Chapter 10
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Xue Residence.
Xue Yuan laid on the bed, listening and couldn’t help but laugh. “Did he say that to you?”
Chang Yuyan furrowed his brows slightly. “You should address His Majesty properly.”
Xue Yuan’s knees were wrapped in bandages, faintly tinged with blood, but his face seemed indifferent. He pointed to his wound, smiling ambiguously. “This injury was given by His Majesty.”
“That’s impossible,” Chang Yuyan instinctively retorted, then frowned and thought, “Did you do something wrong?”
Xue Yuan glanced at him, asking back, “What did His Majesty summon you to the palace for today?”
Upon hearing this, Chang Yuyan involuntarily tensed his skin, feeling a bit feverish in the face. “His Majesty summoned me to accompany him to admire the snow, naturally.”
“Admire the snow?” Xue Yuan propped himself up on the bed, his arms suddenly exerting force, muscles tensing as he sat up directly. He tapped his thigh with his fingertips, seeming thoughtful. “What about you attracted his attention?”
In Xue Yuan’s eyes, this emperor didn’t seem like someone who would waste his efforts. He even dared to provoke Xue Yuan, and if that were all, at least, as the little emperor said, he had the aura of a talented leader. But strange, what did Chang Yuyan have?
A scholar with a sour taste, what use could Chang Yuyan have?
But even such a useless scholar was summoned by the emperor to admire the snow. Xue Yuan, a future talent, was punished by the emperor without batting an eye, leaving his knees covered in blood.
Chang Yuyan heard this loud and clear, his smile stiff. “Xue Yuan, what do you mean by that?”
Xue Yuan spoke leisurely, “What use could you possibly have?”
Chang Yuyan was infuriated and glared at him. “I may not be famous throughout the world, but at the very least, I have some reputation. On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, there were so many people who came to congratulate me that even the officials were alarmed. And I’ve always been talented. Wait until the palace examination is over, and you’ll see me become the top scholar!”
With that, he stood up abruptly, angrily flinging his sleeves and leaving.
Xue Yuan rubbed his chin. After Chang Yuyan had completely disappeared from sight, he chuckled. “Top scholar?”
What use would the little emperor have for a top scholar that is fake?
Xue Yuan got out of bed, stood straight on the ground, his hands behind his back, and walked slowly to the window.
There were little spots of blood seeping through the white cloth on his knees, and this painful feeling was quite novel to Xue Yuan.
Growing up in the military camp, Xue Yuan knew that a strong fist and strong soldiers were everything. The loyalty of three generations of the Xue family sounded good, but it was actually a fatal reputation. He threw a bottle, not intending to hit the emperor, and only wanted to see how the emperor treated the Xue family.
Xue Yuan pondered, recalling the face of the little emperor, although he wasn’t fully grown, he was even prettier than a woman.
It’s just that his temper was too hidden.
Was he treating him well because of the Xue family, or was it because of three generations of loyalty that he had to treat him well?
***
Lord Chu Xun had already set off for the Yellow River with his men, and the Supervision Bureau would provide him with news from the front lines. In order to train the people of the Supervision Bureau, Gu Yuanbai spent a lot of money. The people of the Supervision Bureau not only needed to be literate, skilled in martial arts and archery, but also needed to learn geography, military books, tracking, and ambushing techniques.
In addition to education, Gu Yuanbai also paid great attention to their diet, even more so than training soldiers. The meals were balanced, with good quality rice and meat being essential. He had nurtured the entire Supervision Bureau into strong and robust individuals. Their health represented Gu Yuanbai’s health. The matter of the rainwater in half a month being able to reach the capital within such a short time relied heavily on these good bodies.
Gu Yuanbai temporarily put aside the matter of preventing water disasters and focused on the upcoming imperial examination.
In these days of morning court, the ministers were also worried because of the return of the cold wave to the capital. This cold wave came with great momentum, and many people submitted memorials hoping to allow candidates to add more clothing and increase the amount of coal for heating, as well as to renovate the examination halls.
Especially for the parents whose descendants were participating in this examination, they argued reasonably and forcefully in the court and refused to back down.
The emperor was kind-hearted, and the renovation of the examination halls was already underway. The proposal to increase the amount of coal was also approved. However, many officials opposed allowing candidates to add more clothing.
Similar incidents had occurred before. The winter in the capital was always long and cold, sometimes even comparable to winter in spring. Many benevolent emperors had also allowed scholars to bring an extra layer of fur.
However, during that session, many examinees were discovered to have sewn cheating notes into their clothing. The more clothing they wore, the more troublesome it was to check. The emperor’s kindness was exploited by these unscrupulous scholars.
“Your Majesty,” an official advised, “in the past, we have also faced cold waves. Increasing the coal supply and repairing the examination cells should be sufficient.”
But this year’s cold wave was particularly severe, and the Grand Heng Dynasty’s imperial examination lasted for three days. Between the candidates’ accommodations, if the temperature dropped again or if it rained or snowed during those days, many people were afraid of catching a cold, and worse, some might even lose their lives within those three days.
Gu Yuanbai truly felt for these talented individuals. In the end, he ordered to allow the candidates to add more clothing.
When this decree came out, all the candidates rushing to the capital rejoiced and cheered. Tears welled up in their eyes as they gratefully appreciated the emperor’s kindness.
Those candidates who were not in good health and were not accustomed to the weather in the capital were even more excited. They kept bowing down to express their gratitude, repeatedly saying, “The Emperor is kind, the Emperor is merciful!”
A thin piece of clothing represented a hope for warmth in the cold and cramped accommodations. Despite the opposition from the courtiers, the emperor still decided to be lenient, which was a blatant display of his care for them.
The emperor’s consideration and care made the scholars who were well-versed in the teachings of the world even more passionate.
Of course, Gu Yuanbai’s kindness towards these candidates did not mean he would allow them to cheat.
If anyone dared to be so audacious as to use this opportunity to hide cheat sheets, they would face more severe punishment than just losing their academic achievements.
Gu Yuanbai didn’t want his good deeds to become a joke in the future.
***
Finally, the day of the imperial examination arrived after waiting for a long time.
Early in the morning, Chu Wei woke up and calmly practiced martial arts in the courtyard until he broke into a light sweat before stopping. After washing up, his mother was rechecking the items to be taken into the examination hall. This was already her fifth time checking, and Chu Wei felt somewhat helpless. “Mother, there’s no need to be so nervous.”
“How can a mother not be nervous!” Madam Chu raised her voice in rebuttal, then nervously continued counting, “Handkerchiefs, paper, dry rations…”
Chu Wei let her be and silently finished his meal. His servant shouldered the items, accompanying him to the examination hall.
Madam Chu saw him off at the door, her hands clasped together in prayer to the gods and Buddhas, feeling anxious in her heart. “May my son pass the examination smoothly.”
Many candidates rushed to the capital for the examination, so they were divided into different groups to enter the examination hall. Chu Wei’s luck was not good; he had to enter the examination hall early in the morning and wait there for a whole day.
When it was time to line up at the gate, Chu Wei asked his servant to return first, carrying the examination box himself, standing straight among the crowd.
His appearance alone attracted a lot of attention, and his demeanor was like the bright moon, elegant and graceful. Many people noticed him, and amidst the whispers, they understood that this person was Chu Wei, the number one handsome man in the capital.
Not far away, Marquis Pingchang Shizi, Li Yan, who was seeing off his friend Tang Mian, noticed the commotion and nudged Tang Mian’s shoulder with malicious joy. “Tang Mian, Chu Wei is participating in this examination. Can you still get a good ranking?”
Tang Mian also saw Chu Wei and furrowed his brows, then relaxed again. “He hasn’t taken the exam for seven years. I don’t believe his knowledge is still as good as it was seven years ago. Let Chu Wei take the exam; he can’t threaten me.”
Chu Wei, standing diagonally behind them, twitched his ears and glanced sideways at Tang Mian.
Tang Mian and Li Yan hadn’t noticed. Li Yan asked, “You always rank among the top in the academy. Do you feel confident about securing the top position this time?”
Tang Mian cautiously replied, “It’s uncertain. The son of the Dali Temple Shaoqing, Chang Yuyan, is said to also participate in this examination. I have read his essays and poetry, and he is a formidable opponent to me.”
Li Yan couldn’t help but envy, “As long as you are in the top tier, the Emperor will personally summon you.”
Tang Mian couldn’t help but feel excited and nervous. He smiled and pretended to be calm. “I will definitely make the Emperor take notice of me.”
Since the day of the cuju match, he could only revisit the Emperor’s face in paintings. But how could the appearance of the person in the painting compare to even a tenth of a real person’s appearance?
The true emperor is like the light of the sun and the moon; to be remembered by them, being the second place is not enough, nor is the third place.
Given his reputation as someone not yet crowned, if he were to become the top scholar …
Tang Mian couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement in his heart.
Chu Wei calmly looked away, lowering his eyes to hide the disdain and mockery within them.
A mere clown dares to dream so big.
***
As the imperial examination began in the examination hall, Gu Yuanbai in the Inner Palace also received the news.
He listened carefully to the report for a while, then lightly curved his pale lips, revealing a satisfied smile. “Not bad.”
Tian Fusheng brought him a cup of nourishing soup. Seeing the Emperor so pleased, he couldn’t help but smile. “It’s not in vain for Your Majesty’s kindness. The candidates of this session are honest, and the scholars of the next session will also enjoy some shelter.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded and set aside the processed documents. “I should also ponder over the topics for their palace examination.”
Tian Fusheng brought the scroll containing thousands of essay topics. Gu Yuanbai casually flipped through a few pages and shook his head. “No matter how many times I read them, it’s still inconvenient without punctuation marks.”
Tian Fusheng looked at the Emperor puzzledly. “Punctuation marks?”
Gu Yuanbai: “It’s nothing.”
Punctuation marks, or punctuation, were what ancient people called “sentence reading.” However, punctuation marks could not be easily brought out, nor could they be easily accepted.
Since ancient times, certain unique theories have been monopolized by academic factions. Their monopoly on scholarship relies on punctuation and interpretation. For example, the famous phrase “民可使由之不可使知之” has two interpretations based on different punctuations: one is “民可使，由之；不可使，知之” (The people can be made to follow it; they cannot be made to understand it), and the other is “民可，使由之；不可，使知之” (The people can be governed by it; they cannot be made to know it).
Different factions had different methods of sentence reading, naturally leading to different interpretations. If punctuation marks were implemented, it would inevitably shake these academic factions. Which one was correct, and why were others not? Why should their faction’s method of sentence reading be revealed to the world?
The reason why these academic factions were called factions was because of their exclusive characteristics bestowed by their unique culture. Because they were unique, those who wanted to learn knowledge had to devote themselves to their names. When more and more people learned, such factions would transform into academic cliques.
Even with the existence of official education, it couldn’t stop the growth and development of academic factions.
Those who studied this particular knowledge would all adhere to uniform punctuation and a unified interpretation of the words of the sages. At this point, when the Emperor suddenly introduced punctuation marks, saying that this article should be punctuated this way and that article should be read that way, the factions and scholars who disagreed with the official punctuation would be dissatisfied. Why are we wrong? What we have studied with our time, energy, and money, if it’s wrong, wouldn’t it mean no return on investment, wouldn’t it be a waste?
Similarly, the factions that agreed with the official punctuation would also be dissatisfied. Why should our privately held knowledge be made public like this? The things accumulated by our ancestors, how could they become the common property of the world?
The introduction of punctuation marks would disrupt their cake, and these academic factions would definitely not agree.
Punctuation marks are a good thing, but now Gu Yuanbai couldn’t bring them out.
When there are no strong enemies inside and out, and when the Emperor has the ability to overturn the table, that’s when it’s time to shock the factions and when academic reforms take place.
Gu Yuanbai flipped through a couple of pages of the scrolls, took a sip of warm tea, realized what he was thinking about, and couldn’t help but chuckle.
He had promised to be like a Buddha, but it was like a sugar addict saying they would quit sugar, or a smoker saying they would quit smoking. Lots of big talk, but the body was completely honest, clearly showing what it means to be insincere and not genuine.
Author’s note: Gu Yuanbai: In my heart, there’s only my career.
Future Xue Yuan: … I beg you to just take one look at me.
Disclaimer: The protagonist is really stubborn, naturally rebellious, and there’s a reason later in the story why they’re so arrogant. To those who abandon the text and leave comments, please stay calm, the author writes illogically, and there’s no need to get angry and affect others.
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