Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 111: Lady in Red

In Chunhui Prefecture, Ji Province, where the provincial imperial examination was held, group of examinees, some confident and some anxious, were waiting outside.

The Imperial Examination Hall was a special exam venue for all levels of the imperial examination, but the scale varied according to the level of the exam. Candidates who had qualified in the county and prefectural examinations would go to the provincial capital to take the provincial examination. For Ji Province, that was Chunhui Prefecture.

The Examination Hall of Chunhui Prefecture had high eaves and deep roofs. It was a large enclosed house, covering a considerable area. The inside had wooden doors, screens, and other objects that divided the space into small rooms. All candidates would complete their essays individually here.

However, this was the period of time right before the exam, and also the most tense time for everyone. A group of scholars of all ages, along with Yin Zhaoxian, had lined up in two long rows outside the Imperial Examination Hall, whispering to each other or flipping through books from time to time.

Unlike in Ji Yuan’s previous life, most of the candidates waiting for the exam here were adults. Although Yin Zhaoxian joked that he was no longer a young scholar, he was in fact not considered that old here. There were even candidates with gray hair in the queue.

Yin Zhaoxian did not try to cram at the last minute, but rather just looked at the examination hall with emotion.

When he thought back to his previous years, Scholar Yin had been full of energy and enthusiasm.¹ He easily won the top spot in the county examination, and ranked first in the prefectural examination. However, he missed the top spot in the provincial examination by three places, and lost the qualification to move on to Zhili Capital Prefecture.²

His failure at the imperial examination left Yin Zhaoxian quite devastated. In addition, an elder in his family passed away of illness, and his wife and son needed his support and care in their lives, so he settled down in Ning’an County.

Some scholars had to rely on their wives to support them and continue to study hard with reference books, but Yin Zhaoxian was not such a person. He did not want to let his wife suffer too much. With his breadth and depth of knowledge, there were many wealthy families in the county that invited him to be a teacher.

Although a comfortable life was good, it could sometimes wear down one’s spirit. Even though his family was doing well and they had lots of savings, Yin Zhaoxian still had no intention of retaking the imperial examination again up until three years ago, when Ji Yuan had left him a letter and helped him clarify his ambition.

At this moment, a provincial official came out of the Imperial Examination Hall, having inspected the examination rooms, and nodded to the officers who were supervising the crowd on the side.

The official breathed in, puffing his chest, and shouted:

“The provincial examination will now begin. All candidates may bring their brushes, inkstones, food boxes, and other such items. Paper and water will be provided by the Imperial Examination Hall. Please prepare your own application letters, official documents, and other paperwork prior to entering the Examination Hall. You will be subject to a full-body search by the officers. You may now enter the venue…”

There were hundreds of candidates this time, most of whom had passed their previous exams in the prefectures and counties throughout Ji Province using their own talent and knowledge. Some of the top-ranking candidates at the front had their ears buzzing from the volume of the officials’ shouts.

Several officers who were skilled in martial arts patted down the examination candidates one by one and checked their personal belongings. They even used chopsticks to rummage through the candidates’ food boxes to check that there wasn’t anything hidden inside.

The four officials sitting nearby checked each candidate’s official documents one by one to confirm their identity.

Apart from the lack of cameras and the occasional presence of relatives, the whole process was actually more rigorous than modern-day student exams.

Yin Zhaoxian was carrying his exam preparation box, which included stationary and “scholar candidate meals” purchased from a restaurant courtyard in the vicinity of Zigong Prefecture. As he was being searched, a provincial official who was checking his documents suddenly asked him:

“Are you Yin Zhaoxian?”

Yin Zhaoxian was stunned for a moment, and bowed to him in greeting.

“That’s right. Does this gentleman recognize me?”

“I don’t know you personally, but when I went to Huafeng Academy, I read some chapters from “Understanding Justice” and “On the Subject of Birds” that the students brought with them. They were quite interesting.”

Yin Zhaoxian hurriedly bowed again.

“This humble work of mine is crude, dare not accept your praise!”

“Well, go on in, I hope you can rank first.”

“This student will do his best!”

The official raised a brush and placed a tick mark next to Yin Zhaoxian’s name in his book, then handed him a badge, indicating to the officer that he could let him pass.

After watching Yin Zhaoxian enter the Imperial Examination Hall, the official stroked his beard, before continuing on to inspect the next candidate.

Inside the Imperial Examination Hall, each compartmentalized room had some subtle differences between each other. Yin Zhaoxian looked at the number plates and found his own number, “D 27”.³

After waiting for about half an hour, all the students had entered and found their seats, and the examiners checked the official documents and assigned numbers one by one to ensure that no one had taken the wrong seat by mistake.

At the front of the examination room, an examiner was already standing and calling out.

“Today’s exam will last two hours. We will light the incense sticks⁴ as soon as your time starts, and you must hand in your paper before it finishes burning down, otherwise your submission will be invalid. Now, reveal the exam questions!”

As his words fell, the officers hung large signboards covered in white cloth on all four sides of the examination room, on which the contents of this exam were written.

There were two questions in this exam: “Discuss policy: drought control,” and “A poem praising Autumn.”

Unlike the county and prefectural examinations, the provincial examinations no longer placed so much emphasis on basis skills such as copying articles, but instead had begun to focus on personal ability. It was quite rare that the provincial examinations included a policy discussion topic like this year, which caused many candidates to begin murmuring below.

“Silence!”

The officer shouted, greatly annoyed.

“The exam had begun, you have already wasted a quarter of an hour, sound the gong!”

Beside him, an official held the wooden hammer tightly and hit the gong with a hard swing.

“Dong…”

The sound was like a strike to the heart of all of the candidates. Everyone hurriedly sat down and concentrated. Some were thinking hard, while others had already started writing…

Poetry was not believed to be too difficult for most talented people,⁵ but it was difficult to discuss policy. However, Yin Zhaoxian had a clear idea. Regarding drought control, perhaps hundreds of people would write the same thing, but there were very few scholars who could actually write something useful. Yin Zhaoxian was one of those exceptions.

“Drought is not just a disaster. As the saying goes, food is the first necessity of the people.⁶ When natural disasters strike, human disasters follow. Human disasters lead to epidemics. When governance is poor, resentment arises. When resentment causes violence, that is where the danger lies…”

Yin Zhaoxian wrote as if inspired by a god, and his ink did not stop flowing. His writing was continuous and coherent from beginning to end. Not only were his thoughts clear, but his calligraphy had also improved greatly, because he had continued practicing by copying Ji Yuan’s calligraphy from time to time.

. . .

After the exam paper were handed it, it was naturally time for the busy review process. Many officials from the provincial government were involved.

In the end, Yin Zhaoxian’s article “On Drought Control” had even been read by the magistrate and the governor. Although Ji Province had experienced good weather and plentiful harvests almost every year, the officials were not complacent. Many of them had experienced droughts in other provinces, and knew the importance of Yin Zhaoxian’s article, which took many different variables into consideration.

The magsitrate Li Hou even said: “Although the article has some empty idealism at times, it is comprehensive and detailed. Even officials with little talent or shallow knowledge could use this policy to manage droughts!”

This was a very high evaluation.

. . .

Because the provincial examinations in Dazhen were often held in autumn, the results were usually announced when the tea olives were in full bloom.⁷ This period of time was also called the “Laurel Announcement.”⁸

Half a month later, the list of top scorers⁹ in the Imperial Examination Hall of Chunhui Prefecture was announced.

Yin Zhaoxian didn’t try to squeeze to the front like the others to see his results. The results had already been decided, and squeezing his head into the crowd wouldn’t change them.

However, there were some positions on the list that could seen clearly from the periphery without having to push too far forward.

The name at the top of Ji Province’s Laurel Announcement was the largest, and in large characters in the first column was written:

First Place Award: Yin Zhaoxian

“Who is Yin Zhaoxian?”

“Is he the top scholar?”

“Who knows Yin Zhaoxian?”

“I don’t know…”

……

The chatter in the front gradually spread to the back. Although Yin Zhaoxian had long expected that he would get a top score, he never expected to get first place. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly rubbed a hand over his chest.

In the provincial, prefectural, and county examinations, the first place winners would be given a title with the character “Yuan,” with the full titles being Jieyuan, Huiyuan, and Zhuangyuan for each regional exam, respectively. These were all achievements that brought honor to one’s family.

In the future, when people addressed Yin Zhaoxian, they would most likely address him respectfully with the title “Yin Jieyuan.”

After the list of finalists was revealed, it was customary to congratulate those on the list, regardless of sincerity, and Yin Zhaoxian naturally became the focus of attention.

That night, the provincial government held a the Yezhou government officially held a Luming Banquet¹⁰ to celebrate the successful candidates, and the domestic and foreign officials. Even though Yin Zhaoxian believed that he was a lightweight drinker, it was impossible for him to not drink on this occasion.

In the end, he was finally carried to the inn by one of the officers, nearly unconscious.

In the middle of the night, a red shadow loomed outside of Chunhui Prefecture’s capital. As it neared the edge of the city, it seemed to walk up the city wall, and slid into the city.

There were not many places with the lights still on in the city. The red shadow glided down the street like smoke, as if she were in a dream. Suddenly, it saw an underworld patrol passing by, and she flashed around the corner with a smile.

“Hoooh… heh heh…”

After the two night patrol officers passed by with a gust of cold wind, the red shadow continued to move forward with a smile.

She crossed the streets and alleys at a rapid pace, as if she had a defined goal, and soon arrived outside the Guixiang Inn near the Imperial Examination Hall.

The red shadow gazed up at the inn, then slid into the second floor like a ribbon of red.

Occasionally, hoarse and painful sounds could be heard coming from the inn.

“Hoooh…”

“Urgh… haah…”

After a while, the red shadow finally found Yin Zhaoxian’s room.

“Creeeeak… squeeeak…”

The door was automatically unlocked and opened, and the red shadow walked into the room. The door behind her closed automatically.

She glanced over at the table. She could see the official document stating that the man had won first place in the imperial examination.

“Hehehe…Yin Jieyuan…”

The red shadow slid to the side of the bed, and a slender white hand with long red nails stroked Yin Zhaoxian’s chest. Suddenly, Yin Zhaoxian’s virtuous energy surged, revealing a majestic aura.

The red shadow’s body shook and her arm actually bounced away. Yin Zhaoxian immediately awoke at this moment.

Seeing a woman suddenly appear in his room, Teacher Yin subconsciously shrank back, looking a little panicked. Having a strange woman appear in his room was more terrifying than seeing any other monster.

“You, you… Who are you? Breaking into a man’s room at night, do you have any manners?”

“Hehehe…Yin Jieyuan, you can call me Madam Hong.¹¹ I haven’t seen such a wonderful scholar like you for many years. Don’t you find me beautiful~?”

The woman sat at the head of the bed, wrapped in a veil, and turned her face to look back towards Yin Zhaoxian.

Originally, she had just wanted to absorb some Yang Qi to prolong her life, but now, there was a sinister look in the depths of her eyes.

However, Yin Zhaoxian’s scalp went numb, and his hands and feet were cold. Under the influence of his own virtuous spirit, for just a moment, he seemed to see the outline of a red skull…

‘This is a monster…! ’

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T/n: sorry for the delay, I don’t know why this chapter felt really long

1. 意气风发 (yìqìfēngfā): (idiom) high-spirited, full of mettle (i.e. “vim and vigor”)
2. The Zhili region historically included the area around the capital Beijing, in China, and was the seat of imperial power, particularly during the Ming dynasty. The name “Zhili” means “directly ruled”
3. 丁 (dīng): male adult OR tenth of the ten Heavenly Stems/tenth in order. It seems to be used like “4th” or “D” as an enumerator
4. Reminder that incense sticks are a way to tell time, they burn for 45 to 60 mins.
5. T/n: That one poetry professor I had would disagree. 😦 Joke’s on her, though, I secretly wrote like 15 poems that she will never see about how much I hated her class and they all ROCKED
6. 民以食为天 (mín yǐ shí wéi tiān) saying first appeared in the Book of Han/Hanshu (202B.C. – 220 A.D.). For historical context, the Ming dynasty (which seems to be where this story takes most of its historical inspiration from) ruled from 1368 to 1644. The time scale is akin to taking a European medieval-inspired setting and referencing Ancient Greek classics. (T/n: I know this was a tangent, but I just think it’s cool to have actual date references since without it stuff tends to blur together for me)
7. The Osmanthus flower apparently blooms twice per year, once in June and once in September. They are currently around September now
8. 桂 (guì): laurel, 榜 (bǎng): notice or announcement/list of names/public roll of successful examinees. Play on words: the exam candidates are learning who will be crowned the winner (victory significance of a crown of olive leaves), and the olive trees are literally flowering into laurels
9. Lit: “laurels” = “top scorers”
10. 鹿鸣宴 (Lù míng yàn): Luming Banquet, a traditional banquet or feast in ancient China held to honor scholars who had successfully passed the highest imperial exams. The name Luming means 鹿 (lù) – deer, and 鸣 (míng) – to cry out, and apparently comes from the Book of Songs, where there’s a poem that describes deer calling out in joy for harmony and friendship.
11. Lit: “Madam Red”