History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 62 Spring Joint Examination

In the state prison where serious criminals were held, it was impossible to distinguish between day and night, or even what day or time it was. The ghostly cries for death, the blood-soaked pleas for justice, and the maniacal laughter, whether real or feigned, filled the place with terror, leaving no place to hide.

The prefect arrived at the prison early in the morning because the prison clerk discovered something unusual while examining a corpse.

"The corpse's eyes remained open after death, battered by rain. His body bore only old wounds, and the calluses on his hands indicated he was an archer in life. I noticed his lips were off, which is why I cut open his heart, and then I discovered… Governor, please look…"

Governor Yuan: "Ang. His heart is flat."

Prison clerk: What flat?! Whose heart is flat?

"Haha." Governor Yuan suddenly laughed twice, startling his subordinates who were still half asleep despite getting up so early.

"I was lost in thought just now." Governor Yuan straightened his expression and ordered, "Investigate this man's identity before his death, who he associated with, and whether he ever fought against the Rouran with the army. By the way, are those people involved in the Bingfang case still imprisoned?"

The clerk replied, "Yes, it is in this very prison."

"Let those people identify whether Bingfang has seen this person before."

Prison clerk: "That murderer..."

The registrar glared at the minor official and said, "You're only in charge of examining the dead. If you reach out and touch someone else, I'll chop you up!"

The Prefect Yuan came and went in a hurry; his disappointing nephew was taking the quarterly exam today, and he had to go see him. The Registrar chased after his superior, asking questions the other subordinates dared not: "Does the Prefect know who killed this archer? Even if the victim deserved to die, the murderer shouldn't be allowed to go unpunished. The method of murder was so bizarre; investigating without arresting is acceptable, but at least a warning should be given..."

“It’s all ancient history, you don’t know it.” Governor Yuan continued walking briskly, “The murderer was a woman from the Lan tribe, without a surname or given name. From a young age, she was called and ordered around by the tribe as ‘a woman.’ She was born with superhuman strength and was chosen to fight against the Rouran. After she made meritorious contributions, she was summoned by His Majesty to the Mingtang Hall and then summoned to the Huangxin Hall in the palace!”

The registrar broke out in a cold sweat, exclaiming, "So she's a female warrior. And then?"

"How would I know! I happened to be there when she came out of the Imperial Hall. I jokingly said I could marry her, and alas—she slapped me across the face. Haha, just kidding. Later I heard that she didn't want an official position and wanted to be an ordinary citizen to get married and have children. She promised His Majesty that she would not use her divine power recklessly in the future. If she were to kill someone, it would surely be a Rouran or a traitorous villain!"

The horse's hooves kicked up dirt from the clerk's half-shirt, and the Yuan governor, accompanied only by two personal guards, rushed to Cui's school in the west city.

As the rising sun shone brightly across the land, at 5:15 AM, the students at the Wei Academy, who were waiting for the grand examination on the Book of Songs, were informed that the examination would begin at 7:00 AM.

Upon hearing this, Wei Jing lay down again and told Wei Mao to wake him up after 5:30 AM.

Wei Mao peered across several desks at Wei Yao, observing what she was doing. She was reciting poetry at an incredibly fast pace, so fast that Qu Rong, standing beside her, couldn't hear her clearly. Wei Yao didn't usually recite poetry like this. Poetry should emphasize rhyme and tone, and the main point shouldn't be to focus on memorization.

However, rapid and continuous memorization before the exam can put her in a particularly energized state.

Seated to Qu Rong's right were all students from the Bu Family Academy, all reciting in hushed tones. The combined volume of their voices was a constant buzzing, which kept Qu Rong distracted. He first smiled slightly at Bu Yanzhen, who was sitting next to him, and then asked in a slightly displeased tone, "Could you please keep your voices down?"

Bu Yanzhen bowed in agreement, and then relayed the message to each of his fellow disciples.

Qu Rong was very satisfied. He straightened his clothes, realizing how much a prestigious academy could crush an ordinary school.

Wei Zhen leaned forward and backward, glancing to her right. Ah, if only she could sit in Qu Rong's chair. Yesterday, she and Bu Yanzhen exchanged names, and his ears were still red when they said goodbye. Wei Zhen hid her face behind her book, grinning foolishly. After she'd had her fill of laughter, she focused on her final review.

At half past dawn, the servants began distributing to each student a thin bamboo slip, a roll of bound plain bamboo slips, and a roll of paper one foot long.

Discord arose in the exam hall: "Do we answer questions on these three things? What kind of question would use only a thin, simple pen? How many words can we write with that?"
At three quarters of an hour to Chenshi (7-9 AM), Wei Mao woke A Jing. Just two quarters of an hour later, Prefect Yuan appeared in the examination hall of Cui Academy, his single eye scanning the room until he spotted his nephew. Prefect Yuan held his right hand to his chin, his thumb and forefinger making a clasping motion, reminding his nephew to concentrate on the exam and stop grinning like an idiot! His mouth was practically longer than the desk itself!
One more moment!
When the examiners from the Imperial Academy arrived, they were followed by dozens of senior students from the Imperial University, all of whom were there to serve as examiners.

Wei Yao saw that her father had also come, but his proctoring position was in the third dormitory of the Book of Poetry. Qu Rong saw Wei Yao's happy look, curled his lips in disdain, and humphed, "Master Wei must be no good at teaching, otherwise why is it always Master Xue who proctors the first dormitory?"

Master Xue stopped. This time, besides the annoying Wei Daozi and his senior brother Xue Nixia, there was another senior brother surnamed Wei, Wei Shanseng.

"Everyone stand up and put everything that gets in your way under the desk. Only leave the writing brush, inkstone, answer sheet, and bamboo slips on the desk."

At the same time, the rules were announced in each examination area, and students near and far all stood up in a daze, like tender bamboo shoots after the rain. Only Wei Yao understood what the test was about.

Sure enough, Master Xue looked around and, after confirming that all the students had done as he instructed, he continued, "Now I will tell you the rules for the morning examination. The main test will be your basic writing skills when holding the paper and the bamboo slips, including penmanship and writing speed."

"First test one slip of paper, then test one scroll of slips of paper, and finally test one scroll of paper."

"That's all the rules. Now, anyone who has a question, please raise your hand and ask."

Wei Mao: "Are there any requirements regarding the posture when holding the bamboo slip?"

Master Xue said, “When you are taking the exam, your senior brothers will stand in a triangular formation so that each student can see the three of them demonstrating how to hold the bamboo slips. Those who do not follow this rule will be warned or expelled from the exam room, depending on the severity of their violation.”

Wu Ji: "But we have desks, why can't we lie on them to write?"

Master Xue: "Won't you go to the battlefield in the future? Won't you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation? Can you guarantee that servants will always be there to carry your desks for you to write on and deliver messages?"

Wu Ji muttered, "Then I'll just lie on the ground and write it."

Master Xue pretended not to hear: "Is there anyone else who wants to ask?"

"Ah—" Wei Jing couldn't help but yawn.

Wei Daozi quickly lowered his face and tried hard to suppress his laughter.

Qu Rong mustered his courage and raised his hand. This was his first attempt at not feeling inferior. Although his question was optional, he had to ask it like the other students, and his voice could not be timid: "The Master said that we should first test one slip of paper. So, will the first round of tests be over in a short while?"

Master Xue: "We will know by Chen Shi (7-9 AM). Do any of the students at Bu's Academy have any questions?"

Bu Yanzhen asked on behalf of his fellow disciples, "How much time is allotted for each round of quizzes?"

Master Xue said: "The time allotted for answering questions on a single bamboo slip is two quarters of an hour. Then the second round of tests will begin immediately. The time allotted for answering questions on a scroll of bamboo slip is half an hour. Again, there will be no rest. The third round of tests will begin, and the test will end at half past 11:00 AM."

The sound of a chime rang out.

It's Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Yuan Zhi, the prefect of Hengzhou, was shot in the eye by an arrow while saving Emperor Xiaowen (the current emperor in the novel) before he went to Hengzhou to act as the prefect.

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(End of this chapter)