Chapter 175: Chapter 163: True Talent Must Be Hidden
Yang said all about Xie Zheng’s potential failure in the exam, but what if Xie Zheng does pass?
If Xie Zheng becomes a scholar, Yang would become a scholar’s wife, yet she still doesn’t recognize a single character.
It’s unclear whether Yang is too lazy to learn, or Xie Zheng too lazy to teach, or perhaps Xie Zheng believes women shouldn’t study or learn.
Regardless of the reason, Wen Wan finds this situation alarming.
The reason for her thoughts stems from a trip to the Capital with her husband, where she gained considerable insight.
The Capital has official schools for women, which shows that the Holy Emperor encourages women’s literacy and education.
If Xie Zheng advances in his career and moves to the Capital, as he meets more people, it is inevitable that he will compare his wife with others. Among the Capital ladies, even if not all are well-versed and accomplished, they at least know how to read.
By then, would Xie Zheng have no thoughts about this?
Moreover, learning to read and write is best done early; the younger you are, the more agile your mind is, and the easier it is to remember. The older you get, the harder it becomes.
Before going to Beijing, Wen Wan already knew quite a few characters and could recite the Three Hundred Thousand Characters; she thought she was already presentable compared to the illiterate women in her village. It wasn’t until she visited the Capital that she realized she was nothing at all.
In the Capital, there are plenty of people more literate, smarter, and more eloquent than her. Someone like her could only be at the bottom, always needing to look up to others.
During that time, Wen Wan was greatly frustrated. While her husband studied at the Imperial College during the day, she locked herself in her study room, repeatedly practicing her calligraphy.
Even if she can’t compose poetry, she must at least know all the characters, first to improve her own refinement and secondly, to not embarrass her husband.
Her husband excels at the Imperial College and knows many people. As his wife, it’s only a matter of time before she is exposed to others.
Being inarticulate is already a disadvantage, and if she doesn’t know all the characters, who can guarantee that people won’t mock her husband for marrying an incompetent woman?
The more she thought about it, the more Wen Wan realized the importance of women’s literacy.
Especially for women like them, married to scholars, it is all the more necessary.
Yang didn’t expect that in such a short time, Wen Wan was worried about the examination issues affecting her. Noticing that Wen Wan was lost in thought for quite a while, Yang waved her hand in front of Wen Wan’s eyes.
Wen Wan snapped back to reality and smiled at Yang.
Yang thought her cousin-in-law, having sat with her for so long, must be tired again. Not daring to disturb her further, she finished her meal and returned to her room.
——
This year’s provincial examination, like always, had the Su Family intending to interfere.
The Su Family had a list of candidates from the Southern Province’s examination hall, and so did Emperor Guangxi.
The Emperor knew the Su Family was still scheming, so this year’s chief examiners were all individually selected by him, completely avoiding the Su Family’s interference.
However, avoiding the chief examiners couldn’t avoid the Su Family’s many daughters.
They had already planned to find husbands for their unmarried daughters from among the candidates.
...
Chu Feng investigated the backgrounds of the top candidates based on last year’s academy exam results.
When Ningzhou’s Hao Yun was mentioned, Chu Feng’s voice paused.
Emperor Guangxi asked, "What’s the matter?"
Chu Feng replied, "If the Emperor reads two essays, he will know what I mean."
With that, he presented Hao Yun’s academy exam essay and his literary competition essay to Emperor Guangxi.
The Emperor glanced at them, his expression unreadable. After a long while, he chuckled softly, "Interesting."
Chu Feng cautiously asked, "Who does the Emperor think wrote these essays?"
"It certainly wasn’t Song Wei," the Emperor’s keen eyes were sharp. "The writer mimicked someone else’s style but couldn’t capture the essence. The reason is that they are not of the same ilk. One can tell a person’s mindset and character from the writing. Song Wei’s essays are characterized by ’stability’; each word is carefully chosen, while this one, no matter how well-imitated, cannot hide his opportunistic tendencies. His ambition to climb up by stepping on others is too evident."
Chu Feng said nothing, silently waiting for the Emperor’s next instructions.
The Imperial Study Room remained silent for a long while before the Emperor slowly said, "Stick to the old rules, push Song Wei’s ranking back, move this one’s forward a bit, but don’t raise it too much to avoid alerting the Su Family."
An extraordinary talent should be kept under wraps. What do examination rankings truly represent? Even if one becomes the top scholar in the palace exam, they still need three years in the Hanlin Academy to prove themselves.
True ability isn’t determined by a mere examination. If someone catches his eye, it already signifies a qualification.
Returning his gaze from the window, the Emperor ordered, "Proceed with it!"
——
Nine days, three sessions.
When all were done, Yang insisted on taking Wen Wan to pick up the candidates.
Wen Wan originally didn’t intend to go; she planned to stay at the inn and prepare hot water so her husband could bathe as soon as he returned.
Against Yang’s enthusiasm, however, she was dragged outside the Dragon Gate.
Song Wei and Xie Zheng were both rather tall and handsome, so despite the bustling crowd, Wen Wan recognized them immediately.
Compared to other scholars, Song Wei’s face showed less of a tumult of emotions, looking the same as before entering the exam hall, with no sign of how well he performed.
It seemed Xie Zheng was also influenced by Song Wei, appearing more composed than before entering the exam.
Seeing them, Yang ignored Wen Wan beside her and directly approached, smiling at her husband, "Husband, how did it go?"
Xie Zheng pursed his lips, saying nothing.
Wen Wan didn’t step forward and stood where she was, waiting until her husband approached and then asked if he was tired.
Song Wei smiled gently, "I was pretty tired, but seeing you energizes me."