Chapter 110: Who Is the Female Zhuangyuan?

…

"I've never seen you before—what's your name?"

Zhang Chun asked casually, truly just a casual question. In reality, having just emerged from seclusion, she felt invincible and didn't regard anyone at all, let alone Li Qingzhao, whose appearance was plain but slightly cute and notably spirited.

The next second, Zhang Chun was stunned—Li Qingzhao replied offhandedly: "Your humble servant is Li Qingzhao. May I ask Your Majesty's title?"

'Li Qingzhao?!'

'The greatest female literary genius of all time, the jewel of this realm, Yi'an Hermit—Li Qingzhao?!'

'Wait, how could Li Qingzhao possibly be in the palace? Is someone targeting me?!'

Even after entering the examination hall, Zhang Chun's heart remained unsettled. Though Li Qingzhao had explained that she entered the palace thanks to her master's master Su Shi's maneuvering—and that over a dozen other women recommended by chancellors had entered with her.

'Calm down! Calm down! Su Shi was born in 1037, Li Qingzhao in 1084—they were forty-seven years apart. Chronologically, they coexisted only between 1084 and 1101. During that period, Li Qingzhao was still young, while Su Shi's official career was turbulent and took him across the empire. Although Li Qingzhao's father Li Gefei was Su Shi's student, Li Gefei spent only a short time by Su Shi's side, and Su Shi spent most of his later years posted far from the capital, so their opportunities to meet were scarce. Thus, the likelihood of Li Qingzhao and Su Shi ever meeting was minimal. Moreover, neither their writings nor historical records mention any such encounter. Therefore, all evidence suggests Su Shi and Li Qingzhao never met.'

'Did we replace Zhao Ji with Zhao Yu, and did Zhao Yu recall Su Shi earlier, thereby creating an actual meeting between two people who should have had no chance to meet—and thus enabling Su Shi to bring Li Qingzhao into the palace, setting up this time-crossing contest between us?'

'By the way, some scholars argue that Su Shi died in 1101 while returning from Hainan to Changzhou, succumbing to heatstroke due to extreme heat, leading to multi-organ failure. In this world, Zhao Yu recalled Su Shi in winter—so doesn't that mean Su Shi might still live a long time?'

'Oh my god, has history already changed beyond recognition? If so, isn't my advantage shrinking faster and faster?'

'So the candidates aren't just palace women—they include many outsiders too.'

'Wait, these chancellors probably want to use this opportunity to place their own people in Zhao Yu's harem—it's an extension of factional struggle. If so, this palace examination is still confined to palace women alone.'

'Hmm… politically speaking, we should keep these women. That way, Zhao Yu becomes tightly bound to these chancellors, securing his throne—marriage alliances are a remarkably reliable form of political alliance.'

'Wait—does that mean Li Qingzhao might become Zhao Yu's concubine?!'

'No way?! If that's true, then we five time-travelers aren't the chosen ones—Zhao Yu is the real luck god!'

'I wish I could swap places with Zhao Yu.'

'Sigh—being born is truly an art.'

'If you're born right, you get the top courtesan of history, the greatest female poet, three palaces, six courtyards, seventy-two concubines, three thousand beauties—and even time-travelers have to sleep with you! Zhao Yu, you're ridiculously lucky—I'm jealous of you!!'

After a long while, Zhang Chun calmed down and opened the exam paper.

Seeing the question, she was delighted: 'I guessed right!'

Long ago, Zhang Chun had analyzed that Zheng Xiansu wasn't selecting talent for state governance through this palace examination—she merely wanted to educate the palace women and maids. Thus, her questions wouldn't test understanding of Confucian classics, historical texts, or literary works. She'd definitely draw from texts like The Women's Rules, The Women's Precepts, The Women's Instruction, The Inner Instruction, The Women's Analects, The Daughter's Classic, and The Quick Record of Women's Virtues.

This was the standard question-setting approach used by empresses who controlled palace women through such examinations.

For the past three months, Zhang Chun had focused almost entirely on these texts.

The results proved her gamble correct—every question came from these very books.

The first question was from The Women's Rules: 'Neglecting small faults leads to great evils; embracing small virtues leads to great goodness.'

Writing such 'assigned essays' was something Zhang Chun, an excellent humanities graduate, excelled at.

She immediately began, analyzing the original text of The Women's Rules, delicately unpacking the philosophy of 'Neglecting small faults leads to great evils; embracing small virtues leads to great goodness,' comparing it to tiny streams gathering into rivers and seas, or minute dust accumulating into mountains—emphasizing the importance of self-cultivation and accumulating goodness while eliminating evil in daily life.

Then she skillfully linked this idea to The Women's Precepts' 'Maintain reverence and caution, guard humility,' explaining that as an imperial consort, one must constantly remain vigilant—not to commit small evils because they seem trivial, nor to neglect small virtues because they seem insignificant—thus preserving palace harmony and order, and illuminating feminine virtue.

Zhang Chun's writing went beyond theory: she wove in The Women's Instruction's concept of the 'Four Virtues' of women—moral conduct, proper speech, graceful bearing, and diligent skill—using historical anecdotes and contemporary reflection to show how these traditional virtues functioned positively within palace life.

She wrote: 'The chastity of moral conduct is like an unyielding rock, steadying hearts; proper speech is as warm and smooth as jade, resolving disputes; graceful bearing is not merely outward elegance, but a reflection of inner purity; diligent skill is not merely weaving and sewing, but diligent household management and aiding the sovereign…'

After putting down her brush, Zhang Chun grew increasingly pleased with her essay.

For the poetry and verse section, she thought of her rival Li Qingzhao and realized ordinary poems wouldn't stand a chance against her.

Moreover, poetry needed to match the right mood.

For instance, if she used Xin Qiji's poems to compete with Li Qingzhao, she could certainly compete—but Xin Qiji's verses overflowed with patriotism and heroic spirit, utterly unsuitable for a woman confined to the inner palace.

After much thought, she recalled a poem Zhao Yu had recited daily during their early days, when he couldn't see her—and she wrote it down:

Red lotus fades, its fragrance gone, jade mat turns autumn-cold; I gently unfasten my silk robe, ascend alone the orchid boat. Who sends brocade letters from the clouds? When geese return, the moon fills the western tower.

Flowers drift, water flows—same longing, two places of idle sorrow. This feeling cannot be dispelled: just off the brow, it rises again to the heart.

After writing it, Zhang Chun's face flushed red.

'I've got such a massive advantage, yet I still have to use her own poem to beat her? Even if I win, isn't it dishonorable?'

'What if I swap it for Nalan Xingde's "Mu Lan Hua Ling: If Life Were But a First Encounter"? No, no—if I used that, Zhao Yu would overthink it. If he did, I'd lose far more than I'd gain.'

'Li Qingzhao's poem is better—it fits the era perfectly, won't raise suspicion, and if Zhao Yu sees it, he'll know my feelings for him… Perfect!'

…

After finishing today's official duties, Zhao Yu kept Zhang Dun and all the chancellors behind, inviting them to serve as judges, then hosting a qu banquet to relax afterward.

A qu banquet was an imperial gathering for close ministers and imperial clan members—smaller than formal feasts, with simplified rituals and a more relaxed, harmonious atmosphere. At such banquets, the emperor might engage in poetry exchanges, games, and entertainment to strengthen bonds and show favor to his ministers.

Historical records of the Song Dynasty mention many qu banquets, where emperors often bestowed gifts and discussed governance or shared personal anecdotes with their ministers.

By the way, the emperor who loved qu banquets most was Zhao Ji.

Since ascending the throne, Zhao Yu had never hosted a qu banquet. This time, using the palace examination as an excuse, he invited the chancellors and ministers—perfectly achieving two goals at once.

Who would refuse Zhao Yu's invitation?

Besides, each of them had someone close participating in this palace examination—they'd gladly come as judges.

To prevent cheating, this palace examination employed sealed-name and transcription systems: candidates' names were sealed on the papers so Zhao Yu and others couldn't identify them, eliminating favoritism. Additionally, to prevent identification by handwriting, scribes transcribed all papers anew before submission for grading, ensuring fairness.

Zhao Yu and the others were numerous—each chancellor and minister was a cultural heavyweight, each capable of reviewing hundreds of memorials in a day. A few dozen exam papers took them barely an hour to fully evaluate.

Zhao Yu and the others were all busy people.

Well, Zhao Yu wasn't particularly busy.

But Zhang Dun and the other chancellors were truly overwhelmed with affairs.

They certainly couldn't waste days over a group of women.

So Zhao Yu and the others swiftly delivered their rankings:

First place: Zhang Chun.

Second place: Li Qingzhao.

Third place: Liu shi.

In poetry, Zhang Chun's "Yi Jian Mei · Red Lotus' Fragrance Fades, Autumn on the Jade Mat" and Li Qingzhao's "Ru Meng Ling · Often Recall the Stream Pavilion at Dusk" were tied — even if Su Shi were asked to judge, he could not tell which was better.

In the end, Su Shi sighed, "Your Majesty's harem truly harbors hidden dragons and crouching tigers!"

Zhang Chun won on the classics and history section.

It must be said, Li Qingzhao's understanding of feminine virtues fell far short — she didn't even place in the top ten.

It was only because Li Qingzhao's poetry was so stunning that the examiners broke precedent and pushed her ranking up.

Incidentally, Zhang Chun's classics and history only placed fifth.

First place went to Liu shi. Her understanding and expression of feminine virtues drew round after round of praise, leading everyone to unanimously agree that her classics and history deserved first place; moreover, her ci poetry was quite good too — a top five or six placing was certainly no problem.

Put it this way — quite a few people wanted to rank Liu shi first in the written exam.

However, the final decision rested in Zhao Yu's hands.

When Zhao Yu saw "Yi Jian Mei · Red Lotus' Fragrance Fades, Autumn on the Jade Mat" and "Ru Meng Ling · Often Recall the Stream Pavilion at Dusk" appear together, he was utterly stunned.

Even thinking with the heel of his foot, Zhao Yu could guess that one of them was definitely "written" by Zhang Chun.

The question was — who wrote the other one?

'Could there be another transmigrator?'

Zhao Yu took the two ci poems and probed from the side, and from Su Shi's mouth learned that Li Qingzhao had actually come to join the fun as well.

Only then did Zhao Yu feel a weight lift from his heart: 'So there's no seventh transmigrator.'

Thinking of the effort Zhang Chun had put in during this period, Zhao Yu couldn't bear to discourage her any further — after all, she was his woman, and one of his golden fingers too; he couldn't keep letting her efforts and rewards fall out of proportion.

Thus, Zhao Yu gave "Yi Jian Mei · Red Lotus' Fragrance Fades, Autumn on the Jade Mat" and "Ru Meng Ling · Often Recall the Stream Pavilion at Dusk" extremely high evaluations.

Zhang Chun and Li Qingzhao stood out through the poetry category.

But it wasn't over yet.

Because the Harem Examination tested not only cultural knowledge, but also court etiquette, needlework skills, and moral cultivation.

Court etiquette included: etiquette norms and court institutions.

The former was a detailed examination of the various etiquette systems of the court — such as the rites between ruler and minister, the rites of consorts and concubines, sacrificial rites — including details of dress, bearing, and standardized movements.

The latter was understanding the court's organizational structure, the functions of its offices, and the procedures and regulations of major ceremonies.

Needlework skills: including embroidery, weaving, and garment-making.

That is, mastery of various embroidery stitches and weaving techniques, the ability to produce exquisite embroidered works and high-quality textiles, as well as skill in cutting and sewing garments, familiarity with the styles, fashions, and production requirements of different court attire, and the ability to make clothing befitting the rank and occasion for court personnel.

As for moral cultivation: it included moral conduct and character and temperament.

That is, examining the virtues of filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and sense of shame, as advocated by the Confucians, as well as attention to whether the candidate's character was gentle, dignified, and steady, and whether her bearing was elegant — able to meet the court's requirements for the female image and create a harmonious courtly atmosphere.

After this whole battery of tests, Zhang Chun barely scraped into third place (and that was only because Zhao Yu had let her off easy quite a bit), Li Qingzhao dropped straight out of the top ten, and the top female zhuangyuan of the first Harem Examination was Liu shi.

Liu shi was born of humble origins; her father's name was "Liu Yanqing."

Later, based on Liu shi's father's name, Zhang Chun deduced that she was most likely the historical Zhao Ji's third Empress — Empress Mingda, Liu Mingda.

She had another identity too: the mother of Maode Princess Zhao Fujin, historically Zhao Ji's most beautiful daughter…

……

(End of chapter)