Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 138

Chapter 138

Cui Xie being chosen to accompany the Crown Prince for examinations was a significant honor for the entire family. When he mentioned this while paying his respects, the two elders of the Cui family were nearly ready to open the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors. Later, they started planning a feast, intending to host a banquet outside their residence and send invitations using Cui Que’s name to all their acquaintances.

Even his younger siblings shared in the honor—though Cui Heng was not particularly fond of his elder brother, he felt a sense of pride at being the first to attempt such exam papers, essentially testing them for the Crown Prince. Secretly pleased in his heart, he harbored less resentment toward Cui Xie.

Naturally, the household servants were elated. Zhang-mama immediately wanted to spread the news, instructing others to prepare gifts and organizing the celebration.

Cui Xie stood up and stopped Zhang-mama, speaking seriously, “Our Laoye was relocated to Yunnan because he offended two Grand Secretaries. Those officials will avoid us as much as possible. If we send invitations everywhere for a minor event, are you not afraid that it will only remind them of our past troubles?”

Zhang-mama hesitated and did not dare to leave, looking back at the Old furen.

The Old furen, unfamiliar with official matters, looked at Cui Xie, disheartened, and asked, “Receiving such a favor from the Emperor is a significant event. Can we really not host a banquet?”

Cui Xie smiled, “If I were appointed as an academician reader-in-waiting, it would be fitting to celebrate no matter what. But now, it is just that I can take some Hanlin Academy exams. Boasting about it would seem frivolous. Moreover, the provincial exams are in early March. I need to focus on my studies and will not have the time to organize a feast.”

The Old furen sighed, “Well then… but can we at least have a small family celebration?”

Having firmly controlled the situation earlier, Cui Xie now eased a bit, his lips curling up, “I remember that Grandfather’s birthday is on the ninth of next month. By then, my exams will be over, and we can invite friends to celebrate his birthday. We can invite any old acquaintances without mentioning the Crown Prince. It will be a private, joyous occasion…”

Yun-jie asked, “Can I invite a few sisters I know to come over?”

Cui Xie replied cheerfully, “Invite whomever you like. He-ge can also invite friends. We have enough space in the courtyards to accommodate everyone to have a good time.”

Cui Heng then stood up, his adolescent voice cracking like a duck, “I have people to invite too—”

Cui Xie glanced at him and said calmly, “Have you memorized the 《Three Rites》? I have allowed you to go out for greetings and study, but do you think you are free from restrictions now? I brought back an assignment today. Write an essay explaining ‘When good government prevails in the empire, ceremonies, music, and punitive military expeditions proceed from the son of Heaven,’ using texts from the Three Rites. The essay should be at least 500 words and handed in to Teacher Lu.”

Cui Heng, both anxious and angry, demanded, “Why can I not invite anyone when they can? You are just bullying me because I—”

Cui Xie pressed him back into his seat with one hand, squinting his eyes, “I earned my place by passing the county examinations, studying at the Imperial College, and now accompanying the Crown Prince for exams. Naturally, that gives me the authority to manage you. If you do not want me managing you, then can you pass the county exams using your own ability?  Although the county and prefectural exams are over for this year, I can arrange for you to take the supplementary examinations¹. If you pass, I will not manage you anymore!”

He stared at Cui Heng, emphasizing his question with a stronger tone: “Do you dare go?”

Cui Heng, who had been stiff-necked, suddenly slumped. He wanted to stand up to his gege, but with nothing substantial in his learning, the thought of entering the examination hall made his legs weak. How could he muster a reply?

His grandmother, feeling sorry for her grandson, tried to intervene, “Xie-ge, do not be too harsh on him. Heng-ge isn’t as clever as you. If he needs a couple more years, then let him take those years.”

Cui Xie, keeping a stern face, said, “When I was his age, I started studying and still felt it was late. His foundation is even weaker than mine was back then. If he does not catch up now, how will he ever achieve fame and honor the family? I’ve heard from Teacher Lu that He-ge is also showing progress and very motivated. If this younger brother gets into the College and Heng-ge, as the gege, still does not dare to take the examinations, how can he call himself gege?

Since the Emperor had summoned Cui Xie and acknowledged his method of disciplining his brother as reasonable, he could be as strict as necessary, as long as he claimed it was for the younger brother’s own good. No one could criticize him for that.

Cui Heng was just a spoiled child. How could he understand what was truly good for him? Inviting such people to the family’s small banquet, meant for mostly female guests, was out of the question.

The Old furen, unable to argue further, turned to her second grandson, “There is plenty of time ahead. Study well and correct your past mistakes. Once your brother sees that you are truly making progress, he will naturally stop controlling you.”

Cui Heng, head lowered, muttered, “The friends I make are all good sons of official families. Usually, we just drink, watch cockfights, and watch operas…”

Recently, having studied and done more assignments, he realized that the things he used to do with his friends weren’t exactly virtuous. As he continued speaking, his voice grew softer, and he resigned himself to his fate and returned to his room to do his homework.

His brother’s assignments were getting shorter but increasingly strict. During examinations, he was timed meticulously, made to sit in his seat for the full two hours. Even to use the restroom, he had to inform the servants proctoring him, obtain a ‘permission to leave’ token, and only then could he go.

—It was said to simulate the exam atmosphere, but it felt like just another way to torment him!

While doing questions, on one hand, Cui Heng had no idea how to start answering them and on the other, he fumed inwardly at his brother. Little did he know that these mock examinations were not just aimed at him, but were a deep-seated habit in the bones of future, modern students. His brother was also preparing for the examinations this way.

Without taking one, two or three mock examinations, how could one feel confident going into the real examinations?

While the family was joyfully preparing for the birthday celebration, Cui Xie diligently stayed at home studying. Teaching Assistant Xie had dug up a collection of essays by Cheng Tixue for him to study, giving him one or two essay topics daily, which Cui Xie would complete by the next day without fail.

Grading his essays, Teaching Assistant Xie could not help but sigh, “It is just the provincial examination, there is no need to push yourself so hard. Your essays are already among the best in the College. You will certainly pass.”

He had given those topics but had not insisted on daily submissions. Youngsters only knew to study diligently, not knowing to take care of their health. If he fell ill from overwork, who would be responsible?

He wanted to advise Cui Xie, but seeing that bright, flushed, spirited face, more energetic than even his teachers, Teaching Assistant Xie felt any advice would be unnecessary. Shaking his head, he said, “Alright, I will not give you any assignments for the next couple of days. Clear your mind and prepare for the examinations. The Hanlin Academy’s 《Great Learning》exam papers should be sent over in a day or two, and you will need to be ready for that.”

Having grown accustomed to the daily assignments, Cui Xie felt a bit lost hearing that there would be none. Returning to the study hall, he repeatedly reviewed Chen Tixue’s essay collection.

Hall Chief Zhang Luan, seeing his restless state, approached and tapped his desk, “It is rare to see you like this. What is wrong, not memorizing your books? Could it be that you are so thrilled about becoming a study companion that you have lost focus?”

Cui Xie snapped back to reality and smiled, “Not at all. This junior is actually worried. The Imperial College’s monthly examinations are at the end of the month, and the provincial exams are at the beginning of next month. I fear I might not be adequately prepared.”

While speaking, he suddenly remembered that Yun-jie was close friends with Zhang Luan’s daughter and might invite her over for Grandmother’s birthday. If he didn’t mention it to the Hall Chief now, it might cause discomfort if the other found out later from his daughter. It would be better to extend the invitation now and establish a good rapport.

Although he wanted to invite Colonel Xie to his home alone, their courtyard was small, with the aroma of steamed floral dew wafting into the neighbors’ homes, offering virtually no privacy. Inviting him home would not accomplish much. So, he decided to invite Hall Chief Zhang along as well. With more people around, the visit would appear more proper, paving the way for frequent visits in the future…

With this thought, he stood up, bowed and cupped his hands, “Next month, on the ninth, is my grandfather’s birthday. I would like to invite the Hall Chief to our Residence for a small celebration. Don’t know if Hall Chief Zhang would be willing to give us the honor?”

Hall Chief Zhang was a bit surprised but immediately agreed, asking jokingly, “Are you inviting me alone, or may I bring my family?”

Cui Xie replied, “My sister is good friends with your daughter and will likely send her an invitation. As for the young ladies’ affairs, let them handle it. If the Hall Chief could bring your furen and two sons, it would be my honor.”

Prefect Zhang was momentarily taken aback by Cui Xie’s respectful tone and constant reference to their junior and senior relationship. His eyes dimmed slightly, but soon his mouth raised with a smile, “How could shixiong refuse such an invitation from my xiandi? It is just that my two sons can be quite a handful, I will have to trouble xiandi to supervise them when the time comes.”

Cui Xie laughed, “I have met your sons; they are intelligent, handsome, well-behaved, and polite. Hall Chief has high expectations for them, but they are already excellent and your expectations may be too high.”

After securing Hall Chief Zhang’s attendance, Cui Xie extended the invitation to several fellow gongsheng². These individuals did not aim to achieve the highest rank in the examinations, and in the future, would only become mediocre officials. They would not be as sensitive about the presence of a Jinyiwei officer as the Clearist and incorruptible officials. If Colonel Xie decided to come, he could comfortably mingle with these classmates.

The remaining question was whether Colonel Xie would come.

Back home, there was no need to do any homework. He faced the red invitation card, but hesitated to write. After a long while, Cui Xie still couldn’t bring himself to start writing, feeling uneasy.

What if Xie Ying declined because of the many people from the Imperial College? What if he did not want to expose their connection?

Grinding his teeth, Cui Xie finally decided to drop the pen and slapped the table decisively—he would go to Xie Ying’s residence at the beginning of the month and invite him in person. This way, it would save him from having to anxiously wait for a reply! Besides, it was easier to decline in a letter than face-to-face. If he refused in person, Cui Xie could at least try to persuade him further.

He was filled with lofty ambitions, yet ended up staying up later than usual, even later than before a mock examination. The next morning, he arrived at the Imperial College with dark circles under his eyes. After the morning recitation, while the others returned to their study hall to study, he and eight other young scholars were called to stay behind and wait for the examination in the Yilun Hall.

He paid special attention to the others who were staying. As expected, Fei Hong, the jieyuan, was naturally among them. The ambitious young man who aspired to become a palace study companion was also there. Among the other six, three were judges from the competition to select the most beautiful woman in the Three Kingdoms during the Double Seventh Festival.

Even though they were from different halls, their shared experience of organizing the beauty contest and being caught by the Teaching Assistant behind the screen had forged a bond. When they met, they exchanged knowing smiles, reminiscing about that night.

Vice Director, watching their silent communication from the front, cleared his throat and tapped the desk with the papers sent from the Hanlin Academy, saying sternly, “Today’s session is considered an exam, and the rules are as strict as the Imperial examinations: no looking around, no whispering, no unauthorized movement at will. If you need to leave, you must get permission from the proctor. Violating these rules will be considered cheating, and you will be barred from future examinations!”

The examinees immediately straightened up,  and bowed their heads, obediently agreeing.

Once they settled down, Vice Director Lin followed the usual exam protocol, instructing the Provincial Educational Commissioner to walk around the hall holding a board with the exam questions for the students to copy.

However, this exam was unlike their usual tests. The questions were long, with blanks to fill and misleading options, making it cumbersome to copy. The questions on the board were tightly packed, with insufficient space for the blanks, making it easy to misread. It was the first time the students encountered such questions, and many struggled. Some missed blanks while copying, and others habitually corrected intentionally incorrect parts, resulting in numerous errors.

Vice Director Lin, growing dizzy from checking the questions, realized that this method of copying was prone to mistakes. After collecting the papers and seeing the disorderly results, he shook his head and sighed, “Today, the time spent copying the questions was too long, and there were too many errors. Under normal circumstances, this would mean all your answers were wrong! But since these papers are for the Crown Prince, I will allow corrections this time. Next time, there will be no such leniency!”

Those who had made mistakes blushed, while even those who had not copied the questions incorrectly, found their eyes dazzled and strained. Inwardly, they all complained about the cramped and unclear writing on the question board.

Vice Director Lin walked out holding the papers, and Cui Xie quickly caught up with him, volunteering, “This student’s home has a large board that takes up half the wall, and I also have easy-to-write and erasable graphite pencils. I can bring them to the College one day, and Sir can write the questions on the board and hang it in front of the hall. It will make copying the questions easier for the students.”

Vice Director Lin, unfamiliar with the term ‘graphite pencil’, but knowing about the hard-tipped pencils often used for note-taking, furrowed his brow and asked, “You mean those hard wooden pencils?”

Cui Xie nodded, “What this student usually uses is a fine-tipped one, but there are thicker and softer ones wrapped in paper that can be used to write on the whiteboard. Has Lin da-ren ever visited the Peace of Mind Study? My tutor, Teacher Lu, teaches people how to use graphite pencils there.”

Vice Director Lin recalled seeing the distinguished Lu juren standing outside the bookstore last month while buying 《Three Kingdoms》 and sighed, “Is he your tutor? At the time, I saw him standing outside the study managing a vendor’s stall and I thought he was a vendor. Seeing that he dared to wear a juren’s uniform, I almost reported him to the officials!”

Hmm…

Cui Xie was not sure whether to praise Vice Director Lin’s Dedication to his job or feel relieved that Teacher Lu had avoided disaster. Given the situation, he could only smile.

He earnestly explained, “The items on that stall were not for sale; they were graphite pencil leads that my family made and we are giving away for free. Teacher Lu sympathizes with those poor students and children who cannot afford to study, so he promotes this tool tirelessly and spares no effort.”

Cui Xie elaborated on the cost-effectiveness and convenience of graphite pencils and Lu juren’s aspirations. Vice Director Lin finally understood Lu Boshan’s intentions and praised, “No wonder a scholar spends all day at a small stall. He is indeed a man of great ambition. I initially thought he was a mediocre scholar holding you back, but it seems he is just not good at teaching. His character is commendable. No wonder he raised a student like you.”

Cui Xie quickly redirected the blame away from Teacher Lu, modestly saying he had been a late bloomer, not because he had been taught badly. He then generously offered, “These graphite pencils are indeed useful. I’ll bring some for the Vice Director tomorrow to see for yourself.”

The Cui Residence always had whiteboards and pencil leads ready. They used them in the kitchen for writing menus and for family reminders. Teacher Lu also had a stockpile of boards ready to give away. When Cui Xie got home, he packed a bundle of thick pencil leads and tied several large boards together, using a horse to transport them on horseback to the Imperial College.

Vice Director Lin was surprised by his promptness and decisiveness. Early in the morning, Cui Xie had already brought in a stack of white-painted boards to Biyong Hall, prompting Vice Director Lin hurriedly ask him to put them down and scolded, “Why did you bring these things yourself? Did you not encounter any porters on your way? You could have hired some laborers to carry them for you. You are about to take the Imperial examinations, you should be careful with your arms!”

Cui Xie shook his wrist and grinned, “This student is a martial artist. Carrying a person in here would not be a problem, let alone a few elm boards.”

He placed the boards against the wall and pulled out a pencil to write the large character ‘考’ (exam) on one. The writing was deep and bold, smooth and fluid. Vice Director Lin, observing him, felt that while the characters weren’t as aesthetically pleasing as those written with a brush and ink, they had some form. He then tried writing a couple of characters himself.

Holding the short, round, chalk-like pencil was awkward for him, and his writing came out dry and narrow, not very neat. He laughed and shook his head, “If I hung this kind of writing outside, the students would laugh at me to death. This tool is good, but it needs practice. For now, I will use large paper and a brush to write the questions and paste them on the wall for you to copy.”

Cui Xie offered, “There’s no need for the trouble, Vice Director Lin. This student is willing to copy the questions myself.” After all, he had done countless blackboard bulletins, and copying exam questions was no big deal for him.

Lin Jiancheng laughed and shook his head, “How can I have a test-taker copying the questions? You do not need to worry about it. I will practice with this first. If it is really useful, I will submit a proposal to the Chancellor.”

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Footnotes:

1. Supplementary examinations: refers to Confucian scholars who act as stand-ins or supplementary participants. These scholars help ensure that the examinations are conducted properly by filling in necessary roles, even if they are not the main candidates aspiring for official positions. Their presence helps maintain the structure and integrity of the examination process. ↩︎
2. Gongsheng: so-called tribune students and are students selected from among the provincial government students and given the privilege of a scholarship in the Imperial College. They are given by the provincial administration as “tributes” to the Emperor. ↩︎

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TN: Have a good rest of your week everyone and enjoy the chapter! I’m finally back at grad school and a new semester is starting for me!

Update 12/23/24: I just updated it so that all my advance chapters for TMD are up on patreon (and will be continually updated)! Sorry for being so lazy with it and apologies for taking so long to do so. I had to organize a lot of my random documents after a long hiatus last year.

Announcement: We have set up a kofi and patreon account! If you would like to support us or get early access to advance chapters for Blood-Sucking Empress OR TMD, those options are available for you (in support us page)! I have just added a patreon tier for Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examinations in which patreons can have access to a google document with ALL of my advanced translated chapters for the novel. Since I am a grad student, there should usually be at least 10 advance chapters in the document at a time, but depending on my schedules, there may be fewer or more. I’m currently extremely busy, but I have translated out some new chapters for you all! But, I will still post each week with the same schedule. Thanks!

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