History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 37 Is this an exam or a torture test?
Cui Zhi: "The question format will change from now on. I will continuously read the first line of the poem, and you will write the second line. The time for writing each line is limited, and it is very likely that you will not have finished writing the previous question by the time I read the reminder 'next question.' At this point, you need to decide whether to give up on the previous question or the next one. I will terminate the test at any time depending on the situation. The person who answers the most questions correctly will be the winner of the poetry contest. If anyone has any questions about the question format, feel free to ask now. There are no questions. Let's begin immediately."

He unfolded the silk scroll that had been placed in front of him. Within a small area were short verses written beforehand. It stretched outwards from a length of about one foot, unfolding, unfolding, unfolding, unfolding, unfolding...

Wait, wait, wait… With each unfolding of the silk scroll, the examinees and spectators were increasingly astonished, some even silently stammering, “Wait.” What does this mean? Cui Shiwu is too ruthless! Is he planning to read out so many questions until dark?
What surprised Wei Yao was something else entirely: the way Cui Zhi was going to test her was already resembling the "test all" model. She couldn't help but suspect that Cui Zhi had also guessed that the joint entrance exam questions Yuan Heng had secretly seen were not fake, and that the other party had figured out this testing method based on his speculation.

If that's the case, then Senior Brother Cui Zhi is truly brilliant!
The test was very simple, and no one raised their hand to express any objection.

Cui Zhixian made a gesture, and Wei Yao and the other three picked up their pens to prepare.

"The first question is about my personal life being tainted by trivial matters."

Wei Yao and Xi Jiao quickly wrote: "I lightly wash my clothes."

Looking at the other two, their confused expressions were exactly the same. "My private affairs are shrouded in filth, my private affairs are shrouded in filth..." Which poem is that from? "Fine filth..." I remember now, from the poem "Ge Tan"!

The first question had already dampened Yuan Zizhi's pre-exam high spirits.

Cui Zhi was very tolerant and waited until all four of them finished writing before reading aloud: "The next question is to appeal to the great nation."

Wei Yao immediately wrote: "Who caused whom to the extreme?"

Xi Jiao's pen hovered over the paper for two breaths before he wrote "Who caused whom to the extreme?" How could this be? This was "Zai Chi," a text he had only recently studied! He knew it by heart, so why did he have to search his memory for it?

He hesitated, and Changsun Wuzhuo and Yuan Zizhi felt even more troubled.

Among those who were eliminated earlier for studying the Book of Songs, Wei Mao was the first to realize that the question came from "Zai Chi," followed by Lu Baozhen. However, just as she figured out the answer, Cui Zhi read out the third question.

"I am deeply worried about the next question." This time, there was no pause between the reminder and the poem that presented the question.

Having long been accustomed to the "test all" mode, Wei Yao immediately put herself into a perfectly tense state. In this state, she could concentrate all her attention to hear clearly which sentence was being tested, and then quickly retrieve the memory, bypassing the entire poem and directly taking the required sentence.

So as soon as Cui Zhi uttered the second "Yin," she already knew the next line: "finally impoverished and destitute."

The three opponents were truly "worried." Xi Jiao, who was confident that he had memorized all the poems, thought for a couple more breaths before coming up with the answer. He could only shorten the time spent writing. His concern was correct. He had just finished writing the character "poor" when the next question appeared.

"The next question is about a plain silk ribbon."

Changsun Wuzhuo's heart skipped a beat, because he had only written half of the character "窭" in the previous answer. What should he do?

Yuan Zizhi was the most unfortunate. He had just figured out the answer to the previous question, but then he had to cut his losses and abandon the "pure silk prayer," otherwise he would be wasting his time on both ends.

"素丝祝之" comes from the poem "干旄", which has three stanzas and ends with a repeated phrase...素丝纰之,素丝组之,素丝祝之, corresponding to the fourth, fifth, and sixth lines of the poem about fine horses, respectively. Schoolchildren usually like to memorize poems with repeated phrases because they are easy to recite and memorize. However, the premise is that they should start memorizing from the beginning of the poem, rather than being forced to memorize a particular line and then eliminating the rest of the repeated phrases in a short time.

Without a moment's hesitation, Wei Yao wrote down the correct answer: "Six fine horses."

"The next question comes from the East."

This is from the poem "Sun and Moon". Xi Jiao was just thinking about what the next line was when he suddenly suspected that he had written the previous question wrong. He had indeed written it wrong, writing "five fine horses".

While he was revising, Wei Yao concentrated intently and accurately wrote the next line after "coming from the East," which was "such a person."

"The next question will follow."

Xi Jiao had no choice but to abandon the previous statement "originating from the East", but what about "later also?"
Where will it be after that? Wei Yao blinked, this was the first time she had thought about it, and then she wrote: Jiang Youtuo.

This line comes from the poem "Jiang You Si," which has three stanzas. "Qi Hou Ye Chu" is the end of the second stanza, so the next line naturally connects to the beginning of the third stanza, "Jiang You Tuo." "The next question is, why hasten my imprisonment?"

Having no other option, Xi Jiao gave up on the previous question again.

"The essence of the next question lies in the imagery."

"The next question will not trouble the magistrate."

Is this an exam or a test? Changsun Wuzhuo was so exasperated by Cui Shiwu that he threw down his pen, left his seat, and refused to answer! He was sweating profusely from his anxiety.

Yuan Zizhi also failed to write down answers to several questions in a row. His stubbornness kicked in, and he refused to believe that he wouldn't be able to answer the next question!
As soon as Changsun Wuzhuo stepped out from behind the screen, the next question was read aloud. He rolled his eyes and complained to Zhou Tai in a low voice, "Have you ever seen this kind of exam? It's more frustrating than chasing a dog."

Zhou Tai suppressed a laugh, knowing that it was rare for a partner to be truly angry, to the point of speaking recklessly.

Hai Yeren nudged Zhou Tai and mouthed a reminder: "The Analects test is coming up soon."

Zhou Tai's smile froze.

Cui Zhi continued to speak faster as he posed the question: "The next question is about the king's affairs, which suits me."

"Strive to solve the next problem."

"Next, I will write about Jingshan and Beijing."

"Next question..."

Yuan Zizhi was on the verge of tears. He decided not to argue anymore. If he encountered this kind of exam again, he would definitely not argue, otherwise he would start to doubt his own stupidity. Passing by Yuan Heng, who was drowsy on the stretcher, Yuan Zizhi found a place to vent his anger and punched the other man's buttocks hard.

"Eek—" Yuan Heng had just made a sound when Hu Yi'ao, with his messy hair, covered his mouth.

"The next question is quite easy."

Next question...

Next question...

Xi Jiao finally couldn't hold on any longer. This kind of test not only tested his ability to recite poems and recognize characters, but also his psychology. When he encountered a question he didn't know, he couldn't just give up. Every time he planned to focus on the next question, he would still get stuck on the questions he hadn't answered before, which made his writing more and more messy and his mind more and more chaotic.

"I concede." He threw down his pen. "I want to see Wei Tongmen's answer sheet."

Lu Baozhen immediately said, "I want to see it too." From now on, every step must be taken seriously; she must be vigilant against any unscrupulous individuals who might destroy the exam papers.

Wei Yao was equally cautious, only stepping back after Lu Baozhen came over. The space wasn't big, and she and Xi Jiao's arms brushed lightly together. The fluttering heart from her past life rose densely to her cheeks from where they brushed. How annoying! Her face must be red again!
Xi Jiao was watching this moment, blushing furiously: Why is she blushing again?! If you really like me, why didn't you pretend to be stupid and let me win during the poetry contest?
There weren't many questions in total, and the grading was completed quickly. Wei Yao didn't miss a single question or make a single mistake. In the Book of Poetry competition, she once again deservedly won.

Wang Ji, one of the four students from the same school, set the questions. He first kindly asked Wei Yao, "Young lady, you've taken two exams in a row. Would you like to take a break?"

"I can continue taking the test."

Zhou Tai took a deep breath; he actually needed to urinate. After sitting down in his exam seat, he nodded to Wang Ji.

Hurry up and take the exam; he needs to use the restroom afterward.

(End of this chapter)