Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 62

Chapter 62

During the earthquake that hit in the first month of the lunar year, in the Yongping Prefecture, the prefectural government seat, Funing County and Linyu County, that entire region, had been struck the hardest. A countless number of houses and city walls collapsed. Furthermore, there had been earthquake victims that had been injured. Prefectural Magistrate Wang Wen was preoccupied with providing disaster relief and as such, the prefectural examinations had been postponed again and again. This happened until at last, the examinations were set to start at the end of February.

There were six counties in this prefecture alone. Students from the prefecture’s local counties, in addition to all the students from outside the Shanhai Pass, as well as a few students from the military agro-colonies all needed to arrive at the prefectural capital in order to take the examinations. Outside the examination grounds, one had to squeeze past throngs of crowds and each county’s candidates stood in one place, awaiting their individual summons. Yamen runners guarded the gates and in order from Lulong County, Qian’an County to Funing County….they summoned each student to check their identity and conduct a body search. For the prefectural examinations, not only did each candidate need a total of five pledges guaranteeing one’s identity, as well as a proof of guarantee from a linsheng[1], they also needed two more from two shengyuan.

Zhao Yinglin had asked his own Da-ge to do a favor to help find some people, and as such, he had received an insurance premium of one or two silver taels for each person from this group of schoolchildren. He stood outside of the Dragon Gate and helped to prove their identities with the people he found.

This time, Cui Xie did not have the luxury of preferential treatment he had at the county examinations and was thoroughly  and severely searched through before entering the examination grounds. Just like the other school children, he entered the examination room with an unkempt and a frazzled appearance. In front of him, a few smuggled cheat sheets had been discovered in the hands of some of the students, which caused the minor officials to drag them over to the aisle and  they were instructed to kneel down with their backs facing the walls. They had to spend a full day outside the examination room, kneeling there, before they were allowed to leave. There were also students who were more timid, before their belongings had been rummaged through, they had thrown out their cheat sheets and mini question banks to the curb, entering the venue honestly and empty-handed.

The three rounds of tests for the prefectural examinations would be much more difficult than the county examinations. After all, if one can pass the prefectural examinations, one can become a tongsheng and after that, one could directly take the yuanshi or college examinations every year after that; Otherwise, if one could not pass here, they would have to wait till next year and restart the entire process by taking the county examinations again. Prefectural Magistrate Wang da-ren was not an examiner like County Magistrate Qi who always pursued an older, classic style and was too lazy to even bother with xiaoti, or lesser themes. Although he did not come up with any prompts or topics that were cut up to the point that the source could not be traced, he still came up with matching, parallel questions for each separated section.

For the first round, two questions were asked regarding the Classics. The question about the Four Books was “In the spring, they examined the plowing, and supplied any deficiency of seed, a pattern to the princes” and one had to match the one part of the sentence to《Mencius·Gaozi II》to link the next part as a sentence from 《Mencius·Liang Hui Wang II》; the prompt from the Classic of Poetry was “Deep were Wen’s thoughts, unstained in his ways, the red bows unbent” which meant linking up 《Major Court Hymns·King Wen》to《Lesser Court Hymns·Tong Gong》. 

Afterwards, contrary to expectations, the next two rounds were easier than the questions than the ones County Magistrate Qi had asked. There was only one discursive essay and one current affairs essay. The discursive essay was about “Village Folk” and the current affairs essay question was about disaster relief. Before the county examinations, Cui Xie had already long taken some mock examinations and they had all been current affairs essays on disaster relief strategies. He was simply like a fish that had been returned to water. After writing his answers for the first two questions on the classic, he felt a little uneasy, but after writing this current affairs essay, he experienced the same carefreeness and pleasure he felt after he had successfully defended his dissertation back in university. He had finished writing his two essays before noon and then personally handed it over to Prefectural Magistrate Wang.

The prefectural examinations were not graded anonymously and while Prefectural Magistrate Wang did not personally know Cui Xie, he was familiar with the other’s reputation. Seeing Cui Xie had turned in his examination papers three days earlier than the deadline and that this would most likely be the last time they would meet, he could not help but ask the youth to halt for a second. Holding Cui Xie’s examination papers, he asked, “Are you that Cui Xie from Qian’an County, the one who published the

《Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》?”

Cui Xie lowered and clutched his hands politely to reply, “It is exactly so.”

The Prefectural Magistrate inquired, “You are very good at composing couplets. Do you know how to write poetry?”

Now this he really didn’t know how….in his heart, Cui Xie knew, that even if he were to memorize an anthology of Ming and Qing dynasty works, he would be unable to reach the level to the point where he could answer a question with a few verses, let alone without having memorizing the poems beforehand? As such, he honestly answered, “I have never done it before. This student had only just started properly studying for a short period of time and first learned to write essays according to my Teacher and haven’t studied poetry yet.”

If a child prodigy wasn’t able to compose poems, then that “prodigy” character would be of less value than anticipated. 

Wang Wen was internally disappointed and had the mind to directly send the other back, but after remembering that Cui Xie’s prodigy name had originated from his ability to write couplets, he said, “I have read that 《Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》of yours. Since you are familiar with the Four Books, and are good at coming up with matching couplets, this Magistrate will pose the upper half of the antithetical couplet, and you must join the lower half.

The Prefectural Magistrate pondered for a while before uttering: “Li, that of the eyes, of lightning.”

This sentence came from the third chapter of 《Book of Changes·Shuo Gua》. The original sentence was “Li suggests the emblem of fire; of the sun; of lightning.” Cui Xie had also read the Book of Changes once through, but hadn’t written it down into a scripture and had just stored the content into the hard disk instead. He couldn’t even remember where it came from.

He was not familiar with the Book of Changes, but was familiar with the《Four Books》. After listening to the cadence and rhythm of the upper couplet, he was immediately reminded of the first sentence from 《The Analects·Zi Han》, “The subjects of which the Master seldom spoke were: profitableness, and also the appointments of Heaven, and perfect virtue.” Cui Xie answered, “The appointments of Heaven and perfect virtue.”

Prefectural Magistrate Wang responded with an ‘En’ and lifted his gaze to look at the youth to say, “You are indeed proficient with the Four Books. However, the pairing, antithetical couplets collected from the four books are all short phrases. If you write too much of these, I am afraid that it will restrain your literary train of thought. Let me test you with a longer sentence.”

Since it was a examination for a schoolchild who was taking the prefectural examinations, he came up with an interesting prompt: “Eight fighting talents, one must land a jieyuan, huiyuan, zhangyuan, even landing all three yuan, entering the Hanlin Academy and suppressing the Eighteen Scholars of the Tang Dynasty.[2]”

Without so much as blushing, Cui Xie responded: “This student will strive to live up to the Prefectural Magistrate’s expectations.” He then cupped his hands and bowed towards the West, matching the lower half of the couplet, “Certainly, the Immortal Son of Heaven  (Emperor), is of noble lineage,  of suitable age and possesses virtue. He wields the power of the Imperial order and commands the lives of millions and millions of citizens.”

This pair of couplets was still from the Mencius, in the second chapter of《Gong Sun Chou II》, where it said “In the kingdom there are three things universally acknowledged to be honorable. Nobility is one of them; age is one of them; virtue is one of them.”

Prefectural Magistrate Wang bursted into a knowing smile and waved his hands “Forget it, it is enough to test you on the Four Books. Go home and carefully prepare for the yuanshi. This time around, you will most definitely pass the prefectural examinations.”

Cui Xie thanked him and then walked outside the Dragon Gate and waited for a while. Once they scraped together five students who had turned in their examination papers early, they were allowed to exit the examination grounds. Unexpectedly, as soon as the group stepped out of the big gates of the Confucian Temple, a group of yamen runners approached to bar the way. Among them, a sergeant donning a large crimson cloak and a six-petaled felt cap shouted loudly to ask: “Is there a candidate Cui Xie from Qian’an here? If so, please come with us, our da-ren has some questions to ask you.”

Several of the students turned their heads to look at each other. Cui Xie’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know what had happened when all he had been doing was obediently and taking the examinations— could it be that those parents of his had done something wrong, and he was forbidden from taking the Imperial examinations in the future?

In a split second, a gushing river of messy and ruinous thoughts flooded his mind, and it seemed as if the coldness in his body weighed even heavier. He stood up and replied, “This student is Cui Xie. I wonder which da-ren is looking for this student?”

That soldier’s expression was not very stern, but rather it was as if he had already heard of Cui Xie’s well-known reputation for a long time and was deeply moved after finally seeing the real person. The sergeant sighed, “So you are Cui Xie. Come with us. Our Colonel and Imperial Censor Liu da-ren request your audience.”

The students who had left the gates with him immediately scattered and put ten feet between themselves and Cui Xie. The stream of people who had blocked up the road in front automatically parted and it seemed as if Cui Xie was walking on a red carpet. Treading on the absolutely empty road, he went up to that sergeant’s side and asked in a soft voice: “But just where are we heading to? Just which Colonel is it that the da-ren mentioned earlier?”

As he walked, the sergeant replied in a low voice, “Of course it is our Colonel Xie. Could it be that you know any other Colonels? Imperial Censor Liu da-ren is waiting at the yamen and wants to ask you a few questions. You will know what is happening once you get there, let us hurry up.”

So it turned out to be Colonel Xie, then Cui Xie could rest assured….. Wait, wait, Jinyiwei! An Imperial Censor took the Jinyiwei with him to handle a case in the countryside, just what sort of crime had the Cui Residence committed? To the point that even his child banished to the countryside had to have a Jinyiwei Colonel personally investigate him?

While his thoughts were churning into a mess, he was hurriedly pushed into a small palanquin and carried towards the yamen. The government office and the temple were established on the same street. The temple was in the north while the yamen was located in the south. They were only separated by about half a street’s distance. It only took a few steps before the palanquin chair was carried to the doors of the yamen. That Jinyiwei who had shown the way asked him to come down and led him through the smaller gate, towards the Second Hall.

Inside the hall, there were two officials seated inside, both dressed in black muslin government robes. However, one had blue accents while the other had green accents. On the left hand side, the embroidered plaque of mandarin ducks on the black robes indicated that the wearer was a 7th-rank official, which should be Imperial Censor Liu; on the right hand side….there was no need to look at the embroidered mandarin plaque, just by looking at the other’s face, Cui Xie knew that it was a Jinyiwei Colonel of the fifth-rank. Sitting below Xie Ying, there was an official dressed in the same color robes as him, but his embroidered square contained a silver pheasant, and was a fifth-ranked tongzhi[3].

Although Cui Xie knew that Colonel Xie’s role here was to search houses, confiscate possessions and cause some difficulties,  after seeing the other’s face, Cui Xie felt an indescribable sense of security. The mind and heart that had turned rushed and muddled on his trip here firmly settled down. Cui Xie walked to the center of the hall, and with a stable and firm posture, he cupped his hands and greeted: “Qian’an County’s Confucian scholar, Cui Xie, greets the two da-ren.”

Cui Xie’s height had indeed grown, but the person had also thinned.

The first time Xie Ying had met Cui Xie, it was when the other was injured, and while Cui Xie had been ill, his face had still contained some traces of baby fat and because he had a fever during that time, his two cheeks were flushed, but it had complemented his complexion and seemed harmonious. But this time, Cui Xie had just exited the examination room, and his entire figure seemed to emulate a sense of exhaustion and haggardness. One didn’t know if his complexion was the result of being in the cold for too long or from exhaustion, it was pale to the point that it almost had a few tinges of green.

But Cui Xie’s figure was more slender, tall and straight than before. Wearing layer upon layers of jade-colored robes, it was as if there was a jade plant that had been planted inside the hall, its soft glow illuminating the hall a little bit. His face had become thinner and his chin had become more pointed, but it was not the kind where it was morbid or sunken in. Rather, it was like a thread of heroic spirit had sprouted out of the cuteness of a child. Only that pair of eyes had not changed too much. The outer corners of the eye were slightly raised and when the other lowered his gaze, the eyes appeared gentle, delicate and pretty. But as soon as he lifted his gaze, it revealed a scorching brilliance.

Xie Ying had come with the purpose of investigating the other, not to see the other give his greetings. When he saw Cui Xie bowing, he said, “No need to be so polite. Liu da-ren, Zhang tongzhi and I are not people who pay particular attention to such etiquette. You are not a criminal, no need to stay standing and sit in the seat next to Zhang da-ren.”

Liu da-ren gave Cui Xie a glance. Acting as if he hadn’t noticed anything, holding a teacup, he ordered, “Give Young Master Cui a cup of tea. The Holy command did not say we had to seize and interrogate him. As such, he should be given the respect deserving that of an official’s son and a candidate of the prefectural examinations.”

There had even been an Imperial decree? But if it wasn’t to arrest him, then he would be a witness? Could it be that the White Lotus Society was making trouble again…..

With Cui Xie’s barren experience and poor imagination, he could only think up to this point. Besides, as long as they weren’t here to arrest him, then it was good. He walked over to sit beside the tongzhi, Zhang Gui, but didn’t sit down immediately and bowed respectfully: “I do not know what the da-rens are going to ask, but Cui Xie will explain everything I know without reservations.”

Liu Zan was actually quite fond of Cui Xie’s face, but was afraid that the others’ ethics and ability would not live up to that face. He hated that he could not just test Cui Xie on the spot and confirm to see if the three examination papers had been really written by him. Or is it that the other had predicted the topics ahead of time and had someone ghostwrite on his behalf?

But, he was the Imperial Censor ordered to investigate the case. If he wanted to ask, then he would have to endure it until the case was resolved. Consequently, he didn’t wait for Cui Xie to sit down and take a sip of tea before directly asking, “The Qian’an library located behind this street, it was originally your family’s property? Did you really donate it to Qian’an County?”

It wasn’t about the White Lotus Society? Rather, it was about the library?

Cui Xie had been momentarily stunned and this appearance had landed in the eyes of Imperial Censor Liu. He suspected that Cui Xie had not even known of this donation in the first place. He slightly rose and looked at Cui Xie and warmly coaxed, “Just tell us the truth. This official and Colonel Xie are both here on the Emperor’s orders. No matter what grievances there are, we can call the shots for you.”

Xie Ying also smiled and added, “Liu da-ren is right. If you have any injustices, please say it here. The Son of Heaven’s enlightened grace illuminates us even thousands of miles away. As a person who carries the responsibility of Imperial benevolence,  is it possible that we would tolerate those treacherous persons and allow such schemes to harm good people?”

Cui Xie came back to his senses and hurriedly took a step forward, looked at the two Imperial envoys and resolutely said, “That library’s courtyard was donated to the county on my own initiative and I have never been wronged. For the two da-ren to come here to ask about this matter, could it be that I was not allowed to donate such a property?”

Of course not.

Donating property to the Imperial court was a righteous act and founding the Qian’an Library to allow people to read free of charge was an act of benevolent governance, no one would dare to say it was wrong. When the Imperial Censors presented the memorial, what the Imperial envoys wanted to investigate was not if they should have donated the courtyard to build al library, but rather, how did a child who had yet to come of age last year thought of donating a courtyard——

Was it truly something from his own heart or had he been deceived?

Liu Zan’s body slanted posture became even more severe and he was practically about to stand up from his chair. Looking at Cui Xie’s glittering and limpid eyes, he asked, “You hadn’t even come of age last year, right? How did you know to donate the courtyard to the county to build a library at such a young age? Did someone teach you this? Or did they promise you something?”

Cui Xie squeezed out a few faint “川” characters with his eyebrows and countered, “Why would da-ren think like this? The matter of donating the library came from the bottom of my heart. As for the process, County Magistrate Qi detailed it clearly in the article 《Record of Erecting Qian’an County’s LIbrary》. The student donated my late mother’s dowry so that it could be used more beneficially and was not persuaded by others to do.”

Liu Zan’s tightly pinched eyebrows faintly loosened and he asked again. “That shop is your late mother’s dowry and it makes more than a hundred taels of silver of income annually right? As a child living outside, the main Residence must allocate your share and send it from the capital. Such traveling is always inconvenient. Without the bookstore’s income, are you not afraid that it will affect your studies?

Do not be afraid. Even without the Zhirong Study, there were still two others: Peace of Mind Study and Tranquil Bamboo Hall that was open on the market.

 and

Cui Xie slightly shifted away from Li Zan’s line of sight and solemnly explained: “This student once heard that when my mother had married into the Cui family, my father was still a shengyuan and my maternal grandparents has specially added a bookstore to the dowry to help my father with his studies. Afterwards, my father had the opportunity to read extensively and only then did he pass the examinations without a hitch and became a jinshi to render service to the Imperial court. Now that I have come to Qian’an to prepare for the Imperial examinations, it is because of this expectations that the bookstore was compassionately handed over to me. And now because I can read books whenever, after staying in the county for a year, I learned how to write essays and can rush to the prefecture for the examinations……”

So it turns out this bookstore had such a complicated story. As Liu Zan listened, he repeatedly nodded and only woke up when he heard “Learned to write essays after staying in the county for a year”——

Not right! This was not something you could learn just by reading a few books! Average people most certainly would be unable to write articles just because the read a few books!

Disregarding principles in the Classics, if you asked teachers to correct a couple times, then one could alter one’s sentences so that it connected freely and masterfully. However, that kind of adept and seasoned policy essay was not something a child who had yet to see the world should have been able to write. Even those civil attendants in the Hanlin Academy, to ask them to write about classical principles and ancient prose, it would be full of flowery language and bright decorations; when it came to current policy, life was not a bed of roses and they would often resort to copying former articles.

Liu Zan was about to interrupt Cui Xie to get to the bottom of how he wrote his article, but Cui Xie generously stepped forward, raising his head as he addressed the other, “That day, this student was thinking, for all married women under heaven, who does not hope for their husbands to study and become an official; for all mothers under heaven, who does not hope for their son to pluck a branch of osmanthus from the Toad Palace[4]; And for the scholars under the heavens….whether it is a scholar from a poor family or the son of an official, which one wouldn’t want to be able to pick out books to read at free will from a library?”

LIu Zan was stunned by Cui Xie’s words for a while and forgot to interrupt him. Instead, he nodded and commenced, “So that is why you donated your bookstore….”

Cui Xie laughed and mildly said, “The da-ren has reached the heart of this student. Although this student’s knowledge is shallow and crude much like the Imperial Censor da-ren and the County Magistrate, I understand the painstaking efforts of Ming Taizu (first Emperor) to establish education and set up Imperial examinations to enlighten the common people. I pitied the poor and coarse younger generation’s difficulties in their journey in seeking knowledge. Therefore, I desired to donate the courtyard to the county and used my meager contribution to render service for the Imperial court.”

Xie Ying nodded at the side and faintly praised, “That’s right. To be able to perform such a righteous act, you did not fail to live up to the Emperor’s commendations stating that you were ‘loyal to the sovereign and righteous’.”

Liu Zan stared blanky for a moment and then remembered the plaque on the Cui Residence’s gates that said, “Public-spirited” and the Imperially commended memorial archway.Suddenly, he no longer dared to question any further and ask Cui Xie how he had such a desire to serve the Imperial court at such a young age.

This was not an ordinary child who didn’t understand the importance of wealth, rather this was a righteous patriot who received an Imperial commendation at the age of fourteen!

Now that Cui Xie had passed the county and prefectural examinations, after one more entry-level examination, he would become a shengyuan.

As a shengyuan, one ought to be treated as an adult. A public-spirited shengyuan who was willing to donate his own family’s property and books to let other people borrow to read, what else was there to ask?

He was afraid that County Magistrate Qi knew of Cui Xie’s willingness to render service and used the name of the Imperial court to entice him….

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Zan asked, “Between Qi Sheng and you, who first wanted to build the library?”

Founding this library ought to be County Magistrate Qi’s achievement, but should he mention that it was him? Cui Xie subconsciously glanced at Xie Ying, wanting to obtain some hints from the Colonel. Xie Ying returned his gaze briefly and only shook his head with a smile, “Tell the truth. County Magistrate Qi has already told us and Imperial Censor LIu only wants to hear your side of the story.”

Then the answer had to be that it was his idea. County Magistrate Qi would not lie.

Cui Xie made up his mind and explained, “It was established by this student. Initially, in the seventeenth year of Chenghua, a large flood made it so that the bookstore could not continue to operate so we had no choice but to rent it to outsiders. There was a woman living in the rear courtyard of the bookstore and some people claimed the portraits and books printed by the bookstore were by a “Cui Beauty” or something. This student thought they had a bad reputation and did not want to continue running the shop after taking back the courtyard. Hence, because of my ambition to help enable students to read books, it was then converted into a library.

“Once County Magistrate da-ren learned of this matter, he said that as a student, I could not possible afford the costs and allocated some of the county’s taxes and selected another suitable site for the library’s construction. Since I had made up my mind to do this, I could not do it by myself and hoped that County Magistrate da-ren would help me do so. As such, I donated the courtyard and the books in it to the county.”

Speaking of the Cui Beauty, Imperial Censor Liu’s expression could not help reveal a look of disappointment, “Why did that Cui Beauty move away, do you know where she went?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, in a split second, Cui Xie’s expression was even colder than when he had first entered the Second Hall. With a stiff face, he replied, ‘This student does not know. This student has never seen the face of that Cui Beauty with his own eyes and never asked where they were going.”

Xie Ying’s smiling expression became somewhat lively in an instant and he lowered his head as he slightly pursed his lips. His expression quickly returned to its usual gentleness and he leaned his body towards as he persuaded Liu Zan, “What is the use of da-ren asking these. He is but a child, how would he know whether someone is beautiful or not? Just ask him questions regarding the case.”

Ah……it was a pity that this little student was still too young and did not understand how to appreciate beautiful women yet!

There was nothing else to ask about the case. Since Cui Xie himself wanted to donate the bookstore, the reasons clearly stated with no trace of reluctance, the Qian’an County magistrate was cleared of the crime. It is just that in the original memorial presented by the Imperial Censors, Cui Xie, as the son of an official, really should not have donated his parents’ property and they still needed to ask him about this directly.

Liu Zan’s expression had already relaxed and he sank deeply into his chair as he inquired, “After all, that bookstore belongs to your parents. Did you notify your family when you donated it and obtained permission from your parents?”

Of course Cui Xie had not asked. But, the heavier his guilty conscience was, the more firmly he had to act. He stared into Liu Zan’s eyes with a slightly offended expression and said, “When the County Magistrate mentioned constructing the library, this student agreed on the spot and at that point, it was too late to discuss with the family. However, filial piety towards one ruler is doing one’s filial duty and this type of thing would benefit both the country and the people. Is there a need to discuss such actions that repay the grace of his Holy One! Da-ren should have already questioned this student’s family in the capital. My father is a loyal official of the Imperial Court, clear as water can be, how could he say no!”

Daring to say no would be akin to disloyalty! 

In this feudal society in which the sovereign was the master of the official and the official is the master of the son, the principle of a ruler and his ministers was far above the relationship between a father and his son.

By taking out the good reputation of being loyal to one’s ruler, it was not much to be a little bit less filial to one’s parents. Weren’t there a lot of officials that did not even observe filial piety? When they were in mourning after a parent’s death, wouldn’t they exhaust their means to wrest control of the situation instead?

Nodding, Liu Zan agreed, “Your esteemed father did say he was willing to dedicate the property in the name of the Imperial court. To say it like this, it cannot be said that you used family assets for private reasons. It is just that Qian’an is just a few days’ journey from Beijing. To make such a major decision concerning loyalty and righteousness immediately, it cannot replace the family and allow someone to call the shots from hundreds of miles away.”

Lowering his head slightly, Cui Xie stood up properly and replied, “Da-ren is right, I am well aware of my father’s loyalty to the Emperor. For a matter that would be favorable for the Imperial court and the common people, even if I had made the decision, he would have certainly endorsed my actions. Since I have done it, he will naturally agree and there was no need to send someone to ask for orders.”

Xie Ying shifted his gaze to the side, unable to look directly at Cui Xie. He feared that he would burst out laughing at one more glance.

Liu Zan hereunto decided that they were done taking the oral confession and the recordkeeper who had been serving in the back had also written down the investigation. Presenting the recorded oral confession to Cui Xie, he asked the other to sign it. The Censorate and Jinyiwei each had a copy. Cui Xie glanced over it a few times and when he saw that there was nothing amiss, he signed his name and sealed it with his fingerprints.

Zhang tongzhi had fulfilled his duty as a mere decoration for about half a day and at this time, he stretched his back a little and stood up to ask, “Now that the two da-ren has finished their inquiries, are there any other plans for today?”

Xie Ying replied, “We were ordered to come under Imperial orders and now that the mission is completed, we have to rush back to return the Imperial edict. No need to make other arrangements. Now that it is getting late, we will have to trouble the Yongping Prefecture to provide a few rest houses for Liu da-ren and us Jinyiwei on the journey back.

Zhang tongzhi assented and ordered some people to prepare properly. Seeing that they didn’t have anything to do with Cui Xie now, Cui Xie got up to leave. But, Imperial Censor Liu reached out a hand to stop him and exclaimed, “Wait a moment. Although the mission dispatched by his Holy One has been completed, this official has one more thing to ask you.”

Cui Xie immediately straightened his body and innocently looked at the two people. Although his face was facing directly between the middle of the two, his gaze fluttered towards Colonel Xie a few times.

Explaining, Xie Ying said: “It is not a big deal. It is just that Liu da-ren has heard from the County Magistrate that you have an extremely retentive memory and is a child prodigy that learned to compose essays in just one year. He wants to test you for a run.:

Come on, come on! With his hard disk in his possession, he was truly a person who could remember everything with one glance and know it by heart. He was not afraid of being tested ah!

Cui Xie’s eyes brightened and his complexion turned rosy on account of his emotionally excited state, making his face all the more illuminating to onlookers. Although Liu Zan was a little suspicious of his essays, he also felt that Cui Xie was naturally born like this and really had the character of a brilliantly talented person. His investigatory attitude immediately softened a few degrees and he warmly asked, “The essays you wrote in the Qian’an county examinations are good and this official has read them. They possess both reasoning and law. It is just that they are too clear, neat, elegant and simple, not like something that can be written by someone of your age….”

Before coming here, he had intended to severely inquire on how this student had written such essays, but at this time, he could not muster up the force anymore. Sighing ightly, he stated, “I will not ask about the essays from the past. Don’t you have a photographic memory? Just recite the three essays from the prefectural examinations here, let me…….let the other two da-ren and I evaluate them.”

Xie Ying glanced at Cui Xie and grinned at Liu Zan, “This is not a question from the Imperial Censor regarding the case and it is neither the scenario of a teacher testing his student, how can we ask him to keep standing? Move a chair to the middle and have him sit. He can sit down and answer then.”

A Jinyiwei moved a chair over and Cui Xie raised a cupped fist salute towards Xie Ying, thanking: “This student thanks for the seat.”

He was also very grateful for Imperial Censor Liu’s willingness to test him——Whether his title of first place was just fame following merit or it was because County Magistrate Qi was too fond of him and lovingly gave him first place. By testing these essays, it would confirm the truth of the matter.

Cui Xie lightly sat on the edge of the seat, opened the pdf file in his mind and slowly recited, “ ‘And moreover, in the spring they examined the ploughing, became a pattern to the princes’: To observe without overlooking and diligently toiling for the common people, it can take the place of the laws governing the realm!”

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Footnotes:

1. Linsheng (廩生, lit. “granary student”), the first class of shengyuan, who were the best performers in the college exam, and got to receive government-issued rations and pay for their academic achievements. The top performers within this class would get accepted into the Imperial Academy as gongsheng (貢生, lit. “tribute student”), who will then be eligible to sit the provincial or even the national exam directly.
2. Jieyuan: first placed candidate in provincial examinations; Huiyuan: provincial imperial examination graduate who ranked 1st in metropolitan examination; All three yuan: to rank first in the imperial examinations at the provincial capital, the national capital and the palace successively; Eighteen Scholars of the Tang Dynasty: renowned group of advisors who had served Tang Emperor Taizong before he assumed the throne. The scholars each pursue various cultivated pursuits, like chess, calligraphy, warfare and painting. They are a group of famous ministers and scholars in ancient China.
3. Tongzhi: otherwise known as Vice-Commissioners (rank 2b) of the five Branch Regional Military Commissions under the bigger institution of the Five Chief Military Commissions that supervised professional military affairs with the Ministry of War.
4. pluck a branch of osmanthus from the Toad Palace (ie the moon): figuratively to succeed in the Imperial examinations

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TN: New chapter and Fourth of July!! enjoy! ❤

Huge 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 college 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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