Top Scholar

Chapter 273 The Grandmaster's Case

Lin Zhihong and the others had only been home for about ten days when they received a notice from the county that the Grand Master had issued an "inspection notice for schools" and that the provincial examination would be held on May 20th. All students who had passed the provincial examination were ordered to report to the provincial government office before May 15th; those who were late would not be accepted.

Everyone was stunned. Why was the provincial examination so early this year? If they had known, they would have stayed in Luzhou and not come back.

They had no choice but to set off hastily. Moreover, it was already May, and the Chishui River was closed to navigation, so they could only travel by land to Luzhou... the same road that Su Lu and his friends had taken when they went to see Su Man.

Fortunately, Commander Ma specially dispatched a cavalry team to escort them all the way to Luzhou, so they didn't encounter any danger, although they were inevitably tired.

The group arrived in Luzhou on May 14th. They quickly reported to the prefectural government and rested at the county office for two days before May 17th.

Early that morning, nearly a thousand students from the Luzhou County School, all five hundred students preparing for the academy examinations, and even two hundred martial arts students from the Luzhou Martial Arts Academy gathered at Guanyizui Wharf to respectfully welcome the Grandmaster, led by Prefect Jia and others.

At Chenshi (7-9 AM), a two-masted, 400-ton official ship, escorted by several fast naval vessels, slowly sailed to the official ship dock.

The band played the Phoenix-Attracting Tune, and the dancers performed the Six-Row Dance. The civil dancers held feathered banners, while the military dancers held shields and axes, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

When the Grandmaster, dressed in a scarlet robe and exuding a refined and scholarly air, slowly descended the gangway, nearly two thousand students bowed and greeted him in unison, saying, "We students respectfully welcome the Grandmaster!"

Prefect Jia and others also bowed and paid their respects.

The Grand Master returned the greeting with clasped hands. Logically, at this point, he should first exchange pleasantries with the local officials, and then Prefect Jia should address the students, asking the Grand Master to give a speech.

However, Xiao Tixue deliberately ignored Jia Zhizhou first and addressed the crowd directly: "Gentlemen, please excuse the formalities. I have been ordered by the Imperial Academy to supervise education. Today, I am here in Luzhou to conduct the first examination for young students, the second examination for Confucian students, and the third examination for military students. You will be tested in turn, and you must give it your all. You must not cheat or falsify anything. Otherwise, I will punish you severely!"

"Yes, sir!" the crowd responded in unison.

"Grandmaster, you must be tired from your journey. I have prepared a small feast to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey." Prefect Jia then said, "I hope you will do me the honor of joining me, Grandmaster."

"No need," the Grandmaster said without giving any face. "According to regulations, when the Provincial Education Commissioner goes on tour and passes through a region, officials, teachers and students are not allowed to go outside the city to greet or see him off, accept banquets, exchange gifts privately, or meet him except on official business."

"..." Prefect Jia's face flushed; he had never been so bluntly criticized before. However, he only wanted to do his job well to the end and wouldn't hold a grudge against the Provincial Education Commissioner, so he smiled and said, "Alright, alright, whatever the Grandmaster says, then please invite the Grandmaster to grace the academy with his presence."

"Yes." Xiao Tixue nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

He then sat in a large blue sedan chair carried by four men, and a group of attendants also boarded the chair separately. Guided by signs that read "Silence" and "Avoidance," they proceeded in a grand procession to the academy.

The streets along the way had been cleared in advance, with officials and constables stationed every three or five steps to prevent anyone from stopping the sedan chair and throwing letters... Although ordinary people knew that this would only anger the Grandmaster, there were always some bookish scholars who thought they were just unappreciated talents and only needed a chance to be seen.

So if you're not careful, someone will rush up to the Grandmaster's procession, holding up their essay and asking for an interview.

Unfortunately, he never got to see the Grandmaster before the officials gagged him and dragged him away...

When Xiao Tixue saw this scene from inside the sedan chair, he couldn't help but sigh.

~~
The Grand Master and his entourage first paid homage to the Sage Confucius at the Confucian Temple, and then entered the academy. For the next ten days, he would stay at the academy, presiding over the provincial examinations and the annual civil and military examinations.

As was customary, Prefect Jia served as the supervisor, leading all his officials to ensure the smooth conduct of the examinations.

After getting out of the sedan chair, Xiao Tixue did not take a break and immediately began to inspect the examination venue.

According to regulations, the examination hall for the provincial examinations must be high and thick-walled, surrounded by thorns, and capable of accommodating a thousand examinees. No waterways, crevices, or false walls or open spaces are permitted. The offices of clerks must not be near kitchens or toilets, nor near alleys or markets. The offices for official documents, such as those for paperwork and cleaning, must be separated from the outer rooms by walls, each equipped with a stove, washing utensils, and all necessary office and living supplies.

As a provincial-level examination that would confer official titles, the prefectural examination was far more serious than the state or county examinations, and its rigor was almost on par with the provincial examination...

Of course, rules are rules, and implementation is implementation. Most of the time, grandmasters only require things to be passable; only the meticulous provincial education commissioner will scrutinize every little detail… like Commissioner Xiao.

He went through the examination rules line by line, checking each one against the regulations, and immediately demanded rectification of any discrepancies.

"Each area has its own gate, each gate has a different key, each key has a different tag, all stored in a box, to be opened and closed at designated times... This is unacceptable!"

"The examination table used by the young scholar should be two feet apart in all directions, with a ruler and a clean container placed on it. There should be long bamboo woven under the table to prevent it from moving. The seat number should be affixed to the table... This is unacceptable!"

"Make seat number tags, one for each side, in two tubes. Also prepare a register, ensuring the register matches the tag number, and the tag matches the case number... Anything not up to standard!" At first, Prefect Jia and the others patiently took notes, but later, listening to Inspector Xiao nitpicking and finding fault, the assistant officials all cast pleading glances at Prefect Jia...

"Grandmaster, please make an exception." Prefect Jia had no choice but to lean closer and say, "The prefecture's resources are limited. If we strictly adhere to the regulations, we simply cannot afford it, nor do we have the capacity..."

"So you can just do whatever you want?" This was exactly what Xiao Tixue was waiting for. He put his hands behind his back and sneered, "So you can ignore the court's regulations and do whatever you want, admitting whomever you want?"

"Yes, yes, definitely not..." Prefect Jia knew this would happen, and let the Grandmaster slap him in the face in public to vent his anger.

"You may have had your fun, but the laws of the court and the authority of the examinations have been completely ruined!" The Grand Master said with great sorrow, "The reason why this academy came to Luzhou ahead of schedule is to strictly supervise the examinations and grade the papers, to safeguard the academy examinations, and to restore the authority of the imperial examinations!"

He said, enunciating each word clearly, "So I'm sorry everyone, consider this a lesson learned!"

"Sigh..." The officials and clerks turned pale. Well, so they came here on purpose to cause trouble. But we didn't appoint Su, the top scholar. There's a cause for every grievance, why are you targeting Prefect Jia? Why are you making trouble for us?
"Grandmaster, please calm down," Prefect Jia, finally provoked by Supervisor Xiao, retorted with a half-smile, "But please enlighten me, Grandmaster, which unworthy person did I recruit that has angered you so much?"

"It's already caused quite a stir in Luzhou, there's no need to be so explicit." Seeing that Prefect Jia not only didn't back down but was also sticking his neck out to challenge him, Supervisor Xiao frowned and took a small step back, saying, "If I really make it clear to you, then we can only proceed according to the imperial laws!"

"I'll do it!" Prefect Jia retorted angrily, refusing to back down. "I've selected officials for the country, and my conscience is clear. How can I suffer this injustice?!"

With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Bring the list of candidates for the imperial examinations and their examination papers from the prefecture and county examinations. The prefecture will invite the Grand Master to examine them on the spot. If there is any injustice, I will resign on the spot!"

"Yes!" The official in charge was about to leave.

"Wait!" Xiao Tixue interrupted, "According to regulations, our academy should only retrieve the examination papers from the prefectural and county examinations for comparison after the academy's examination papers have been graded and the rankings determined. Viewing the earlier papers in advance would be biased and would undermine fairness!"

"How can a Grandmaster know whether I have abused my power or shown favoritism if I haven't read the previous volumes?!" Magistrate Jia said in a muffled voice.

"..." Xiao Tixue was stifled, but he really couldn't afford to go against Prefect Jia, otherwise who would organize the provincial examination?
He had no choice but to become even more restrained and said, "This court did not say that the prefect was biased or unfair, but we received a report and must investigate it."

"What kind of filthy-hearted person dares to slander me?!" Prefect Jia then took the opportunity to back down, saying with great remorse, "I made the top candidate's article public immediately, which quelled the doubts. Later, during the interviews, I showed the original draft to all the outstanding candidates, and everyone who saw it was convinced and apologized to the top candidate on the spot."

As he spoke, he pleaded again, "Grandmaster, just bringing the original scroll for a reading is worth more than a thousand words!"

"..." Seeing that Prefect Jia's words were intense and he didn't seem guilty, Xiao Tixue glanced at Assistant Prefect Lü and the others.

"Reporting to the Grandmaster, we were all present that day and saw the draft with our own eyes. We were all moved to tears and wanted to resign with the Prefect and go home to serve our parents!"

"Yes, it's truly heartbreaking to see, leaving everyone filled with remorse!" At this moment, Prefect Lü, unaware that Prefect Jia already had someone he loved, continued to try his best to impress him.
"That article is deeply etched in my mind. I will now read it to the Grandmaster..."

"Absolutely not!" The Grandmaster refused to listen and raised his hand, saying, "Our academy will not touch any candidate's writings before the academy examination. This time, I will select candidates with absolute fairness."

“Alas, yes…” Lu Tongzhi had no choice but to stop talking.

Prefect Jia realized that the Provincial Education Commissioner was a stubborn fool—he assumed everyone was engaging in corruption and bribery, so he didn't believe anyone's words and only believed what he saw with his own eyes.

But he set his expectations too high, and the procedures absolutely could not be violated, so it was impossible to 'see it with one's own eyes'. Therefore, he had to proceed with the academy examination carrying this distrust...

~~
Prefect Jia's outburst wasn't entirely without effect; at least the subsequent inspections weren't as rigorous.

After it was all over, Xiao Tixue didn't even bother with a sip of water before issuing an order to leave.

Prefect Jia and his entourage had no choice but to leave the academy with dozens of rectification requirements, cursing and swearing.

As the academy gates slowly closed, Prefect Jia spat, "Using a chicken feather as an imperial edict!"

“You’ve been wronged, sir,” Feng Muyou comforted him. “These Hanlin officials are ignorant of the ways of the world. They’re all like this. Once they’ve served as officials close to the people for a few years, they’ll realize how ridiculous they are today.”

"You don't need to comfort me. He's about to leave anyway, what's a few words from him?" Prefect Jia waved his hand, somewhat apologetically, "It's just that Hongzhi has suffered a lot. That Xiao fellow will definitely make things difficult for him... You should tell him that he must be extremely careful in this imperial examination."

"Yes," Feng Muyou said softly.

(End of this chapter)