Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 154: The World Knows

After arriving in Capital Prefecture, Yin Zhaoxian had come into contact with many scholars from around Dazhen, and had even chatted with people like the Prince’s Tutor, Li Mushu. Over the past few months, he had grown quite confident in his knowledge.

However, Yin Zhaoxian himself was not an arrogant person. His temperament was actually quite similar to Ji Yuan’s. It was one thing to be overconfident; but he was merely convinced that there was no way he would fail the exam.

After all, the Capital Prefecture was now hosting many talented individuals, many of whom were definitely more skilled than Yin Zhaoxian. There were also many individuals with power, connections, and greater knowledge.

Therefore, although Yin Zhaoxian was just as eager to win the top spot as the other candidates, it was just his wish, and he didn’t dare claim that he was bound to win.

But the voices in the crowd all proved that Yin Zhaoxian had indeed won “Huiyuan,” first place.

“Is Yin Huiyuan here?”

“Who knows Yin Zhaoxian?”

“I know the name but I’ve never met him!”

“Let us pass, let us–!”

……

Shi Yusheng and Yin Zhaoxian are both excited now. Even Yin Zhaoxian did his best to squeeze forward. He didn’t need to move too far, he just needed to squeeze a couple steps in toward the middle from the far side to be able to see the list clearly.

Sure enough, the strikingly large characters at the top of the Apricot List read: Huiyuan – Yin Zhaoxian of Ji Province.

The moment he confirmed the results, Yin Zhaoxian felt a little dizzy.

…

In Prince Jin’s palace, Prince Jin Zhao Yan¹ was having tea and chatting with his tutor by the fireplace. They were discussing the imperial examination.

“Master Li, aren’t you going to join in the fun at the Imperial Examination Hall?”

“What fun is there to join? I don’t have any students that I have referred there this time. I’m actually quite surprised that you didn’t go, Your Highness.”

Li Mushu knew his student very well, having taught him since he was a child. He knew that Prince Jin was in truth someone who loved joining in for excitement. However, his question was not out of doubt, but rather meant as a joke.

“No, no, I won’t go. After this last incident with the auspicious omen, my eldest brother is quite hostile to me in every way. Anyway, I won’t attend any major events involving the government and my opposition unless it is necessary.”

Li Mushu picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea, then smiled.

“This may not be a good thing for Your Highness, but it is definitely a bad turn for His Royal Highness Prince Wu…”

Those who were angry and frustrated were much more likely to do outrageous things.

Prince Wu’s current situation was quite similar to his own. He was the eldest and most experienced of all of the princes. From the perspective of tradition establishing the eldest son as the heir, he was definitely the best choice for crown prince.

However, in recent years, the atmosphere in the court and the state of the country had become delicate. Prince Wu’s discomfort had continued growing, particularly when the Emperor did not respond well to several ministers proposing the establishment of a crown prince. At this point in time, the auspicious omen from Prince Jin’s palace was very eye-catching.

Fortunately, the Emperor had been present at that time, so it could be argued that the Emperor’s presence was what had brought about the auspicious sign. Even so, Prince Jin had become a thorn in the side of Prince Wu, and it was inevitable for him to seek to find fault in him. However, these maneuverings were clear to everyone in and around the imperial court.

But then again, didn’t Prince Wu already know this? Even if he didn’t know, was there no one around him to point it out to him? Perhaps not. However, his knowledge was one thing; his anger was quite another.

At this moment, a servant hurriedly ran towards the side hall of the palace from outside the grounds.

“Your Highness, Master Li, the Apricot List has come out, and the top scorer is Yin Zhaoxian of Ji Province!”

Even though they had high hopes for Yin Zhaoxian, when they heard the news, both master and disciple looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Mushu put down his teacup and sighed with emotion.

“Yin Zhaoxian is indeed no ordinary man!”

Prince Jin laughed complacently.

“I don’t know where this rumor came from, but it has been said that Yin Zhaoxian possesses a righteous spirit, and a rare wisdom and talent. His talent is indeed undeniably outstanding. He has already won the top spot two times in a row!”

At Prince Jin’s words, Li Mushu turned to look at his student, his expression very serious.

“If he does not die prematurely, and with the backing of the prince, in ten or twenty years he will become a powerful official in the imperial court. In the coming days, he might even become the second person to take three top spots in the imperial examination since the founding of Dazhen.”²

Master Li’s evaluation made Prince Jin Zhao Yan stop smiling. This evaluation was much higher than his previous one.

Prince Jin originally wanted to say that, no matter how well a scholar wrote, they might not be able to govern a country. However, when he thought back to “On the Subject of Birds” and “Understanding Justice,” he couldn’t say it, and instead said something else.

“Three top spots? Master Li, you think Yin Zhaoxian is that good?”

“Hahaha… the general examination is already a comprehensive examination, and Yin Jieyuan–no, it is now Yin Huiyuan–has already won one round. Some people couldn’t beat him even when they knew the general direction of the imperial examination. The upcoming palace examination involves the personal intervention of the Emperor, haha…”

Li Mushu laughed, allowing Prince Jin to ponder for a moment, before he continued.

“Besides, the current Emperor places too much importance on his own inclinations. If there is to be a choice, previous evidence shows that the Emperor’s will would lean towards allowing a genuinely underprivileged scholar to be the top scorer. Yin Zhaoxian is the best choice, whether it comes to his talent or his background.”

This was the essence of Li Mushu’s character. Even though he was only the prince’s tutor, Prince Jin respected him ever since he was a child. Sometimes he was really glad that his childhood teacher was Li Mushu.

Prince Jin nodded slightly at the man’s words. Even if someone with ulterior motives found out that Yin Zhaoxian had attended a banquet at the prince’s palace in the future, it had occurred before the imperial examination. As long as he avoided suspicion and had less contact with Yin Zhaoxian in the near future, no doubt could be cast upon Yin Zhaoxian’s background.

The results of the imperial examination had been announced. Some people were happy, while others were quite sad. In the remaining five days, everyone was preparing for the upcoming palace examination, each with their own state of mind.

The Dazheng Palace Examination underwent several changes from the first to the fifth day of the third lunar month. Finally, at present, of the fifth day of the third lunar month, the examination questions that had been written out in many forms by the various divisions of the imperial court were finalized. The Emperor would personally select the topics, and, in theory, preside over the examination himself.

The examination was no longer held in the Imperial Examination Hall, but instead in the palace, giving it its name of Palace Examination.

For the candidates from poor families, the significant psychological pressure was also one of their challenges.

The majestic imperial palace was heavily guarded, with checkpoint after checkpoint to allow for entry. After undergoing official document checks and multiple body searches, candidates could finally reach their destination inside the palace for the imperial examination.

The room partitioning was different from that of previous exams. The palace examination only lasted one day. Desks were set up inside the spacious hall. Candidtes who were close by each other could even see the sweat on each others’ necks and foreheads.

There were supervisors everywhere. Sometimes the current Emperor would come by himself to inspect and show his authority as the head examiner.

At the end of the day, all the candidates tried their best under tremendous pressure, competing not only in talent and memory, but also in calligraphy.

When the horrific palace exam finally ended, all the candidates stayed at inns arranged by the imperial court, waiting for the results of the palace exam to be announced, while the ministers of various divisions were busy grading their papers.

Although there were a lot fewer examinees than in previous exam, they were all of the highest quality, requiring much more intensive time and effort. Not to mention the pressure of the Emperor watching over them.

Ten days later, in the imperial study of the main palace, Emperor Yuan De was reading a book. It was Yin Zhaoxian’s “On the Subject of Birds – The Phoenix Singing in the Parasol Tree.”

“What a wonderful story! All the birds in the world flock to the phoenix, but the storks of these thousand islands cannot hope to match it.”

In the eyes of Emperor Yuan De, this story represented the supremacy of imperial power; the ministers below him should not act recklessly like storks, thinking that the Emperor was too far to see them from the sky above.

As soon as he heard that Yin Zhaoxian had won two top score positions in the imperial examinations, his deeds had already stoked Emperor Yuan De’s interest. Naturally, it was not difficult for him to obtain his written works. He had not yet had the time to read “Understanding Justice,” but “On the Subject of Birds” was not only written in a witty and interesting fashion, but its contents was also in line with the Emperor’s preferences.

Every Emperor hoped to be as wise and supreme as the phoenix in the book.³

At this moment, a eunuch slowly approached the Emperor’s desk and reported in a low whisper.

“Your Majesty, several officials from the Ministry of Rites are here.”

Emperor Yuan De raised his head and closed the book in his hand.

“Let them in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Not long after the eunuch left, several court officials entered the imperial study holding trays. They bowed in front of the Emperor’s desk.

“Your Highness, the review of the palace examination has been completed. Officials of each department have reviewed the papers. Here are the candidates recommended by each department to take first place. Please review them, Your Majesty!”

Only three people could win the top spots, and only the Emperor had the right to decide who those three spots would go to. Once it had been decided, those three individuals who had taken the top spots would be considered the Emperor’s disciples.

“Bring it to me!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

There were three trays, and a total of seven papers to choose from, all of which were the result of a very careful selection.

Sometimes the emperor would personally participate in the marking of the papers, and then the rankings would be determined essentially after the papers had been marked. Even though Emperor Yuan De did not participate in the marking of these papers, no one else dared to do so.

Emperor Yuan De flipped over the tray and, sure enough, he saw Yin Zhaoxian’s name. It had been covered in a red cloth like the other two test papers on the tray, which to some extent represented that they were evenly matched.

“All of you, take your leave. I will take a good look at these papers tonight, and I’ll make a decision tomorrow morning.”

“As you wish!”

After everyone in the Ministry of Rites bowed and left, Emperor Yuan De sat alone in the study and began to carefully read the seven papers. He skimmed through several documents, and focused on the three covered in red cloth.

“Not bad, not bad…”

With these words of praise, Emperor Yuan De took up his brush and began writing…

​​…

A few days later, the news that Yin Zhaoxian had won first place in the three successive major examinations, becoming the second person to take the titles of Jieyuan, Huiyuan, and Zhuangyuan together since the founding of Dazhen, spread throughout the capital. It was rumored that the Emperor personally served him wine at the Qionglin Banquet.⁴ He became a topic of gossip and dinner conversation among ordinary people and officials.

As the top scholar, Yin Zhaoxian felt both the frustration of socializing and the excitement and joy of having won the top placement in the examination three ties. Even though he did not yet hold an official position, he was still currently the most famous individual in the capital.

The news would soon spread rapidly to Ji Province, then to Ning’an County in Desheng Prefecture.

As he stood in the library in the Chu family mansion, Ji Yuan looked at the solid white piece in his hand that belonged to Yin Zhaoxian. It shone with a literary and virtuous aura. He murmured.

“After ten years of hard study have gone by with no one noticing, with one stroke he became famous all over the world.”

After finishing this sentence, Ji Yuan stood up from his desk in the third floor study, reached out to take his bag from behind the curtain, then slowly walked to the study window and pushed it open.

The Green Vine Sword beside the table floated up and followed behind Ji Yuan.

“Master Yin, take care!”

Muttering to himself, he looked in the direction of the city inn his own words, he looked at the direction of the capital’s post office, then closed the window of the study. Mist appeared under Ji Yuan’s feet and he slowly rose into the air. After floating above the capital, the cloud drifted away towards the east.

On the desk on the third floor of the Chu Mansion’s library was a piece of rice paper with characters written on it, waiting to be discovered.

T/n: RIP YZX, living every introvert nerd’s worst nightmare

1. Zhao Yan seems to be his name. Prince Jin is a title, where Jin (晋 Jìn) could refer to either a shortened name of a province (Shanxi Province) or the concept “to move forward”/”to advance.” So this title could either refer to a geographical dominion or it could be a courtesy title that describes his character (I’m leaning towards the latter). Alternatively, his full name could be Jin Zhaoyan, but there is no evidence as to Jin being the last name of the imperial family. If I find any evidence for a different translation, I’ll come back and change it.
2. T/n: A bit of clarification, since I was confused here too. There are a couple levels of examinations: Presumably a prefectural preliminary, where good scholars from each county are sent to their prefectural capital to take the exam – I don’t think we saw him take this one. 1) Provincial, where the scholars who passed the prev. exam go to their provincial capital – Chunhui Prefecture for Ji Province. 2) National, where scholars go to the Capital to take the exam. 3) Palace Examination, which has only the best of the best in the National exam (this one is coming up soon). If YZX takes the top spot in the palace exam, he will have won 3 top spots in a row, a feat only accomplished once before.
3. T/n: I mean, you could read it that way. Or you could read it as a criticism of an emperor having all the power over the material world and still reaching for immortality and summoning gods to him when that’s none of his business. Funny how universal this concept of overreaching your power is 😀
4. The Qionglin Banquet was held for newly-appointed Jinshi candidates (people who passed the exam) after the palace examination. It began in the Song Dynasty with Emperor Taizu of Song, and held in the Qionglin Garden, where it got its name