Kays Translations

Chapter 304: Grading the Papers

The metropolitan examination had concluded, and the grading work was in full swing. In just a few days the results would be announced. Time was pressing, and all the examiners had thrown themselves into marking the papers, forsaking sleep and food.

“Lock the examination compound to prevent questions from leaking, conduct searches to prevent smuggled materials; supervise to prevent peeking, anonymize and transcribe to prevent manipulation; separate inner and outer curtains to prevent collusion, and enforce examiner recusal to prevent favoritism.”

Under Xu Jie’s leadership, this year’s metropolitan examination strictly followed these regulations and adopted additional safeguards as well. The anti-cheating measures were so thorough that they had nearly exhausted every possible method.

However, no matter how precise a firewall is, there will always be loopholes.

On the first day of the metropolitan examination, Deputy Examiner Yan Maoqing, during a routine inspection, finally spotted the sharp-eyed young man whom Yan Shifan had introduced at Grand Secretary Yan’s residence. This candidate was no ordinary youth: his father, Ouyang Bijin, was Grand Secretary Yan’s brother-in-law—his wife’s younger brother—and served as Governor-General of Liangguang. Grand Secretary Yan was even said to be considering marrying his second daughter to the young Ouyang.

After the introduction, Comrade Yan Shifan pointed at young Ouyang and casually asked Yan Maoqing: “Does he have the air of a top scholar?”

Yan Maoqing naturally understood the implication. If young Ouyang was to become zhuangyuan, he first had to get through the metropolitan examination—and, in their plan, even the Huiyuan place was expected to be his.

Moreover, Comrade Yan Maoqing remembered young Ouyang especially well because he once casually complained that the chamber pots at home were inconvenient to use. By evening, a full set of pure gold chamber pots was delivered to his residence—seven or eight of them, made of gold and platinum.

So when Deputy Examiner Yan Maoqing spotted young Ouyang, young Ouyang certainly noticed him too—after all, he had been staring the whole time.

“You examinee! Instead of answering questions properly, what are you looking at?” A petty official accompanying Yan Maoqing during the inspection softly rebuked young Ouyang, who had been staring intently.

Our Comrade Yan Maoqing gently gestured to stop the petty official, waved his hand casually, and calmly said, “Yu xiu zai, yu xiu zai,” repeating the phrase several times before leading the inspection team onward.

“Yu xiu zai” (於休哉) here meant roughly “let it be” or “never mind.” Yan Maoqing appeared merely to be waving the matter aside, showing the entourage that there was no need to make trouble for the examinee.

After the group moved on, our young Ouyang beamed with delight. He had just seen the subtle hand gesture hidden in Yan Maoqing’s wave. “Yu xiu zai, yu xiu zai,” repeated several times—it couldn’t be clearer.

Thus, when answering his exam, young Ouyang repeatedly used the words “yu xiu zai” as an interjection.

From that moment on, the carefully designed firewall of Xu Jie’s metropolitan examination developed a crack from within.

The grading continued at a frantic pace. The Assistant Examiners responsible for recommending promising papers read the vermilion copies without rest. Black-ruled sheets filled with vermilion writing already strained the eyes; the deadline was tight, the stack of papers enormous, and Chief Examiner Xu Jie supervised strictly, making the work even more exhausting.

One examiner, who was near his limits from the toil, suddenly brightened while reviewing a paper. Not because the content was particularly brilliant, but because the paper contained multiple instances of the interjection “yu xiu zai.”

The Assistant Examiner was secretly pleased, though his face revealed nothing. He marked the paper and recommended it onward to the Chief and Deputy Examiners.

When Yan Maoqing saw the paper with several “yu xiu zai” in it, his long-held tension finally eased. At last, he could give Grand Secretary Yan a satisfactory explanation.

“Heh heh, Lord Xu, after several days of grading, why not take a short break?” Yan Maoqing smiled and greeted Xu Jie, seated across from him.

“Very well.”

Xu Jie put down the scroll in his hand and stretched slightly. After all, he was nearly fifty years old. He couldn’t deny aging any longer. After these past few days of grading, his back ached, and no part of his body felt comfortable.

“Has Lord Xu come across a worthy huiyuan composition yet?” Yan Maoqing massaged his arm and asked conversationally.

“There are a few well-written ones, but nothing worthy of the huiyuan title. Why? Has Lord Yan found one?” Xu Jie responded like a kindly elder, smiling.

Yan Maoqing had been waiting for this question.

“You flatter me, Lord Xu. I just read a paper that truly caught my eye. I haven’t seen such a magnificent essay in years.” With a smile, Yan Maoqing stood and handed the paper—the one with several “yu xiu zai”—to Xu Jie with both hands.

“Please take a look, Lord Xu.”

Xu Jie accepted the paper and read it quietly while seated. The writing was decent, the argument substantial. As he read, he noticed the paper’s hidden signal—several prominent and unnecessary uses of “yu xiu zai.”

“In all these years, this is the first time I’ve seen such a fine piece,” Yan Maoqing said, praising the paper enthusiastically as Xu Jie read it.

Xu Jie said nothing. He patiently finished the paper, counted the instances of “yu xiu zai,” and then turned his gaze to Yan Maoqing, staring at him for a long while.

“What do you think of this paper, Lord Xu?” Yan Maoqing knew what Xu Jie’s gaze implied, but he smiled and asked anyway, “Before we entered the Examination Hall, Lord Yan reminded me repeatedly to conduct my duties impartially and assist you in overseeing this exam. He said all things should follow your lead.”

Yan Maoqing believed Xu Jie was a clever man who would surely grasp the meaning of his words.

Had it been before, Xu Jie would have unhesitatingly rejected the paper and perhaps even launched an investigation into cheating. However, after the recent Western Garden incident, Xu Jie had realized that even as Minister, he couldn’t overpower even a pinkie of Yan Song. Letting things slide for now—so what? Even the proud King Fuchai of Wu met a tragic end.

“This paper is excellent.”

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Jie’s calm voice came through.

He placed the paper on the table without changing his expression, picked up a brush, and wrote a large “Pass” character on it.

“Then shall we mark it as the provisional Huiyuan?” Yan Maoqing asked again.

“No rush. There’s still time. Over half the papers remain ungraded. No need to be hasty.” Xu Jie responded in an indifferent tone.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter