Chapter 109: Palace Examination

…

After chatting idly for a while and sharing another meal of boiled mutton, Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, Ma Ma Xiao Jiao, and Yuan Qingcheng each took their leave.

After the four women left, Zhang Chun picked up a book and began reading again.

Zhang Chun was very eager to take first place in this Palace Examination, but not only because winning would mean she could have a son belonging to her and Zhao Yu; it was also because winning would prove that her knowledge, learning, and ability truly surpassed those of Zhao Yu's other women; it symbolized that her efforts and talent had been recognized.

In her early years, Zhang Chun had seen the examination paper of a zhuangyuan named Zhao seriously ill; the entire text was over two thousand four hundred characters, and not a single correction could be found—the handwriting was indistinguishable from print.

Even if an ordinary person were to copy it, they absolutely could not achieve such an effect.

Therefore, the path of the imperial examination is extremely difficult.

If one's luck is poor and one encounters a group of formidable opponents, the difficulty becomes hellish.

For example, the imperial examination of the second year of Jiayou in the Northern Song.

That session was called the "Thousand-Year Dragon-Tiger List."

That year, over four hundred thousand people applied, and fewer than four hundred were admitted in total.

And among these four hundred, three of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song were included—Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong; as well as the founders of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi; as well as the thinker Zhang Zai, who "established the mind for Heaven and Earth, established destiny for the living, inherited the lost teachings of past sages, and opened up peace for all future generations"; as well as Wang Shao, the "Three Wonders Vice Envoy," who was clearly a literatus yet made his name in history through military merit.

In addition, Zhang Dun, Ceng Bu, and Lu Huiqing were all from this same list.

And yet none of these historically extraordinary figures managed to place in the top three.

From this, one can see just how difficult the path of the imperial examination truly is.

If this were a real imperial examination, even Zhang Chun, as confident as she was, would absolutely not dare to try, because with her level of literary skill, becoming a jinshi would already be unlikely, let alone taking first place as zhuangyuan.

But having transmigrated to this era where one could take the imperial examination, as a scholar, not participating in an examination and not earning a respectable rank would always be a regret.

Yet what left Zhang Chun helpless was that, as a woman in this age of male superiority, she could never make up for that regret, even as a transmigrator.

So winning first place in the Palace Examination was the greatest comfort Zhang Chun could find.

…

On this day, after Zhao Yu had finished deliberating matters with a group of chancellors, just as Zhao Yu rose and prepared to return to the inner palace, Su Shi suddenly called out to stop him: "Your Majesty, wait."

Zhao Yu paused and asked, "Does my beloved minister have more to report?"

Seeing this, Zhang Dun and all the other chancellors stopped their departure, wanting to see what Su Shi had to say to Zhao Yu.

No one noticed Su Zhe, who smiled bitterly to himself, thinking, 'My dear elder brother, couldn't you wait until the others had left before returning alone to petition on this matter?'

"I have two extraordinary ladies of considerable literary talent under my tutelage. Having heard that Your Majesty's palace intends to hold a Palace Examination, they wish to witness it; if they could participate, that would be even better. May I ask whether Your Majesty would grant permission?" Su Shi stated his request directly.

Zhao Yu was startled! He had not expected that Su Shi had stopped him merely to ask for two slots in the Palace Examination.

In Zhao Yu's view, this so-called Palace Examination was nothing more than his empress giving the women in his palace something to do, so they wouldn't, out of idleness, channel all their energy into vying for favor and palace intrigue.

If that were the case, what Su Shi asked for was hardly a matter at all.

Without a second thought, Zhao Yu agreed: "Just have those two enter the palace on that day."

Ceng Bu reacted the fastest and immediately followed up, requesting: "My younger brother has a daughter who possesses the elegance of my wife in her youth. I beg Your Majesty to allow this girl to take the examination as well."

Ceng Bu's wife, Wei Wan (also known as Lady Wei), was a renowned female ci-poet of this period; if we stop here for now, her fame still surpassed Li Qingzhao's.

Historically, Zhu Xi once said in the *Zhuzi Yulei*: "Among the women of our dynasty capable of writing, there are only Li Yian and Lady Wei," which shows her standing in the literary world at this time.

When Ceng Bu said Wei Wan's niece possessed the elegance of Wei Wan in her youth, whether true or not, she should have some real ability.

Given this, there was no reason for Zhao Yu to allow Su Shi's disciples to participate in this Palace Examination while refusing to let Ceng Bu's niece participate.

Therefore, Zhao Yu agreed once more: "That is also acceptable."

Everyone here is a thousand-year-old fox—what's the point of playing at Liaozhai?

Su Shi and Ceng Bu were clearly using this opportunity to send women to Zhao Yu, hoping to cultivate a consort in the inner palace who would support their faction, just as the New Party had once cultivated Liu Qingjing.

Cai Jing followed closely behind: "My daughter has also studied poetry and prose for a few years; I ask that she be allowed to take the examination as well."

When it came to Cai Jing, the appearance grew even more unseemly—he openly recommended his own daughter without avoiding the appearance of favoritism.

Only at this point did Zhao Yu realize that they were not sending people to participate in the Palace Examination at all, but clearly taking the chance to stuff people into his inner palace.

Earlier, because he trusted Su Shi's character, and since Su Shi had raised the matter publicly and appeared to have no ulterior motive, Zhao Yu had not been on guard against him, allowing Su Shi to breach his defenses all too easily.

Then, taking advantage of the moment when Zhao Yu had not yet caught on, Ceng Bu slipped in as well.

As emperor, his word was his bond—Zhao Yu certainly could not go back on it.

But the problem was that accepting these few women meant the fires of factional strife could spread into his inner palace.

Even more troublesome, Cai Jing had spoken up again, and several other chancellors were also itching to act.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhao Yu, and he said: "The more the merrier. Each of you may send one person to try."

'Giving everyone a chance is the same as giving no one a chance. Still keeping things fair—I'm truly a genius.'

The chancellors could not fail to see through Zhao Yu's thoughts; yet some of them merely smiled faintly. Clearly, they had their own plans…

…

The day of the Palace Examination.

In the faint light of dawn, Li Qingzhao, accompanied by her maid Cuiyu, arrived at the imperial palace by carriage.

Along the way, Li Qingzhao's eyes were full of anticipation and confidence, and images of herself displaying her talents in the examination hall kept flashing through her mind.

At the same time, Cai Jing's only daughter Cai Xuan also sat in a small sedan chair, heading for the imperial palace. Her expression was haughty and equally full of confidence, prepared to take first place, bring glory to the Cai family, win over Zhao Yu, and become the Cai family's asset in the inner palace.

Wei Wan's niece Wei Zhi likewise sat in a small sedan chair, hurrying toward the imperial palace.

Wei Zhi's mind was filled with the words her uncle Ceng Bu had said to her before she departed: "Zhi'er, you must remember—in this Palace Examination, the ranking is not important. You must appear poised and graceful, dignified and elegant. You must absolutely leave a good impression on His Majesty. If you can make His Majesty look at you twice, you will be the great meritorious servant of our Ceng and Wei families…"

Arriving at the palace gate, Li Qingzhao saw Chao Min, who had arrived at the same time.

Chao Min was the only daughter of Chao Buzhi. From childhood she was steeped in her family's literary atmosphere and was skilled in poetry and ci. Her poetry and ci works had a fresh, natural style and sincere emotion. She also had quite a few works circulating among the literary circles of the time and had earned the praise of some literati. She and Li Qingzhao could be called the Twin Beauties of the Su School.

The two women Su Shi had previously intended to recommend from his tutelage were Li Qingzhao and Chao Min. The latter was specifically added later by Su Zhe, just as a precaution. After all, Li Qingzhao's appearance, among beauties, was of the rather ordinary sort. Chao Min was different—not only was she brimming with talent, she was also a true beauty.

Li Qingzhao and Chao Min were old acquaintances, and close friends.

The moment they met, both of them were overjoyed, and they said in unison: "How come you're here too?!"

Seeing the crowd around them, Chao Min pulled Li Qingzhao aside and sighed, "I really didn't expect you to enter the palace too!"

"Enter the palace for what?" Li Qingzhao couldn't quite make out what Chao Min was saying.

"You don't know?" Chao Min was equally astonished.

"Know what?" Li Qingzhao was completely baffled.

"My Yuanyou Party members are in dire straits now and need to draw strong support from within the palace, or the consequences will be unimaginable. That's why a woman must enter the palace to win His Majesty's favor, just like Empress Yuanfu did." Chao Min said.

Li Qingzhao understood. She hurriedly confirmed: "You mean that we came to take the Palace Examination not for literary fellowship, but to participate in His Majesty's selection of consorts?"

"Otherwise why do you think every family is sending talented and beautiful women to compete?" Saying this, Chao Min couldn't help but say worriedly: "Now my Yuanyou Party and his Yuanfeng Party are already at daggers drawn. If we lose again, there may be another Shaosheng affair. Moreover, there's a rumor that the Cai bandit intends to erect a stele for the Yuanyou Party members. Any official belonging to my Yuanyou Party who is alive will be demoted and exiled; those dead will have their titles stripped and rewards reclaimed. And the descendants of my Yuanyou Party are not allowed to stay in the capital, nor are they allowed to take the imperial examinations. So in this battle, we absolutely cannot lose."

Li Qingzhao was completely dumbfounded: "What is all this? How did party struggles get dragged into this?"

Seeing Li Qingzhao didn't seem to be pretending, Chao Min said: "Your father didn't tell you anything?"

Li Qingzhao answered truthfully: "I got this by begging my grandmaster. My father doesn't know a thing. I came only to compete with the consorts and the heroines of today, with no other intention."

Hearing this, Chao Min said with some disappointment: "I thought once I entered the palace, with you by my side, I'd be less lonely. I didn't expect it was all my wishful thinking."

Then, Chao Min helped Li Qingzhao analyze: "Perhaps your grandmaster dotes on you and really let you come to play. You don't need to be like us. After the Palace Examination, most of us will likely be kept by His Majesty in the rear palace."

Li Qingzhao looked at the other women who had come to take the Palace Examination—every single one was beautiful. Truly, plump or slender, each had her own charms. Compared with them, her own looks were somewhat lacking.

Looking at it this way, what Chao Min said was very likely true.

Li Qingzhao relaxed. She patted her own chest and said: "You scared me to death! I thought I'd somehow become an imperial consort out of nowhere."

Chao Min laughed: "Keep dreaming! How could an imperial consort be so easy to become?"

Saying this, Chao Min pointed her chin at Cai Xuan: "That's the Cai bandit's only daughter. She's beautiful and talented. Now that her father the Cai bandit is greatly favored by His Majesty, she has a chance of becoming an imperial consort directly. That very low-key one over there has even bigger backing—she's Zhang Nan, the prime minister Chancellor Zhang's own granddaughter. That's Han Yu, Vice Chancellor Han Zhongyan's own granddaughter…"

After Chao Min had introduced one by one the women taking the Palace Examination with them, Li Qingzhao couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement! Though they weren't many, their gold content was truly too high. Pull any one out and behind her stood a chancellor-level background. Only she and Chao Min's backgrounds were a bit lacking.

At the same time, Li Qingzhao was also somewhat puzzled.

The custom of this era was that official families were mostly unwilling to send their daughters into the palace to be consorts.

One must know that the palace had many rules, with strict limits on words and conduct. For daughters of official families accustomed to relatively free lives, such constraints could be hard to bear. Moreover, palace struggles were cruel—consorts would often be swept into political whirlpools. Once they chose the wrong side or offended the powerful, not only would they themselves be doomed, but their families might be implicated. Furthermore, after entering the palace, chances to see family were extremely rare, making it hard to fulfill filial duties or enjoy family happiness.

Therefore, some official families at this time would use various means—claiming their daughters were unwell, already betrothed, and so on—to avoid sending them into the palace.

For example, in the reign of Emperor Renzong, Fu Bi once refused to let his daughter enter the palace.

How did it come about that in Zhao Yu's reign, all these chancellors were rushing to send their daughters into the palace?

Li Qingzhao was very puzzled.

How would Li Qingzhao know—this was no longer the era of Emperor Renzong, when ministers could control the emperor.

Starting as early as the reign of Song Shenzong, due to reforms, party struggles, and the like, imperial power had grown ever heavier.

And now was the critical moment for the New Party and the Old Party to decide victory and defeat—both sides would surely try every means to avoid losing the political struggle.

—These highly politically sensitive chancellors had actually sensed that if they lost this struggle, the consequences would likely be beyond comparison with previous times.

Therefore, these chancellors were truly going all out this time, sending their finest women to fight for power, terrified that they would become the sacrifices of political defeat this time.

As for Li Qingzhao, who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, carefree and without a worry—she understood none of this at all.

When the time came, Li Qingzhao and Chao Min followed the dozen or so other women who had come to take the Palace Examination into the imperial palace.

Unlike the others who were weighed down with worry, Li Qingzhao was like someone out for a scenic tour—looking here, peeking there—clearly full of curiosity about this imperial palace.

Before long, Li Qingzhao's group entered the rear palace and met Empress Zheng Xiansu.

Li Qingzhao hid among the crowd and stole a glance at Zheng Xiansu. She found that Zheng Xiansu looked dignified and elegant, kind and approachable, without any airs at all. 'She should be easy to get along with.'

Li Qingzhao looked around again. 'Where's that little emperor?'

Even when the Palace Examination was about to begin, Li Qingzhao still hadn't found Zhao Yu.

Although in Zhao Yu's eyes this was merely a small entertainment put on by his own consorts and palace servants for their own amusement, neither Zheng Xiansu nor the Palace Examination participants saw it that way.

Under Zheng Xiansu's direction, this Palace Examination was entirely organized by the Ministry of Rites, and the format followed the normal imperial examination in every respect—even the candidates' numbers were decided by drawing lots.

Without surprise, Li Qingzhao and Chao Min were separated.

Soon, Li Qingzhao found her seat.

She saw that in front of her was an imperial consort with a slender, tall figure and skin as white and smooth as jade.

Li Qingzhao bowed to this imperial consort: "This humble one is Li Shi, paying respects to Your Ladyship."

Zhang Chun turned her head and glanced at Li Qingzhao. Seeing that this young miss was not particularly outstanding in looks, but was very spirited and cute, she smiled and said: "No need for such formality. Why haven't I seen you before? What's your name…"

……

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Begging for monthly tickets!!!

(End of chapter)