Chapter 164
As the honor roll was posted, the messengers who reported the examination results also perked up, snatching up their result sheets and rushing off to announce the good news to each examinee’s household–in hopes of being rewarded with silver for delivering such joyful tidings.
The more composed and confident scholars, secure in their performance, waited at inns or teahouses for the news to come to them. But many couldn’t wait that long and had already gathered under the examination compound walls at dawn, hoping to catch their own names. Even though Cui Xie had risen early and sprinted all the way there, he still only made it to the third ring of the crowd.
He regretted for a moment not having come by horseback. But as the fifth, sixth, seventh, and even eighth rows of people surged forward until it was difficult to even turn around, he thought better of it.
With so many people crammed together like this, where would a horse even stand? What was he going to do, carry his little white horse on his head? If someone jostled it off and it ran away, then he’d really have nowhere to regret it but the sky.
So he settled in peacefully to wait. From dawn to full morning light, the main gates of the examination compound finally opened. A few Imperial city guards emerged holding a yellow examination list and began pasting it onto the wall.
The crowd exploded. People shouted and surged forward. Cui Xie was swept a few steps ahead, then steadied himself, but realized he’d been pushed out of the spot he’d picked for the best view. Suddenly, someone nearby called out: “Cui-xiandi!”
The voice was strangely familiar, filled with excitement, and carried the unmistakable accent of Qian’an County.
He instinctively turned and scanned the crowd. In a flash, his eyes quickly locked onto a youthful and energetic face. It was Zhao Yinglin, grandson of the old Zhao patriarch from the residence next door back home.
A hometown acquaintance in a foreign land!
Delighted, Cui Xie waved back and pushed through the pressing crowd toward him. Striding over with long, eager steps, he asked,“Zhao-shixiong came to take the provincial exam this year too? Did your elder brother come as well? Our families were neighbors–why didn’t you come stay at my residence when you got to the capital?”
Zhao Yinglin beamed, still riding the high of excitement, and shook his head: “My elder brother enrolled in the prefectural academy just to wait for a spot in the Imperial College, he’s not here for the exam. I came with some fellow townsmen to gain experience. We already found a place to stay. No need to bother you, you’re so busy at the Imperial College, and with Cui da-ren away on assignment, your home’s full of old folks, women, and children. A bunch of grown men like us wouldn’t be convenient guests!”
“So other people from Qian’an had come too? What about the Six Talents of the Three Kingdoms crew?”
Zhao Yinglin nodded energetically: “Except for Gu- juren and two others who’ve already passed, the rest are all here to take their shot! Hey, last time I saw you, you were still just a tongsheng–now you’re on the verge of becoming a juren laoye. The rest of us who passed later are almost too embarrassed to face you ah!”
Cui Xie looked toward the newly posted list and chuckled: “No one’s ‘late’ in passing. This round of the provincial exam, we’ll all make the honor roll together and show the world that Qian’an produces real talent!”
Just then, someone near the courtyard entrance began posting names from the official registry, calling them aloud one by one. The announcer had reached: “One hundred twentieth place, Yongping Prefecture, Qian’an County, exemplary stipend student of civilian background: Lu, given name An…”
Lu An!
He was one of the Six Talents who helped critique the Three Kingdoms!
Now that this talent had passed the provincial exam and become a juren, his title of “critic of the Three Kingdoms” was more solid than ever. And their 《Six Talented Scholars and the Three Kingdoms》officially lived up to its name! Those so-called groups of twelve or eighteen talents might have been popular, but they were mostly just students or amateur Confucian scholars. If they were lucky, maybe one or two juren among them, but not like this crew, where four out of six had earned the title.
They could use these juren to stir up another round of publicity, reprint the Commentary on the Three Kingdoms in deluxe, collectible, and even autographed editions!
Cui Xie was so excited his eyebrows were practically flying off his face. Glancing over, he saw Zhao-shixiong also staring wide-eyed at the golden list, as if willing the next name to be another scholar from Qian’an.
He immediately grabbed Zhao Yinglin’s wrist and asked, “Is Lu-xiong looking at the list too? Let’s hurry over and congratulate him!” Even if he was a bit far, with his current physical strength, he was confident he could drag Zhao Yinglin through the crowd to get there!
Unfortunately, Lu An wasn’t looking at the list.
Those who had taken the examination many times and were used to the ups and downs weren’t like the wide-eyed first-timers who stood anxiously before the wall. Instead, they would reserve a good seat at a teahouse and elegantly wait for the messengers to come bearing the good news, drinking wine and composing poetry with their fellow examinees, all leisure and sophistication.
But waiting for messengers meant they’d find out later than the ones watching the board directly.
Zhao Yinglin straightened his back and slapped Cui Xie on the arm with a grin: “Let’s go drink with them after we finish reading the list. By then the messenger might not even have arrived, they’ll still be waiting, and we’ll be the ones bringing the good news!”
He gave him another couple of friendly pats, then paused, eyes narrowing as he gave Cui Xie a closer look. Raising his hand to measure, he asked in surprise, “You… weren’t you shorter than me when you left Qian’an? What’ve you been eating? How’d you shoot up this fast?”
Cui Xie looked down at their shoes. He hadn’t worn height-boosting insoles today, just for ease of running. Zhao-shixiong’s soles looked about a finger’s width thicker than his, and even so, Cui Xie was still clearly taller. He really had grown a lot.
Maybe he could still grow taller next year…
Cui Xie modestly lowered his head. “Maybe. I’ve been too busy studying for the exams to notice. Earlier this year, the Peace of Mind Study published a set of Essential Notes for the Examinations–taken from my own lecture notes at the Imperial College, revised personally by the Chancellor and Director of Studies. Very useful. Has Zhao-shixiong read them yet?”
When it came to serious academic talk, Zhao Yinglin instantly forgot the height issue and responded loudly: “How could I not? It’s required reading! Not just me, every student from Qian’an and even all over Yongping Prefecture bought copies to practice the questions from those Hanlin scholars. You’re the kind of talent our county and prefecture haven’t seen in a hundred years. Everyone glows with pride when they mention you. Plenty of people want to meet you, you know!”
Zhao Yinglin grinned with pride himself. “Once I drag you over to Furong Tower later, all the examinees from our prefecture will be lining up to praise me for bringing you!”
While they were still talking, the list had already reached past the top hundred, and another juren from Qian’an had made it! Cui Xie didn’t recognize the name, but Zhao-shixiong said it was another talented scholar of some seniority. In past years, Qian’an County only produced two or three juren at most, yet this year, by the time the list was barely a hundred names in, two had already been announced. It was likely even more would make the list–no doubt thanks to Cui Xie’s study guides.
His notes had covered both 《The Great Learning》 and 《Mencius》, and the exam questions this year drew from 《The Great Learning》, 《The Analects》, and 《Mencius》. Just studying those two volumes thoroughly gave candidates a leg up on two out of three questions, how could it not be enough to lift an average answer above the rest?
And not just in Qian’an. Wherever his books had sold, the examinees had scored better than in previous years. In fact, test-takers from Beijing had performed especially well.
At Furong Tower, a hub of gathered examinees, messengers flowed in and out like water. Half the names they called were of juren from Beijing, Tongzhou, or Qian’an, leaving candidates from other provinces stunned:
“Beijing is doing well? Sure, lots of out-of-town students borrow local registration. No surprise they have better scores. Tongzhou? Okay, it’s a major water-and-land hub. But Qian’an? That tiny county produced so many top scorers? Other than that ‘Six Talents of the Three Kingdoms’ crowd, have they ever had talent worth naming?”
Who was the Chief Examiner this year? How could the results be so lopsided? Did the examiner’s father hail from Tongzhou? His father-in-law from Qian’an? Had he blatantly favored those regions’ scholars?!
The celebrated talent of Qian’an County, now a celebrated juren, Lu An snapped open his folding fan and laughed mockingly.“Uneven admission standards, is it? Before stirring up trouble, did any of you actually stop to consider what Beijing, Tongzhou, and Qian’an have in common? Even if you’ve never heard of those two little places, you ought at least to understand why so many examinees from Beijing passed this year’s exam.”
“Before you make a scene, why not take a stroll through the streets and see what the best-selling book was before the autumn exams?”
The examinee who had been complaining the loudest blurted out without hesitation, “Obviously the Essential Readings for the Civil Service Exams series from the Peace of Mind Study. Every examinee who came to the capital to take the exam bought a couple of sets. But the Peace of Mind Study is a Beijing-based publisher, so if Beijing examinees did better because they got the books early, fine. But how could a tiny place like Qian’an…”
The examinees from Qian’an all exchanged subtle smiles.“Brother, when you read the books, didn’t you read the introduction? The preface? The editor’s note?”
A Tongzhou examinee also cleared his throat and asked,“And when you bought the books, did it never occur to you to ask whether the Peace of Mind Study has other branches?”
The examinees from the outer prefectures, who had originally been riled up over supposed favoritism and wanted to argue about right and wrong, began to feel a creeping unease in their chests, though one of them still frowned and asked, “Then why are these books only sold in those places? Why should only their bookstores carry them? Why couldn’t other shops just reprint and sell them too?”
Lu An tapped his palm with his fan and sighed,“You’ve simply not been paying attention. The editor of those study guides is a renowned prodigy from our own Qian’an County, surname Cui, given name Xie. The books were published by the Peace of Mind Study, a long-established local bookshop in Qian’an, which happens to have branches in both Tongzhou and the capital. That’s why examinees in those three areas did particularly well this year.”
Just before the results were posted, Lu An still had to politely call these fellow examinees “brother.” Now that he had passed and received the congratulatory announcements, his status had risen a level and he no longer had to feign courtesy. His tone turned openly scornful. “A talented man from Qian’an County publishes a book, and a Qian’an-based bookshop prints it, naturally they’ll sell it wherever they please, no? Now that you’ve all come to the capital for the exams, bought the books and read them, rather than stand here whining about fairness, why don’t you just go home and do the practice questions a few more times!”
The study guides had been printed back in April, and even the three Peace of Mind Study locations couldn’t keep up with demand, so there were few copies left to ship to other areas. Students from these three regions had good material to review before the exam, no wonder they did better. Still, it wasn’t as if the books were banned elsewhere. Even if students couldn’t get them at home, they could’ve easily bought them upon arrival in the capital. Not doing well was their own fault. Blaming the examiners instead–what kind of logic was that?
The scholars of Beijing chimed in with praise:“No wonder he’s one of the Six Critics of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, even his insults are eloquent!”
Not everyone might’ve known Cui Xie as the author of the guides, but the 《Six Talented Scholars and the Three Kingdoms》were famous even to the waiters in teahouses. Listening to Lu An roast these complainers was more satisfying than reading his published footnotes. The tavern keeper even sent over a steaming plate of braised fish in support of their celebrity guest.
As for the examinees who got roasted, well, their pride didn’t recover quite so easily.
Lu An could scold these green-robed students with a line like “just do the practice questions,” and it would be seen as the kind encouragement of a senior. That, they could swallow. But that Cui Xie…
Weren’t those books published under the names of the Imperial College’s Chancellor and Director of Studies? Why was everyone now saying it was a child prodigy who wrote them? What did it matter if he was some “prodigy” who could compile exam prep books?He hadn’t even passed the juren exams yet!
Straightening his expression and regaining his composure, one of the outer prefecture students said seriously: “The prodigy that Senior Lu mentioned, Cui Xie, he may have compiled these books, but did he actually pass the juren or jinshi exams with them?”
Just then, the couriers who reported the results had grown fewer. The last one had just announced a name ranked in the top twenty. That Cui Xie, after all, was merely from some obscure little county and had only been at the Imperial college a year or so.Even if he made the pass list, that would just be dumb luck. Did he really think that getting a few scholars to back his books made him a real talent, made him worthy of breaking into the top ten?
Lu An hesitated for a moment and didn’t immediately respond.
Seeing him lose a bit of his earlier easy confidence, the other candidate’s faces brightened. One of them laughed and said, “If he truly is a gifted scholar, and makes the list, we’ll admit our fault and give him due respect. It’s only our own failure for not having read that book before the exam. But if he’s no more than a bookseller pretending to be a scholar, then I’m afraid all that study guide he printed amounts to is just…”
If Cui Xie failed to pass this exam, they wouldn’t even need to make any serious accusations–just branding him a “bookseller” would be enough to tarnish his reputation going forward.
The faces of Lu An and the other Qian’an scholars turned grim. Lu An stood and retorted:“Cui Xie has only studied formally for three years and already topped the local tertiary exams. How long have the rest of you been studying? He hadn’t even passed the provincial exam yet, and still he put aside his own preparation to rush the printing of that guidebook before the autumn exam so that all examinees across the empire could buy it and finally understand questions they’d struggled with for years. Who else could do something like that? Who, upon obtaining such a good resource, would willingly share it instead of keeping it to themselves? Who would be willing to print it for the world to see?”
Even if Cui Xie didn’t make the list this time, it would still be because he’d sacrificed his own advantage to give others a fairer chance–and someone else squeezed him out of the spot that might’ve been his!
Lu An was nearly moved to tears by his own speech, and even began to wonder if Cui Xie hadn’t written Romance of the Three Kingdoms commentary for profit at all, but purely to give their group of six critics a leg up in their exams, so they might all rise to fame together.
Those who had bought the Essential Readings series–whether they passed or not–were moved for a moment, and even the ones who had criticized Cui Xie’s abilities fell silent, reflecting in place.
The restaurant hushed. Just as that silence threatened to spread across the entire hall, a clear, lively voice called from outside the door: “Lu-xiong! Wan-xiong! Shi-xiong, look who I’ve brought!”
Everyone looked toward the entrance. There stood a spirited young scholar, dragging along another handsome figure of refined beauty and clear bearing, stepping briskly into the hall.
The youth grinned and called out,
“Here he is, Qian’an’s great talent, the juren who ranked eighth in the provincial exam: Cui Xie!”
Eighth place in the provincial exam!
How could he possibly rank eighth?
Only three years of study and he was already ranked eighth? If he studied two more years, would he place eighth in the metropolitan exam too?
Everyone stared at Cui Xie’s youthful, elegant face, at his tall and graceful bearing like a jade tree in a courtyard breeze, and they all had the same thought swirling in their heads: That set of study guides must really be a secret weapon! What if the Hanlin Academy or Imperial College had slipped him some kind of secret imperial manuscripts?!
We have to buy more sets to take home…
But the scholars from Qian’an, having already read the books so thoroughly, didn’t feel the same shock anymore. Their first reaction was to gather around Cui Xie to greet him while also using the moment to show off in front of students from other counties:
“Back in our county, even when he was still young, Hezhong was already a renowned prodigy. At the Double Ninth banquet, he astonished everyone with just a single poem written on a beautiful piece of stationery…”
A poem on a fine piece of notepaper, and he amazed the entire banquet.Those juren and scholars who had attended the Double Ninth banquet looked at Cui Xie with fond smiles. They exchanged a glance and silently swallowed down that shared memory, then all beamed brightly together.
TN: Hi everyone!! Happy (although late) Halloween! I hope you guys had a great weekend ❤
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 OR my new novel, 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!
Twin Dragons Translations 
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ŐωŐ人)
LikeLiked by 1 person