Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 272: Search Inspections and the Civil-Military Divide
Although still young, the number of essays steadily increased;
Let’s wait till fifteen or sixteen, and he shall succeed in a single try.
Zhu Ping’an slightly curved his lips, silently reciting this poem about a child prodigy, quietly watching the various expressions of his fellow examinees before the exam—some were sweating nervously, others trembling with excitement, and some remained calm and composed. Zhu Ping’an belonged to the calm category. He had prepared thoroughly and no longer feared the exam.
The waiting time was long. Soldiers holding torches stood everywhere, and braziers were burning all around. The entire venue was brightly lit.
From Southern and Northern Zhili and the thirteen provinces, more than five thousand examinees gathered in groups outside the examination gate, forming a long line. With everyone carrying bundles large and small, it looked like a colony of ants moving house.
This scene reminded Zhu Ping’an of the Spring Festival travel rush, and he couldn’t help but curl his lips in amusement.
While Zhu Ping’an and the others queued outside, the inner-curtain and outer-curtain officials inside were busily making the final arrangements for the metropolitan examination.
There were two chief examiners. The chief examiner was Xu Jie, Minister of Rites and a senior first-rank official. The deputy examiner was Yan Maoqing, Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a third-rank official and an important member of the Yan faction. There were also eight Assistant Examiners. Together, these were the inner-curtain officials.
The Left Vice Minister of Rites, also aligned with the Yan faction, served as examination administrator. Two censors served as supervising censors. Other officials were assigned to supplies, collecting papers, sealing, copying, collation, receiving papers, patrols, gate supervision, and related duties. These were the outer-curtain officials.
Of course, the main force was still the soldiers responsible for maintaining order, conducting inspections, and ensuring security.
After the briefing session for internal and external officials, the external officials began admitting examinees in batches by region.
Zhu Ping’an’s exam region, Southern Zhili, was in the second group to enter. After the first group from Shandong had entered, Zhu Ping’an and the examinees from Southern Zhili began moving toward the gate with their bundles amid the envious glances of examinees from other regions, lining up for inspection and entry.
Once all the hundreds of examinees from Southern Zhili had entered the gate, several soldiers shut it. Then, a middle-aged official in a court robe, surrounded by four other officials, stepped forward from the crowd.
“Gentlemen,” he said sternly, “I am one of the supervising censors for this metropolitan examination, and one of my duties is to oversee searches for concealed materials. You are all outstanding men who passed the provincial examination, the elite of your home regions, and you have come here to the strains of ‘Deer Cry.’ Ordinarily, men such as you should not be searched like bandits. But the state has its laws and families their rules. This special metropolitan examination is a grace bestowed by His Majesty. I trust that, like me, you are deeply grateful and eager to repay that grace. Therefore, the searches will be conducted strictly according to regulation. I myself once passed through the same searches, and I trust you will understand.”
This middle-aged official was one of the two supervising censors. Standing before the Southern Zhili candidates, he continued solemnly.
“I’ll put the unpleasant part first. If any of you dare carry written notes, copied texts, or other forbidden materials into the examination and are caught, you will immediately be sent to the Bingmasi for questioning, placed in a cangue for a month, then returned to your place of origin to serve as a low-ranking clerk. Your juren status will be revoked. You will never again be allowed to sit the examinations or receive promotion. And you officials and soldiers conducting the searches—stay alert! Each candidate will be searched twice. If the first search finds nothing but the second does, those responsible for the first search will be severely punished. If forbidden materials are later found inside the examination compound, both groups of inspectors will be punished: officials will lose salary, and soldiers will be sent to the frontier!”
With the stern warning from the overseer, the entire atmosphere turned grave.
“I advise every juren here to treasure the status you worked so hard to earn. Before I announce the start of the search, you still have a chance to throw any prohibited items in front of you, and I will let the matter pass. But if we find them during the search, don’t blame me for being merciless! From this moment, I give you ten breaths.”
As the official spoke, he waved his hand. All the officials and soldiers present turned their backs to the examinees, creating a visual blind spot so no one could see the examinees’ actions.
Then came a series of thuds. Zhu Ping’an saw some people throwing out small notes and booklets, even one guy who pulled an inkstone out of his bag and flung it away with a smack.
Well, juren were certainly inventive when it came to cheat sheets.
Everyone’s the same, Zhu Ping’an couldn’t help but smile. It reminded him of his days as a postgraduate—students had their own clever cheating tricks, like using transparent tape to stick notes and soak them in clear water before attaching them to cups, or using WeChat groups, miniaturized cheat sheets, and more.
“Very good. Begin the inspection.”
After ten counts, the middle-aged official looked at the various styles of cheat materials on the ground and nodded in satisfaction, signaling the officials and soldiers to divide the examinees into groups and start the inspection.
The officials supervised while the actual inspection was carried out by the soldiers.
The luggage and belongings were inspected similarly to the provincial exam—hats, robes, shoe soles, socks, everything was checked. Clothes couldn’t have inner linings, seat cushions could only be single-layered, thick inkstones were not allowed, brushes had to be hollow, even food had to be cut open. It was quite similar to the provincial exam.
After watching the first candidate go through the entire process, Zhu Ping’an had to admit that the metropolitan-examination search was much stricter than the provincial examination or the Children’s Examination. Not only were all belongings inspected; the candidate himself was subjected to a thorough body search.
How thorough? Well, it meant undressing and letting several soldiers grope you all over. The inspection was extremely detailed. For example:
Open your mouth—hmm, nothing hidden there. Check your ears—hmm, nothing in there either. Your hair—also nothing. Your body—any tattoos or ink markings?
And finally, one more place to inspect. You know which one. That, too, had to be checked.
The juren ahead kept protesting, “This is an insult to scholarship!” Their faces flushed and necks stiffened as they endured the examination. The soldiers mocked them and deliberately told one another to search even more carefully. If they were ever going to humiliate these future officials, this was their chance.
Witnessing this, Zhu Ping’an instinctively thought: “A scholar meets a soldier—reason has no effect.”
Clothes inspection? Fine. Food inspection? Fine. Hair inspection? Alright. Belongings? Sure. Even undressing—fine. But to even inspect that part of the body? And not just that, but to deliberately humiliate, and laugh about it while commenting?
Comment your sister!
Scholars were prideful beings. Even in death they posed in elegant forms. And now, to be treated like this?
These juren had all steeped themselves in the classics and cared enormously about their dignity. Being treated this way—by rough soldiers who could scarcely read, and who deliberately mocked them—was a profound humiliation. But what could they do? The order came from the Emperor. They couldn’t take their anger out on him, so it naturally turned toward the soldiers conducting the searches.
Wouldn’t they be resentful? Wouldn’t they bear grudges? Probably began harboring hatred for anyone in armor. They couldn’t retaliate now, but once they passed the exam and gained power—oh, they’d settle scores. Not just with the soldier, but with his commander too!
That was probably one reason some civil officials in peaceful times later used politics to trample military men.
Maybe the resentment began from this very moment!
Zhu Ping’an watched in silent exasperation as the soldiers posed the examinees in all sorts of bizarre positions. Truly speechless! Some of these soldiers—what a pity they weren’t born in the future to direct adult films!