being excavated. I recorded a video and am sharing it with everyone.]
The carriage arrived outside the palace gate. Zhou She got off the carriage but stood in the open space for a long time without moving.
The sky trembled, revealing a crude video showing a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder. Everyone was holding various small toys, the most numerous being tiny windmills shaped like copper coins.
The camera pans across the crowds, through the sacred path, and up the long flight of steps. At the highest point, the forest is dense, birds take flight, and beneath the verdant mountains stands a sacred monument.
These copper coin toys are selling quite well; Emperor Zhongzong's stingy persona remains unshaken.
I visited the museum a few days ago and discovered that King Jungjong was a true collector. For example, his early love letters to the Empress were so affectionate that they gave me goosebumps—he wrote one every three days, packed them all up, and I suspect he was still reading them every day even in the afterlife.
For example, the examination paper of the top scholar in the seventh year of the Jinghua era. A copy of the top scholar's paper was previously exhibited at the Kyoto Museum, but we only now know that the original paper was originally intended as a burial item and was taken to the current mausoleum. He even proudly boasted to the Empress, "Today I witness history..."
Emperor Hong'an stroked his beard, somewhat speechless.
Although he deeply loved the Empress, it wouldn't be to write such frequent... love letters.
He is a reserved person.
As for the original manuscript of the top scholar, it's unclear why it's worth keeping. For the scholar, passing the imperial examination is a once-in-a-lifetime event. For the emperor, however, it only happens once every three years.
Witnessing history? Well, this history is all too easy to witness.
The handwriting on the copied text is rather stiff and lacks aesthetic appeal. I thought the original was going to disappear into history. I would be heartbroken if it were lost.
After all, she was the first and only female scholar to ever be awarded the top scholar title in history! She was incredibly precious!
Her voice was light and cheerful, yet it struck everyone like a thunderbolt. Whether they were candidates who had just finished their exams or examiners still grading papers in their rooms, they were all stunned.
Then they started frantically trying to comfort themselves: even the Empress has appeared, so it seems that the female top scholar is not so great after all... right?
In a remote place, someone stared at the sky and murmured, "This is an omen of yin prevailing over yang!"
"This is utterly absurd! How can the laws of our ancestors be changed?! I have never heard of such a thing before!"
Ren Duan was also a student who took the exam this year.
After nine days of exams, he was utterly exhausted. He had just sat down when he heard these soul-stirring words, which reminded him of the time he saw Zhou She during the body search.
In just a few days, Zhou She lost a lot of weight, and his usually carefree eyes became more serene.
Overcoming all opposition and allowing the woman to make her decision seems to be something he is capable of doing.
Historical records state that wherever King Jungjong's army went, free schools were built there as well. Queen Injo was a prodigy in economics, and with extraordinary perseverance, she and King Jungjong jointly supported the vast system of free schools.
In the first year of the Jinghua reign (1468), women officially participated in the imperial examinations. In the seventh year of the Jinghua reign (1468), the year of the most intense struggle for the throne, the first female top scholar (Zhuangyuan) was born.
The seventh year of Jinghua, which is nineteen years later?
Empress Cheng was not the first female emperor; there were precedents in previous dynasties. However, she was the first female scholar to be officially recognized and honorably ranked in the imperial examinations, which explains why she was recorded in history.
Under the heavens, women in the fields and young ladies in their boudoirs all raised their heads.
So it turns out that they too will one day be recorded in history.
Even a peasant can rise to high office; perhaps they too will have such an opportunity?
Even knowing the hope was slim, they still watched this scene unfold.
[I read the original and even took photos to show you all. It's really well-written; so many characters, not a single mistake, neat and powerful. For us humanities students, if we traveled back to ancient times, we'd probably just be destined to a life of idleness and idleness... Forget about dreaming of traveling back in time to become the top scholar; let's practice our calligraphy first.]
The screen flickered, and another shaky video played. The camera panned across the surging crowd, then, through a layer of clear crystal, focused on the flat, open exam paper.
The pages were slightly yellowed, but they had indeed been carefully preserved.
Everyone stared intently. The handwriting was small, neat, and without any errors, but the content was as if carved with a knife, each sentence sharp and forceful, some even overly scathing.
Shen Mingzhe stared at the sky and sighed, "This person is indeed talented, but why does he have such a temper..."
Fang Jingruo sat opposite him.
Shen Mingzhe admired this young man, although he felt that his attempts to persuade his superiors to take the throne and his arrogance were all shameful things he shouldn't have done.
But ultimately, he is talented, and talented people deserve special treatment.
Seeing him sighing, Fang Jingruo smiled and said, "Why is Lord Shen so worried? Since she was able to become the top scholar, she must be a diligent scholar. When you evaluated the previous top scholars, you said that he 'wielded his pen like a knife, revealing evil in his writing, and exuding a murderous aura.' This is a compliment to his integrity and his ideas."
Shen Mingzhe was momentarily mesmerized. Hearing Fang Jingruo's voice, he snapped out of his reverie, but sighed, "After all, she is a woman. Her writing style is too sharp; it's not a good thing."
After saying that, he shook his head, looking conflicted, and frowned, saying, "It's a pity I was born a woman."
“It’s no pity anymore.” Fang Jingru shook her head. “To be recorded in history, to be allowed to attend court, to discuss philosophy with others… so many people yearn for it but cannot obtain it, and she has it all in a single day. Whether she is a woman or not is not the most important thing to her.”
As he said this, he thought of himself again.
I wonder if the imperial examination will go smoothly this year, and whether I can win the championship.
Why did I suddenly jump to the topic of the imperial examinations...? Well, it's just a sudden thought. I recently visited Emperor Cheng's Yongling Mausoleum, and there were many female officials there, so it was a different kind of official team than her father's.
However, this Sheng Qinghe, who rose through the ranks during her father's reign and remained by his side throughout, was clearly a member of Emperor Cheng's faction. In the year of her death, Emperor Cheng personally attended her funeral and wrote a eulogy, which was engraved on her tombstone—it's quite normal for some people to ship them.
Sheng Qinghe?
Qinghe, carrying a small teapot, walked up to the girl and heard the sound of the sky, momentarily lost in thought.
It was a name so similar to hers that at first glance, she almost thought it was her.
Unfortunately, she was unfamiliar with the Four Books and Five Classics, and she didn't recognize a single word of what was displayed on the celestial screen.
She must be a young lady from some wealthy family; it's truly an honor for her to share the same name.
[Sheng Qinghe, a native of Kyoto, was born in Hong’an in the 18th year. 】
After some quick calculations, everyone exclaimed, "Good heavens! To pass the imperial examination at the age of twenty-five—this is a prodigy!"
Why do they seem to become more jealous the more Tianmu talks?
Whose noblewoman is this? If she were a boy, she might have been born a few years earlier!
Then I realized that he is six years old this year, which is exactly the age when he should start school.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com