Chapter 396 The whole story
Jia Lian disagreed, asking, "Is it really that difficult to enter the palace?"
If we keep guessing like this and we get it wrong, wouldn't we be hurting two people?
Why do women insist on going through such a roundabout way when there's such a direct method?
“What if there’s no other intention? If we ask, it might make Her Majesty think we have such intentions. Wouldn’t that be counterproductive?” Madam Xing made a brilliant suggestion. Although she didn’t manage affairs, she could see that Madam Wang wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Xue family.
Xue Baochai was no pushover.
Managing the household is already tiring enough for my daughter-in-law; if I have to deal with another sister-in-law like this, things will only get more difficult.
Besides, given the Xue family's reputation, they shouldn't drag their own family down with them!
Among the masters of the Rongguo Mansion, perhaps only Lady Wang was enthusiastic about Baoyu and Baochai getting married.
Most others remained neutral, but the second master, Jia Zheng, directly opposed it.
The eldest son, Jia Zhu, married the daughter of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. The Imperial Academy was the highest institution of learning in the country, and the Chancellor was the highest leader of the highest institution of learning. By marrying the daughter of his family, their path to becoming civil officials from military officers was one step closer.
Wouldn't it be a step backward to have Jia Baoyu marry Xue Baochai now?
Given Jia Zheng's mindset, Jia Baoyu would rather marry the daughter of a respectable minor official than the daughter of a merchant.
It's unclear whether Lady Wang sent someone to the palace to inquire after hearing Jia Lian's words, but it's quite obvious that she's been having Xue Baochai visit more often.
She did want to invite Lin Daiyu over, but Daiyu was too busy!
Daiyu's days were always packed with activities.
She originally planned to graduate after returning from the grasslands and stop going to the academy, but because of a bet she made with the students of the Imperial Academy, she had no choice but to attend classes again with the female students who were preparing to take the exam together.
Moreover, because she would be joining the southern tour group to Jiangnan in half a month, her schedule was even more intensive.
Yuan Hongqu didn't know much about the imperial examination system, so her ability to help Daiyu was limited.
However, seeing that Daiyu was confident from the very beginning of her exam preparation, Yuan Hongqu felt much more at ease.
There were exactly sixty girls in the academy who signed up for the spring imperial examination.
They focused on preparing for the exam, while Yuan Hongqu listed out the specific methods and measures for the exam, as well as the evaluation methods after the exam, and discussed them with the teachers of the Imperial Academy before finalizing them.
These sixty female students will take the exam at the girls' college. They won't have to take the exam for nine days; they will only have to take it for the last three days.
The examination room was the large classroom of the girls' college.
After each exam, the papers were collected, sealed, and sent to the examination hall by the Imperial Guards.
All meals during the exam period will be provided by the academy. After the exam is completed and the papers are collected on the same day, candidates can go home to rest and come to the exam venue on their own before the start of the exam the next day.
Yuan Hongqu tried her best to imitate the college entrance examination of later generations to formulate the rules for these examinations.
Each large classroom contains twenty candidates, three examiners, two proctors, and one chief examiner.
Of these twelve people, half came from the Imperial Academy, and the other half were recommended by officials.
The list contained a total of sixty people, but the twelve of them were ultimately determined by the Emperor himself through a lottery.
Until the very last moment, no one will know exactly which examiners they are.
The exam papers of these female students will be graded together with those of the students in the Imperial Examination Hall, and they will be ranked together.
When the final rankings are announced, a separate list will be set up, and it will not be included in the original list for the imperial examinations.
As for whether female students should become officials after the selection of scholars, that is their own choice.
If they are willing to become female officials, Yuan Hongqu will still clear obstacles for them and strive for suitable positions for them.
If one doesn't become a female official but only participates in the competition, the girls' academy will offer additional rewards if one achieves a good ranking.
There were quite a few people who signed up, many of whom were just there for the fun of it, so the academy screened out a portion of them.
Even the three sisters and Xue Baochai signed up, but they were rejected.
For five consecutive days, Yuan Hongqu did not go home with Daiyu after school; instead, he was working overtime.
Daiyu had already visited on the third day. The old woman was either in a meeting with the teachers at the academy or arguing with a teacher from the Imperial Academy.
However, the next morning, the nanny was full of energy and had breakfast with her, and then they went to the academy together.
"Granny, was I too impulsive? Should I have made this bet with those students?"
"If you were to do it again, in that situation, would you still do it the same way?" Yuan Hongqu casually opened the carriage window and lowered the bamboo curtain. The morning breeze blew in through the gaps in the bamboo curtain, which was very comfortable.
"Probably still. I'm a student at the Girls' Academy, and the academy's reputation is very important. They misunderstood the nanny and looked down on us students. I'm really angry about it."
"Then study hard and get revenge." Yuan Hongqu smiled.
What an innocent child!
Although Yuan Hongqu was not very politically astute, she could sense that someone was clearly pushing things along in this competition.
Over the past few years, the Emperor and Empress must have faced considerable pressure for the girls' academy.
In previous years, it was fine; the whole capital thought that this girls' academy was just a gimmick, a place for women to kill time.
However, in the past two years, there have been more and more female officials in the palace. Half of the daughters of officials in the capital go to study at the girls' academy, while the other half go because they fail the entrance exam or their families do not allow it.
The scale of the girls' academy is constantly expanding because of its inclusive education and its equal treatment of all students. If the branch campuses of the girls' academy are included, the scale of this academy can be called the largest academy in the country.
This year, due to a shortage of teaching space, a special plot of land was allocated in the outer city for the academy to build a new campus.
The girls' academy has unknowingly affected the interests of too many people.
This competition that Daiyu mentioned to the Imperial Academy in a moment of desperation—who knows how many important figures racked their brains and exerted so much effort behind the scenes!
Yuan Hongqu noticed that Daiyu seemed somewhat remorseful.
“Yu’er, if you hadn’t agreed to the exam that day, they would have had other ways to make our academy agree to the competition.”
"Why?"
"Because our academy is too conspicuous, it has threatened their interests. They can't bring us down openly, so they can only resort to such methods."
"So, you don't need to worry about anything, just focus on the exam. We'll take care of everything else! I've written to your father, and he'll recommend several other teachers to come along when he makes his southern tour. These are all renowned teachers from Jiangnan. Your father will also personally impart his experience to you. You should take good notes and share your experiences with your senior classmates when you return."
Daiyu nodded heavily.
"Granny, I will."
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