Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 105

Chapter 105

Cui Xie invested immense enthusiasm into his floral dew venture.

 Cape jasmines, costing six silver coins per jin, were steamed and soaked in great quantities, amounting to dozens of jins. The fragrance was so pervasive that not only the Cui Residence, but also the neighboring residences were enveloped in that sweet aroma.

The resultant floral dew, though not exceptional in terms of fragrance –somewhat grassy-like and somber upon first whiff—revealed a more pleasant subtlety upon closer appreciation. Hence, Cui Xie used it as a men’s cologne. Concerned that the remaining bottles would spoil if not used right away, be brought ice to store them in the cellar, which conveniently served the kitchen staff in their dessert preparation, saving them the trouble of procuring ice daily for chilling the milk.

Even the assignments he submitted to Teacher Lu had been inspired by his endeavors: “Steaming cape jasmines under the moon, morning finds the courtyard fragrant. The golden distiller pours forth like broken snow, jade dew forms light first. The initial taste seems astringent, but brushed on clothing, feels cool and pleasant. Flowers bloom but for a few days, better to capture their pure fragrance.”

This poem was a significant improvement over his previous composition about homesickness.

The rhythm of the verses was particularly clever and lively: the first couplet began with a 2-1-2 rhythm, followed by a 2-2-1 beat in the response. The final couplet started with a question, naturally elevating the tone and the self-answering format added more power than a mere narrative conclusion would. The choice of words also marked a departure from his previous tendency to use only the level, rising and departing tones, often avoiding the entering tones. Words like ‘moon’, ‘form’, ‘jade’, ‘taste’, and ‘like’ all belonged to the entering tone, with a three-tone rotation in both the opening and closing couplets, creating a varied, yet harmonious composition.

The opening lines of the poem were straightforward, yet vivid, and the responding lines were well-crafted. The final lines concluded powerfully and emotively. This poem surpassed his previous attempt about missing his father, where he seemingly forced words and rhymes, to compose essays in the guise of poetry.

Even Teacher Lu, who had been sitting with the scent of jasmine flowers for days, sensed the fragrance filling as nostrils as he read the poem, deeply immersing himself in its essence. After reading, he praised, “Today’s poem is indeed a true poem, no longer like the previous forced and mediocre attempts. Keep writing like this. It is the genuine emotion that makes it poetry!”

He held the poem in his hands, reading and re-reading it, and exclaimed with a sigh, “This is indeed much better than your previous poem about missing your father. Such rapid improvement, I always knew you had the talent!”

It was not necessarily about talent. Perhaps it was more attributed to his strained relationship with Advisor Cui. Just restraining himself for writing something like ‘Farewell to the God of Plague’, had taken considerable effort—where would the emotional depth for anything else come from?¹

Although Cui Xie thought this, he dared not to say it aloud. Instead, he agreed with Teacher Lu, “In recent days, this disciple has often pondered over the Teacher’s teachings, keeping them close to my heart. When this student writes, I try to pay attention to these lessons and apply them. However, this student realizes I may have used too many entering tone words again. Striving for a balance among all three tones is challenging.”

Teacher Lu had initially intended to critique him further, but seeing his student’s capacity for self-criticism and lack of complacency despite the praise, he refrained. Impressed by Cui Xie’s humility and eagerness to progress, he offered words of encouragement instead of criticism, “This poem is quite commendable. Just remember the principles of poetry in your heart. With a year or half more of practice, you will be able to write freely and with ease.”

Inspired by his teacher’s guidance, Cui Xie returned to his courtyard and wrote two more poems, one about the pursuit of knowledge and the other about filial duty. While they lacked deeper motion, Cui Xie skillfully incorporated historical anecdotes, adding a sense of weight and depth to his verses. Teacher Lu then pointed out a few areas that could be improved, advising Cui Xie to be more concise when using such references and cautioned against letting the words overshadow the meaning, or the meaning overshadow the words, to avoid turning poetry into prose.

Living under the same roof as Teacher Lu, Cui Xie did not necessarily have to accumulate a lot of work before seeking guidance. Whenever inspiration struck, Cui Xie would compose a poem or two and then quickly ask for Teacher Lu’s insights. His progress in poetry was extremely rapid: initially, he would revise a single poem about seven or eight times, each iteration still feeling awkward, which caused him to wish to start over from scratch. After writing several compositions, Cui Xie became familiar with the rhyming schemes and structures. Setting aside content for a moment, he no longer had to memorize the rules while writing and the verses he thought up naturally conformed to the schemes and meters, only requiring further refinement in the choice of words and phrases.

As he progressed in his poetry, it did not affect his essay writing much.

Perhaps, because his poems themselves were not frivolous or light, but more akin to styled essays, his approach to writing discursive essays remained unaffected. His arguments, evidence and reasoning was clearly structured in his mind, progressively building on top of each other. However, when it came to constructing parallel sentences in essays, the rules of tones and rhymes from his poetry lessons occasionally surfaced, leading him to thoughtfully intersperse the rising, departing and entering tones.

Fortunately, he had not become so engrossed in poetry that it overshadowed his other studies. Once he realized his tendency to do so, he consciously restrained it to avoid spending excessive time on this subject and impact his essay writing speed.

Nevertheless, this meticulous attention to structure inevitably left its mark in his prose. The scholars and Teaching Assistants at the Imperial College, being experts themselves, noticed this new style in his examination papers and recognized it upon first glance.

Vice Director Lin, upon noticing the musical rhythm in Cui Xie’s prose, he thought that the youth had heeded his advice and studied 《The Treatise on the Rules of Poetry and Music》. As he graded the papers, he remarked to the Teaching Assistants in the office, “This paper must be Hezhong’s, I can recognize his argumentative style. It seems that he truly took my advice to heart and refined his writing. Look at these lines, “When the people are at peace, they still feel as if on the brink of danger; when the Way prevails, they act as if encountering resistance’. The complex interplay of the four tones flows like a melody, quite rhythmic and pleasing to the ear.”

Which teacher did not appreciate a student who listened and learned!

Vice Director Lin’s way of showing appreciation was to then have Cui Xie’s essay neatly copied and then displayed outside the Imperial College’s walls for everyone to admire.

Having once experienced the desire to become an invisible fish upon swimming into the Imperial College, Cui Xie was now much more composed when he heard his classmates calling out his name from a distance. Not covering his face and at ease, he walked through Yilun Hall, surrounded by the blossoming trees as he entered the school grounds with a light heart.

His classmates congratulated him on making the rankings again. Hall Chief Zhang, as if sharing in the glory, proudly commented, “I believe Hezhong’s writing is on par with that of Fei-jieyuan. Though younger by a year, he can be considered the prodigy of North Zhili, not falling short of the famed prodigies from the south.”

Amongst his classmates, who were mostly from the north, there existed a competitive pride, given their history of being overshadowed by talents from the south. They responded with enthusiastic agreement, “Exactly! The south is famed for its scholars, but wait until the huishi, or metropolitan examinations held in three years. When the candidates from the southern colleges come to the capital, they should be compared with Cui Hezhong!”

While his classmates boasted confidently, Cui Xie was much too modest to agree, quickly waving off the praise, “I am far from a prodigy. It is just the seniors who are generous in their appreciation. In terms of true talent and learning, this junior cannot compare to my seniors.”

Just as everyone was about to tell no need for such modesty, Cui Xie stood up, bowed earnestly and said, “This junior is but a humble and inexperienced student. There is something I wish to seek you all for help with!”

His classmates smiled and reassured him, “Please, do not hesitate to ask, Hezhong. We will do our best as seniors to help you with your queries.”

Cui Xie lowered his eyes slightly, expressing, “It is a trivial matter to trouble you all with, but after much thought, this junior finds no one more capable and knowledgeable than my fellow students here in the Imperial College. If this junior cannot seek the seniors’ help, whom else can I turn to?”

Cui Xie then shared his plans for organizing a beauty contest at the Peace of Mind Study on the day of the Double Seventh Festival, where poems would be appraised by judges to select the top beauty from the Three Kingdoms period.

The scholars initially thought Cui Xie had some academic question, but their eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing it was about the beauty contest. They leaned forward eagerly, asking, “Is it really happening during the Double Seventh Festival? How many judges are needed? With all these people, can all of us participate…”

Explaining, Cui Xie said, “We may need several judges since there will likely be many poems to review, which could be taxing on the eyes. If there are fewer entries than expected, we will select a few from among you to be judges. The rest can enjoy the festival with the refreshments provided by the store. It is a good opportunity to truly experience the festivities occurring during the Double Seventh Festival, is it not?”

Good! At the very least, they would get to enjoy the event for free, and being a judge would simply enhance the experience.

Everyone agreed, even offering suggestions to invite some of the most renowned scholars from the Imperial College, along with the visiting Fei Uncle and nephew duo from Jiangxi. Cui Xie thanked them for their kindness and noted the number of people to invite, planning to inform the Peace of Mind Study to prepare special guest arrangements and refreshments.

Hall Chief Zhang, looking at Cui Xie, asked specifically, “If we bring our family members along, will there be seating arranged for them?”

Several others in the hall, also interested in bringing their relatives, gathered around to inquire. Cui Xie clapped his hands and assured, “I will speak with the host later. They will surely set up colored tents for the women and children to sit inside. The voting will take place during the day, so if we have more people attending in the evening, we can determine the top beauty before the night curfew.”

With the Five Beauties event being organized, it was also the perfect time to launch a batch of newly produced fragrant soaps to capitalize on the occasion.

Cui Qi had recently delivered five types of molds made out of pear wood to Cui Xie, each intricately carved with simple sketches of beauties dressed in different attire. According to the size of the soaps made by the molds, Cui Xie crafted five frames smaller than the soaps themselves, matching the outer contours. He then created five exquisite drawings of the beauties, each tailored to fit these customized frames, adding an artistic touch to the soap collection.

In the square molds, there were two versions: one representing Dao Qiao and the other Xiao Qiao. In the old drama version of the Three Kingdoms, Da Qiao had not been a prominent figure and Cui Xie somewhat struggled to recall her. He decided, instead, to depict her as Xu Qing, a contemporary beauty with a similar name. Drawing these two sisters from the same era, with their names echoing each other, he found a subtle and intriguing joy in the creative process of doing so.

For the promotion of the series, to align with the content of the book, the Qiao sisters were often portrayed in mourning attire. However, for the soap’s packaging, he could not depict them in white, as it could be considered inauspicious and deter potential buyers. Thus, he instead chose to illustrate them dressed in resplendent wedding attire, imbuing the portraits with a different kind of charm. Da Qiao was depicted in a slight bow, her bridal veil half-draped over her forehead, exuding an aura of dignity and gentleness. Xiao Qiao, on the other hand, was shown with her face slightly turned upward, her eyes sparkling with laughter, as if she was listening to Zhou Yu’s words.

Each type of beauty’s soap was also of a different type—the Da Qiao one was a moisturizing type, enriched with bovine bone marrow, while Xiao Qiao’s soap was a hydrating soap made with natural honey.

For representing Diao Chan, Cui Xie chose a round soap mold. The packaging showcased the woman in a gesture of praying to the moon, hands clasped together and it was complemented with ingredients like borneol extracted from camphor trees and mint to create a refreshing, cooling soap.

Sun Shangxiang and Zhen Ji’s soaps used long, bar-shaped molds, allowing for the full depiction of their figures. Zhen Ji was portrayed in the style of an ethereal goddess descending from the heavens, gliding elegantly with a posture full of grace. Sun Shangxiang, on the other hand, was illustrated cradling the infant Liu Shan, incorporating a motif of praying for a child. Both furen had been close to becoming Empresses, and thus their soaps were distinct from the other three, inspired by the fragrant soap recipe once used by Empress Dowager Cixi.

However, the original recipe for this luxurious soap included three jins of sandalwood powder, with one jin costing five taels and five silver coins, making it twenty times more expensive than the other ingredients! Concerned about the high cost and potential market resistance, Cui Xie adjusted the formula, reducing the sandalwood by two and a half jins and proportionally decreasing the soapberry powder. He thus created a more affordable, ‘Divine Jade Beauty Soap’.

After finalizing the two formulas, he handed them over to Cui Ting, who instructed the workers at the cosmetics store to expedite production and work against the clock, with the promise of bonuses. Initially, the workers were lethargic at the prospect of overtime, but the promise of extra pay instantly boosted their morale. They willingly worked late into the night, blending the medicinal powders diligently.

Cui Ting, while writing his monthly report, was overjoyed. Observing the extended working hours, he was confident that his report would greatly please Cui Xie, likely surpassing the achievements of the fabric shop managed by Cui Jinzhi that month.

While Cui Xie urged the artisans to expedite the soap-making process, he simultaneously placed and accepted prepaid orders at the study, requesting additional soap molds and the expedited printing of packaging paper.

Shopkeeper Jin, in charge of the funds, advised him, “This is all part of the family business. It is fine to just make a note of it. No need to use Young Master’s personal funds and strain the household coffers.”

Both the palm and the back of the hand were his flesh, how could one justify robbing one to compensate the other, especially since the cosmetics shop was technically part of the Cui family’s assets? Once Advisor Cui returned, control of the shops would fall under his hands. The bookshop, on the other hand, was Cui Xie’s personal enterprise and he had no intention of using his resources to subsidize another’s business.

As he reviewed the newly arrived monthly reports, Cui Xie suggested, “Your side seems short-staffed and paper is expensive. Why not send the work to Qian’an where skilled artisans can handle the printing part of production? After all, this is not for printing books. Customers will not mind if the quality of the prints is slightly lower than usual.”

Shopkeeper Ji inquired, “Should we also create a large banner to hang outside the shop? You have always provided a portrait for our bookshop promotional events. But, do not worry about this, we have artisans who can do the illustrations for the soap promotional event.”

Shopkeeper Ji was showing impressive growth, now even understanding the importance of launching new products along with prominent posters!

Cui Xie nodded approvingly, instructing the team to turn the packaging designs into large, double-page sized posters to be displayed outside the shop. Then, a thought struck him, “Why not also create some very small soap molds to produce a variety of miniature-sized soaps? Before officially selling the new products, we can give away a piece with each Three Kingdoms book purchased, labeling each soap type with its distinct name for customers to try. If anyone investigates, just say that our two businesses have a good relationship. I have already mentioned this to my classmates and since we are inviting them to critique poetry at the Double Seventh Festival, there is no need to hide this connection.”

At the mention of the Double Seventh Festival event, Shopkeeper Ji’s face lit up with pride and anticipation. Recalling the success of the ‘Fragrant Diaries’ first beauty contest, he envisioned an even grander and more flamboyant event in the capital, surpassing the excitement of the county-level event and he had been preparing for this moment!

When the thirteen volume of the 《The Six Talents and their Commentaries on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms》was officially released, the new range of beauty shapes, dried and ready, was released alongside the books.

Five types of soaps, each pressed with different molds and wrapped in thick paper printed with the visages of beauties, were accompanied by a set of shiny tin soap boxes of exquisite craftsmanship. Outside the store, large posters were displayed, with the names of the different soaps written in black ink next to the illustrations, proudly announcing, “Traditional Han Dynasty Formulated Imperial Court Soap’ and “Foreign Divine Jade Beauty Soap’.

The Traditional Han Dynasty Formulated Imperial Court Soap was priced at four qian of silver per piece while the Foreign Divine Jade Beauty soap reached eight qian. Each bar of soap weighed four liang and even those made purely of sandalwood were valued at less than one and a half qian of silver.

Many customers, while initially scoffing at the cosmetic shop’s excessive packaging and deeming the soap overpriced for its intrinsic value, could not resist purchasing the entire set of five distinctly packaged varieties. The women in their households, upon using the soaps, could genuinely feel the quality of the ingredients—authentic medicinal herbs without the addition of flour. The soaps left their skin fair, smooth and fragrant, which lingered with a luxurious aroma. They felt as though they could too, transform into the beauties depicted on the packaging, which compelled many to repurchase.

With the cosmetics shop and the study synergistically promoting each other’s products, this jointly hyped up the Five Beauties Contest event, turning the event into a celebration akin to a festival. Numerous scholars even visited the cosmetics shop, inquiring if they could inscribe poems on the soap packaging to be used as voting ballots, only to be politely refused. Disappointed, they reluctantly settled by purchasing drawing paper instead.

Cui Xie’s relentless efforts in perfecting his floral dew had not seen much progress, but his soap-making venture was advancing by leaps and bounds. Realizing this, Cui Xie decided to shift his focus more towards the soap business.

As May waned, the jasmine flowers began to dwindle in amount, but he had already sun dried a good amount of them. Initially intended for continuous dew distillation, his enthusiasm for making flower dew had dwindled slightly. Looking at the dried jasmine flowers, he appreciated their pleasant aroma and recalled that their flower petals could be used in soap-making. Grinding a few liangs worth, he mixed them with medicinal herbs and soap powder for a trial batch. The result was a soap with a refreshingly light fragrance, much less labor-intensive than distilling the floral dew.

After using the soap on himself several times and finding it free of any stale scent–in fact, more pleasantly scented than the heavily perfumed composite soaps—he decided to shape them into attractive, spherical bars using dessert molds. Once dried, he set aside half of it for his personal use and wrapped the other half in plain paper, sending them over as a gift to the Xie Residence.

Xie Ying quickly reciprocated with a letter, along with several types of homemade sweets and gratitude for the aromatic soaps. In his letter, he mentioned that he would not be able to leave work early on the day of the Double Seventh Festival and would likely only make it to the Peace of Mind Study’s Five Beauties event in the evening and he wished Cui Xie success in advance.

Ah, Cui Xie too, had school on the seventh day of the month and could only attend in the evening.

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Footnotes:

1. ‘Farewell to the God of Plague’: A famous poem written by Mao Zedong talking about the CCP’s fight against the devastating snail fever that had affected rural populations for centuries. The poem became the most well-known text in the anti-schistosomiasis campaign of the Maoist era. It is an article renowned for its optimistic tone and a true breakthrough in public health efforts. For Cui Xie to say this, he is treating Advisor Cui as a plague that he had finally gotten rid of. ↩︎

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TN: Hope you are all doing well, have a great weekend! ❤

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