Marrying The Imperial Elder Chapter 44

At those words, Zhen Tingyun immediately straightened her posture. She dared not waste another moment. With practiced movements, she put away the purple jade xiao in her hands before following Madam Chu into the carriage.

As for the horse she had ridden over, Malantou, it truly was an intelligent creature. Seeing its mistress climb into the carriage, it obediently trotted alongside it, leisurely following behind all the way.

The carriage curtains were lowered. The coachman seated outside silently flicked the reins, and the carriage rolled toward the Capital Women’s Academy. Inside, there were only two people:

Madam Chu and Zhen Tingyun.

Madam Chu sat in the center, holding a scroll in one hand while the other rested lightly on its pages, as though she intended to continue reading. Having just become her prospective disciple, Tingyun couldn’t help feeling somewhat restrained. She sat quietly near the carriage door without saying a word.

For a time, the carriage was extraordinarily silent. Only the rhythmic clatter of horse hooves and the rumble of wheels over the stone-paved streets could be heard.

It was in that silence that Madam Chu suddenly laid aside the scroll. “Has it been very hard?”

Tingyun froze. She looked up at her.

Madam Chu’s brows lifted ever so slightly, her expression gentle. Slowly, she reached out and lifted one corner of the window curtain.

The first rays of morning sunlight filtered into the carriage through the narrow opening, scattering across the interior like a fine dusting of golden powder.

Turning her gaze out the window, the soft golden light illuminated her refined profile, lending it an almost wistful expression.

Without haste, she continued, “I heard resentment and sorrow in your xiao. I was young once as well. I’ve gone through difficult times of my own. So the moment I heard it, I understood.”

Somehow, the previous night, Madam Pei’s words had wounded Tingyun so deeply. She had tossed and turned until dawn. Even when she sought comfort from her grandmother, she had stubbornly held back her tears and forced herself to smile. Even riding alone to seek out Madam Chu that morning, anxiety had filled her heart, yet her eyes had remained dry.

Not a single tear had fallen.

But now, hearing Madam Chu’s gentle, matter-of-fact words, her eyes suddenly stung. Without realizing it, tears began to spill down her cheeks.

Joy and sorrow flowed through the world like mighty rivers. Each person’s current was different. No two streams ever truly merged.

Precisely because of that, the simple words, “I understood the moment I heard it” were a comfort beyond measure.

Clenching her teeth against the tears, Tingyun whispered, “Many things in life are difficult.”

She didn’t pretend otherwise. Nor did she wish to complain. That was all she could say.

Unexpectedly, Madam Chu smiled faintly, as though recalling something from long ago. “Yes. Living in this world, everyone encounters things that are painful, things that are difficult. When I was young, I loved someone.”

Her smile remained gentle. “I loved him so deeply that I lost myself. He adored books and was never without one in his hands so I began studying as he did. I read because he read.” Later, we parted. I left the southwest and came to the capital. All I brought with me was a cart full of books. It was only then that I realized. No matter how fierce love may be or hatred, neither can last forever. But the things we have learned, the knowledge we have gained, those stay with us for our entire lives. They never betray us.” She looked at Tingyun with quiet warmth. 

“Tingyun, learning can be very hard but it is also capable of bringing immense joy.”

She spoke each word slowly and gently. At last, Tingyun could hold back no longer. One tear after another fell like pearls from a broken string. They soaked into the front of her robes, leaving dark patches of dampness.

***

By the time the carriage arrived at the Capital Women’s Academy, Tingyun’s eyes were swollen red from crying.

Even Madam Chu couldn’t help laughing. Putting on a deliberately stern face, she teased, “If I lead you inside looking like this, people will think I’ve kidnapped some respectable young lady and forced her to become my disciple.”

This was the first time Tingyun had ever met someone like Madam Chu.

Or perhaps from the moment they first met, she had somehow felt that Madam Chu was an exceptionally, wonderfully good person.

Hearing the joke, she finally laughed through her tears. “Couldn’t they think these are tears of joy instead?”

Madam Chu handed her a handkerchief with a smile. “I’ll believe they’re tears of joy once you’ve wiped them away.”

At that, Tingyun finally laughed outright. She dried her eyes, though they remained red, and followed Madam Chu into the Women’s Academy.

Since the examination was about to begin, although this was Tingyun’s first visit to the Capital Women’s Academy, she had no time to look around. She simply followed Madam Chu obediently to a building that had been specially designated as an examination room.

Ordinary candidates who arrived with official examination permits had to come early and draw lots for both their examination room and seat assignment. This prevented candidates from learning their seats beforehand and colluding to cheat. But students personally recommended by one of the academy’s instructors, like Tingyun, didn’t need to draw lots. They could simply enter directly.

After all, there were only a handful of female instructors in the academy, and each instructor possessed only a single recommendation quota each year.

Even with all of them filled, this special examination room could never be full.

As they walked, Madam Chu suddenly remembered to explain. “Students recommended directly by academy instructors don’t need an examination permit. However, they all take the examination together in this separate room.”

She smiled slightly. “It’s easier to supervise this way. It prevents favoritism or cheating and gives people less reason to gossip.”

Tingyun already knew this and merely nodded in understanding.

After a moment’s thought, Madam Chu added, “There usually aren’t many candidates in this room. This year will probably be the same. I’ll speak with the examination supervisor. You can simply go in and choose any seat you like. When the examination begins, someone will distribute the papers.”

Then, worried that Tingyun might not know the examination procedures, she continued explaining. “This morning’s examination covers general knowledge, mathematics, and calligraphy. When you’re answering the questions, be sure your handwriting is neat and attractive. I’ve seen students accidentally drip ink onto their papers before. Their calligraphy was marked in the lowest grade, essentially a failing mark.”

“As for ritual, music, horsemanship, and archery, those are examined this afternoon. So after the morning session, most students stay at the academy for lunch. When you’ve finished your morning examination, I’ll come find you and take you to the dining hall.”

After thinking it over, Zhen Tingyun felt there was no problem with the arrangement and nodded in agreement.

Madam Chu was a woman of few words. She quickly finished everything that needed explaining, and before long the two of them had reached the examination room. It was obvious that Madam Chu knew the female instructor responsible for supervising this room. She greeted the woman with a smile before gently ushering Tingyun forward.

“This is the disciple I’ve just taken in,” she introduced. “She’s also the candidate I’m recommending this year.”

Having made the introduction, Madam Chu hurried off.

The female instructor looked slightly surprised. Lowering her eyes, she carefully examined Tingyun. Tingyun stepped forward calmly and offered her a respectful bow.

The instructor soon withdrew her gaze, gave a slight nod, and signaled for her to enter the examination room.

Only then did Tingyun quietly breathe a sigh of relief. As she walked inside, she discreetly surveyed the room that had been specially set aside for recommended candidates.

Just as Madam Chu had said, this examination room was reserved exclusively for girls recommended by instructors of the Women’s Academy.

There were indeed very few people inside.

Including Tingyun herself, there were only three candidates.

The other two girls were already seated, one on each side of the room, facing one another almost as if in silent opposition.

The girl on the left wore her hair in a high coiffure, moon-shaped jade earrings swaying at her ears. She was dressed in a deep violet jacket over a silver-white skirt. Tall and strikingly beautiful, she carried herself with unmistakable pride.

The girl on the right wore twin flat buns. She was dressed in a crabapple-red jacket with a pale lotus-colored skirt. Petite and adorable, she had a lively, spirited air.

Since there had previously been only the two of them in the room, they had been quietly sizing each other up.

Now, seeing a third candidate suddenly enter, both girls looked over in surprise.

After everything Tingyun had just gone through, nearly being prevented from taking the examination altogether, her eyes were still swollen from crying. 

Yet her expression remained composed.

Even under the scrutiny of the two strangers, she neither flustered nor panicked.

Instead, she simply nodded politely to each of them in greeting before choosing a seat between them.

Just like that, the atmosphere in the room shifted from a rivalry between two people to a three-way standoff.

Unperturbed, Tingyun first examined the Four Treasures of the Study laid out on her desk.

To prevent candidates from smuggling in anything, all brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were supplied by the examination hall itself.

Naturally, the quality was nothing impressive.

That was precisely why they needed to be checked.

It would be disastrous if the brush snapped halfway through the examination.

After inspecting everything, Tingyun pulled the blue stone inkstone closer, rolled up her sleeves, picked up the ink stick, and began grinding ink.

She wasn’t foolish.

These writing implements were barely serviceable.

The inkstone and ink stick in particular were crudely made, making it laborious to grind ink.

Wouldn’t it be much wiser to prepare the ink in advance?

If she simply sat there waiting for the examination papers before beginning, she’d waste precious time.

Compared to the noble young ladies raised in luxurious inner chambers, Tingyun had grown up in the countryside and possessed considerably more strength.

She was also accustomed to using inexpensive writing materials like these.

Although the ink stick slipped occasionally, she handled it with practiced ease.

As she worked, she couldn’t help thinking:

Even I’m finding this hard… I wonder how much effort those delicate young ladies, accustomed to the finest inkstones and ink, will have to spend just to grind enough ink.

While she silently ground the ink, the other two girls, who had secretly been observing her, both froze. Only after a moment did they realize what she was doing. Quickly, they pulled their own inkstones closer and hurriedly began grinding ink as well.

For a while, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

The rough inkstones and poor-quality ink sticks required so much effort that all three girls bent over their desks, concentrating on grinding ink, with little attention left for one another.

Just as Tingyun’s inkstone finally produced a proper pool of black ink, a loud bell rang outside.

Before the first peal had fully faded, a second followed. 

Then a third.

Three thunderous bell strikes echoed throughout the entire Capital Women’s Academy.

The examination had begun.

The female instructor who had been standing outside the door entered the room.

She opened a wooden box inside and took out three examination papers, handing one to each candidate.

Each student also received three sheets of draft paper.

Since the first examination included calligraphy, candidates generally drafted their essays first before carefully copying them onto the official paper in their finest handwriting for the examiners to judge.

Naturally, to prevent cheating, even the draft paper had to bear each student’s name and would be collected afterward.

This was Tingyun’s first time sitting such an examination.

She couldn’t help feeling nervous.

After receiving her paper, she carefully read through every question before finally letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

The examination wasn’t especially difficult.

The paper was divided into three sections.

The first section tested general knowledge, mainly asking candidates to explain passages from the Four Books and Five Classics.

Since this wasn’t the imperial civil service examination, however, the questions focused on basic knowledge rather than obscure scholarship.

After giving them a quick glance, Tingyun didn’t find them particularly difficult.

The second section consisted of several mathematics problems.

These looked considerably more challenging and would likely take time.

The third section was an essay question: Confucius said: “To study and repeatedly practice what one has learned, is this not a joy?” Explain the meaning of this saying.

The total examination time was an hour and a half.

After reading through the entire paper, Tingyun quietly began organizing her thoughts on how she would answer the essay question.

At the same time, she calmly turned back to the beginning, wrote her name neatly on the draft paper, picked up her brush, and started answering the general knowledge questions there.

In truth, because she’d been rushing to prepare over the past several months, she had focused only on the most important material.

Her weakest area remained precisely these foundational subjects and general knowledge.

So she worked through each question carefully.

She didn’t know every answer. Some required considerable thought. Still, it was also an opportunity to understand exactly where her own weaknesses lay.

Fortunately, the questions were indeed fairly basic.

She answered the majority of them smoothly.

By the time she finished and reviewed her work, she’d managed to provide an answer for every question.

Of those, about seventy to eighty percent were answers she felt confident about.

The remainder were educated guesses.

At least that was better than leaving blanks.

She felt fairly satisfied.

After all, she understood her own circumstances perfectly well.

There was no way she could compare herself with daughters of noble families who had received systematic education since childhood.

To perform at this level was already beyond her own expectations.

Next, she turned to the mathematics section.

Then…

The very first problem stopped her cold.

The first mathematics problem read:

A woman was washing bowls by the river. The ferry official asked her, “Why do you have so many bowls?”

She replied, “We have guests at home.”

The official asked, “How many guests?”

The woman answered, “Two people share one rice bowl, three people share one soup bowl, four people share one meat bowl. Altogether there are sixty-five bowls. How many guests are there?”

Here, “cups” actually referred to bowls.

“Two people share one rice bowl” meant exactly that, two people ate rice from a single bowl, and similarly for the soup and meat bowls.

…

Just looking at the string of numbers gave Zhen Tingyun a headache.

She pulled out a sheet of draft paper and began drawing circles.

One circle represented a rice bowl, with the number “2” inside it to indicate two people sharing one bowl.

Another circle represented a soup bowl, with a “3” inside.

A third represented a meat bowl, marked with a “4.”

Finally, she drew one large circle enclosing all three smaller circles and wrote 65 beside it to indicate the total number of bowls.

At least now the problem made sense.

She understood what it was asking.

But…

How was she supposed to calculate it?

Her head began to ache again.

Her mathematical foundation simply wasn’t very strong.

Looking at the problem, she couldn’t help panicking a little.

This is only the first question. If I can’t solve even this one, the questions afterward are bound to be even harder… What am I going to do?

Fortunately, she quickly steadied herself.

The numbers weren’t actually that large.

Even if she couldn’t think of a clever method, she could always use the simplest, most straightforward approach.

Suppose there were twelve people.

Then they would use six rice bowls, four soup bowls, and three meat bowls.

Six plus four plus three…

That made thirteen bowls.

If thirteen bowls corresponded to one “set,” then sixty-five bowls could be divided into five such sets.

Each set represented twelve people.

Five sets therefore meant…

Sixty people.

After arriving at the answer, Tingyun let out a long sigh of relief.

She wasn’t completely certain it was correct, but at least she had reached a reasonable solution.

Continuing to the next problems, she gradually relaxed.

Actually… As long as I don’t panic and work through them slowly, they’re not that difficult after all.

Sure enough, she quickly figured out the methods for the next two mathematics problems and solved them as well.

To her surprise, the mathematics section was even easier than she had expected. Before long, she had finished every arithmetic question and turned her attention to the final essay.

At first glance, the essay topic seemed simple.

It asked candidates to explain a famous saying of Confucius: “The Master said: To study and regularly practice what one has learned, is this not a joy?”

The quotation came from the Analects.

Anyone who had received even a basic education would recognize it. It was one of the most famous lines in Chinese history. At first glance, it almost looked like a free point. But anyone who thought about it carefully would realize the question was far more profound.

The phrase “practice it regularly” had several accepted interpretations.

The most widely accepted explanation, found in the standard Collected Commentaries on the Four Books, interpreted it as: After learning something, one reviews it repeatedly over time. As one’s understanding deepens, genuine delight naturally arises, and one’s progress becomes unstoppable.

In other words, it emphasized frequent review.

Another school of interpretation understood it differently. It argued that “practice it regularly” meant: To put what one has learned into practice at the proper time.

In other words: After learning something, being able to apply it appropriately, isn’t that a source of joy?

There were even more obscure interpretations besides these.

Those, however, were beyond Zhen Tingyun’s knowledge.

Perhaps some exceptionally well-read daughters of noble families would deliberately choose one of those rarer interpretations, offering a novel explanation that would distinguish their essays from everyone else’s.

Clearly, the purpose of the question was to select one interpretation and explore it in depth.

As long as one’s reasoning remained internally consistent, the essay would likely pass.

To earn high marks, however, one also needed elegant writing that appealed to the examiner. Because she herself had begun studying relatively late, Zhen Tingyun cared deeply about methods of learning.

Without hesitation, she chose the second interpretation,  that true joy lay in applying what one had learned.

Drawing upon her own experiences, she wrote about the importance of effective learning methods.

Once her thoughts began flowing, her brush moved almost effortlessly.

Character after character filled more than half a page of draft paper.

When she finally stopped writing, she returned to the beginning and carefully reread every sentence.

She weighed every word,adjusted sentence structures, replaced ordinary expressions with more refined ones, ensured the writing was elegant, coherent, and substantial. By the time she had finished revising the essay on the draft paper, less than half an hour remained.

That meant she now had to copy all of her answers neatly onto the official examination paper.

Since the calligraphy itself counted toward the final score, every character had to be written with extreme care. Neither the handwriting nor the page layout could contain mistakes.

Taking a deep breath, Tingyun dipped her brush into the ink once more.

Only then did she discover… the ink in the stone inkstone had nearly dried up. There wasn’t enough left to finish copying the paper.

She had no choice but to put down her brush and begin grinding ink again.

Although she was painfully aware of how little time remained, she also knew this wasn’t something that could be rushed.

The more anxious she became, the more likely she was to make mistakes. Suppressing her growing panic, she forced herself to calm down.

Only after judging that she had ground enough ink did she dip her brush once again and begin copying her answers.

She carefully copied everything from beginning to end.

As she wrote, she also gave each answer one final review.

Whenever she encountered a point she felt uncertain about, she paused briefly to reconsider her wording before continuing.

By the time she had finished copying the entire examination paper, less than a quarter of an hour remained.

She picked up the completed paper and began reading through it. At this point, even if she noticed mistakes, she could hardly make major revisions. Changing too much might ruin the appearance of the calligraphy.

She was simply reviewing it for peace of mind.

Before she had finished rereading the essay, a loud bell rang outside.

After the bell ceased, the supervising instructor seated at the front gave a light cough. “The time is up. Put down your brushes.”

There were only three candidates in the room besides the instructor.

The room had already been exceedingly quiet.

Now, as everyone obeyed, the faint sounds of brushes being laid down could be heard clearly, along with the soft rustling of papers.

Soon afterward, the instructor rose from her seat and collected the three examination papers one by one.

As she did so, she announced, “The morning examination has concluded. You may now go to the academy dining hall for lunch. After the meal, you’ll have about half an hour to rest. When the first bell sounds this afternoon, return to the classroom. I’ll then take the three of you to the afternoon examinations.”

As they spoke, the female instructor gathered up the three exam papers along with the three sheets of scratch work. Then she looked around at the students and asked with a smile, “Is everything clear?”

Zhen Tingyun rose together with the other two young women and bowed respectfully to the instructor. “Yes, we understand.”

Only then did the instructor nod in satisfaction before carrying her papers out of the room.

Watching her disappear from sight, Zhen Tingyun finally let out a sigh of relief. She turned to the other two examinees and introduced herself warmly. “My surname is Zhen, given name Tingyun. May I ask how I should address you two?”

The tall girl in the deep purple jacket remained silent. Instead, she merely raised her elegant brows slightly and swept Zhen Tingyun with a cool, indifferent glance.

Zhen Tingyun found the reaction baffling and was about to speak when the girl gave a soft snort and strode out without another word.

The girl in the crimson dress, however, smiled at Zhen Tingyun and introduced herself first. “My surname is Yang, Yang Qionghua. Qionghua as in the verse: ‘None may compare with Qionghua; she stands beside the jade tree.'”

As she spoke, she glanced toward the other girl, who had already reached the doorway, then lowered her voice. “As for the young lady in purple, you’ve probably heard of her. When people in the capital talk about gifted women, they often quote the line: ‘Admire Green Bamboo, behold Qionghua; leaning on the railing, watching countless springs and autumn moons.’ The ‘Green Bamboo’ refers to Zhou Qingjun.”

The name Qingjun literally meant “green bamboo,” and Zhou Qingjun indeed possessed bamboo’s proud, unyielding spirit.

“Then the ‘Qionghua’ must refer to you, Miss Yang?” Zhen Tingyun asked with a smile.

Yang Qionghua nodded modestly, showing no trace of vanity.

Curious, Zhen Tingyun asked, “I’ve only recently arrived in the capital and wasn’t aware of this saying. Just who are the people mentioned in ‘Admire Green Bamboo, behold Qionghua; leaning on the railing, watching countless springs and autumn moons’?”

Yang Qionghua thought for a moment before explaining. “It was something people outside made up for fun. There’s no official ranking, just a phrase people like to joke about. If you’re asking who they are, they would be Zhen Yiyun, Lin Chunqiu, Zhou Qingjun, and myself.”

She paused, then suddenly blinked at Zhen Tingyun. “Your name sounds rather similar to Zhen Yiyun’s.”

Zhen Tingyun hadn’t expected that her elder sister, who had only come to the capital last year, had already earned such a reputation. She answered honestly, “She is indeed my elder sister.”

Yang Qionghua looked as though she’d already guessed as much. Smiling, she teased,

“In that case, why didn’t you enroll at Yuhua Women’s Academy?” After all, Yuhua Women’s Academy was every bit as prestigious as the Capital Women’s Academy. Since Zhen Yiyun was already studying there, it would have been natural for her younger sister to attend the same school so the two sisters could look after one another. That was how most people of the time would have thought.

Without changing expression, Zhen Tingyun simply replied, “It’s… a long story.”

Which was another way of saying she didn’t wish to discuss it.

Yang Qionghua had earned the title of talented lady for good reason. She was perceptive enough to immediately understand.

There had to be an interesting story behind this, and it was probably connected to Zhen Yiyun.

Thinking of that, Yang Qionghua couldn’t help covering her lips with one hand as she blinked playfully at Zhen Tingyun.